[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3252 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3252
To address the supply chain backlog in the freight network at United
States ports, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 18, 2021
Mr. Lee (for himself and Ms. Lummis) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To address the supply chain backlog in the freight network at United
States ports, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Surpassing Temporary Obstructions at
Ports and Guaranteeing Resources to Increase the Nation's Commercial
Health Act'' or the ``STOP the GRINCH Act''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that the unprecedented supply chain
backlog in the freight network of the United States as of November 2021
is a national crisis that warrants Congressional authorization of
short-term Federal emergency actions to ameliorate that crisis.
SEC. 3. ADDRESSING THE SUPPLY CHAIN CRISIS IN THE UNITED STATES.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration.
(2) Commercial motor vehicle; driver; motor carrier.--The
terms ``commercial motor vehicle'', ``driver'', and ``motor
carrier'' have the meanings given those terms in section 390.5
of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor
regulations).
(3) Direct assistance to a united states port.--
(A) In general.--The term ``direct assistance to a
United States port'' means the transportation of cargo
directly to or from a United States port.
(B) Exclusion.--The term ``direct assistance to a
United States port'' does not include--
(i) the transportation of a mixed load of
cargo that includes--
(I) cargo that does not originate
from a United States port; or
(II) a container or cargo that is
not bound for a United States port;
(ii) any period during which the applicable
motor carrier or driver is operating in
interstate commerce to transport cargo or
provide services not in support of
transportation to or from a United States port;
or
(iii) the period after the applicable motor
carrier dispatches the applicable driver or
commercial motor vehicle of the motor carrier
to another location to begin operation in
interstate commerce in a manner that is not in
support of transportation to or from a United
States port.
(4) Qualified applicant.--The term ``qualified applicant''
means a person that--
(A) submits to the appropriate official an
application for a waiver under this section; and
(B) in the determination of that official, is
eligible, in accordance with this section, to receive
the waiver.
(5) Temporary waiver.--The term ``temporary waiver'' means
a waiver that expires on the date that is 1 year after the date
of enactment of this Act.
(b) FMCSA Temporary Waivers.--
(1) Temporary waiver of certain requirements.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 7 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall
issue to each qualified applicant a temporary waiver
that, subject to paragraph (3), waives the requirements
of parts 390 through 399 of title 49, Code of Federal
Regulations (or successor regulations), with respect to
commercial motor vehicle operations that are providing
direct assistance to a United States port.
(B) Eligibility.--An applicant is eligible for a
temporary waiver under subparagraph (A) if the
applicant is a motor carrier or driver that provides
direct assistance to a United States port.
(2) Temporary waiver of minimum age requirement.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 2 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall
issue to each qualified applicant a temporary waiver
from the requirement of section 391.11(b)(1) of title
49, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor
regulations), for drivers that are at least 18 years
old, subject to paragraph (3).
(B) Eligibility.--An applicant is eligible for a
temporary waiver under subparagraph (A) if the
applicant--
(i) is providing direct assistance to a
United States port; or
(ii) is directly assuming the commercial
motor vehicle operations of a driver who has
been re-routed to a United States port to
provide direct assistance to a United States
port.
(3) Requirements.--A temporary waiver under paragraph (1)
or (2) shall not exempt a motor carrier or driver from--
(A) the hazardous materials regulations described
in subchapters A through C of chapter I of subtitle B
of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor
regulations);
(B) the controlled substances and alcohol use and
testing requirements described in part 382 of that
title (or successor regulations);
(C) except as provided in paragraph (2), the
commercial driver's license requirements described in
part 383 of that title (or successor regulations);
(D) the financial responsibility (including
insurance) requirements described in part 387 of that
title (or successor regulations);
(E) the requirement that every commercial motor
vehicle shall be operated in accordance with the laws,
ordinances, and regulations of the jurisdiction in
which the commercial motor vehicle is being operated,
which shall include any applicable speed limits and
other traffic restrictions, as described in the first
sentence of section 392.2 of that title (or successor
regulations);
(F) the prohibition against operating a commercial
motor vehicle while the ability of the driver is so
impaired, or so likely to become impaired, through
fatigue, illness, or any other cause, as to make it
unsafe for the driver to begin or continue to operate
the commercial motor vehicle, as described in section
392.3 of that title (or successor regulations);
(G) the prohibition against texting while driving
described in section 392.80 of that title (or successor
regulations);
(H) the prohibition against using a hand-held
mobile telephone while driving described in section
392.82 of that title (or successor regulations); or
(I) any applicable size and weight requirements.
(4) Driver fatigue and safety.--
(A) In general.--A motor carrier receiving a
temporary waiver under paragraph (1) or (2) shall not
allow or require a fatigued driver to operate a
commercial motor vehicle.
(B) Requirement.--For the period during which a
temporary waiver under paragraph (1) or (2) is
effective, a motor carrier described in subparagraph
(A) that receives from a driver notification that the
driver is in need of immediate rest shall immediately
provide the driver with not less than 10 consecutive
hours of off-duty time before the driver is required to
return to service.
(c) Transportation Worker Identification Credentials.--The
Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration and the
Commandant of the Coast Guard shall jointly prioritize and expedite the
consideration of applications for a Transportation Worker
Identification Credential with respect to applicants, including
commercial drivers who are operating under a temporary waiver issued
under subsection (b)(2), who reasonably demonstrate that the purpose of
the Transportation Worker Identification Credential is for providing,
within the interior of the United States, direct assistance to a United
States port.
(d) Temporary Waiver of Jones Act Requirements for Certain Vessels
Transporting Cargo.--
(1) Authority.--
(A) Certificate of coastwise endorsement.--
Notwithstanding the requirements under section 12112 of
title 46, United States Code, and any other requirement
under chapter 121 of such title, the Secretary of the
department in which the Coast Guard is operating
(referred to in this subsection as the ``Secretary'')
may issue a certificate of documentation with a
coastwise endorsement under such chapter 121 in
accordance with this subsection for a vessel, without
regard to whether the vessel meets the requirements of
such section 12112, in a case that the person
requesting such certificate reasonably demonstrates the
endorsement (or the resulting exemption under
subparagraph (B)) is for the purpose of--
(i) transporting cargo from a United States
port to another United States port in order to
relieve any congestion, backlog, or delay at
such a port; or
(ii) engaging in lightering operations,
which entail a ship-to-ship transfer of cargo
from a vessel anchored or located off the coast
of the United States to another vessel that
transports such cargo to a United States port.
(B) Exemption of additional requirements.--Until
the expiration under paragraph (3) of the authority
under this subsection, notwithstanding section 55102 of
title 46, United States Code, such section 55102 shall
not apply to any vessel that has been issued a
certificate of documentation with a coastwise
endorsement under subparagraph (A).
(2) Timing.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 48 hours after
receiving a request for a certificate of documentation
with a coastwise endorsement under paragraph (1)(A),
the Secretary shall--
(i) issue the certificate with such
endorsement; or
(ii)(I) submit detailed reasons for denying
the certificate to the person requesting the
certificate; and
(II) post such denial and reasons to the
public on the website of the Department in
which the Coast Guard is operating.
(B) Automatic issuance.--In the case that the
Secretary does not comply with subparagraph (A), a
certificate of documentation with a coastwise
endorsement for such vessel shall be deemed issued
under paragraph (1)(A).
(3) Expiration.--The authority under this subsection,
including any coastwise endorsement authorized under this
section, shall expire on the date that is 1 year after the date
of enactment of this Act.
(e) Container Overflow Storage.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 14 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, the
Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Transportation
shall jointly consult with representatives of ocean carriers,
ports, railroads, and truckers--
(A) to identify plots of Federal land under the
jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture, the
Secretary of the Interior, or the Secretary of
Transportation that--
(i) are located within a 150 air-mile
radius of a United States port; and
(ii) could temporarily be used as an
overflow area for the storage and transfer of
empty cargo containers in order to ease the
congestion and backlog at United States ports;
and
(B) to designate not fewer than 2 plots of Federal
land identified under subparagraph (A) for the use
described in clause (ii) of that subparagraph, subject
to the conditions that--
(i) each specific plot so designated shall
be not more than 500 acres;
(ii) the stacking of containers shall be
permitted at each specific plot so designated
for a period of not more than 6 months
beginning on the date on which the designation
of the plot is published in the Federal
Register under paragraph (2); and
(iii) containers shall not be stacked more
than 6 high at any plot so designated.
(2) Publication in the federal register.--The designation
of a plot of Federal land under paragraph (1)(B) shall be
published in the Federal Register.
(3) Categorical exclusion.--The designation of a plot of
Federal land under paragraph (1)(B) shall be categorically
excluded from the requirements of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), subject to the
condition that, prior to the designation of the plot of Federal
land under that paragraph, the applicable Secretary described
in paragraph (1)(A) having jurisdiction over the plot carefully
considers the circumstances of the designation and determines
that there are no extraordinary circumstances that warrant the
preparation of an environmental assessment or an environmental
impact statement.
(f) Loan of DOD Intermodal Equipment.--
(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
(A) Intermodal equipment.--The term ``intermodal
equipment'' has the meaning given the term in section
390.5 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or
successor regulations).
(B) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the
Secretary of Defense.
(2) Inventory of intermodal equipment.--Not later than 14
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary
shall conduct an inventory of intermodal equipment that--
(A) is owned by the Department of Defense;
(B) is located within the United States; and
(C) could be made available for loan to truck
companies for the purposes of easing congestion at
United States ports.
(3) Loan of intermodal equipment.--
(A) Process.--Not later than 7 days after the date
on which the inventory under paragraph (2) is complete,
the Secretary shall create a process for a truck
company to submit an application requesting the use of
intermodal equipment identified in that inventory.
(B) Conditions.--The loan of intermodal equipment
under this subsection shall be subject to the
conditions that--
(i) the truck company agrees to reimburse
the Secretary for any damage caused to the
intermodal equipment while the intermodal
equipment is loaned to the truck company;
(ii) the use of the intermodal equipment by
the truck company is for a period not longer
than 6 months; and
(iii) the use of the intermodal equipment
by the truck company will not affect the
national security of the United States.
(C) Fees.--
(i) In general.--Subject to clauses (ii)
and (iii), the Secretary may charge a
reasonable fee for the loan of intermodal
equipment under this subsection.
(ii) Consultation.--The Secretary may
charge a fee under clause (i) if the
Secretary--
(I) consults with the Secretary of
Agriculture, the Secretary of the
Interior, and the Secretary of
Transportation; and
(II) determines that charging a fee
would be appropriate.
(iii) Amount.--The amount of a fee under
clause (i) shall be based on the market rate
for similar loans or rentals of intermodal
equipment or similar equipment as of January 1,
2020.
(iv) Deposit and use.--Any fee collected by
the Secretary under clause (i) shall be
deposited in the general fund of the Treasury
and made available to the Secretary of
Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, and
the Secretary of Transportation for remediation
of any Federal land designated under subsection
(e).
(v) Restrictions.--A fee collected under
clause (i) may not be used--
(I) until the designation of the
applicable plot of Federal land under
subsection (e) has expired; or
(II) for any purpose other than the
remediation of land designated under
subsection (e).
(4) Recall of intermodal equipment.--To protect the
national security of the United States, the Secretary may
recall any intermodal equipment on loan to a truck company
under this subsection by issuing a notice to the truck company
72 hours before the time at which the intermodal equipment is
required to be returned to the Secretary.
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