[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 194 (Thursday, November 4, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S8052]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 4546. Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mr. Young) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. 
Reed and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize 
appropriations for fiscal year 2022 for military activities of the 
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense 
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel 
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was 
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the end of subtitle G of title XII, add the following:

     SEC. 1283. CONTINGENCY PLAN RELATING TO FLOATING OIL STORAGE 
                   AND OFFLOADING VESSEL  SAFER.

       (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the condition of the floating storage and offloading 
     vessel (FSO) Safer in the port of Hodeidah in Yemen poses a 
     significant threat to the economic, ecological, and 
     humanitarian environment of the countries bordering the Red 
     Sea;
       (2) the Houthis have repeatedly obstructed efforts by the 
     international community, including the United Nations, to 
     inspect and repair the FSO Safer;
       (3) a spill of the nearly 1,000,000 barrels of crude oil 
     contained in the FSO Safer, four times the amount spilled in 
     the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989, would result in 
     devastating ecological damage to the unique environment of 
     the Red Sea, and would profoundly damage fishing industries 
     along both sides of the Red Sea Coast, especially in Yemen;
       (4) a spill from the FSO Safer would--
       (A) block a vital shipping lane through which 10 percent of 
     annual trade transits; and
       (B) disrupt international trade during a time in which 
     countries around the world continue efforts to recover from 
     the COVID-19 pandemic;
       (5) the people of Yemen continue to face dire 
     circumstances, and such circumstances would be exacerbated by 
     a spill from the FSO Safer because such a spill would close 
     of the port of Hodeidah, through which \2/3\ of Yemen's food 
     is transferred, and result in the potential for widespread 
     famine and malnutrition; and
       (6) Congress should encourage the efforts of various 
     parties, including the United Nations and other regional 
     stakeholders, to resolve the dangerous situation posed by the 
     FSO Safer and find a lasting solution to the crisis, 
     including by contributing financially to efforts--
       (A) to prevent an oil spill from the FSO Safer; and
       (B) in the event of such a spill, to mitigate the effects 
     of the spill.
       (b) Contingency Plan.--
       (1) Interagency working group.--Not later than 30 days 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
     State shall establish an interagency working group consisting 
     of representatives of relevant Federal agencies, including 
     the Department of Defense, the United States Mission to the 
     United Nations, the United States Agency for International 
     Development, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to 
     develop a contingency plan to be implemented in the event a 
     crude oil leak from, or an explosion on, the FSO Safer.
       (2) Report.--
       (A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State and 
     representatives of the interagency working group established 
     under paragraph (1) shall submit to the Committee on Foreign 
     Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
     of the House of Representatives a report on the status of the 
     contingency plan developed under that paragraph that 
     describes--
       (i) the options available to the United States Government 
     for mitigating the economic, ecological, and humanitarian 
     crises that would result from a disaster related to the FSO 
     Safer; and
       (ii) the steps already taken by the United States 
     Government and international and regional stakeholders--

       (I) to encourage a diplomatic solution to the situation; 
     and
       (II) to prepare for the eventuality that a disaster may 
     occur before such a solution is reached.

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