,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #babe  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #ad1 #bjbe,mr4
 ,green of ,tennessee 7for himself1     
,mrs4 ,kiggans of ,virginia1 and ,mr4   
,davis of ,north ,carolina7 introduced  
the following bill2 which was referred  
to the ,committee on ,transportation and
 ,infrastructure1 and in addition to the
 ,committee on ,armed ,services1 for a  
period to be subsequently determined by 
the ,speaker1 in each case for          
consideration of such provisions as fall
 within the jurisdiction of the         
committee concerned  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
establish a ,national ,commission on the
 ,maritime ,industrial ,base1 and for   
other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,save ,our     
,shipyards ,act of #bjbe or the ,,sos   
,act of #bjbe4  #b4 ,establishment      
,there is established a commission to be
 known as the ,national ,commission on  
the ,maritime ,industrial ,base or the  
,,sos ,commission 7in this ,act referred

 to as the ,commission74  #c4 ,functions
  7a7 ,investigation and ,study ,the    
,commission shall complete an           
investigation and study the condition of
 the ,united ,states maritime industry  
and any impediments to a strong and     
competitive ,united ,states maritime    
industry1 with a particular focus on the
 needs of the ,united ,states military1 
including shipyards1 shipbuilding and   
repairs1 harbors1 and skilled workforce4
  7b7 ,policy recommendations ,based on 
the results of the investigation and    
study under subsection 7a71 the         
,commission shall recommend to the      
,president and ,congress policies which 
should be adopted to-- 7#a7 achieve the 
national goal of a strong ,united       
,states maritime industry which will    
help to provide for the national        
defense2  7#b7 revitalize the ,united   
,states naval fleet and maintain that   
fleet at a level sufficient to          
contribute to the national defense2     
7#c7 foster a viable ,united ,states    

shipbuilding industry to provide an     
industrial base for meeting present and 
future military and civilian            
shipbuilding needs2 and  7#d7 reduce the
 loss of seafaring and shipbuilding jobs
 for ,united ,states citizens so as to  
ensure the existence of a reliable      
maritime labor force4  #d4 ,specific    
matters to be addressed ,in             
investigating and studying under section
 #c1 the ,commission shall investigate  
and study the following3 7#a7 ,current  
condition of united states maritime     
industry ,the current condition of the  
,united ,states maritime industry1      
including how the condition of the      
industry is likely to change over the   
next #aj years following the date of    
enactment of this ,act4  7#b7 ,national 
defense ,the adequacy of the ,united    
,states maritime industry to ensure the 
national defense4  7#c7 ,maritime labor 
,the adequacy of skilled mariners and   
shipyard workers1 and the level of      
training of ,united ,states mariners at 

training facilities in the ,united      
,states4  7#d7 ,impediments to strong   
and competitive maritime industry       
,whether the ,federal ,government should
 take any legislative or administrative 
actions related to the ,united ,states  
maritime industry to strengthen our     
national security1 including-- 7,a7 the 
tax and regulatory burden on the ,,us   
maritime industry2  7,b7 incentives to  
encourage investment in ,united ,states 
shipyards and shipbuilding2  7,c7       
incentives for personnel to enter the   
skilled labor workforce for             
shipbuilding2  7,d7 the effect of       
subsidies and other financial assistance
 by foreign governments to their vessel 
operators and shipbuilders2  7,e7 the   
effects of great power competition and a
 potential war on ,united ,states naval 
and maritime forces2 and  7,f7 the      
prioritization of national security     
related matters in regulatory review and
 approval processes4  #e4 ,membership2  
,administrative matters  7a7            

,appointment ,the ,commission shall be  
composed of #ae voting commissioners and
 #g non-voting members appointed in the 
following manner3 7#a7 #e voting        
commissioners appointed by the          
,president4  7#b7 #g non-voting members 
appointed by the ,president who shall be
 chosen from the list described in      
subsection 7c74  7#c7 #c voting         
commissioners appointed by the majority 
leader of the ,senate4  7#d7 #c voting  
commissioners appointed by the ,speaker 
of the ,house of ,representatives4  7#e7
 #b voting commissioners appointed by   
the minority leader of the ,senate4     
7#f7 #b voting commissioners appointed  
by the minority leader of the ,house of 
,representatives4  7b7 ,qualifications  
for voting commissioners ,voting        
commissioners appointed under subsection
 7a7 shall be appointed from among      
,united ,states citizens who are experts
 in commercial shipping1 international  
trade1 maritime industry policy and     
regulations1 and related disciplines and

 who can represent ,united              
,states-flagged vessel operators        
7including domestic passenger vessel    
operators71 seafaring and shipbuilding  
labor1 shipbuilders1 shippers1 and the  
financial community with expertise in   
maritime matters4  7c7 ,qualifications  
of non-,voting members ,one non-voting  
member appointed under subsection 7a7   
shall be appointed from each of the     
following3 7#a7 ,the ,navy4  7#b7 ,the  
,coast ,guard4  7#c7 ,the ,united       
,states ,maritime ,service4  7#d7 ,the  
,marine ,corps4  7#e7 ,the ,united      
,states ,naval ,war ,college4  7#f7 ,the
 ,maritime ,administration4  7#g7 ,the  
,united ,states ,merchant ,maritime     
,academy4  7d7 ,terms of office ,members
 and commissioners shall be appointed   
for the duration of the ,commission4    
7e7 ,initial meeting ,not later than #ij
 days after two-thirds of the voting    
commissioners have been appointed under 
this section1 the ,commission shall be  
considered active and the ,commission   

shall hold a first meeting4  7f7        
,vacancies ,a vacancy in the ,commission
 shall be filled in the manner in which 
the original appointment was made4  7g7 
,travel expenses ,members and           
commissioners shall serve without pay   
but shall receive travel expenses1      
including per diem in lieu of           
subsistence1 in accordance with         
subchapter ,i of chapter #eg of title   
#e1 ,united ,states ,code4  7h7 ,chair  
,the ,president1 in consultation with   
the majority leader of the ,senate and  
the ,speaker of the ,house of           
,representatives1 shall designate the   
,chair of the ,commission from among its
 voting members4  7i7 ,quorum ,for the  
purposes of conducting meetings of the  
,commission1 a quorum of the ,commission
 shall be considered the presence of #aj
 voting commissioners4  7j7 ,commission 
panels ,the ,chair shall establish such 
panels consisting of voting             
commissioners as the ,chair determines  
appropriate to carry out the functions  

of the ,commission4  7k7 ,staff ,the    
,commission may appoint and fix the pay 
of such personnel as the ,commission    
determines appropriate4  7l7 ,staff of  
,federal agencies ,upon request of the  
,commission1 the head of any department 
or agency of the ,united ,states may    
detail1 on a reimbursable basis1 any of 
the personnel of that department or     
agency to the ,commission to assist it  
in carrying out its duties under this   
title4  7m7 ,administrative support     
services ,upon request of the           
,commission1 the ,administrator of      
,general ,services shall provide to the 
,commission1 on a reimbursable basis1   
the administrative support services     
necessary for the ,commission to carry  
out its duties under this title4  7n7   
,obtaining official data ,the           
,commission may secure directly from any
 department or agency of the ,united    
,states information 7other than         
information required by any statute of  
the ,united ,states to be kept          

confidential by such department or      
agency7 necessary for the ,commission to
 carry out its duties under this title4 
,upon request of the ,commission1 the   
head of that department or agency shall 
furnish such nonconfidential information
 to the ,commission4  7o7 ,security     
clearances for commissioners1 members1  
and staff ,the appropriate ,federal     
departments or agencies shall cooperate 
with the ,commission in expeditiously   
providing to commissioners1 members1 and
 staff appropriate security clearances  
to the extent possible pursuant to      
existing procedures and requirements1   
except that no person may be provided   
with access to classified information   
under this ,act without the appropriate 
security clearances4  #f4 ,report  7a7  
,in general ,not later than #a year     
after the date on which the ,commission 
holds the first meeting under section   
#e1 the ,commission shall transmit to   
the ,president and ,congress a report on
 the activities of the ,commission1     

including recommendations made by the   
,commission under section #c7;b7 which  
shall be considered by the relevant     
congressional committees for possible   
legislative action4  7b7 ,classification
 ,the report under subsection 7a7 shall 
be transmitted in an unclassified form  
but may include a classified annex4  #g4
 ,termination ,the ,commission shall    
terminate on the date that is #cj days  
after the transmittal of the report     
under section #f4