What This Bill Does
This bill prevents the Secretary of the Department where the U.S. Coast Guard operates from making agreements with state sponsors of terrorism (countries officially designated as supporting terrorism) to evaluate their port security measures. The bill also requires the Secretary to treat ports controlled by state sponsors of terrorism as having weak security and to immediately apply penalties to those ports.
Who It Affects
The Secretary of the Department in which the U.S. Coast Guard operates. Foreign governments designated as state sponsors of terrorism. Ports located in countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism.
Key Provisions
The Secretary cannot enter into agreements under subsection (f)(2) with any foreign government that is a state sponsor of terrorism or a foreign terrorist organization (Sec. 2(g)(1)).
The Secretary must treat any port under the control of a state sponsor of terrorism as lacking effective antiterrorism measures (security measures designed to prevent terrorist attacks) (Sec. 2(g)(2)(A)).
The Secretary must immediately apply sanctions described in section 70110(a) to ports controlled by state sponsors of terrorism (Sec. 2(g)(2)(B)).
The Secretary can only accept a foreign government's port security assessment if that government is not a state sponsor of terrorism (Sec. 2(f)(1)(B)).
What Changes
Current law allows the Secretary to accept port security assessments from foreign governments under certain conditions. This bill adds a new requirement: the Secretary cannot accept assessments from or make agreements with countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism, and must automatically label their ports as security risks.
Important Definitions
State sponsor of terrorism is defined by reference to section 3316(h), but the bill does not provide the actual definition in this text.
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 832
To amend section 70108 of title 46, United States Code, to prohibit the
Secretary of the Department in which the United States Coast Guard
is operating from entering into an agreement relating to assessing the
effectiveness of antiterrorism measures at a foreign port with any foreign
government that is a state sponsor of terrorism, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 16, 2023
Mr. RUBIO (for himself and Mr. SCOTT of Florida) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
A BILL
To amend section 70108 of title 46, United States Code,
to prohibit the Secretary of the Department in which
the United States Coast Guard is operating from enter-
ing into an agreement relating to assessing the effective-
ness of antiterrorism measures at a foreign port with
any foreign government that is a state sponsor of ter-
rorism, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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•S 832 IS
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘International Port Se-
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curity Enforcement Act’’.
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SEC. 2. FOREIGN PORT SECURITY ASSESSMENTS.
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Section 70108 of title 46, United States Code, is
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amended—
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(1) in subsection (f)—
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(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘provided
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that’’ and all that follows and inserting the fol-
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lowing: ‘‘if—
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‘‘(A) the Secretary certifies that the for-
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eign government or international organization—
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‘‘(i) has conducted the assessment in
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accordance with subsection (b); and
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‘‘(ii) has provided the Secretary with
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sufficient information pertaining to its as-
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sessment (including information regarding
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the outcome of the assessment); and
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‘‘(B) the foreign government that con-
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ducted the assessment is not a state sponsor of
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terrorism (as defined in section 3316(h).’’; and
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(B) by amending paragraph (3) to read as
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follows:
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‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.—Nothing in this section
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may be construed—
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•S 832 IS
‘‘(A) to require the Secretary to treat an
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assessment conducted by a foreign government
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or an international organization as an assess-
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ment that satisfies the requirement under sub-
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section (a);
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‘‘(B) to limit the discretion or ability of the
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Secretary to conduct an assessment under this
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section;
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‘‘(C) to limit the authority of the Secretary
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to repatriate aliens to their respective countries
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of origin; or
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‘‘(D) to prevent the Secretary from re-
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questing security and safety measures that the
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Secretary considers necessary to safeguard
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Coast Guard personnel during the repatriation
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of aliens to their respective countries of ori-
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gin.’’; and
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(2) by adding at the end the following:
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‘‘(g) STATE SPONSORS OF TERRORISM AND INTER-
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NATIONAL
TERRORIST
ORGANIZATIONS.—The
Sec-
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retary—
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‘‘(1) may not enter into an agreement under
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subsection (f)(2) with—
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‘‘(A) a foreign government that is a state
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sponsor of terrorism; or
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•S 832 IS
‘‘(B) a foreign terrorist organization; and
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‘‘(2) shall—
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‘‘(A) deem any port that is under the juris-
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diction of a foreign government that is a state
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sponsor of terrorism as not having effective
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antiterrorism measures for purposes of this sec-
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tion and section 70109; and
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‘‘(B) immediately apply the sanctions de-
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scribed in section 70110(a) to such port.’’.
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Æ
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