I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7659 

To authorize and amend authorities, programs, and statutes administered 

by the Coast Guard. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 13, 2024 

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri (for himself, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. WEBSTER of Florida, and Mr. CARBAJAL) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To authorize and amend authorities, programs, and statutes 

administered by the Coast Guard. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2024’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Commandant defined. 

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS 

Sec. 101. Authorization of appropriations. 


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Sec. 102. Shoreside infrastructure and facilities and information technology. 

Sec. 103. Availability of amounts for acquisition of additional vessels and aircraft. 

Sec. 104. Authorization for certain programs and services. 

Sec. 105. Authorized levels of military strength and training. 

TITLE II—COAST GUARD 

Subtitle A—Organization and Authorities 

Sec. 201. Prohibition on use of lead systems integrators. 

Sec. 202. Minor construction increase. 

Sec. 203. Tsunami evacuation plans. 

Sec. 204. Service life extension programs. 

Sec. 205. Maritime domain awareness in coast guard sector for Puerto Rico 

and Virgin Islands. 

Sec. 206. Public availability of information on monthly drug and migrant interdictions. 

Sec. 207. Report on establishment of unmanned systems capabilities office. 

Sec. 208. Great Lakes icebreaker. 

Sec. 209. Consideration of life-cycle cost estimates for acquisition and procurement. 

Sec. 210. Authorization of certain support for Coast Guard Academy foundations. 

Sec. 211. National Coast Guard Museum. 

Sec. 212. Regular Polar Security Cutter updates. 

Sec. 213. Technology pilot program. 

Sec. 214. Report on condition of Missouri River dayboards. 

Sec. 215. Delegation of ports and waterways safety authorities in St. Lawrence 

seaway. 

Sec. 216. Adjustment of liability limits for natural gas deepwater ports. 

Sec. 217. Study on Coast Guard missions. 

Subtitle B—Personnel 

Sec. 221. Direct hire authority for civilian faculty at the Coast Guard Academy. 

Sec. 222. Temporary exemption from authorized end strength for Coast Guard 

enlisted members on active duty. 

Sec. 223. Additional available guidance and considerations for reserve selection 

boards. 

Sec. 224. Parental leave parity for members of certain reserve components of 

Coast Guard. 

Sec. 225. Authorization for maternity uniform allowance for officers. 

Sec. 226. Modification to career intermission program. 

Sec. 227. Report on GAO recommendations on housing program. 

TITLE III—SHIPPING AND NAVIGATION 

Subtitle A—Vessel Operations 

Sec. 301. Definitions. 

Sec. 302. Notification. 

Sec. 303. Publication of fines and penalties. 

Subtitle B—Merchant Mariner Credentialing 

Sec. 311. Revising merchant mariner deck training requirements. 


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Sec. 312. Amendments. 

Sec. 313. Renewal of merchant mariner licenses and documents. 

Sec. 314. Merchant seamen licenses, certificates, and documents; manning of 

vessels. 

Subtitle C—Vessel Safety 

Sec. 321. Grossly negligent operations of a vessel. 

Sec. 322. Administrative procedure for security risks. 

Sec. 323. Requirements for DUKW amphibious passenger vessels. 

Sec. 324. Risk-based examination of tank vessels. 

Sec. 325. Ports and waterways safety. 

Sec. 326. Study on Bering Strait vessel traffic projections and emergency response posture at the port of Point Spencer, Alaska. 

Sec. 327. Underwater inspections brief. 

Sec. 328. St. Lucie River railroad bridge. 

Sec. 329. Rulemaking regarding port access routes. 

Subtitle D—Other Matters 

Sec. 341. Anchor handling activities. 

Sec. 342. Establishment of National Advisory Committee on Autonomous Maritime Systems. 

Sec. 343. Controlled substance onboard vessels. 

Sec. 344. Nonoperating individual. 

Sec. 345. Information on type approval certificates. 

Sec. 346. Manning and crewing requirements for certain vessels, vehicles, and 

structures. 

Sec. 347. Classification societies. 

Sec. 348. Authority to establish safety zones for special activities in exclusive 

economic zone. 

Sec. 349. Fishing vessel and fisherman training safety. 

Sec. 350. Authority over Deepwater Port Act of 1974. 

Sec. 351. National Offshore Safety Advisory Committee composition. 

Sec. 352. Improving Vessel Traffic Service monitoring. 

Sec. 353. Abandoned and derelict vessel removals. 

TITLE IV—OIL POLLUTION INCIDENT LIABILITY 

Sec. 401. Vessel response plans. 

Sec. 402. Use of marine casualty investigations. 

Sec. 403. Timing of review. 

Sec. 404. Online incident reporting system. 

TITLE V—IMPLEMENTATION OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND 

TRANSPARENCY REVIEW RECOMMENDATIONS 

Sec. 501. Implementation status of directed actions. 

Sec. 502. Independent review of Coast Guard reforms. 

Sec. 503. Requirement to maintain certain records. 

Sec. 504. Study on Coast Guard Academy oversight. 

Sec. 505. Providing for the transfer of a cadet who is the victim of a sexual 

assault or related offense. 

Sec. 506. Designation of officers with particular expertise in military justice or 

healthcare. 

Sec. 507. Direct hire authority for certain personnel of Coast Guard. 

Sec. 508. Safe-to-report policy for Coast Guard. 


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Sec. 509. Modification of delivery date of Coast Guard sexual assault report. 

Sec. 510. Higher-level review of board of determination decisions. 

Sec. 511. Review of discharge or dismissal. 

TITLE VI—AMENDMENTS 

Sec. 601. Amendments. 

1 SEC. 2. COMMANDANT DEFINED. 

2 In this Act, the term ‘‘Commandant’’ means the 

3 Commandant of the Coast Guard. 

4 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF 

5 APPROPRIATIONS 

6 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 Section 4902 of title 14, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by 

10 striking ‘‘fiscal years 2022 and 2023’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘fiscal years 2025 and 2026’’; 

12 (2) in paragraph (1)— 

13 (A) in subparagraph (A) by striking 

14 clauses (i) and (ii) and inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) $11,287,500,000 for fiscal year 2025; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(ii) $11,851,875,000 for fiscal year 

18 2026.’’; 

19 (B) in subparagraph (B) by striking 

20 ‘‘$23,456,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$25,570,000’’; 

21 and 


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1 (C) in subparagraph (C) by striking 

2 ‘‘$24,353,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$26,848,500’’; 

3 (3) in paragraph (2)(A) by striking clauses (i) 

4 and (ii) and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(i) $3,477,600,000 for fiscal year 2025; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(ii) $3,651,480,000 for fiscal year 

8 2026.’’; 

9 (4) in paragraph (3) by striking subparagraphs 

10 (A) and (B) and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) $15,415,000 for fiscal year 2025; and 

12 ‘‘(B) $16,185,750 for fiscal year 2026.’’; 

13 and 

14 (5) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(4) For retired pay, including the payment of 

17 obligations otherwise chargeable to lapsed appropria18 tions for purposes of retired pay, payments under 

19 the Retired Serviceman’s Family Protection Plan 

20 and the Survivor Benefit Plan, payment for career 

21 status bonuses, payment of continuation pay under 

22 section 356 of title 37, concurrent receipts, combat23 related special compensation, and payments for med24 ical care of retired personnel and their dependents 


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1 under chapter 55 of title 10, $1,147,244,000 for fis2 cal year 2025.’’. 

3 SEC. 102. SHORESIDE INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITIES 

4 AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. 

5 (a) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.—Of the amounts 

6 authorized to be appropriated under section 4902(2)(A) 

7 of title 14, United States Code— 

8 (1) for fiscal year 2025, $36,300,000 is author9 ized to modernize the Coast Guard’s information 

10 technology systems, of which $11,000,000 is author11 ized to fund the acquisition, development, and imple12 mentation of a new credentialing system for the 

13 Merchant Mariner credentialing program; and 

14 (2) for fiscal year 2026, $36,300,000 is author15 ized to modernize the Coast Guard’s information 

16 technology systems. 

17 (b) SHORESIDE INFRASTRUCTURE.—Of the amounts 

18 authorized to be appropriated under section 4902(2)(A) 

19 of title 14, United States Code— 

20 (1) for fiscal year 2025, $500,000,000 is au21 thorized to fund maintenance, construction, and re22 pairs for Coast Guard shoreside infrastructure, of 

23 which— 

24 (A) $225,000,000 is authorized for the 

25 purposes of improvements to facilities at the 


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1 United States Coast Guard Training Center 

2 Cape May in Cape May, New Jersey; 

3 (B) $10,000,000 is authorized to fund the 

4 creation of an infrastructure development plan 

5 for the Coast Guard Academy in New London, 

6 Connecticut; 

7 (C) $50,000,000 is authorized to complete 

8 repairs and improvements of Chase Hall at the 

9 Coast Guard Academy in New London, Con10 necticut, including remediation of asbestos, 

11 lead, and mold and upgrading the electric outlet 

12 availability and storage space in student rooms, 

13 and making changes to house not more than 2 

14 Officer Candidates in a room; 

15 (D) $70,000,000 is authorized for the pur16 poses of planning, designing, and building a 

17 floating drydock at the United States Coast 

18 Guard Yard in Baltimore, Maryland; 

19 (E) $40,000,000 is authorized for the pur20 poses of planning, designing, and building a 

21 hangar to house, at a minimum, 2 HC–130J 

22 Super Hercules aircraft at Air Station Barbers 

23 Point in Kapolei, Hawaii; and 


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1 (F) $90,000,000 is authorized to fund wa2 terfront improvements of Coast Guard Base Se3 attle; and 

4 (2) for fiscal year 2026, $600,000,000 is au5 thorized to fund maintenance, construction, and re6 pairs for Coast Guard shoreside infrastructure, of 

7 which— 

8 (A) $125,000,000 is authorized for the 

9 purposes of improvements to facilities at the 

10 United States Coast Guard Training Center 

11 Cape May in Cape May, New Jersey; 

12 (B) $100,000,000 is authorized to execute 

13 the infrastructure development plan for the 

14 Coast Guard Academy in New London, Con15 necticut developed in paragraph (1)(C); 

16 (C) $100,000,000 is authorized for the 

17 purposes of planning, designing, and building a 

18 floating drydock at the United States Coast 

19 Guard Yard in Baltimore, Maryland; 

20 (D) $40,000,000 is authorized for the pur21 poses of planning, designing, and building a 

22 hangar to house at a minimum 2 HC–130J 

23 Super Hercules aircraft at Air Station Barbers 

24 Point in Kapolei, Hawaii; and 


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1 (E) $90,000,000 is authorized to fund wa2 terfront improvements of Coast Guard Base Se3 attle. 

4 SEC. 103. AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS FOR ACQUISITION OF 

5 ADDITIONAL VESSELS AND AIRCRAFT. 

6 (a) FISCAL YEAR 2025.—Of the amounts authorized 

7 to be appropriated under section 4902(2)(A) of title 14, 

8 United States Code, for fiscal year 2025— 

9 (1) $138,500,000 is authorized for the acquisi10 tion or procurement of 1 missionized HC–130J 

11 Super Hercules aircraft; and 

12 (2) $36,000,000 is authorized for the service 

13 life extension program and any necessary upgrades 

14 of the 47-foot Motor Life Boat. 

15 (b) FISCAL YEAR 2026.—Of the amounts authorized 

16 to be appropriated under section 4902(2)(A) of title 14, 

17 United States Code, for fiscal year 2026— 

18 (1) $1,200,000,000 is authorized for the acqui19 sition of a Polar Security Cutter; 

20 (2) $1,100,000,000 is authorized for the acqui21 sition of 2 Offshore Patrol Cutters; 

22 (3) $138,500,000 is authorized for the acquisi23 tion or procurement of 1 missionized HC–130J 

24 Super Hercules aircraft; and 


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1 (4) $153,500,000 is authorized to outfit and as2 semble 5 MH–60T Jayhawk aircrafts. 

3 SEC. 104. AUTHORIZATION FOR CERTAIN PROGRAMS AND 

4 SERVICES. 

5 (a) FISCAL YEAR 2025.—Of the amounts authorized 

6 to be appropriated under section 4902(1)(A) of title 14, 

7 United States Code, for fiscal year 2025— 

8 (1) $11,978,000 is authorized to fund addi9 tional recruiting personnel and offices for the Coast 

10 Guard Recruiting Command; 

11 (2) $9,000,000 is authorized to enhance Coast 

12 Guard recruiting capabilities; and 

13 (3) $25,000,000 is authorized for the imple14 mentation of each directed action outlined in enclo15 sure 1 of the memorandum of the Commandant ti16 tled ‘‘Commandant’s Directed Actions-Accountability 

17 and Transparency’’, dated November 27, 2023. 

18 (b) FISCAL YEAR 2026.—Of the amounts authorized 

19 to be appropriated under section 4902(1)(A) of title 14, 

20 United States Code, $35,000,000 is authorized for the im21 plementation of each directed action outlined in enclosure 

22 1 of the memorandum of the Commandant titled ‘‘Com23 mandant’s Directed Actions-Accountability and Trans24 parency’’, dated November 27, 2023. 


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1 SEC. 105. AUTHORIZED LEVELS OF MILITARY STRENGTH 

2 AND TRAINING. 

3 Section 4904 of title 14, United States Code, is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘fiscal years 

6 2022 and 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2025 

7 and 2026’’; and 

8 (2) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘fiscal years 

9 2022 and 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2025 

10 and 2026’’. 

11 TITLE II—COAST GUARD 

12 Subtitle A—Organization and 

13 Authorities 

14 SEC. 201. PROHIBITION ON USE OF LEAD SYSTEMS INTE15 GRATORS. 

16 Section 1105 of title 14, United States Code, is 

17 amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(c) LEAD SYSTEMS INTEGRATOR DEFINED.—In 

19 this section, the term ‘lead systems integrator’ has the 

20 meaning given such term in section 805(c) of the National 

21 Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (Public 

22 Law 109–163).’’. 

23 SEC. 202. MINOR CONSTRUCTION INCREASE. 

24 Section 903(d)(1) of title 14, United States Code, is 

25 amended by striking ‘‘$1,500,000’’ and inserting 

26 ‘‘$2,000,000’’. 


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1 SEC. 203. TSUNAMI EVACUATION PLANS. 

2 (a) TSUNAMI EVACUATION PLANS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commandant, 

5 in consultation with the Administrator of the Na6 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and 

7 the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man8 agement Agency, shall establish location specific tsu9 nami evacuation plans for each unit and sector of 

10 the Coast Guard that has facilities, personnel, or as11 sets located within areas— 

12 (A) designated by the Administrator of the 

13 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra14 tion as high risk or very high risk of a United 

15 States tsunami hazard; and 

16 (B) that are located inside a tsunami inun17 dation zone. 

18 (2) EVACUATION PLANS.—In establishing the 

19 evacuation plans under paragraph (1), the Com20 mandant shall ensure that such plans— 

21 (A) are included in the emergency action 

22 plans for each unit or sector located inside of 

23 a tsunami inundation zone; 

24 (B) designate an evacuation route to an 

25 assembly area located outside of a tsunami in26 undation zone; 


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1 (C) include a map or diagram of all tsu2 nami inundation zone evacuation routes; 

3 (D) include evacuation routes for all Coast 

4 Guard personnel and dependents of such per5 sonnel living in Coast Guard housing; 

6 (E) are feasible for all servicemembers and 

7 dependents of such servicemembers present on 

8 Coast Guard property or living in Coast Guard 

9 provided housing; 

10 (F) include procedures to begin evacu11 ations once a major seismic event is detected; 

12 (G) include evacuation plans for air and 

13 water assets that do not impinge on the safety 

14 of human life; 

15 (H) are able to be completely executed 

16 within 15 minutes of detection of a seismic 

17 event or, if not possible within 15 minutes, 

18 within a reasonable timeframe; 

19 (I) are able to be completely executed by 

20 servicemembers on foot from any location with21 in the tsunami inundation zone; 

22 (J) are exercised biennially by each unit 

23 and sector located in a tsunami inundation 

24 zone; and 


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1 (K) are evaluated by leadership at each 

2 unit and sector located in a tsunami inundation 

3 zone annually. 

4 (3) CONSULTATION.—In establishing the evacu5 ation plans under paragraph (1), the Commandant 

6 shall consult local governments. 

7 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

8 of enactment of this Act, the Commandant shall submit 

9 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

10 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

11 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, 

12 and provide a briefing to each such Committee on, a re13 port on— 

14 (1) the status of the implementation and feasi15 bility of the plans established under subsection 

16 (a)(1); 

17 (2) a risk evaluation and vulnerability assess18 ment of the infrastructure and assets located within 

19 tsunami inundation zones; 

20 (3) the need for vertical evacuation structures 

21 for units and sectors in which an evacuation of a 

22 tsunami inundation zone cannot be completed on 

23 foot within 15 minutes of the detection of a seismic 

24 event; and 


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1 (4) whether the plans established under sub2 section (a)(1) achieve the purpose to protect human 

3 life and ensure the ability for the Coast Guard to 

4 provide search and rescue operations following a tsu5 nami event in the area. 

6 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 (1) SEISMIC EVENT.—The term ‘‘seismic event’’ 

8 means an earthquake, volcanic eruption, submarine 

9 landslide, coastal rockfall, or other event with the 

10 magnitude to cause a tsunami. 

11 (2) TSUNAMI INUNDATION ZONE.—The term 

12 ‘‘tsunami inundation zone’’ means an area of inland 

13 flooding modeled, predicted, or forecasted as a po14 tential result of a tsunami or seismic event. 

15 (3) VERTICAL EVACUATION STRUCTURE.—The 

16 term ‘‘vertical evacuation structure’’ means an ele17 vated structure above the tsunami inundation zone 

18 designated as a place of refuge from flood waters. 

19 SEC. 204. SERVICE LIFE EXTENSION PROGRAMS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 11 of 

21 title 14, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

22 end the following: 

23 ‘‘§ 1138. Service life extension programs 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Requirements for a Level 1 or 

25 Level 2 acquisition project or program under sections 


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1 1131 through 1134 shall not apply to an acquisition by 

2 the Coast Guard that is a service life extension program. 

3 ‘‘(b) SERVICE LIFE EXTENSION PROGRAM DE4 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘service life extension 

5 program’ means a capital investment that is solely in6 tended to extend the service life and address obsolescence 

7 of components or systems of a particular capability or 

8 asset.’’. 

9 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap10 ter 11 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by in11 serting after the item relating to section 1137 the fol12 lowing: 

‘‘1138. Service life extension programs.’’. 

13 SEC. 205. MARITIME DOMAIN AWARENESS IN COAST GUARD 

14 SECTOR FOR PUERTO RICO AND VIRGIN IS15 LANDS. 

16 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

17 of this Act, the Commandant shall submit to the Com18 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

19 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

20 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report con21 taining— 

22 (1) an overview of the maritime domain aware23 ness in the area of responsibility of the Coast Guard 

24 sector responsible for Puerto Rico and the United 

25 States Virgin Islands, including— 


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1 (A) the average volume of known maritime 

2 traffic that transited the area during fiscal 

3 years 2020 through 2023; 

4 (B) current sensor platforms deployed by 

5 such sector to monitor illicit activity occurring 

6 at sea in such area; 

7 (C) the number of illicit activity incidents 

8 at sea in such area that the sector responded to 

9 during fiscal years 2020 through 2023; 

10 (D) an estimate of the volume of traffic 

11 engaged in illicit activity at sea in such area 

12 and the type and description of any vessels used 

13 to carry out illicit activities that such sector re14 sponded to during fiscal years 2020 through 

15 2023; and 

16 (E) the maritime domain awareness re17 quirements to effectively meet the mission of 

18 such sector; 

19 (2) a description of current actions taken by the 

20 Coast Guard to partner with Federal, regional, 

21 State, and local entities to meet the maritime do22 main awareness needs of such area; 

23 (3) a description of any gaps in maritime do24 main awareness within the area of responsibility of 

25 such sector resulting from an inability to meet the 


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1 enduring maritime domain awareness requirements 

2 of the sector or adequately respond to maritime dis3 order, including illicit drug and migrant activity; 

4 (4) an identification of current technology and 

5 assets the Coast Guard has to mitigate the gaps 

6 identified in paragraph (3); 

7 (5) an identification of capabilities needed to 

8 mitigate such gaps, including any capabilities the 

9 Coast Guard currently possesses that can be de10 ployed to the sector; 

11 (6) an identification of technology and assets 

12 the Coast Guard does not currently possess and are 

13 needed to acquire in order to address such gaps; and 

14 (7) an identification of any financial obstacles 

15 that prevent the Coast Guard from deploying exist16 ing commercially available sensor technology to ad17 dress such gaps. 

18 SEC. 206. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION ON 

19 MONTHLY DRUG AND MIGRANT INTERDIC20 TIONS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 11269 of the Don Young 

22 Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022 (Public Law 117– 

23 263) is— 


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1 (1) transferred to appear at the end of sub2 chapter II of chapter 5 of title 14, United States 

3 Code; 

4 (2) redesignated as section 529; and 

5 (3) amended— 

6 (A) by striking the section enumerator and 

7 heading and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘§ 529. Public availability of information on monthly 

9 drug and migrant interdictions’’; 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘Not later than’’ and in11 serting the following: 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than’’; 

13 (C) by inserting ‘‘drug and’’ before ‘‘mi14 grant interdictions’’; and 

15 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—In making information about 

17 interdictions publicly available under subsection (a), the 

18 Commandant shall include a description of the following: 

19 ‘‘(1) The number of incidents in which drugs 

20 were interdicted, the amount and type of drugs 

21 interdicted, and the Coast Guard sectors and geo22 graphic areas of responsibility in which such inci23 dents occurred. 

24 ‘‘(2) The number of incidents in which mi25 grants were interdicted, the number of migrants 


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1 interdicted, and the Coast Guard sectors and geo2 graphic areas of responsibility in which such inci3 dents occurred.’’. 

4 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

5 (1) The analysis for chapter 5 of title 14, 

6 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

7 the item relating to section 528 the following: 

‘‘529. Public availability of information on monthly drug and migrant interdictions.’’. 

8 (2) The table of sections in section 11001(b) of 

9 the Don Young Coast Guard Authorization Act of 

10 2022 (division K of Public Law 117–263) is amend11 ed by striking the item relating to section 11269. 

12 SEC. 207. REPORT ON ESTABLISHMENT OF UNMANNED SYS13 TEMS CAPABILITIES OFFICE. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act, the Commandant shall sub16 mit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc17 ture of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

18 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

19 a report that outlines a plan for establishing an unmanned 

20 systems capabilities office within the Coast Guard respon21 sible for the acquisition and development of unmanned 

22 system and counter-unmanned system technologies and to 

23 expand the capabilities of the Coast Guard with respect 

24 to such technologies. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required under sub2 section (a) shall include the following: 

3 (1) A management strategy for the acquisition, 

4 development, and deployment of unmanned system 

5 and counter-unmanned system technologies. 

6 (2) A service-wide coordination strategy to syn7 chronize and integrate efforts across the Coast 

8 Guard in order to— 

9 (A) support the primary duties of the 

10 Coast Guard pursuant to section 102 of title 

11 14, United States Code; and 

12 (B) pursue expanded research, develop13 ment, testing, and evaluation opportunities and 

14 funding to expand and accelerate identification 

15 and transition of unmanned system and 

16 counter-unmanned system technologies. 

17 (3) The identification of contracting and acqui18 sition authorities needed to expedite the development 

19 and deployment of unmanned system and counter20 unmanned system technologies. 

21 (4) A detailed list of commercially available un22 manned system and counter-unmanned system tech23 nologies with capabilities determined to be useful for 

24 the Coast Guard. 


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1 (5) A cross-agency collaboration plan to engage 

2 with the Department of Homeland Security, the De3 partment of Defense, and other relevant agencies to 

4 identify common requirements and opportunities to 

5 partner in acquiring, contracting, and sustaining un6 manned system and counter-unmanned system capa7 bilities. 

8 (6) Opportunities to obtain and share un9 manned system data from government and commer10 cial sources to improve maritime domain awareness. 

11 (7) The development of a concept of operations 

12 for a data ecosystem that supports and integrates 

13 unmanned system and counter-unmanned system 

14 technologies with key enablers, including enterprise 

15 communications networks, data storage and manage16 ment, artificial intelligence and machine learning 

17 tools, and information sharing and dissemination ca18 pabilities. 

19 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 (1) COUNTER-UNMANNED SYSTEM.—The term 

21 ‘‘counter-unmanned system’’ means a system or de22 vice capable of lawfully and safely disabling, dis23 rupting, or seizing control of an unmanned system, 

24 including a counter-UAS system (as such term is deVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 Mar 27, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7659.IH H7659

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1 fined in section 44801 of title 49, United States 

2 Code). 

3 (2) UNMANNED SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘un4 manned system’’ means an unmanned surface, un5 dersea, or aircraft and associated elements (includ6 ing communication links and the components that 

7 control the unmanned system) that are required for 

8 the operator to operate the system safely and effi9 ciently, including an unmanned aircraft system (as 

10 such term is defined in section 44801 of title 49, 

11 United States Code). 

12 SEC. 208. GREAT LAKES ICEBREAKER. 

13 Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 

14 of this Act, the Commandant shall submit to the Com15 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

16 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

17 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a strategy de18 tailing how the Coast Guard will complete design and con19 struction of the Great Lakes icebreaker at least as capable 

20 as the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw (WLBB–30) in not 

21 more than 3 years after funding is provided for such ice22 breaker. 


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1 SEC. 209. CONSIDERATION OF LIFE-CYCLE COST ESTI2 MATES FOR ACQUISITION AND PROCURE3 MENT. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 11 of 

5 title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following: 

7 ‘‘§ 1138. Consideration of life-cycle cost estimates for 

8 acquisition and procurement 

9 ‘‘In carrying out the acquisition and procurement of 

10 vessels and aircraft, the Secretary of the department in 

11 which the Coast Guard is operating, acting through the 

12 Commandant of the Coast Guard, shall consider the life13 cycle cost estimates of vessels and aircraft, as applicable, 

14 during the design and evaluation processes to the max15 imum extent practicable.’’. 

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap17 ter 11 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by in18 serting after the item relating to section 1137 the fol19 lowing: 

‘‘1138. Consideration of life-cycle cost estimates for acquisition and procurement.’’. 

20 SEC. 210. AUTHORIZATION OF CERTAIN SUPPORT FOR 

21 COAST GUARD ACADEMY FOUNDATIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 19 of title 

23 14, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

24 the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 1907. Authorization of certain support for Coast 

2 Guard Academy foundations 

3 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—Subject to subsection (b) and 

4 pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the 

5 department in which the Coast Guard is operating, the 

6 Superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy may author7 ize a covered foundation to use, on an unreimbursed basis, 

8 facilities or equipment of the Coast Guard Academy. 

9 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—Use of facilities or equipment 

10 under subsection (a) may be provided only if such use has 

11 been reviewed and approved by an attorney of the Coast 

12 Guard and only if such use— 

13 ‘‘(1) is without any liability of the United 

14 States to the covered foundation; 

15 ‘‘(2) does not affect the ability of any official or 

16 employee of the Coast Guard, or any member of the 

17 Armed Forces, to carry out any responsibility or 

18 duty in a fair and objective manner; 

19 ‘‘(3) does not compromise the integrity or ap20 pearance of integrity of any program of the Coast 

21 Guard, or any individual involved in such a program; 

22 ‘‘(4) does not include the participation of any 

23 cadet other than participation in an honor guard at 

24 an event of the covered foundation; and 

25 ‘‘(5) complies with any applicable ethics regula26 tions. 


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1 ‘‘(c) BRIEFING.—In any fiscal year during which the 

2 Superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy exercises the 

3 authority under subsection (a), the Commandant of the 

4 Coast Guard shall provide a briefing to the Committee on 

5 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep6 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

7 and Transportation of the Senate not later than the last 

8 day of that fiscal year regarding the number of events or 

9 activities of a covered foundation supported by such exer10 cise during such fiscal year. 

11 ‘‘(d) COVERED FOUNDATION DEFINED.—In this sec12 tion, the term ‘covered foundation’ means a charitable, 

13 educational, or civic nonprofit organization under section 

14 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, that the 

15 Secretary concerned determines operates exclusively to 

16 support, with respect to a Service Academy, any of the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(1) Recruiting. 

19 ‘‘(2) Parent or alumni development. 

20 ‘‘(3) Academic, leadership, or character develop21 ment. 

22 ‘‘(4) Institutional development. 

23 ‘‘(5) Athletics.’’. 

24 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap25 ter 19 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by inVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 Mar 27, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7659.IH H7659

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1 serting after the item relating to section 1906 the fol2 lowing: 

‘‘1907. Authorization of certain support for Coast Guard Academy foundations.’’. 

3 SEC. 211. NATIONAL COAST GUARD MUSEUM. 

4 Section 316 of title 14, United States Code, is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘The Sec8 retary’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in 

9 paragraph (2), the Secretary’’; and 

10 (B) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘engi11 neering and design of a Museum’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘design of a Museum, and engineering, con13 struction administration, and quality assurance 

14 services of a Museum’’; 

15 (2) by amending subsection (e)(2)(A) to read as 

16 follows: 

17 ‘‘(A) lease from the Association for Coast 

18 Guard operations the Museum and properties 

19 owned by the Association adjacent to the rail20 road tracks to which the property on which the 

21 Museum is located are adjacent; and’’; and 

22 (3) by amending subsection (g) to read as fol23 lows: 


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1 ‘‘(g) SERVICES.—With respect to the services related 

2 to the construction, maintenance, and operation of the 

3 Museum, the Commandant may— 

4 ‘‘(1) solicit and accept services from nonprofit 

5 entities, including the Association; and 

6 ‘‘(2) enter into contracts or memorandums of 

7 agreement with or make grants to the Association to 

8 acquire such services.’’. 

9 SEC. 212. REGULAR POLAR SECURITY CUTTER UPDATES. 

10 (a) REPORT.— 

11 (1) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 60 

12 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

13 Commandant shall submit to the Committee on 

14 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

15 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

16 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

17 on the status of acquisition of the first Polar Secu18 rity Cutter. 

19 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report under paragraph 

20 (1) shall include— 

21 (A) a detailed timeline for the acquisition 

22 process of the first Polar Security Cutter, in23 cluding expected milestones and projected com24 missioning date; 


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1 (B) an accounting of the previously appro2 priated funds spent to date on the Polar Secu3 rity Cutter Program, updated cost projections 

4 for the first Polar Security Cutter, and projec5 tions for when additional funds will be required; 

6 (C) potential factors and risks that could 

7 further delay or imperil the completion of the 

8 first Polar Security Cutter; and 

9 (D) a review of the acquisition of the first 

10 Polar Security Cutter to date, including factors 

11 that led to substantial cost overruns and deliv12 ery delays. 

13 (b) BRIEFINGS.— 

14 (1) PROVISION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

15 60 days after the submission of the report under 

16 subsection (a), and not less frequently than every 60 

17 days thereafter, the Commandant shall provide to 

18 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

19 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

20 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

21 Senate a briefing on the status of the Polar Security 

22 Cutter acquisition process. 

23 (2) TIMELINE.—The briefings under paragraph 

24 (1) shall occur after any key milestone in the Polar 


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1 Security Cutter acquisition process, but not less fre2 quently than every 60 days. 

3 (3) ELEMENTS.—Each briefing under para4 graph (1) shall include— 

5 (A) a summary of acquisition progress 

6 since the most recent previous briefing con7 ducted pursuant to paragraph (1); 

8 (B) an updated timeline and budget esti9 mate for acquisition and building of pending 

10 Polar Security Cutters; and 

11 (C) an explanation of any delays or addi12 tional costs incurred in the acquisition progress. 

13 (c) NOTIFICATIONS.—In addition to the briefings re14 quired under subsection (b), the Commandant shall notify 

15 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

16 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com17 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate within 

18 3 business days of any significant change to the scope or 

19 funding level of the Polar Security Cutter acquisition 

20 strategy of such change. 

21 SEC. 213. TECHNOLOGY PILOT PROGRAM. 

22 Section 319(b)(1) of title 14, United States Code, is 

23 amended by striking ‘‘2’’ and inserting ‘‘4’’. 


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1 SEC. 214. REPORT ON CONDITION OF MISSOURI RIVER 

2 DAYBOARDS. 

3 (a) PROVISION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 

4 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Com5 mandant shall submit to the Committee on Transportation 

6 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and 

7 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

8 of the Senate a report on the condition of dayboards and 

9 the placement of buoys on the Missouri River. 

10 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report under paragraph (1) 

11 shall include— 

12 (1) a list of the most recent date on which each 

13 dayboard and buoy was serviced by the Coast Guard; 

14 (2) an overview of the plan of the Coast Guard 

15 to systematically service each dayboard and buoy on 

16 the Missouri River; and 

17 (3) assigned points of contact. 

18 SEC. 215. DELEGATION OF PORTS AND WATERWAYS SAFETY 

19 AUTHORITIES IN ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY. 

20 Section 70032 of title 46, United States Code, is 

21 amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘§ 70032. Saint Lawrence Seaway 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

24 (b), the authority granted to the Secretary under sections 

25 70001, 70002, 70003, 70004, and 70011 may not be dele26 gated with respect to the Saint Lawrence Seaway to any 


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1 agency other than the Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Sea2 way Development Corporation. Any other authority grant3 ed the Secretary under subchapters I through III and this 

4 subchapter shall be delegated by the Secretary to the 

5 Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Cor6 poration to the extent the Secretary determines such dele7 gation is necessary for the proper operation of the Saint 

8 Lawrence Seaway. 

9 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary of the department 

10 in which the Coast Guard is operating, after consultation 

11 with the Secretary of Transportation, or the head of an 

12 agency to which the Secretary has delegated the authori13 ties in subsection (a), may— 

14 ‘‘(1) issue and enforce special orders in accord15 ance with section 70002; 

16 ‘‘(2) establish water or waterfront safety zones, 

17 or other measures, for limited, controlled, or condi18 tional access and activity when necessary for the 

19 protection of any vessel structure, waters, or shore 

20 area, as permitted in section 70011(b)(2); and 

21 ‘‘(3) take actions for port, harbor, and coastal 

22 facility security in accordance with section 70116.’’. 


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1 SEC. 216. ADJUSTMENT OF LIABILITY LIMITS FOR NAT2 URAL GAS DEEPWATER PORTS. 

3 Section 1004(d)(2) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 

4 (33 U.S.C. 2704(d)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(2) DEEPWATER PORTS AND ASSOCIATED VES6 SELS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary deter8 mines that the design and operation of a class 

9 or category of deepwater port results in a lower 

10 risk of oil pollution than other deepwater ports, 

11 the Secretary may initiate a rulemaking pro12 ceeding to lower the limit of liability under sub13 section (a)(4) for such class or category of 

14 deepwater port. 

15 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining 

16 the risk of oil pollution for a class or category 

17 of deepwater port under subparagraph (A), the 

18 Secretary shall take into account the size, oil 

19 storage capacity, oil handling capacity, oil 

20 throughput, proximity to sensitive areas, type of 

21 oil handled, history of oil discharges, and any 

22 other factors relevant to the oil pollution risks 

23 posed by the class or category of deepwater port 

24 and associated vessels, as the Secretary deter25 mines appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(C) AMOUNT OF LIABILITY LIMIT.—In 

2 lowering the limit of liability for a class or cat3 egory of deepwater port under this paragraph, 

4 the Secretary may establish a limit of liability 

5 of— 

6 ‘‘(i) not less than $50,000,000 for 

7 deepwater ports used in connection with 

8 the transportation of oil; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) not less than $1,000,000 for 

10 deepwater ports used in connection with 

11 the transportation of natural gas.’’. 

12 SEC. 217. STUDY ON COAST GUARD MISSIONS. 

13 (a) STUDY.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

15 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commandant 

16 shall seek to enter into an agreement with a feder17 ally funded research and development center with 

18 relevant expertise under which such center shall con19 duct an assessment of the operational capabilities 

20 and ability of the Coast Guard to conduct the pri21 mary duties of the Coast Guard under section 102 

22 of title 14, United States Code, and missions under 

23 section 888 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

24 (6 U.S.C. 468). 


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1 (2) ELEMENTS.—In carrying out the assess2 ment required under paragraph (1), the federally 

3 funded research and development center selected 

4 under such subsection shall, with respect to the pri5 mary duties and missions described in paragraph 

6 (1), include the following: 

7 (A) An analysis of the extent to which the 

8 Coast Guard is able to effectively carry out 

9 such duties and missions. 

10 (B) Recommendations for the Coast Guard 

11 to more effectively carry out such duties and 

12 missions, in light of manpower and asset con13 straints. 

14 (C) Recommendations of which such duties 

15 and missions should be transferred to other de16 partments or eliminated in light of the man17 power and asset constraints of the Coast 

18 Guard. 

19 (D) An analysis of the benefits and draw20 backs of transferring the Coast Guard or any of 

21 the duties and missions of the Cost Guard to 

22 other appropriate Federal departments or inde23 pendent agencies. 

24 (b) ASSESSMENT TO COMMANDANT.—Not later than 

25 1 year after the date on which Commandant enters into 


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1 an agreement under section (a), the federally funded re2 search and development center selected under such sub3 section shall submit to the Commandant the assessment 

4 required under subsection (a). 

5 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

7 receipt of the assessment under subsection (b), the 

8 Commandant shall submit to the Committee on 

9 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

10 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

11 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

12 that includes recommendations included in the as13 sessment to strengthen the ability of the Coast 

14 Guard to carry out such duties and missions. 

15 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required under 

16 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

17 (A) The assessment received by the Com18 mandant under subsection (b). 

19 (B) For each recommendation included in 

20 the such assessment— 

21 (i) an assessment by the Commandant 

22 of the feasibility and advisability of imple23 menting such recommendation; and 

24 (ii) if the Commandant of the Coast 

25 Guard considers the implementation of 


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1 such recommendation feasible and advis2 able, a description of the actions taken, or 

3 to be taken, to implement such rec4 ommendation. 

5 Subtitle B—Personnel 

6 SEC. 221. DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY FOR CIVILIAN FACULTY 

7 AT THE COAST GUARD ACADEMY. 

8 Section 1941 of title 14, United States Code, is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub11 section (c); and 

12 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(b) The Secretary may, without regard to the ap15 pointment requirements of title 5, United States Code, 

16 noncompetitively appoint a highly qualified candidate to 

17 a faculty position in the excepted service.’’. 

18 SEC. 222. TEMPORARY EXEMPTION FROM AUTHORIZED 

19 END STRENGTH FOR COAST GUARD EN20 LISTED MEMBERS ON ACTIVE DUTY. 

21 Notwithstanding section 517 of title 10, United 

22 States Code, and until October 1, 2027, the authorized 

23 end strength for enlisted members on active duty (other 

24 than for training) in the Coast Guard in pay grades E– 

25 8 and E–9 may be more than 3.0 percent and 1.25 percent 


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1 respectively of the number of enlisted members of the 

2 Coast Guard who are on active duty other than for train3 ing. 

4 SEC. 223. ADDITIONAL AVAILABLE GUIDANCE AND CONSID5 ERATIONS FOR RESERVE SELECTION 

6 BOARDS. 

7 Section 3740(f) of title 14, United States Code, is 

8 amended by striking ‘‘section 2117’’ and inserting ‘‘sec9 tions 2115 and 2117’’. 

10 SEC. 224. PARENTAL LEAVE PARITY FOR MEMBERS OF CER11 TAIN RESERVE COMPONENTS OF COAST 

12 GUARD. 

13 (a) PARENTAL LEAVE.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 29 

15 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by add16 ing at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘§ 2907. Parental leave for members of certain re18 serve components of Coast Guard 

19 ‘‘(a)(1) Under regulations prescribed by the Sec20 retary, a member of the reserve component of the Coast 

21 Guard described in subsection (b) is allowed parental leave 

22 for a duration of up to 12 inactive-duty training periods, 

23 under section 206 of title 37, during the one-year period 

24 beginning after the following events: 


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1 ‘‘(A) the birth or adoption of a child of the 

2 member and to care for such child; or 

3 ‘‘(B) the placement of a minor child with the 

4 member for adoption or long-term foster care. 

5 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary of the department in which the 

6 Coast Guard is operating, may authorize leave described 

7 under subparagraph (A) to be taken after the one-year 

8 period described in subparagraph (A) in the case of a 

9 member described in subsection (b) who, except for this 

10 subparagraph, would lose unused parental leave at the end 

11 of the one-year period described in subparagraph (A) as 

12 a result of— 

13 ‘‘(i) operational requirements; 

14 ‘‘(ii) professional military education obligations; 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(iii) other circumstances that the Secretary de17 termines reasonable and appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(B) The regulations prescribed under clause (i) shall 

19 require that any leave authorized to be taken after the 

20 one-year period described in subparagraph (A) shall be 

21 taken within a reasonable period of time, as determined 

22 by the Secretary in which the department is operating, 

23 after cessation of the circumstances warranting the ex24 tended deadline. 


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1 ‘‘(b) A member described in this subsection is a mem2 ber of the Coast Guard who is a member of— 

3 ‘‘(1) the selected reserve who is entitled to com4 pensation under section 206 of title 37; or 

5 ‘‘(2) the individual ready reserve who is entitled 

6 to compensation under section 206 of title 37 when 

7 attending or participating in a sufficient number of 

8 periods of inactive-duty training during a year to 

9 count the year as a qualifying year of creditable 

10 service toward eligibility for retired pay.’’. 

11 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

12 chapter 29 of title 14, United States Code, is 

13 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec14 tion 2906 the following: 

‘‘2907. Parental leave for members of certain reserve components of Coast 

Guard.’’. 

15 (b) COMPENSATION.—Section 206(a)(4) of title 37, 

16 United States Code, is amended by inserting before the 

17 period at the end ‘‘or parental leave under section 2907 

18 of title 14’’. 

19 SEC. 225. AUTHORIZATION FOR MATERNITY UNIFORM AL20 LOWANCE FOR OFFICERS. 

21 Section 2708 of title 14, United States Code, is 

22 amended by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(c) The Coast Guard may provide a cash allowance 

24 in such amount as the Secretary of the department in 


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1 which the Coast Guard is operating shall determine in reg2 ulations to be paid to pregnant officer personnel for the 

3 purchase of maternity-related uniform items if such uni4 form items are not so furnished to the member.’’. 

5 SEC. 226. MODIFICATION TO CAREER INTERMISSION PRO6 GRAM. 

7 Section 2514 of title 14, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (c)(3) by striking ‘‘2 months’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘1 month’’; and 

11 (2) in subsection (h)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

13 and inserting a semicolon; 

14 (B) in paragraph (2) by striking the period 

15 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

16 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(3) the entitlement of the member and of the 

18 survivors of the member to all death benefits under 

19 the provisions of chapter 75 of title 10; 

20 ‘‘(4) the provision of all travel and transpor21 tation allowances for the survivors of deceased mem22 bers to attend burial ceremonies under section 481f 

23 of title 37; and 

24 ‘‘(5) the eligibility of the member for general 

25 benefits as provided in part II of title 38.’’. 


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1 SEC. 227. REPORT ON GAO RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOUS2 ING PROGRAM. 

3 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

4 of this Act, the Commandant shall submit to the Com5 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

6 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

7 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the 

8 status of the implementation of the recommendations con9 tained in the report of the Government Accountability Of10 fice titled ‘‘Coast Guard: Better Feedback Collection and 

11 Information Could Enhance Housing Program’’, and 

12 issued February 5, 2024 (GAO–24–106388). 

13 TITLE III—SHIPPING AND 

14 NAVIGATION 

15 Subtitle A—Vessel Operations 

16 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this subtitle: 

18 (1) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF.—The term 

19 ‘‘outer Continental Shelf’’ has the meaning given 

20 such term in section 2 of the Outer Continental 

21 Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331). 

22 (2) RULING LETTER.—The term ‘‘ruling letter’’ 

23 means any ruling letter or headquarters ruling letter 

24 relating to the enforcement of chapters 121 and 551 

25 of title 46, United States Code (commonly referred 

26 to as the ‘‘Jones Act’’), issued by the Commissioner 


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1 of U.S. Customs and Border Protection pursuant to 

2 sections 502(a) or 625 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 

3 U.S.C. 1502(a) and 1625). 

4 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

5 the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through 

6 the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Pro7 tection. 

8 SEC. 302. NOTIFICATION. 

9 (a) ADVANCE NOTIFICATION REQUIRED.—Prior to 

10 engaging in any activity or operations on the outer Conti11 nental Shelf, the operator of a foreign vessel used in such 

12 activity or operations shall file with the Secretary a notifi13 cation describing all activities and operations to be per14 formed on the outer Continental Shelf and an identifica15 tion of applicable ruling letters issued by the Secretary 

16 that have approved the use of a foreign vessel in a sub17 stantially similar activity or operation. 

18 (b) PUBLICATION OF NOTICES.— 

19 (1) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall publish 

20 a notification under subsection (a) in the Customs 

21 Bulletin and Decisions within 14 days of receipt of 

22 such notification. 

23 (2) CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.—The Sec24 retary shall redact any information exempt from dis25 closure under section 552 of title 5, United States 


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1 Code, in a notification published under paragraph 

2 (1). 

3 SEC. 303. PUBLICATION OF FINES AND PENALTIES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 55102 of title 46, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(d) PUBLICATION OF PENALTY.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 14 days 

9 after the issuance of a pre-penalty notice or a pen10 alty, including a settlement, under subsection (c), 

11 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall publish 

12 such pre-penalty notice or a notification of such pen13 alty in the Customs Bulletin and Decisions to the 

14 party impacted by the penalty. 

15 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—A pre-penalty notice or pen16 alty notification published under paragraph (1) shall 

17 include— 

18 ‘‘(A) the name and the International Mari19 time Organization identification number of the 

20 vessel that is the subject of the penalty; 

21 ‘‘(B) the name of the owner of the vessel 

22 that is the subject of the penalty; 

23 ‘‘(C) the amount of the fine or value of 

24 merchandise seized; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) a summary of the alleged misconduct 

2 and justification for imposing a penalty.’’. 

3 (b) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 90 days after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 

5 such regulations as are necessary to implement the 

6 amendments made by subsection (a), including— 

7 (1) regulations regarding the information to be 

8 contained in a penalty notification under section 

9 55102(d) of title 46, United States Code (as amend10 ed by such subsection); and 

11 (2) any changes to existing regulations relating 

12 to penalties issued by the Secretary. 

13 Subtitle B—Merchant Mariner 

14 Credentialing 

15 SEC. 311. REVISING MERCHANT MARINER DECK TRAINING 

16 REQUIREMENTS. 

17 (a) GENERAL DEFINITIONS.—Section 2101 of title 

18 46, United States Code, is amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (20) through 

20 (56) as paragraphs (21) through (57), respectively; 

21 and 

22 (2) by inserting after paragraph (19) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(20) ‘merchant mariner credential’ means a 

25 merchant mariner license, certificate, or document 


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1 that the Secretary is authorized to issue pursuant to 

2 this title.’’. 

3 (b) EXAMINATIONS.—Section 7116 of title 46, 

4 United States Code, is amended by striking subsection (c). 

5 (c) MERCHANT MARINERS DOCUMENTS.— 

6 (1) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—Section 7306 

7 of title 46, United States Code, is amended to read 

8 as follows: 

9 ‘‘§ 7306. General requirements and classifications for 

10 members of deck departments 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may issue a mer12 chant mariner credential, to members of the deck depart13 ment in the following classes: 

14 ‘‘(1) Able Seaman-Unlimited. 

15 ‘‘(2) Able Seaman-Limited. 

16 ‘‘(3) Able Seaman-Special. 

17 ‘‘(4) Able Seaman-Offshore Supply Vessels. 

18 ‘‘(5) Able Seaman-Sail. 

19 ‘‘(6) Able Seaman-Fishing Industry. 

20 ‘‘(7) Ordinary Seaman. 

21 ‘‘(b) CLASSIFICATION OF CREDENTIALS.—The Sec22 retary may classify the merchant mariner credential issued 

23 under subsection (a) based on— 

24 ‘‘(1) the tonnage and means of propulsion of 

25 vessels; 


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1 ‘‘(2) the waters on which vessels are to be oper2 ated; or 

3 ‘‘(3) other appropriate standards. 

4 ‘‘(c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In issuing the credential 

5 under subsection (a), the Secretary may consider the fol6 lowing qualifications of the merchant mariner: 

7 ‘‘(1) Age. 

8 ‘‘(2) Character. 

9 ‘‘(3) Habits of life. 

10 ‘‘(4) Experience. 

11 ‘‘(5) Professional qualifications demonstrated 

12 by satisfactory completion of applicable examinations 

13 or other educational requirements. 

14 ‘‘(6) Physical condition, including sight and 

15 hearing. 

16 ‘‘(7) Other requirements established by the Sec17 retary, including career patterns and service appro18 priate to the particular service, industry, or job 

19 functions the individual is engaged.’’. 

20 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

21 chapter 73 of title 46, United States Code, is 

22 amended by striking the item relating to section 

23 7306 and inserting the following: 

‘‘7306. General requirements and classifications for members of deck departments.’’. 


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1 (3) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERS

2 OF ENGINE DEPARTMENTS.—Section 7313(b) of title 

3 46, United States Code, is amended by striking 

4 ‘‘and coal passer’’. 

5 (4) TRAINING.—Section 7315 of title 46, 

6 United States Code, is amended— 

7 (A) by amending subsection (a) to read as 

8 follows: 

9 ‘‘(a) Graduation from a nautical school program ap10 proved by the Secretary may be substituted for the service 

11 requirements under sections 7307–7312 and 7314.’’; 

12 (B) in subsection (b)— 

13 (i) by striking ‘‘one-third’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘one-half’’; and 

15 (ii) by striking ‘‘7307–7311 of this 

16 title’’ and inserting ‘‘7307–7312 and 

17 7314’’; and 

18 (C) by striking subsection (c). 

19 (d) REDUCTION OF LENGTHS OF CERTAIN PERIODS

20 OF SERVICE.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title 46, United States 

22 Code, is amended as follows: 

23 (A) Section 7307 is amended by striking 

24 ‘‘18 months’’ and inserting ‘‘3 years’’. 


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1 (B) Section 7308 is amended by striking 

2 ‘‘12 months’’ and inserting ‘‘18 months’’. 

3 (C) Section 7309 is amended by striking 

4 ‘‘6 months’’ and inserting ‘‘12 months’’. 

5 (2) TEMPORARY REDUCTION OF LENGTHS OF

6 CERTAIN PERIODS OF SERVICE.—Section 3534(j) of 

7 the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

8 Year 2024 (Public Law 118–31) is repealed. 

9 (e) MERCHANT MARINER CREDENTIALS.—Section 

10 7510 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by strik11 ing subsection (d). 

12 (f) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of the depart13 ment in which the Coast Guard is operating shall imple14 ment the amended requirements under subsections (c)(3), 

15 (c)(4), and (c)(6) of this section without regard to chap16 ters 5 and 6 of title 5, United States Code, and Executive 

17 Orders 12866 and 13563 (5 U.S.C. 601 note). 

18 SEC. 312. AMENDMENTS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The heading for part E of subtitle 

20 II of title 46, United States Code, is amended by striking 

21 ‘‘MERCHANT SEAMEN LICENSES, CERTIFICATES, 

22 AND DOCUMENTS’’ and inserting ‘‘MERCHANT MAR23 INER CREDENTIALS’’. 

24 (b) ABLE SEAFARERS—UNLIMITED.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The section heading for sec2 tion 7307 of title 46, United States Code, is amend3 ed by striking ‘‘seamen’’ and inserting ‘‘sea4 farers’’. 

5 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

6 chapter 73 of title 46, United States Code, is further 

7 amended in the item relating to section 7307 by 

8 striking ‘‘seamen’’ and inserting ‘‘seafarers’’. 

9 (c) ABLE SEAMEN—LIMITED.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The section heading for sec11 tion 7308 of title 46, United States Code, is amend12 ed by striking ‘‘seamen’’ and inserting ‘‘sea13 farers’’. 

14 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

15 chapter 73 of title 46, United States Code, is further 

16 amended in the item relating to section 7308 by 

17 striking ‘‘seamen’’ and inserting ‘‘seafarers’’. 

18 (d) ABLE SEAFARERS—SPECIAL.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The section heading for sec20 tion 7309 of title 46, United States Code, is amend21 ed by striking ‘‘seamen’’ and inserting ‘‘sea22 farers’’. 

23 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

24 chapter 73 of title 46, United States Code, is further 


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1 amended in the item relating to section 7309 by 

2 striking ‘‘seamen’’ and inserting ‘‘seafarers’’. 

3 (e) ABLE SEAFARERS—OFFSHORE SUPPLY VES4 SELS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The section heading for sec6 tion 7310 of title 46, United States Code, is amend7 ed by striking ‘‘seamen’’ and inserting ‘‘sea8 farers’’. 

9 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

10 chapter 73 of title 46, United States Code, is further 

11 amended in the item relating to section 7310 by 

12 striking ‘‘seamen’’ and inserting ‘‘seafarers’’. 

13 (f) ABLE SEAFARERS—SAIL.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The section heading for sec15 tion 7311 of title 46, United States Code, is amend16 ed by striking ‘‘seamen’’ and inserting ‘‘sea17 farers’’. 

18 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

19 chapter 73 of title 46, United States Code, is further 

20 amended in the item relating to section 7311 by 

21 striking ‘‘seamen’’ and inserting ‘‘seafarers’’. 

22 (g) ABLE SEAMEN—FISHING INDUSTRY.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The section heading for sec24 tion 7311a of title 46, United States Code, is 


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1 amended by striking ‘‘seamen’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘seafarers’’. 

3 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

4 chapter 73 of title 46, United States Code, is further 

5 amended in the item relating to section 7311a by 

6 striking ‘‘seamen’’ and inserting ‘‘seafarers’’. 

7 (h) PARTS E AND F.—Parts E and F of subtitle II 

8 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘seaman’’ and inserting ‘‘sea10 farer’’ each place it appears; and 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘seamen’’ and inserting ‘‘sea12 farers’’ each place it appears. 

13 (i) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The analysis for sub14 title II of title 46, United States Code, is amended— 

15 (1) in the item relating to subtitle II by striking 

16 ‘‘Seamen’’ and inserting ‘‘Seafarer’’; and 

17 (2) in the item relating to part E by striking 

18 ‘‘MERCHANT SEAMEN LICENSES, CERTIFI19 CATES, AND DOCUMENTS’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘MERCHANT MARINER CREDENTIALS’’. 

21 SEC. 313. RENEWAL OF MERCHANT MARINER LICENSES 

22 AND DOCUMENTS. 

23 Section 7507 of title 46, United States Code, is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(d) RENEWAL.—With respect to any renewal of an 

2 active merchant mariner credential issued under this part 

3 that is not an extension under subsection (a) or (b), such 

4 credential shall begin the day after the expiration of the 

5 active credential of the credential holder.’’. 

6 SEC. 314. MERCHANT SEAMEN LICENSES, CERTIFICATES, 

7 AND DOCUMENTS; MANNING OF VESSELS. 

8 (a) CITIZENSHIP OR NONCITIZEN NATIONALITY.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 7102 of title 46, 

10 United States Code, is amended— 

11 (A) in the section heading by inserting ‘‘or 

12 noncitizen nationality’’ after ‘‘Citizen13 ship’’; and 

14 (B) by inserting ‘‘or noncitizen nationals 

15 (as such term is described in section 308 of the 

16 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

17 1408)’’ after ‘‘citizens’’. 

18 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

19 chapter 71 of title 46, United States Code, is 

20 amended by striking the item relating to section 

21 7102 and inserting the following: 

‘‘7102. Citizenship or noncitizen nationality.’’. 

22 (b) CITIZENSHIP OR NONCITIZEN NATIONALITY NO23 TATION ON MERCHANT MARINERS’ DOCUMENTS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 7304 of title 46, 

25 United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (A) in the section heading by inserting ‘‘or 

2 noncitizen nationality’’ after ‘‘Citizen3 ship’’; and 

4 (B) by inserting ‘‘or noncitizen national 

5 (as such term is described in section 308 of the 

6 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

7 1408)’’ after ‘‘citizen’’. 

8 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

9 chapter 73 of title 46, United States Code, is 

10 amended by striking the item relating to section 

11 7304 and inserting the following: 

‘‘7304. Citizenship or noncitizen nationality on merchant mariners’ documents.’’. 

12 (c) CITIZENSHIP OR NONCITIZEN NATIONALITY.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 8103 of title 46, 

14 United States Code, is amended— 

15 (A) in the section heading by inserting ‘‘or 

16 noncitizen nationality’’ after ‘‘Citizen17 ship’’; 

18 (B) in subsection (a) by inserting ‘‘or non19 citizen national’’ after ‘‘citizen’’; 

20 (C) in subsection (b)— 

21 (i) in paragraph (1)(A)(i) by inserting 

22 ‘‘or noncitizen national’’ after ‘‘citizen’’; 

23 (ii) in paragraph (3) by inserting ‘‘or 

24 noncitizen nationality’’ after ‘‘citizenship’’; 

25 and 


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1 (iii) in paragraph (3)(C) by inserting 

2 ‘‘or noncitizen nationals’’ after ‘‘citizens’’; 

3 (D) in subsection (c) by inserting ‘‘or non4 citizen nationals’’ after ‘‘citizens’’; 

5 (E) in subsection (d)— 

6 (i) in paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘or 

7 noncitizen nationals’’ after ‘‘citizens’’; and 

8 (ii) in paragraph (2) by inserting ‘‘or 

9 noncitizen national’’ after ‘‘citizen’’ each 

10 place it appears; 

11 (F) in subsection (e) by inserting ‘‘or non12 citizen national’’ after ‘‘citizen’’ each place it 

13 appears; 

14 (G) in subsection (i)(1)(A) by inserting ‘‘or 

15 noncitizen national’’ after ‘‘citizen’’; 

16 (H) in subsection (k)(1)(A) by inserting 

17 ‘‘or noncitizen national’’ after ‘‘citizen’’; and 

18 (I) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(l) NONCITIZEN NATIONAL DEFINED.—In this sec20 tion, the term ‘noncitizen national’ means an individual 

21 described in section 308 of the Immigration and Nation22 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1408).’’. 

23 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

24 chapter 81 of title 46, United States Code, is 


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1 amended by striking the item relating to section 

2 8103 and inserting the following: 

‘‘8103. Citizenship or noncitizen nationality and Navy Reserve requirements.’’. 

3 (d) COMMAND OF DOCUMENTED VESSELS.—Section 

4 12131(a) of title 46, United States Code, is amended by 

5 inserting ‘‘or noncitizen national (as such term is de6 scribed in section 308 of the Immigration and Nationality 

7 Act (8 U.S.C. 1408))’’ after ‘‘citizen’’. 

8 (e) INVALIDATION OF CERTIFICATES OF DOCU9 MENTATION.—Section 12135(2) of title 46, United States 

10 Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or noncitizen national (as 

11 such term is described in section 308 of the Immigration 

12 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1408))’’ after ‘‘citizen’’. 

13 Subtitle C—Vessel Safety 

14 SEC. 321. GROSSLY NEGLIGENT OPERATIONS OF A VESSEL. 

15 Section 2302(b) of title 46, United States Code, is 

16 amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(b) GROSSLY NEGLIGENT OPERATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) MISDEMEANOR.—A person operating a 

19 vessel in a grossly negligent manner that endangers 

20 the life, limb, or property of a person commits a 

21 class A misdemeanor. 

22 ‘‘(2) FELONY.—A person operating a vessel in 

23 a grossly negligent manner that results in serious 

24 bodily injury, as defined in section 1365(h)(3) of 

25 title 18— 


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1 ‘‘(A) commits a class E felony; and 

2 ‘‘(B) may be assessed a civil penalty of not 

3 more than $35,000.’’. 

4 SEC. 322. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE FOR SECURITY 

5 RISKS. 

6 (a) SECURITY RISK.—Section 7702(d)(1) of title 46, 

7 United States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) in subparagraph (B) by redesignating 

9 clauses (i) through (iv) as subclauses (I) through 

10 (IV), respectively (and by conforming the margins 

11 accordingly); 

12 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and 

13 (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively (and by con14 forming the margins accordingly); 

15 (3) by striking ‘‘an individual if—’’ and insert16 ing the following: ‘‘an individual— 

17 ‘‘(A) if—’’; 

18 (4) in subparagraph (A)(ii)(IV), as so redesig19 nated, by striking the period at the end and insert20 ing ‘‘; or’’; and 

21 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(B) if there is probable cause to believe 

23 that the individual has violated company policy 

24 and is a security risk that poses a threat to 

25 other individuals on the vessel.’’. 


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1 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 2101(47)(B) 

2 of title 46, United States Code (as so redesignated), is 

3 amended by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting ‘‘; or’’. 

4 SEC. 323. REQUIREMENTS FOR DUKW AMPHIBIOUS PAS5 SENGER VESSELS. 

6 Section 11502 of the James H. Inhofe National De7 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 

8 117–263) is amended— 

9 (1) in the section header by striking ‘‘DUKW

10 AMPHIBIOUS PASSENGER VESSELS’’ and insert11 ing ‘‘COMMERCIAL AMPHIBIOUS SMALL PAS12 SENGER VESSELS’’; 

13 (2) by striking ‘‘DUKW amphibious passenger 

14 vessel’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘com15 mercial amphibious small passenger vessel’’; 

16 (3) by striking ‘‘DUKW amphibious passenger 

17 vessels’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘com18 mercial amphibious small passenger vessels’’; 

19 (4) in subsection (h)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘DEFINITIONS’’ and all 

21 that follows through ‘‘the term ‘appropriate 

22 congressional committees’ ’’ and inserting ‘‘AP23 PROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE24 FINED.—The term ‘appropriate congressional 

25 committees’ ’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking paragraph (2); and 

2 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) APPLICATION.—This section shall 

4 apply to amphibious vessels operating as a 

5 small passenger vessel in waters subject to 

6 the jurisdiction of the United States, as 

7 such term is defined in section 2.38 of title 

8 33, Code of Federal Regulations (as in ef9 fect on the date of enactment of the Coast 

10 Guard Authorization Act of 2024).’’. 

11 SEC. 324. RISK-BASED EXAMINATION OF TANK VESSELS. 

12 Section 3714 of title 46, United States Code, is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘The Sec15 retary’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in sub16 section (c), the Secretary’’; 

17 (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub18 section (d); and 

19 (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(c) RISK-BASED EXAMINATION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to examina23 tions of foreign-flagged vessels to which this chapter 

24 applies, the Secretary may adopt a risk-based exam25 ination schedule to which such vessels shall be examVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 Mar 27, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7659.IH H7659

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1 ined and the frequency with which the examinations 

2 occur. 

3 ‘‘(2) RESTRICTION.—The Secretary may not 

4 adopt a risk-based examination schedule under para5 graph (1) until the Secretary has— 

6 ‘‘(A) received and reviewed the study by 

7 the National Academies required under section 

8 8254(b) of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry 

9 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

10 Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283); 

11 ‘‘(B) conducted the assessment rec12 ommended in the report of the Government Ac13 countability Office submitted under section 

14 8254(a) of such Act; 

15 ‘‘(C) concluded through such assessment 

16 that a risk-based examination schedule provides 

17 not less than the level of safety provided by the 

18 annual examinations required under subsection 

19 (a)(1); and 

20 ‘‘(D) provided the results of such assess21 ment to the Committee on Transportation and 

22 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

23 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

24 Transportation of the Senate.’’. 


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1 SEC. 325. PORTS AND WATERWAYS SAFETY. 

2 (a) WATERFRONT SAFETY.—Section 70011(a) of 

3 title 46, United States Code, is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘, including 

5 damage or destruction resulting from cyber inci6 dents, transnational organized crime, or foreign 

7 state threats’’ after ‘‘adjacent to such waters’’; and 

8 (2) in paragraph (2) by inserting ‘‘or harm re9 sulting from cyber incidents, transnational organized 

10 crime, or foreign state threats’’ after ‘‘loss’’. 

11 (b) REGULATION OF ANCHORAGE AND MOVEMENT

12 OF VESSELS DURING NATIONAL EMERGENCY.—Section 

13 70051 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by in14 serting ‘‘or cyber incidents, or transnational organized 

15 crime, or foreign state threats,’’ after ‘‘threatened war, or 

16 invasion, or insurrection, or subversive activity,’’. 

17 (c) FACILITY VISIT BY STATE SPONSOR OF TER18 RORISM.—Section 70011(b) of title 46, United States 

19 Code, is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

21 end; 

22 (2) in paragraph (4) by striking the period at 

23 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(5) prohibiting a representative of a govern26 ment of country that the Secretary of State has deVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 Mar 27, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7659.IH H7659

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1 termined has repeatedly provided support for acts of 

2 international terrorism under section 620A of the 

3 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371) 

4 from visiting a facility for which a facility security 

5 plan is required under section 70103(c).’’. 

6 SEC. 326. STUDY ON BERING STRAIT VESSEL TRAFFIC PRO7 JECTIONS AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE POS8 TURE AT THE PORT OF POINT SPENCER, 

9 ALASKA. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Commandant shall seek 

12 to enter into an agreement with the National Academies 

13 of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, under which the 

14 Marine Board of the Transportation Research Board (in 

15 this section referred to as the ‘‘Board’’) shall conduct a 

16 study to— 

17 (1) analyze commercial vessel traffic that tran18 sits through the Bering Strait and projections for 

19 the growth of such traffic during the 10-year period 

20 beginning after such date of enactment; and 

21 (2) assess the adequacy of emergency response 

22 capabilities and infrastructure at the Port of Point 

23 Spencer, Alaska, to address navigation safety risks 

24 and geographic challenges necessary to conduct 


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1 emergency maritime response operations in the Arc2 tic environment. 

3 (b) ELEMENTS.—The study required under sub4 section (a) shall include the following: 

5 (1) An analysis of the volume and types of do6 mestic and international commercial vessel traffic 

7 through the Bering Strait and the projected growth 

8 of such traffic, including a summary of— 

9 (A) the sizes, ages, and flag states of ves10 sels; and 

11 (B) the oil and product tankers that are— 

12 (i) in transit to or from Russia or 

13 China; or 

14 (ii) owned or operated by a Russian 

15 or Chinese entity. 

16 (2) An assessment of the state and adequacy of 

17 vessel traffic services and oil spill and emergency re18 sponse capabilities in the vicinity of the Bering 

19 Strait, including its approaches. 

20 (3) A risk assessment of the projected growth 

21 in commercial vessel traffic in the Bering Strait and 

22 higher probability of increased frequency in the 

23 number of maritime accidents, including spill events, 

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1 vironment and Native Alaskan village communities 

2 in the vicinity of the Bering Strait. 

3 (4) An evaluation of the ability of the Port of 

4 Point Spencer, Alaska, to serve as a port of refuge 

5 and as a staging, logistics, and operations center to 

6 conduct and support maritime emergency and spill 

7 response activities. 

8 (5) Recommendations for practical actions that 

9 can be taken by the Congress, Federal agencies, the 

10 State of Alaska, vessel carriers and operators, the 

11 marine salvage and emergency response industry, 

12 and other relevant stakeholders to mitigate risks, 

13 upgrade infrastructure, and improve the posture of 

14 the Port of Point Spencer, Alaska, to function as a 

15 strategic staging and logistics center for maritime 

16 emergency and spill response operations in the Ber17 ing Strait region. 

18 (c) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the study re19 quired under subsection (a), the Board shall consult 

20 with— 

21 (1) the Department of Transportation; 

22 (2) the Corps of Engineers; 

23 (3) the National Transportation Safety Board; 

24 (4) relevant ministries of the Government of 

25 Canada; 


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1 (5) the Port Coordination Council for the Port 

2 of Point Spencer; and 

3 (6) non-government entities with relevant exper4 tise in monitoring and characterizing vessel traffic in 

5 the Arctic. 

6 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after initiating 

7 the study under subsection (a), the Board shall submit 

8 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

9 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

10 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 

11 report containing the findings and recommendations of the 

12 study. 

13 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 (1) ARCTIC.—The term ‘‘Arctic’’ has the mean15 ing given such term in section 112 of the Arctic Re16 search and Policy Act of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 4111). 

17 (2) PORT COORDINATION COUNCIL FOR THE

18 PORT OF POINT SPENCER.—The term ‘‘Port Coordi19 nation Council for the Port of Point Spencer’’ means 

20 the Council established under section 541 of the 

21 Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015 (Public Law 

22 114–120). 

23 SEC. 327. UNDERWATER INSPECTIONS BRIEF. 

24 Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act, the Commandant, or a designated individual, 


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1 shall brief the Committee on Transportation and Infra2 structure of the House of Representatives and the Com3 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

4 Senate on the underwater inspection in lieu of drydock 

5 program established under section 176.615 of title 46, 

6 Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of 

7 enactment of this Act). 

8 SEC. 328. ST. LUCIE RIVER RAILROAD BRIDGE. 

9 Regarding Docket Number USCG–2022–0222, be10 fore adopting a final rule, the Commandant shall conduct 

11 an independent boat traffic study at mile 7.4 of the St. 

12 Lucie River. 

13 SEC. 329. RULEMAKING REGARDING PORT ACCESS 

14 ROUTES. 

15 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

16 of this Act, the Secretary of the department in which the 

17 Coast Guard is operating shall issue a final rule for the 

18 Atlantic Coast Port Route Access Study for which an Ad19 vanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking titled ‘‘Shipping 

20 Safety Fairways Along the Atlantic Coast’’ was issued on 

21 June 19, 2020. 

22 Subtitle D—Other Matters 

23 SEC. 341. ANCHOR HANDLING ACTIVITIES. 

24 Section 12111(d) of title 46, United States Code, is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

2 (A) in subparagraph (A) by inserting ‘‘or 

3 other energy production or transmission facility, 

4 or vessel engaged in the launch, recovery, or 

5 support of commercial space transportation or 

6 space exploration activities’’ after ‘‘drilling 

7 unit’’; and 

8 (B) in subparagraph (B) by inserting ‘‘or 

9 other energy production or transmission facility, 

10 or vessel engaged in the launch, recovery, or 

11 support of commercial space transportation or 

12 space exploration activities’’ after ‘‘drilling 

13 unit’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(3) ENERGY PRODUCTION OR TRANSMISSION

16 FACILITY DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term 

17 ‘energy production or transmission facility’ means a 

18 floating offshore facility that is— 

19 ‘‘(A) not a vessel; 

20 ‘‘(B) securely and substantially moored to 

21 the seabed, but not by driven pile anchors; and 

22 ‘‘(C) equipped with wind turbines which 

23 are used for the generation and transmission of 

24 renewable energy.’’. 


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1 SEC. 342. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL ADVISORY COM2 MITTEE ON AUTONOMOUS MARITIME SYS3 TEMS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 151 of title 46, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘§ 15110. Establishment of National Advisory Com8 mittee on Autonomous Maritime Systems 

9 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Na10 tional Advisory Committee on Autonomous Maritime Sys11 tems (in this section referred to as the ‘Committee’). 

12 ‘‘(b) FUNCTION.—The Committee shall advise the 

13 Secretary on matters relating to the regulation and use 

14 of Autonomous Systems within the territorial waters of 

15 the United States. 

16 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall con18 sist of 9 members appointed by the Secretary in ac19 cordance with this section and section 15109. 

20 ‘‘(2) EXPERTISE.—Each member of the Com21 mittee shall have particular expertise, knowledge, 

22 and experience in matters relating to the function of 

23 the Committee. 

24 ‘‘(3) REPRESENTATION.—Each of the following 

25 groups shall be represented by at least 1 member on 

26 the Committee: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Marine safety or security entities. 

2 ‘‘(B) Vessel design and construction enti3 ties. 

4 ‘‘(C) Entities engaged in the production or 

5 research of unmanned vehicles, including 

6 drones, autonomous or semi-autonomous vehi7 cles, or any other product or service integral to 

8 the provision, maintenance, or management of 

9 such products or services. 

10 ‘‘(D) Port districts, authorities, or terminal 

11 operators. 

12 ‘‘(E) Vessel operators. 

13 ‘‘(F) National labor unions representing 

14 merchant mariners. 

15 ‘‘(G) Maritime pilots. 

16 ‘‘(H) Commercial space transportation op17 erators. 

18 ‘‘(I) Academic institutions.’’. 

19 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The analysis for 

20 chapter 151 of title 46, United States Code, is amended 

21 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘15110. Establishment of National Advisory Committee on Autonomous Maritime Systems.’’. 

22 (c) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 

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

24 department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall 


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1 establish the Committee under section 15110 of title 46, 

2 United States Code (as added by this section). 

3 SEC. 343. CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE ONBOARD VESSELS. 

4 Section 70503(a) of title 46, United States Code, is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by 

7 striking ‘‘While on board a covered vessel, an indi8 vidual’’ and inserting ‘‘An individual’’; 

9 (2) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol10 lows: 

11 ‘‘(1) manufacture or distribute, possess with in12 tent to manufacture or distribute, or place or cause 

13 to be placed with intent to manufacture or distribute 

14 a controlled substance on board a covered vessel;’’; 

15 and 

16 (3) in paragraph (2) by inserting ‘‘aboard a 

17 covered vessel’’ after ‘‘Comprehensive Drug Abuse 

18 Prevention and Control Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. 

19 881(a))’’. 

20 SEC. 344. NONOPERATING INDIVIDUAL. 

21 Section 8313(b) of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry 

22 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 

23 (Public Law 116–283) is amended by striking ‘‘2025’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘2027’’. 


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1 SEC. 345. INFORMATION ON TYPE APPROVAL CERTIFI2 CATES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IX of the Frank LoBiondo 

4 Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115– 

5 282) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 904. INFORMATION ON TYPE APPROVAL CERTIFI7 CATES. 

8 ‘‘The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall, upon 

9 request by any State, the District of Columbia, or any ter10 ritory of the United States, provide all data possessed by 

11 the Coast Guard pertaining to challenge water quality 

12 characteristics, challenge water biological organism con13 centrations, post-treatment water quality characteristics, 

14 and post-treatment biological organism concentrations 

15 data for a ballast water management system with a type 

16 approval certificate approved by the Coast Guard pursu17 ant to subpart 162.060 of title 46, Code of Federal Regu18 lations.’’. 

19 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

20 in section 2 of the Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Author21 ization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–282) is amended by 

22 inserting after the item relating to section 903 the fol23 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 904. Information on type approval certificates.’’. 


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1 SEC. 346. MANNING AND CREWING REQUIREMENTS FOR 

2 CERTAIN VESSELS, VEHICLES, AND STRUC3 TURES. 

4 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF LIMITED EXEMPTIONS

5 FROM MANNING AND CREW REQUIREMENT.—Chapter 81 

6 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

7 the end the following: 

8 ‘‘§ 8109. Exemptions from manning and crew require9 ments 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide an 

11 exemption described in subsection (b) to the owner or op12 erator of a covered facility if each individual who is man13 ning or crewing the covered facility is— 

14 ‘‘(1) a citizen of the United States; 

15 ‘‘(2) an alien lawfully admitted to the United 

16 States for permanent residence; or 

17 ‘‘(3) a citizen of the nation under the laws of 

18 which the vessel is documented. 

19 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY FOR EXEMP20 TION.—An exemption under this subsection is an exemp21 tion from the regulations established pursuant to section 

22 302(a)(3) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

23 U.S.C. 1356(a)(3)). 

24 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.—An exemption under this sec25 tion— 


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1 ‘‘(1) shall provide that the number of individ2 uals manning or crewing the covered facility who are 

3 described in paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection 

4 (a) may not exceed two and one-half times the num5 ber of individuals required to man or crew the cov6 ered facility under the laws of the nation under the 

7 laws of which the covered facility is documented; and 

8 ‘‘(2) shall be effective for not more than 12 

9 months, but may be renewed by application to and 

10 approval by the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—To be eligible for an exemption 

12 or a renewal of an exemption under this section, the owner 

13 or operator of a covered facility shall apply to the Sec14 retary with an application that includes a sworn statement 

15 by the applicant of all information required for the 

16 issuance of the exemption. 

17 ‘‘(e) REVOCATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary— 

19 ‘‘(A) may revoke an exemption for a cov20 ered facility under this section if the Secretary 

21 determines that information provided in the ap22 plication for the exemption was false or incom23 plete, or is no longer true or complete; and 

24 ‘‘(B) shall immediately revoke such an ex25 emption if the Secretary determines that the 


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1 covered facility, in the effective period of the ex2 emption, was manned or crewed in a manner 

3 not authorized by the exemption. 

4 ‘‘(2) NOTICE REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall 

5 provides notice of a determination under subpara6 graph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) to the owner or 

7 operator of the covered facility. 

8 ‘‘(f) REVIEW OF COMPLIANCE.—The Secretary shall 

9 periodically, but not less than once annually, inspect each 

10 covered facility that operates under an exemption under 

11 this section to verify the owner or operator of the covered 

12 facility’s compliance with the exemption. During an in13 spection under this subsection, the Secretary shall require 

14 all crew members serving under the exemption to hold a 

15 valid transportation security card issued under section 

16 70105. 

17 ‘‘(g) PENALTY.—In addition to revocation under sub18 section (e), the Secretary may impose on the owner or op19 erator of a covered facility a civil penalty of $10,000 per 

20 day for each day the covered facility— 

21 ‘‘(1) is manned or crewed in violation of an ex22 emption under this subsection; or 

23 ‘‘(2) operated under an exemption under this 

24 subsection that the Secretary determines was not 

25 validly obtained. 


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1 ‘‘(h) NOTIFICATION OF SECRETARY OF STATE.—The 

2 Secretary shall notify the Secretary of State of each ex3 emption issued under this section, including the effective 

4 period of the exemption. 

5 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 ‘‘(1) COVERED FACILITY.—The term ‘covered 

7 facility’ means any vessel, rig, platform, or other ve8 hicle or structure, over 50 percent of which is owned 

9 by citizens of a foreign nation or with respect to 

10 which the citizens of a foreign nation have the right 

11 effectively to control, except to the extent and to the 

12 degree that the President determines that the gov13 ernment of such foreign nation or any of its political 

14 subdivisions has implemented, by statute, regulation, 

15 policy, or practice, a national manning requirement 

16 for equipment engaged in the exploring for, devel17 oping, or producing resources, including non-mineral 

18 energy resources in its offshore areas. 

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

20 the Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

21 Guard is operating.’’. 

22 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

25 thereafter, the Secretary of the department in which 


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1 the Coast Guard is operating shall submit to Com2 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

3 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

4 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen5 ate a report containing information on each letter of 

6 nonapplicability of section 8109 of title 46, United 

7 States Code, with respect to a covered facility that 

8 was issued by the Secretary during the preceding 

9 year. 

10 (2) CONTENTS.—The report under paragraph 

11 (1) shall include, for each covered facility— 

12 (A) the name and International Maritime 

13 Organization number; 

14 (B) the nation in which the covered facility 

15 is documented; 

16 (C) the nationality of owner or owners; and 

17 (D) for any covered facility that was pre18 viously issued a letter of nonapplicability in a 

19 prior year, any changes in the information de20 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (C). 

21 (c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall pro23 mulgate regulations that specify the documentary and 

24 other requirements for the issuance of an exemption under 

25 the amendment made by this section. 


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1 (d) EXISTING EXEMPTIONS.— 

2 (1) EFFECT OF AMENDMENTS; TERMI3 NATION.—Each exemption under section 30(c)(2) of 

4 the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

5 1356(c)(2)) issued before the date of the enactment 

6 of this Act— 

7 (A) shall not be affected by the amend8 ments made by this section during the 120-day 

9 period beginning on the date of the enactment 

10 of this Act; and 

11 (B) shall not be effective after such period. 

12 (2) NOTIFICATION OF HOLDERS.—Not later 

13 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this 

14 Act, the Secretary shall notify all persons that hold 

15 such an exemption that it will expire as provided in 

16 paragraph (1). 

17 (e) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap18 ter 81 of the title 46, United States Code, is amended 

19 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘8109. Exemptions from manning and crew requirements.’’. 

20 SEC. 347. CLASSIFICATION SOCIETIES. 

21 Section 3316(d) of title 46, United States Code, is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) by amending paragraph (2)(B)(i) to read as 

24 follows: 


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1 ‘‘(i) the government of the foreign 

2 country in which the foreign society is 

3 headquartered— 

4 ‘‘(I) delegates that authority to 

5 the American Bureau of Shipping; or 

6 ‘‘(II) does not delegate that au7 thority to any classification society; 

8 or’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(5) CLARIFICATION ON AUTHORITY.—Nothing 

11 in this subsection authorizes the Secretary to make 

12 a delegation under paragraph (2) to a classification 

13 society from the People’s Republic of China.’’. 

14 SEC. 348. AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH SAFETY ZONES FOR 

15 SPECIAL ACTIVITIES IN EXCLUSIVE ECO16 NOMIC ZONE. 

17 (a) REPEAL.—Section 8343 of the William M. (Mac) 

18 Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

19 Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283) is repealed. 

20 (b) SPECIAL ACTIVITIES IN EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC

21 ZONE.—Subchapter IV of chapter 700 of title 46, United 

22 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘§ 70037. Special activities in exclusive economic 

2 zone 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the department 

4 in which the Coast Guard is operating may establish safe5 ty zones to address special activities in the exclusive eco6 nomic zone. 

7 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) SAFETY ZONE.—The term ‘safety zone’— 

9 ‘‘(A) means a water area, shore area, or 

10 water and shore area to which, for safety or en11 vironmental purposes, access is limited to au12 thorized persons, vehicles, or vessels; and 

13 ‘‘(B) may be stationary and described by 

14 fixed limits or may be described as a zone 

15 around a vessel in motion. 

16 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL ACTIVITIES.—The term ‘special 

17 activities’ includes— 

18 ‘‘(A) space activities, including launch and 

19 reentry (as such terms are defined in section 

20 50902 of title 51) carried out by United States 

21 citizens; and 

22 ‘‘(B) offshore energy development activi23 ties, as described in section 8(p)(1)(C) of the 

24 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

25 1337(p)(1)(C)), on or near fixed platforms (as 


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1 such term is defined in section 2281(d) of title 

2 18). 

3 ‘‘(3) UNITED STATES CITIZEN.—The term 

4 ‘United States citizen’ has the meaning given the 

5 term ‘eligible owners’ in section 12103 of title 46, 

6 United States Code.’’. 

7 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap8 ter 700 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by 

9 inserting after the item relating to section 70036 the fol10 lowing: 

‘‘70037. Special activities in exclusive economic zone.’’. 

11 SEC. 349. FISHING VESSEL AND FISHERMAN TRAINING 

12 SAFETY. 

13 Section 4502 of title 46, United States Code, is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (i)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

17 (i) in subparagraph (A)(ii) by striking 

18 ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

19 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

20 (B) as subparagraph (C); and 

21 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

22 (A) the following: 

23 ‘‘(B) to conduct safety and prevention 

24 training that addresses behavioral and physical 

25 health risks, to include substance use disorder 


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1 and worker fatigue, facing fishing vessel opera2 tors and crewmembers; and’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

4 (i) by striking ‘‘, in consultation with 

5 and based on criteria established by the 

6 Commandant of the Coast Guard’’; and 

7 (ii) by striking ‘‘subsection on a com8 petitive basis’’ and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘subsection— 

10 ‘‘(A) on a competitive basis; and 

11 ‘‘(B) based on criteria developed in con12 sultation with the Commandant of the Coast 

13 Guard.’’; and 

14 (C) in paragraph (4) by striking 

15 ‘‘$3,000,000 for fiscal year 2023’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘to the Secretary of Health and Human Serv17 ices $6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 

18 and 2026’’; and 

19 (2) in subsection (j)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘, and 

21 understanding and mitigating behavioral and 

22 physical health risks, to include substance use 

23 disorder and worker fatigue, facing members of 

24 the commercial fishing industry’’ after ‘‘weather 

25 detection’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

2 (i) by striking ‘‘, in consultation with 

3 and based on criteria established by the 

4 Commandant of the Coast Guard,’’; and 

5 (ii) by striking ‘‘subsection on a com6 petitive basis’’ and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘subsection— 

8 ‘‘(A) on a competitive basis; and 

9 ‘‘(B) based on criteria developed in con10 sultation with the Commandant of the Coast 

11 Guard.’’; and 

12 (C) in paragraph (4) by striking 

13 ‘‘$3,000,000 for fiscal year 2023’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘to the Secretary of Health and Human Serv15 ices $6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 

16 and 2026’’. 

17 SEC. 350. AUTHORITY OVER DEEPWATER PORT ACT OF 

18 1974. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5(a) of the Deepwater 

20 Port Act of 1974 (33 U.S.C. 1504(a)) is amended by 

21 striking the first sentence and inserting ‘‘Notwithstanding 

22 section 888(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

23 U.S.C. 468(b)), the Secretary shall have the sole authority 

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1 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code, without regard 

2 to subsection (a) thereof.’’. 

3 (b) AFFIRMING THE AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF

4 TRANSPORTATION OVER ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS.— 

5 Section 5(f) of the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 (33 U.S.C. 

6 1504(f) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(f) COMPLIANCE.—Notwithstanding section 888(b) 

8 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 468(b)), 

9 the Secretary, in cooperation with other involved Federal 

10 agencies and departments, shall comply with the National 

11 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

12 seq.) and act as the lead agency under section 4336a of 

13 title 42, United States Code, for all applications under this 

14 Act. Such compliance shall fulfill the requirement of all 

15 Federal agencies in carrying out their responsibilities 

16 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 pur17 suant to this chapter.’’. 

18 (c) REGULATIONS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Com21 mandant shall transfer the authorities provided to 

22 the Coast Guard in part 148 of title 33, Code of 

23 Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of the 

24 enactment of this Act), except as provided in para25 graph (2), to the Secretary of Transportation. 


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1 (2) RETENTION OF AUTHORITY.—The Com2 mandant shall retain responsibility for authorities 

3 pertaining to navigational safety. 

4 (3) UPDATES TO AUTHORITY.—As soon as 

5 practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, 

6 the Secretary shall issue such regulations as are nec7 essary to reflect the updates to authorities pre8 scribed by this subsection. 

9 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec10 tion, or the amendments made by this section, may be con11 strued to limit the authorities of other governmental agen12 cies previously delegated authorities of the Deepwater 

13 Port Act of 1974 (33 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.). 

14 (e) APPLICATIONS.—Nothing in this section shall 

15 apply to any application submitted before the date of en16 actment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 351. NATIONAL OFFSHORE SAFETY ADVISORY COM18 MITTEE COMPOSITION. 

19 Section 15106(c) of title 46, United States Code, is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘15 members’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘17 members’’; and 

23 (2) in paragraph (3) by adding at the end the 

24 following: 


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1 ‘‘(L) 2 members shall represent entities 

2 engaged in non-mineral energy activities on the 

3 Outer Continental Shelf.’’. 

4 SEC. 352. IMPROVING VESSEL TRAFFIC SERVICE MONI5 TORING. 

6 (a) PROXIMITY OF ANCHORAGES TO PIPELINES.— 

7 (1) IMPLEMENTATION OF RESTRUCTURING

8 PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after the date of en9 actment of this Act, the Commandant shall imple10 ment the November 2021 proposed plan of the Ves11 sel Traffic Service Los Angeles-Long Beach for re12 structuring the Federal anchorages in San Pedro 

13 Bay described on page 54 of the Report of the Na14 tional Transportation Safety Board titled ‘‘Anchor 

15 Strike of Underwater Pipeline and Eventual Crude 

16 Oil Release’’ and issued January 2, 2024. 

17 (2) STUDY.—The Secretary of the department 

18 in which the Coast Guard is operating shall conduct 

19 a study to identify any anchorage grounds other 

20 than the San Pedro Bay Federal anchorages in 

21 which the distance between the center of an ap22 proved anchorage ground and a pipeline is less than 

23 1 mile. 

24 (3) REPORT.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

3 Commandant shall submit to the Committee on 

4 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

5 of Representatives and the Committee on Com6 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen7 ate a report on the results of the study required 

8 under paragraph (2). 

9 (B) CONTENTS.—The report under sub10 paragraph (A) shall include— 

11 (i) a list of the anchorage grounds de12 scribed under paragraph (2); 

13 (ii) whether it is possible to move each 

14 such anchorage ground to provide a min15 imum distance of 1 mile; and 

16 (iii) a recommendation of whether to 

17 move any such anchorage ground and ex18 planation for the recommendation. 

19 (b) PROXIMITY TO PIPELINE ALERTS.— 

20 (1) AUDIBLE AND VISUAL ALARMS.—The Com21 mandant shall consult with the providers of vessel 

22 monitoring systems to add to the monitoring sys23 tems for vessel traffic services audible and visual 

24 alarms that alert the watchstander when an an25 chored vessel is encroaching on a pipeline. 


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1 (2) NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES.—Not later 

2 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

3 the Commandant shall develop procedures for all 

4 vessel traffic services to notify pipeline and utility 

5 operators following potential incursions on sub6 merged pipelines within the vessel traffic service 

7 area of responsibility. 

8 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, and annually there10 after, the Commandant shall submit to the Com11 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

12 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

13 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen14 ate a report on the implementation of paragraphs 

15 (1) and (2). 

16 SEC. 353. ABANDONED AND DERELICT VESSEL REMOVALS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 47 of title 46, United 

18 States Code, is amended— 

19 (1) in the chapter heading by striking 

20 ‘‘BARGES’’ and inserting ‘‘VESSELS’’; 

21 (2) by inserting before section 4701 the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—BARGES’’; 

24 and 

25 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—NON-BARGE VESSELS 

2 ‘‘§ 4710. Definitions 

3 ‘‘In this subchapter: 

4 ‘‘(1) ABANDON.—The term ‘abandon’ means to 

5 moor, strand, wreck, sink, or leave a covered vessel 

6 unattended for longer than 45 days. 

7 ‘‘(2) COVERED VESSEL.—The term ‘covered 

8 vessel’ means a vessel that is not a barge to which 

9 subchapter I applies. 

10 ‘‘(3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian Tribe’ 

11 has the meaning given such term in section 4 of the 

12 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

13 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

14 ‘‘§ 4711. Abandonment of vessels prohibited 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An owner or operator of a cov16 ered vessel may not abandon such vessel on the navigable 

17 waters of the United States. 

18 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF ABANDONMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a cov21 ered vessel that appears to be abandoned, the 

22 Commandant of the Coast Guard shall— 

23 ‘‘(i) attempt to identify the owner 

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1 mation that can be reasonably inferred or 

2 gathered; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) notify such owner— 

4 ‘‘(I) of the penalty described in 

5 subsection (c); and 

6 ‘‘(II) that the vessel will be re7 moved at the expense of the owner if 

8 the Commandant determines that the 

9 vessel is abandoned and the owner 

10 does not remove or account for the 

11 vessel. 

12 ‘‘(B) FORM.—The Commandant shall pro13 vide the notice required under subparagraph 

14 (A)— 

15 ‘‘(i) if the owner can be identified, via 

16 certified mail or other appropriate forms 

17 determined by the Commandant; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) if the owner cannot be identified, 

19 via an announcement in a local publication 

20 and on a website maintained by the Coast 

21 Guard. 

22 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION.—The Commandant 

23 shall make a determination not earlier than 45 days 

24 after the date on which the Commandant provides 

25 the notification required under paragraph (1) of 


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1 whether a covered vessel described in such para2 graph is abandoned. 

3 ‘‘(c) PENALTY.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant may as5 sess a civil penalty of not more than $500 against 

6 an owner or operator of a covered vessel determined 

7 to be abandoned under subsection (b) for a violation 

8 of subsection (a). 

9 ‘‘(2) LIABILITY IN REM.—The owner or oper10 ator of a covered vessel shall also be liable in rem 

11 for a penalty imposed under paragraph (1). 

12 ‘‘(d) VESSELS NOT ABANDONED.—The Commandant 

13 may not determine that a covered vessel is abandoned 

14 under this section if— 

15 ‘‘(1) such vessel is located at a federally ap16 proved or State approved mooring area; 

17 ‘‘(2) such vessel is located on private property 

18 with the permission of the owner of such property; 

19 or 

20 ‘‘(3) the owner or operator of such vessel pro21 vides a notification to the Commandant that— 

22 ‘‘(A) indicates the location of the vessel; 

23 ‘‘(B) indicates that the vessel is not aban24 doned; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) contains documentation proving that 

2 the vessel is allowed to be in such location. 

3 ‘‘§ 4712. Inventory of abandoned vessels 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

5 date of enactment of this section, the Commandant, in 

6 consultation with the Administrator of the National Oce7 anic and Atmospheric Administration and relevant State 

8 agencies, shall establish and maintain a national inventory 

9 of covered vessels that are abandoned. 

10 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—The inventory established and 

11 maintained under subsection (a) shall include data on each 

12 vessel, including geographic information system data re13 lated to the location of each such vessel. 

14 ‘‘(c) PUBLICATION.—The Commandant shall make 

15 the inventory established under subsection (a) publicly 

16 available on a website of the Coast Guard. 

17 ‘‘(d) REPORTING OF POTENTIALLY ABANDONED

18 VESSELS.—In carrying out this section, the Commandant 

19 shall develop a process by which— 

20 ‘‘(1) a State, Indian Tribe, or person may re21 port a covered vessel that may be abandoned to the 

22 Commandant for potential inclusion in the inventory 

23 established under subsection (a); and 

24 ‘‘(2) the Commandant shall review any such re25 port and add such vessel to the inventory if the 


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1 Commandant determines that the reported vessel is 

2 abandoned pursuant to section 4711.’’. 

3 (b) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary of the department 

4 in which the Coast Guard is operating, in consultation 

5 with the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief 

6 of Engineers, and the Secretary of Commerce, acting 

7 through the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, 

8 shall issue regulations with respect to the procedures for 

9 determining that a vessel is abandoned for the purposes 

10 of subchapter II of chapter 47 of title 46, United States 

11 Code (as added by this section). 

12 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Chapter 47 of title 

13 46, United States Code, is amended— 

14 (1) in section 4701— 

15 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) 

16 by striking ‘‘chapter’’ and inserting ‘‘sub17 chapter’’; and 

18 (B) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘chapter’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘subchapter’’; 

20 (2) in section 4703 by striking ‘‘chapter’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘subchapter’’; 

22 (3) in section 4704 by striking ‘‘chapter’’ each 

23 place it appears and inserting ‘‘subchapter’’; and 

24 (4) in section 4705 by striking ‘‘chapter’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘subchapter’’. 


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1 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The analysis for 

2 chapter 47 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— 

3 (1) by inserting before the item relating to sec4 tion 4701 the following: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—BARGES’’; 

5 and 

6 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—VESSELS

‘‘4710. Definitions. 

‘‘4711. Abandonment of vessels prohibited. 

‘‘4712. Inventory of abandoned vessels.’’. 

7 TITLE IV—OIL POLLUTION 

8 INCIDENT LIABILITY 

9 SEC. 401. VESSEL RESPONSE PLANS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 311(j)(6) of the Federal 

11 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(6)) is 

12 amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(6) EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS, 

14 VERIFICATION, AND INSPECTION.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President may re16 quire— 

17 ‘‘(i) periodic inspection of containment 

18 booms, skimmers, vessels, and other major 

19 equipment used to remove discharges; 

20 ‘‘(ii) periodic inspection of vessels, sal21 vage and marine firefighting equipment, 

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1 spond to marine casualties or prevent dis2 charges; 

3 ‘‘(iii) periodic verification of capabili4 ties to appropriately, and in a timely man5 ner, respond to a marine casualty, a worst 

6 case discharge, or a substantial threat of a 

7 discharge, including— 

8 ‘‘(I) drills, with or without prior 

9 notice; 

10 ‘‘(II) review of contracts and rel11 evant third-party agreements; 

12 ‘‘(III) testing of equipment; 

13 ‘‘(IV) review of training; and 

14 ‘‘(V) other evaluations of re15 sponse capabilities, as determined ap16 propriate by the President; and 

17 ‘‘(iv) vessels operating on navigable 

18 waters and carrying oil or a hazardous 

19 substance in bulk as cargo, and nontank 

20 vessels carrying oil of any kind as fuel for 

21 main propulsion, to carry appropriate re22 moval equipment that employs the best 

23 technology economically feasible and that 

24 is compatible with the safe operation of the 

25 vessel. 


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1 ‘‘(B) MARINE CASUALTY.—In this para2 graph, the term ‘marine casualty’ means a ma3 rine casualty that is required to be reported 

4 pursuant to section 6101 of title 46, United 

5 States Code.’’. 

6 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comp9 troller General of the United States shall submit to 

10 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

11 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

12 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

13 Senate a report on the state of marine firefighting 

14 authorities, jurisdiction, plan review, and other con15 siderations with respect to vessel fires at waterfront 

16 facilities and within the navigable waters of the 

17 United States up to 3 nautical miles from the shore18 line. 

19 (2) CONTENTS.—In carrying out paragraph (1), 

20 the Comptroller General shall— 

21 (A) examine factors that affect Federal 

22 and non-Federal collaboration aimed at reduc23 ing vessel and waterfront facility fire risk to 

24 local communities; 


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1 (B) focus on the prevalence and frequency 

2 of vessel fires described in paragraph (1); and 

3 (C) make recommendations for prepared4 ness, responses to, training for, and other items 

5 for consideration. 

6 SEC. 402. USE OF MARINE CASUALTY INVESTIGATIONS. 

7 Section 6308 of title 46, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘initiated’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘conducted’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(e) For purposes of this section, an administrative 

13 proceeding conducted by the United States includes pro14 ceedings under section 7701 and claims adjudicated under 

15 section 1013 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 

16 2713).’’. 

17 SEC. 403. TIMING OF REVIEW. 

18 Section 1017 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 

19 U.S.C. 2717) is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(g) TIMING OF REVIEW.—Before the date of com22 pletion of a removal action, no person may bring an action 

23 under this Act, section 311 of the Federal Water Pollution 

24 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321), or chapter 7 of title 5, 

25 United States Code, challenging any decision relating to 


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1 such removal action that is made by an on-scene coordi2 nator appointed under the National Contingency Plan.’’. 

3 SEC. 404. ONLINE INCIDENT REPORTING SYSTEM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the National Response Cen6 ter shall— 

7 (1) develop an online capacity through a web8 based application to receive a notification of an oil 

9 discharge or release of a hazardous substance; and 

10 (2) allow any such notification to the National 

11 Response Center that is required under Federal law 

12 or regulation to be made online using the applica13 tion. 

14 (b) USE OF APPLICATION.—In carrying out sub15 section (a), the National Response Center may not require 

16 the notification of an oil discharge or release of a haz17 ardous substance to be made using the application devel18 oped under such subsection. 


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1 TITLE V—IMPLEMENTATION OF 

2 ACCOUNTABILITY AND 

3 TRANSPARENCY REVIEW REC4 OMMENDATIONS 

5 SEC. 501. IMPLEMENTATION STATUS OF DIRECTED AC6 TIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 51 of title 14, United 

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘§ 5116. Implementation status of directed actions 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than March 1, 2025, 

12 and not later than March 1 of each of the 3 subsequent 

13 years thereafter, the Commandant shall submit to the 

14 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

15 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com16 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

17 on the status of the implementation of each directed action 

18 outlined in enclosure 1 of the memorandum of the Com19 mandant titled ‘Commandant’s Directed Actions—Ac20 countability and Transparency’, dated November 27, 

21 2023. 

22 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—The report required under section 

23 (a) shall contain the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) The status of the implementation of each 

25 directed action from enclosure 1 of the memorandum 


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1 titled ‘Commandant’s Directed Actions—Account2 ability and Transparency’ dated November 27, 2023. 

3 ‘‘(2) A plan and timeline for the next steps to 

4 be taken to complete outstanding directed actions in 

5 enclosure 1 of the memorandum titled ‘Com6 mandant’s Directed Actions—Accountability and 

7 Transparency’ dated November 27, 2023, including 

8 identifying the individual the Commandant has se9 lected to ensure the successful completion of each di10 rected action. 

11 ‘‘(3) Metrics to determine the effectiveness of 

12 each directed action in such enclosure. 

13 ‘‘(4) Any additional actions the Commandant is 

14 taking to mitigate instances of sexual assault and 

15 sexual harassment within the Coast Guard.’’. 

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap17 ter 51 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by add18 ing at the end the following: 

‘‘5116. Implementation status of directed actions.’’. 

19 SEC. 502. INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF COAST GUARD RE20 FORMS. 

21 (a) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE RE22 PORT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

25 General of the United States shall report to the 


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1 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

2 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

3 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen4 ate on the efforts of the Coast Guard to mitigate 

5 cases of sexual assault and sexual harassment within 

6 the service. 

7 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required under 

8 paragraph (1) shall— 

9 (A) evaluate— 

10 (i) the efforts of the Commandant to 

11 implement the directed actions from enclo12 sure 1 of the memorandum titled ‘‘Com13 mandant’s Directed Actions—Account14 ability and Transparency’’ dated November 

15 27, 2023; 

16 (ii) whether the Commandant met the 

17 reporting requirements under section 5112 

18 of title 14, United States Code; and 

19 (iii) the effectiveness of the actions of 

20 the Coast Guard, including efforts outside 

21 of the actions described in the memo22 randum titled ‘‘Commandant’s Directed 

23 Actions—Accountability and Trans24 parency’’ dated November 27, 2023, to 

25 mitigate instances of sexual assault and 


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1 sexual harassment and improve the en2 forcement relating to such instances within 

3 the Coast Guard, and how the Coast 

4 Guard is overcoming challenges in imple5 menting such actions; 

6 (B) make recommendations to the Com7 mandant for improvements to the efforts of the 

8 service to mitigate instances of sexual assault 

9 and sexual harassment and improve the en10 forcement relating to such instances within the 

11 Coast Guard; and 

12 (C) make recommendations to the Com13 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

14 the House of Representatives and the Com15 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor16 tation of the Senate to mitigate instances of 

17 sexual assault and sexual harassment in the 

18 Coast Guard and improve the enforcement re19 lating to such instances within the Coast 

20 Guard, including proposed changes to any legis21 lative authorities. 

22 (b) REPORT BY COMMANDANT.—Not later than 90 

23 days after the date on which the Comptroller General com24 pletes all actions under subsection (a), the Commandant 

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1 frastructure of the House of Representatives and the Com2 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

3 Senate a report that includes the following: 

4 (1) A plan for Coast Guard implementation, in5 cluding interim milestones and timeframes, of any 

6 recommendation made by the Comptroller General 

7 under subsection (a)(2)(B) with which the Com8 mandant concurs. 

9 (2) With respect to any recommendation made 

10 under subsection (a)(2)(B) with which the Com11 mandant does not concur, an explanation of the rea12 sons why the Commandant does not concur. 

13 SEC. 503. REQUIREMENT TO MAINTAIN CERTAIN RECORDS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 9 of title 14, United 

15 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘§ 955. Requirement to maintain certain records 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant shall maintain 

19 all work product related to final action documenting a dis20 position decision on an investigation by the Coast Guard 

21 Investigative Service or other law enforcement entity in22 vestigating a Coast Guard member accused of misconduct 

23 for not less than 7 years from date of the disposition deci24 sion. 


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1 ‘‘(b) FINAL ACTION MEMO.—Upon a final action 

2 documenting a disposition decision described in subsection 

3 (a), the convening authority or final decision making au4 thority, as applicable, shall sign a final action memo that 

5 includes the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) A reference section listing the materials re7 viewed in making a disposition decision. 

8 ‘‘(2) The Coast Guard Investigative Service re9 port of investigation listed as either a reference or 

10 an enclosure. 

11 ‘‘(3) The prosecution memo, signed by the con12 vening authority or the final decision making au13 thority, listed and included as an enclosure. 

14 ‘‘(4) The completed Coast Guard Investigative 

15 Service report of adjudication listed and included as 

16 an enclosure. 

17 ‘‘(5) The disposition decision. 

18 ‘‘(c) WORK PRODUCT.—In this section, the term 

19 ‘work product’ includes— 

20 ‘‘(1) a prosecution memo; 

21 ‘‘(2) emails, notes, and other correspondence re22 lated to a disposition decision; and 

23 ‘‘(3) the content described in paragraphs (1) 

24 through (5) of subsection (b).’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap2 ter 9 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by add3 ing at the end the following: 

‘‘955. Requirement to maintain certain records.’’. 

4 SEC. 504. STUDY ON COAST GUARD ACADEMY OVERSIGHT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Commandant, in con7 sultation with relevant stakeholders, shall conduct a study 

8 on the governance of the Coast Guard Academy, including 

9 examining the roles, responsibilities, authorities, advisory 

10 functions, and membership qualifications and expertise of 

11 the Board of Visitors and Board of Trustees of such Acad12 emy. 

13 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

14 of enactment of this Act, the Commandant shall submit 

15 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

16 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

17 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 

18 written report that contains— 

19 (1) the results of the study required under sub20 section (a); and 

21 (2) recommendations to improve governance at 

22 the Coast Guard Academy. 


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1 SEC. 505. PROVIDING FOR THE TRANSFER OF A CADET 

2 WHO IS THE VICTIM OF A SEXUAL ASSAULT 

3 OR RELATED OFFENSE. 

4 Section 1902 of title 14, United States Code, is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(f) CONSIDERATION OF REQUEST FOR TRANSFER

7 OF CADET WHO IS THE VICTIM OF SEXUAL ASSAULT OR

8 RELATED OFFENSE.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant shall 

10 provide for timely consideration of and action on a 

11 request submitted by a cadet appointed to the Coast 

12 Guard Academy who is the victim of an alleged sex13 ual assault or other offense covered by section 920, 

14 920c, or 930 of title 10 (article 120, 120c, or 130 

15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice) for transfer 

16 to a Service Academy or to enroll in a Senior Re17 serve Officers’ Training Corps program affiliated 

18 with another institution of higher education. 

19 ‘‘(2) RULEMAKING.—The Commandant shall 

20 prescribe regulations to carry out this subsection 

21 that— 

22 ‘‘(A) ensure that any cadet who has been 

23 appointed to the Coast Guard Academy is in24 formed of the right to request a transfer pursu25 ant to this subsection, and that any formal re26 quest submitted by a cadet is processed as exVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 Mar 27, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00105 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7659.IH H7659

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1 peditiously as practicable for review and action 

2 by the Superintendent; 

3 ‘‘(B) direct the Superintendent of the 

4 Coast Guard Academy, in coordination with the 

5 Superintendent of the Service Academy to 

6 which the cadet requests to transfer— 

7 ‘‘(i) to act on a request for transfer 

8 under this subsection not later than 72 

9 hours after receiving the formal request 

10 from the cadet; 

11 ‘‘(ii) to approve such request for 

12 transfer unless there are exceptional cir13 cumstances that require denial of the re14 quest; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) upon approval of such request, 

16 to take all necessary and appropriate ac17 tion to effectuate the transfer of the cadet 

18 to the Service Academy concerned as expe19 ditiously as possible; and 

20 ‘‘(C) direct the Superintendent of the 

21 Coast Guard Academy, in coordination with the 

22 Secretary of the military department that spon23 sors the Senior Reserve Officers’ Training 

24 Corps program at the institution of higher edu25 cation to which the cadet requests to transfer— 


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1 ‘‘(i) to act on a request for transfer 

2 under this subsection not later than 72 

3 hours after receiving the formal request 

4 from the cadet; 

5 ‘‘(ii) subject to the cadet’s acceptance 

6 for admission to the institution of higher 

7 education to which the cadet wishes to 

8 transfer, to approve such request for trans9 fer unless there are exceptional cir10 cumstances that require denial of the re11 quest; and 

12 ‘‘(iii) to take all necessary and appro13 priate action to effectuate the cadet’s en14 rollment in the institution of higher edu15 cation to which the cadet wishes to trans16 fer and to process the cadet for participa17 tion in the relevant Senior Reserve Offi18 cers’ Training Corps program as expedi19 tiously as possible. 

20 ‘‘(3) DENIAL OF TRANSFER REQUEST.—If the 

21 Superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy denies 

22 a request for transfer under this subsection, the 

23 cadet may request review of the denial by the Sec24 retary of the Department in which the Coast Guard 

25 is operating, who shall act on such request not later 


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1 than 72 hours after receipt of the formal request for 

2 review. 

3 ‘‘(4) CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS.—The 

4 Secretary of the Department in which the Coast 

5 Guard is operating shall ensure that all records of 

6 any request, determination, transfer, or other action 

7 under this subsection remain confidential, consistent 

8 with applicable law and regulation. 

9 ‘‘(5) APPOINTMENT TO SERVICE ACADEMY.—A 

10 cadet who transfers under this subsection may retain 

11 the cadet’s appointment to the Coast Guard Acad12 emy or may be appointed to the Service Academy to 

13 which the cadet transfers without regard to the limi14 tations and requirements described in sections 7442, 

15 8454, and 9442 of title 10. 

16 ‘‘(6) APPOINTMENT UPON GRADUATION.— 

17 ‘‘(A) PREFERENCE.—A cadet who trans18 fers under this subsection to a Service Acad19 emy, is entitled, before graduating from such 

20 Academy, to state the preference of the cadet 

21 for appointment, upon graduation, as a com22 missioned officer in the Coast Guard. 

23 ‘‘(B) MANNER OF APPOINTMENT.—Upon 

24 graduation, a cadet described in subparagraph 

25 (A) is entitled to be accepted for appointment 


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1 as a permanent commissioned officer in the 

2 Regular Coast Guard in the same manner as 

3 graduates of the Coast Guard Academy as de4 scribed in section 2101. 

5 ‘‘(7) COMMISSION INTO COAST GUARD.—A 

6 cadet who transfers under this subsection to a Sen7 ior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program affili8 ated with another institution of higher education is 

9 entitled upon graduation from the Senior Reserve 

10 Officers’ Training program to commission into the 

11 Coast Guard as described in section 3738a. 

12 ‘‘(8) SERVICE ACADEMY DEFINED.—In this 

13 subsection, the term ‘Service Academy’ has the 

14 meaning given such term in section 347 of title 10.’’. 

15 SEC. 506. DESIGNATION OF OFFICERS WITH PARTICULAR 

16 EXPERTISE IN MILITARY JUSTICE OR 

17 HEALTHCARE. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 21 of title 

19 14, United States Code is amended by adding at the end 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘§ 2132. Designation of officers with particular exper22 tise in military justice or healthcare 

23 ‘‘(a) SECRETARY DESIGNATION.—The Secretary may 

24 designate a limited number of officers of the Coast Guard 

25 as having particular expertise in— 


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1 ‘‘(1) military justice; or 

2 ‘‘(2) healthcare. 

3 ‘‘(b) PROMOTION AND GRADE.—An individual des4 ignated under this section— 

5 ‘‘(1) shall not be included on the active duty 

6 promotion list; 

7 ‘‘(2) shall be promoted under section 2126; and 

8 ‘‘(3) may not be promoted to a grade higher 

9 than captain.’’. 

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap11 ter 21 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by in12 serting after the item relating to section 2131 the fol13 lowing: 

‘‘2132. Designation of officers with particular expertise in military justice or 

healthcare.’’. 

14 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

15 (1) Section 2102(a) of title 14, United States 

16 Code, is amended, in the second sentence, by strik17 ing ‘‘and officers of the permanent commissioned 

18 teaching staff of the Coast Guard Academy’’ and in19 serting ‘‘officers of the permanent commissioned 

20 teaching staff of the Coast Guard Academy, and of21 ficers designated by the Secretary pursuant to sec22 tion 2132’’. 

23 (2) Subsection (e) of section 2103 of title 14, 

24 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(e) SECRETARY TO PRESCRIBE NUMBERS FOR CER2 TAIN OFFICERS.—The Secretary shall prescribe the num3 ber of officers authorized to be serving on active duty in 

4 each grade of— 

5 ‘‘(1) the permanent commissioned teaching 

6 staff of the Coast Guard Academy; 

7 ‘‘(2) the officers designated by the Secretary 

8 pursuant to section 2132; and 

9 ‘‘(3) the officers of the Reserve serving in con10 nection with organizing, administering, recruiting, 

11 instructing, or training the reserve components.’’. 

12 (3) Section 2126 of title 14, United States 

13 Code, is amended, in the second sentence, by insert14 ing ‘‘and as to officers designated by the Secretary 

15 pursuant to section 2132’’ after ‘‘reserve compo16 nents’’. 

17 (4) Section 3736(a) of title 14, United States 

18 Code, is amended— 

19 (A) in the first sentence by striking ‘‘pro20 motion list and the’’ and inserting ‘‘promotion 

21 list, officers designated by the Secretary pursu22 ant to section 2132, and the officers on the’’; 

23 and 

24 (B) in the second sentence by striking 

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1 motion list, officers designated by the Secretary 

2 pursuant to section 2132, or the officers on 

3 the’’. 

4 SEC. 507. DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY FOR CERTAIN PER5 SONNEL OF COAST GUARD. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 25 of title 

7 14, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘§ 2517. Direct hire authority for certain personnel of 

10 Coast Guard 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant may appoint, 

12 without regard to the provisions of subchapter I of chapter 

13 33 of title 5 (other than section 3303 and 3328 of such 

14 chapter), qualified candidates to any non-clinical specialist 

15 intended to engage in the integrated primary prevention 

16 of harmful behaviors, including suicide, sexual assault, 

17 harassment, domestic abuse, and child abuse and qualified 

18 candidates to any criminal investigative law enforcement 

19 position of the Coast Guard Criminal Investigative Service 

20 intended to engage in the primary response to such harm21 ful behaviors. 

22 ‘‘(b) SUNSET.—Effective on September 30, 2034, the 

23 authority provided under subsection (a) shall cease.’’. 

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1 serting after the item related to section 2516 the fol2 lowing: 

‘‘2517. Direct hire authority for certain personnel of United States Coast 

Guard.’’. 

3 SEC. 508. SAFE-TO-REPORT POLICY FOR COAST GUARD. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 19 of title 

5 14, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘§ 1907. Safe-to-report policy for Coast Guard 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the department 

9 in which the Coast Guard is operating shall, in consulta10 tion with the Secretaries of the military departments, issue 

11 such regulations as are necessary to establish the safe-to12 report policy described in subsection (b) that applies with 

13 respect to all members of the Coast Guard (including 

14 members of the reserve and auxiliary components of the 

15 Coast Guard) and cadets at the Coast Guard Academy. 

16 ‘‘(b) SAFE-TO-REPORT POLICY.—The safe-to-report 

17 policy described in this subsection is a policy that pre18 scribes the handling of minor collateral misconduct involv19 ing a member of the Coast Guard who is the alleged victim 

20 or reporting witness of a sexual assault. 

21 ‘‘(c) MITIGATING AND AGGRAVATING CIR22 CUMSTANCES.—In issuing regulations under subsection 

23 (a), the Secretary shall specify mitigating circumstances 

24 that decrease the gravity of minor collateral misconduct 


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1 or the impact of such misconduct on good order and dis2 cipline and aggravating circumstances that increase the 

3 gravity of minor collateral misconduct or the impact of 

4 such misconduct on good order and discipline for purposes 

5 of the safe-to-report policy. 

6 ‘‘(d) TRACKING OF COLLATERAL MISCONDUCT INCI7 DENTS.—In conjunction with the issuance of regulations 

8 under subsection (a), Secretary shall develop and imple9 ment a process to anonymously track incidents of minor 

10 collateral misconduct that are subject to the safe-to-report 

11 policy established under such regulations. 

12 ‘‘(e) MINOR COLLATERAL MISCONDUCT DEFINED.— 

13 In this section, the term ‘minor collateral misconduct’ 

14 means any minor misconduct that is punishable under 

15 chapter 47 of title 10 that— 

16 ‘‘(1) is committed close in time to or during a 

17 sexual assault and directly related to the incident 

18 that formed the basis of the sexual assault allega19 tion; 

20 ‘‘(2) is discovered as a direct result of the re21 port of sexual assault or the ensuing investigation 

22 into such sexual assault; and 

23 ‘‘(3) does not involve aggravating circumstances 

24 (as specified in the regulations issued under sub25 section (a)) that increase the gravity of the minor 


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1 misconduct or the impact of such misconduct on 

2 good order and discipline.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap4 ter 19 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by in5 serting after the item relating to section 1906 the fol6 lowing: 

‘‘1907. Safe-to-report policy for Coast Guard.’’. 

7 SEC. 509. MODIFICATION OF DELIVERY DATE OF COAST 

8 GUARD SEXUAL ASSAULT REPORT. 

9 Section 5112(a) of title 14, United States Code, is 

10 amended by striking ‘‘January 15’’ and inserting ‘‘March 

11 1’’. 

12 SEC. 510. HIGHER-LEVEL REVIEW OF BOARD OF DETER13 MINATION DECISIONS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2158 of title 14, United 

15 States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) in the first sentence by striking ‘‘The Sec17 retary’’ and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

19 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(b) HIGHER-LEVEL REVIEW OF SEXUAL ASSAULT

21 CASES.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a board convened under 

23 this section determines that the officer should be re24 tained when the officer’s record indicates that the 

25 officer has committed a sexual assault offense, the 


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1 board shall forward the record of the proceedings 

2 and recommendation of the board for higher-level re3 view, in accordance with regulations prescribed by 

4 the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY.—The official exercising high6 er-level review shall have authority to forward the 

7 case for consideration by a Board of Inquiry in ac8 cordance with section 2159. 

9 ‘‘(c) SEXUAL ASSAULT OFFENSE DEFINED.—In this 

10 section, the term ‘sexual assault offense’ means a violation 

11 of section 920 or 920b of title 10, United States Code 

12 (article 120 or 120b of the Uniform Code of Military Jus13 tice) or attempt to commit an offense specified under sec14 tion 920 or 920b as punishable under section 880 of such 

15 title (article 80 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice).’’. 

16 SEC. 511. REVIEW OF DISCHARGE OR DISMISSAL. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 25 of title 

18 14, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘§ 2517. Review of discharge or dismissal 

21 ‘‘(a) DOWNGRADE.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the require23 ments of section 1553 of title 10, a board of review 

24 for a former member of the Coast Guard established 

25 pursuant to such section may, upon a motion of the 


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1 board and subject to review by the Secretary of the 

2 department in which the Coast Guard is operating, 

3 downgrade an honorable discharge or dismissal to a 

4 general (under honorable conditions) discharge or 

5 dismissal upon a finding that a former member of 

6 the Coast Guard, while serving on active duty as a 

7 member of the armed forces, committed sexual as8 sault or sexual harassment in violation of section 

9 920, 920b, or 934 of this title (article 120, 120b, or 

10 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice). 

11 ‘‘(2) EVIDENCE.—Any downgrade under para12 graph (1) shall be supported by clear and convincing 

13 evidence. 

14 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—The review board under 

15 paragraph (1) may not downgrade a discharge or 

16 dismissal of a former member of the Coast Guard if 

17 the same action described in paragraph (1) was con18 sidered prior to separation from active duty by an 

19 administrative board in determining the character20 ization of discharge as otherwise provided by law 

21 and in accordance with regulations prescribed by the 

22 Secretary of the Department in which the Coast 

23 Guard is operating. 

24 ‘‘(b) PROCEDURAL RIGHTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A review by a board estab2 lished under section 1553 of title 10 shall be based 

3 on the records of the armed forces concerned and 

4 such other evidence as may be presented to the 

5 board. 

6 ‘‘(2) EVIDENCE BY WITNESS.—A witness may 

7 present evidence to the board in person or by affi8 davit. 

9 ‘‘(3) APPEARANCE BEFORE BOARD.—A person 

10 who requests a review under this section may appear 

11 before the board in person or by counsel or an ac12 credited representative of an organization recognized 

13 by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under chapter 

14 59 of title 38. 

15 ‘‘(4) NOTIFICATION.—A former member of the 

16 Coast Guard who is subject to a downgrade in dis17 charge characterization review under subsection 

18 (b)(3) shall be notified in writing of such pro19 ceedings, afforded the right to obtain copies of 

20 records and documents relevant to the proceedings, 

21 and the right to appear before the board in person 

22 or by counsel or an accredited representative of an 

23 organization recognized by the Secretary of Veterans 

24 Affairs under chapter 59 of title 38.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap2 ter 25 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by in3 serting after the item relating to section 2516 the fol4 lowing: 

‘‘2517. Review of discharge or dismissal.’’. 

5 TITLE VI—AMENDMENTS 

6 SEC. 601. AMENDMENTS. 

7 (a) PROHIBITION ON ENTRY AND OPERATION.—Sec8 tion 70022(b)(1) of title 46, United States Code, is 

9 amended by striking ‘‘Federal Register’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘the Federal Register’’. 

11 (b) PORT, HARBOR, AND COASTAL FACILITY SECU12 RITY.—Section 70116(b) of title 46, United States Code, 

13 is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘terrorism 

15 cyber’’ and inserting ‘‘terrorism, cyber’’; and 

16 (2) in paragraph (2) by inserting a comma 

17 after ‘‘acts of terrorism’’. 

18 (c) ENFORCEMENT BY STATE AND LOCAL OFFI19 CERS.—Section 70118(a) of title 46, United States Code, 

20 is amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘section 1 of title II of the Act 

22 of June 15, 1917 (chapter 30; 50 U.S.C. 191)’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘section 70051’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘section 7(b) of the Ports and 

2 Waterways Safety Act (33 U.S.C. 1226(b))’’ and in3 serting ‘‘section 70116(b)’’. 

4 (d) CHAPTER 701 DEFINITIONS.—Section 70131(2) 

5 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘section 1 of title II of the Act 

7 of June 15, 1917 (50 U.S.C. 191)’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘section 70051’’; and 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘section 7(b) of the Ports and 

10 Waterways Safety Act (33 U.S.C. 1226(b))’’ and in11 serting ‘‘section 70116(b)’’. 

12 (e) NOTICE OF ARRIVAL REQUIREMENTS FOR VES13 SELS ON THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF.— 

14 (1) PREPARATORY CONFORMING AMEND15 MENT.—Section 70001 of title 46, United States 

16 Code, is amended by redesignating subsections (l) 

17 and (m) as subsections (m) and (n), respectively. 

18 (2) TRANSFER OF PROVISION.—Section 704 of 

19 the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act 

20 2012 (Public Law 112–213; 46 U.S.C. 70001 note) 

21 is— 

22 (A) amended by striking ‘‘of title 46, 

23 United States Code,’’; 

24 (B) transferred to appear after 70001(k) 

25 of title 46, United States Code; and 


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1 (C) redesignated as subsection (l). 

2 (f) TITLE 46.—Title 46, United States Code, is 

3 amended as follows: 

4 (1) Section 2101(2) is amended by striking 

5 ‘‘section 1’’ and inserting ‘‘section 101’’. 

6 (2) Section 2116(b)(1)(D) is amended by strik7 ing ‘‘section 93(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 504(c)’’. 

8 (3) In the analysis for subtitle VII by striking 

9 the period after ‘‘70001’’ in the item relating to 

10 chapter 700. 

11 (4) In the analysis for chapter 700 by striking 

12 the item relating to section 70006 and inserting the 

13 following: 

‘‘70006. Establishment by Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

Guard is operating of anchorage grounds and regulations generally.’’. 

14 (5) In the heading for subchapter IV in the 

15 analysis for chapter 700 by inserting a comma after 

16 ‘‘DEFINITIONS’’. 

17 (6) In the heading for subchapter VI in the 

18 analysis for chapter 700 by striking ‘‘OF THE 

19 UNITED’’and inserting ‘‘OF UNITED’’. 

20 (7) Section 70052(e)(1) is amended by striking 

21 ‘‘section 4197 of the Revised Statutes of the United 

22 States (46 U.S.C. App. 91)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

23 60105’’. 


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1 (g) OIL POLLUTION ACT OF 1990.—The Oil Pollu2 tion Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) is amended as 

3 follows: 

4 (1) Section 1001(32)(G) (33 U.S.C. 

5 2701(32)(G)) is amended by striking ‘‘pipeline’’ and 

6 all that follows through ‘‘offshore facility’’ and in7 serting ‘‘pipeline, offshore facility’’. 

8 (2) Section 1016 (33 U.S.C. 2716) is amend9 ed— 

10 (A) by redesignating subsections (e) 

11 through (i) as subsections (d) through (h), re12 spectively; and 

13 (B) in subsection (e)(1)(B), as redesig14 nated by subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘sub15 section (e)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (d)’’. 

16 (3) Section 1012(b)(2) (33 U.S.C. 2712(b)(2)) 

17 is amended by striking ‘‘section 1016(f)(1)’’ and in18 serting ‘‘section 1016(e)(1)’’. 

19 (4) Section 1005(b)(5)(B) (33 U.S.C. 

20 2705(b)(5)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 

21 1016(g)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 1016(f)’’. 

22 (5) Section 1018(c) (33 U.S.C. 2718(c)) is 

23 amended by striking ‘‘the Act of March 3, 1851 (46 

24 U.S.C. 183 et seq.)’’ and inserting ‘‘chapter 305 of 

25 title 46, United States Code’’. 


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1 (6) Section 7001(h)(1) (33 U.S.C. 2761(h)(1)) 

2 is amended by striking ‘‘subsection (c)(4)’’ and in3 serting ‘‘subsection (e)(4)’’. 

Æ 


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