Great Lakes Icebreaker Act of 2025

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4375 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4375

  To direct the Commandant of the Coast Guard to submit to Congress a 
    strategy detailing how the Coast Guard will complete design and 
   construction of a Great Lakes Icebreaker, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 14, 2025

  Ms. McDonald Rivet (for herself, Mr. Wied, and Mr. Miller of Ohio) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                   Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Commandant of the Coast Guard to submit to Congress a 
    strategy detailing how the Coast Guard will complete design and 
   construction of a Great Lakes Icebreaker, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Great Lakes Icebreaker Act of 
2025''.

SEC. 2. GREAT LAKES ICEBREAKING.

    (a) Great Lakes Icebreaker.--
            (1) Strategy.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Commandant shall submit to the 
        Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
        Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
        of the House of Representatives a strategy detailing how the 
        Coast Guard will complete design and construction of a Great 
        Lakes icebreaker at least as capable as the Coast Guard cutter 
        Mackinaw (WLBB-30) as expeditiously as possible after funding 
        is provided for such icebreaker, including providing a cost 
        estimate and an estimated delivery timeline that would 
        facilitate the expedited delivery detailed in the strategy.
            (2) Great lakes icebreaker pilot program.--
                    (A) In general.--During the 5 ice seasons beginning 
                after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commandant 
                shall conduct a pilot program to determine the extent 
                to which the Coast Guard Great Lakes icebreaking cutter 
                fleet is capable of maintaining tier one and tier two 
                waterways open 95 percent of the time during an ice 
                season.
                    (B) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the end 
                of each of the 5 ice seasons beginning after the date 
                of enactment of this Act, the Commandant shall submit 
                to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 
                Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
                Representatives a report that details--
                            (i) the results of the pilot program 
                        required under subparagraph (A); and
                            (ii) any relevant new performance measures 
                        implemented by the Coast Guard, including the 
                        measures described in pages 5 through 7 of the 
                        report of the Coast Guard titled ``Domestic 
                        Icebreaking Operations'' and submitted to 
                        Congress on July 26, 2024, as required by 
                        section 11212(a)(3) of the Don Young Coast 
                        Guard Authorization Act of 2022 (Public Law 
                        117-263), and the results of the implementation 
                        of such measures.
    (b) Modification to Reporting Requirement Relating to Icebreaking 
Operations in Great Lakes.--
            (1) In general.--Section 11213(f) of the Don Young Coast 
        Guard Authorization Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-263) is amended 
        to read as follows:
    ``(f) Public Report.--Not later than July 1 after the first winter 
in which the Commandant has submitted the report required by paragraph 
(3) of section 11212(a), the Commandant shall publish on a publicly 
accessible website of the Coast Guard a report on the cost to the Coast 
Guard of meeting the proposed standards described in paragraph (2) of 
such section.''.
            (2) Public report.--Section 11272(c) of the James M. Inhofe 
        National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 is 
        amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(7) Public report.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the 
                date of enactment of the Coast Guard Authorization Act 
                of 2025, the Commandant shall brief the Committee on 
                Transportation and Infrastructure of the House or 
                Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
                and Transportation of the Senate on the cost to the 
                Coast Guard of meeting the requirements of section 564 
                of title 14, United States Code, in fiscal year 2024.
                    ``(B) Secondary briefings.--Not later than 
                November, 2025 and November, 1, 2026, the Commandant 
                shall brief the committees described in subparagraph 
                (A) on the cost to the Coast Guard of meeting the 
                requirements of section 564 of title 14, United States 
                Code, in fiscal years 2025 and 2026, respectively.''.
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