S. 221 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, Jan 23, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryDoubles U.S. customs waters offshore reach
Currently, U.S. customs waters extend 12 nautical miles from the American coast. This bill would double that distance to 24 nautical miles, giving U.S. customs officers authority over a much larger area of ocean. The bill updates federal law to match two earlier presidential proclamations that set these new boundaries under international law.
How it affects you
This primarily affects people involved in maritime trade, shipping, and fishing in waters off the U.S. coast. For them, U.S. customs rules and inspections would now apply across a wider ocean zone. Most everyday Americans won't directly notice the change, though it may influence how goods and vessels are processed as they enter U.S. waters.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, Jan 23, 2025)
Extending Limits of United States Customs Waters Act of 2025
This bill extends the customs waters territory of the United States to 24 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States.
Under current law, customs waters means waters within four leagues (equivalent to 12 nautical miles) of the coast of the United States. This bill provides statutory authority for two presidential proclamations to extend the customs waters to 24 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States.
Specifically, the bill revises the statutory definition of customs waters to include the waters within (1) the territorial sea of the United States to the limits permitted by international law in accordance with Presidential Proclamation 5928, dated December 27, 1988, that extended such limits to 12 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States; and (2) the contiguous zone of the United States to the limits permitted by international law in accordance with Presidential Proclamation 7219, dated September 2, 1999, that extended such limits to 24 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionS. 221
A BILL
Extending Limits of United States Customs Waters Act of 2025
Sponsor: Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) · Introduced Jan 23, 2025 · Foreign Trade and International Finance · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Jan 23, 2025: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.”