Lawmakers Plan to Introduce 'OSRA 2.0' Next Week
The two lawmakers who spearheaded last year's House ocean shipping reform bill plan to introduce new legislation next week that could further expand the Federal Maritime Commission’s authority. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said he and Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., plan to introduce the “Ocean Shipping Reform Act 2.0,” which could “undo some of the damage the Senate did” to revise OSRA before it passed both chambers in June.
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The Senate left “out some very important elements that Mr. Johnson and I intend to try to add into the legislative process this year,” Garamendi said during a March 24 House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee hearing. “I think we'll do a better job of hitting the center of the target,” Johnson said.
The original House version of OSRA included several provisions that were criticized by carriers, including one that carriers said would have allowed the FMC to unfairly target them for not prioritizing exports (see 2204200032). Exporters had complained that carriers were sending empty containers back overseas rather than filling them with exports because the carriers could charge higher rates for imports (see 2104280031).
Garamendi said he and Johnson also may try to expand the FMC's authority by allowing the commission to issue penalties and other orders without first needing approval from its Office of Administrative Law Judges. The FMC "seems to be the only independent agency in the entire federal government that does not have the authority to implement its decisions about unfair practices,” Johnson said.
The lawmaker said he received letters from FMC commissioners Max Vekich and Carl Bentzel requesting Congress “modify the Ocean Shipping Reform Act so that you actually have the authority to implement the decisions” without ALJ approval. FMC Chair Daniel Maffei, who was testifying during the hearing on the commission’s FY 2024 budget request (see 2303200063), said he supports the idea.
“Mr. Johnson and I will carry this bill through hopefully success and to the president,” Garamendi said.
Maffei also said the FMC plans to issue an amended version of the commission’s proposed rule on unreasonable carrier conduct (see 2209130040) within the next month. The FMC in January announced plans to issue a “supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking” to revise the rule after industry, lawmakers and at least one federal agency said the rule was too broad, missed congressional intent and didn’t go far enough to address carriers that refuse to carry exports in favor of imports (see 2301250032).
“I expect that supplemental to be out very soon,” Maffei said. “I don't want to promise next week, but I'll say in the next month.” He told Johnson that it’s “so important that we do get it right, because as many of your colleagues have pointed out, there could be unintended consequences on these very exporters that we're trying to help if we don't get this right.”