On Wednesday, April 30, 2025, Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Todd Young (R-IN) and Representatives Trent Kelly (R-MS) and John Garamendi (D-CA) introduced S. 1541, the Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (SHIPS) for America Act.  This bipartisan, bicameral legislation is intended to bolster the national defense and economic security of the United States through enhanced support for U.S.-flagged vessels and their owner/operators, U.S. ports, and U.S. shipyards.

The SHIPS for America Act, if enacted into law, would:

• Seek to coordinate U.S. maritime policy by creating a White House Maritime Security Advisor who would lead a federal interagency Maritime Security Board responsible for implementing a National Maritime Strategy.

• Establish a Maritime Security Trust Fund that would channel monies paid in fees and duties by the maritime industry into maritime security programs and infrastructure needed to facilitate maritime commerce.

• Set the goal of expanding the number of U.S.-flagged vessels in foreign trade by 250 ships in a decade through a Strategic Commercial Fleet Program, which would facilitate the development of a fleet of commercial U.S.-flagged, American crewed, and domestically built vessels that can compete in international commerce.

• Attempt to enhance the competitiveness of U.S.-flagged vessels in international commerce by modifying U.S. duties on imports to make cargo on U.S.-flagged vessels more competitive, augmenting current requirements that government-impelled cargo move aboard U.S.-flagged vessels and requiring a portion of commercial goods imported from China to move aboard U.S.-flagged vessels starting in 2030.

• Move to expand the U.S. shipyard industrial base for both military and commercial oceangoing vessels by establishing a 25% investment tax credit for shipyard investments, transforming the Title XI Federal Ship Financing Program into a revolving fund, and establishing shipbuilding financial incentives to support innovation in U.S. shipbuilding and ship repair.

• Make unprecedented investments in the U.S. maritime workforce, including authorizing a Maritime Workforce Promotion and Recruitment Campaign; allowing mariners to retain credentials through a new Merchant Marine Career Retention Program; investing in infrastructure needs for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and supporting State Maritime Academies and Centers for Excellence for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education.

Anyone with questions or concerns about the SHIPS for America Act should reach out to newly arrived Cozen O’Connor Member Jeff Lewis. Jeff is the immediate past Chief Counsel of the U.S. Maritime Administration and has a wealth of knowledge and experience in both maritime law and policy and the federal legislative process.