Congress funds clean ships—and explicitly bans automation to protect maritime jobs

What it does

This bill establishes a $10 billion federal program (2027–2036) to fund research, development, and deployment of zero-emission and clean-fuel ships, plus charging and fueling infrastructure. It creates an advisory committee and requires prevailing wages for workers on funded projects. Critically, it explicitly prohibits any funding for automated vessels or autonomous cargo systems—protecting maritime jobs from automation.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core function is to fund zero-emission vessel technology and infrastructure while explicitly prohibiting automation—a deliberate choice to protect maritime employment. It is fundamentally a public-investment and labor-protection measure, not a deregulation or corporate subsidy.

What the text implies

• The automation prohibition may limit U.S. maritime competitiveness if other nations deploy autonomous vessels; however, it reflects a deliberate policy choice to prioritize domestic employment over technological adoption.
• The $1 billion/year authorization is substantial but spread across 10 years and multiple eligible entities (vessel owners, manufacturers, ports, nonprofits, academic institutions), so per-project funding may be modest.
• Prevailing-wage requirements and project-labor-agreement prioritization will increase project costs, potentially reducing the number of projects funded or slowing deployment timelines.
• The advisory committee's composition (labor, environmental justice, environmental groups, industry, academia) suggests genuine multi-stakeholder input, but final decision-making authority remains with the Secretary of Transportation.

Who it affects

The bill funds clean-energy maritime technology and workforce training while explicitly protecting jobs by banning automation funding. It mandates prevailing wages, requires community engagement and environmental-justice consideration, and ensures transparency through public disclosure of applications. The primary beneficiaries are maritime workers, port communities, and the environment.

Who stands to gain

• maritime vessel manufacturers
• port authorities and terminal operators
• clean-fuel technology companies
• maritime labor unions
• academic institutions and national laboratories
• nonprofit workforce-training organizations

Named in the bill

Department of Transportation, Secretary of Transportation, Maritime Administrator, Coast Guard, Next Generation Shipping Innovation Program, Next Generation Shipping Advisory Committee, U.S. vessel owners and operators, Port authorities, Labor organizations, Environmental justice organizations, National Laboratories

Where it stands

2 cosponsors: 2 Democrats.

• Jun 24, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Jun 24, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

2 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $680,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 12 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 41% of bills with at least one filing.

Chris Van Hollen, the sponsor, reported $81,250 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American College of Cardiology — $680,000 on 1 filing
• Island Institute — $0 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.