II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4842 

To require the United States Coast Guard to implement new rules for Merchant Marine credentialing for veterans and members of the Uniformed 

Services, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022 

Mr. CRUZ (for himself, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. WICKER, and Mr. 

SULLIVAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require the United States Coast Guard to implement 

new rules for Merchant Marine credentialing for veterans 

and members of the Uniformed Services, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military to Mariners 

5 Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 


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1 (1) The United States Uniformed Services are 

2 composed of the world’s most highly trained and 

3 professional servicemembers. 

4 (2) A robust Merchant Marine and ensuring 

5 United States mariners can compete in the global 

6 workforce are vital to economic and national secu7 rity. 

8 (3) Attracting additional trained and 

9 credentialed mariners, particularly from active duty 

10 servicemembers and military veterans, will support 

11 United States national security requirements and 

12 provide meaningful, well-paying jobs to United 

13 States veterans. 

14 (4) There is a need to ensure that the Federal 

15 Government has a robust, state of the art, and effi16 cient merchant mariner credentialing system to sup17 port economic and national security. 

18 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con19 gress that— 

20 (1) veterans and members of the Uniformed 

21 Services who pursue credentialing to join the United 

22 States Merchant Marine should receive vigorous sup23 port; and 

24 (2) it is incumbent upon the regulatory bodies 

25 of the United States to streamline regulations to faVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:35 Sep 15, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4842.IS S4842

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1 cilitate transition of veterans and members of the 

2 Uniformed Services into the United States Merchant 

3 Marine to maintain a strong maritime presence in 

4 the United States and worldwide. 

5 SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF SEA SERVICE REQUIREMENTS 

6 FOR MERCHANT MARINER CREDENTIALS 

7 FOR VETERANS AND MEMBERS OF THE UNI8 FORMED SERVICES. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) MERCHANT MARINER CREDENTIAL.—The 

11 term ‘‘merchant mariner credential’’ has the mean12 ing given the term in section 7510 of title 46, 

13 United States Code. 

14 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

15 the Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

16 Guard is operating. 

17 (3) UNIFORMED SERVICES.—The term ‘‘Uni18 formed Services’’ has the meaning given the term 

19 ‘‘uniformed services’’ in section 2101 of title 5, 

20 United States Code. 

21 (b) REVIEW AND REGULATIONS.—Notwithstanding 

22 any other provision of law, not later than 2 years after 

23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall— 

24 (1) review and examine— 


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1 (A) the requirements and procedures for 

2 veterans and members of the Uniformed Serv3 ices to receive a merchant mariner credential; 

4 (B) the classifications of sea service ac5 quired through training and service as a mem6 ber of the Uniformed Services and level of 

7 equivalence to sea service on merchant vessels; 

8 (C) the amount of sea service, including 

9 percent of the total time onboard for purposes 

10 of equivalent underway service, that will be ac11 cepted as required experience for all endorse12 ments for applicants for a merchant mariner 

13 credential who are veterans or members of the 

14 Uniformed Services; 

15 (2) provide the availability for a fully internet16 based application process for a merchant mariner 

17 credential, to the maximum extent practicable; and 

18 (3) issue new regulations to— 

19 (A) reduce paperwork, delay, and other 

20 burdens for applicants for a merchant mariner 

21 credential who are veterans and members of the 

22 Uniformed Services, and, if determined to be 

23 appropriate, increase the acceptable percentages 

24 of time equivalent to sea service for such appli25 cants; and 


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1 (B) reduce burdens and create a means of 

2 alternative compliance to demonstrate instruc3 tor competency for Standards of Training, Cer4 tification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers 

5 courses. 

6 (c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out subsection (b), 

7 the Secretary shall consult with the National Merchant 

8 Marine Personnel Advisory Committee taking into account 

9 the present and future needs of the United States Mer10 chant Marine labor workforce. 

11 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

12 of enactment of this Act, the Committee on the Marine 

13 Transportation System shall submit to the Committee on 

14 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the 

15 Committee on Armed Services of the Senate, the Com16 mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep17 resentatives, and the Committee on Armed Services of the 

18 House of Representatives, a report that contains an up19 date on the activities carried out to implement— 

20 (1) the July 2020 report by the Committee on 

21 the Marine Transportation System to the White 

22 House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy on 

23 the implementation of Executive Order 13860 (84 

24 Fed. Reg. 8407; relating to supporting the transition 


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1 of active duty servicemembers and military veterans 

2 into the Merchant Marine); and 

3 (2) section 3511 of the National Defense Au4 thorization Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–92; 133 

5 Stat. 1978). 

6 (e) ASSESSMENT OF SKILLBRIDGE FOR EMPLOY7 MENT AS A MERCHANT MARINER.—The Secretary of the 

8 department in which the Coast Guard is operating, in col9 laboration with the Secretary of Defense, shall assess the 

10 use of the SkillBridge program of the Department of De11 fense as a means for transitioning active duty sea service 

12 personnel toward employment as a merchant mariner. 

Æ 


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