Received in the Senate.
The bill amends 46 U.S.C. 70022 to revise which vessels may enter or operate in U.S. navigable waters or transfer cargo in U.S. ports.
It adds emergency and owner-authorization exceptions, and creates a presidential designation process for ports, harbors, or marine terminals in Western Hemisphere free-trade partners that a foreign government has nationalized or effectively expropriated from a U.S. person.
The President may designate such facilities (with exclusions for pending FTA arbitration), and must remove designations if ownership is restored, adequate compensation is provided, or the dispute is otherwise resolved.
Narrow scope, low fiscal impact, and built-in procedural guards increase viability; foreign-policy implications and executive discretion create Senate friction.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a focused substantive amendment to 46 U.S.C. 70022 that establishes new conditions for vessel entry and a presidential designation authority tied to expropriation actions in specified foreign ports. It provides concrete statutory criteria for designation and removal and includes limited exceptions.
Views differ on presidential discretion versus need for oversight
The clearest budget scorecard attached to this bill: what it changes for direct spending, revenue, and the deficit.
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on January 21, 2026
Views differ on presidential discretion versus need for oversight
Likely to view the bill largely positively for protecting U.S. persons’ property rights abroad and for providing a federal response to foreign expropriation.
Would appreciate the link to free-trade partners in the Western Hemisphere and the requirement for compensation under international law.
May be cautious about diplomatic fallout and executive discretion in designations.
Sees a reasonable aim—protecting U.S. property abroad—balanced against potential trade, legal, and diplomatic costs.
Would want sharper definitions, procedural guardrails, and consultation requirements to avoid unintended commercial disruption or conflicts with arbitration processes.
Likely to welcome stronger protection of American private property and measures targeting foreign expropriation in the Western Hemisphere.
May nonetheless be concerned about expanding executive discretion over commerce without explicit limits and the potential for economic disruption to U.S. shipping interests.
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Still ahead
Still ahead
Still ahead
Still ahead
Narrow scope, low fiscal impact, and built-in procedural guards increase viability; foreign-policy implications and executive discretion create Senate friction.
On Passage
Views differ on presidential discretion versus need for oversight
Narrow scope, low fiscal impact, and built-in procedural guards increase viability; foreign-policy implications and executive discretion cr…
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a focused substantive amendment to 46 U.S.C. 70022 that establishes new conditions for vessel entry and a presidential designation authority tied to expropriation…
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