II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3930 

To reauthorize the Maritime Administration and to reauthorize the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps 

Act of 2002. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 10, 2020 

Mr. WICKER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Maritime Administration and to reauthorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 2002. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Maritime Administra5 tion Authorization and Improvement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

TITLE I—MARITIME MATTERS 


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Sec. 101. Authorization of the Maritime Administration. 

Sec. 102. Marine highways. 

Sec. 103. Maritime security program operating requirement. 

Sec. 104. Tanker security fleet. 

Sec. 105. Port and intermodal improvement program. 

Sec. 106. Sea year cadets on cable security fleet and tanker security fleet vessels. 

Sec. 107. Conditional bachelor of science degree from United States Merchant 

Marine Academy. 

Sec. 108. Graduation requirements for State maritime academies. 

Sec. 109. Superintendent of the United States Merchant Marine Academy. 

Sec. 110. Maritime academy information. 

Sec. 111. Centers of excellence for domestic maritime workforce training and 

education. 

Sec. 112. Criteria to be eligible to train students from State maritime academies. 

Sec. 113. Improvement of the National Oceanographic Partnership Program. 

Sec. 114. GAO review of Department-wide efforts to manage cybersecurity. 

Sec. 115. GAO review of efforts to support and grow the vessels of the United 

States. 

Sec. 116. GAO review of Federal efforts to enhance port infrastructure resiliency and disaster preparedness. 

Sec. 117. Study on foreign investment in shipping. 

Sec. 118. National Academies standing committee on America’s supply chain 

security during disasters. 

TITLE II—NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC 

ADMINISTRATION COMMISSIONED OFFICER CORPS 

Sec. 201. References to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 2002. 

Subtitle A—General Provisions 

Sec. 211. Strength and distribution in grade. 

Sec. 212. Recalled officers. 

Sec. 213. Obligated service requirement. 

Sec. 214. Training and physical fitness. 

Sec. 215. Aviation accession training programs. 

Sec. 216. Recruiting materials. 

Sec. 217. Technical correction. 

Subtitle B—Parity and Recruitment 

Sec. 221. Education loans. 

Sec. 222. Interest payments. 

Sec. 223. Student pre-commissioning program. 

Sec. 224. Limitation on educational assistance. 

Sec. 225. Applicability of certain provisions of title 10, United States Code, and 

extension of certain authorities applicable to members of the 

Armed Forces to commissioned officer corps. 

Sec. 226. Applicability of certain provisions of title 37, United States Code. 

Sec. 227. Prohibition on retaliatory personnel actions. 

Sec. 228. Application of certain provisions of competitive service law. 

Sec. 229. Employment and reemployment rights. 


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Sec. 230. Treatment of commission in commissioned officer corps for purposes 

of certain hiring decisions. 

Subtitle C—Appointments and Promotion of Officers 

Sec. 231. Appointments. 

Sec. 232. Personnel boards. 

Sec. 233. Positions of importance and responsibility. 

Sec. 234. Temporary appointments. 

Sec. 235. Officer candidates. 

Sec. 236. Procurement of personnel. 

Sec. 237. Career intermission program. 

Subtitle D—Separation and Retirement of Officers 

Sec. 241. Involuntary retirement or separation. 

Sec. 242. Separation pay. 

TITLE III—OTHER NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC 

ADMINISTRATION MATTERS 

Sec. 301. Charting and survey services. 

Sec. 302. Leases and co-location agreements. 

Sec. 303. Satellite and data management. 

1 TITLE I—MARITIME MATTERS 

2 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF THE MARITIME ADMINISTRA3 TION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro5 priated to the Department of Transportation for fiscal 

6 year 2021, to be available without fiscal year limitation 

7 if so provided in appropriations Acts, for programs associ8 ated with maintaining the United States Merchant Ma9 rine, the following amounts: 

10 (1) For expenses necessary for operations of the 

11 United States Merchant Marine Academy, 

12 $98,216,000, of which— 

13 (A) $80,216,000 shall remain available 

14 until September 30, 2022, for Academy oper15 ations; and 


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1 (B) $18,000,000 shall remain available 

2 until expended for capital asset management at 

3 the Academy. 

4 (2) For expenses necessary to support the State 

5 maritime academies, $50,780,000, of which— 

6 (A) $2,400,000 shall remain available until 

7 September 30, 2022, for the Student Incentive 

8 Program; 

9 (B) $6,000,000 shall remain available until 

10 expended for direct payments to such acad11 emies; 

12 (C) $30,500,000 shall remain available 

13 until expended for maintenance and repair of 

14 State maritime academy training vessels; 

15 (D) $3,800,000 shall remain available until 

16 expended for training ship fuel assistance; and 

17 (E) $8,080,000 shall remain available until 

18 expended for offsetting the costs of training 

19 ship sharing. 

20 (3) For expenses necessary to support the Na21 tional Security Multi-Mission Vessel Program, 

22 $389,000,000, which shall remain available until ex23 pended. 


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1 (4) For expenses necessary to support Maritime 

2 Administration operations and programs, 

3 $80,628,000, of which— 

4 (A) $5,000,000 shall remain available until 

5 expended for activities authorized under section 

6 50307 of title 46, United States Code; and 

7 (B) $19,775,000 shall remain available 

8 until expended for the Marine Highways Pro9 gram. 

10 (5) For expenses necessary to dispose of vessels 

11 in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, $5,000,000, 

12 which shall remain available until expended. 

13 (6) For expenses necessary to maintain and 

14 preserve a United States flag Merchant Marine to 

15 serve the national security needs of the United 

16 States under chapter 531 of title 46, United States 

17 Code, $314,008,000, which shall remain available 

18 until expended. 

19 (7) For expenses necessary for the loan guar20 antee program authorized under chapter 537 of title 

21 46, United States Code, $33,000,000, of which— 

22 (A) $30,000,000 may be used for the cost 

23 (as defined in section 502(5) of the Federal 

24 Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a(5))) 


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1 of loan guarantees under the program, which 

2 shall remain available until expended; and 

3 (B) $3,000,000 may be used for adminis4 trative expenses relating to loan guarantee com5 mitments under the program. 

6 (8) For expenses necessary to provide assist7 ance to small shipyards and for maritime training 

8 programs under section 54101 of title 46, United 

9 States Code, $40,000,000, which shall remain avail10 able until expended. 

11 (9) For expenses necessary to implement sec12 tion 111 of this Act, $200,000,000. 

13 (10) For expenses necessary to implement the 

14 Port and Intermodal Improvement Program, 

15 $500,000,000. 

16 SEC. 102. MARINE HIGHWAYS. 

17 (a) MARINE HIGHWAYS PROGRAM.—Section 55601 

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

19 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘Short 

20 sea transportation program’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘Marine highways program’’; 

22 (2) by redesignating subsections (a) through (g) 

23 as subsections (c) through (i), respectively; 

24 (3) by inserting before subsection (c), as redes25 ignated by paragraph (2), the following: 


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1 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find2 ings: 

3 ‘‘(1) Our Nation’s waterways are an integral 

4 part of our transportation network. 

5 ‘‘(2) River transportation is the most efficient 

6 form of bulk transportation, the safest mode of 

7 transportation, and more environmentally friendly 

8 than other forms of transportation. 

9 ‘‘(3) Using the Nation’s waterways—coastal, in10 land, and others that can support commercial trans11 portation, alleviates surface transportation conges12 tion and burdensome road and bridge repair costs. 

13 ‘‘(4) Marine highways are serviced by docu14 mented United States Flag vessels and manned by 

15 United States citizens, providing added resources for 

16 national security and to aid in times of crisis. 

17 ‘‘(5) According to the United States Army 

18 Corps of Engineers, inland navigation is a key ele19 ment of economic development and is essential in 

20 maintaining economic competitiveness and national 

21 security. 

22 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) MARINE HIGHWAY PROJECT.—The term 

24 ‘marine highway project’ means planned or con25 templated new services, or expansions of existing 


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1 services, on marine highway routes, that seek to pro2 vide new modal choices to shippers, offer more desir3 able services, reduce transportation costs, or provide 

4 public benefits, which include reduced air emissions, 

5 reduced road maintenance costs, connectivity, and 

6 improved safety or resiliency impacts. 

7 ‘‘(2) MARINE HIGHWAY ROUTE.—The term 

8 ‘marine highway route’ means commercially navi9 gable coastal, inland, or intracoastal waters of the 

10 United States (including connections between United 

11 States ports and Canadian ports and non-contiguous 

12 United States ports).’’; 

13 (4) in subsection (c), as redesignated by para14 graph (2)— 

15 (A) by inserting ‘‘, to be known as the 

16 ‘America’s Marine Highway program’,’’ after 

17 ‘‘transportation program’’; 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘short sea transportation 

19 projects’’ and inserting ‘‘marine highway 

20 projects’’; and 

21 (C) by striking ‘‘mitigate landside conges22 tion or to promote short sea transportation’’ 

23 and insert ‘‘provide an alternative to transpor24 tation or to promote short sea transportation’’; 


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1 (5) in subsection (d), as redesignated by para2 graph (2), by striking paragraph (1) and inserting 

3 the following: 

4 ‘‘(1) vessels documented under chapter 121 of 

5 this title’’; 

6 (6) by striking subsection (e), as redesignated 

7 by paragraph (2), and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(e) DESIGNATION AND MAPPING OF MARINE HIGH9 WAY ROUTES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

11 after the date the Secretary receives a request for 

12 designation of a new marine highway route or exten13 sion of an existing marine highway route from an el14 igible requester as described in paragraph (4), the 

15 Secretary shall make a determination whether to 

16 designate or extend such marine highway route as 

17 an integrated part of the surface transportation sys18 tem and increase public and private efforts to use 

19 the waterways as an alternative to coastal or inland 

20 highway corridors or to promote short sea transpor21 tation. 

22 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 7 days 

23 after the date on which the Secretary makes the de24 termination whether to designate or extend a marine 

25 highway route under paragraph (1), the Secretary 


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1 shall send the eligible requester a notification of the 

2 determination. 

3 ‘‘(3) DATA COLLECTION AND DISSEMINA4 TION.—The Secretary may collect and disseminate 

5 data for the designation and delineation of short sea 

6 transportation routes, naming them as the ‘United 

7 States Marine Highway Routes’. 

8 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE REQUESTERS.—A request for 

9 designation of a new marine highway route or exten10 sion of an existing marine highway route may be 

11 submitted to the Secretary, by— 

12 ‘‘(A) the Governor of an affected State; 

13 ‘‘(B) an official Tribal resolution of an In14 dian tribe (as defined in section 4 of the Indian 

15 Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

16 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)), or a consortium of In17 dian tribes; 

18 ‘‘(C) a State Department of Transpor19 tation; 

20 ‘‘(D) a Port Authority; 

21 ‘‘(E) a metropolitan planning organization; 

22 or 

23 ‘‘(F) any other comparable elected or po24 litically appointed representative, as determined 

25 by the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(5) NUMBERING OF ROUTES.—Each marine 

2 highway route, if practicable, shall be numbered in 

3 terms of the specific landside transportation routes 

4 (road or railway) that it parallels or to which it con5 nects. 

6 ‘‘(6) MAP.—Not later than 120 days after the 

7 date of enactment of the Maritime Administration 

8 Authorization and Improvement Act, and thereafter 

9 each time a marine highway route is amended or 

10 added, the Secretary shall make publically available 

11 a map showing the location of marine highway 

12 routes along the coasts, in the inland waterways, 

13 and at sea.’’; 

14 (7) in subsection (f), as redesignated by para15 graph (2)— 

16 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

17 by striking ‘‘short sea transportation project’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘marine highway project’’; and 

19 (B) by striking paragraph (1) and insert20 ing the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) provides an alternative to landside trans22 portation; or’’; 

23 (8) in subsection (g), as redesignated by para24 graph (2)— 


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1 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

2 by striking ‘‘short sea transportation project 

3 designated under this section, the Secretary 

4 may’’ and inserting ‘‘marine highway project 

5 designated under this section, the Secretary 

6 shall’’; and 

7 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘short 

8 sea transportation program’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘marine highways program’’; 

10 (9) in subsection (h), as redesignated by para11 graph (2), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

12 striking ‘‘may develop’’ and inserting ‘‘shall de13 velop’’; 

14 (10) in subsection (i), as redesignated by para15 graph (2)— 

16 (A) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

17 paragraph (10); 

18 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘a short sea transpor20 tation grant program’’ and inserting ‘‘a 

21 marine highway grant program’’; and 

22 (ii) by striking ‘‘subsection (d)’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘subsection (f)’’; and 

24 (C) by striking paragraph (2) and insert25 ing the following: 


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1 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for as3 sistance under this section, an applicant shall 

4 submit an application, in such form, and con5 taining such information and assurances as the 

6 Administrator may require, not later than 90 

7 days after the date of enactment of the appro8 priations Act for the fiscal year concerned. 

9 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT; MINIMUM

10 STANDARDS FOR PAYMENT OR REIMBURSE11 MENT.—Each application submitted under 

12 paragraph (1) shall include a comprehensive de13 scription of— 

14 ‘‘(i) regions served; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the marine highway route that 

16 the project will use, which may include 

17 connection to existing or planned transpor18 tation infrastructure and intermodal facili19 ties, key navigational factors such as avail20 able draft, channel width, bridge air draft, 

21 or lock clearance, and any foreseeable im22 pacts on navigation or commerce, and a 

23 map of the proposed route; 

24 ‘‘(iii) project supporters, which may 

25 include including business affiliations, priVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jun 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3930.IS S3930

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1 vate sector stakeholders, State Depart2 ments of Transportation, metropolitan 

3 planning organizations, municipalities, or 

4 other governmental entities (including 

5 Tribal governments), as applicable; 

6 ‘‘(iv) estimated volume of passengers 

7 or cargo; 

8 ‘‘(v) the need for the project; 

9 ‘‘(vi) the definition of the success goal 

10 for the project, such as volumes of cargo 

11 or passengers moved, or contribution to en12 vironmental mitigation, safety, reduced 

13 VMT, or reduced maintenance and repair 

14 costs; 

15 ‘‘(vii) the methodology for imple16 menting the project, including a descrip17 tion of the proposed operational framework 

18 of the project including the origin, destina19 tion, and any intermediate stops on the 

20 route, transit times, vessel types, and serv21 ice frequency; and 

22 ‘‘(viii) any existing programs or ar23 rangements that can be used to supple24 ment or leverage assistance under the pro25 gram. 


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1 ‘‘(3) TIMING OF GRANT NOTICE.—The Adminis2 trator shall post a Notice of Funding Opportunity 

3 regarding grants awarded under this section not 

4 more than 15 days after the date of enactment of 

5 the appropriations Act for the fiscal year concerned. 

6 ‘‘(4) TIMING OF GRANTS.—The Administrator 

7 shall award grants under this section not later than 

8 120 days after the date of the enactment of the ap9 propriations Act for the fiscal year concerned. 

10 ‘‘(5) REUSE OF UNEXPENDED GRANT FUNDS.— 

11 Notwithstanding paragraph (4), amounts awarded 

12 as a grant under this section that are not expended 

13 by the grantee shall remain available to the Admin14 istrator for use for grants under this section. 

15 ‘‘(6) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more than 

16 3 percent of amounts made available to carry out 

17 the program may be used for the necessary costs of 

18 grant administration. 

19 ‘‘(7) PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS.—The Admin20 istrator, in consultation with the Office of the In21 spector General, shall issue guidelines to establish 

22 appropriate accounting, reporting, and review proce23 dures to ensure that— 

24 ‘‘(A) grant funds are used for the purposes 

25 for which they were made available; 


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1 ‘‘(B) grantees have properly accounted for 

2 all expenditures of grant funds; and 

3 ‘‘(C) grant funds not used for such pur4 poses and amounts not obligated or expended 

5 are returned. 

6 ‘‘(8) PROJECT APPROVAL REQUIRED.—The Ad7 ministrator may not award a grant under this sec8 tion unless the Administrator determines that— 

9 ‘‘(A) sufficient funding is available to meet 

10 the matching requirements of paragraph (10); 

11 ‘‘(B) the project will be completed without 

12 unreasonable delay; and 

13 ‘‘(C) the recipient has authority to carry 

14 out the proposed project. 

15 ‘‘(9) CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.—Informa16 tion of a confidential nature, such as proprietary or 

17 classified information, provided to a United States 

18 firm pursuant to this section shall be protected. 

19 Such information may be released by a United 

20 States firm only after written approval by the Sec21 retary.’’; and 

22 (11) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(j) PROHIBITED USES.—Grants awarded under this 

24 section may not be used to raise sunken vessels, construct 

25 buildings, or other physical facilities or to acquire land. 


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1 ‘‘(k) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—The Administrator 

2 may not award more than 25 percent of the funds appro3 priated to carry out this section for any fiscal year to any 

4 project in one geographic location. 

5 ‘‘(l) AUDITS AND EXAMINATIONS.—All grantees 

6 under this section shall maintain such records as the Ad7 ministrator may require and make such records available 

8 for review and audit by the Administrator.’’. 

9 (b) CARGO AND SHIPPERS.—Section 55602 of title 

10 46, United States Code, is amended, in subsection (a), by 

11 striking ‘‘short sea transportation project’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘marine highway project’’. 

13 (c) RESEARCH ON SHORT SEA TRANSPORTATION.— 

14 Section 55604 of title 46, United States Code, is amend15 ed— 

16 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 

17 (3) as paragraphs (4) through (6), respectively; and 

18 (2) by inserting before paragraph (4), as redes19 ignated by paragraph (1), the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) the economic importance of marine high21 ways transportation to the United States economy; 

22 ‘‘(2) the importance of marine highways to 

23 rural areas; 

24 ‘‘(3) identifying pairs of United States regions 

25 and territories, and within-region areas, that do not 


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1 yet have marine highway projects underway, but 

2 that could benefit from the establishment of marine 

3 highway services;’’; and 

4 (3) in paragraph (6), as redesignated by para5 graph (1), by striking ‘‘short sea transportation 

6 projects’’ and inserting ‘‘marine highway projects’’. 

7 (d) SHORT SEA TRANSPORTATION.—Section 55605 

8 of title 46, United States Code, is amended to read as 

9 follows: 

10 ‘‘§ 55605. Short sea transportation defined 

11 ‘‘In this chapter, the term ‘short sea transportation’ 

12 means the carriage of bulk or containerized cargo, pas13 sengers, or freight by a United States documented vessel 

14 that is— 

15 ‘‘(1) loaded at a port in the United States and 

16 unloaded either at another port in the United States 

17 or at a port in Canada; or 

18 ‘‘(2) loaded at a port in Canada and unloaded 

19 at a port in the United States.’’. 

20 (e) EXPENDING FEDERAL FUNDS.—Beginning on 

21 the date of enactment of this title, the Secretary of Trans22 portation may allow grant recipients to expend Federal 

23 funds to complete projects under the grant programs car24 ried out under sections 54101, 55601, and 50302 of title 


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1 46, United States Code, before expending any required 

2 non-Federal funds. 

3 SEC. 103. MARITIME SECURITY PROGRAM OPERATING RE4 QUIREMENT. 

5 (a) REQUIRED OPERATING DAYS.—For the period 

6 beginning on the date of enactment of this title and ending 

7 on September 30, 2021, subsection (b) and subsection 

8 (d)(3) of section 53106 of title 46, United States Code, 

9 shall be applied by substituting ‘‘180 days’’ for ‘‘320 

10 days’’. 

11 (b) PAYMENTS.— 

12 (1) IMMEDIATE PAYMENTS; ADVANCE PAY13 MENTS.—Notwithstanding section 53106(a)(2) of 

14 title 46, United States Code, the Secretary of Trans15 portation may— 

16 (A) pay immediately the amount remaining 

17 to be paid for fiscal year 2020 to each con18 tractor for an operating agreement, for each 

19 vessel that is covered by an operating agree20 ment; and 

21 (B) for fiscal year 2021, for any particular 

22 period, pay in advance the stipend authorized 

23 by section 53106(a) of title 46, United States 

24 Code, upon a determination by the Secretary of 

25 Transportation that advance payments for such 


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1 period are in the interest of the national de2 fense. 

3 (2) RECOUPMENT.—Advance payments under 

4 this subsection shall be subject to recoupment by the 

5 Secretary of Transportation for any days that— 

6 (A) a vessel does not comply with the pro7 visions of subsections (c) and (d) of section 

8 53106 of title 46, United States Code; or 

9 (B) the contractor’s operations have not 

10 complied with the limitation with respect to 

11 noncontiguous trade under subsection (e) of 

12 section 53106 of title 46, United States Code. 

13 SEC. 104. TANKER SECURITY FLEET. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle V of title 46, United 

15 States Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 533 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘CHAPTER 534—TANKER SECURITY FLEET 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘53401. Definitions. 

‘‘53402. Establishment of the Tanker Security Fleet. 

‘‘53403. Award of operating agreements. 

‘‘53404. Effectiveness of operating agreements. 

‘‘53405. Obligations and rights under operating agreements. 

‘‘53406. Payments. 

‘‘53407. National security requirements. 

‘‘53408. Regulatory relief. 

‘‘53409. Special rule regarding age of participating fleet vessels. 

‘‘53410. Regulations. 

‘‘53411. Authorization of appropriations. 

‘‘53412. Acquisition of fleet vessels. 

18 ‘‘§ 53401. Definitions 

19 ‘‘In this chapter: 


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1 ‘‘(1) FOREIGN COMMERCE.—The term ‘foreign 

2 commerce’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) commerce or trade between the 

4 United States, its territories or possessions, or 

5 the District of Columbia, and a foreign country; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) commerce or trade between foreign 

8 countries. 

9 ‘‘(2) PARTICIPATING FLEET VESSEL.—The 

10 term ‘participating fleet vessel’ means any product 

11 tank vessel covered by an operating agreement under 

12 this chapter on or after January 1, 2021, that— 

13 ‘‘(A) meets the requirements of one of 

14 paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 53402(b) 

15 of this title; and 

16 ‘‘(B) is no more than 20 years of age. 

17 ‘‘(3) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ includes cor18 porations, partnerships, and associations existing 

19 under, or authorized by, laws of the United States, 

20 or any State, territory, district, or possession there21 of, or any foreign country. 

22 ‘‘(4) PRODUCT TANK VESSEL.—The term ‘prod23 uct tank vessel’ means a double-hulled tank vessel 

24 capable of carrying simultaneously more than 2 sep25 arated grades of refined petroleum products. 


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1 ‘‘(5) PROGRAM PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘pro2 gram participant’ means an owner or operator of a 

3 vessel that enters into an operating agreement cov4 ering a participating fleet vessel with the Secretary 

5 under section 53403. 

6 ‘‘(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

7 the Secretary of Transportation, unless the context 

8 indicates otherwise. 

9 ‘‘(7) UNITED STATES CITIZEN TRUST.—The 

10 term ‘United States citizen trust’— 

11 ‘‘(A) means a trust for which— 

12 ‘‘(i) each of the trustees is a citizen of 

13 the United States; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) the application for documenta15 tion of the vessel under chapter 121 of this 

16 title includes an affidavit of each trustee 

17 stating that the trustee is not aware of any 

18 reason involving a beneficiary of the trust 

19 that is not a citizen of the United States, 

20 or involving any other person who is not a 

21 citizen of the United States, as a result of 

22 which the beneficiary or other person 

23 would hold more than 25 percent of the 

24 aggregate power to influence or limit the 

25 exercise of the authority of the trustee with 


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1 respect to matters involving any ownership 

2 or operation of the vessel that may ad3 versely affect the interests of the United 

4 States; 

5 ‘‘(B) does not include a trust for which 

6 any person that is not a citizen of the United 

7 States has authority to direct, or participate in 

8 directing, a trustee for a trust in matters in9 volving any ownership or operation of the vessel 

10 that may adversely affect the interests of the 

11 United States or in removing a trustee without 

12 cause, either directly or indirectly through the 

13 control of another person, unless the trust in14 strument provides that persons who are not citi15 zens of the United States may not hold more 

16 than 25 percent of the aggregate authority to 

17 so direct or remove a trustee; and 

18 ‘‘(C) may include a trust for which a per19 son who is not a citizen of the United States 

20 holds more than 25 percent of the beneficial in21 terest in the trust. 

22 ‘‘§ 53402. Establishment of the Tanker Security Fleet 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

24 with the Secretary of Defense, shall establish a fleet of 

25 active, commercially viable, militarily useful, privately 


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1 owned product tank vessels to meet national defense and 

2 other security requirements and maintain a United States 

3 presence in international commercial shipping. The fleet 

4 shall consist of privately owned vessels of the United 

5 States for which there are in effect operating agreements 

6 under this chapter, and shall be known as the ‘Tanker 

7 Security Fleet’ (hereafter in this chapter referred to as 

8 the ‘Fleet’). 

9 ‘‘(b) VESSEL ELIGIBILITY.—A vessel is eligible to be 

10 included in the Fleet if the vessel— 

11 ‘‘(1) meets the requirements under paragraph 

12 (1), (2), (3), or (4) of subsection (c); 

13 ‘‘(2) is operated (or in the case of a vessel to 

14 be constructed, will be operated) in providing trans15 portation in United States foreign commerce; 

16 ‘‘(3) is self-propelled; 

17 ‘‘(4) is not more than 10 years of age on the 

18 date the vessel is first included in the Fleet; 

19 ‘‘(5) is determined by the Secretary of Defense 

20 to be suitable for use by the United States for na21 tional defense or military purposes in time of war or 

22 national emergency; 

23 ‘‘(6) is commercially viable, as determined by 

24 the Secretary; and 

25 ‘‘(7) is— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a vessel of the United States; or 

2 ‘‘(B) not a vessel of the United States, 

3 but— 

4 ‘‘(i) the owner of the vessel has dem5 onstrated an intent to have the vessel doc6 umented under chapter 121 of this title if 

7 it is included in the Fleet; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) at the time an operating agree9 ment is entered into under this chapter, 

10 the vessel is eligible for documentation 

11 under chapter 121 of this title. 

12 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS REGARDING CITIZENSHIP OF

13 OWNERS, CHARTERERS, AND OPERATORS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) VESSELS OWNED AND OPERATED BY SEC15 TION 50501 CITIZENS.—A vessel meets the require16 ments of this paragraph if, during the period of an 

17 operating agreement under this chapter that applies 

18 to the vessel, the vessel will be owned and operated 

19 by one or more persons that are citizens of the 

20 United States under section 50501 of this title. 

21 ‘‘(2) VESSELS OWNED BY A SECTION 50501 CIT22 IZEN, OR UNITED STATES CITIZEN TRUST, AND

23 CHARTERED TO A DOCUMENTATION CITIZEN.—A 

24 vessel meets the requirements of this paragraph if— 


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1 ‘‘(A) during the period of an operating 

2 agreement under this chapter that applies to 

3 the vessel, the vessel will be— 

4 ‘‘(i) owned by a person that is a cit5 izen of the United States under section 

6 50501 of this title or that is a United 

7 States citizen trust; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) demise chartered to a person— 

9 ‘‘(I) that is eligible to document 

10 the vessel under chapter 121 of this 

11 title; 

12 ‘‘(II) the chairman of the board 

13 of directors, chief executive officer, 

14 and a majority of the members of the 

15 board of directors of which are citi16 zens of the United States under sec17 tion 50501 of this title, and are ap18 pointed and subjected to removal only 

19 upon approval by the Secretary; and 

20 ‘‘(III) that certifies to the Sec21 retary that there are no treaties, stat22 utes, regulations, or other laws that 

23 would prohibit the program partici24 pant for the vessel from performing 


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1 its obligations under an operating 

2 agreement under this chapter; 

3 ‘‘(B) in the case of a vessel that will be de4 mise chartered to a person that is owned or 

5 controlled by another person that is not a cit6 izen of the United States under section 50501 

7 of this title, the other person enters into an 

8 agreement with the Secretary not to influence 

9 the operation of the vessel in a manner that will 

10 adversely affect the interests of the United 

11 States; and 

12 ‘‘(C) the Secretary and the Secretary of 

13 Defense notify the Committee on Armed Serv14 ices and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

15 and Transportation of the Senate and the Com16 mittee on Armed Services and the Committee 

17 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

18 House of Representatives that the Secretaries 

19 concur with the certification required under 

20 subparagraph (A)(ii)(III), and have reviewed 

21 and agree that there are no legal, operational, 

22 or other impediments that would prohibit the 

23 owner or operator for the vessel from per24 forming its obligations under an operating 

25 agreement under this chapter. 


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1 ‘‘(3) VESSELS OWNED AND OPERATED BY A DE2 FENSE CONTRACTOR.—A vessel meets the require3 ments of this paragraph if— 

4 ‘‘(A) during the period of an operating 

5 agreement under this chapter that applies to 

6 the vessel, the vessel will be owned and oper7 ated by a person that— 

8 ‘‘(i) is eligible to document a vessel 

9 under chapter 121 of this title; 

10 ‘‘(ii) operates or manages other ves11 sels of the United States for the Secretary 

12 of Defense, or charters other vessels to the 

13 Secretary of Defense; 

14 ‘‘(iii) has entered into a special secu15 rity agreement for the purpose of this 

16 paragraph with the Secretary of Defense; 

17 ‘‘(iv) makes the certification described 

18 in paragraph (2)(A)(ii)(III); and 

19 ‘‘(v) in the case of a vessel described 

20 in paragraph (2)(B), enters into an agree21 ment referred to in that paragraph; and 

22 ‘‘(B) the Secretary and the Secretary of 

23 Defense notify the Committee on Armed Serv24 ices and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

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1 mittee on Armed Services and the Committee 

2 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

3 House of Representatives that they concur with 

4 the certification required under subparagraph 

5 (A)(iv), and have reviewed and agree that there 

6 are no legal, operational, or other impediments 

7 that would prohibit the program participant for 

8 the vessel from performing its obligations under 

9 an operating agreement under this chapter. 

10 ‘‘(4) VESSELS OWNED BY DOCUMENTATION

11 CITIZENS AND CHARTERED TO SECTION 50501 CITI12 ZENS.—A vessel meets the requirements of this 

13 paragraph if, during the period of an operating 

14 agreement under this chapter, the vessel will be— 

15 ‘‘(A) owned by a person who is eligible to 

16 document a vessel under chapter 121 of this 

17 title; and 

18 ‘‘(B) demise chartered to a person that is 

19 a citizen of the United States under section 

20 50501 of this title. 

21 ‘‘(d) REQUEST BY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE.—The 

22 Secretary of Defense shall request that the Secretary of 

23 Homeland Security issue any waiver under section 501 of 

24 this title that the Secretary of Defense determines is nec25 essary for purposes of this chapter. 


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1 ‘‘(e) VESSEL STANDARDS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATE OF INSPECTION.—A vessel 

3 used to provide oceangoing transportation that the 

4 Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

5 Guard is operating determines meets the criteria of 

6 subsection (b) but which, on the date of enactment 

7 of this section, is not documented under chapter 121 

8 of this title, shall be eligible for a certificate of in9 spection if the Commandant of the Coast Guard de10 termines that— 

11 ‘‘(A) the vessel is classed by and designed 

12 in accordance with the rules of the American 

13 Bureau of Shipping, or another classification 

14 society accepted by the Commandant of the 

15 Coast Guard; 

16 ‘‘(B) the vessel complies with applicable 

17 international agreements and associated guide18 lines, as determined by the country in which the 

19 vessel was documented immediately before be20 coming documented under chapter 121 of this 

21 title; and 

22 ‘‘(C) the country has not been identified by 

23 the Commandant of the Coast Guard as inad24 equately enforcing international vessel regula25 tions as to that vessel. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CONTINUED ELIGIBILITY FOR CERTIFI2 CATE.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to any vessel 

3 that has failed to comply with the applicable inter4 national agreements and association guidelines re5 ferred to in paragraph (1)(B). 

6 ‘‘(3) RELIANCE ON CLASSIFICATION SOCIETY.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant of 

8 the Coast Guard may rely on a certification 

9 from the American Bureau of Shipping or, sub10 ject to subparagraph (B), another classification 

11 society accepted by the Commandant of the 

12 Coast Guard, to establish that a vessel is in 

13 compliance with the requirements of paragraph 

14 (1). 

15 ‘‘(B) FOREIGN CLASSIFICATION SOCI16 ETY.—The Commandant of the Coast Guard 

17 may accept certification from a foreign classi18 fication society under subparagraph (A) only— 

19 ‘‘(i) to the extent that the government 

20 of the foreign country in which the society 

21 is headquartered provides access on a re22 ciprocal basis to the American Bureau of 

23 Shipping; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) if the foreign classification soci2 ety has offices and maintains records in 

3 the United States. 

4 ‘‘§ 53403. Award of operating agreements 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require, as 

6 a condition of including any vessel in the Fleet, that the 

7 program participant for the vessel enter into an operating 

8 agreement with the Secretary under this section. 

9 ‘‘(b) PROCEDURE FOR APPLICATIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE VESSELS.—The Secretary shall 

11 accept an application for an operating agreement for 

12 an eligible product tank vessel under the priority 

13 under paragraph (2) only from a person that has 

14 authority to enter into an operating agreement 

15 under this chapter. 

16 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIORITY.—The Sec17 retary may enter into a new operating agreement 

18 with an applicant that meets the requirements of 

19 section 53402(c) for a vessel that meets the quali20 fications of section 53402(b), and shall give priority 

21 to applications based on— 

22 ‘‘(A) vessel capabilities, as established by 

23 the Secretary of Defense; then 


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1 ‘‘(B) after consideration of vessel type, to 

2 an applicant that is a United States citizen 

3 under section 50501 of this title; then 

4 ‘‘(C) after consideration of applicant citi5 zenship, according to an applicant’s record of 

6 owning and operating vessels; then 

7 ‘‘(D) after consideration of ownership and 

8 operation, according to such additional prior9 ities as the Secretary may consider appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(3) CONCURRENCE OF AWARD.—The Sec11 retary may not approve an application for an oper12 ating agreement without the concurrence of the Sec13 retary of Defense. 

14 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION.—For any fiscal year, the Secretary 

15 may not award operating agreements under this chapter 

16 that require payments under section 53406 of this title 

17 for more than 10 vessels. 

18 ‘‘(d) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—No court shall have juris19 diction to review the Secretary’s decision with respect to 

20 the award or non-award of an operating agreement issued 

21 under this chapter. 

22 ‘‘§ 53404. Effectiveness of operating agreements 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter into an 

24 operating agreement under this chapter for fiscal year 

25 2021. The agreement shall be effective only for 1 fiscal 


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1 year, but shall be renewable, subject to the availability of 

2 appropriations, for each fiscal year through the end of fis3 cal year 2035. 

4 ‘‘(b) VESSELS UNDER CHARTER TO THE UNITED

5 STATES.—The program participant of a vessel under 

6 charter to the United States is eligible to receive payments 

7 pursuant to any operating agreement that covers such ves8 sel. 

9 ‘‘(c) TERMINATION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) TERMINATION BY SECRETARY FOR LACK

11 OF PROGRAM PARTICIPANT COMPLIANCE.—If the 

12 program participant with respect to an operating 

13 agreement materially fails to comply with the terms 

14 of the agreement— 

15 ‘‘(A) the Secretary shall notify the pro16 gram participant and provide a reasonable op17 portunity to comply with the operating agree18 ment; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the Secretary shall terminate the op20 erating agreement if the program participant 

21 fails to achieve such compliance. 

22 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION BY PROGRAM PARTICI23 PANT.—If a program participant provides notice of 

24 the intent to terminate an operating agreement 

25 under this chapter on a date specified by not later 


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1 than 60 days prior to such date, such agreement 

2 shall terminate on the date specified by the program 

3 participant. 

4 ‘‘(d) NONRENEWAL FOR LACK OF FUNDS.—If, by the 

5 first day of a fiscal year, sufficient funds have not been 

6 appropriated under the authority provided by this chapter 

7 for that fiscal year, then the Secretary shall notify the 

8 Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on 

9 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

10 the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on 

11 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep12 resentatives that operating agreements authorized under 

13 this chapter for which sufficient funds are not available 

14 will not be renewed for that fiscal year if sufficient funds 

15 are not appropriated by the 60th day of that fiscal year. 

16 ‘‘(e) RELEASE OF VESSELS FROM OBLIGATIONS.— 

17 If funds are not appropriated for payments under an oper18 ating agreement under this chapter for any fiscal year by 

19 the 60th day of that fiscal year, then— 

20 ‘‘(1) each vessel covered by the operating agree21 ment is thereby released from any further obligation 

22 under the operating agreement; 

23 ‘‘(2) the program participant for the vessel may 

24 transfer and register such vessel under a foreign 

25 registry that is acceptable to the Secretary and the 


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1 Secretary of Defense, notwithstanding section 56101 

2 of this title; and 

3 ‘‘(3) if chapter 563 of this title is applicable to 

4 the vessel after registration, then the vessel is avail5 able to be requisitioned by the Secretary pursuant to 

6 chapter 563 of this title. 

7 ‘‘§ 53405. Obligations and rights under operating 

8 agreements 

9 ‘‘(a) OPERATION OF VESSEL.—An operating agree10 ment under this chapter shall require that, during the pe11 riod the vessel covered by the agreement is operating 

12 under the agreement, the vessel shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) be operated in the United States foreign 

14 commerce, mixed United States foreign commerce 

15 and domestic trade allowed under a registry endorse16 ment issued under section 12111 of this title, for17 eign-to-foreign commerce, or under a charter to the 

18 United States; 

19 ‘‘(2) not be operated in the coastwise trade, ex20 cept as described in paragraph (1); and 

21 ‘‘(3) be documented under chapter 121 of this 

22 title. 

23 ‘‘(b) ANNUAL PAYMENTS BY THE SECRETARY.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An operating agreement 

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1 ability of appropriations, that the Secretary make a 

2 payment to the program participant in accordance 

3 with section 53406. 

4 ‘‘(2) OPERATING AGREEMENT IS AN OBLIGA5 TION OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.—An 

6 operating agreement under this chapter constitutes a 

7 contractual obligation of the United States Govern8 ment to pay the amounts provided for in the agree9 ment to the extent of actual appropriations. 

10 ‘‘(c) DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENT.—Each vessel 

11 covered by the operating agreement, including an agree12 ment terminated under section 53404(c)(2), shall remain 

13 documented under chapter 121 of this title until the date 

14 the operating agreement would terminate according to its 

15 terms. 

16 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL SECURITY REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A program participant with 

18 respect to an operating agreement, including an 

19 agreement terminated under section 53404(c)(2), 

20 shall continue to be bound by the provisions of sec21 tion 53407 until the date the operating agreement 

22 would terminate according to its terms. 

23 ‘‘(2) EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AGREE24 MENT.—All terms and conditions of an Emergency 

25 Preparedness Agreement entered into under section 


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1 53407 shall remain in effect until the date the oper2 ating agreement would terminate according to its 

3 terms, except that the terms of such Emergency 

4 Preparedness Agreement may be modified by the 

5 mutual consent of the program participant, the Sec6 retary, and the Secretary of Defense. 

7 ‘‘(e) TRANSFER OF OPERATING AGREEMENTS.—A 

8 program participant may transfer an operating agreement 

9 (including all rights and obligations under the agreement) 

10 to any person that is eligible to enter into that operating 

11 agreement under this chapter, if the Secretary and the 

12 Secretary of Defense determine that the transfer is in the 

13 best interests of the United States. 

14 ‘‘(f) REPLACEMENT OF VESSELS COVERED BY

15 AGREEMENTS.—A program participant may replace a ves16 sel covered by an operating agreement with another vessel 

17 that is eligible to be included in the Fleet under section 

18 53402(b), if the Secretary, in coordination with the Sec19 retary of Defense, approves the replacement of the vessel. 

20 No court shall have jurisdiction to review a decision by 

21 the Secretary or the Secretary of Defense pertaining to 

22 the replacement of a vessel under this section. 

23 ‘‘§ 53406. Payments 

24 ‘‘(a) ANNUAL PAYMENT.—Subject to the availability 

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1 sions of this chapter, the Secretary shall pay to the pro2 gram participant for an operating agreement under this 

3 chapter an amount equal to $6,000,000 for each vessel 

4 covered by the agreement for each fiscal year that the ves5 sel is covered by the agreement. Such amount shall be paid 

6 in equal monthly installments on the last day of each 

7 month. The amount payable under this subsection may not 

8 be reduced except as provided by this section. 

9 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION REQUIRED FOR PAYMENT.—As 

10 a condition of receiving payment under this section for a 

11 fiscal year for a vessel, the program participant shall cer12 tify, in accordance with regulations issued by the Sec13 retary, that the vessel has been and will be operated in 

14 accordance with section 53405(a) of this title for at least 

15 320 days during the fiscal year. Days during which the 

16 vessel is drydocked, surveyed, inspected, or repaired shall 

17 be considered days of operation for purposes of this sub18 section. 

19 ‘‘(c) GENERAL LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary may 

20 not make any payment under this chapter for a vessel with 

21 respect to any days for which the vessel is— 

22 ‘‘(1) not operated or maintained in accordance 

23 with an operating agreement under this chapter; 

24 ‘‘(2) more than 20 years of age; or 


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1 ‘‘(3) simultaneously operating under an agree2 ment issued pursuant to chapter 531 of this title. 

3 ‘‘(d) REDUCTIONS IN PAYMENTS.—With respect to 

4 payments under this chapter for a vessel covered by an 

5 operating agreement, the Secretary— 

6 ‘‘(1) except as provided in paragraph (2), may 

7 not reduce such a payment for— 

8 ‘‘(A) the operation of the vessel to carry 

9 military or other preference cargoes under sec10 tion 55302(a), 55304, 55305, or 55314 of this 

11 title, section 2631 of title 10, or any other 

12 cargo preference law of the United States; or 

13 ‘‘(B) any days in which the vessel is oper14 ated under charter to the United States Gov15 ernment; 

16 ‘‘(2) may not make such a payment for any day 

17 that the vessel is engaged in transporting more than 

18 7,500 tons of civilian bulk preference cargoes pursu19 ant to section 55302(a), 55305, or 55314 of this 

20 title; and 

21 ‘‘(3) shall make a pro rata reduction for each 

22 day less than 320 in a fiscal year that the vessel is 

23 not operated in accordance with section 53405 of 

24 this title. 


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1 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS REGARDING NONCONTIGUOUS DO2 MESTIC TRADE.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No program participant 

4 shall receive payments pursuant to this chapter dur5 ing a period in which it participates in noncontig6 uous domestic trade. 

7 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON APPLICATION.—Paragraph 

8 (1) shall not apply to a program participant that is 

9 a citizen of the United States within the meaning of 

10 section 50501 of this title, applying the 75 percent 

11 ownership requirement of that section. 

12 ‘‘(3) PARTICIPATES IN A NONCONTIGUOUS

13 TRADE DEFINED.—In this subsection the term ‘par14 ticipates in a noncontiguous domestic trade’ means 

15 directly or indirectly owns, charters, or operates a 

16 vessel engaged in transportation of cargo between a 

17 point in the contiguous 48 States and a point in 

18 Alaska, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico, other than a point 

19 in Alaska north of the Arctic Circle. 

20 ‘‘§ 53407. National security requirements 

21 ‘‘(a) EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AGREEMENT RE22 QUIRED.—The Secretary, in coordination with the Sec23 retary of Defense, shall establish an emergency prepared24 ness program under this section under which the program 

25 participant for an operating agreement under this chapter 


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1 shall agree, as a condition of the operating agreement, to 

2 enter into an Emergency Preparedness Agreement with 

3 the Secretary. The Secretary shall negotiate and enter into 

4 an Emergency Preparedness Agreement with each pro5 gram participant as promptly as practicable after the pro6 gram participant has entered into the operating agree7 ment. 

8 ‘‘(b) TERMS OF AGREEMENT.—The terms of an 

9 agreement under this section— 

10 ‘‘(1) shall provide that, upon request by the 

11 Secretary of Defense during time of war or national 

12 emergency, or whenever determined by the Secretary 

13 of Defense to be necessary for national security or 

14 contingency operation (as that term is defined in 

15 section 101 of title 10), the program participant 

16 shall make available commercial transportation re17 sources (including services) described in subsection 

18 (d) to the Secretary of Defense; 

19 ‘‘(2) shall include such additional terms as may 

20 be established by the Secretary and the Secretary of 

21 Defense; and 

22 ‘‘(3) shall allow for the modification or addition 

23 of terms upon agreement by the Secretary and the 

24 program participant and the approval by the Sec25 retary of Defense. 


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1 ‘‘(c) PARTICIPATION AFTER EXPIRATION OF OPER2 ATING AGREEMENT.—Except as provided by section 

3 53405 of this title, the Secretary may not require, through 

4 an Emergency Preparedness Agreement or an operating 

5 agreement, that a program participant continue to partici6 pate in an Emergency Preparedness Agreement after the 

7 operating agreement with the program participant has ex8 pired according to its terms or is otherwise no longer in 

9 effect. After the expiration of an emergency preparedness 

10 agreement, a program participant may voluntarily con11 tinue to participate in the agreement. 

12 ‘‘(d) RESOURCES MADE AVAILABLE.—The commer13 cial transportation resources to be made available under 

14 an Emergency Preparedness Agreement shall include ves15 sels or capacity in vessels, terminal facilities, management 

16 services, and other related services, or any agreed portion 

17 of such nonvessel resources for activation as the Secretary 

18 of Defense may determine to be necessary, seeking to min19 imize disruption of the program participant’s service to 

20 commercial customers. 

21 ‘‘(e) COMPENSATION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall include 

23 in each Emergency Preparedness Agreement provi24 sions approved by the Secretary of Defense under 

25 which the Secretary of Defense shall pay fair and 


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1 reasonable compensation for all commercial trans2 portation resources provided pursuant to this sec3 tion. 

4 ‘‘(2) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—Compensation 

5 under this subsection— 

6 ‘‘(A) shall not be less than the program 

7 participant’s commercial market charges for 

8 like transportation resources; 

9 ‘‘(B) shall be fair and reasonable consid10 ering all circumstances; 

11 ‘‘(C) shall be provided from the time that 

12 a vessel or resource is required by the Secretary 

13 of Defense until the time it is redelivered to the 

14 program participant and is available to reenter 

15 commercial service; and 

16 ‘‘(D) shall be in addition to and shall not 

17 in any way reflect amounts payable under sec18 tion 53406 of this title. 

19 ‘‘(f) TEMPORARY REPLACEMENT VESSELS.—Not20 withstanding section 55302(a), 55304, 55305, or 55314 

21 of this title, section 2631 of title 10, or any other cargo 

22 preference law of the United States— 

23 ‘‘(1) a program participant may operate or em24 ploy in foreign commerce a foreign-flag vessel or for25 eign-flag vessel capacity as a temporary replacement 


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1 for a vessel of the United States or vessel of the 

2 United States capacity that is activated by the Sec3 retary of Defense under an Emergency Preparedness 

4 Agreement or a primary Department of Defense-ap5 proved sealift-readiness program; and 

6 ‘‘(2) such replacement vessel or vessel capacity 

7 shall be eligible during the replacement period to 

8 transport preference cargoes subject to sections 

9 55302(a), 55304, 55305, and 55314 of this title and 

10 section 2631 of title 10, United States Code, to the 

11 same extent as the eligibility of the vessel or vessel 

12 capacity replaced. 

13 ‘‘(g) REDELIVERY AND LIABILITY OF THE UNITED

14 STATES FOR DAMAGES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—All commercial transpor16 tation resources activated under an Emergency Pre17 paredness Agreement shall, upon termination of the 

18 period of activation, be redelivered to the program 

19 participant in the same good order and condition as 

20 when received, less ordinary wear and tear, or the 

21 Secretary of Defense shall fully compensate the pro22 gram participant for any necessary repair or replace23 ment. 

24 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON UNITED STATES LIABIL25 ITY.—Except as may be expressly agreed in an 


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1 Emergency Preparedness Agreement, or as otherwise 

2 provided by law, the Government shall not be liable 

3 for disruption of a program participant’s commercial 

4 business or other consequential damages to a pro5 gram participant arising from the activation of com6 mercial transportation resources under an Emer7 gency Preparedness Agreement. 

8 ‘‘§ 53408. Regulatory relief 

9 ‘‘(a) OPERATION IN FOREIGN COMMERCE.—A pro10 gram participant for a vessel included in an operating 

11 agreement under this chapter may operate the vessel in 

12 the foreign commerce of the United States without restric13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(b) OTHER RESTRICTIONS.—The restrictions of sec15 tion 55305(a) of this title concerning the building, rebuild16 ing, or documentation of a vessel in a foreign country shall 

17 not apply to a vessel for any day the operator of the vessel 

18 is receiving payments for the operation of that vessel 

19 under an operating agreement under this chapter. 

20 ‘‘(c) TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT.—The tele21 communications and other electronic equipment on an ex22 isting vessel that is redocumented under the laws of the 

23 United States for operation under an operating agreement 

24 under this chapter shall be deemed to satisfy all Federal 


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1 Communications Commission equipment certification re2 quirements, if— 

3 ‘‘(1) such equipment complies with all applica4 ble international agreements and associated guide5 lines as determined by the country in which the ves6 sel was documented immediately before becoming 

7 documented under the laws of the United States; 

8 ‘‘(2) that country has not been identified by the 

9 Secretary as inadequately enforcing international 

10 regulations as to that vessel; and 

11 ‘‘(3) at the end of its useful life, such equip12 ment shall be replaced with equipment that meets 

13 Federal Communications Commission equipment 

14 certification standards. 

15 ‘‘§ 53409. Special rule regarding age of participating 

16 fleet vessels 

17 ‘‘Any age restriction under section 53402(b)(4) of 

18 this title shall not apply to a participating Fleet vessel 

19 during the 30-month period beginning on the date the ves20 sel begins operating under an operating agreement under 

21 this chapter, if the Secretary determines that the program 

22 participant for the vessel has entered into an arrangement 

23 to obtain and operate under the operating agreement for 

24 the participating Fleet vessel a replacement vessel that, 

25 upon commencement of such operation, will be eligible to 


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1 be included in the Fleet under section 53402(b) of this 

2 title. 

3 ‘‘§ 53410. Regulations 

4 ‘‘The Secretary and the Secretary of Defense may 

5 each prescribe rules as necessary to carry out their respec6 tive responsibilities under this chapter. 

7 ‘‘§ 53411. Authorization of appropriations 

8 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated for payments 

9 under section 53406, $60,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

10 2021 through 2035, to remain available until expended. 

11 ‘‘§ 53412. Acquisition of fleet vessels 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Upon replacement of a Fleet ves13 sel under an operating agreement under this chapter, and 

14 subject to agreement by the program participant for the 

15 vessel, the Secretary is authorized, subject to the concur16 rence of the Secretary of Defense, to acquire the vessel 

17 being replaced for inclusion in the National Defense Re18 serve Fleet. 

19 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible for acquisition 

20 by the Secretary under this section a vessel shall— 

21 ‘‘(1) have been covered by an operating agree22 ment under this chapter for not less than 3 years; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(2) meet recapitalization requirements for the 

25 Ready Reserve Force. 


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1 ‘‘(c) FAIR MARKET VALUE.—A fair market value 

2 shall be established by the Maritime Administration for 

3 acquisition of an eligible vessel under this section. 

4 ‘‘(d) APPROPRIATIONS.—Vessel acquisitions under 

5 this section shall be subject to the availability of appro6 priations. Amounts made available to carry out this sec7 tion shall be derived from amounts authorized to be appro8 priated for the National Defense Reserve Fleet. Amounts 

9 authorized to be appropriated to carry out the Maritime 

10 Security Program may not be used to carry out this sec11 tion.’’. 

12 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters 

13 for subtitle V of title 46, United States Code, is amended 

14 by inserting after chapter 533 the following: 

‘‘534. Tanker Security Fleet .................................................................. 53401’’. 

15 (c) DEADLINE FOR ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor17 tation shall begin accepting applications for enroll18 ment of vessels in the Tanker Security Fleet estab19 lished under chapter 534 of title 46, United States 

20 Code, as added by subsection (a), by not later than 

21 60 days after the date of the enactment of this title. 

22 (2) APPROVAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

23 receipt of an application for the enrollment of a ves24 sel in the Tanker Security Fleet, the Secretary of 


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1 Transportation, in coordination with the Secretary 

2 of Defense shall— 

3 (A) approve the application and enter into 

4 an operating agreement with the applicant; or 

5 (B) provide to the applicant a written ex6 planation for the denial of the application. 

7 (3) VESSELS OPERATING UNDER MARITIME SE8 CURITY ACT.—Notwithstanding the requirements of 

9 section 53402(b) of title 46, United States Code, the 

10 Secretary of Transportation shall approve an appli11 cation submitted under chapter 534 of title 46, 

12 United State Code, for a product tank vessel for 

13 which there is, on the date of enactment of this title, 

14 an effective operating agreement under chapter 531 

15 of title 46, United States Code. 

16 SEC. 105. PORT AND INTERMODAL IMPROVEMENT PRO17 GRAM. 

18 Section 50302(c) of title 46, United States Code, is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (3)(A)(ii)— 

21 (A) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

22 after the semicolon; and 

23 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(IV) berth improvements (in25 cluding docks, wharves, piers, and 


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1 dredging incidental to the improve2 ment project); or’’; 

3 (2) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking ‘‘60’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘90’’; 

5 (3) in paragraph (7)— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 

7 (i) in the heading, by striking 

8 ‘‘PROJECTS’’ and inserting ‘‘PORT’’; and 

9 (ii) by striking ‘‘that request’’ and all 

10 that follows through the period at the end 

11 and inserting ‘‘in small ports. The require12 ment under paragraph (6)(A)(ii) shall not 

13 apply to grants made under this subpara14 graph.’’; 

15 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 

16 subparagraph (D); 

17 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(C) EXCESS FUNDING.—In any fiscal 

20 year in which qualified applications for grants 

21 under this subsection will not allow for the 

22 amount reserved under subparagraph (B) to be 

23 fully utilized, the Secretary shall use the unuti24 lized amounts to make other grants under this 

25 section.’’; and 


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

2 ‘‘(E) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding any 

3 other provision of law, no funds appropriated to 

4 carry out this subsection for any fiscal year 

5 shall be limited with respect to eligible appli6 cants other than as provided under this sec7 tion.’’; 

8 (4) in paragraph (8)(B), by adding at the end 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(iii) SMALL PORT.—The Secretary 

11 may increase the Federal share of costs 

12 above 80 percent for a project within the 

13 boundaries of a small port or directly re14 lated to the operations of a small port or 

15 an intermodal connection to a small port.’’; 

16 and 

17 (5) in paragraph (12)— 

18 (A) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ‘‘, 

19 as defined by the United States Census Bu20 reau’’ after ‘‘urbanized area’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘(E) SMALL PORT.—The term ‘small port’ 

23 means a port that handled less than 10,000,000 

24 short tons in 2018, as identified by the U.S. 

25 Army Corps of Engineers.’’. 


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1 SEC. 106. SEA YEAR CADETS ON CABLE SECURITY FLEET 

2 AND TANKER SECURITY FLEET VESSELS. 

3 Section 51307 of title 46, United States Code, is 

4 amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(b) SEA YEAR CADETS ON CABLE SECURITY FLEET

7 AND TANKER SECURITY FLEET VESSELS.—The Sec8 retary shall require an operator of a vessel participating 

9 in the Maritime Security Program under chapter 531 of 

10 this title, the Cable Security Fleet under chapter 532 of 

11 this title, or the Tanker Security Fleet under chapter 534 

12 of this title to carry on each Maritime Security Program 

13 vessel, Cable Security Fleet vessel, or Tanker Security 

14 Fleet vessel 2 United States Merchant Marine Academy 

15 cadets, if available, on each voyage.’’. 

16 SEC. 107. CONDITIONAL BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREE 

17 FROM UNITED STATES MERCHANT MARINE 

18 ACADEMY. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

20 51309(a)(1)(B) of title 46, United States Code, for the 

21 graduating class of 2020 from the United States Merchant 

22 Marine Academy, the Secretary of Transportation may 

23 confer a conditional degree of bachelor of science on an 

24 individual graduate who has not yet passed the examina25 tion for a merchant marine officer’s license due to interVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jun 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3930.IS S3930

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1 vening efforts to prevent, prepare for, and respond to 

2 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19). 

3 (b) TIME TO PASS.—The Secretary of Transpor4 tation may provide an individual granted a conditional de5 gree under subsection (a) not more than 1 year after the 

6 date of receipt of such degree— 

7 (1) to pass the examination for a merchant ma8 rine officer’s license; and 

9 (2) to earn such license from the United States 

10 Coast Guard. 

11 (c) REVOCATION OF DEGREE.—The Superintendent 

12 of the United States Merchant Marine Academy shall re13 voke a conditional degree conferred under subsection (a) 

14 for an individual granted such conditional degree who does 

15 not pass the examination for a merchant marine officer’s 

16 license and obtain such license from the United States 

17 Coast Guard within the timeframe described in subsection 

18 (b). 

19 (d) NOTATIONS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Registrar of the United 

21 States Merchant Marine Academy shall— 

22 (A) note on the transcript of each indi23 vidual granted a conditional degree under sub24 section (a) that the degree conferred is condi25 tional; and 


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1 (B) remove such notation upon receipt of 

2 proof of licensure as required under subsection 

3 (b). 

4 (2) REVOCATION NOTATION.—In the event an 

5 individual granted a conditional degree under sub6 section (a) does not pass the examination for a mer7 chant marine officer’s license and obtain such license 

8 from the United States Coast Guard within the 

9 timeframe described in subsection (b), the Registrar 

10 of the United States Merchant Marine Academy 

11 shall note on the transcript of such individual that 

12 the degree was ‘‘revoked’’ and remove the individ13 ual’s name from all United States Merchant Marine 

14 Academy databases that identify graduates. 

15 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec16 tion shall be construed to allow the provision of a license 

17 under section 7101 of title 46, United States Code, to an 

18 individual who has not passed the required examination. 

19 SEC. 108. GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS FOR STATE MARI20 TIME ACADEMIES. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—On such terms and condi23 tions as set forth in this subsection and other condi24 tions as the Secretary of Transportation may deter25 mine, a State maritime academy may be authorized 


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1 to confer degrees upon individuals scheduled to 

2 graduate from a State maritime academy in cal3 endar year 2020 without regard to the provisions of 

4 section 51506(a)(3) of title 46, United States Code. 

5 With respect to an individual who has received stu6 dent incentive payments under section 51509 of title 

7 46, United States Code, and fails to comply with 

8 such terms and conditions, the Secretary of Trans9 portation is authorized to exercise all the authorities 

10 set forth in paragraphs (4) and (5), as well as any 

11 other remedies provided by law. 

12 (2) DATE TO PASS EXAMINATION.—Pursuant to 

13 this subsection, and section 51506(a)(3) of title 46, 

14 United States Code, a State maritime academy shall 

15 require an individual scheduled to graduate from 

16 such academy in calendar year 2020 to pass the ex17 amination required for the issuance of a license 

18 under section 7101 of title 46, United States Code, 

19 not later than December 31, 2021, and advise all 

20 such individuals who have not passed the examina21 tion prerequisite to issuance of a license that any de22 gree so awarded is subject to revocation. 

23 (3) AUTHORIZATIONS FOR SECRETARY.—The 

24 Secretary of Transportation may— 


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1 (A) require a State maritime academy, as 

2 a condition of receiving an annual payment 

3 under section 51506(a) of title 46, United 

4 States Code, to report to the Secretary, in a 

5 manner determined by the Secretary, on the 

6 compliance with paragraph (2); 

7 (B) withhold payments under section 

8 51506(a) of title 46, United States Code, in an 

9 amount that is not greater than the fractional 

10 amount of the direct payment that is propor11 tional to the number of graduates who fail to 

12 comply with requirements under paragraph (2) 

13 and whose degrees have not been revoked by 

14 the State maritime academy over the total num15 ber of individuals graduating from such State 

16 maritime academy in calendar year 2020; and 

17 (C) reduce the amount of direct payments 

18 withheld under subparagraph (B) below the 

19 maximum amount authorized. 

20 (4) STUDENT INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—For an 

21 individual graduating from a State maritime acad22 emy in calendar year 2020 who has received student 

23 incentive payments as provided for in section 51509 

24 of title 46, United States Code, the Secretary of 

25 Transportation may— 


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1 (A) defer until not later than December 

2 31, 2021, the requirements under sections 

3 51509(d)(2) of title 46, United States Code, 

4 and relevant regulations; 

5 (B) defer until not later than December 

6 31, 2021, and modify as necessary as deter7 mined by the Secretary, the requirements under 

8 paragraphs (3) through (5) of section 51509(d) 

9 of title 46, United States Code, and relevant 

10 regulations; and 

11 (C) conditionally waive requirements under 

12 paragraphs (2) through (5) of section 51509(d) 

13 of title 46, United States Code, and relevant 

14 regulations, for an individual who— 

15 (i) within three months of graduation 

16 is commissioned as an officer on active 

17 duty in an armed force of the United 

18 States or as a commissioned officer of the 

19 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin20 istration or the Public Health Service, pur21 suant to section 51509(h) of title 46; and 

22 (ii) serves for the 5-year period fol23 lowing commissioning as an officer on ac24 tive duty as provided for in clause (i). 


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1 (5) REQUIREMENTS OF STUDENTS.—An indi2 vidual graduating from a State maritime academy 

3 under the authority of this subsection, who has re4 ceived student incentive payments as provided for in 

5 section 51509 of title 46, United States Code, 

6 shall— 

7 (A) fulfill the requirements under section 

8 51509(d)(2) of title 46, United States Code, 

9 and relevant regulations, by not later than De10 cember 31, 2021; or 

11 (B) for the 5-year period following gradua12 tion from a State maritime academy, as pro13 vided under paragraph (4)(C), serve as a com14 missioned officer on active duty in an armed 

15 force of the United States or as a commissioned 

16 officer of the National Oceanic and Atmos17 pheric Administration or the Public Health 

18 Service, pursuant to section 51509(h) of title 

19 46, United States Code. 

20 (6) REMEDIES.—If an individual graduating 

21 from a State maritime academy fails to comply with 

22 applicable requirements established by the Secretary 

23 of Transportation under this subsection, the Sec24 retary may exercise the remedies under subsections 

25 (e) and (f) of 51509 of title 46, United States Code. 


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1 (b) EXTENSION.—The Secretary of Transportation 

2 may apply the provisions of subsection (a) to subsequent 

3 graduating classes at the State maritime academies, and 

4 extend compliance dates applicable to such graduates, if 

5 the Secretary determines it is necessary to respond to the 

6 national emergency declared by the President under the 

7 National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) with 

8 respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19). 

9 SEC. 109. SUPERINTENDENT OF THE UNITED STATES MER10 CHANT MARINE ACADEMY. 

11 Section 51301(c) of title 46, United States Code, is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 

14 (3) as paragraphs (2) through (4), respectively; 

15 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so re16 designated, the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

18 Congress that, due to the unique mission of the 

19 United States Merchant Marine Academy, it is high20 ly desirable that the Superintendent of the Academy 

21 be a graduate of the Academy in good standing and 

22 have attained an unlimited merchant marine offi23 cer’s license.’’; and 

24 (3) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (A)(i), by inserting 

2 after ‘‘attained’’ the following: ‘‘the rank of 

3 Captain, Chief Mate, or Chief Engineer in the 

4 merchant marine of the United States, or’’; and 

5 (B) in subparagraphs (B)(i)(I) and (C)(i), 

6 by inserting ‘‘merchant marine,’’ before 

7 ‘‘Navy,’’. 

8 SEC. 110. MARITIME ACADEMY INFORMATION. 

9 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

10 of this title, the Maritime Administrator shall make avail11 able on a public website data, as available, on the fol12 lowing: 

13 (1) The number of graduates from the United 

14 States Merchant Marine Academy and each State 

15 Maritime Academy for the previous 5 years. 

16 (2) The number of graduates from the United 

17 States Merchant Marine Academy and each State 

18 Maritime Academy for the previous 5 years who 

19 have become employed in, or whose status qualifies 

20 under, each of the following categories: 

21 (A) Maritime Afloat. 

22 (B) Maritime Ashore. 

23 (C) Armed Forces of the United States. 

24 (D) Non-maritime. 

25 (E) Graduate studies. 


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1 (F) Unknown. 

2 (3) The number of students at each State Mari3 time Academy class receiving or who have received 

4 for the previous 5 years funds under the student in5 centive payment program under section 51509 of 

6 title 46, United States Code. 

7 (4) The number of students described under 

8 paragraph (3) who used partial student incentive 

9 payments who graduated without an obligation 

10 under the program. 

11 (5) The number of students described under 

12 paragraph (3) who graduated with an obligation 

13 under the program. 

14 SEC. 111. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE FOR DOMESTIC MARI15 TIME WORKFORCE TRAINING AND EDU16 CATION. 

17 Section 54102 of title 46, United States Code, is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘of Transpor20 tation’’; 

21 (2) in subsection (b), in the subsection heading, 

22 by striking ‘‘ASSISTANCE’’ and inserting ‘‘COOPERA23 TIVE AGREEMENTS’’; 

24 (3) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub25 section (d); 


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1 (4) in subsection (d), as redesignated by para2 graph (2), by adding at the end the following: 

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

4 the Secretary of Transportation.’’; and 

5 (5) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(c) GRANT PROGRAM.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.— 

9 In this subsection, the term ‘eligible institution’ 

10 means an institution of higher education (as defined 

11 in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

12 (20 U.S.C. 1002)) that offers a 2-year program of 

13 study, a 1-year program of training, or is a postsec14 ondary vocational institution. 

15 ‘‘(2) GRANT AUTHORIZATION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

17 after the date of enactment of the Maritime Ad18 ministration Authorization and Improvement 

19 Act, the Secretary may award maritime career 

20 training grants to eligible institutions for the 

21 purpose of developing, offering, or improving 

22 educational or career training programs for 

23 American workers related to the maritime work24 force. 


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1 ‘‘(B) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 1 year 

2 after the date of enactment of the Maritime Ad3 ministration Authorization and Improvement 

4 Act, the Secretary shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) promulgate guidelines for the 

6 submission of grant proposals under this 

7 subsection; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) publish and maintain such guide9 lines on the website of the Department of 

10 Transportation. 

11 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary may not 

12 award a grant under this subsection in an amount 

13 that is more than $20,000,000. 

14 ‘‘(4) REQUIRED INFORMATION.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible institution 

16 that desires to receive a grant under this sub17 section shall submit to the Secretary a grant 

18 proposal that includes a detailed description 

19 of— 

20 ‘‘(i) the specific project for which the 

21 grant proposal is submitted, including the 

22 manner in which the grant will be used to 

23 develop, offer, or improve an educational 

24 or career training program that is suited 

25 to maritime industry workers; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the extent to which the project 

2 for which the grant proposal is submitted 

3 will meet the educational or career training 

4 needs of maritime workers in the commu5 nity served by the eligible institution; 

6 ‘‘(iii) the extent to which the project 

7 for which the grant proposal is submitted 

8 fits within any overall strategic plan devel9 oped by an eligible community; and 

10 ‘‘(iv) any previous experience of the 

11 eligible institution in providing maritime 

12 educational or career training programs. 

13 ‘‘(B) COMMUNITY OUTREACH REQUIRED.— 

14 In order to be considered by the Secretary, a 

15 grant proposal submitted by an eligible institu16 tion under this subsection shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) demonstrate that the eligible in18 stitution— 

19 ‘‘(I) reached out to employers to 

20 identify— 

21 ‘‘(aa) any shortcomings in 

22 existing maritime educational 

23 and career training opportunities 

24 available to workers in the com25 munity; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) any future employ2 ment opportunities within the 

3 community and the educational 

4 and career training skills re5 quired for workers to meet the 

6 future maritime employment de7 mand; and 

8 ‘‘(II) reached out to other simi9 larly situated institutions in an effort 

10 to benefit from any best practices that 

11 may be shared with respect to pro12 viding maritime educational or career 

13 training programs to workers eligible 

14 for training; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) include a detailed description 

16 of— 

17 ‘‘(I) the extent and outcome of 

18 the outreach conducted under clause 

19 (i); 

20 ‘‘(II) the extent to which the 

21 project for which the grant proposal is 

22 submitted will contribute to meeting 

23 any shortcomings identified under 

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1 cational or career training needs iden2 tified under clause (i)(I)(bb); and 

3 ‘‘(III) the extent to which em4 ployers, including small- and medium5 sized firms within the community, 

6 have demonstrated a commitment to 

7 employing workers who would benefit 

8 from the project for which the grant 

9 proposal is submitted. 

10 ‘‘(5) CRITERIA FOR AWARD OF GRANTS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the appro12 priation of funds, the Secretary shall award a 

13 grant under this subsection based on— 

14 ‘‘(i) a determination of the merits of 

15 the grant proposal submitted by the eligi16 ble institution to develop, offer, or improve 

17 maritime educational or career training 

18 programs to be made available to workers; 

19 ‘‘(ii) an evaluation of the likely em20 ployment opportunities available to workers 

21 who complete a maritime educational or 

22 career training program that the eligible 

23 institution proposes to develop, offer, or 

24 improve; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) an evaluation of prior demand 

2 for training programs by workers in the 

3 community served by the eligible institu4 tion, as well as the availability and capac5 ity of existing maritime training programs 

6 to meet future demand for training pro7 grams; and 

8 ‘‘(iv) any prior designation of an insti9 tution as a Center of Excellence for Do10 mestic Maritime Workforce Training and 

11 Education. 

12 ‘‘(B) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.—A 

13 grant awarded under this subsection may not 

14 be used to satisfy any private matching require15 ment under any other provision of law. 

16 ‘‘(6) PUBLIC REPORT.—Not later than Decem17 ber 15 in each of the calendar years 2021 through 

18 2023, the Secretary shall make available on a pub19 lically available website a report and provide a brief20 ing to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

21 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

22 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

23 Representatives— 


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1 ‘‘(A) describing each grant awarded under 

2 this subsection during the preceding fiscal year; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(B) assessing the impact of each award of 

5 a grant under this subsection in a fiscal year 

6 preceding the fiscal year referred to in subpara7 graph (A) on workers receiving training.’’. 

8 SEC. 112. CRITERIA TO BE ELIGIBLE TO TRAIN STUDENTS 

9 FROM STATE MARITIME ACADEMIES. 

10 Section 3514(a)(1)(A) of the National Defense Au11 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (46 U.S.C. 51318 

12 note) is amended by inserting ‘‘, or to provide training 

13 for students from the State maritime academies,’’ before 

14 ‘‘that addresses’’. 

15 SEC. 113. IMPROVEMENT OF THE NATIONAL OCEANO16 GRAPHIC PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM. 

17 Sections 8931, 8932, and 8933 of title 10, United 

18 States Code, are amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘§ 8931. National Oceanographic Partnership Pro20 gram 

21 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Navy 

22 shall establish a program to be known as the ‘National 

23 Oceanographic Partnership Program’. 

24 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program are 

25 as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(1) To promote the national goals of assuring 

2 national security, advancing economic development, 

3 protecting quality of life, and strengthening science 

4 education and communication through improved 

5 knowledge of the ocean. 

6 ‘‘(2) To coordinate and strengthen oceano7 graphic efforts in support of those goals by— 

8 ‘‘(A) creating and carrying out partner9 ships among Federal agencies, academia, indus10 try, and other members of the oceanographic 

11 community in the areas of science, data, re12 sources, education, and communication; and 

13 ‘‘(B) accepting, planning, and executing 

14 oceanographic research projects funded by 

15 grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, or 

16 other vehicles as appropriate, that contribute to 

17 assuring national security, advancing economic 

18 development, protecting quality of life, and 

19 strengthening science education and commu20 nication through improved knowledge of the 

21 ocean. 

22 ‘‘§ 8932. Ocean Policy Committee 

23 ‘‘(a) COMMITTEE.—There is established an Ocean 

24 Policy Committee (hereinafter in this chapter referred to 

25 as the ‘Committee’). 


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1 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Committee shall con2 tinue the activities of that committee as it was in existence 

3 on the day before the date of enactment of this Act. In 

4 discharging its responsibilities and to assist in the execu5 tion of the activities delineated in this subsection, the 

6 Committee may delegate to a subcommittee, as appro7 priate. The Committee shall: 

8 ‘‘(1) Prescribe policies and procedures to imple9 ment the National Oceanographic Partnership Pro10 gram. 

11 ‘‘(2) Engage and collaborate, pursuant to exist12 ing laws and regulations, with stakeholders, includ13 ing regional ocean partnerships, to address ocean-re14 lated matters that may require interagency or inter15 governmental solutions. 

16 ‘‘(3) Facilitate coordination and integration of 

17 Federal activities in ocean and coastal waters to in18 form ocean policy and identify priority ocean re19 search, technology, and data needs. 

20 ‘‘(4) Review, select, and identify partnership 

21 projects for implementation under the program, 

22 based on the following criteria: 

23 ‘‘(A) Whether the project addresses impor24 tant research objectives or operational goals. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Whether the project has, or is de2 signed to have, appropriate participation within 

3 the oceanographic community of public, aca4 demic, commercial, private participation or sup5 port. 

6 ‘‘(C) Whether the partners have a long7 term commitment to the objectives of the 

8 project. 

9 ‘‘(D) Whether the resources supporting the 

10 project are shared among the partners. 

11 ‘‘(E) Whether the project has been sub12 jected to adequate review. 

13 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORT AND BRIEFING.—Not later 

14 than March 1 of each year, the Committee shall post a 

15 report on a publicly available website and brief the Com16 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

17 Senate; the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate, 

18 the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep19 resentatives, the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech20 nology of the House of Representatives, and the Com21 mittee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives 

22 on the National Oceanographic Partnership Program. The 

23 report and brief shall discuss the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) A description of activities of the program 

25 carried out during the prior fiscal year. 


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1 ‘‘(2) A general outline of the activities planned 

2 for the program during the current fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(3) A summary of projects, including Federal 

4 and non-Federal partnerships and collaborations, 

5 continued from the prior fiscal year and projects ex6 pected to begin during the current and subsequent 

7 fiscal years. 

8 ‘‘(4) The amounts requested in the budget sub9 mitted to Congress pursuant to section 1105(a) of 

10 title 31 for the subsequent fiscal year, for the pro11 grams, projects, activities and the estimated expend12 itures under such programs, projects, and activities, 

13 to execute the National Oceanographic Partnership 

14 Program. 

15 ‘‘(5) Activities undertaken with moneys depos16 ited in the fund described in subsection (d). 

17 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PARTNERSHIP

18 FUND.—There is established in the Treasury a separate 

19 account to be known as the National Oceanographic Part20 nership Program Fund to be jointly managed by the Sec21 retary of the Navy and the Administrator of the National 

22 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

23 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATION AND AUTHORIZED

24 USES.—Amounts in the Fund shall be available to 

25 the National Oceanographic Partnership Program 


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1 without further appropriation to remain available 

2 until expended for the purpose of carrying out this 

3 section. 

4 ‘‘(2) CREDITING OF AMOUNTS TO FUND.— 

5 There is authorized to be credited to the Fund the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(A) Such amounts as determined appro8 priate to be transferred to the Fund by the 

9 head of a Federal agency or entity participating 

10 in the National Oceanographic Partnership Pro11 gram. 

12 ‘‘(B) Funds provided by a State, local gov13 ernment, tribal government, territory, or pos14 session, or any subdivisions thereof. 

15 ‘‘(C) Funds contributed by a nonprofit or16 ganization, individual, or Congressionally-estab17 lished foundation by private grant, contract, or 

18 donation. 

19 ‘‘(3) CONTRACT AND GRANT AUTHORITY.—For 

20 the purpose of carrying out this section, as directed 

21 by the Committee, departments or agencies rep22 resented on the Committee may enter into contracts, 

23 make grants, including transactions authorized by 

24 paragraph (4), and may transfer funds available to 

25 the National Oceanographic Partnership Program 


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1 under paragraph (2) to participating departments 

2 and agencies for such purposes. 

3 ‘‘(4) COOPERATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES, 

4 STATES, TERRITORIES, AND POLITICAL SUBDIVI5 SIONS.—The Committee or any participating Fed6 eral agency or entity may enter into an agreement 

7 to use, with or without reimbursement, the land, 

8 services, equipment, personnel, and facilities of any 

9 department, agency, or instrumentality of the United 

10 States, or of any State, local government, Indian 

11 tribal government, Territory, District of Columbia, 

12 or possession, or of any political subdivision thereof, 

13 or of any foreign government or international orga14 nization or individual, for the purpose of carrying 

15 out this section. 

16 ‘‘(e) ESTABLISHMENT AND FORMS OF PARTNERSHIP

17 PROJECTS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) A partnership project under the National 

19 Oceanographic Partnership Program may be estab20 lished by any instrument that the Committee con21 siders appropriate. 

22 ‘‘(2) Projects under the program may include 

23 demonstration projects. 

24 ‘‘(f) PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM OFFICE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) The Secretary of the Navy and Adminis2 trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad3 ministration shall jointly establish a partnership pro4 gram office for the National Oceanographic Partner5 ship Program. Competitive procedures will be used 

6 to select an operator for the partnership program of7 fice. 

8 ‘‘(2) The Committee will monitor the perform9 ance of the duties of the partnership program office, 

10 which shall consist of the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) To support working groups estab12 lished by the Committee or subcommittee and 

13 report working group activities to the Com14 mittee, including working group proposals for 

15 partnership projects. 

16 ‘‘(B) To support the process for proposing 

17 partnership projects to the Committee, includ18 ing, where appropriate, managing review of 

19 such projects. 

20 ‘‘(C) To complete and make publicly avail21 able the annual report described in subsection 

22 (c) on the status of all partnership projects and 

23 activities of the office. 

24 ‘‘(D) To perform any additional duties for 

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1 graphic Partnership Program that the Com2 mittee considers appropriate. 

3 ‘‘§ 8933. Ocean Research Advisory Panel 

4 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Committee shall estab5 lish an Ocean Research Advisory Panel consisting of not 

6 less than ten and not more than 18 members appointed 

7 by the Co-chairs, including the following: 

8 ‘‘(1) One member who will represent the Na9 tional Academy of Sciences. 

10 ‘‘(2) One member who will represent the Na11 tional Academy of Engineering. 

12 ‘‘(3) One member who will represent the Insti13 tute of Medicine. 

14 ‘‘(4) Members selected from among individuals 

15 who will represent the views of ocean industries, 

16 State or local governments, academia, and such 

17 other views as the Co-chairs consider appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(5) Members selected from among individuals 

19 eminent in the fields of marine science or marine 

20 policy, or related fields. 

21 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Committee shall as22 sign the following responsibilities to the Advisory Panel: 

23 ‘‘(1) To advise the Committee on policies and 

24 procedures to implement the National Oceano25 graphic Partnership Program. 


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1 ‘‘(2) To advise the Committee on matters relat2 ing to national oceanographic science, engineering, 

3 facilities, or resource requirements. 

4 ‘‘(3) Any additional responsibilities that the 

5 Committee considers appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(c) NOAA FUNDING AND SUPPORT.—The Adminis7 trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis8 tration shall provide such funding and administrative and 

9 technical support as the Ocean Research Advisory Panel 

10 may require. 

11 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In 

12 order to carry out the establishment and support of the 

13 Ocean Research Advisory Panel, the National Oceanic and 

14 Atmospheric Administration for the first year will receive 

15 $250,000. Thereafter in following years, the National Oce16 anic and Atmospheric Administration shall receive 

17 $200,000 to carry out the functions and responsibilities 

18 related to the administration and support of the Ocean 

19 Research Advisory Panel.’’. 

20 SEC. 114. GAO REVIEW OF DEPARTMENT-WIDE EFFORTS TO 

21 MANAGE CYBERSECURITY. 

22 (a) CYBERSECURITY RISK MANAGEMENT.—Not later 

23 than 3 years after the date of enactment of this title, the 

24 Secretary of Transportation shall implement the rec25 ommendation for the Department of Transportation made 


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1 by the Comptroller General of the United States in the 

2 report entitled ‘‘Cybersecurity: Agencies Need to Fully Es3 tablish Risk Management Programs and Address Chal4 lenges’’, numbered GAO–19–384, and dated July 2019, 

5 by— 

6 (1) developing a cybersecurity risk management 

7 strategy for the systems and information of the De8 partment of Transportation; 

9 (2) updating policies to address an organiza10 tion-wide risk assessment; and 

11 (3) updating the processes for coordination be12 tween cybersecurity risk management functions and 

13 enterprise risk management functions. 

14 (b) WORK ROLES.—Not later than 3 years after the 

15 date of enactment of this title, the Secretary of Transpor16 tation shall implement the recommendation of the Comp17 troller General of the United States in the report entitled 

18 ‘‘Cybersecurity Workforce: Agencies Need to Accurately 

19 Categorize Positions to Effectively Identify Critical Staff20 ing Needs’’, numbered GAO–19–144, and dated March 

21 2019, by reviewing positions in the Department of Trans22 portation and assigning appropriate work roles in accord23 ance with the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Edu24 cation Cybersecurity Workforce Framework. 

25 (c) GAO REVIEW.— 


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1 (1) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 

2 the date of enactment of this title, the Comptroller 

3 General of the United States shall submit to the 

4 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor5 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Trans6 portation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep7 resentatives a report that examines the approach of 

8 the Department of Transportation to managing cy9 bersecurity for the systems and information of the 

10 Department of Transportation. 

11 (2) CONTENTS.—The report under paragraph 

12 (1) shall include an evaluation of— 

13 (A) the roles, responsibilities, and report14 ing relationships of the senior officials of the 

15 Department of Transportation with respect to 

16 cybersecurity at the components of the Depart17 ment of Transportation; 

18 (B) the extent to which officials of the De19 partment of Transportation— 

20 (i) establish requirements for, share 

21 information with, provide resources to, and 

22 monitor the performance of managers with 

23 respect to cybersecurity within the compo24 nents of the Department of Transpor25 tation; and 


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1 (ii) hold managers accountable for cy2 bersecurity within the components of the 

3 Department of Transportation; and 

4 (C) other aspects of cybersecurity, as the 

5 Comptroller General of the United States deter6 mines to be appropriate. 

7 SEC. 115. GAO REVIEW OF EFFORTS TO SUPPORT AND 

8 GROW THE VESSELS OF THE UNITED STATES. 

9 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

10 of this title, the Comptroller General of the United States 

11 shall transmit a report to the Committee on Commerce 

12 of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and 

13 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives that exam14 ines United States Government efforts to promote the 

15 growth and modernization of the United States maritime 

16 industry, and the vessels of the United States, as defined 

17 in section 116 of title 46, United States Code, including 

18 the overall efficacy of United States Government financial 

19 support and policies, including the Capital Construction 

20 Fund, Construction Reserve Fund, and other eligible loan, 

21 grant, or other programs. 


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1 SEC. 116. GAO REVIEW OF FEDERAL EFFORTS TO ENHANCE 

2 PORT INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCY AND 

3 DISASTER PREPAREDNESS. 

4 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

5 of this title, the Comptroller General of the United States 

6 shall transmit a report to the Committee on Commerce 

7 of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and 

8 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives that exam9 ines Federal efforts to assist ports in enhancing the resil10 iency of their key intermodal connectors to weather-related 

11 disasters. The report shall include consideration of the fol12 lowing: 

13 (1) Actions being undertaken at various ports 

14 to better identify critical land-side connectors that 

15 may be vulnerable to disruption in the event of a 

16 natural disaster, including how to communicate such 

17 information during a disaster when communications 

18 systems may be compromised, and the level of Fed19 eral involvement in such efforts. 

20 (2) The extent to which the Department of 

21 Transportation and other Federal agencies are work22 ing in line with recent recommendations from key 

23 resiliency reports, including the National Academies 

24 of Science study on strengthening supply chain resil25 ience to establish a framework for ports to follow to 


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1 increase resiliency to major weather related disrup2 tions before they happen. 

3 (3) The extent to which the Department of 

4 Transportation or other Federal agencies have pro5 vided funds to ports for resiliency-related projects. 

6 (4) The extent to which Federal agencies have 

7 a coordinated approach to helping ports and the 

8 multiple State, local, and private stakeholders in9 volved improve resiliency prior to weather related 

10 disasters. 

11 SEC. 117. STUDY ON FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN SHIPPING. 

12 (a) ASSESSMENT.—The Under Secretary of Com13 merce for International Trade (referred to in this section 

14 as the ‘‘Under Secretary’’) shall conduct an assessment 

15 of foreign subsidies to international shipping. 

16 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

17 of enactment of this title, the Under Secretary shall sub18 mit to Congress a report on the assessment conducted 

19 under subsection (a), including— 

20 (1) the amount, in United States dollars, of for21 eign subsidies to— 

22 (A) the shipping industry of each country 

23 as a whole; 

24 (B) the shipping industry as a percent of 

25 GDP of each country; and 


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1 (C) each ship on average, by ship type for 

2 cargo, tanker, and bulk; 

3 (2) a description of the type of foreign subsidy, 

4 such as tax relief, direct payment, or other, as deter5 mined by the Under Secretary; and 

6 (3) a description of how the foreign subsidies 

7 may be affecting the United States International 

8 competitiveness and national security. 

9 SEC. 118. NATIONAL ACADEMIES STANDING COMMITTEE 

10 ON AMERICA’S SUPPLY CHAIN SECURITY 

11 DURING DISASTERS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

13 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDING COM14 MITTEE.—Not later than 30 days after the date of 

15 enactment of this title, the Secretary of Transpor16 tation shall enter into an agreement with the Na17 tional Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Med18 icine (referred to in this section as the ‘‘National 

19 Academies’’) to establish a standing committee of 

20 experts (referred to this section as the ‘‘standing 

21 committee’’) to explore and advise on supply chain 

22 transportation system vulnerabilities and disrup23 tions, and how to minimize them in the event of 

24 emergencies and disasters. 


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1 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The National Academies 

2 shall appoint members to the standing committee 

3 from individuals with relevant backgrounds in the 

4 private sector, research, academia, and Federal, 

5 State, and local government agencies. 

6 (b) PURPOSES.—The standing committee established 

7 under this section to explore and advise on supply chain 

8 transportation vulnerabilities shall, upon determination by 

9 the National Academies, consider the following: 

10 (1) Factors that may disrupt the movement of 

11 critical goods during the COVID–19 pandemic or 

12 other emergencies or disasters, which may include— 

13 (A) lack of an adequate and healthy trans14 portation labor force to ensure the continuity of 

15 function of critical supply chain components; 

16 (B) vulnerabilities in the ways that the Na17 tion’s multi-modal transportation supply chain 

18 nodes and their connections could be vulnerable 

19 to disruption; 

20 (C) the accuracy and availability of infor21 mation on supply and demand of critical goods 

22 globally, nationally, regionally, or locally; and 

23 (D) potential compounding impacts on the 

24 supply chain of multiple disaster events, such as 


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1 pandemics, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, and 

2 hurricanes. 

3 (2) Options for ensuring the timely conveyance 

4 and distribution of essential supplies and commod5 ities for disaster response, relief and recovery oper6 ations, especially those for which a shortage would 

7 pose a significant threat to public health, economic 

8 security, or national security, as appropriate, which 

9 may include strategies to— 

10 (A) enhance supply chain contingency 

11 planning, including during multiple disaster 

12 events; 

13 (B) identify supply chain information defi14 ciencies; and 

15 (C) improve modeling frameworks, includ16 ing communication between modelers and users, 

17 that integrate complex data streams and help 

18 extract practical decision-support information 

19 for emergency managers. 

20 (3) Policy options to prevent supply chain bot21 tlenecks or failures and ensure continuation of serv22 ice. 

23 (4) Other emergent issues as determined by the 

24 National Academies. 


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1 (c) CONGRESSIONAL AND AGENCY REQUESTS.—The 

2 National Academies may consider requests for analysis or 

3 advice from the Secretary of Transportation, other Fed4 eral agencies, or the relevant Congressional transportation 

5 committees in the form of correspondence directed to the 

6 National Academies or legislative direction from the Sec7 retary of Transportation, including ad hoc requests for in8 formal and formal responses within a specified timeframe 

9 to address ongoing events. 

10 (d) INPUT.—The standing committee shall, as appro11 priate— 

12 (1) consider input from the Department of 

13 Transportation, the Department of Homeland Secu14 rity, the Department of Defense, the Department of 

15 Commerce, the Department of State, the Depart16 ment of Health and Human Services, the Depart17 ment of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Jus18 tice, and any other Federal agency, as appropriate; 

19 and 

20 (2) consult with relevant stakeholders, which 

21 may include supply chain experts, emergency man22 agement specialists, epidemiologists, disaster relief 

23 specialists, transportation system operators, product 

24 manufacturers, wholesalers and group purchasing 

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1 cieties, and other entities with experience in supply 

2 chain networks, transportation systems, and emer3 gency and disaster management, as appropriate. 

4 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) CONNECTIONS.—The term ‘‘connections’’ 

6 means the freight transportation connections be7 tween nodes. 

8 (2) CRITICAL.—The term ‘‘critical’’ means of 

9 such importance that a disruption of the component 

10 will degrade functionality of the supply chain. 

11 (3) NODES.—The term ‘‘nodes’’ means loca12 tions within a supply chain, such as an origin, a fac13 tory, warehouse, port, intermodal transfer point, dis14 tribution center, or destination. 

15 (4) RELEVANT CONGRESSIONAL TRANSPOR16 TATION COMMITTEES.—The term ‘‘relevant Congres17 sional transportation committees’’ means— 

18 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

19 and Transportation of the Senate; and 

20 (B) the Committee on Transportation and 

21 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives. 

22 (5) VULNERABLE.—The term ‘‘vulnerable’’ 

23 means susceptible to the supply chain being nega24 tively impacted. 


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1 TITLE II—NATIONAL OCEANIC 

2 AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINIS3 TRATION COMMISSIONED OF4 FICER CORPS 

5 SEC. 201. REFERENCES TO NATIONAL OCEANIC AND AT6 MOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION COMMIS7 SIONED OFFICER CORPS ACT OF 2002. 

8 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

9 this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

10 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi11 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

12 section or other provision of the National Oceanic and At13 mospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps 

14 Act of 2002 (33 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.). 

15 Subtitle A—General Provisions 

16 SEC. 211. STRENGTH AND DISTRIBUTION IN GRADE. 

17 Section 214 (33 U.S.C. 3004) is amended to read as 

18 follows: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 214. STRENGTH AND DISTRIBUTION IN GRADE. 

20 ‘‘(a) GRADES.—The commissioned grades in the com21 missioned officer corps of the Administration are the fol22 lowing, in relative rank with officers of the Navy: 

23 ‘‘(1) Vice admiral. 

24 ‘‘(2) Rear admiral. 

25 ‘‘(3) Rear admiral (lower half). 


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1 ‘‘(4) Captain. 

2 ‘‘(5) Commander. 

3 ‘‘(6) Lieutenant commander. 

4 ‘‘(7) Lieutenant. 

5 ‘‘(8) Lieutenant (junior grade). 

6 ‘‘(9) Ensign. 

7 ‘‘(b) GRADE DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall 

8 prescribe, with respect to the distribution on the lineal list 

9 in grade, the percentages applicable to the grades set forth 

10 in subsection (a). 

11 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL COMPUTATION OF NUMBER IN

12 GRADE.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than 

14 once each year, the Secretary shall make a computa15 tion to determine the number of officers on the lin16 eal list authorized to be serving in each grade. 

17 ‘‘(2) METHOD OF COMPUTATION.—The number 

18 in each grade shall be computed by applying the ap19 plicable percentage to the total number of such offi20 cers serving on active duty on the date the computa21 tion is made. 

22 ‘‘(3) FRACTIONS.—If a final fraction occurs in 

23 computing the authorized number of officers in a 

24 grade, the nearest whole number shall be taken. If 


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1 the fraction is one-half, the next higher whole num2 ber shall be taken. 

3 ‘‘(d) TEMPORARY INCREASE IN NUMBERS.—The 

4 total number of officers authorized by law to be on the 

5 lineal list during a fiscal year may be temporarily exceeded 

6 if the average number on that list during that fiscal year 

7 does not exceed the authorized number. 

8 ‘‘(e) POSITIONS OF IMPORTANCE AND RESPONSI9 BILITY.—Officers serving in positions designated under 

10 section 228(a) and officers recalled from retired status 

11 shall not be counted when computing authorized strengths 

12 under subsection (c) and shall not count against those 

13 strengths. 

14 ‘‘(f) PRESERVATION OF GRADE AND PAY.—No offi15 cer may be reduced in grade or pay or separated from 

16 the commissioned officer corps of the Administration as 

17 the result of a computation made to determine the author18 ized number of officers in the various grades.’’. 

19 SEC. 212. RECALLED OFFICERS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 215 (33 U.S.C. 3005) is 

21 amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 215. NUMBER OF AUTHORIZED COMMISSIONED OFFI23 CERS. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The total number of authorized 

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1 sioned officer corps of the Administration shall not exceed 

2 500. 

3 ‘‘(b) POSITIONS OF IMPORTANCE AND RESPONSI4 BILITY.—Officers serving in positions designated under 

5 section 228 and officers recalled from retired status or de6 tailed to an agency other than the Administration— 

7 ‘‘(1) may not be counted in determining the 

8 total number of authorized officers on the lineal list 

9 under this section; and 

10 ‘‘(2) may not count against such number.’’. 

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

12 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

13 Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998, and for 

14 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372) is amended by 

15 striking the item relating to section 215 and inserting the 

16 following: 

‘‘Sec. 215. Number of authorized commissioned officers.’’. 

17 SEC. 213. OBLIGATED SERVICE REQUIREMENT. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A (33 U.S.C. 3001 et 

19 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 216. OBLIGATED SERVICE REQUIREMENT. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

22 ‘‘(1) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall pre23 scribe the obligated service requirements for appoint24 ments, training, promotions, separations, continuVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jun 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00092 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3930.IS S3930

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1 ations, and retirements of officers not otherwise cov2 ered by law. 

3 ‘‘(2) WRITTEN AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 

4 and officers shall enter into written agreements that 

5 describe the officers’ obligated service requirements 

6 prescribed under paragraph (1) in return for such 

7 appointments, training, promotions, separations, 

8 continuations, and retirements as the Secretary con9 siders appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(b) REPAYMENT FOR FAILURE TO SATISFY RE11 QUIREMENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may require 

13 an officer who fails to meet the service requirements 

14 prescribed under subsection (a)(1) to reimburse the 

15 Secretary in an amount that bears the same ratio to 

16 the total costs of the training provided to that offi17 cer by the Secretary as the unserved portion of ac18 tive duty bears to the total period of active duty the 

19 officer agreed to serve. 

20 ‘‘(2) OBLIGATION AS DEBT TO UNITED

21 STATES.—An obligation to reimburse the Secretary 

22 under paragraph (1) is, for all purposes, a debt 

23 owed to the United States. 

24 ‘‘(3) DISCHARGE IN BANKRUPTCY.—A dis25 charge in bankruptcy under title 11 that is entered 


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1 less than five years after the termination of a writ2 ten agreement entered into under subsection (a)(2) 

3 does not discharge the individual signing the agree4 ment from a debt arising under such agreement. 

5 ‘‘(c) WAIVER OR SUSPENSION OF COMPLIANCE.— 

6 The Secretary may waive the service obligation of an offi7 cer who— 

8 ‘‘(1) becomes unqualified to serve on active 

9 duty in the commissioned officer corps of the Ad10 ministration because of a circumstance not within 

11 the control of that officer; or 

12 ‘‘(2) is— 

13 ‘‘(A) not physically qualified for appoint14 ment; and 

15 ‘‘(B) determined to be unqualified for serv16 ice in the commissioned officer corps of the Ad17 ministration because of a physical or medical 

18 condition that was not the result of the officer’s 

19 own misconduct or grossly negligent conduct.’’. 

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

21 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

22 Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998, and for 

23 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372) is amended by in24 serting after the item relating to section 215 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 216. Obligated service requirement.’’. 


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1 SEC. 214. TRAINING AND PHYSICAL FITNESS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A (33 U.S.C. 3001 et 

3 seq.), as amended by section 213(a), is further amended 

4 by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 217. TRAINING AND PHYSICAL FITNESS. 

6 ‘‘(a) TRAINING.—The Secretary may take such meas7 ures as may be necessary to ensure that officers are pre8 pared to carry out their duties in the commissioned officer 

9 corps of the Administration and proficient in the skills 

10 necessary to carry out such duties. Such measures may 

11 include the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) Carrying out training programs and cor13 respondence courses, including establishing and op14 erating a basic officer training program to provide 

15 initial indoctrination and maritime vocational train16 ing for officer candidates as well as refresher train17 ing, mid-career training, aviation training, and such 

18 other training as the Secretary considers necessary 

19 for officer development and proficiency. 

20 ‘‘(2) Providing officers and officer candidates 

21 with educational materials. 

22 ‘‘(3) Acquiring such equipment as may be nec23 essary for training and instructional purposes. 

24 ‘‘(b) PHYSICAL FITNESS.—The Secretary shall en25 sure that officers maintain a high physical state of readi26 ness by establishing standards of physical fitness for offiVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jun 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00095 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3930.IS S3930

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1 cers that are substantially equivalent to those prescribed 

2 for officers in the Coast Guard.’’. 

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

4 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

5 Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998, and for 

6 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372), as amended by 

7 section 213(b), is further amended by inserting after the 

8 item relating to section 216 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 217. Training and physical fitness.’’. 

9 SEC. 215. AVIATION ACCESSION TRAINING PROGRAMS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A (33 U.S.C. 3001 et 

11 seq.), as amended by section 214(a), is further amended 

12 by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 218. AVIATION ACCESSION TRAINING PROGRAMS. 

14 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis16 trator’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce for 

17 Oceans and Atmosphere and the Administrator of 

18 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra19 tion. 

20 ‘‘(2) MEMBER OF THE PROGRAM.—The term 

21 ‘member of the program’ means a student who is en22 rolled in the program. 

23 ‘‘(3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means an 

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1 sioned officer corps of the Administration estab2 lished pursuant to subsection (b). 

3 ‘‘(b) AVIATION ACCESSION TRAINING PROGRAMS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT AUTHORIZED.—The Ad5 ministrator, under regulations prescribed by the Sec6 retary, shall establish and maintain one or more 

7 aviation accession training programs for the commis8 sioned officer corps of the Administration at institu9 tions described in paragraph (2). 

10 ‘‘(2) INSTITUTIONS DESCRIBED.—An institu11 tion described in this paragraph is an educational in12 stitution— 

13 ‘‘(A) that requests to enter into an agree14 ment with the Administrator providing for the 

15 establishment of the program at the institution; 

16 ‘‘(B) that has, as a part of its curriculum, 

17 a four-year baccalaureate program of profes18 sional flight and piloting instruction that is ac19 credited by the Aviation Accreditation Board 

20 International; 

21 ‘‘(C) that is located in a geographic area 

22 that— 

23 ‘‘(i) experiences a wide variation in 

24 climate-related activity, including frequent 

25 high winds, convective activity (including 


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1 tornadoes), periods of low visibility, heat, 

2 and snow and ice episodes, to provide op3 portunities for pilots to demonstrate skill 

4 in all weather conditions compatible with 

5 future encounters during their service in 

6 the commissioned officer corps; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) has a climate that can accommo8 date both primary and advanced flight 

9 training activity at least 75 percent of the 

10 year; and 

11 ‘‘(D) at which the Administrator deter12 mines that— 

13 ‘‘(i) there will be at least one student 

14 enrolled in the program; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the provisions of this section are 

16 otherwise satisfied. 

17 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS IN CONNECTION WITH PAR18 TICULAR INSTITUTIONS.—The program may not be 

19 established or maintained at an institution unless— 

20 ‘‘(A) the senior commissioned officer or 

21 employee of the commissioned officer corps who 

22 is assigned as an advisor to the program at that 

23 institution is given the academic rank of ad24 junct professor; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the institution fulfills the terms of its 

2 agreement with the Administrator. 

3 ‘‘(4) MEMBERSHIP IN CONNECTION WITH STA4 TUS AS STUDENT.—At institutions at which the pro5 gram is established, the membership of students in 

6 the program shall be elective, as provided by State 

7 law or the authorities of the institution concerned. 

8 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

9 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for member10 ship in the program, an individual must— 

11 ‘‘(A) be a student at an institution at 

12 which the program is established; 

13 ‘‘(B) be a citizen of the United States; 

14 ‘‘(C) contract in writing, with the consent 

15 of a parent or guardian if a minor, with the Ad16 ministrator, to— 

17 ‘‘(i) accept an appointment, if offered, 

18 as a commissioned officer in the commis19 sioned officer corps of the Administration; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(ii) serve in the commissioned officer 

22 corps for not fewer than four years; 

23 ‘‘(D) enroll in— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a four-year baccalaureate pro2 gram of professional flight and piloting in3 struction; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) other training or education, in5 cluding basic officer training, which is pre6 scribed by the Administrator as meeting 

7 the preliminary requirement for admission 

8 to the commissioned officer corps; and 

9 ‘‘(E) execute a certificate or take an oath 

10 relating to morality and conduct in such form 

11 as the Administrator prescribes. 

12 ‘‘(2) COMPLETION OF PROGRAM.—A member of 

13 the program may be appointed as a regular officer 

14 in the commissioned officer corps if the member 

15 meets all requirements for appointment as such an 

16 officer. 

17 ‘‘(d) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR QUALIFIED MEM18 BERS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) EXPENSES OF COURSE OF INSTRUC20 TION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a mem22 ber of the program who meets such qualifica23 tions as the Administrator establishes for pur24 poses of this subsection, the Administrator may 

25 pay the expenses of the member in connection 


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1 with pursuit of a course of professional flight 

2 and piloting instruction under the program, in3 cluding tuition, fees, educational materials such 

4 as books, training, certifications, travel, and 

5 laboratory expenses. 

6 ‘‘(B) ASSISTANCE AFTER FOURTH ACA7 DEMIC YEAR.—In the case of a member of the 

8 program described in subparagraph (A) who is 

9 enrolled in a course described in that subpara10 graph that has been approved by the Adminis11 trator and requires more than four academic 

12 years for completion, including elective require13 ments of the program, assistance under this 

14 subsection may also be provided during a fifth 

15 academic year or during a combination of a 

16 part of a fifth academic year and summer ses17 sions. 

18 ‘‘(2) ROOM AND BOARD.—In the case of a 

19 member eligible to receive assistance under para20 graph (1), the Administrator may, in lieu of pay21 ment of all or part of such assistance, pay the room 

22 and board expenses of the member, and other edu23 cational expenses, of the educational institution con24 cerned. 


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1 ‘‘(3) FAILURE TO COMPLETE PROGRAM OR AC2 CEPT COMMISSION.—A member of the program who 

3 receives assistance under this subsection and who 

4 does not complete the course of instruction, or who 

5 completes the course but declines to accept a com6 mission in the commissioned officer corps when of7 fered, shall be subject to the repayment provisions of 

8 subsection (e). 

9 ‘‘(e) REPAYMENT OF UNEARNED PORTION OF FI10 NANCIAL ASSISTANCE WHEN CONDITIONS OF PAYMENT

11 NOT MET.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A member of the program 

13 who receives or benefits from assistance under sub14 section (d), and whose receipt of or benefit from 

15 such assistance is subject to the condition that the 

16 member fully satisfy the requirements of subsection 

17 (c), shall repay to the United States an amount 

18 equal to the assistance received or benefitted from if 

19 the member fails to fully satisfy such requirements 

20 and may not receive or benefit from any unpaid 

21 amounts of such assistance after the member fails to 

22 satisfy such requirements, unless the Administrator 

23 determines that the imposition of the repayment re24 quirement and the termination of payment of unpaid 


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1 amounts of such assistance with regard to the mem2 ber would be— 

3 ‘‘(A) contrary to a personnel policy or 

4 management objective; 

5 ‘‘(B) against equity and good conscience; 

6 or 

7 ‘‘(C) contrary to the best interests of the 

8 United States. 

9 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator may 

10 establish, by regulations, procedures for determining 

11 the amount of the repayment required under this 

12 subsection and the circumstances under which an ex13 ception to repayment may be granted. The Adminis14 trator may specify in the regulations the conditions 

15 under which financial assistance to be paid to a 

16 member of the program will not be made if the 

17 member no longer satisfies the requirements in sub18 section (c) or qualifications in subsection (d) for 

19 such assistance. 

20 ‘‘(3) OBLIGATION AS DEBT TO UNITED

21 STATES.—An obligation to repay the United States 

22 under this subsection is, for all purposes, a debt 

23 owed to the United States.’’. 

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

25 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 


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1 Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998, and for 

2 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372), as amended by 

3 section 214(b), is further amended by inserting after the 

4 item relating to section 217 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 218. Aviation accession training programs.’’. 

5 SEC. 216. RECRUITING MATERIALS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A (33 U.S.C. 3001 et 

7 seq.), as amended by section 215(a), is further amended 

8 by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 219. USE OF RECRUITING MATERIALS FOR PUBLIC 

10 RELATIONS. 

11 ‘‘The Secretary may use for public relations purposes 

12 of the Department of Commerce any advertising materials 

13 developed for use for recruitment and retention of per14 sonnel for the commissioned officer corps of the Adminis15 tration. Any such use shall be under such conditions and 

16 subject to such restrictions as the Secretary shall pre17 scribe.’’. 

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

19 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

20 Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998, and for 

21 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372), as amended by 

22 section 215(b), is further amended by inserting after the 

23 item relating to section 218 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 219. Use of recruiting materials for public relations.’’. 


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1 SEC. 217. TECHNICAL CORRECTION. 

2 Section 101(21)(C) of title 38, United States Code, 

3 is amended by inserting ‘‘in the commissioned officer 

4 corps’’ before ‘‘of the National’’. 

5 Subtitle B—Parity and 

6 Recruitment 

7 SEC. 221. EDUCATION LOANS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E (33 U.S.C. 3071 et 

9 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 267. EDUCATION LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM. 

11 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO REPAY EDUCATION LOANS.— 

12 For the purpose of maintaining adequate numbers of offi13 cers of the commissioned officer corps of the Administra14 tion on active duty who have skills required by the com15 missioned officer corps, the Secretary may repay, in the 

16 case of a person described in subsection (b), a loan that— 

17 ‘‘(1) was used by the person to finance edu18 cation; and 

19 ‘‘(2) was obtained from a governmental entity, 

20 private financial institution, educational institution, 

21 or other authorized entity. 

22 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PERSONS.—To be eligible to obtain 

23 a loan repayment under this section, a person must— 

24 ‘‘(1) satisfy one of the requirements specified in 

25 subsection (c); 


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1 ‘‘(2) be fully qualified for, or hold, an appoint2 ment as a commissioned officer in the commissioned 

3 officer corps of the Administration; and 

4 ‘‘(3) sign a written agreement to serve on active 

5 duty, or, if on active duty, to remain on active duty 

6 for a period in addition to any other incurred active 

7 duty obligation. 

8 ‘‘(c) ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL REQUIRE9 MENTS.—One of the following academic requirements 

10 must be satisfied for purposes of determining the eligi11 bility of an individual for a loan repayment under this sec12 tion: 

13 ‘‘(1) The person is fully qualified in a profes14 sion that the Secretary has determined to be nec15 essary to meet identified skill shortages in the com16 missioned officer corps. 

17 ‘‘(2) The person is enrolled as a full-time stu18 dent in the final year of a course of study at an ac19 credited educational institution (as determined by 

20 the Secretary of Education) leading to a degree in 

21 a profession that will meet identified skill shortages 

22 in the commissioned officer corps. 

23 ‘‘(d) LOAN REPAYMENTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the limits estab25 lished under paragraph (2), a loan repayment under 


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1 this section may consist of the payment of the prin2 cipal, interest, and related expenses of a loan ob3 tained by a person described in subsection (b). 

4 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT.—For each year 

5 of obligated service that a person agrees to serve in 

6 an agreement described in subsection (b)(3), the 

7 Secretary may pay not more than the amount speci8 fied in section 2173(e)(2) of title 10, United States 

9 Code. 

10 ‘‘(e) ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE OBLIGATION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person entering into an 

12 agreement described in subsection (b)(3) incurs an 

13 active duty service obligation. 

14 ‘‘(2) LENGTH OF OBLIGATION DETERMINED

15 UNDER REGULATIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

17 subparagraph (B), the length of the obligation 

18 under paragraph (1) shall be determined under 

19 regulations prescribed by the Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM OBLIGATION.—The regula21 tions prescribed under subparagraph (A) may 

22 not provide for a period of obligation of less 

23 than one year for each maximum annual 

24 amount, or portion thereof, paid on behalf of 

25 the person for qualified loans. 


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1 ‘‘(3) PERSONS ON ACTIVE DUTY BEFORE EN2 TERING INTO AGREEMENT.—The active duty service 

3 obligation of persons on active duty before entering 

4 into the agreement shall be served after the conclu5 sion of any other obligation incurred under the 

6 agreement. 

7 ‘‘(4) CONCURRENT COMPLETION OF SERVICE

8 OBLIGATIONS.—A service obligation under this sec9 tion may be completed concurrently with a service 

10 obligation under section 216. 

11 ‘‘(f) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO COMPLETE OBLIGA12 TION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) ALTERNATIVE OBLIGATIONS.—An officer 

14 who is relieved of the officer’s active duty obligation 

15 under this section before the completion of that obli16 gation may be given any alternative obligation, at 

17 the discretion of the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(2) REPAYMENT.—An officer who does not 

19 complete the period of active duty specified in the 

20 agreement entered into under subsection (b)(3), or 

21 the alternative obligation imposed under paragraph 

22 (1), shall be subject to the repayment provisions 

23 under section 216. 

24 ‘‘(g) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

25 regulations to carry out this section, including— 


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1 ‘‘(1) standards for qualified loans and author2 ized payees; and 

3 ‘‘(2) other terms and conditions for the making 

4 of loan repayments.’’. 

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

6 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

7 Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998, and for 

8 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372) is amended by in9 serting after the item relating to section 266 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 267. Education loan repayment program.’’. 

10 SEC. 222. INTEREST PAYMENTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E (33 U.S.C. 3071 et 

12 seq.), as amended by section 221(a), is further amended 

13 by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 268. INTEREST PAYMENT PROGRAM. 

15 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may pay the inter16 est and any special allowances that accrue on one or more 

17 student loans of an eligible officer, in accordance with this 

18 section. 

19 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE OFFICERS.—An officer is eligible for 

20 the benefit described in subsection (a) while the officer— 

21 ‘‘(1) is serving on active duty; 

22 ‘‘(2) has not completed more than three years 

23 of service on active duty; 

24 ‘‘(3) is the debtor on one or more unpaid loans 

25 described in subsection (c); and 


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1 ‘‘(4) is not in default on any such loan. 

2 ‘‘(c) STUDENT LOANS.—The authority to make pay3 ments under subsection (a) may be exercised with respect 

4 to the following loans: 

5 ‘‘(1) A loan made, insured, or guaranteed under 

6 part B of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 

7 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.). 

8 ‘‘(2) A loan made under part D of such title 

9 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.). 

10 ‘‘(3) A loan made under part E of such title 

11 (20 U.S.C. 1087aa et seq.). 

12 ‘‘(d) MAXIMUM BENEFIT.—Interest and any special 

13 allowance may be paid on behalf of an officer under this 

14 section for any of the 36 consecutive months during which 

15 the officer is eligible under subsection (b). 

16 ‘‘(e) FUNDS FOR PAYMENTS.—The Secretary may 

17 use amounts appropriated for the pay and allowances of 

18 personnel of the commissioned officer corps of the Admin19 istration for payments under this section. 

20 ‘‘(f) COORDINATION WITH SECRETARY OF EDU21 CATION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall consult 

23 with the Secretary of Education regarding the ad24 ministration of this section. 


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1 ‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—The Secretary 

2 shall transfer to the Secretary of Education the 

3 funds necessary— 

4 ‘‘(A) to pay interest and special allowances 

5 on student loans under this section (in accord6 ance with sections 428(o), 455(l), and 464(j) of 

7 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

8 1078(o), 1087e(l), and 1087dd(j)); and 

9 ‘‘(B) to reimburse the Secretary of Edu10 cation for any reasonable administrative costs 

11 incurred by the Secretary in coordinating the 

12 program under this section with the administra13 tion of the student loan programs under parts 

14 B, D, and E of title IV of the Higher Edu15 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq., 

16 1087a et seq., 1087aa et seq.). 

17 ‘‘(g) SPECIAL ALLOWANCE DEFINED.—In this sec18 tion, the term ‘special allowance’ means a special allow19 ance that is payable under section 438 of the Higher Edu20 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087–1).’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

22 (1) Section 428(o) of the Higher Education Act 

23 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078(o)) is amended— 

24 (A) by striking the subsection heading and 

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1 MISSIONED OFFICER CORPS STUDENT LOAN

2 INTEREST PAYMENT PROGRAMS’’; and 

3 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

4 (i) by inserting ‘‘or section 268 of the 

5 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin6 istration Commissioned Officer Corps Act 

7 of 2002’’ after ‘‘Code,’’; and 

8 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or an officer in the 

9 commissioned officer corps of the National 

10 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

11 respectively,’’ after ‘‘Armed Forces’’. 

12 (2) Sections 455(l) and 464(j) of the Higher 

13 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(l) and 

14 1087dd(j)) are each amended— 

15 (A) by striking the subsection heading and 

16 inserting ‘‘ARMED FORCES AND NOAA COM17 MISSIONED OFFICER CORPS STUDENT LOAN

18 INTEREST PAYMENT PROGRAMS’’; and 

19 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

20 (i) by inserting ‘‘or section 268 of the 

21 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin22 istration Commissioned Officer Corps Act 

23 of 2002’’ after ‘‘Code,’’; and 

24 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or an officer in the 

25 commissioned officer corps of the National 


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1 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

2 respectively’’ after ‘‘Armed Forces’’. 

3 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

4 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

5 Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998, and for 

6 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372), as amended by 

7 section 221(b), is further amended by inserting after the 

8 item relating to section 267 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 268. Interest payment program.’’. 

9 SEC. 223. STUDENT PRE-COMMISSIONING PROGRAM. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E (33 U.S.C. 3071 et 

11 seq.), as amended by section 222(a), is further amended 

12 by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 269. STUDENT PRE-COMMISSIONING EDUCATION AS14 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

15 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL ASSIST16 ANCE.—For the purpose of maintaining adequate numbers 

17 of officers of the commissioned officer corps of the Admin18 istration on active duty, the Secretary may provide finan19 cial assistance to a person described in subsection (b) for 

20 expenses of the person while the person is pursuing on 

21 a full-time basis at an accredited educational institution 

22 (as determined by the Secretary of Education) a program 

23 of education approved by the Secretary that leads to— 

24 ‘‘(1) a baccalaureate degree in not more than 

25 five academic years; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) a postbaccalaureate degree. 

2 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PERSONS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person is eligible to ob4 tain financial assistance under subsection (a) if the 

5 person— 

6 ‘‘(A) is enrolled on a full-time basis in a 

7 program of education referred to in subsection 

8 (a) at any educational institution described in 

9 such subsection; 

10 ‘‘(B) meets all of the requirements for ac11 ceptance into the commissioned officer corps of 

12 the Administration except for the completion of 

13 a baccalaureate degree; and 

14 ‘‘(C) enters into a written agreement with 

15 the Secretary described in paragraph (2). 

16 ‘‘(2) AGREEMENT.—A written agreement re17 ferred to in paragraph (1)(C) is an agreement be18 tween the person and the Secretary in which the 

19 person— 

20 ‘‘(A) agrees to accept an appointment as 

21 an officer, if tendered; and 

22 ‘‘(B) upon completion of the person’s edu23 cational program, agrees to serve on active 

24 duty, immediately after appointment, for— 


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1 ‘‘(i) up to three years if the person re2 ceived less than three years of assistance; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) up to five years if the person re5 ceived at least three years of assistance. 

6 ‘‘(c) QUALIFYING EXPENSES.—Expenses for which 

7 financial assistance may be provided under subsection (a) 

8 are the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) Tuition and fees charged by the edu10 cational institution involved. 

11 ‘‘(2) The cost of educational materials. 

12 ‘‘(3) In the case of a program of education 

13 leading to a baccalaureate degree, laboratory ex14 penses. 

15 ‘‘(4) Such other expenses as the Secretary con16 siders appropriate. 

17 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall 

18 prescribe the amount of financial assistance provided to 

19 a person under subsection (a), which may not exceed the 

20 amount specified in section 2173(e)(2) of title 10, United 

21 States Code, for each year of obligated service that a per22 son agrees to serve in an agreement described in sub23 section (b)(2). 


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1 ‘‘(e) DURATION OF ASSISTANCE.—Financial assist2 ance may be provided to a person under subsection (a) 

3 for not more than five consecutive academic years. 

4 ‘‘(f) SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person who receives fi6 nancial assistance under subsection (a) shall be enti7 tled to a monthly subsistence allowance at a rate 

8 prescribed under paragraph (2) for the duration of 

9 the period for which the person receives such finan10 cial assistance. 

11 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT.—The Sec12 retary shall prescribe monthly rates for subsistence 

13 allowance provided under paragraph (1), which shall 

14 be equal to the amount specified in section 2144(a) 

15 of title 10, United States Code. 

16 ‘‘(g) INITIAL CLOTHING ALLOWANCE.— 

17 ‘‘(1) TRAINING.—The Secretary may prescribe 

18 a sum which shall be credited to each person who re19 ceives financial assistance under subsection (a) to 

20 cover the cost of the person’s initial clothing and 

21 equipment issue. 

22 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT.—Upon completion of the 

23 program of education for which a person receives fi24 nancial assistance under subsection (a) and accept25 ance of appointment in the commissioned officer 


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1 corps of the Administration, the person may be 

2 issued a subsequent clothing allowance equivalent to 

3 that normally provided to a newly appointed officer. 

4 ‘‘(h) TERMINATION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall termi6 nate the assistance provided to a person under this 

7 section if— 

8 ‘‘(A) the Secretary accepts a request by 

9 the person to be released from an agreement 

10 described in subsection (b)(2); 

11 ‘‘(B) the misconduct of the person results 

12 in a failure to complete the period of active 

13 duty required under the agreement; or 

14 ‘‘(C) the person fails to fulfill any term or 

15 condition of the agreement. 

16 ‘‘(2) REIMBURSEMENT.—The Secretary may re17 quire a person who receives assistance described in 

18 subsection (c), (f), or (g) under an agreement en19 tered into under subsection (b)(1)(C) to reimburse 

20 the Secretary in an amount that bears the same 

21 ratio to the total costs of the assistance provided to 

22 that person as the unserved portion of active duty 

23 bears to the total period of active duty the officer 

24 agreed to serve under the agreement. 


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1 ‘‘(3) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the 

2 service obligation of a person through an agreement 

3 entered into under subsection (b)(1)(C) if the per4 son— 

5 ‘‘(A) becomes unqualified to serve on active 

6 duty in the commissioned officer corps of the 

7 Administration because of a circumstance not 

8 within the control of that person; or 

9 ‘‘(B) is— 

10 ‘‘(i) not physically qualified for ap11 pointment; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) determined to be unqualified for 

13 service in the commissioned officer corps of 

14 the Administration because of a physical or 

15 medical condition that was not the result 

16 of the person’s own misconduct or grossly 

17 negligent conduct. 

18 ‘‘(4) OBLIGATION AS DEBT TO UNITED

19 STATES.—An obligation to reimburse the Secretary 

20 imposed under paragraph (2) is, for all purposes, a 

21 debt owed to the United States. 

22 ‘‘(5) DISCHARGE IN BANKRUPTCY.—A dis23 charge in bankruptcy under title 11, United States 

24 Code, that is entered less than five years after the 

25 termination of a written agreement entered into 


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1 under subsection (b)(1)(C) does not discharge the 

2 person signing the agreement from a debt arising 

3 under such agreement or under paragraph (2). 

4 ‘‘(i) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may prescribe 

5 such regulations and orders as the Secretary considers ap6 propriate to carry out this section. 

7 ‘‘(j) CONCURRENT COMPLETION OF SERVICE OBLI8 GATIONS.—A service obligation under this section may be 

9 completed concurrently with a service obligation under 

10 section 216.’’. 

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

12 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

13 Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998, and for 

14 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372), as amended by 

15 section 222(c), is further amended by inserting after the 

16 item relating to section 268 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 269. Student pre-commissioning education assistance program.’’. 

17 SEC. 224. LIMITATION ON EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each fiscal year, beginning with 

19 the fiscal year in which this title is enacted, the Secretary 

20 of Commerce shall ensure that the total amount expended 

21 by the Secretary under section 267 of the National Oce22 anic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Offi23 cer Corps Act of 2002 (as added by section 221(a)), sec24 tion 268 of such Act (as added by section 222(a)), and 


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1 section 269 of such Act (as added by section 223(a)) does 

2 not exceed the amount by which— 

3 (1) the total amount the Secretary would pay in 

4 that fiscal year to officer candidates under section 

5 203(f)(1) of title 37, United States Code (as added 

6 by section 235(d)), if such section entitled officer 

7 candidates to pay at monthly rates equal to the 

8 basic pay of a commissioned officer in the pay grade 

9 O–1 with less than 2 years of service, exceeds 

10 (2) the total amount the Secretary actually 

11 pays in that fiscal year to officer candidates under 

12 section 203(f)(1) of such title (as so added). 

13 (b) OFFICER CANDIDATE DEFINED.—In this section, 

14 the term ‘‘officer candidate’’ has the meaning given the 

15 term in paragraph (4) of section 212(b) of the National 

16 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned 

17 Officer Corps Act of 2002 (33 U.S.C. 3002), as added 

18 by section 235(c). 


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1 SEC. 225. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF 

2 TITLE 10, UNITED STATES CODE, AND EXTEN3 SION OF CERTAIN AUTHORITIES APPLICABLE 

4 TO MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES TO 

5 COMMISSIONED OFFICER CORPS. 

6 (a) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF

7 TITLE 10.—Section 261(a) (33 U.S.C. 3071(a)) is amend8 ed— 

9 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (13) through 

10 (16) as paragraphs (22) through (25), respectively; 

11 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through 

12 (12) as paragraphs (14) through (19), respectively; 

13 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

14 (6) as paragraphs (8) through (10), respectively; 

15 (4) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(4) Section 771, relating to unauthorized 

18 wearing of uniforms. 

19 ‘‘(5) Section 774, relating to wearing religious 

20 apparel while in uniform. 

21 ‘‘(6) Section 982, relating to service on State 

22 and local juries. 

23 ‘‘(7) Section 1031, relating to administration of 

24 oaths.’’; 

25 (5) by inserting after paragraph (10), as redes26 ignated, the following: 


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1 ‘‘(11) Section 1074n, relating to annual mental 

2 health assessments. 

3 ‘‘(12) Section 1090a, relating to referrals for 

4 mental health evaluations. 

5 ‘‘(13) Chapter 58, relating to the Benefits and 

6 Services for members being separated or recently 

7 separated.’’; and 

8 (6) by inserting after paragraph (19), as redes9 ignated, the following: 

10 ‘‘(20) Subchapter I of chapter 88, relating to 

11 Military Family Programs. 

12 ‘‘(21) Section 2005, relating to advanced edu13 cation assistance, active duty agreements, and reim14 bursement requirements.’’. 

15 (b) EXTENSION OF CERTAIN AUTHORITIES.— 

16 (1) NOTARIAL SERVICES.—Section 1044a of 

17 title 10, United States Code, is amended— 

18 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking 

19 ‘‘armed forces’’ and inserting ‘‘uniformed serv20 ices’’; and 

21 (B) in subsection (b)(4), by striking 

22 ‘‘armed forces’’ both places it appears and in23 serting ‘‘uniformed services’’. 


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1 (2) ACCEPTANCE OF VOLUNTARY SERVICES FOR

2 PROGRAMS SERVING MEMBERS AND THEIR FAMI3 LIES.—Section 1588 of such title is amended— 

4 (A) in subsection (a)(3), in the matter be5 fore subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘armed 

6 forces’’ and inserting ‘‘uniformed services’’; and 

7 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

8 subsection: 

9 ‘‘(g) SECRETARY CONCERNED FOR ACCEPTANCE OF

10 SERVICES FOR PROGRAMS SERVING MEMBERS OF NOAA 

11 CORPS AND THEIR FAMILIES.—For purposes of the ac12 ceptance of services described in subsection (a)(3), the 

13 term ‘Secretary concerned’ in subsection (a) shall include 

14 the Secretary of Commerce with respect to members of 

15 the commissioned officer corps of the National Oceanic 

16 and Atmospheric Administration.’’. 

17 (3) CAPSTONE COURSE FOR NEWLY SELECTED

18 FLAG OFFICERS.—Section 2153 of such title is 

19 amended— 

20 (A) in subsection (a)— 

21 (i) by inserting ‘‘or the commissioned 

22 officer corps of the National Oceanic and 

23 Atmospheric Administration’’ after ‘‘in the 

24 case of the Navy’’; and 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘other armed forces’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘other uniformed services’’; 

3 and 

4 (B) in subsection (b)(1), in the matter be5 fore subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or the 

6 Secretary of Commerce, as applicable,’’ after 

7 ‘‘the Secretary of Defense’’. 

8 SEC. 226. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF 

9 TITLE 37, UNITED STATES CODE. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E (33 U.S.C. 3071 et 

11 seq.) is amended by inserting after section 261 the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 261A. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF 

14 TITLE 37, UNITED STATES CODE. 

15 ‘‘(a) PROVISIONS MADE APPLICABLE TO COMMIS16 SIONED OFFICER CORPS.—The provisions of law applica17 ble to the Armed Forces under the following provisions 

18 of title 37, United States Code, shall apply to the commis19 sioned officer corps of the Administration: 

20 ‘‘(1) Section 324, relating to accession bonuses 

21 for new officers in critical skills. 

22 ‘‘(2) Section 403(f)(3), relating to prescribing 

23 regulations defining the terms ‘field duty’ and ‘sea 

24 duty’. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Section 403(l), relating to temporary con2 tinuation of housing allowance for dependents of 

3 members dying on active duty. 

4 ‘‘(4) Section 415, relating to initial uniform al5 lowances. 

6 ‘‘(5) Section 488, relating to allowances for re7 cruiting expenses. 

8 ‘‘(6) Section 495, relating to allowances for fu9 neral honors duty. 

10 ‘‘(b) REFERENCES.—The authority vested by title 37, 

11 United States Code, in the ‘military departments’, ‘the 

12 Secretary concerned’, or ‘the Secretary of Defense’ with 

13 respect to the provisions of law referred to in subsection 

14 (a) shall be exercised, with respect to the commissioned 

15 officer corps of the Administration, by the Secretary of 

16 Commerce or the Secretary’s designee.’’. 

17 (b) PERSONAL MONEY ALLOWANCE.—Section 

18 414(a)(2) of title 37, United States Code, is amended by 

19 inserting ‘‘or the director of the commissioned officer 

20 corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis21 tration’’ after ‘‘Health Service’’. 

22 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

23 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

24 Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998, and for 


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1 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372) is amended by in2 serting after the item relating to section 261 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 261A. Applicability of certain provisions of title 37, United States 

Code.’’. 

3 SEC. 227. PROHIBITION ON RETALIATORY PERSONNEL AC4 TIONS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 261 (33 

6 U.S.C. 3071), as amended by section 225(a), is further 

7 amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through 

9 (25) as paragraphs (9) through (26), respectively; 

10 and 

11 (2) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(8) Section 1034, relating to protected com14 munications and prohibition of retaliatory personnel 

15 actions.’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (b) of 

17 such section is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: ‘‘For purposes of paragraph (8) of subsection (a), 

19 the term ‘Inspector General’ in section 1034 of such title 

20 10 shall mean the Inspector General of the Department 

21 of Commerce.’’. 

22 (c) REGULATIONS.—Such section is further amended 

23 by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS REGARDING PROTECTED COM2 MUNICATIONS AND PROHIBITION OF RETALIATORY PER3 SONNEL ACTIONS.—The Secretary may prescribe regula4 tions to carry out the application of section 1034 of title 

5 10, United States Code, to the commissioned officer corps 

6 of the Administration, including by prescribing such ad7 ministrative procedures for investigation and appeal with8 in the commissioned officer corps as the Secretary con9 siders appropriate.’’. 

10 SEC. 228. APPLICATION OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF COM11 PETITIVE SERVICE LAW. 

12 Section 3304(f) of title 5, United States Code, is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and mem15 bers of the commissioned officer corps of the Na16 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or 

17 its predecessor organization the Coast and Geodetic 

18 Survey) separated from such uniformed service’’ 

19 after ‘‘separated from the armed forces’’; 

20 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘or veteran’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘, veteran, or member’’; and 

22 (3) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘and mem23 bers of the commissioned officer corps of the Na24 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or 

25 its predecessor organization the Coast and Geodetic 


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1 Survey) separated from such uniformed service’’ 

2 after ‘‘separated from the armed forces’’. 

3 SEC. 229. EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS. 

4 Section 4303(16) of title 38, United States Code, is 

5 amended by inserting ‘‘the commissioned officer corps of 

6 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,’’ 

7 after ‘‘Public Health Service,’’. 

8 SEC. 230. TREATMENT OF COMMISSION IN COMMISSIONED 

9 OFFICER CORPS FOR PURPOSES OF CERTAIN 

10 HIRING DECISIONS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E (33 U.S.C. 3071 et 

12 seq.), as amended by this title, is further amended by add13 ing at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 269A. TREATMENT OF COMMISSION IN COMMIS15 SIONED OFFICER CORPS AS EMPLOYMENT IN 

16 ADMINISTRATION FOR PURPOSES OF CER17 TAIN HIRING DECISIONS. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which the Sec19 retary accepts an application for a position of employment 

20 with the Administration and limits consideration of appli21 cations for such position to applications submitted by indi22 viduals serving in a career or career-conditional position 

23 in the competitive service within the Administration, the 

24 Secretary shall deem an officer who has served as an offi25 cer in the commissioned officer corps for at least three 


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1 years to be serving in a career or career-conditional posi2 tion in the competitive service within the Administration 

3 for purposes of such limitation. 

4 ‘‘(b) CAREER APPOINTMENTS.—If the Secretary se5 lects an application submitted by an officer described in 

6 subsection (a) for a position described in such subsection, 

7 the Secretary shall give such officer a career or career8 conditional appointment in the competitive service, as ap9 propriate. 

10 ‘‘(c) COMPETITIVE SERVICE DEFINED.—In this sec11 tion, the term ‘competitive service’ has the meaning given 

12 the term in section 2102 of title 5, United States Code.’’. 

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

14 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

15 Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998, and for 

16 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372) is amended by in17 serting after the item relating to section 269, as added 

18 by section 223(b), the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 269A. Treatment of commission in commissioned officer corps as employment in Administration for purposes of certain hiring decisions.’’. 

19 Subtitle C—Appointments and 

20 Promotion of Officers 

21 SEC. 231. APPOINTMENTS. 

22 (a) ORIGINAL APPOINTMENTS.—Section 221 (33 

23 U.S.C. 3021) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 221. ORIGINAL APPOINTMENTS AND REAPPOINT2 MENTS. 

3 ‘‘(a) ORIGINAL APPOINTMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) GRADES.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

6 subparagraph (B), an original appointment of 

7 an officer may be made in such grades as may 

8 be appropriate for— 

9 ‘‘(i) the qualification, experience, and 

10 length of service of the appointee; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the commissioned officer corps of 

12 the Administration. 

13 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENT OF OFFICER CAN14 DIDATES.— 

15 ‘‘(i) LIMITATION ON GRADE.—An 

16 original appointment of an officer can17 didate, upon graduation from the basic of18 ficer training program of the commissioned 

19 officer corps of the Administration, may 

20 not be made in any other grade than en21 sign. 

22 ‘‘(ii) RANK.—Officer candidates re23 ceiving appointments as ensigns upon 

24 graduation from the basic officer training 

25 program shall take rank according to their 


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1 proficiency as shown by the order of their 

2 merit at date of graduation. 

3 ‘‘(2) SOURCE OF APPOINTMENTS.—An original 

4 appointment may be made from among the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(A) Graduates of the basic officer train7 ing program of the commissioned officer corps 

8 of the Administration. 

9 ‘‘(B) Graduates of the military service 

10 academies of the United States who otherwise 

11 meet the academic standards for enrollment in 

12 the training program described in subparagraph 

13 (A). 

14 ‘‘(C) Graduates of the maritime academies 

15 of the States who— 

16 ‘‘(i) otherwise meet the academic 

17 standards for enrollment in the training 

18 program described in subparagraph (A); 

19 ‘‘(ii) completed at least three years of 

20 regimented training while at a maritime 

21 academy of a State; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) obtained an unlimited tonnage 

23 or unlimited horsepower Merchant Mariner 

24 Credential from the United States Coast 

25 Guard. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Licensed officers of the United States 

2 merchant marine who have served two or more 

3 years aboard a vessel of the United States in 

4 the capacity of a licensed officer, who otherwise 

5 meet the academic standards for enrollment in 

6 the training program described in subparagraph 

7 (A). 

8 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

9 ‘‘(A) MARITIME ACADEMIES OF THE

10 STATES.—The term ‘maritime academies of the 

11 States’ means the following: 

12 ‘‘(i) California Maritime Academy, 

13 Vallejo, California. 

14 ‘‘(ii) Great Lakes Maritime Academy, 

15 Traverse City, Michigan. 

16 ‘‘(iii) Maine Maritime Academy, 

17 Castine, Maine. 

18 ‘‘(iv) Massachusetts Maritime Acad19 emy, Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. 

20 ‘‘(v) State University of New York 

21 Maritime College, Fort Schuyler, New 

22 York. 

23 ‘‘(vi) Texas A&M Maritime Academy, 

24 Galveston, Texas. 


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1 ‘‘(B) MILITARY SERVICE ACADEMIES OF

2 THE UNITED STATES.—The term ‘military serv3 ice academies of the United States’ means the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(i) The United States Military Acad6 emy, West Point, New York. 

7 ‘‘(ii) The United States Naval Acad8 emy, Annapolis, Maryland. 

9 ‘‘(iii) The United States Air Force 

10 Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

11 ‘‘(iv) The United States Coast Guard 

12 Academy, New London, Connecticut. 

13 ‘‘(v) The United States Merchant Ma14 rine Academy, Kings Point, New York. 

15 ‘‘(b) REAPPOINTMENT.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), an individual who previously served in the 

18 commissioned officer corps of the Administration 

19 may be appointed by the Secretary to the grade the 

20 individual held prior to separation. 

21 ‘‘(2) REAPPOINTMENTS TO HIGHER GRADES.— 

22 An appointment under paragraph (1) to a position 

23 of importance and responsibility designated under 

24 section 228 may only be made by the President. 


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1 ‘‘(c) QUALIFICATIONS.—An appointment under sub2 section (a) or (b) may not be given to an individual until 

3 the individual’s mental, moral, physical, and professional 

4 fitness to perform the duties of an officer has been estab5 lished under such regulations as the Secretary shall pre6 scribe. 

7 ‘‘(d) ORDER OF PRECEDENCE.—Appointees under 

8 this section shall take precedence in the grade to which 

9 appointed in accordance with the dates of their commis10 sions as commissioned officers in such grade. The order 

11 of precedence of appointees whose dates of commission are 

12 the same shall be determined by the Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(e) INTER-SERVICE TRANSFERS.—For inter-service 

14 transfers (as described in Department of Defense Direc15 tive 1300.4 (dated December 27, 2006)) the Secretary 

16 shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) coordinate with the Secretary of Defense 

18 and the Secretary of the Department in which the 

19 Coast Guard is operating to promote and streamline 

20 inter-service transfers; 

21 ‘‘(2) give preference to such inter-service trans22 fers for recruitment purposes as determined appro23 priate by the Secretary; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) reappoint such inter-service transfers to 

2 the equivalent grade in the commissioned officer 

3 corps.’’. 

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

5 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

6 Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998, and for 

7 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372) is amended by 

8 striking the item relating to section 221 and inserting the 

9 following: 

‘‘Sec. 221. Original appointments and reappointments.’’. 

10 SEC. 232. PERSONNEL BOARDS. 

11 Section 222 (33 U.S.C. 3022) is amended to read as 

12 follows: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 222. PERSONNEL BOARDS. 

14 ‘‘(a) CONVENING.—Not less frequently than once 

15 each year and at such other times as the Secretary deter16 mines necessary, the Secretary shall convene a personnel 

17 board. 

18 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A board convened under 

20 subsection (a) shall consist of five or more officers 

21 who are serving in or above the permanent grade of 

22 the officers under consideration by the board. 

23 ‘‘(2) RETIRED OFFICERS.—Officers on the re24 tired list may be recalled to serve on such personnel 

25 boards as the Secretary considers necessary. 


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1 ‘‘(3) NO MEMBERSHIP ON TWO SUCCESSIVE

2 BOARDS.—No officer may be a member of two suc3 cessive personnel boards convened to consider offi4 cers of the same grade for promotion or separation. 

5 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—Each personnel board shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) recommend to the Secretary such changes 

7 as may be necessary to correct any erroneous posi8 tion on the lineal list that was caused by administra9 tive error; and 

10 ‘‘(2) make selections and recommendations to 

11 the Secretary and the President for the appoint12 ment, promotion, involuntary separation, continu13 ation, and involuntary retirement of officers in the 

14 commissioned officer corps of the Administration as 

15 prescribed in this title. 

16 ‘‘(d) ACTION ON RECOMMENDATIONS NOT ACCEPT17 ABLE.—If any recommendation by a board convened 

18 under subsection (a) is not accepted by the Secretary or 

19 the President, the board shall make such further rec20 ommendations as the Secretary or the President considers 

21 appropriate. 

22 ‘‘(e) AUTHORITY FOR OFFICERS TO OPT OUT OF

23 PROMOTION CONSIDERATION.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Na25 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 


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1 Commissioned Officer Corps may provide that an of2 ficer, upon the officer’s request and with the ap3 proval of the Director, be excluded from consider4 ation for promotion by a personnel board convened 

5 under this section. 

6 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL.—The Director shall approve a 

7 request made by an officer under paragraph (1) only 

8 if— 

9 ‘‘(A) the basis for the request is to allow 

10 the officer to complete a broadening assign11 ment, advanced education, another assignment 

12 of significant value to the Administration, a ca13 reer progression requirement delayed by the as14 signment or education, or a qualifying personal 

15 or professional circumstance, as determined by 

16 the Director; 

17 ‘‘(B) the Director determines the exclusion 

18 from consideration is in the best interest of the 

19 Administration; and 

20 ‘‘(C) the officer has not previously failed 

21 selection for promotion to the grade for which 

22 the officer requests the exclusion from consider23 ation.’’. 


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1 SEC. 233. POSITIONS OF IMPORTANCE AND RESPONSI2 BILITY. 

3 Section 228 (33 U.S.C. 3028) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (c)— 

5 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘The 

6 Secretary shall designate one position under 

7 this section’’ and inserting ‘‘The President shall 

8 designate one position’’; and 

9 (B) in the second sentence, by striking 

10 ‘‘That position shall be filled by’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘The President shall fill that position by ap12 pointing, by and with the advice and consent of 

13 the Senate,’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (d)(2), by inserting ‘‘or imme15 diately beginning a period of terminal leave’’ after 

16 ‘‘for which a higher grade is designated’’; 

17 (3) by amending subsection (e) to read as fol18 lows: 

19 ‘‘(e) LIMIT ON NUMBER OF OFFICERS APPOINTED.— 

20 The total number of officers serving on active duty at any 

21 one time in the grade of rear admiral (lower half) or above 

22 may not exceed five, with only one serving in the grade 

23 of vice admiral.’’; and 

24 (4) in subsection (f), by inserting ‘‘or in a pe25 riod of annual leave used at the end of the appoint26 ment’’ after ‘‘serving in that grade’’. 


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1 SEC. 234. TEMPORARY APPOINTMENTS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 229 (33 U.S.C. 3029) is 

3 amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 229. TEMPORARY APPOINTMENTS. 

5 ‘‘(a) APPOINTMENTS BY PRESIDENT.—Temporary 

6 appointments in the grade of ensign, lieutenant junior 

7 grade, or lieutenant may be made by the President. 

8 ‘‘(b) TERMINATION.—A temporary appointment to a 

9 position under subsection (a) shall terminate upon ap10 proval of a permanent appointment for such position made 

11 by the President. 

12 ‘‘(c) ORDER OF PRECEDENCE.—Appointees under 

13 subsection (a) shall take precedence in the grade to which 

14 appointed in accordance with the dates of their appoint15 ments as officers in such grade. The order of precedence 

16 of appointees who are appointed on the same date shall 

17 be determined by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(d) ANY ONE GRADE.—When determined by the 

19 Secretary to be in the best interest of the commissioned 

20 officer corps, officers in any permanent grade may be tem21 porarily promoted one grade by the President. Any such 

22 temporary promotion terminates upon the transfer of the 

23 officer to a new assignment.’’. 

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

25 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

26 Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998, and for 


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1 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372) is amended by 

2 striking the item relating to section 229 and inserting the 

3 following: 

‘‘Sec. 229. Temporary appointments.’’. 

4 SEC. 235. OFFICER CANDIDATES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B (33 U.S.C. 3021 et 

6 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 234. OFFICER CANDIDATES. 

8 ‘‘(a) DETERMINATION OF NUMBER.—The Secretary 

9 shall determine the number of appointments of officer can10 didates. 

11 ‘‘(b) APPOINTMENT.—Appointment of officer can12 didates shall be made under regulations, which the Sec13 retary shall prescribe, including regulations with respect 

14 to determining age limits, methods of selection of officer 

15 candidates, term of service as an officer candidate before 

16 graduation from the basic officer training program of the 

17 Administration, and all other matters affecting such ap18 pointment. 

19 ‘‘(c) DISMISSAL.—The Secretary may dismiss from 

20 the basic officer training program of the Administration 

21 any officer candidate who, during the officer candidate’s 

22 term as an officer candidate, the Secretary considers un23 satisfactory in either academics or conduct, or not adapted 

24 for a career in the commissioned officer corps of the Ad25 ministration. Officer candidates shall be subject to rules 


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1 governing discipline prescribed by the Director of the Na2 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commis3 sioned Officer Corps. 

4 ‘‘(d) AGREEMENT.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each officer candidate 

6 shall sign an agreement with the Secretary in ac7 cordance with section 216(a)(2) regarding the officer 

8 candidate’s term of service in the commissioned offi9 cer corps of the Administration. 

10 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—An agreement signed by an 

11 officer candidate under paragraph (1) shall provide 

12 that the officer candidate agrees to the following: 

13 ‘‘(A) That the officer candidate will com14 plete the course of instruction at the basic offi15 cer training program of the Administration. 

16 ‘‘(B) That upon graduation from such pro17 gram, the officer candidate— 

18 ‘‘(i) will accept an appointment, if 

19 tendered, as an officer; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) will serve on active duty for at 

21 least four years immediately after such ap22 pointment. 

23 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

24 regulations to carry out this section. Such regulations 

25 shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(1) standards for determining what constitutes 

2 a breach of an agreement signed under subsection 

3 (d)(1); and 

4 ‘‘(2) procedures for determining whether such a 

5 breach has occurred. 

6 ‘‘(f) REPAYMENT.—An officer candidate or former 

7 officer candidate who does not fulfill the terms of the obli8 gation to serve as specified under subsection (d) shall be 

9 subject to the repayment provisions of section 216(b).’’. 

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

11 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

12 Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998, and for 

13 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372) is amended by in14 serting after the item relating to section 233 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 234. Officer candidates.’’. 

15 (c) OFFICER CANDIDATE DEFINED.—Section 212(b) 

16 (33 U.S.C. 3002(b)) is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

18 (6) as paragraphs (5) through (7), respectively; and 

19 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(4) OFFICER CANDIDATE.—The term ‘officer 

22 candidate’ means an individual who is enrolled in the 

23 basic officer training program of the Administration 

24 and is under consideration for appointment as an of25 ficer under section 221(a)(2)(A).’’. 


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1 (d) PAY FOR OFFICER CANDIDATES.—Section 203 of 

2 title 37, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

3 end the following: 

4 ‘‘(f)(1) An officer candidate enrolled in the basic offi5 cer training program of the commissioned officer corps of 

6 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is 

7 entitled, while participating in such program, to monthly 

8 officer candidate pay at monthly rates equal to the basic 

9 pay of an enlisted member in the pay grade E–5 with less 

10 than two years of service. 

11 ‘‘(2) An individual who graduates from such program 

12 shall receive credit for the time spent participating in such 

13 program as if such time were time served while on active 

14 duty as a commissioned officer. If the individual does not 

15 graduate from such program, such time shall not be con16 sidered creditable for active duty or pay.’’. 

17 SEC. 236. PROCUREMENT OF PERSONNEL. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B (33 U.S.C. 3021 et 

19 seq.), as amended by section 235(a), is further amended 

20 by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 235. PROCUREMENT OF PERSONNEL. 

22 ‘‘The Secretary may make such expenditures as the 

23 Secretary considers necessary in order to obtain recruits 

24 for the commissioned officer corps of the Administration, 

25 including advertising.’’. 


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

2 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

3 Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998, and for 

4 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372), as amended by 

5 section 235(b), is further amended by inserting after the 

6 item relating to section 234 the following: 

‘‘235. Procurement of personnel.’’. 

7 SEC. 237. CAREER INTERMISSION PROGRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B (33 U.S.C. 3021 et 

9 seq.), as amended by section 236(a), is further amended 

10 by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 236. CAREER FLEXIBILITY TO ENHANCE RETENTION 

12 OF OFFICERS. 

13 ‘‘(a) PROGRAMS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary may 

14 carry out a program under which officers may be inac15 tivated from active duty in order to meet personal or pro16 fessional needs and returned to active duty at the end of 

17 such period of inactivation from active duty. 

18 ‘‘(b) PERIOD OF INACTIVATION FROM ACTIVE DUTY; 

19 EFFECT OF INACTIVATION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The period of inactivation 

21 from active duty under a program under this section 

22 of an officer participating in the program shall be 

23 such period as the Secretary shall specify in the 

24 agreement of the officer under subsection (c), except 

25 that such period may not exceed three years. 


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1 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSION FROM RETIREMENT.—Any pe2 riod of participation of an officer in a program 

3 under this section shall not count toward eligibility 

4 for retirement or computation of retired pay under 

5 subtitle C. 

6 ‘‘(c) AGREEMENT.—Each officer who participates in 

7 a program under this section shall enter into a written 

8 agreement with the Secretary under which that officer 

9 shall agree as follows: 

10 ‘‘(1) To undergo during the period of the inac11 tivation of the officer from active duty under the 

12 program such inactive duty training as the Director 

13 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis14 tration Commissioned Officer Corps shall require in 

15 order to ensure that the officer retains proficiency, 

16 at a level determined by the Director to be suffi17 cient, in the technical skills, professional qualifica18 tions, and physical readiness of the officer during 

19 the inactivation of the officer from active duty. 

20 ‘‘(2) Following completion of the period of the 

21 inactivation of the officer from active duty under the 

22 program, to serve two months on active duty for 

23 each month of the period of the inactivation of the 

24 officer from active duty under the program. 


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1 ‘‘(d) CONDITIONS OF RELEASE.—The Secretary 

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) prescribe regulations specifying the guide4 lines regarding the conditions of release that must 

5 be considered and addressed in the agreement re6 quired by subsection (c); and 

7 ‘‘(2) at a minimum, prescribe the procedures 

8 and standards to be used to instruct an officer on 

9 the obligations to be assumed by the officer under 

10 paragraph (1) of such subsection while the officer is 

11 released from active duty. 

12 ‘‘(e) ORDER TO ACTIVE DUTY.—Under regulations 

13 prescribed by the Secretary, an officer participating in a 

14 program under this section may, in the discretion of the 

15 Secretary, be required to terminate participation in the 

16 program and be ordered to active duty. 

17 ‘‘(f) PAY AND ALLOWANCES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) BASIC PAY.—During each month of par19 ticipation in a program under this section, an officer 

20 who participates in the program shall be paid basic 

21 pay in an amount equal to two-thirtieths of the 

22 amount of monthly basic pay to which the officer 

23 would otherwise be entitled under section 204 of title 

24 37, United States Code, as a member of the uni25 formed services on active duty in the grade and 


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1 years of service of the officer when the officer com2 mences participation in the program. 

3 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL OR INCENTIVE PAY OR BONUS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—An officer who par5 ticipates in a program under this section shall 

6 not, while participating in the program, be paid 

7 any special or incentive pay or bonus to which 

8 the officer is otherwise entitled under an agree9 ment under chapter 5 of title 37, United States 

10 Code, that is in force when the officer com11 mences participation in the program. 

12 ‘‘(B) NOT TREATED AS FAILURE TO PER13 FORM SERVICES.—The inactivation from active 

14 duty of an officer participating in a program 

15 under this section shall not be treated as a fail16 ure of the officer to perform any period of serv17 ice required of the officer in connection with an 

18 agreement for a special or incentive pay or 

19 bonus under chapter 5 of title 37, United 

20 States Code, that is in force when the officer 

21 commences participation in the program. 

22 ‘‘(3) RETURN TO ACTIVE DUTY.— 

23 ‘‘(A) SPECIAL OR INCENTIVE PAY OR

24 BONUS.—Subject to subparagraph (B), upon 

25 the return of an officer to active duty after 


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1 completion by the officer of participation in a 

2 program under this section— 

3 ‘‘(i) any agreement entered into by 

4 the officer under chapter 5 of title 37, 

5 United States Code, for the payment of a 

6 special or incentive pay or bonus that was 

7 in force when the officer commenced par8 ticipation in the program shall be revived, 

9 with the term of such agreement after re10 vival being the period of the agreement re11 maining to run when the officer com12 menced participation in the program; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) any special or incentive pay or 

14 bonus shall be payable to the officer in ac15 cordance with the terms of the agreement 

16 concerned for the term specified in clause 

17 (i). 

18 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) 

20 shall not apply to any special or incentive 

21 pay or bonus otherwise covered by that 

22 subparagraph with respect to an officer if, 

23 at the time of the return of the officer to 

24 active duty as described in that subpara25 graph— 


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1 ‘‘(I) such pay or bonus is no 

2 longer authorized by law; or 

3 ‘‘(II) the officer does not satisfy 

4 eligibility criteria for such pay or 

5 bonus as in effect at the time of the 

6 return of the officer to active duty. 

7 ‘‘(ii) PAY OR BONUS CEASES BEING

8 AUTHORIZED.—Subparagraph (A) shall 

9 cease to apply to any special or incentive 

10 pay or bonus otherwise covered by that 

11 subparagraph with respect to an officer if, 

12 during the term of the revived agreement 

13 of the officer under subparagraph (A)(i), 

14 such pay or bonus ceases being authorized 

15 by law. 

16 ‘‘(C) REPAYMENT.—An officer who is in17 eligible for payment of a special or incentive 

18 pay or bonus otherwise covered by this para19 graph by reason of subparagraph (B)(i)(II) 

20 shall be subject to the requirements for repay21 ment of such pay or bonus in accordance with 

22 the terms of the applicable agreement of the of23 ficer under chapter 5 of title 37, United States 

24 Code. 


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1 ‘‘(D) REQUIRED SERVICE IS ADDI2 TIONAL.—Any service required of an officer 

3 under an agreement covered by this paragraph 

4 after the officer returns to active duty as de5 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall be in addition 

6 to any service required of the officer under an 

7 agreement under subsection (c). 

8 ‘‘(4) TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION ALLOW9 ANCE.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara11 graph (B), an officer who participates in a pro12 gram under this section is entitled, while par13 ticipating in the program, to the travel and 

14 transportation allowances authorized by section 

15 474 of title 37, United States Code, for— 

16 ‘‘(i) travel performed from the resi17 dence of the officer, at the time of release 

18 from active duty to participate in the pro19 gram, to the location in the United States 

20 designated by the officer as the officer’s 

21 residence during the period of participation 

22 in the program; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) travel performed to the residence 

24 of the officer upon return to active duty at 


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1 the end of the participation of the officer 

2 in the program. 

3 ‘‘(B) SINGLE RESIDENCE.—An allowance 

4 is payable under this paragraph only with re5 spect to travel of an officer to and from a single 

6 residence. 

7 ‘‘(5) LEAVE BALANCE.—An officer who partici8 pates in a program under this section is entitled to 

9 carry forward the leave balance existing as of the 

10 day on which the officer begins participation and ac11 cumulated in accordance with section 701 of title 10, 

12 but not to exceed 60 days. 

13 ‘‘(g) PROMOTION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An officer participating in 

15 a program under this section shall not, while partici16 pating in the program, be eligible for consideration 

17 for promotion under subtitle B. 

18 ‘‘(2) RETURN TO SERVICE.—Upon the return of 

19 an officer to active duty after completion by the offi20 cer of participation in a program under this sec21 tion— 

22 ‘‘(A) the Secretary may adjust the date of 

23 rank of the officer in such manner as the Sec24 retary shall prescribe in regulations for pur25 poses of this section; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the officer shall be eligible for consid2 eration for promotion when officers of the same 

3 competitive category, grade, and seniority are 

4 eligible for consideration for promotion. 

5 ‘‘(h) CONTINUED ENTITLEMENTS.—An officer par6 ticipating in a program under this section shall, while par7 ticipating in the program, be treated as a member of the 

8 uniformed services on active duty for a period of more 

9 than 30 days for purposes of— 

10 ‘‘(1) the entitlement of the officer and of the 

11 dependents of the officer to medical and dental care 

12 under the provisions of chapter 55 of title 10; and 

13 ‘‘(2) retirement or separation for physical dis14 ability under the provisions of subtitle C.’’. 

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

16 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

17 Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998, and for 

18 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372), as amended by 

19 section 236(b), is further amended by inserting after the 

20 item relating to section 235 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 236. Career flexibility to enhance retention of officers.’’. 

21 Subtitle D—Separation and 

22 Retirement of Officers 

23 SEC. 241. INVOLUNTARY RETIREMENT OR SEPARATION. 

24 Section 241 (33 U.S.C. 3041) is amended by adding 

25 at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(d) DEFERMENT OF RETIREMENT OR SEPARATION

2 FOR MEDICAL REASONS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary determines 

4 that the evaluation of the medical condition of an of5 ficer requires hospitalization or medical observation 

6 that cannot be completed with confidence in a man7 ner consistent with the officer’s well-being before the 

8 date on which the officer would otherwise be re9 quired to retire or be separated under this section, 

10 the Secretary may defer the retirement or separation 

11 of the officer. 

12 ‘‘(2) CONSENT REQUIRED.—A deferment may 

13 only be made with the written consent of the officer 

14 involved. If the officer does not provide written con15 sent to the deferment, the officer shall be retired or 

16 separated as scheduled. 

17 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—A deferment of retirement 

18 or separation under this subsection may not extend 

19 for more than 30 days after completion of the eval20 uation requiring hospitalization or medical observa21 tion.’’. 

22 SEC. 242. SEPARATION PAY. 

23 Section 242 (33 U.S.C. 3042) is amended by adding 

24 at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTION.—An officer discharged for twice 

2 failing selection for promotion to the next higher grade 

3 is not entitled to separation pay under this section if the 

4 officer— 

5 ‘‘(1) expresses a desire not to be selected for 

6 promotion; or 

7 ‘‘(2) requests removal from the list of select8 ees.’’. 

9 TITLE III—OTHER NATIONAL 

10 OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC 

11 ADMINISTRATION MATTERS 

12 SEC. 301. CHARTING AND SURVEY SERVICES. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days after the 

14 development of the strategy required by section 1002(b) 

15 of the Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act 

16 of 2018 (33 U.S.C. 892a note), the Secretary of Com17 merce shall enter into not fewer than 2 multi-year con18 tracts with one or more private entities for the perform19 ance of charting and survey services by vessels. 

20 (b) CHARTING AND SURVEYS IN THE ARCTIC.—In 

21 soliciting and engaging the services of vessels under sub22 section (a), the Secretary shall particularly emphasize the 

23 need for charting and surveys in the Arctic. 


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1 SEC. 302. LEASES AND CO-LOCATION AGREEMENTS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi3 sion of law, in fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal year there4 after, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At5 mospheric Administration may execute noncompetitive 

6 leases and co-location agreements for real property and 

7 incidental goods and services with entities described in 

8 subsection (b) for periods of not more than 30 years, if 

9 each such lease or agreement is supported by a price rea10 sonableness analysis. 

11 (b) ENTITIES DESCRIBED.—An entity described in 

12 this subsection is— 

13 (1) the government of any State, territory, pos14 session, or locality of the United States; 

15 (2) any Tribal organization (as defined in sec16 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu17 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)); 

18 (3) any subdivision of— 

19 (A) a government described in paragraph 

20 (1); or 

21 (B) an organization described in paragraph 

22 (2); or 

23 (4) any organization that is— 

24 (A) organized under the laws of the United 

25 States or any jurisdiction within the United 

26 States; and 


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1 (B) described in section 501(c) of the In2 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from 

3 tax under section 501(a) of such Code. 

4 (c) FISCAL YEAR LIMITATION.—The obligation of 

5 amounts for leases and agreements executed under sub6 section (a) is limited to the fiscal year for which payments 

7 are due, without regard to sections 1341(a)(1), 

8 1501(a)(1), 1502(a), and 1517(a) of title 31, United 

9 States Code. 

10 (d) COLLABORATION AGREEMENTS.—Upon the exe11 cution of a lease or agreement authorized by subsection 

12 (a) with an entity, the Administrator may enter into 

13 agreements with the entity to collaborate or engage in 

14 projects or programs on matters of mutual interest for pe15 riods not to exceed the term of the lease or agreement. 

16 The cost of such agreements shall be apportioned equi17 tably, as determined by the Administrator. 

18 SEC. 303. SATELLITE AND DATA MANAGEMENT. 

19 Section 301(d) of the Weather Research and Fore20 casting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8531(d)) is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘data and satellite sys24 tems’’ and inserting ‘‘data, satellite, and other 

25 observing systems’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘to carry out’’ and all that 

2 follows and inserting the following: ‘‘to carry 

3 out— 

4 ‘‘(A) basic, applied, and advanced research 

5 projects, and ocean exploration missions; or 

6 ‘‘(B) any other type of project to meet 

7 other mission objectives, as determined by the 

8 Under Secretary.’’; 

9 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

10 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 

11 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘sat12 ellites’’ and all that follows and inserting 

13 ‘‘systems, including satellites, instrumenta14 tion, ground stations, data, data archiving, 

15 and data processing;’’; and 

16 (ii) in clause (iii)— 

17 (I) by striking ‘‘only’’; and 

18 (II) by striking ‘‘be met’’ and all 

19 that follows through the period at the 

20 end and inserting ‘‘reasonably or ap21 propriately be met with the use of a 

22 standard contract, grant or coopera23 tive agreement.’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(C) ADVANCE PAYMENTS.—The authority 

2 provided under paragraph (1) may be exercised 

3 without regard to section 3324 of title 31, 

4 United States Code.’’; and 

5 (3) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘2030’’. 

Æ 


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