Sponsors (4)
The bill shifts port procurement and capital policy toward prioritizing U.S.-made equipment and supporting domestic shipbuilding—potentially preserving jobs and bolstering U.S. manufacturers—but at the cost of higher short-term procurement expenses, regulatory discretion and delays, reduced access to foreign suppliers, and possible limits on automation-driven productivity gains.
Port operators, vessel owners, and terminals can use capital and program funds to buy or rebuild U.S.-built cargo-handling equipment and vessels, improving terminal capacity, financing flexibility, and reducing delays.
U.S. manufacturers and the domestic supply chain gain increased demand from rules and preferences that encourage purchasing domestically made cargo-handling equipment (including bans on certain foreign-made cranes), supporting manufacturing jobs and supply-chain resilience.
Dockworkers and other terminal employees are protected from purchases that would cause net job losses because fund use may be restricted where equipment is determined to reduce employment.
Port operators, small businesses, and shippers may face higher procurement and modernization costs and project delays because of domestic-purchase requirements, bans on certain foreign-made cranes, and build/documentation conditions.
Restrictions on certain foreign equipment and limits on automation risk reducing long-term productivity and competitiveness of U.S. ports by constraining access to advanced or lower-cost technologies.
Marine terminal operators and applicants face regulatory uncertainty and discretionary delays because operators and the Secretary have authority to judge U.S. supply/quality or job‑loss impacts, which can produce procurement disputes and slow projects.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Allows capital construction fund money to buy U.S.-built cargo handling equipment, defines related terms, bans PRC-made cranes, limits CCF-funded automation causing net job loss, and requires an annual RFI for U.S.-made equipment.
Introduced June 9, 2025 by Mike Ezell · Last progress June 9, 2025
Expands who can use Capital Construction Fund (CCF) agreements and what CCF money can buy by adding U.S. marine terminal operators as eligible parties and allowing CCF withdrawals to purchase U.S.-built cargo handling equipment for use at U.S. marine terminals. The bill defines "cargo handling equipment" and "marine terminal," prohibits CCF-funded purchases of cranes made in the People's Republic of China, restricts CCF use for fully automated equipment that the Secretary finds would cause a net job loss at a terminal, and requires an annual Federal Register request for information on U.S.-made cargo handling equipment with results shared with CCF holders. Several technical edits to the underlying statute are included, but some insertion text is missing from the provided excerpt. Where text was not included, the bill marks insertion points into existing code provisions that likely adjust deposit/withdrawal rules, qualified withdrawal treatment, and definitions related to qualified property.