[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 123 (Thursday, July 17, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4476-S4477]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2936. Ms. HASSAN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
her to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2026 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 appropriate place in title XII, insert the
following:
SEC. 12__. PILOT PROGRAM ON USE OF BIG DATA ANALYTICS TO
IDENTIFY VESSELS EVADING SANCTIONS AND EXPORT
CONTROLS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland
Security, acting through the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and
Border Protection, shall establish a pilot program at the
National Targeting Center to assess the feasibility and
advisability of using big data analytics to identify and
predict instances in which disabling or manipulating the
Automatic Identification System on a vessel is an indication
that there is a high risk that the vessel is transporting
goods in a manner that evades sanctions or export controls
imposed by the United States.
(b) Law Enforcement Use.--The Secretary, acting through the
Commissioner, shall design the pilot program required by
subsection (a) to provide actionable intelligence with
respect to instances described in subsection (a) to--
(1) operational components of the Department of Homeland
Security, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
and the Coast Guard;
(2) other Federal law enforcement agencies; and
(3) such agencies of foreign countries that are partners of
the United States as the Secretary considers appropriate.
(c) Data Elements.--
(1) In general.--In developing the pilot program required
by subsection (a), the Secretary, acting through the
Commissioner, shall consider the inclusion of the following
data with respect to a vessel described in that subsection:
(A) The type of goods being transported on the vessel.
(B) The destination of the vessel.
(C) The ownership and nationality of the vessel, the
shipper, and the importer.
(D) The ownership and nationality of vessels located in
close proximity to the vessel while the Automatic
Identification System was disabled or being manipulated.
(E) The period of time for which the Automatic
Identification System on the vessel was disabled or being
manipulated.
(F) The frequency of issues with the Automatic
Identification System on that vessel.
(2) Data models.--The pilot program required by subsection
(a) may include multiple data models to account for different
behavior patterns for different shippers and different types
of goods.
(d) Interagency Coordination.--The Secretary, acting
through the Commissioner, shall coordinate with the Secretary
of Commerce and the Director of National Intelligence in
developing and carrying out the pilot program required by
subsection (a).
(e) Termination.--The pilot program required by subsection
(a) shall terminate on the date that is 4 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(f) Report Required.--Not later than 4 years after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland
Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, the
Secretary of the Treasury, and the Director of National
Intelligence, shall submit to Congress a report--
(1) assessing the usefulness of the pilot program required
by subsection (a) in identifying and predicting instances
described in that subsection;
(2) with respect to each instance in which a vessel was
identified under the pilot program as posing a high risk of
transporting goods in a manner that evades sanctions or
export controls imposed by the United States and the vessel
was successfully interdicted by the United States or a
country that is a partner of the United States--
(A) specifying whether or not the vessel was confirmed to
be evading such sanctions or export controls;
(B) if the vessel was confirmed to be evading such
sanctions or export controls, specifying the penalty imposed;
and
(C) if the vessel was not confirmed to be evading such
sanctions or export controls, specifying whether a United
States agency took action against the vessel based on
reasonable suspicion;
(3) with respect to each instance in which a vessel was
identified under the pilot program as posing a high risk of
transporting goods in a manner that evades sanctions or
export controls imposed by the United States and the vessel
was not successfully interdicted by the United States or a
country that is a partner of the United States, specifying
whether the vessel traveled to--
(A) a country with respect to which the United States has
imposed sanctions or export controls with respect to goods
suspected of being transported on the vessel;
(B) a country not described in subparagraph (A) but that
the Secretary of Homeland Security has identified as a
country posing a high risk of transshipment of goods
suspected of being transported on the vessel to a country
described in subparagraph (A); or
(C) a country not described in subparagraph (A) or (B); and
(4) making recommendations with respect to whether big data
analytics should be used to identify and predict instances
described in subsection (a) in the future.
(g) No Additional Amounts Authorized.--No additional
amounts are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the
pilot program required by subsection (a).
(h) Rule of Construction on Collection or Acquisition of
Information.--Nothing in this section authorizes any new
collection or acquisition of information not otherwise
authorized by existing law as of the date of the enactment of
this Act.
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