II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1096 

To amend and enhance certain maritime programs of the Department of 

Transportation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 11, 2017 

Mrs. FISCHER (for herself and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend and enhance certain maritime programs of the 

Department of Transportation, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Maritime Administration Authorization and Enhance6 ment Act for Fiscal Year 2018’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Authorization of the Maritime Administration. 

Sec. 3. Removal adjunct professor limit at United States Merchant Marine 

Academy. 


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Sec. 4. Acceptance of guarantees in conjunction with partial donations for 

major projects of the United States Merchant Marine Academy. 

Sec. 5. Authority to pay conveyance or transfer expenses in connection with acceptance of a gift to the United States Merchant Marine Academy. 

Sec. 6. Authority to participate in Federal, State or other research grants. 

Sec. 7. Continuing funding for the United States Merchant Marine Academy. 

Sec. 8. Access to satellite phone during Sea Year program. 

Sec. 9. Assistance for small shipyards and maritime communities. 

1 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF THE MARITIME ADMINISTRA2 TION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro4 priated to the Department of Transportation for fiscal 

5 year 2018, to be available without fiscal year limitation 

6 if so provided in appropriations Acts, for programs associ7 ated with maintaining the United States merchant marine, 

8 the following amounts: 

9 (1) For expenses necessary for operations of the 

10 United States Merchant Marine Academy, 

11 $99,902,000, of which— 

12 (A) $74,851,000 shall be for Academy op13 erations, including— 

14 (i) the implementation of section 

15 3514(b) of the National Defense Author16 ization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, as added 

17 by section 8; and 

18 (ii) staffing, training, and other ac19 tions necessary to prevent and respond to 

20 sexual harassment and sexual assault; and 


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1 (B) $25,051,000 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, $29,550,000, of which— 

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

7 September 30, 2018, for the Student Incentive 

8 Program; 

9 (B) $3,000,000 shall remain available until 

10 expended for direct payments to such acad11 emies; 

12 (C) $22,000,000 shall remain available 

13 until expended for maintenance and repair of 

14 State maritime academy training vessels; 

15 (D) $1,800,000 shall remain available until 

16 expended for training ship fuel assistance; and 

17 (E) $350,000 shall remain available until 

18 expended for expenses to improve the moni19 toring of the service obligations of graduates. 

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

22 $36,000,000, 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 $58,694,000. 

4 (5) For expenses necessary to dispose of vessels 

5 in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, $20,000,000, 

6 which shall remain available until expended. 

7 (6) For administrative expenses associated with 

8 the program authorized under chapter 537 of title 

9 46, United States Code, $3,000,000, which shall re10 main available until expended. 

11 (b) ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL SHIPYARDS AND MARI12 TIME COMMUNITIES.—Section 54101(i) of title 46, United 

13 States Code, is amended— 

14 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

15 striking ‘‘2015 through 2017’’ and inserting ‘‘2018 

16 through 2020’’; 

17 (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘$5,000,000’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘$7,500,00’’; and 

19 (3) in paragraph (2), by striking 

20 ‘‘$25,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$27,500,000’’. 

21 SEC. 3. REMOVAL ADJUNCT PROFESSOR LIMIT AT UNITED 

22 STATES MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY. 

23 Section 51317 of title 46, United States Code, is 

24 amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

2 the end; and 

3 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe4 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (2) by striking subsections (c) and (d). 

6 SEC. 4. ACCEPTANCE OF GUARANTEES IN CONJUNCTION 

7 WITH PARTIAL DONATIONS FOR MAJOR 

8 PROJECTS OF THE UNITED STATES MER9 CHANT MARINE ACADEMY. 

10 (a) GUARANTEES.—Chapter 513 of title 46, United 

11 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘§ 51320. Acceptance of guarantees with gifts for 

14 major projects 

15 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 ‘‘(1) MAJOR PROJECT.—The term ‘major 

17 project’ means a project estimated to cost at least 

18 $1,000,000 for— 

19 ‘‘(A) the purchase or other procurement of 

20 real or personal property; or 

21 ‘‘(B) the construction, renovation, or re22 pair of real or personal property. 

23 ‘‘(2) MAJOR UNITED STATES COMMERCIAL

24 BANK.—The term ‘major United States commercial 

25 bank’ means a commercial bank that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) is an insured bank (as defined in sec2 tion 3(h) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act 

3 (12 U.S.C. 1813(h))); 

4 ‘‘(B) is headquartered in the United 

5 States; and 

6 ‘‘(C) has total net assets of an amount 

7 considered by the Maritime Administrator to 

8 qualify the bank as a major bank. 

9 ‘‘(3) MAJOR UNITED STATES INVESTMENT MAN10 AGEMENT FIRM.—The term ‘major United States in11 vestment management firm’ means— 

12 ‘‘(A) any broker or dealer (as such terms 

13 are defined in section 3 of the Securities Ex14 change Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c)); 

15 ‘‘(B) any investment adviser or provider of 

16 investment supervisory services (as such terms 

17 are defined in section 202 of the Investment 

18 Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–2)); or 

19 ‘‘(C) a major United States commercial 

20 bank that— 

21 ‘‘(i) is headquartered in the United 

22 States; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) holds for the account of others 

24 investment assets in a total amount consid25 ered by the Maritime Administrator to 


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1 qualify the bank as a major investment 

2 management firm. 

3 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED GUARANTEE.—The term 

4 ‘qualified guarantee’, with respect to a major 

5 project, means a guarantee that— 

6 ‘‘(A) is made by one or more persons in 

7 connection with a donation for the project of a 

8 total amount in cash or securities that the Mar9 itime Administrator determines is sufficient to 

10 defray a substantial portion of the total cost of 

11 the project; 

12 ‘‘(B) is made to facilitate or expedite the 

13 completion of the project in reasonable anticipa14 tion that other donors will contribute sufficient 

15 funds or other resources in amounts sufficient 

16 to pay for completion of the project; 

17 ‘‘(C) is set forth as a written agreement 

18 providing that the donor will furnish in cash or 

19 securities, in addition to the donor’s other gift 

20 or gifts for the project, any additional amount 

21 that may become necessary for paying the cost 

22 of completing the project by reason of a failure 

23 to obtain from other donors or sources funds or 

24 other resources in amounts sufficient to pay the 

25 cost of completing the project; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) is accompanied by— 

2 ‘‘(i) an irrevocable and unconditional 

3 standby letter of credit for the benefit of 

4 the United States Merchant Marine Acad5 emy that is in the amount of the guarantee 

6 and is issued by a major United States 

7 commercial bank; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) a qualified account control agree9 ment. 

10 ‘‘(5) QUALIFIED ACCOUNT CONTROL AGREE11 MENT.—The term ‘qualified account control agree12 ment’, with respect to a guarantee of a donor, means 

13 an agreement among the donor, the Maritime Ad14 ministrator, and a major United States investment 

15 management firm that— 

16 ‘‘(A) ensures the availability of sufficient 

17 funds or other financial resources to pay the 

18 amount guaranteed during the period of the 

19 guarantee; 

20 ‘‘(B) provides for the perfection of a secu21 rity interest in the assets of the account for the 

22 United States for the benefit of the United 

23 States Merchant Marine Academy with the 

24 highest priority available for liens and security 

25 interests under applicable law; 


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1 ‘‘(C) requires the donor to maintain in an 

2 account with the investment management firm 

3 assets having a total value that is not less than 

4 130 percent of the amount guaranteed; and 

5 ‘‘(D) requires the investment management 

6 firm, whenever the value of the account is less 

7 than the value required to be maintained under 

8 subparagraph (C), to liquidate any noncash as9 sets in the account and reinvest the proceeds in 

10 Treasury bills issued under section 3104 of title 

11 31. 

12 ‘‘(b) ACCEPTANCE AUTHORITY.—Subject to sub13 section (d), the Maritime Administrator may accept a 

14 qualified guarantee from a donor or donors for the comple15 tion of a major project for the benefit of the United States 

16 Merchant Marine Academy. 

17 ‘‘(c) OBLIGATION AUTHORITY.—The amount of a 

18 qualified guarantee accepted under this section shall be 

19 considered as contract authority to provide obligation au20 thority for purposes of Federal fiscal and contractual re21 quirements. Funds available for a project for which such 

22 a guarantee has been accepted may be obligated and ex23 pended for the project without regard to whether the total 

24 amount of funds and other resources available for the 


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1 project (not taking into account the amount of the guar2 antee) is sufficient to pay for completion of the project. 

3 ‘‘(d) NOTICE.—The Maritime Administrator may not 

4 accept a qualified guarantee under this section for the 

5 completion of a major project until 30 days after the date 

6 on which a report of the facts concerning the proposed 

7 guarantee is submitted to Congress. 

8 ‘‘(e) PROHIBITION ON COMMINGLING FUNDS.—The 

9 Maritime Administrator may not enter into any contract 

10 or other transaction involving the use of a qualified guar11 antee and appropriated funds in the same contract or 

12 transaction.’’. 

13 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

14 for chapter 513 of title 46, United States Code, is amend15 ed by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘51320. Acceptance of guarantees with gifts for major projects.’’. 

16 SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO PAY CONVEYANCE OR TRANSFER 

17 EXPENSES IN CONNECTION WITH ACCEPT18 ANCE OF A GIFT TO THE UNITED STATES 

19 MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY. 

20 Section 51315 of title 46, United States Code, is 

21 amended by inserting at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(f) PAYMENT OF EXPENSES.—The Maritime Ad23 ministrator may pay all necessary expenses in connection 

24 with the conveyance or transfer of a gift, devise, or be25 quest accepted under this section.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO PARTICIPATE IN FEDERAL, STATE 

2 OR OTHER RESEARCH GRANTS. 

3 (a) RESEARCH GRANTS.—Chapter 513 of title 46, 

4 United States Code, as amended by section 3 through 5, 

5 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘§ 51321. Grants for scientific and educational re7 search 

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term 

9 ‘qualifying research grant’ is a grant that— 

10 ‘‘(1) is awarded on a competitive basis by the 

11 Federal Government (except for the Department of 

12 Transportation), a State, a corporation, a fund, a 

13 foundation, an educational institution, or a similar 

14 entity that is organized and operated primarily for 

15 scientific or educational purposes; and 

16 ‘‘(2) is to be used to carry out a research 

17 project with a scientific or educational purpose. 

18 ‘‘(b) ACCEPTANCE OF QUALIFYING RESEARCH

19 GRANTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

20 the United States Merchant Marine Academy may com21 pete for and accept qualifying research grants if the work 

22 under the grant is to be carried out by a professor or in23 structor of the United States Merchant Marine Academy. 

24 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATION OF GRANT FUNDS.— 

25 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT.—The Mar26 itime Administrator shall establish a separate acVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 May 13, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1096.IS S1096

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1 count for administering funds received from research 

2 grants under this section. 

3 ‘‘(2) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—The Super4 intendent shall use grant funds deposited into the 

5 account established pursuant to paragraph (1) in ac6 cordance with applicable regulations and the terms 

7 and conditions of the respective grants. 

8 ‘‘(d) RELATED EXPENSES.—Subject to such limita9 tions as may be provided in appropriations Acts, appro10 priations available for the United States Merchant Marine 

11 Academy may be used to pay expenses incurred by the 

12 Academy in applying for, and otherwise pursuing, a quali13 fying research grant.’’. 

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

15 for chapter 513 of title 46, United States Code, as amend16 ed by section 4(b), is further amended by adding at the 

17 end the following: 

‘‘51321. Grants for scientific and educational research.’’. 

18 SEC. 7. CONTINUING FUNDING FOR THE UNITED STATES 

19 MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY. 

20 Section 51301 of title 46, United States Code, is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(d) CONTINUING FUNDING.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Out of any funds in the 

24 general fund of the Treasury not otherwise appro25 priated, there are hereby appropriated such sums as 


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1 may be necessary for operations of the United States 

2 Merchant Marine Academy for any period during 

3 which interim or full-year appropriations are not in 

4 effect for the United States Merchant Marine Acad5 emy, for fiscal year 2018, and for each fiscal year 

6 thereafter. 

7 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION.—Amounts made available 

8 for a fiscal year under this subsection shall remain 

9 available until the earlier of— 

10 ‘‘(A) the enactment into law of an appro11 priation for such fiscal year (including a con12 tinuing appropriation) for such operations); or 

13 ‘‘(B) the enactment into law for the Mari14 time Administration of the applicable regular 

15 appropriation for such fiscal year, or continuing 

16 appropriations resolution for such fiscal year, 

17 without any appropriation for such oper18 ations.’’. 

19 SEC. 8. ACCESS TO SATELLITE PHONE DURING SEA YEAR 

20 PROGRAM. 

21 Section 3514 of the National Defense Authorization 

22 Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328) is amend23 ed— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘Not later than’’ and inserting 

25 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(a) VESSEL OPERATOR REQUIREMENTS.—Not later 

2 than’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(b) SATELLITE PHONE ACCESS.—The Maritime Ad5 ministrator shall ensure that each student participating 

6 in the Sea Year program is provided or has access to a 

7 functional satellite communication device. A student may 

8 not be denied from using such device whenever the student 

9 determines that such use is necessary to prevent or report 

10 sexual harassment or assault.’’. 

11 SEC. 9. ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL SHIPYARDS AND MARI12 TIME COMMUNITIES. 

13 Section 54101 of title 46, United States Code, is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(b) AWARDS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In providing assistance 

19 under the program, the Administrator shall take into 

20 account— 

21 ‘‘(A) the economic circumstances and con22 ditions of maritime communities; 

23 ‘‘(B) projects that would be effective in 

24 fostering efficiency, competitive operations, and 


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1 quality ship construction, repair, and reconfig2 uration; and 

3 ‘‘(C) projects that would be effective in 

4 fostering employee skills and enhancing produc5 tivity. 

6 ‘‘(2) TIMING OF AWARD.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

8 subparagraph (B), the Administrator shall 

9 award grants under this section not later than 

10 120 days after the date of the enactment of the 

11 appropriations Act for the fiscal year con12 cerned. 

13 ‘‘(B) REALLOCATION OF UNUSED

14 FUNDS.—If a grant is awarded under this sec15 tion and, for any reason, the grant funds are 

16 not used by the grantee, the Administrator may 

17 reallocate such unused funds to award another 

18 grant under this section.’’; and 

19 (2) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(3) BUY AMERICAN.— 

22 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT.—A grant provided 

23 under this section may be used for a project 

24 only if the steel, iron, and manufactured goods 


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1 used in the project are produced in the United 

2 States. 

3 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—The Administrator may 

4 waive subparagraph (A) if the Administrator 

5 determines that the waiver would be permitted 

6 under section 5323(j)(2) of title 49.’’. 

Æ 


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