119-s221

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 221 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 221

 To extend the customs waters of the United States from 12 nautical 
 miles to 24 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States, 
 consistent with Presidential Proclamation 7219.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 January 23, 2025

 Mr. Scott of Florida (for himself, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Lankford, and Mr. 
 Gallego) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
 referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To extend the customs waters of the United States from 12 nautical 
 miles to 24 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States, 
 consistent with Presidential Proclamation 7219.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Extending Limits of United States 
Customs Waters Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) 

=== Findings ===
-Congress makes the following findings:

    (1) On December 27, 1988, Presidential Proclamation 5928 
 extended the territorial sea of the United States from 3 
 nautical miles to 12 nautical miles from the baselines of the 
 United States, determined in accordance with international law.

    (2) On August 2, 1999, Presidential Proclamation 7219 
 extended the contiguous zone of the United States from 12 
 nautical miles to 24 nautical miles from the baselines of the 
 United States, determined in accordance with international law, 
 but in no case within the territorial sea of another country.

    (3) Customary international law, in its current form, as 
 provided for in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the 
 Sea and consistent with Presidential Proclamations 5928 and 
 7219, reflects that--
        (A) every coastal State has the right to establish 
 the breadth of its territorial sea to a limit not 
 exceeding 12 nautical miles, measured from its 
 baselines;
        (B) a coastal State's contiguous zone may not 
 extend beyond 24 nautical miles from the baselines from 
 which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured;
            (C) a coastal State has exclusive jurisdiction over 
 its flagged vessels within its territorial seas and 
 upon the high seas; and
            (D) in the contiguous zone of a coastal State, the 
 State may--
            (i) exercise the control necessary to 
 prevent the infringement of its customs, 
 fiscal, immigration, or sanitary laws and 
 regulations within its territory or the 
 territorial sea; and
            (ii) punish the infringement of those laws 
 and regulations committed within its territory 
 or the territorial sea.

    (4) Customary international law, in its current form, as 
 provided for in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the 
 Sea, recognizes that outside the territorial waters of a 
 coastal State, the vessels and aircraft of all countries enjoy 
 the high seas freedoms of navigation and overflight. Pursuant 
 to those freedoms and the requirements of international law--
        (A) before boarding a vessel outside of the 
 territorial waters of a coastal State, but within the 
 contiguous zone of that State, authorities of the State 
 are generally required to have reasonable grounds to 
 believe that the vessel is destined for the State or 
 has violated or is attempting to violate the customs, 
 fiscal, immigration, or sanitary laws and regulations 
 of that State; and
        (B) the hot pursuit of a foreign vessel--
            (i) may be undertaken when competent 
 authorities of the State have good reason to 
 believe that the vessel or one of its boats has 
 violated the laws and regulations of that 
 State;
            (ii) is required to be commenced when the 
 foreign vessels or one of its boats is within 
 the internal waters, the territorial sea, or 
 the contiguous zone of the State, and may be 
 continued outside the territorial sea or the 
 contiguous zone only if the pursuit has not 
 been interrupted; and
            (iii) in a case in which the foreign 
 vessels is within the contiguous zone of the 
 State, may be undertaken only if there has been 
 a violation of the rights for the protection of 
 which the contiguous zone was established.

    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--

    (1) it is necessary to extend the authority of U.S. Customs 
 and Border Protection to conduct law enforcement activities in 
 the customs waters of the United States from 12 nautical miles 
 to 24 nautical miles because as modern technology continues to 
 change and expand rapidly, the performance and speed of 
 maritime vessels, including those used to violate the laws of 
 the United States or evade United States law enforcement 
 agents, improve, and the limit of 12 nautical miles no longer 
 provides law enforcement agents with sufficient time to 
 interdict such vessels; and

    (2) the extension of the customs waters of the United 
 States to the limits permitted by international law will 
 advance the law enforcement and public health interests of the 
 United States.

SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF CUSTOMS WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) Tariff Act of 1930.--

Section 401

    (j) of the Tariff Act of 1930 
(19 U.S.C. 1401

    (j) ) is amended--

    (1) by striking ``means, in the case'' and inserting the 
 following: ``means--
 ``

    (1) in the case'';

    (2) by striking ``of the coast of the United States'' and 
 inserting ``from the baselines of the United States (determined 
 in accordance with international law)'';

    (3) by striking ``and, in the case'' and inserting the 
 following: ``; and
 ``

    (2) in the case''; and

    (4) by striking ``the waters within four leagues of the 
 coast of the United States.'' and inserting the following: 
 ``the waters within--
 ``
        (A) the territorial sea of the United States, to 
 the limits permitted by international law in accordance 
 with Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 
 1988; and
 ``
        (B) the contiguous zone of the United States, to 
 the limits permitted by international law in accordance 
 with Presidential Proclamation 7219 of September 2, 
 1999.''.

    (b) Anti-Smuggling Act.--

Section 401
            (c) of the Anti-Smuggling Act 
(19 U.S.C. 1709
            (c) ) is amended--

    (1) by striking ``means, in the case'' and inserting the 
 following: ``means--
 ``

    (1) in the case'';

    (2) by striking ``of the coast of the United States'' and 
 inserting ``from the baselines of the United States (determined 
 in accordance with international law)'';

    (3) by striking ``and, in the case'' and inserting the 
 following: ``; and
 ``

    (2) in the case''; and

    (4) by striking ``the waters within four leagues of the 
 coast of the United States.'' and inserting the following: 
 ``the waters within--
 ``
        (A) the territorial sea of the United States, to 
 the limits permitted by international law in accordance 
 with Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 
 1988; and
 ``
        (B) the contiguous zone of the United States, to 
 the limits permitted by international law in accordance 
 with Presidential Proclamation 7219 of September 2, 
 1999.''.
            (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on the day after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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