Soo Locks Security Report Mandated: One-Year Deadline to Detail Supply Chain Disaster Plan

The Soo Locks Security and Economic Reporting Act of 2025 is straightforward: it orders a deep dive into one of the most critical, yet often overlooked, pieces of infrastructure in the country—the Soo Locks in Michigan. This isn't about funding a new project right now; it’s about getting the data needed for future action. Essentially, Congress is telling the Department of Transportation (DOT) to figure out exactly how bad things would get if the Locks failed and what it would cost to prevent that disaster.

The $2 Trillion Question: What Happens If the Locks Stop?

This bill requires the Secretary of Transportation, working with the Coast Guard and the Department of Defense, to produce a detailed report within one year. The core of this analysis (Sec. 2) is a worst-case scenario: detailing the supply chain, logistics, and economic fallout if the Locks were to malfunction or be damaged. If you work in construction, manufacturing, or farming, this matters to you directly. The Soo Locks are the only way massive freighters carrying iron ore, coal, and grain can move between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. If they stop, the raw materials that fuel the steel mills—and therefore, the auto industry, construction, and heavy equipment manufacturing—grind to a halt, affecting jobs and prices nationwide.

Mapping the Weak Spots and the Threats

Beyond just mapping the economic damage, the report must identify specific security weaknesses and potential threats—both foreign and domestic—that could compromise the Locks' integrity. This is the government’s way of saying, "We need to know who could hurt us and how." The DOT must also lay out the current security setup, explaining what the Coast Guard and other agencies are already doing to protect the site. For federal agencies, this means a significant amount of staff time and resources must be dedicated over the next year to compiling this highly specialized and detailed assessment.

Recommendations and the Price Tag

The final, crucial element of the report is the action plan. The bill requires specific suggestions for two things: making the Locks more secure and lessening the impact on the national supply chain if a failure occurs. Crucially, these recommendations must come with cost estimates. This is where the rubber meets the road; Congress wants a menu of options with price tags attached so they can decide how much funding to allocate later. For taxpayers, this report sets the stage for potentially massive infrastructure spending down the line, but it ensures that spending will be based on a detailed risk assessment rather than just a hunch. This required reporting is a necessary step to ensure that the infrastructure supporting our economy is protected, moving the conversation from "if" something happens to "how much it will cost" to secure the system.