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[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1089 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1089

  To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2000 and 2001 for the 
           United States Coast Guard, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 20, 1999

   Ms. Snowe (for herself, Mr. McCain, Mr. Hollings, Mr. Kerry, Mr. 
 Breaux, and Mr. Inouye) introduced the following bill; which was read 
     twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                             Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2000 and 2001 for the 
           United States Coast Guard, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Coast Guard Authorization Act of 
1999''.

                           TITLE I--AUTHORIZATION

SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Authorization for Fiscal Year 2000.--Funds are authorized to be 
appropriated for necessary expenses of the Coast Guard for fiscal year 
2000, as follows:
            (1) For the operation and maintenance of the Coast Guard, 
        $2,941,039,000, of which $334,000,000 shall be available for 
        defense-related activities and of which $25,000,000 shall be 
        derived from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.
            (2) For the acquisition, construction, rebuilding, and 
        improvement of aids to navigation, shore and offshore 
        facilities, vessels, and aircraft, including equipment related 
        thereto, $350,326,000, to remain available until expended, of 
        which $20,000,000 shall be derived from the Oil Spill Liability 
        Trust Fund to carry out the purposes of section 1012(a)(5) of 
        the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.
            (3) For research, development, test, and evaluation of 
        technologies, materials, and human factors directly relating to 
        improving the performance of the Coast Guard's mission in 
        support of search and rescue, aids to navigation, marine 
        safety, marine environmental protection, enforcement of laws 
        and treaties, ice operations, oceanographic research, and 
        defense readiness, $21,709,000, to remain available until 
        expended, of which $3,500,000 shall be derived from the Oil 
        Spill Liability Trust Fund.
            (4) For retired pay (including the payment of obligations 
        otherwise chargeable to lapsed appropriations for this 
        purpose), payments under the Retired Serviceman's Family 
        Protection and Survivor Benefit Plans, and payments for medical 
        care of retired personnel and their dependents under chapter 55 
        of title 10, United States Code, such sums as may be necessary, 
to remain available until expended.
            (5) For environmental compliance and restoration at Coast 
        Guard facilities (other than parts and equipment associated 
        with operations and maintenance), $19,500,000, to remain 
        available until expended.
            (6) For alteration or removal of bridges over navigable 
        waters of the United States constituting obstructions to 
        navigation, and for personnel and administrative costs 
        associated with the Bridge Alteration Program, $26,000,000, to 
        remain available until expended.
    (b) Authorization for Fiscal Year 2001.--Funds are authorized to be 
appropriated for necessary expenses of the Coast Guard for fiscal year 
2001, as follows:
            (1) For the operation and maintenance of the Coast Guard, 
        $2,941,039,000, of which $25,000,000 shall be derived from the 
        Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.
            (2) For the acquisition, construction, rebuilding, and 
        improvement of aids to navigation, shore and offshore 
        facilities, vessels, and aircraft, including equipment related 
        thereto, $350,326,000, to remain available until expended, of 
        which $20,000,000 shall be derived from the Oil Spill Liability 
        Trust Fund to carry out the purposes of section 1012(a)(5) of 
        the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.
            (3) For research, development, test, and evaluation of 
        technologies, materials, and human factors directly relating to 
        improving the performance of the Coast Guard's mission in 
        support of search and rescue, aids to navigation, marine 
        safety, marine environmental protection, enforcement of laws 
        and treaties, ice operations, oceanographic research, and 
        defense readiness, $21,709,000, to remain available until 
        expended, of which $3,500,000 shall be derived from the Oil 
        Spill Liability Trust Fund.
            (4) For retired pay (including the payment of obligations 
        otherwise chargeable to lapsed appropriations for this 
        purpose), payments under the Retired Serviceman's Family 
        Protection and Survivor Benefit Plans, and payments for medical 
        care of retired personnel and their dependents under chapter 55 
        of title 10, United States Code, such sums as may be necessary, 
        to remain available until expended.
            (5) For environmental compliance and restoration at Coast 
        Guard facilities (other than parts and equipment associated 
        with operations and maintenance), $19,500,000, to remain 
        available until expended.
            (6) For alteration or removal of bridges over navigable 
        waters of the United States constituting obstructions to 
        navigation, and for personnel and administrative costs 
        associated with the Bridge Alteration Program, $26,000,000, to 
        remain available until expended.

SEC. 102. AUTHORIZED LEVELS OF MILITARY STRENGTH AND TRAINING.

    (a) End-of-Year Strength for Fiscal Year 2000.--The Coast Guard is 
authorized an end-of-year strength for active duty personnel of 36,350 
as of September 30, 2000.
    (b) Training Student Loads for Fiscal Year 2000.--For fiscal year 
2000, the Coast Guard is authorized average military training student 
loads as follows:
            (1) For recruit and special training, 1,500 student years.
            (2) For flight training, 100 student years.
            (3) For professional training in military and civilian 
        institutions, 300 student years.
            (4) For officer acquisition, 1,000 student years.
    (c) End-of-Year Strength for Fiscal Year 2001.--The Coast Guard is 
authorized an end-of-year strength for active duty personnel of 36,350 
as of September 30, 2001.
    (d) Training Student Loads for Fiscal Year 2001.--For fiscal year 
2001, the Coast Guard is authorized average military training student 
loads as follows:
            (1) For recruit and special training, 1,500 student years.
            (2) For flight training, 100 student years.
            (3) For professional training in military and civilian 
        institutions, 300 student years.
            (4) For officer acquisition, 1,000 student years.

                     TITLE II--PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

SEC. 201. COAST GUARD BAND DIRECTOR RANK.

    Section 336(d) of title 14, United States Code, is amended by 
striking ``commander'' and inserting ``captain''.

SEC. 202. COAST GUARD RESERVE SPECIAL PAY.

    Section 308d(a) of title 37, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting ``or the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard 
is operating'' after ``Secretary of Defense''.

SEC. 203. COAST GUARD MEMBERSHIP ON THE USO BOARD OF GOVERNORS.

    Section 1305(b) of title 36, United States Code, is amended by 
redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4) and inserting after 
paragraph (2) the following:
            ``(3) The Secretary of Transportation, or the Secretary's 
        designee, when the Coast Guard is not operating under the 
        Department of the Navy.''.

SEC. 204. COMPENSATORY ABSENCE FOR ISOLATED DUTY.

    (a) In General.--Section 511 of title 14, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 511. COMPENSATORY ABSENCE FROM DUTY FOR MILITARY PERSONNEL AT 
              ISOLATED DUTY STATIONS

    ``The Secretary may prescribe regulations to grant compensatory 
absence from duty to military personnel of the Coast Guard serving at 
isolated duty stations of the Coast Guard when conditions of duty 
result in confinement because of isolation or in long periods of 
continuous duty.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 13 of title 14, United States Code, is amended to read as 
follows:

``511. Compensatory absence from duty for military personnel at 
                            isolated duty stations.''.

SEC. 205. ACCELERATED PROMOTION OF CERTAIN COAST GUARD OFFICERS.

    Title 14, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in section 259, by adding at the end a new subsection 
        (c) to read as follows:
    ``(c) After selecting the officers to be recommended for promotion, 
a selection board may recommend officers of particular merit, from 
among those officers chosen for promotion, to be placed at the top of 
the list of selectees promulgated by the Secretary under section 271(a) 
of this title. The number of officers that a board may recommend to be 
placed at the top of the list of selectees may not exceed the 
percentages set forth in subsection (b) unless such a percentage is a 
number less than one, in which case the board may recommend one officer 
for such placement. No officer may be recommended to be placed at the 
top of the list of selectees unless he or she receives the 
recommendation of at least a majority of the members of a board 
composed of five members, or at least two-thirds of the members of a 
board composed of more than five members.'';
            (2) in section 260(a), by inserting ``and the names of 
        those officers recommended to be advanced to the top of the 
        list of selectees established by the Secretary under section 
        271(a) of this title'' after ``promotion''; and
            (3) in section 271(a), by inserting at the end thereof the 
        following: ``The names of all officers approved by the 
        President and recommended by the board to be placed at the top 
        of the list of selectees shall be placed at the top of the list 
        of selectees in the order of seniority on the active duty 
        promotion list.''.

                        TITLE III--MARINE SAFETY

SEC. 301. EXTENSION OF TERRITORIAL SEA FOR VESSEL BRIDGE-TO-BRIDGE 
              RADIOTELEPHONE ACT.

    Section 4(b) of the Vessel Bridge-to-Bridge Radiotelephone Act (33 
U.S.C. 1203(b)), is amended by striking ``United States inside the 
lines established pursuant to section 2 of the Act of February 19, 1895 
(28 Stat. 672), as amended.'' and inserting ``United States, which 
includes all waters of the territorial sea of the United States as 
described in Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 1988.''.

SEC. 302. REPORT ON ICEBREAKING SERVICES.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 9 months after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall submit to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and 
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House, a 
report on the use of WYTL-class harbor tugs. The report shall include 
an analysis of the use of such vessels to perform icebreaking services; 
the degree to which, if any, the decommissioning of each such vessel 
would result in a degradation of current icebreaking services; and in 
the event that the decommissioning of any such vessel would result in a 
significant degradation of icebreaking services, recommendations to 
remediate such degradation.
    (b) 9-Month Waiting Period.--The Commandant of the Coast Guard 
shall not plan, implement or finalize any regulation or take any other 
action which would result in the decommissioning of any WYTL-class 
harbor tugs until 9 months after the date of the submission of the 
report required by subsection (a) of this section.

SEC. 303. OIL SPILL LIABILITY TRUST FUND ANNUAL REPORT.

    (a) In General.--The report regarding the Oil Spill Liability Trust 
Fund required by the Conference Report (House Report 101-892) 
accompanying the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act, 1991, as that requirement was amended by section 
1122 of the Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995 (26 
U.S.C. 9509 note), shall no longer be submitted to Congress.
    (b) Repeal.--Section 1122 of the Federal Reports Elimination and 
Sunset Act of 1995 (26 U.S.C. 9509 note) is amended by--
            (1) striking subsection (a); and
            (2) striking ``(b) Report on Joint Federal and State Motor 
        Fuel Tax Compliance Project.--''.

SEC. 304. OIL SPILL LIABILITY TRUST FUND; EMERGENCY FUND BORROWING 
              AUTHORITY.

    Section 6002(b) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 
2752(b)) is amended after the first sentence by inserting ``To the 
extent that such amount is not adequate for removal of a discharge or 
the mitigation or prevention of a substantial threat of a discharge, 
the Coast Guard may borrow from the Fund such sums as may be necessary, 
up to a maximum of $100,000,000, and within 30 days shall notify 
Congress of the amount borrowed and the facts and circumstances 
necessitating the loan. Amounts borrowed shall be repaid to the Fund 
when, and to the extent that removal costs are recovered by the Coast 
Guard from responsible parties for the discharge or substantial threat 
of discharge.''.
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