Maritime Administration January 24, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement (VISA) program requires that a notice of the time, place, and nature of each VISA Joint Planning Advisory Group (JPAG) meeting be published in the Federal Register. On January 14, 2020, the Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) co-hosted a classified VISA JPAG meeting at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. The JPAG is co-chaired by MARAD and USTRANSCOM and is convened jointly. The U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission were informed of the JPAG meeting prior to its occurrence, in accordance with VISA program requirements. Participants in the JPAG meeting were required to possess a secret clearance due to the classified nature of the event and attendance at the meeting was by invitation only. MARAD and USTRANSCOM invited participating VISA carriers and representatives of maritime labor organizations to attend the meeting. In addition, representatives from the U.S. Department of Transportation, MARAD, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Department of Defense (DOD) to include the Office of the Secretary of Defense, USTRANSCOM, the U.S. Navy, the Military Sealift Command, and the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, as well as operational elements of Geographic Combatant Commands, were in attendance.