{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://ezell.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=829", "Ezell, Carbajal Bipartisan Bill to Bolster American Shipping Fleet Passes House", "2025-06-10", "2025", "2025-06", "Republican", "House", "MS", "Mike Ezell", "E000235", "ezell.house.gov", "ezell", "https://ezell.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Chairman Mike Ezell (R-MS-04) and Ranking Member Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) announced their bipartisan American Cargo for American Ships Act passed the House of Representatives. The legislation will strengthen U.S. cargo preference laws to stop the ongoing decline of U.S. flagged ships engaged in international trade. The legislation now heads to the U.S. Senate for consideration.\n\n\u201cThis is a major victory for American workers, our national security, and our economy,\u201d Ezell said. \u201cThe American Cargo for American Ships Act strengthens our maritime capabilities and ensures we\u2019re not dependent on foreign vessels to move U.S. goods, especially during times of crisis. A strong U.S.-flagged fleet means a more secure and self-reliant America. I\u2019m proud to see this bill, which keeps American cargo on American ships, restores fairness to our system, and gives our mariners a fighting chance against heavily subsidized foreign competitors, pass the House. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to act swiftly and send it to the President\u2019s desk.\u201d\n\n\"American cargo transported on American ships strengthens our economy, creates jobs, and protects our supply chains from external threats,\" Carbajal said. \"My bipartisan bill will strengthen the U.S. shipping fleet by ensuring that taxpayer-funded cargo is moved on U.S.-flagged ships. I\u2019ll continue working across the aisle to get this bill across the finish line and signed into law.\u201d\n\nThe American Cargo for American Ships Act would increase cargo preference for all U.S. Department of Transportation cargoes to 100 percent. The Cargo Preference Act of 1954 requires that 50 percent of Civilian Agencies cargo and Agricultural Cargo be carried on U.S.-flagged vessels \u2013 it is the maritime industry\u2019s \u201cBuy America\u201d law. MARAD is the lead federal agency that manages Cargo Preference activities and compliance.\n\nIn 2022, the Maritime Administration (MARAD) testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and highlighted the decline of U.S. flagged ships. Per MARAD, there were 106 ships in the foreign trade flying the U.S. flag in 2012. Four years later, there were just 77 vessels. Today, from that low point, we have grown back to 87 foreign trading ships under the U.S. flag.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T01:08:28Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://ezell.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=829"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7455397862941027, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}