U.S. Supply Chain Security Review Act of 2023

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Today, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 3395, the U.S. Supply Chain Security Review Act. I thank Coast Guard and Maritime Transformation Committee Chair Webster for his support on this legislation.

Securing our maritime supply chain is critically important to American consumers and to our economic resilience. COVID-19, Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, and the increasing economic and security challenges from the Chinese Communist Party emphasize the need for the United States to better understand the influence, incentives, and dependencies at critical nodes in our supply chains, especially our ports.

The U.S. Supply Chain Security Review Act would direct the Federal Maritime Commission to work with an independent academic or federally funded research center to evaluate the ownership of marine terminals at the 15 largest U.S. container ports.

This study will consider the changes in ownership of marine terminals in these ports over the last 10 years, as well as any announced ownership changes anticipated in 2023 or 2024, with a specific focus on ownership by Chinese or Russian entities. These ports are critical to our economic and national security, and it is imperative that we have a real-time understanding of who is in charge.

The study will also examine the amount of Federal grant funds that have gone to ports and marine terminals wholly or partially owned by foreign entities and a detailed analysis on the foreign operational control of these marine terminals.

Lastly, the study will offer recommendations on policies to prevent malign foreign ownership of ports and terminal operators, whether ownership of the port gives the foreign entity unique access to operational technology and information, or if foreign ownership of the entity could have an impact on our supply chains.

Understanding how our supply chains are and will be impacted by foreign ownership of marine terminals is a key aspect of our economic competition and will help the United States develop supply chains that are resilient against adversaries.

This bipartisan legislation passed unanimously out of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and I thank Chair Graves and Ranking Member Larsen for their leadership and support on this important issue.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation so we can begin to address this critical issue and ensure the security of our maritime supply chains.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3395, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3395) to direct the Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission to seek to enter into an agreement with a federally funded research and development center to evaluate foreign ownership of marine terminals at the 15 largest United States container ports, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material in the Record on H.R. 3395, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

H.R. 3395, as amended, requires a study on the implication of foreign ownership of marine terminals at United States container ports.

Not only will the study examine the nationality of the firms owning marine terminals at 15 of the largest United States ports, but it will also specifically focus on whether ownership is held by entities or nationals of countries adversarial to our Nation, including affiliations with China or Russia.

Further, the study will assess whether Port Infrastructure Development Grant and Port Security Grant funds have been awarded to ports that are wholly or partially foreign-owned.

These findings will help the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure hold the administration accountable for how Federal funds are allocated and inform the committee's work on the efficient movement of goods through the supply chain.

I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Auchincloss) for introducing this bill.

As a supply chain logistics professional in my prior life, I understand how critical this is to our Nation's infrastructure and to our economic prosperity moving forward in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers. I am prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

The report directed by this bill will help inform the committee's work and protect our ports and supply chains against foreign adversaries.

As we have seen these past few years, disruptions in the supply chain have a widespread impact across our Nation. We should take the necessary steps to understand the potential vulnerabilities in our supply chain and work to address them.

Mr. Speaker, I again, thank the sponsor of this bill for his work, and I urge support. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.