[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9235 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9235

  To direct the Secretary of Defense to conduct a study and submit to 
     Congress a report on strategic ports, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 30, 2024

Mr. Wittman (for himself, Mr. Gimenez, and Mr. Auchincloss) introduced 
  the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
  Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of Defense to conduct a study and submit to 
     Congress a report on strategic ports, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Strategic Ports Reporting Act of 
2024''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE STUDY AND REPORT ON STRATEGIC PORTS.

    (a) Study Required.--The Secretary of Defense shall conduct a study 
of--
            (1) strategic ports;
            (2) the reasons such ports are of interest to the United 
        States;
            (3) the activities and plans of the Government of the 
        People's Republic of China to expand its control over strategic 
        ports outside of the People's Republic of China;
            (4) the public and private actors, such as China Ocean 
        Shipping Company, that are executing and supporting the 
        activities and plans of the Government of the People's Republic 
        of China to expand its control over strategic ports outside of 
        the People's Republic of China;
            (5) the activities and plans of the Government of the 
        People's Republic of China to expand its control over maritime 
        logistics by promoting products, such as LOGINK, and setting 
        industry standards outside the People's Republic of China;
            (6) how the control by the Government of the People's 
        Republic of China over strategic ports outside of the People's 
        Republic of China could harm the national security or economic 
        interests of the United States and allies and partners of the 
        United States; and
            (7) measures the United States Government could take to 
        ensure open access and security for strategic ports.
    (b) Conduct of Study.--The Secretary of Defense may enter into an 
arrangement with a federally funded research and development center 
under which the center shall conduct the study required under 
subsection (a).
    (c) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall 
        submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on 
        the findings of the study conducted under subsection (a).
            (2) Elements.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall 
        include--
                    (A) a detailed list of all known strategic ports 
                operated, controlled, or owned, directly or indirectly, 
                by the People's Republic of China and an assessment of 
                the national security and economic interests relevant 
                to each such port;
                    (B) a detailed list of all known strategic ports 
                operated, controlled, or owned, directly or indirectly, 
                by the United States and an assessment of the national 
                security and economic interests relevant to each such 
                port;
                    (C) an assessment of vulnerabilities of--
                            (i) ports operated, controlled, or owned, 
                        directly or indirectly, by the United States; 
                        and
                            (ii) strategic ports;
                    (D) an analysis of the activities and actions of 
                the Government of the People's Republic of China to 
                gain control or ownership over strategic ports, 
                including promoting products, such as LOGINK, and 
                setting industry standards;
                    (E) an assessment of how the Government of the 
                People's Republic of China plans to expand its control 
                over strategic ports outside of the People's Republic 
                of China;
                    (F) a suggested strategy, developed in consultation 
                with the heads of the relevant United States Government 
                offices, that suggests courses of action to secure 
                trusted investment and ownership of strategic ports and 
                maritime infrastructure, to protect such ports and 
                infrastructure from the control of the Government of 
                the People's Republic of China, and to ensure open 
                access and security for such ports, that includes--
                            (i) a list of relevant existing authorities 
                        that can be used to carry out the strategy;
                            (ii) a list of any additional authorities 
                        necessary to carry out the strategy;
                            (iii) an assessment of products owned by 
                        the Government of the People's Republic of 
                        China or an entity affiliated with such 
                        government that are used in connection with 
                        strategic ports or maritime infrastructure;
                            (iv) an assessment of costs to secure 
                        trusted investment and ownership of strategic 
                        ports and replace products owned by the 
                        Government of the People's Republic of China or 
                        an entity affiliated with such government that 
                        are used in connection with such ports; and
                            (v) a list of funding sources to secure 
                        trusted investment and ownership of strategic 
                        ports, which shall include--
                                    (I) an identification of private 
                                funding sources; and
                                    (II) an identification of public 
                                funding sources, including loans, loan 
                                guarantees, and tax incentives; and
                    (G) a suggested strategy for Federal agencies to 
                maintain an up-to-date list of strategic ports.
            (3) Form of report.--The report required by paragraph (1) 
        shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a 
        classified annex.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation, the Committee on Armed Services, and 
                the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Transportation and 
                Infrastructure, the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 
                the Committee on Armed Services, and the Permanent 
                Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) The term ``relevant United States Government offices'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Unified Combatant Commands;
                    (B) the Office of the Secretary of Defense;
                    (C) the United States International Development 
                Finance Corporation;
                    (D) the Export-Import Bank of the United States;
                    (E) the Office of the Director of National 
                Intelligence; and
                    (F) the Maritime Administration of the Department 
                of Transportation.
            (3) The term ``strategic port'' means an international port 
        or waterway that the heads of the relevant United States 
        Government offices determine is critical to the national 
        security or economic prosperity of the United States.
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