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Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 12, 2025
Extending Limits of U.S. Customs Waters Act
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 State. 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.
People & committees
Rep. Salazar, Maria Elvira [R-FL-27] · R–FL
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Jul 30, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-12 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Extending Limits of U.S. Customs Waters Act would change how two federal customs and anti-smuggling laws define covered waters. It would replace a reference to waters within four leagues of the coast with references to the U.S. territorial sea and contiguous zone—two maritime areas along and beyond the coast—subject to international-law limits. The supplied text does not establish the full consequences for people subject to those laws.
This Act may be cited as the Extending Limits of U.S. Customs Waters Act.
Section 401(j) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1401(j)) is amended—
Section 401(c) of the Anti-Smuggling Act (19 U.S.C. 1709(c)) is amended—
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.
Section 2 would make matching changes to the customs-waters definitions in the Tariff Act of 1930 and the Anti-Smuggling Act. In each, the replacement geographic clause would cover the territorial sea and contiguous zone, with limits tied to international law and the presidential proclamations dated December 27, 1988, and September 2, 1999.
Section 401(j) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1401(j)) is amended—
Section 401(c) of the Anti-Smuggling Act (19 U.S.C. 1709(c)) is amended—
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.
In both definitions, the bill would replace the first reference to measurement from the U.S. coast with measurement from U.S. baselines—the reference lines used to measure maritime areas—determined under international law. The surrounding statutory language is not reproduced, so the supplied text does not identify all circumstances governed by this change.
by striking of the coast of the United States the first place it appears and inserting from the baselines of the United States, determined in accordance with international law,
The amendments would take effect the day after enactment, if the bill became law.
The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the day after the date of the enactment of this Act.
The supplied actions snapshot, updated July 30, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Ways and Means on February 12, 2025. It does not establish whether later action or enactment occurred.
Source snapshot updated 2026-07-30T12:51:51Z. 2025-02-12: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. 2025-02-12: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-12. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; earmark disclosures, committee reports, and other accompanying materials were not supplied.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow carve-out, special exemption, or preferential treatment was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Jul 30, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI