[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 71 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 71
To extend the customs waters of the United States from 12 nautical
miles to 24 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States,
consistent with Presidential Proclamation 7219.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 25, 2023
Mr. Scott of Florida (for himself, Ms. Sinema, and Mr. Lankford)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To extend the customs waters of the United States from 12 nautical
miles to 24 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States,
consistent with Presidential Proclamation 7219.
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 ``Extending Limits of United States
Customs Waters Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) On December 27, 1988, Presidential Proclamation 5928
extended the territorial sea of the United States from 3
nautical miles to 12 nautical miles from the baselines of the
United States, determined in accordance with international law.
(2) On August 2, 1999, Presidential Proclamation 7219
extended the contiguous zone of the United States from 12
nautical miles to 24 nautical miles from the baselines of the
United States, determined in accordance with international law,
but in no case within the territorial sea of another country.
(3) Customary international law, in its current form, as
provided for in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the
Sea and consistent with Presidential Proclamations 5928 and
7219, reflects that--
(A) every coastal State has the right to establish
the breadth of its territorial sea to a limit not
exceeding 12 nautical miles, measured from its
baselines;
(B) a coastal State's contiguous zone may not
extend beyond 24 nautical miles from the baselines from
which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured;
(C) a coastal State has exclusive jurisdiction over
its flagged vessels within its territorial seas and
upon the high seas; and
(D) in the contiguous zone of a coastal State, the
State may--
(i) exercise the control necessary to
prevent the infringement of its customs,
fiscal, immigration, or sanitary laws and
regulations within its territory or the
territorial sea; and
(ii) punish the infringement of those laws
and regulations committed within its territory
or the territorial sea.
(4) Customary international law, in its current form, as
provided for in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the
Sea, recognizes that outside the territorial waters of a
coastal State, the vessels and aircraft of all countries enjoy
the high seas freedoms of navigation and overflight. Pursuant
to those freedoms and the requirements of international law--
(A) before boarding a vessel outside of the
territorial waters of a coastal State, but within the
contiguous zone of that State, authorities of the State
are generally required to have reasonable grounds to
believe that the vessel is destined for the State or
has violated or is attempting to violate the customs,
fiscal, immigration, or sanitary laws and regulations
of that State; and
(B) the hot pursuit of a foreign vessel--
(i) may be undertaken when competent
authorities of the State have good reason to
believe that the vessel or one of its boats has
violated the laws and regulations of that
State;
(ii) is required to be commenced when the
foreign vessels or one of its boats is within
the internal waters, the territorial sea, or
the contiguous zone of the State, and may be
continued outside the territorial sea or the
contiguous zone only if the pursuit has not
been interrupted; and
(iii) in a case in which the foreign
vessels is within the contiguous zone of the
State, may be undertaken only if there has been
a violation of the rights for the protection of
which the contiguous zone was established.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) it is necessary to extend the authority of U.S. Customs
and Border Protection to conduct law enforcement activities in
the customs waters of the United States from 12 nautical miles
to 24 nautical miles because as modern technology continues to
change and expand rapidly, the performance and speed of
maritime vessels, including those used to violate the laws of
the United States or evade United States law enforcement
agents, improve, and the limit of 12 nautical miles no longer
provides law enforcement agents with sufficient time to
interdict such vessels; and
(2) the extension of the customs waters of the United
States to the limits permitted by international law will
advance the law enforcement and public health interests of the
United States.
SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF CUSTOMS WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES.
(a) Tariff Act of 1930.--Section 401(j) of the Tariff Act of 1930
(19 U.S.C. 1401(j)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``means, in the case'' and inserting the
following: ``means--
``(1) in the case'';
(2) by striking ``of the coast of the United States'' and
inserting ``from the baselines of the United States (determined
in accordance with international law)'';
(3) by striking ``and, in the case'' and inserting the
following: ``; and
``(2) in the case''; and
(4) by striking ``the waters within four leagues of the
coast of the United States.'' and inserting the following:
``the waters within--
``(A) the territorial sea of the United States, to
the limits permitted by international law in accordance
with Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27,
1988; and
``(B) the contiguous zone of the United States, to
the limits permitted by international law in accordance
with Presidential Proclamation 7219 of September 2,
1999.''.
(b) Anti-Smuggling Act.--Section 401(c) of the Anti-Smuggling Act
(19 U.S.C. 1709(c)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``means, in the case'' and inserting the
following: ``means--
``(1) in the case'';
(2) by striking ``of the coast of the United States'' and
inserting ``from the baselines of the United States (determined
in accordance with international law)'';
(3) by striking ``and, in the case'' and inserting the
following: ``; and
``(2) in the case''; and
(4) by striking ``the waters within four leagues of the
coast of the United States.'' and inserting the following:
``the waters within--
``(A) the territorial sea of the United States, to
the limits permitted by international law in accordance
with Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27,
1988; and
``(B) the contiguous zone of the United States, to
the limits permitted by international law in accordance
with Presidential Proclamation 7219 of September 2,
1999.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on the day after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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