Energizing American Shipbuilding Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 707 To require a certain percentage of natural gas and crude oil exports be transported on United States-built and United States-flag vessels, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 11, 2021 Mr. WICKER (for himself and Mr. CASEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To require a certain percentage of natural gas and crude oil exports be transported on United States-built and United States-flag vessels, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Energizing American 4 Shipbuilding Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. NATIONAL POLICY ON STRATEGIC ENERGY ASSET 6 EXPORT TRANSPORTATION. 7 (a) LNG EXPORTS.— 8 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S707.IS S707 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 707 IS (A) liquefied natural gas (referred to in 1 this paragraph as ‘‘LNG’’) is hazardous to na- 2 tional import and export terminals and ports if 3 mishandled; 4 (B) LNG is a strategic national asset, the 5 export of which should be used to preserve the 6 tanker fleet and skilled mariner workforce of 7 the United States, which are essential to na- 8 tional security; and 9 (C) for the safety and security of the 10 United States, LNG should be exported on ves- 11 sels documented under the laws of the United 12 States. 13 (2) REQUIREMENT FOR TRANSPORTATION OF 14 EXPORTS OF NATURAL GAS ON VESSELS DOCU- 15 MENTED UNDER LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES.— 16 Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b) 17 is amended by adding at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(g) TRANSPORTATION OF EXPORTS OF NATURAL 19 GAS ON VESSELS DOCUMENTED UNDER LAWS OF THE 20 UNITED STATES.— 21 ‘‘(1) CONDITION FOR APPROVAL.—Except as 22 provided in paragraph (7), with respect to an appli- 23 cation to export natural gas under subsection (a), 24 the Commission shall include in the order issued for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S707.IS S707 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 707 IS that application the condition that the person trans- 1 port the natural gas on a vessel that meets the re- 2 quirements described in paragraph (3). 3 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the require- 4 ment under paragraph (1) is to ensure that, of all 5 natural gas exported by vessel in a calendar year, 6 the following percentage is exported by a vessel that 7 meets the requirements described in paragraph (3): 8 ‘‘(A) In each of the 7 calendar years fol- 9 lowing the calendar year in which this sub- 10 section is enacted, not less than 2 percent. 11 ‘‘(B) In each of the 8th and 9th calendar 12 years following the calendar year in which this 13 subsection is enacted, not less than 3 percent. 14 ‘‘(C) In each of the 10th and 11th cal- 15 endar years following the calendar year in 16 which this subsection is enacted, not less than 17 4 percent. 18 ‘‘(D) In each of the 12th and 13th cal- 19 endar years following the calendar year in 20 which this subsection is enacted, not less than 21 6 percent. 22 ‘‘(E) In each of the 14th and 15th cal- 23 endar years following the calendar year in 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S707.IS S707 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 707 IS which this subsection is enacted, not less than 1 7 percent. 2 ‘‘(F) In each of the 16th and 17th cal- 3 endar years following the calendar year in 4 which this subsection is enacted, not less than 5 9 percent. 6 ‘‘(G) In each of the 18th and 19th cal- 7 endar years following the calendar year in 8 which this subsection is enacted, not less than 9 11 percent. 10 ‘‘(H) In each of the 20th and 21st cal- 11 endar years following the calendar year in 12 which this subsection is enacted, not less than 13 13 percent. 14 ‘‘(I) In the 22nd calendar year after the 15 calendar year in which this subsection is en- 16 acted and each calendar year thereafter, not 17 less than 15 percent. 18 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS FOR VESSELS.—A vessel 19 meets the requirements described in this para- 20 graph— 21 ‘‘(A) with respect to each of the 5 calendar 22 years following the calendar year in which this 23 subsection is enacted— 24 ‘‘(i) if— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S707.IS S707 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 707 IS ‘‘(I) the vessel is documented 1 under the laws of the United States; 2 and 3 ‘‘(II) with respect to any retrofit 4 work necessary for the vessel to ex- 5 port natural gas— 6 ‘‘(aa) such work is done in a 7 shipyard in the United States; 8 and 9 ‘‘(bb) any component of the 10 vessel listed in paragraph (4) 11 that is installed during the 12 course of such work is manufac- 13 tured in the United States; or 14 ‘‘(ii) if— 15 ‘‘(I) the vessel is built in the 16 United States; 17 ‘‘(II) the vessel is documented 18 under the laws of the United States; 19 ‘‘(III) all major components of 20 the hull or superstructure of the ves- 21 sel are manufactured (including all 22 manufacturing processes from the ini- 23 tial melting stage through the applica- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S707.IS S707 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 707 IS tion of coatings for iron or steel prod- 1 ucts) in the United States; and 2 ‘‘(IV) the components of the ves- 3 sel listed in paragraph (4) are manu- 4 factured in the United States; and 5 ‘‘(B) with respect to the 6th calendar year 6 following the calendar year in which this sub- 7 section is enacted, and each calendar year 8 thereafter, if the vessel meets the requirements 9 of subparagraph (A)(ii). 10 ‘‘(4) COMPONENTS.—The components of a ves- 11 sel listed in this paragraph are the following: 12 ‘‘(A) Air circuit breakers. 13 ‘‘(B) Welded shipboard anchor and moor- 14 ing chain with a diameter of 4 inches or less. 15 ‘‘(C) Powered and non-powered valves in 16 Federal Supply Classes 4810 and 4820 used in 17 piping. 18 ‘‘(D) Machine tools in the Federal Supply 19 Classes for metal-working machinery numbered 20 3405, 3408, 3410 through 3419, 3426, 3433, 21 3438, 3441 through 3443, 3445, 3446, 3448, 22 3449, 3460, and 3461. 23 ‘‘(E) Auxiliary equipment for shipboard 24 services, including pumps. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S707.IS S707 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 707 IS ‘‘(F) Propulsion equipment, including en- 1 gines, propulsion motors, reduction gears, and 2 propellers. 3 ‘‘(G) Shipboard cranes. 4 ‘‘(H) Spreaders for shipboard cranes. 5 ‘‘(I) Rotating electrical equipment, includ- 6 ing electrical alternators and motors. 7 ‘‘(J) Compressors, pumps, and heat ex- 8 changers used in managing and re-liquefying 9 boil-off gas from liquefied natural gas. 10 ‘‘(5) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Commission 11 may waive the requirement under clause (i)(II)(bb) 12 or (ii)(IV), as applicable, of paragraph (3)(A) with 13 respect to a component of a vessel if the Maritime 14 Administrator determines that— 15 ‘‘(A) application of the requirement 16 would— 17 ‘‘(i) result in an increase of 25 per- 18 cent or more in the cost of the component 19 of the vessel; or 20 ‘‘(ii) cause unreasonable delays to be 21 incurred in building or retrofitting the ves- 22 sel; or 23 ‘‘(B) such component is not manufactured 24 in the United States in sufficient and reason- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S707.IS S707 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 707 IS ably available quantities of a satisfactory qual- 1 ity. 2 ‘‘(6) OPPORTUNITIES FOR LICENSED AND UNLI- 3 CENSED MARINERS.—Except as provided in para- 4 graph (7), the Commission shall include, in any 5 order issued under subsection (a) that authorizes a 6 person to export natural gas, a condition that the 7 person provide opportunities for United States li- 8 censed and unlicensed mariners to receive experience 9 and training necessary to become credentialed in 10 working on a vessel transporting natural gas. 11 ‘‘(7) EXCEPTION.—The Commission may not 12 include in any order issued under subsection (a) au- 13 thorizing a person to export natural gas to a nation 14 with which there is in effect a free trade agreement 15 requiring national treatment for trade in natural gas 16 a condition described in paragraph (1), or a condi- 17 tion described in paragraph (6), if the United States 18 Trade Representative certifies to the Commission, in 19 writing, that such condition would violate obligations 20 of the United States under such free trade agree- 21 ment. 22 ‘‘(8) USE OF FEDERAL INFORMATION.—In car- 23 rying out paragraph (1), the Commission— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S707.IS S707 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 707 IS ‘‘(A) shall use information made available 1 by— 2 ‘‘(i) the Energy Information Adminis- 3 tration; or 4 ‘‘(ii) any other Federal agency or enti- 5 ty the Commission determines appropriate; 6 and 7 ‘‘(B) may use information made available 8 by a private entity only if applicable informa- 9 tion described in subparagraph (A) is not avail- 10 able.’’. 11 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3(c) 12 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b(c)) is 13 amended by striking ‘‘or the exportation of natural 14 gas’’ and inserting ‘‘or, subject to subsection (g), the 15 exportation of natural gas’’. 16 (b) CRUDE OIL.—Section 101 of title I of division 17 O of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (42 18 U.S.C. 6212a) is amended— 19 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘subsections 20 (c) and (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (c), (d), and 21 (f)’’; and 22 (2) by adding at the end the following: 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S707.IS S707 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 707 IS ‘‘(f) TRANSPORTATION OF EXPORTS OF CRUDE OIL 1 ON VESSELS DOCUMENTED UNDER LAWS OF THE 2 UNITED STATES.— 3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 4 graph (6), as a condition to export crude oil, the 5 President shall require that a person exporting crude 6 oil transport the crude oil on a vessel that meets the 7 requirements described in paragraph (3). 8 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the require- 9 ment under paragraph (1) is to ensure that, of all 10 crude oil exported by vessel in a calendar year, the 11 following percentage is exported by a vessel that 12 meets the requirements described in paragraph (3): 13 ‘‘(A) In each of the 7 calendar years fol- 14 lowing the calendar year in which this sub- 15 section is enacted, not less than 3 percent. 16 ‘‘(B) In each of the 8th, 9th, and 10th cal- 17 endar years following the calendar year in 18 which this subsection is enacted, not less than 19 6 percent. 20 ‘‘(C) In each of the 11th, 12th, and 13th 21 calendar years following the calendar year in 22 which this subsection is enacted, not less than 23 8 percent. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S707.IS S707 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 707 IS ‘‘(D) In the 14th calendar year following 1 the calendar year in which this subsection is en- 2 acted and each calendar year thereafter, not 3 less than 10 percent. 4 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS FOR VESSELS.—A vessel 5 meets the requirements described in this para- 6 graph— 7 ‘‘(A) with respect to each of the 4 calendar 8 years following the calendar year in which this 9 subsection is enacted— 10 ‘‘(i) if— 11 ‘‘(I) the vessel is documented 12 under the laws of the United States; 13 and 14 ‘‘(II) with respect to any retrofit 15 work necessary for the vessel to ex- 16 port crude oil— 17 ‘‘(aa) such work is done in a 18 shipyard in the United States; 19 and 20 ‘‘(bb) any component of the 21 vessel listed in paragraph (4) 22 that is installed during the 23 course of such work is manufac- 24 tured in the United States; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S707.IS S707 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 707 IS ‘‘(ii) if— 1 ‘‘(I) the vessel is built in the 2 United States; 3 ‘‘(II) the vessel is documented 4 under the laws of the United States; 5 ‘‘(III) all major components of 6 the hull or superstructure of the ves- 7 sel are manufactured (including all 8 manufacturing processes from the ini- 9 tial melting stage through the applica- 10 tion of coatings for iron or steel prod- 11 ucts) in the United States; and 12 ‘‘(IV) the components of the ves- 13 sel listed in paragraph (4) are manu- 14 factured in the United States; and 15 ‘‘(B) with respect to the 5th calendar year 16 following the calendar year in which this sub- 17 section is enacted and each calendar year there- 18 after, if the vessel meets the requirements of 19 subparagraph (A)(ii). 20 ‘‘(4) COMPONENTS.—The components of a ves- 21 sel listed in this paragraph are the following: 22 ‘‘(A) Air circuit breakers. 23 ‘‘(B) Welded shipboard anchor and moor- 24 ing chain with a diameter of four inches or less. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S707.IS S707 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 707 IS ‘‘(C) Powered and non-powered valves in 1 Federal Supply Classes 4810 and 4820 used in 2 piping. 3 ‘‘(D) Machine tools in the Federal Supply 4 Classes for metal-working machinery numbered 5 3405, 3408, 3410 through 3419, 3426, 3433, 6 3438, 3441 through 3443, 3445, 3446, 3448, 7 3449, 3460, and 3461. 8 ‘‘(E) Auxiliary equipment for shipboard 9 services, including pumps. 10 ‘‘(F) Propulsion equipment, including en- 11 gines, propulsion motors, reduction gears, and 12 propellers. 13 ‘‘(G) Shipboard cranes. 14 ‘‘(H) Spreaders for shipboard cranes. 15 ‘‘(I) Rotating electrical equipment, includ- 16 ing electrical alternators and motors. 17 ‘‘(5) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The President may 18 waive the requirement under clause (i)(II)(bb) or 19 clause (ii)(IV), as applicable, of paragraph (3)(A) 20 with respect to a component of a vessel if the Mari- 21 time Administrator determines that— 22 ‘‘(A) application of the requirement 23 would— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:52 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S707.IS S7 [Text truncated for display. 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