H.R. 6365 would require the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI) within the Department of the Treasury to issue rules about unverified ship registrations in insurance contracts. Under the bill, failure to verify a ship’s country of origin would be considered a material misrepresentation by the policyholder. H.R. 6365 would allow states to report such vessels to TFI and to consider their insurance contracts as void. Under current law, an entity that falsifies material facts may be subject to criminal or civil penalties.
The bill also would require the Treasury to report to the Congress on information received from states, recommendations for receiving information from other entities, and the establishment of a whistleblower program. Based on the cost of similar activities, CBO estimates that the reporting requirements would cost less than $500,000 over the 2024-2029 period. Any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
Under H.R. 6365, the federal government might collect criminal or civil penalties from entities with unverified ship registrations. Those penalties are recorded as revenues, and a portion can be spent without further appropriation. CBO estimates that any increase in revenues and associated direct spending would be insignificant over the 2024-2034 period.
