Text of Senate Amendment 6454

On 2026-06-24, Senator Todd Young (R-IN) delivered a floor speech titled "Text Of Senate Amendment 6454" in the Senate.

Text of Senate Amendment 6454

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S3580-S3585] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SA 6454. Mr. YOUNG (for himself and Mr. Kelly) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the appropriate place in title X, insert the following: SEC. __. STRATEGIC COMMERCIAL FLEET. (a) In General.--Part C of subtitle V of title 46, United States Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 535 the following: ``CHAPTER 536--STRATEGIC COMMERCIAL FLEET ``Sec. [[Page S3581]] ``53601. Definitions. ``53602. Establishment of Strategic Commercial Fleet. ``53603. Operating agreements. ``53604. Payments. ``53605. National security requirements. ``53606. Regulations. ``Sec. 53601. Definitions ``In this chapter: ``(1) Administrator.--The term `Administrator' means the Maritime Administrator. ``(2) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term `appropriate committees of Congress' means-- ``(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and ``(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. ``(3) Coastwise trade.--The term `coastwise trade' means commerce or trade that is subject to the requirements of section 55102 or 55103. ``(4) Covered entity.--The term `covered entity' means-- ``(A) any owner or operator of a vessel eligible under section 53602(d); or ``(B) a bid team consisting of-- ``(i) an entity described in subparagraph (A); ``(ii) a shipyard in the United States with the ability, experience, financial resources, and other qualifications necessary for-- ``(I) the construction of a vessel eligible for inclusion in the Strategic Commercial Fleet; or ``(II) the repair of such a vessel; and ``(iii) another legal entity that is not a foreign entity of concern. ``(5) Fleet.--The term `Fleet' means the Strategic Commercial Fleet established under section 53602. ``(6) Foreign commerce.--The term `foreign commerce' means-- ``(A) commerce or trade between the United States, its territories or possessions, or the District of Columbia, and a foreign country; and ``(B) commerce or trade between foreign countries. ``(7) Foreign country of concern.-- ``(A) In general.--The term `foreign country of concern' means-- ``(i) a country that is a covered nation (as defined in section 4872(f)(2) of title 10); and ``(ii) any country that the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, the Director of National Intelligence, the United States Trade Representative, and the Chair of the Federal Maritime Commission, determines to be engaged in conduct that is detrimental or potentially detrimental to the national security or foreign policy of the United States, until such time as the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the heads of those Federal agencies, determines that the country is no longer engaged in such detrimental or potentially detrimental conduct. ``(B) Country.--The term `country' means a foreign country or a political subdivision, dependent territory, or possession of a foreign country. ``(8) Foreign entity of concern.--The term `foreign entity of concern' means any foreign entity that is-- ``(A) designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the Secretary of State under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189); ``(B) included on the list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury; ``(C) owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a government of a foreign country of concern; ``(D) alleged by the Attorney General to have been involved in activities for which a conviction was obtained under-- ``(i) chapter 37 of title 18 (commonly known as the `Espionage Act') (18 U.S.C. 792 et seq.); ``(ii) section 951 or 1030 of title 18; ``(iii) chapter 90 of title 18 (commonly known as the `Economic Espionage Act of 1996'); ``(iv) the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.); ``(v) section 224, 225, 226, 227, or 236 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2274, 2275, 2276, 2277, and 2284); ``(vi) the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4801 et seq.); or ``(vii) the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); ``(E) designated by the Federal Maritime Commission as a controlled carrier under chapter 407; ``(F) found by the Federal Maritime Commission to be practicing unfavorable conditions in foreign trade under chapter 421 or 423, until such time as the Federal Maritime Commission determines that the entity is no longer practicing such unfavorable conditions; or ``(G) determined by the Maritime Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the Director of National Intelligence, the Chair of the Federal Maritime Commission, the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, and the United States Trade Representative to be engaged in conduct that is detrimental or potentially detrimental to the national security or foreign policy of the United States. ``(9) Qualified foreign built vessel.--The term `qualified foreign built vessel'-- ``(A) means a vessel that-- ``(i) is not more than 14 years of age; ``(ii) is, prior to entry into the Fleet, documented under the laws of the United States; and ``(iii) was constructed (or reconstructed) outside the United States; and ``(B) does not include a vessel that-- ``(i) was owned or operated by a foreign entity of concern; ``(ii) is a vessel of a foreign country of concern; ``(iii) was constructed by a shipyard that was owned or operated by a foreign entity of concern or located in a foreign country of concern; or ``(iv) was registered as a vessel of a foreign country of concern at any time during the 3 years prior to entry into the Fleet. ``(10) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Transportation. ``(11) United states built vessel.--The term `United States built vessel' means a vessel that is constructed in the United States (and, if reconstructed, reconstructed in the United States), consistent with the requirements of section 505 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. 53101 note). ``(12) United states citizen trust.--The term `United States citizen trust' has the meaning given such term in section 53101. ``Sec. 53602. Establishment of Strategic Commercial Fleet ``(a) In General.--Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary, acting through the Administrator and in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall establish a fleet, to be known as the `Strategic Commercial Fleet', of active, commercially viable, privately owned vessels to meet national defense and other security requirements and maintain a United States presence in international commercial shipping. ``(b) Number of Vessels.--The Secretary shall seek to select eligible vessels described in subsection (d) for the Fleet through an annual competitive selection process. Through such annual selection process, the Secretary shall-- ``(1) select for inclusion in the Fleet not fewer than 10 vessels in the 12-month period that begins on the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this section; ``(2) increase the number of vessels selected for inclusion in the Fleet annually such that not later than 5 years after such date of enactment, not fewer than 20 vessels are selected for such inclusion annually; and ``(3) ensure that the total number of vessels included in the fleet shall be not more than 250 vessels at any point in time, except in wartime. ``(c) Solicitation; Entry Into Fleet.-- ``(1) Solicitation.-- ``(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall solicit proposals from covered entities to competitively select vessels that are eligible under subsection (d) and meet the requirements of this subsection for inclusion in the Fleet. ``(B) Public solicitation requirements.--In soliciting proposals under subparagraph (A), the Secretary-- ``(i) shall-- ``(I) publish a notice in the Federal Register, which, at a minimum, identifies the requirements for the number of vessels as established by the Administrator; and ``(II) allow applicants such time as determined by the Secretary, which shall not be less than 30 days, to submit a proposal for entry into the Fleet; and ``(ii) may include in the notice in the Federal Register-- ``(I) target numbers for each vessel type that will be selected for inclusion in the Fleet each year; and ``(II) guidance on proposed annual operating support payments and annual capital support payments for each vessel type solicited, to ensure-- ``(aa) covered entities submit proposals that are priced competitively and meet the needs of the Fleet; and ``(bb) there is a competitive selection process as described in this section. ``(2) Eligible proposals.--The Secretary shall solicit and accept proposals in separate processes for each of the following: ``(A) Newly constructed vessels.-- ``(i) In general.--A covered entity may submit a proposal for the Fleet that involves the construction of a United States built vessel and operation of such vessel as a vessel of the United States in foreign commerce. ``(ii) Interim vessel.--A proposal described in clause (