Arctic Shipping Federal Advisory Committee Act

II Calendar No. 588 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 2786 [Report No. 116–295] To establish a Federal advisory committee to provide policy recommendations to the Secretary of Transportation on positioning the United States to take advantage of emerging opportunities for Arctic maritime trans- portation. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 5, 2019 Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. WICKER, Mr. SULLIVAN, and Ms. CANT- WELL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation NOVEMBER 16, 2020 Reported by Mr. WICKER, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To establish a Federal advisory committee to provide policy recommendations to the Secretary of Transportation on positioning the United States to take advantage of emerging opportunities for Arctic maritime transpor- tation. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Nov 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2786.RS S2786 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2786 RS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Arctic Shipping Fed- 2 eral Advisory Committee Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 4 The purpose of this Act is to establish a Federal advi- 5 sory committee to provide policy recommendations to the 6 Secretary of Transportation on positioning the United 7 States to take advantage of emerging opportunities for 8 Arctic maritime transportation. 9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 10 In this Act: 11 (1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Advi- 12 sory Committee’’ means the Arctic Shipping Federal 13 Advisory Committee established under section 4(a). 14 (2) ARCTIC.—The term ‘‘Arctic’’ has the mean- 15 ing given the term in section 112 of the Arctic Re- 16 search and Policy Act of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 4111). 17 (3) ARCTIC SEA ROUTES.—The term ‘‘Arctic 18 Sea Routes’’ means the international Northern Sea 19 Route, the Transpolar Sea Route, and the North- 20 west Passage. 21 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ARCTIC SHIPPING FED- 22 ERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation, 24 in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary 25 of Defense acting through the Secretary of the Army, and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Nov 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2786.RS S2786 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2786 RS the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard 1 is operating, shall establish an Arctic Shipping Federal 2 Advisory Committee in the Department of Transportation 3 to advise the Secretary of Transportation on matters re- 4 lated to Arctic maritime transportation, including Arctic 5 seaway development. 6 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee 8 shall be composed of 15 members as described in 9 paragraph (2). 10 (2) COMPOSITION.—The members of the Advi- 11 sory Committee shall be— 12 (A) 1 individual appointed and designated 13 by the Secretary of Transportation to serve as 14 the Chairperson of the Advisory Committee; 15 (B) 1 designee of the Secretary of Com- 16 merce; 17 (C) 1 designee of the Secretary of State; 18 (D) 1 designee of the Secretary of Trans- 19 portation; 20 (E) 1 designee of the Secretary of the De- 21 partment in which the Coast Guard is oper- 22 ating; 23 (F) 1 designee of the Department of De- 24 fense; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Nov 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2786.RS S2786 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2786 RS (G) 1 designee from the State of Alaska, 1 nominated by the Governor of Alaska and des- 2 ignated by the Secretary of Transportation; 3 (H) 1 designee from the State of Wash- 4 ington, nominated by the Governor of Wash- 5 ington and designated by the Secretary of 6 Transportation; 7 (I) 1 Alaska Native Tribal member; 8 (J) 1 individual representing Alaska Na- 9 tive subsistence co-management groups affected 10 by Arctic maritime transportation; 11 (K) 1 individual representing coastal com- 12 munities affected by Arctic shipping; 13 (L) 1 individual representing the shipping 14 industry; 15 (M) 1 individual representing the marine 16 safety community; 17 (N) 1 individual representing the Arctic 18 business community; and 19 (O) 1 individual representing Alaskan mar- 20 itime labor organizations. 21 (3) TERMS.— 22 (A) LIMITATIONS.—Each member of the 23 Advisory Committee described in subparagraphs 24 (G) through (O) of paragraph (2) shall serve 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Nov 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2786.RS S2786 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2786 RS for a 2-year term and shall not be eligible for 1 more than 2 consecutive term reappointments. 2 (B) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the 3 membership of the Advisory Committee shall 4 not affect its responsibilities, but shall be filled 5 in the same manner as the original appoint- 6 ment. 7 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The Advisory Committee shall 8 carry out all of the following functions: 9 (1) Develop a set of policy recommendations 10 that would enhance the leadership role played by the 11 United States in improving the safety and reliability 12 of Arctic maritime transportation in accordance with 13 customary international maritime law, which shall 14 include options for establishing a United States enti- 15 ty that could perform the following functions in ac- 16 cordance with customary international maritime law: 17 (A) Construction, operation, and mainte- 18 nance of current and future maritime infra- 19 structure necessary for vessels transiting the 20 Arctic Sea Routes, including new deepwater 21 ports. 22 (B) Provision of services that would im- 23 prove Arctic maritime safety and environmental 24 protection, including for navigation and incident 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Nov 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2786.RS S2786 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2786 RS response for vessels transiting the Arctic Sea 1 Routes. 2 (C) Establishment of rules of measurement 3 for vessels and cargo for the purposes of levying 4 voluntary rates of charges or fees for services. 5 (2) As an option under paragraph (1), consider 6 establishing a congressionally chartered seaway de- 7 velopment corporation modeled on the St. Lawrence 8 Seaway Development Corporation, and— 9 (A) develop recommendations for estab- 10 lishing such a corporation and a detailed imple- 11 mentation plan for establishing such an entity; 12 or 13 (B) if the Advisory Committee decides 14 against establishing such a corporation, provide 15 a written explanation as to the rationale for the 16 decision and develop an alternative. 17 (3) Provide advice and recommendations to the 18 Secretary of Transportation as requested on Arctic 19 marine transportation, including seaway develop- 20 ment. 21 SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 22 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 23 of this Act, the Advisory Committee shall submit a report 24 with its recommendations under paragraphs (1) and (2) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Nov 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2786.RS S2786 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2786 RS of section 4(c) to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 1 and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 2 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep- 3 resentatives. 4 SEC. 6. TERMINATION OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 5 Not later than 8 years after the submission of the 6 report described in section 5, the Secretary of Transpor- 7 tation shall dissolve the Advisory Committee. 8 SEC. 7. INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT. 9 If a Special Representative for the Arctic Region is 10 appointed by the Secretary of State, the duties of that 11 Representative shall include— 12 (1) coordination of any activities recommended 13 by the implementation plan submitted by the Advi- 14 sory Committee and approved by the Secretary of 15 Transportation; and 16 (2) facilitation of multilateral dialogues with 17 member and observer nations of the Arctic Council 18 to encourage cooperation on Arctic maritime trans- 19 portation. 20 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 21 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Arctic Shipping Federal 22 Advisory Committee Act’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Nov 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2786.RS S2786 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2786 RS SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 1 The purpose of this Act is to establish a Federal advi- 2 sory committee to provide policy recommendations to the 3 Secretary of Transportation on positioning the United 4 States to take advantage of emerging opportunities for Arc- 5 tic maritime transportation. 6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 7 In this Act: 8 (1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Advisory 9 Committee’’ means the Arctic Shipping Federal Advi- 10 sory Committee established under section 4(a). 11 (2) ARCTIC.—The term ‘‘Arctic’’ has the mean- 12 ing given the term in section 112 of the Arctic Re- 13 search and Policy Act of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 4111). 14 (3) ARCTIC SEA ROUTES.—The term ‘‘Arctic Sea 15 Routes’’ means the international Northern Sea Route, 16 the Transpolar Sea Route, and the Northwest Pas- 17 sage. 18 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ARCTIC SHIPPING FED- 19 ERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor- 22 tation, in coordination with the Secretary of State, 23 the Secretary of Defense acting through the Secretary 24 of the Army and the Secretary of the Navy, the Sec- 25 retary of Commerce, and the Secretary of the Depart- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Nov 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2786.RS S2786 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2786 RS ment in which the Coast Guard is operating, shall es- 1 tablish an Arctic Shipping Federal Advisory Com- 2 mittee in the Department of Transportation to advise 3 the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of 4 the Department in which the Coast Guard is oper- 5 ating on matters related to Arctic maritime transpor- 6 tation, including Arctic seaway development. 7 (2) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Committee shall 8 meet at the call of the Chairperson, and at least once 9 annually in Alaska. 10 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee shall 12 be composed of 15 members as described in paragraph 13 (2). 14 (2) COMPOSITION.—The members of the Advisory 15 Committee shall be— 16 (A) 1 individual appointed and designated 17 by the Secretary of Transportation to serve as 18 the Chairperson of the Advisory Committee; 19 (B) 1 individual appointed and designated 20 by the Secretary of the Department in which the 21 Coast Guard is operating to serve as the Vice 22 Chairperson of the Advisory Committee; 23 (C) 1 designee of the Secretary of Com- 24 merce; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Nov 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2786.RS S2786 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2786 RS (D) 1 designee of the Secretary of State; 1 (E) 1 designee of the Secretary of Transpor- 2 tation; 3 (F) 1 designee of the Secretary of Defense; 4 (G) 1 designee from the State of Alaska, 5 nominated by the Governor of Alaska and des- 6 ignated by the Secretary of Transportation; 7 (H) 1 designee from the State of Wash- 8 ington, nominated by the Governor of Wash- 9 ington and designated by the Secretary of Trans- 10 portation; 11 (I) 1 Alaska Native Tribal member; 12 (J) 1 individual representing Alaska Native 13 subsistence co-management groups affected by 14 Arctic maritime transportation; 15 (K) 1 individual representing coastal com- 16 munities affected by Arctic maritime transpor- 17 tation; 18 (L) 1 individual representing vessels of the 19 United States (as defined in section 116 of title 20 46, United States Code) participating in the 21 shipping industry; 22 (M) 1 individual representing the marine 23 safety community; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Nov 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2786.RS S2786 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2786 RS (N) 1 individual representing the Arctic 1 business community; and 2 (O) 1 individual representing maritime 3 labor organizations. 4 (3) TERMS.— 5 (A) LIMITATIONS.—Each member of the Ad- 6 visory Committee described in subparagraphs 7 (G) through (O) of paragraph (2) shall serve for 8 a 2-year term and shall not be eligible for more 9 than 2 consecutive term reappointments. 10 (B) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the mem- 11 bership of the Advisory Committee shall not af- 12 fect its responsibilities, but shall be filled in the 13 same manner as the original appointment and 14 in accordance with the Federal Advisory Com- 15 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 16 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The Advisory Committee shall carry 17 out all of the following functions: 18 (1) Develop a set of policy recommendations that 19 would enhance the leadership role played by the 20 United States in improving the safety and reliability 21 of Arctic maritime transportation in accordance with 22 customary international maritime law and existing 23 Federal authority. Such policy recommendations shall 24 consider options to establish a United States entity 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Nov 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2786.RS S2786 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2786 RS that could perform the following functions in accord- 1 ance with United States law and customary inter- 2 national maritime law: 3 (A) Construction, operation, and mainte- 4 nance of current and future maritime infrastruc- 5 ture necessary for vessels transiting the Arctic 6 Sea Routes, including potential new deep draft 7 and deepwater ports. 8 (B) Provision of services that are not widely 9 commercially available in the United States Arc- 10 tic that would— 11 (i) improve Arctic maritime safety and 12 environmental protection; 13 (ii) enhance Arctic maritime domain 14 awareness; and 15 (iii) support navigation and incident 16 response for vessels transiting the Arctic Sea 17 Routes. 18 (C) Establishment of rules of measurement 19 for vessels and cargo for the purposes of levying 20 voluntary rates of charges or fees for services. 21 (2) As an option under paragraph (1), consider 22 establishing a congressionally chartered seaway devel- 23 opment corporation modeled on the Saint Lawrence 24 Seaway Development Corporation, and— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Nov 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2786.RS S2786 pamtman [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]