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GAO-22-105391 1 (2022-08-16)

handle is hein.gao/gaonms0001 and id is 1 raw text is: U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 August 16, 2022 The Honorable Brian Schatz Chair The Honorable Susan M. Collins Ranking Member Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Committee on Appropriations United States Senate The Honorable David E. Price Chairman The Honorable Mario Diaz-Balart Ranking Member Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Committee on Appropriations House of Representatives Domestic Oceangoing Shipping: Information on the Surface Transportation Board's Regulatory Processes Almost 6-million people living in Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico and other noncontiguous U.S. territories and possessions depend on maritime transportation of vital goods from the mainland (contiguous) U.S.1 These shipments include items such as food products and other goods. By statute, it is the policy of the U.S. Government to encourage rate reasonableness for transportation services.2 The Surface Transportation Board (STB), an independent federal agency, has the authority to determine the reasonableness of a rate for domestic oceangoing carriers that transport cargo between the mainland U.S. and noncontiguous U.S. states and territories.3 1The law commonly referred to as the Jones Act and several other statutory requirements implicated by the Jones Act collectively require that maritime transport of cargo between points in the U.S. be carried by ships that are: built in the U.S.; owned by U.S. citizens; and operated predominantly by U.S. citizens or permanent residents. See Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, Pub. L. No. 66-261, 41 Stat. 988, 999 (codified as amended at 46 U.S.C. § 55102) and 46 U.S.C. §§ 12112(a)(2)(A), 8103(b). The purposes of the Jones Act, as amended, include providing the nation with a strong merchant marine that can serve as a naval or military auxiliary in time of war or national emergency, and providing transportation for the growth of the nation's maritime commerce. According to the Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration, under the Jones Act, all domestic water transportation providers compete under uniform laws and regulations, creating an even playing field. Jones Act requirements have resulted in discrete shipping markets between the mainland U.S. and Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, with most cargo transported by a few carriers in each market. 21n general, the term rate means a rate or charge for transportation services. 349 U.S.C. § 13701. For the purposes of this report, we use the phrases domestic oceangoing transportation and domestic oceangoing carriers to refer to what federal statute refers to as water carriers engaged in the noncontiguous domestic trade that is defined to mean transportation subject to jurisdiction under Title 49 U.S.C. GAO-22-105391 Domestic Oceangoing Shipping Page 1

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