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S 1640 117th Congress Senate Transportation and Public Works Congressional oversight Licensing and registrations Marine and inland water transportation

Protecting Access to American Products Act

Introduced: May 13, 2021 Introduced by: Lee, Mike Republican · Utah See on congress.gov
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This bill died when the 117th Congress ended
It never became law before the 117th Congress (2021–2022) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
May 13, 2021
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
May 13, 2021
Introduced in Senate
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 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Protecting Access to American Products Act

This bill revises coastwise laws, commonly known as the Jones Act, that govern domestic transportation of merchandise or passengers by vessels. The Jones Act requires vessels transporting merchandise or passengers between Puerto Rico and other U.S. ports to be built in the Unites States, at least 75% owned by U.S. citizens, and mostly crewed by U.S. citizens.

Specifically, the bill requires the head of a federal agency to

  • temporarily waive Jones Act requirements upon request if there is no product carrier that meets such requirements and a good faith effort was made to locate a product carrier that complies with such requirements,
  • approve or deny a waiver within 60 days after receiving a request, and
  • notify Congress of any request it receives for a temporary waiver.
What's happening now May 13, 2021

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 1640: Protecting Access to American Products Act. 117th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/117-S-1640/
MLA
"S. 1640: Protecting Access to American Products Act." 117th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/117-S-1640/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 1640, 117th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/117-S-1640/.
Markdown link
[S. 1640: Protecting Access to American Products Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/117-S-1640/)
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