II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1129 

To authorize appropriations for the Coast Guard, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 16, 2017 

Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself, Mr. THUNE, and Mr. NELSON) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To authorize appropriations for the Coast Guard, 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 ‘‘Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2017’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Effective dates. 

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATIONS 

Sec. 101. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 102. Authorized levels of military strength and training. 


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TITLE II—COAST GUARD 

Sec. 201. Primary duties. 

Sec. 202. Training; emergency response providers. 

Sec. 203. Commissioned service retirement. 

Sec. 204. Officer promotion zones. 

Sec. 205. Officer evaluation report. 

Sec. 206. Retired pay; amounts for payments in connection with modernized retirement system. 

Sec. 207. Inclusion of vessel for investigation purposes. 

Sec. 208. Leave for the birth of adoption of a child. 

Sec. 209. Aviation cadets; appointment as Reserve officers; cross reference. 

Sec. 210. Clothing at time of discharge for good of service; repeal. 

Sec. 211. Multiyear contracts. 

Sec. 212. Coast Guard ROTC Program. 

TITLE III—MARINE SAFETY 

Sec. 301. Coast Guard advisory committees. 

Sec. 302. Clarification of logbook and entry requirements. 

Sec. 303. Technical corrections; licenses, certifications of registry, and merchant mariner documents. 

Sec. 304. Numbering for undocumented barges. 

Sec. 305. Aids to navigation. 

Sec. 306. Equipment requirements; exemption from throwable personal flotation devices. 

Sec. 307. Ensuring maritime coverage. 

Sec. 308. Deadline for compliance with alternate safety compliance program. 

Sec. 309. Fishing, fish tender, and fish processing vessel certification. 

Sec. 310. Termination of unsafe operations; technical amendment. 

Sec. 311. Installation and use of engine cut-off switches on recreational vessel. 

Sec. 312. Visual distress signals and alternative use. 

Sec. 313. Renewal period for documented recreational vessels. 

Sec. 314. Exception from survival craft requirements. 

Sec. 315. Inland waterway and river tender acquisition plan. 

Sec. 316. Arctic planning criteria. 

TITLE IV—MARITIME SECURITY 

Sec. 401. Maritime border security cooperation. 

Sec. 402. Currency detection canine team program. 

Sec. 403. Confidential investigative expenses. 

Sec. 404. Arctic maritime domain awareness. 

Sec. 405. Strategic assets in the Arctic. 

TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 501. Ship shoal lighthouse transfer; repeal. 

Sec. 502. Acquisition workforce expedited hiring authority. 

Sec. 503. Drawbridges. 

Sec. 504. Incentive contract; Coast Guard yard and industrial establishments. 

Sec. 505. Coast Guard health-care professionals; licensure portability. 

Sec. 506. Land exchange; Ayakulik Island, Alaska. 

Sec. 507. Abandoned seafarers fund amendments. 

Sec. 508. Assistance for small shipyards. 

Sec. 509. Small shipyard contracts. 

Sec. 510. Western challenger; certificate of documentation. 


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TITLE VI—DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE VESSELS 

Sec. 601. Waivers for certain contracts. 

1 SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE DATES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise specifically 

3 provided in this Act, this Act and the amendments made 

4 by this Act shall take effect on the date of enactment of 

5 this Act. 

6 (b) CERTAIN DELAYED EFFECTIVE DATES.—The 

7 amendments made by sections 101, 102, 403, and 508(a) 

8 shall take effect on October 1, 2017. The amendments 

9 made by section 206 shall take effect on January 1, 2018. 

10 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATIONS 

11 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 Section 2702 of title 14, United States Code, is 

13 amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘Funds are authorized to be appropriated for each 

15 of fiscal years 2018 and 2019 for necessary expenses of 

16 the Coast Guard as follows: 

17 ‘‘(1) For the operation and maintenance of the 

18 Coast Guard, not otherwise provided for— 

19 ‘‘(A) $7,300,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(B) $7,592,000,000 for fiscal year 2019. 

22 ‘‘(2) For the acquisition, construction, renova23 tion, and improvement of aids to navigation, shore 

24 and offshore facilities, vessels, and aircraft, includVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 May 17, 2017 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1129.IS S1129

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1 ing equipment related thereto, and for maintenance, 

2 rehabilitation, lease, and operation of facilities and 

3 equipment— 

4 ‘‘(A) $1,985,845,000 for fiscal year 2018, 

5 to remain available through September 30, 

6 2022; and 

7 ‘‘(B) $2,027,547,745 for fiscal year 2019, 

8 to remain available through September 30, 

9 2023. 

10 ‘‘(3) For the Coast Guard Reserve program, in11 cluding operations and maintenance of the program, 

12 personnel and training costs, equipment, and serv13 ices— 

14 ‘‘(A) $142,956,336 for fiscal year 2018; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(B) $145,958,419 for fiscal year 2019. 

17 ‘‘(4) For the environmental compliance and res18 toration of Coast Guard under chapter 19 of this 

19 title— 

20 ‘‘(A) $17,051,721 for fiscal year 2018, to 

21 remain available through September 30, 2022; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) $17,409,807 for fiscal year 2019, to 

24 remain available through September 20, 2023. 


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1 ‘‘(5) To the Commandant of the Coast Guard 

2 for research, development, test, and evaluation of 

3 technologies, materials, and human factors directly 

4 related to improving the performance of the Coast 

5 Guard’s mission with respect to search and rescue, 

6 aids to navigation, marine safety, marine environ7 mental protection, enforcement of laws and treaties, 

8 ice operations, oceanographic research, and defense 

9 readiness, and for maintenance, rehabilitation, lease, 

10 and operation of facilities and equipment— 

11 ‘‘(A) $20,307,690 for fiscal year 2018; and 

12 ‘‘(B) $20,734,151 for fiscal year 2019.’’. 

13 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZED LEVELS OF MILITARY STRENGTH 

14 AND TRAINING. 

15 Section 2704 of title 14, United States Code, is 

16 amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(a) ACTIVE DUTY STRENGTH.—The Coast Guard is 

18 authorized an end-of-year strength for active duty per19 sonnel of 43,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 and 2019. 

20 ‘‘(b) MILITARY TRAINING STUDENT LOADS.—The 

21 Coast Guard is authorized average military training stu22 dent loads for each of fiscal years 2018 and 2019 as fol23 lows: 

24 ‘‘(1) For recruit and special training, 2,500 

25 student years. 


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1 ‘‘(2) For flight training, 165 student years. 

2 ‘‘(3) For professional training in military and 

3 civilian institutions, 350 student years. 

4 ‘‘(4) For officer acquisition, 1,200 student 

5 years.’’. 

6 TITLE II—COAST GUARD 

7 SEC. 201. PRIMARY DUTIES. 

8 Section 2(7) of title 14, United States Code, is 

9 amended by striking ‘‘including the fulfillment of Mari10 time Defense Zone command responsibilities’’ and insert11 ing ‘‘and at all times assist in the defense of the United 

12 States’’. 

13 SEC. 202. TRAINING; EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROVIDERS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 7 of title 14, United 

15 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 141 the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 141a. TRAINING; EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROVIDERS. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant (or the Com19 mandant’s designee) may, on a reimbursable or a non-re20 imbursable basis, make training available to public safety 

21 personnel whenever the Commandant (or the Com22 mandant’s designee) determines that— 

23 ‘‘(1) a member of the Coast Guard, who was 

24 scheduled to participate in such training, is unable 

25 or unavailable to participate in such training; 


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1 ‘‘(2) no other member of the Coast Guard, who 

2 is assigned to the unit to which the member of the 

3 Coast Guard described in paragraph (1), is able or 

4 available to participate in such training; and 

5 ‘‘(3) such training, if made available to public 

6 safety personnel, would further the goal of interoper7 ability among Federal agencies, non-Federal govern8 mental agencies, or both. 

9 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE PRO10 VIDER.—In this section, the term ‘emergency response 

11 provider’ has the meaning given the term in section 101 

12 of title 6. 

13 ‘‘(c) TREATMENT OF REIMBURSEMENT.—Any reim14 bursement for training that the Coast Guard receives 

15 under this section shall be credited to the appropriation 

16 used to pay the costs for such training. 

17 ‘‘(d) STATUS; LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.— 

18 ‘‘(1) STATUS.—Any individual to whom, as an 

19 emergency response provider, training is made avail20 able under this section shall not be considered a 

21 Federal employee for any purpose, including the 

22 purposes of— 

23 ‘‘(A) chapter 81 of title 5 (relating to com24 pensation for injury); or 


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1 ‘‘(B) sections 2671 through 2680 of title 

2 28 (relating to tort claims). 

3 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—The indi4 vidual described in paragraph (1) or that individ5 ual’s employer shall be liable for any claim arising 

6 out of such training.’’. 

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

8 chapter 7 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by 

9 inserting after the item relating to section 141 the fol10 lowing: 

‘‘141a. Training; emergency response providers.’’. 

11 SEC. 203. COMMISSIONED SERVICE RETIREMENT. 

12 Section 291 of title 14, United States Code, is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before 

15 ‘‘Any regular’’ and indenting appropriately; 

16 (2) in subsection (a), as designated— 

17 (A) by inserting ‘‘of the Coast Guard’’ 

18 after ‘‘officer’’; and 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘President’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘Secretary’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘(b) ACTIVE COMMISSIONED SERVICE.—The Sec23 retary may authorize the Commandant, through fiscal 

24 year 2019, to reduce the requirement under subsection (a) 


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1 for at least ten years of active service as a commissioned 

2 officer to a period of not less than eight years.’’. 

3 SEC. 204. OFFICER PROMOTION ZONES. 

4 Section 256(a) of title 14, United States Code, is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘six-tenths’’ and inserting ‘‘one6 half’’. 

7 SEC. 205. OFFICER EVALUATION REPORT. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with the first evalua9 tion cycle after the date of enactment of this Act, the Com10 mandant of the Coast Guard shall reduce lieutenant junior 

11 grade evaluation reports to the same length as an ensign 

12 or place lieutenant junior grade evaluations on an annual 

13 schedule. 

14 (b) BOARD SURVEY.—The Commandant of the Coast 

15 Guard shall survey outgoing promotion board members to 

16 determine, at a minimum— 

17 (1) which sections of the officer evaluation re18 port were most useful; 

19 (2) which sections of the officer evaluation re20 port were least useful; 

21 (3) how to better reflect high performers, and 

22 (4) any recommendations for improving the of23 ficer evaluation report. 


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1 (c) SURVEY OF OFFICERS.—The Commandant of the 

2 Coast Guard shall conduct a survey on the officer evalua3 tion report to— 

4 (1) cover at least 10 percent of the officers 

5 from each grade of officers from O1 to O6; and 

6 (2) determine how much time each member of 

7 the rating chain spends on that member’s portion of 

8 the officer evaluation report. 

9 (d) REPORT.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 545 days 

11 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Com12 mandant of the Coast Guard shall submit to the 

13 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor14 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Trans15 portation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep16 resentatives a report— 

17 (A) on the findings of the survey under 

18 subsection (b); and 

19 (B) on the findings of the survey under 

20 subsection (c). 

21 (2) FORMAT.—The report under paragraph (1) 

22 shall be formatted by each rank, type of board, and 

23 position, as applicable. 


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1 SEC. 206. RETIRED PAY; AMOUNTS FOR PAYMENTS IN CON2 NECTION WITH MODERNIZED RETIREMENT 

3 SYSTEM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 of title 14, United 

5 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 424a 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘§ 424b. Retired pay; amounts for payments in con8 nection with modernized retirement sys9 tem 

10 ‘‘Of the amounts appropriated for retirement pay 

11 under this chapter in any fiscal year, the Secretary may 

12 use such sums as are necessary for the following purposes 

13 (in addition to other amounts that may be available for 

14 such purposes) as such purposes relate to a member: 

15 ‘‘(1) Lump sum payment of certain retired pay 

16 under section 1415 of title 10. 

17 ‘‘(2) Thrift Savings Plan contributions under 

18 section 8440e(e) of title 5. 

19 ‘‘(3) Continuation pay under section 356 of title 

20 37.’’. 

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

22 chapter 11 of title 14, United States Code, is amended 

23 by inserting after the item relating to section 424 the fol24 lowing: 

‘‘424b. Retired pay; amounts for payments in connection with modernized retirement system.’’. 


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1 SEC. 207. INCLUSION OF VESSEL FOR INVESTIGATION PUR2 POSES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 678 of title 14, United 

4 States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or vessel’’ after 

5 ‘‘aircraft’’ each place it appears. 

6 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

7 Chapter 17 of title 14, United States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) in the table of contents of chapter 17, by 

9 inserting ‘‘and vessel’’ after ‘‘Aircraft’’ in the item 

10 relating to section 678; and 

11 (2) in the heading for section 678, by inserting 

12 ‘‘and vessel’’ after ‘‘Aircraft’’. 

13 SEC. 208. LEAVE FOR THE BIRTH OF ADOPTION OF A 

14 CHILD. 

15 Section 431 of title 14, United States Code, is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘Not later than 1 year’’ and in18 serting the following: 

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

20 (b), not later than 1 year’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘(b) LEAVE ASSOCIATED WITH THE BIRTH OR

23 ADOPTION OF A CHILD.—Notwithstanding any other pro24 vision of law, including section 701 of title 10, the Sec25 retary of the department in which the Coast Guard is op26 erating shall ensure that any rule, policy, or memorandum 


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1 that provides leave associated with the birth or adoption 

2 of a child to officers and enlisted members of the Coast 

3 Guard permits, at the discretion of the Commanding Offi4 cer— 

5 ‘‘(1) an officer or member to take such leave in 

6 increments; and 

7 ‘‘(2) flexible work schedules for such officer or 

8 member until all such leave is expended.’’. 

9 SEC. 209. AVIATION CADETS; APPOINTMENT AS RESERVE 

10 OFFICERS; CROSS REFERENCE. 

11 Section 373(a) of title 14, United States Code, is 

12 amended by inserting ‘‘designated under section 371’’ 

13 after ‘‘cadet’’. 

14 SEC. 210. CLOTHING AT TIME OF DISCHARGE FOR GOOD OF 

15 SERVICE; REPEAL. 

16 Section 482 of title 14, United States Code, and the 

17 item relating to that section in the table of contents of 

18 chapter 13 of that title, are repealed. 

19 SEC. 211. MULTIYEAR CONTRACTS. 

20 The Secretary is authorized to enter into a multiyear 

21 contract for the procurement of a tenth, eleventh, and 

22 twelfth National Security Cutter and associated govern23 ment-furnished equipment. 


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1 SEC. 212. COAST GUARD ROTC PROGRAM. 

2 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall 

4 submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

5 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

6 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep7 resentatives a report on the costs and benefits of creating 

8 a Coast Guard Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Program 

9 based on the other armed forces programs. 

10 TITLE III—MARINE SAFETY 

11 SEC. 301. COAST GUARD ADVISORY COMMITTEES. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subtitle I of title 46, United 

13 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘CHAPTER 7—COAST GUARD ADVISORY 

16 COMMITTEES 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘701. Administration. 

‘‘702. Chemical Transportation Advisory Committee. 

‘‘703. Commercial Fishing Safety Advisory Committee. 

‘‘704. Great Lakes Pilotage Advisory Committee. 

‘‘705. Lower Mississippi River Waterway Safety Advisory Committee. 

‘‘706. Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee. 

‘‘707. Merchant Mariner Medical Advisory Committee. 

‘‘708. National Boating Safety Advisory Council. 

‘‘709. National Maritime Security Advisory Committee. 

‘‘710. National Offshore Safety Advisory Committee. 

‘‘711. Navigation Safety Advisory Council. 

‘‘712. Towing Safety Advisory Committee. 

17 ‘‘§ 701. Administration 

18 ‘‘(a) EMPLOYEE STATUS.—A member of an advisory 

19 committee or advisory council established under this chapVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 May 17, 2017 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1129.IS S1129

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1 ter shall not be considered an employee of the Federal 

2 Government by reason of service on such committee or 

3 council, except for the purposes of the following provisions 

4 of law: 

5 ‘‘(1) Section 5703 of title 5 (relating to travel 

6 expenses). 

7 ‘‘(2) Chapter 81 of title 5 (relating to com8 pensation for work injuries). 

9 ‘‘(3) Chapter 171 of title 28 and any other 

10 Federal statute relating to tort liability. 

11 ‘‘(4) If the member is a special Government 

12 employee— 

13 ‘‘(A) chapter 73 of title 5; 

14 ‘‘(B) sections 201, 202, 203, 205, 207, 

15 208, and 209 of title 18; 

16 ‘‘(C) the Ethics in Government Act of 

17 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.); and 

18 ‘‘(D) any other provision of law relating to 

19 employee conduct, political activities, ethics, 

20 conflict of interest, and corruption that applies 

21 to a special Government employee. 

22 ‘‘(b) COMPENSATION.—A member of an advisory 

23 committee or advisory council established under this chap24 ter who is not otherwise a Federal employee shall not reVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 May 17, 2017 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1129.IS S1129

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1 ceive pay by reason of service on such committee or coun2 cil. 

3 ‘‘(c) ACCEPTANCE OF VOLUNTEER SERVICES.—A 

4 member of an advisory committee or advisory council es5 tablished under this chapter may serve on a voluntary 

6 basis without pay without regard to section 1342 of title 

7 31 or any other law. 

8 ‘‘§ 702. Chemical Transportation Advisory Committee 

9 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a 

10 Chemical Transportation Advisory Committee (referred to 

11 in this section as the ‘Committee’). 

12 ‘‘(b) FUNCTION.—The Committee, acting through 

13 the Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee), is au14 thorized to advise, consult with, report to, and make rec15 ommendations to the Secretary on matters relating to the 

16 safe and secure marine transportation of hazardous mate17 rials. 

18 ‘‘(c) ORGANIZATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) MEETING.—The Committee shall, at least 

20 once each calendar year, meet at the call of the 

21 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee). 

22 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 

24 consist of not more than 25 members. 


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1 ‘‘(B) POINTS OF VIEW.—Each member of 

2 the Committee shall represent the point of view 

3 of 1 of the following entities or groups associ4 ated with marine transportation of hazardous 

5 materials: 

6 ‘‘(i) Chemical manufacturing. 

7 ‘‘(ii) Marine handling or transpor8 tation of chemicals. 

9 ‘‘(iii) Vessel design and construction. 

10 ‘‘(iv) Marine safety or security. 

11 ‘‘(v) Marine environmental protection. 

12 ‘‘(C) NEEDS OF THE COAST GUARD.—The 

13 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee) 

14 shall, based on the needs of the Coast Guard, 

15 determine the number of members who rep16 resent a specific point of view. 

17 ‘‘(D) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Neither 

18 this subsection nor any other provision of law 

19 or policy shall be construed to require an equal 

20 distribution of members representing specific 

21 points of view among the membership of the 

22 Committee. 

23 ‘‘(3) STATUS OF MEMBERS.—For the purposes 

24 of Federal law, including the Ethics in Government 

25 Act of 1978 and chapter 11 of title 18, each member 


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1 of the Committee is hereby deemed a representative 

2 of the member’s respective special interest entity or 

3 group, and not a special Government employee (as 

4 defined in section 202(a) of title 18). 

5 ‘‘(4) NOMINATIONS; APPOINTMENTS; SERV6 ICE.— 

7 ‘‘(A) NOMINATIONS.—As necessary, the 

8 Secretary shall publish, in the Federal Register, 

9 a notice soliciting nominations for membership 

10 on the Committee. 

11 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After timely notice 

13 is published, the Secretary shall, as nec14 essary, appoint members to the Committee. 

15 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary 

16 may not seek, consider, or otherwise use 

17 information concerning the political affili18 ation of a nominee in making an appoint19 ment to the Committee. 

20 ‘‘(iii) REAPPOINTMENTS.—The Sec21 retary may reappoint a member to the 

22 Committee more than once. 

23 ‘‘(C) SERVICE.—Each member of the Com24 mittee shall serve at the pleasure of the Sec25 retary. 


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1 ‘‘(5) TERM; VACANCY.— 

2 ‘‘(A) TERM.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term of each 

4 member of the Committee shall expire on 

5 December 31 of the third full year after 

6 the effective date of the appointment. 

7 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSIONS.—Notwithstanding 

8 clause (i), paragraph (4), or any other pro9 vision of law or policy, the Commandant 

10 (or the Commandant’s designee) may ex11 tend the term of a member of the Com12 mittee to December 31 of the fifth full 

13 year after the effective date of the appoint14 ment. 

15 ‘‘(B) VACANCY.—In the case of an ap16 pointment to fill a vacancy on the Committee, 

17 the Secretary shall appoint an individual for a 

18 full term. 

19 ‘‘(6) CHAIRMAN; VICE CHAIRMAN.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant (or 

21 the Commandant’s designee) shall designate 1 

22 member of the Committee as the Chairman and 

23 another member of the Committee as the Vice 

24 Chairman, both of whom shall serve in such ca25 pacity at the pleasure of the Commandant (or 


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1 the Commandant’s designee) and for a term to 

2 be fixed by the Commandant (or the Com3 mandant’s designee). 

4 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Com5 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) may 

6 solicit, from the Committee, recommendations 

7 with regard to the members whom the Com8 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) shall 

9 designate as the Chairman and the Vice Chair10 man. 

11 ‘‘(C) VACANCY.—The Vice Chairman shall 

12 act as Chairman in the absence or incapacity 

13 of, or in the event of a vacancy in the office of, 

14 the Chairman. 

15 ‘‘(7) DESIGNATED FEDERAL OFFICER.—The 

16 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee) shall 

17 designate a Designated Federal Officer to the Com18 mittee in accordance with the Federal Advisory 

19 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

20 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT; TERMI21 NATION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

23 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the Committee. 

24 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION.—The Committee shall ter25 minate on September 30, 2027. 


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1 ‘‘§ 703. Commercial Fishing Safety Advisory Com2 mittee 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Com4 mercial Fishing Safety Advisory Committee (referred to 

5 in this section as the ‘Committee’). 

6 ‘‘(b) FUNCTION.—The Committee, acting through 

7 the Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee), is au8 thorized— 

9 ‘‘(1) to advise, consult with, report to, and 

10 make recommendations to the Secretary on matters 

11 relating to the safe operation of vessels to which 

12 chapter 45 of this title applies, including navigation 

13 safety, safety equipment and procedures, marine in14 surance, vessel design, construction, maintenance 

15 and operation, and personnel qualifications and 

16 training; and 

17 ‘‘(2) to review proposed regulations promul18 gated pursuant to chapter 45 of this title. 

19 ‘‘(c) ORGANIZATION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) MEETING.—The Committee shall, at least 

21 once each calendar year, meet at the call of the 

22 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee). 

23 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 

25 consist of 18 members. 


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1 ‘‘(B) EXPERIENCE.—Each member of the 

2 Committee shall have particular expertise, 

3 knowledge, and experience regarding the com4 mercial fishing industry. 

5 ‘‘(C) POINTS OF VIEW.—Except as pro6 vided in subparagraph (D), a member of the 

7 Committee shall represent the point of view of 

8 an entity or group, as follows: 

9 ‘‘(i) 10 members representing the 

10 commercial fishing industry who— 

11 ‘‘(I) reflect a regional and rep12 resentational balance; and 

13 ‘‘(II) have experience in the oper14 ation of vessels to which chapter 45 of 

15 this title applies or as a crew member 

16 or processing line worker on a fish 

17 processing vessel. 

18 ‘‘(ii) 1 member representing naval ar19 chitects or marine engineers. 

20 ‘‘(iii) 1 member representing manu21 facturers of equipment for vessels to which 

22 chapter 45 of this title applies. 

23 ‘‘(iv) 1 member representing edu24 cation or training professionals related to 

25 fishing vessel, fish processing vessel, or 


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1 fish tender vessel safety or personnel quali2 fications. 

3 ‘‘(v) 1 member representing under4 writers that insure vessels to which chapter 

5 45 of this title applies. 

6 ‘‘(vi) 1 member representing owners 

7 of vessels to which chapter 45 of this title 

8 applies. 

9 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTION.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

11 (ii), 3 members of the Committee shall 

12 represent the general public. 

13 ‘‘(ii) EXPERIENCE.—Whenever pos14 sible, a member who represents the general 

15 public shall be either— 

16 ‘‘(I) an independent expert or 

17 consultant in maritime safety; 

18 ‘‘(II) a marine surveyor who pro19 vides services to vessels to which 

20 chapter 45 of this title applies; or 

21 ‘‘(III) a person familiar with 

22 issues affecting fishing communities 

23 and families of fishermen. 


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1 ‘‘(3) STATUS OF MEMBERS.—For the purposes 

2 of Federal law, including the Ethics in Government 

3 Act of 1978 and chapter 11 of title 18— 

4 ‘‘(A) a member of the Committee, whom 

5 the Secretary appoints to represent a point of 

6 view of an entity or group under paragraph 

7 (2)(C), is hereby deemed a representative of the 

8 member’s respective special interest entity or 

9 group, and not a special Government employee 

10 (as defined in section 202(a) of title 18); and 

11 ‘‘(B) a member of the Committee, whom 

12 the Secretary may appoint to represent the gen13 eral public, is hereby deemed a special Govern14 ment employee (as defined in section 202(a) of 

15 title 18). 

16 ‘‘(4) NOMINATIONS; APPOINTMENTS; SERV17 ICE.— 

18 ‘‘(A) NOMINATIONS.—As necessary, the 

19 Secretary shall publish, in the Federal Register, 

20 a notice soliciting nominations for membership 

21 on the Committee. 

22 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENTS.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After timely notice 

24 is published, the Secretary shall, as nec25 essary, appoint members to the Committee. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary 

2 may not seek, consider, or otherwise use 

3 information concerning the political affili4 ation of a nominee in making an appoint5 ment to the Committee. 

6 ‘‘(iii) REAPPOINTMENTS.—The Sec7 retary may reappoint a member to the 

8 Committee more than once. 

9 ‘‘(C) SERVICE.—Each member of the Com10 mittee shall serve at the pleasure of the Sec11 retary. 

12 ‘‘(5) TERM; VACANCY.— 

13 ‘‘(A) TERM.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term of each 

15 member of the Committee shall expire on 

16 December 31 of the third full year after 

17 the effective date of the appointment. 

18 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSIONS.—Notwithstanding 

19 clause (i), paragraph (4), or any other pro20 vision of law or policy, the Commandant 

21 (or the Commandant’s designee) may ex22 tend the term of a member of the Com23 mittee to December 31 of the fifth full 

24 year after the effective date of the appoint25 ment. 


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1 ‘‘(B) VACANCY.—In the case of an ap2 pointment to fill a vacancy on the Committee, 

3 the Secretary shall appoint an individual for a 

4 full term. 

5 ‘‘(6) CHAIRMAN; VICE CHAIRMAN.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant (or 

7 the Commandant’s designee) shall designate 1 

8 member of the Committee as the Chairman and 

9 another member of the Committee as the Vice 

10 Chairman, both of whom shall serve in such ca11 pacity at the pleasure of the Commandant (or 

12 the Commandant’s designee) and for a term to 

13 be fixed by the Commandant (or the Com14 mandant’s designee). 

15 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Com16 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) may 

17 solicit, from the Committee, recommendations 

18 with regard to the members whom the Com19 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) shall 

20 designate as the Chairman and the Vice Chair21 man. 

22 ‘‘(C) VACANCY.—The Vice Chairman shall 

23 act as Chairman in the absence or incapacity 

24 of, or in the event of a vacancy in the office of, 

25 the Chairman. 


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1 ‘‘(7) DESIGNATED FEDERAL OFFICER.—The 

2 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee) shall 

3 designate a Designated Federal Officer to the Com4 mittee in accordance with the Federal Advisory 

5 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

6 ‘‘(d) CONSULTATION.—The Commandant (or the 

7 Commandant’s designee) shall, whenever practicable— 

8 ‘‘(1) consult with the Committee before taking 

9 any significant action relating to the safe operation 

10 of vessels to which chapter 45 of this title applies; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(2) consider the information, advice, and rec13 ommendations of the Committee in consulting with 

14 other agencies and the public or in formulating pol15 icy regarding the safe operation of vessels to which 

16 chapter 45 of this title applies. 

17 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT; TERMI18 NATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

20 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the Committee. 

21 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION.—The Committee shall ter22 minate on September 30, 2027. 


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1 ‘‘§ 704. Great Lakes Pilotage Advisory Committee 

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Great 

3 Lakes Pilotage Advisory Committee (referred to in this 

4 section as the ‘Committee’). 

5 ‘‘(b) FUNCTION; RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) FUNCTIONS.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

7 the Committee, acting through the Commandant (or 

8 the Commandant’s designee), is authorized— 

9 ‘‘(A) to advise, consult with, report to, and 

10 make recommendations to the Secretary on 

11 matters relating to Great Lakes pilotage; and 

12 ‘‘(B) to review proposed Great Lakes pilot13 age regulations and policies and make rec14 ommendations to the Secretary that the Com15 mittee considers appropriate. 

16 ‘‘(2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—At least 6 of the 7 

17 members shall agree by vote to make any rec18 ommendation under this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(c) ORGANIZATION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall, at least 

21 once each calendar year, meet at the call of the 

22 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee). 

23 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 

25 consist of 7 members. 


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1 ‘‘(B) EXPERIENCE.—Except as provided in 

2 subparagraph (D), each member of the Com3 mittee shall have at least 5 years practical expe4 rience in maritime operations. 

5 ‘‘(C) POINTS OF VIEW.—Except as pro6 vided in subparagraph (D), a member of the 

7 Committee shall represent the point of view of 

8 an entity or group, as follows: 

9 ‘‘(i) 3 members representing the inter10 ests of Great Lake pilots, among whom 

11 shall be the president of each Great Lake 

12 pilotage district (or the president’s des13 ignee). 

14 ‘‘(ii) 1 member representing the inter15 ests of vessel operators that contract for 

16 Great Lakes pilotage services. 

17 ‘‘(iii) 1 member representing the in18 terests of Great Lakes ports. 

19 ‘‘(iv) 1 member representing the inter20 ests of shippers whose cargoes are trans21 ported through Great Lakes ports. 

22 ‘‘(D) REMAINING MEMBER.—1 member of 

23 the Committee— 

24 ‘‘(i) shall have a background in fi25 nance or accounting; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) must have been recommended to 

2 the Secretary by a unanimous vote of the 

3 other members of the Committee; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) may be appointed without re5 gard to requirement under subparagraph 

6 (B) that each member have 5 years of 

7 practical experience in maritime oper8 ations. 

9 ‘‘(3) STATUS OF MEMBERS.—For the purposes 

10 of Federal law, including the Ethics in Government 

11 Act of 1978 and chapter 11 of title 18— 

12 ‘‘(A) a member of the Committee, whom 

13 the Secretary appoints to represent the point of 

14 view of an entity or group under paragraph 

15 (2)(C), is hereby deemed a representative of the 

16 member’s respective special interest entity or 

17 group, and not a special Government employee 

18 (as defined in section 202(a) of title 18); and 

19 ‘‘(B) the member of the Committee with 

20 the background prescribed under paragraph 

21 (2)(D) is hereby deemed a special Government 

22 employee (as defined in section 202(a) of title 

23 18). 

24 ‘‘(4) NOMINATIONS; APPOINTMENTS; SERV25 ICE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) NOMINATIONS.—As necessary, the 

2 Secretary shall publish, in the Federal Register, 

3 a notice soliciting nominations for membership 

4 on the Committee. 

5 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After timely notice 

7 is published, the Secretary shall, as nec8 essary, appoint members to the Committee. 

9 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary 

10 may not seek, consider, or otherwise use 

11 information concerning the political affili12 ation of a nominee in making an appoint13 ment to the Committee. 

14 ‘‘(iii) REAPPOINTMENTS.—The Sec15 retary may reappoint a member to the 

16 Committee more than once. 

17 ‘‘(C) SERVICE.—Each member of the Com18 mittee shall serve at the pleasure of the Sec19 retary. 

20 ‘‘(5) TERM; VACANCY.— 

21 ‘‘(A) TERM.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term of each 

23 member of the Committee shall expire on 

24 December 31 of the third full year after 

25 the effective date of the appointment. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSIONS.—Notwithstanding 

2 clause (i), paragraph (4), or any other pro3 vision of law or policy, the Commandant 

4 (or the Commandant’s designee) may ex5 tend the term of a member of the Com6 mittee to December 31 of the fifth full 

7 year after the effective date of the appoint8 ment. 

9 ‘‘(B) VACANCY.—In the case of an ap10 pointment to fill a vacancy on the Committee, 

11 the Secretary shall appoint an individual for a 

12 full term. 

13 ‘‘(6) CHAIRMAN; VICE CHAIRMAN.— 

14 ‘‘(A) DESIGNATION.—The Commandant 

15 (or the Commandant’s designee) shall designate 

16 1 member of the Committee as the Chairman 

17 and another member of the Committee as the 

18 Vice Chairman, both of whom shall serve in 

19 such capacity at the pleasure of the Com20 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) and 

21 for a term to be fixed by the Commandant (or 

22 the Commandant’s designee). 

23 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Com24 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) may 

25 solicit, from the Committee, recommendations 


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1 with regard to the members whom the Com2 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) shall 

3 designate as the Chairman and the Vice Chair4 man. 

5 ‘‘(C) VACANCY.—The Vice Chairman shall 

6 act as Chairman in the absence or incapacity 

7 of, or in the event of a vacancy in the office of, 

8 the Chairman. 

9 ‘‘(7) DESIGNATED FEDERAL OFFICER.—The 

10 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee) shall 

11 designate a Designated Federal Officer to the Com12 mittee in accordance with the Federal Advisory 

13 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

14 ‘‘(8) OBSERVERS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, at the 

16 request of the Commandant, may designate 2 

17 individuals to participate as observers in the 

18 work of the Committee and offer necessary in19 formation for which each observer is uniquely 

20 qualified to provide. 

21 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—Each observer— 

22 ‘‘(i) shall not be deemed a member of 

23 the Committee; 

24 ‘‘(ii) shall not vote on any matter be25 fore the Committee; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) shall not contribute to a 

2 quorum; 

3 ‘‘(iv) shall serve without compensa4 tion; and 

5 ‘‘(v) shall be responsible for all travel 

6 expenses. 

7 ‘‘(C) DESIGNATION; EXPERIENCE.— 

8 ‘‘(i) EXPERIENCE.—The Secretary 

9 may designate an individual as an observer 

10 without regard to the requirement of para11 graph (2)(B), except that— 

12 ‘‘(I) 1 observer shall have par13 ticular knowledge of the national in14 terests of American pilots; and 

15 ‘‘(II) 1 observer shall have par16 ticular knowledge of the interests of 

17 Canadian shippers. 

18 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE.—The Secretary may 

19 designate an individual as an observer 

20 without regard to the requirement of para21 graph (4)(A), except that the Secretary 

22 may solicit, from the Commandant, rec23 ommendations with regard to the indi24 vidual whom the Secretary shall designate 

25 as an observer. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) CANADIAN SHIPPERS.—With re2 gard to the individual with particular 

3 knowledge of the interests of Canadian 

4 shippers, the Secretary may, with the con5 currence of the Secretary of State, des6 ignate an individual who is a citizen of 

7 Canada. 

8 ‘‘(D) VACANCY.—An observer shall serve a 

9 term of not more than 3 years from the effec10 tive date of the designation, except that, in the 

11 case of a designation to fill a vacancy on the 

12 Committee, the observer shall be designated for 

13 a full term. 

14 ‘‘(d) CONSULTATION.—The Commandant (or the 

15 Commandant’s designee) shall, whenever practicable— 

16 ‘‘(1) consult with the Committee before taking 

17 any significant action relating to Great Lakes pilot18 age; and 

19 ‘‘(2) consider the information, advice, and rec20 ommendations of the Committee in formulating pol21 icy regarding matters affecting Great Lakes pilot22 age. 

23 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT; TERMI24 NATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

2 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the Committee. 

3 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION.—The Committee shall ter4 minate on September 30, 2027. 

5 ‘‘§ 705. Lower Mississippi River Waterway Safety Ad6 visory Committee 

7 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a 

8 Lower Mississippi River Waterway Safety Advisory Com9 mittee (referred to in this section as the ‘Committee’). 

10 ‘‘(b) FUNCTION.—The Committee, acting through 

11 the Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee), is au12 thorized to advise, consult with, report to, and make rec13 ommendations to the Secretary on matters relating to 

14 communication, surveillance, traffic management, anchor15 ages, development and operation of New Orleans Vessel 

16 Traffic Services, and other related topics dealing with and 

17 actions relating to navigational safety on the Lower Mis18 sissippi River. 

19 ‘‘(c) ORGANIZATION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) MEETING.—The Committee shall, at least 

21 once each calendar year, meet at the call of the 

22 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee). 

23 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 

25 consist of 24 members. 


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1 ‘‘(B) EXPERIENCE.—Each member of the 

2 Committee shall have expertise, knowledge, and 

3 experience regarding the transportation, equip4 ment, and techniques that are used to ship 

5 cargo and to navigate vessels on the Lower Mis6 sissippi River and its connecting navigable wa7 terways, including the Gulf of Mexico. 

8 ‘‘(C) POINTS OF VIEW.—Except as pro9 vided in subparagraph (D), each member of the 

10 Committee shall represent the point of view of 

11 an entity or group, as follows: 

12 ‘‘(i) 5 members representing River 

13 Port Authorities between Baton Rouge, 

14 Louisiana, and the head of passes of the 

15 Lower Mississippi River, of which— 

16 ‘‘(I) 1 member shall be from the 

17 Port of St. Bernard; and 

18 ‘‘(II) 1 member from the Port of 

19 Plaquemines. 

20 ‘‘(ii) 2 members representing vessel 

21 owners or ship owners domiciled in the 

22 State of Louisiana. 

23 ‘‘(iii) 2 members representing organi24 zations which operate harbor tugs or barge 


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1 fleets in the geographical area covered by 

2 the Committee. 

3 ‘‘(iv) 2 members representing compa4 nies which transport cargo or passengers 

5 on the navigable waterways in the geo6 graphical area covered by the Committee. 

7 ‘‘(v) 3 members representing State 

8 Commissioned Pilot organizations, with 1 

9 member each representing— 

10 ‘‘(I) the New Orleans-Baton 

11 Rouge Steamship Pilots Association; 

12 ‘‘(II) the Crescent River Port Pi13 lots Association; and 

14 ‘‘(III) the Association Branch Pi15 lots. 

16 ‘‘(vi) 3 members representing con17 sumers, shippers, or importers and export18 ers that utilize vessels which utilize the 

19 navigable waterways covered by the Com20 mittee. 

21 ‘‘(vii) 2 members representing those 

22 licensed merchant mariners, other than pi23 lots, who perform shipboard duties on 

24 those vessels which utilize navigable water25 ways covered by the Committee. 


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1 ‘‘(viii) 1 member representing an or2 ganization that serves in a consulting or 

3 advisory capacity to the maritime industry. 

4 ‘‘(ix) 1 member representing an envi5 ronmental organization. 

6 ‘‘(D) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—3 members of the 

8 Committee shall represent the general pub9 lic. 

10 ‘‘(ii) WATER TRANSPORTATION FA11 CILITIES.—Whenever possible, 2 of the 3 

12 members who represent the general public 

13 shall be individuals who utilize water 

14 transportation facilities located in the geo15 graphic area that the Committee covers. 

16 ‘‘(3) STATUS OF MEMBERS.—For the purposes 

17 of Federal law, including the Ethics in Government 

18 Act of 1978 and chapter 11 of title 18— 

19 ‘‘(A) each member of the Committee, 

20 whom the Secretary appoints to represent the 

21 point of view of an entity or group set out in 

22 paragraph (2)(C), is hereby deemed a rep23 resentative of the member’s respective special 

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1 ernment employee (as defined in section 202(a) 

2 of title 18); and 

3 ‘‘(B) each member of the Committee, 

4 whom the Secretary appoints to represent the 

5 general public, is hereby deemed a special Gov6 ernment employee (as defined in section 202(a) 

7 of title 18). 

8 ‘‘(4) NOMINATIONS; APPOINTMENTS; SERV9 ICE.— 

10 ‘‘(A) NOMINATIONS.—As necessary, the 

11 Secretary shall publish, in the Federal Register, 

12 a notice soliciting nominations for membership 

13 on the Committee. 

14 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After timely notice 

16 is published, the Secretary shall, as nec17 essary, appoint members to the Committee. 

18 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary 

19 may not seek, consider, or otherwise use 

20 information concerning the political affili21 ation of a nominee in making an appoint22 ment to the Committee. 

23 ‘‘(iii) REAPPOINTMENTS.—The Sec24 retary may reappoint a member to the 

25 Committee more than once. 


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1 ‘‘(C) SERVICE.—Each member of the Com2 mittee shall serve at the pleasure of the Sec3 retary. 

4 ‘‘(5) TERM; VACANCY.— 

5 ‘‘(A) TERM.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term of each 

7 member of the Committee shall expire on 

8 December 31 of the third full year after 

9 the effective date of the appointment. 

10 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSION.—Notwithstanding 

11 clause (i), paragraph (4), or any other pro12 vision of law or policy, the Commandant 

13 (or the Commandant’s designee) may ex14 tend the term of a member of the Com15 mittee to December 31 of the fifth full 

16 year after the effective date of the appoint17 ment. 

18 ‘‘(B) VACANCY.—In the case of an ap19 pointment to fill a vacancy on the Committee, 

20 the Secretary shall appoint an individual for a 

21 full term. 

22 ‘‘(6) CHAIRMAN; VICE CHAIRMAN.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant (or 

24 the Commandant’s designee) shall designate 1 

25 member of the Committee as the Chairman and 


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1 another member of the Committee as the Vice 

2 Chairman, both of whom shall serve in such ca3 pacity at the pleasure of the Commandant (or 

4 the Commandant’s designee) and for a term to 

5 be fixed by the Commandant (or the Com6 mandant’s designee). 

7 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Com8 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) may 

9 solicit, from the Committee, recommendations 

10 with regard to the members whom the Com11 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) shall 

12 designate as the Chairman and the Vice Chair13 man. 

14 ‘‘(C) VACANCY.—The Vice Chairman shall 

15 act as Chairman in the absence or incapacity 

16 of, or in the event of a vacancy in the office of, 

17 the Chairman. 

18 ‘‘(7) DESIGNATED FEDERAL OFFICER.—The 

19 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee) shall 

20 designate a Designated Federal Officer to the Com21 mittee in accordance with the Federal Advisory 

22 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

23 ‘‘(d) CONSULTATION.—The Commandant (or the 

24 Commandant’s designee) shall, whenever practicable, con25 sult with the Committee before taking any significant acVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 May 17, 2017 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1129.IS S1129

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1 tion relating to navigation safety in the Lower Mississippi 

2 River. 

3 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT; TERMI4 NATION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

6 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the Committee. 

7 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION.—The Committee shall ter8 minate on September 30, 2027. 

9 ‘‘§ 706. Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Com10 mittee 

11 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Mer12 chant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee (referred to 

13 in this section as the ‘Committee’). 

14 ‘‘(b) FUNCTION.—The Committee, acting through 

15 the Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee), is au16 thorized to advise, consult with, report to, and make rec17 ommendations to the Secretary on matters relating to per18 sonnel in the United States merchant marine, including 

19 training, qualifications, certification, documentation, and 

20 fitness standards. 

21 ‘‘(c) MEETING.—The Committee shall, at least once 

22 each calendar year, meet at the call of the Commandant 

23 (or the Commandant’s designee). 

24 ‘‘(d) MEMBERSHIP.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall con2 sist of 19 members. 

3 ‘‘(2) POINTS OF VIEW.—Except as provided in 

4 subparagraph (C), each member of the Committee 

5 shall represent the point of view of an entity or 

6 group, as follows: 

7 ‘‘(A) 9 members representing the interests 

8 of mariners— 

9 ‘‘(i) each of whom— 

10 ‘‘(I) shall be a citizen of the 

11 United States; and 

12 ‘‘(II) shall hold an active license 

13 or certificate issued under chapter 71 

14 of this title or a merchant mariner 

15 document issued under chapter 73 of 

16 this title; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) among whom shall be— 

18 ‘‘(I) 3 deck officers representing 

19 the interests of merchant marine deck 

20 officers, of whom— 

21 ‘‘(aa) 2 shall be licensed for 

22 oceans any gross tons; 

23 ‘‘(bb) 1 shall be licensed for 

24 inland river route with a limited 

25 or unlimited tonnage; 


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1 ‘‘(cc) 2 shall have a master’s 

2 license or a master of towing ves3 sels license; 

4 ‘‘(dd) 1 shall have signifi5 cant tanker experience; and 

6 ‘‘(ee) to the extent prac7 ticable— 

8 ‘‘(AA) 1 shall represent 

9 the interests of labor; and 

10 ‘‘(BB) 1 shall represent 

11 the interests of manage12 ment; 

13 ‘‘(II) 3 engineering officers rep14 resenting the interests of merchant 

15 marine engineering officers, of 

16 whom— 

17 ‘‘(aa) 2 shall be licensed as 

18 chief engineer any horsepower; 

19 ‘‘(bb) 1 shall be licensed as 

20 either a limited chief engineer or 

21 a designated duty engineer; and 

22 ‘‘(cc) to the extent prac23 ticable— 

24 ‘‘(AA) 1 shall represent 

25 the interests of labor; and 


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1 ‘‘(BB) 1 shall represent 

2 the interests of manage3 ment; 

4 ‘‘(III) 2 unlicensed seamen, of 

5 whom— 

6 ‘‘(aa) 1 shall represent the 

7 interests of able-bodied seamen; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(bb) 1 shall represent the 

10 interests of qualified members of 

11 the engine department; and 

12 ‘‘(IV) 1 pilot representing the in13 terests of merchant marine pilots. 

14 ‘‘(B) 6 members representing the interests 

15 of marine educators— 

16 ‘‘(i) each of whom shall be a marine 

17 educator; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) among whom shall be— 

19 ‘‘(I) 3 marine educators who 

20 shall represent the interests of mari21 time academies, including— 

22 ‘‘(aa) 2 who shall represent 

23 the interests of State maritime 

24 academies; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) 1 who shall represent 

2 either the viewpoint of the State 

3 maritime academies or the 

4 United States Merchant Marine 

5 Academy; and 

6 ‘‘(II) 3 marine educators who 

7 shall represent the interests of other 

8 maritime training institutions, 1 of 

9 whom shall represent the interests of 

10 the small vessel industry. 

11 ‘‘(C) 2 members representing the interests 

12 of shipping companies employed in ship oper13 ation management. 

14 ‘‘(D) 2 members of the Committee shall 

15 represent the general public. 

16 ‘‘(3) STATUS OF MEMBERS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of 

18 Federal law, including the Ethics in Govern19 ment Act of 1978 and chapter 11 of title 18— 

20 ‘‘(i) a member of the Committee, 

21 whom the Secretary appoints to represent 

22 the point of view of an entity or group set 

23 out in paragraph (2)(B), is hereby deemed 

24 a representative of the member’s respective 

25 special interest entity or group, and not a 


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1 special Government employee (as defined 

2 in section 202(a) of title 18); and 

3 ‘‘(ii) a member of the Committee, 

4 whom the Secretary appoints to represent 

5 the general public, is hereby deemed a spe6 cial Government employee (as defined in 

7 section 202(a) of title 18). 

8 ‘‘(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

9 in this section shall be construed to prohibit the 

10 nomination or appointment of a Federal em11 ployee to serve as a member of the Committee 

12 representing the interests of the United States 

13 Merchant Marine Academy. 

14 ‘‘(4) NOMINATIONS; APPOINTMENTS; SERV15 ICE.— 

16 ‘‘(A) NOMINATIONS.—As necessary, the 

17 Secretary shall publish, in the Federal Register, 

18 a notice soliciting nominations for membership 

19 on the Committee. 

20 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After timely notice 

22 is published, the Secretary shall, as nec23 essary, appoint members to the Committee. 

24 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary 

25 may not seek, consider, or otherwise use 


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1 information concerning the political affili2 ation of a nominee in making an appoint3 ment to the Committee. 

4 ‘‘(iii) REAPPOINTMENT.—The Sec5 retary may reappoint a member to the 

6 Committee more than once. 

7 ‘‘(C) SOLICITING NOMINATIONS.—Notwith8 standing subparagraphs (A) and (B), the Sec9 retary may— 

10 ‘‘(i) with regard to the appointment of 

11 a member or members to represent the in12 terests of the State maritime academies, 

13 solicit nominations for membership on the 

14 Committee from each State maritime acad15 emy or a joint nomination from some or all 

16 State maritime academies; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) with regard to the appointment 

18 of a member to represent the interests of 

19 the United States Merchant Marine Acad20 emy, solicit a nomination for membership 

21 on the Committee from the Secretary of 

22 Transportation. 

23 ‘‘(D) SERVICE.—Each member of the 

24 Committee shall serve at the pleasure of the 

25 Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(5) TERM; VACANCY.— 

2 ‘‘(A) TERM.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term of each 

4 member of the Committee shall expire on 

5 December 31 of the third full year after 

6 the effective date of the appointment. 

7 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSIONS.—Notwithstanding 

8 clause (i), paragraph (4), or any other pro9 vision of law or policy, the Commandant 

10 (or the Commandant’s designee) may ex11 tend the term of a member of the Com12 mittee to December 31 of the fifth full 

13 year after the effective date of the appoint14 ment. 

15 ‘‘(iii) VACANCY.—In the case of an 

16 appointment to fill a vacancy on the Com17 mittee, the Secretary shall appoint an indi18 vidual for a full term. 

19 ‘‘(6) CHAIRMAN; VICE CHAIRMAN.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant (or 

21 the Commandant’s designee) shall designate 1 

22 member of the Committee as the Chairman and 

23 another member of the Committee as the Vice 

24 Chairman, both of whom shall serve in such ca25 pacity at the pleasure of the Commandant (or 


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1 the Commandant’s designee) and for a term to 

2 be fixed by the Commandant (or the Com3 mandant’s designee). 

4 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Com5 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) may 

6 solicit, from the Committee, recommendations 

7 with regard to the members whom the Com8 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) shall 

9 designate as the Chairman and the Vice Chair10 man. 

11 ‘‘(C) VACANCY.—The Vice Chairman shall 

12 act as Chairman in the absence or incapacity 

13 of, or in the event of a vacancy in the office of, 

14 the Chairman. 

15 ‘‘(7) DESIGNATED FEDERAL OFFICER.—The 

16 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee) shall 

17 designate a Designated Federal Officer to the Com18 mittee in accordance with the Federal Advisory 

19 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

20 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT; TERMI21 NATION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

23 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the Committee. 

24 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION.—The Committee shall ter25 minate on September 30, 2027. 


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1 ‘‘§ 707. Merchant Mariner Medical Advisory Com2 mittee 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Mer4 chant Mariner Medical Advisory Committee (referred to 

5 in this section as the ‘Committee’). 

6 ‘‘(b) FUNCTION.—The Committee, acting through 

7 the Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee), is au8 thorized to advise, consult with, report to, and make rec9 ommendations to the Secretary on matters relating to— 

10 ‘‘(1) medical certification determinations of 

11 merchant mariners; 

12 ‘‘(2) medical standards and guidelines for the 

13 physical qualifications of operators of commercial 

14 vessels; 

15 ‘‘(3) medical examiner education; and 

16 ‘‘(4) medical research. 

17 ‘‘(c) ORGANIZATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) MEETING.—The Committee shall, at least 

19 once each calendar year, meet at the call of the 

20 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee). 

21 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 

23 consist of 14 members. 

24 ‘‘(B) RESTRICTION.—No member of the 

25 Committee shall be a regular Federal employee. 


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1 ‘‘(C) EXPERIENCE.—Of the members of 

2 the Committee— 

3 ‘‘(i) 10 members shall be health-care 

4 professionals with particular expertise, 

5 knowledge, or experience regarding the 

6 medical examinations of merchant mari7 ners or occupational medicine; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) 4 members shall be professional 

9 mariners with knowledge and experience in 

10 mariners’ occupational requirements. 

11 ‘‘(3) STATUS OF MEMBERS.—For the purposes 

12 of Federal law, including the Ethics in Government 

13 Act of 1978 and chapter 11 of title 18, each member 

14 of the Committee is hereby deemed a special Govern15 ment employee (as defined in section 202(a) of title 

16 18). 

17 ‘‘(4) NOMINATIONS; APPOINTMENTS; SERV18 ICE.— 

19 ‘‘(A) NOMINATIONS.—As necessary, the 

20 Secretary shall publish, in the Federal Register, 

21 a notice soliciting nominations for membership 

22 on the Committee. 

23 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After timely notice 

2 is published, the Secretary shall, as nec3 essary, appoint members to the Committee. 

4 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary 

5 may not seek, consider, or otherwise use 

6 information concerning the political affili7 ation of a nominee in making an appoint8 ment to the Committee. 

9 ‘‘(iii) REAPPOINTMENTS.—The Sec10 retary may reappoint a member to the 

11 Committee more than once. 

12 ‘‘(C) SERVICE.—Each member of the Com13 mittee shall serve at the pleasure of the Sec14 retary. 

15 ‘‘(5) TERM; VACANCY.— 

16 ‘‘(A) TERM.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term of each 

18 member of the Committee shall expire on 

19 December 31 of the third full year after 

20 the effective date of the appointment. 

21 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSIONS.—Notwithstanding 

22 clause (i), paragraph (4), or any other pro23 vision of law or policy, the Commandant 

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1 mittee to December 31 of the fifth full 

2 year after the effective date of the appoint3 ment. 

4 ‘‘(iii) VACANCY.—In the case of an 

5 appointment to fill a vacancy on the Com6 mittee, the Secretary shall appoint an indi7 vidual for a full term. 

8 ‘‘(6) CHAIRMAN; VICE CHAIRMAN.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant (or 

10 the Commandant’s designee) shall designate 1 

11 member of the Committee as the Chairman and 

12 another member of the Committee as the Vice 

13 Chairman, both of whom shall serve in such ca14 pacity at the pleasure of the Commandant (or 

15 the Commandant’s designee) and for a term to 

16 be fixed by the Commandant (or the Com17 mandant’s designee). 

18 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Com19 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) may 

20 solicit, from the Committee, recommendations 

21 with regard to the members whom the Com22 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) shall 

23 designate as the Chairman and the Vice Chair24 man. 


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1 ‘‘(C) VACANCY.—The Vice Chairman shall 

2 act as Chairman in the absence or incapacity 

3 of, or in the event of a vacancy in the office of, 

4 the Chairman. 

5 ‘‘(7) DESIGNATED FEDERAL OFFICER.—The 

6 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee) shall 

7 designate a Designated Federal Officer to the Com8 mittee in accordance with the Federal Advisory 

9 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

10 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT; TERMI11 NATION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

13 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the Committee. 

14 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION.—The Committee shall ter15 minate on September 30, 2027. 

16 ‘‘§ 708. National Boating Safety Advisory Council 

17 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Na18 tional Boating Safety Advisory Council (referred to in this 

19 section as the ‘Council’). 

20 ‘‘(b) ORGANIZATION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) MEETING.—The Council shall, at least 

22 once each calendar year, meet at the call of the 

23 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee). 

24 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall con2 sist of 21 members. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXPERIENCE.—Each member of the 

4 Council shall have particular expertise, knowl5 edge, and experience in recreational boating 

6 safety. 

7 ‘‘(C) POINTS OF VIEW.—Except as pro8 vided in subparagraph (D), each member of the 

9 Council shall represent the point of view of an 

10 entity or group, as follows: 

11 ‘‘(i) 7 members representing State of12 ficials responsible for State boating safety 

13 programs. 

14 ‘‘(ii) 7 members representing manu15 facturers, wholesale distributors, or retail 

16 distributors of recreational vessels or asso17 ciated equipment. 

18 ‘‘(iii) At least 5 members representing 

19 national recreational boating organizations. 

20 ‘‘(D) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—Not more 

21 than 2 members of the Council may represent 

22 the general public. 

23 ‘‘(E) PANELS.—Additional individuals 

24 from an entity or group set out in subpara25 graph (C) may be appointed to panels of the 


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1 Council to assist the Council in performing its 

2 duties. 

3 ‘‘(3) STATUS OF MEMBERS.—For the purposes 

4 of Federal law, including the Ethics in Government 

5 Act of 1978 and chapter 11 of title 18— 

6 ‘‘(A) a member of the Council, whom the 

7 Secretary appoints to represent the point of 

8 view of an entity or group set out in paragraph 

9 (2)(C), is hereby deemed a representative of the 

10 member’s respective special interest entity or 

11 group, and not a special Government employee 

12 (as defined in section 202(a) of title 18); and 

13 ‘‘(B) in the event that the Secretary ap14 points a member to represent the general pub15 lic, such member of the Council is hereby 

16 deemed a special Government employee (as de17 fined in section 202(a) of title 18). 

18 ‘‘(4) NOMINATIONS; APPOINTMENTS; SERV19 ICE.— 

20 ‘‘(A) NOMINATIONS.—As necessary, the 

21 Secretary shall publish, in the Federal Register, 

22 a notice soliciting nominations for membership 

23 on the Council. 

24 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After timely notice 

2 is published, the Secretary shall, as nec3 essary, appoint members to the Council. 

4 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary 

5 may not seek, consider, or otherwise use 

6 information concerning the political affili7 ation of a nominee in making an appoint8 ment to the Council. 

9 ‘‘(iii) VACANCY.—The Secretary may 

10 reappoint a member to the Council more 

11 than once. 

12 ‘‘(C) SERVICE.—Each member of the 

13 Council shall serve at the pleasure of the Sec14 retary. 

15 ‘‘(5) TERM; VACANCY.— 

16 ‘‘(A) TERM.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term of each 

18 member of the Council shall expire on De19 cember 31 of the third full year after the 

20 effective date of the appointment. 

21 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSIONS.—Notwithstanding 

22 clause (1), paragraph (4), or any other 

23 provision of law or policy, the Com24 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) 

25 may extend the term of a member of the 


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1 Council to December 31 of the fifth full 

2 year after the effective date of the appoint3 ment. 

4 ‘‘(iii) VACANCY.—In the case of an 

5 appointment to fill a vacancy on the Coun6 cil, the Secretary shall appoint an indi7 vidual for a full term. 

8 ‘‘(6) CHAIRMAN; VICE CHAIRMAN.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant (or 

10 the Commandant’s designee) shall designate 1 

11 member of the Council as the Chairman and 

12 another member of the Council as the Vice 

13 Chairman, both of whom shall serve in such ca14 pacity at the pleasure of the Commandant (or 

15 the Commandant’s designee) and for a term to 

16 be fixed by the Commandant (or the Com17 mandant’s designee). 

18 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Com19 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) may 

20 solicit, from the Council, recommendations with 

21 regard to the members whom the Commandant 

22 (or the Commandant’s designee) shall designate 

23 as the Chairman and the Vice Chairman. 

24 ‘‘(C) VACANCY.—The Vice Chairman shall 

25 act as Chairman in the absence or incapacity 


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1 of, or in the event of a vacancy in the office of, 

2 the Chairman. 

3 ‘‘(7) DESIGNATED FEDERAL OFFICER.—The 

4 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee) shall 

5 designate a Designated Federal Officer to the Coun6 cil in accordance with the Federal Advisory Com7 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

8 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—In addition to the consulta9 tion required by section 4302 of this title, the Com10 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) shall, whenever 

11 practicable, consult with the Council on boating safety 

12 matters related to chapter 131 of this title. 

13 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT; TERMI14 NATION.— 

15 ‘‘(1) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

16 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the Council. 

17 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION.—The Council shall termi18 nate on September 30, 2027. 

19 ‘‘§ 709. National Maritime Security Advisory Com20 mittee 

21 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Na22 tional Maritime Security Advisory Committee (referred to 

23 in this section as the ‘Committee’). 

24 ‘‘(b) FUNCTION.—The Committee, acting through 

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1 thorized to advise, consult with, report to, and make rec2 ommendations to the Secretary on matters relating to na3 tional maritime security. 

4 ‘‘(c) ORGANIZATION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) MEETING.—The Committee shall, at least 

6 once each calendar year, meet at the call of the 

7 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee). 

8 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 

10 consist of not less than 8 members, but not 

11 more than 12 members. 

12 ‘‘(B) EXPERIENCE.—Each member of the 

13 Committee shall have at least 5 years practical 

14 experience in maritime security operations. 

15 ‘‘(C) POINTS OF VIEW.—Each member of 

16 the Committee shall represent the point of view 

17 of an entity or group, as follows: 

18 ‘‘(i) At least 1 member representing 

19 the port authorities. 

20 ‘‘(ii) At least 1 member representing 

21 the facilities owners or operators. 

22 ‘‘(iii) At least 1 member representing 

23 the terminal owners or operators. 

24 ‘‘(iv) At least 1 member representing 

25 the vessel owners or operators. 


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1 ‘‘(v) At least 1 member representing 

2 the maritime labor organizations. 

3 ‘‘(vi) At least 1 member representing 

4 the academic community. 

5 ‘‘(vii) At least 1 member representing 

6 State or local governments. 

7 ‘‘(viii) At least 1 member representing 

8 the maritime industry. 

9 ‘‘(ix) Not more than 4 members, each 

10 representing an entity or group, the point 

11 of view of which or the area of expertise of 

12 which the Commandant (or the Com13 mandant’s designee) determines would aid 

14 the Committee’s deliberations. 

15 ‘‘(3) STATUS OF MEMBERS.—For the purposes 

16 of Federal law, including the Ethics in Government 

17 Act of 1978 and chapter 11 of title 18, each member 

18 of the Committee is hereby deemed a representative 

19 of the member’s respective special interest entity or 

20 group, and not a special Government employee (as 

21 defined in section 202(a) of title 18). 

22 ‘‘(4) NOMINATIONS; APPOINTMENTS; SERV23 ICE.— 

24 ‘‘(A) NOMINATIONS.—As necessary, the 

25 Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register, 


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1 a notice soliciting nominations for membership 

2 on the Committee. 

3 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After timely notice 

5 is published, the Secretary shall appoint 

6 members to the Committee. 

7 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary 

8 may not seek, consider, or otherwise use 

9 information concerning the political affili10 ation of an individual in making an ap11 pointment to the Committee. 

12 ‘‘(iii) REAPPOINTMENTS.—The Sec13 retary may reappoint a member to the 

14 Committee more than once. 

15 ‘‘(C) SERVICE.—Each member of the Com16 mittee shall serve at the pleasure of the Sec17 retary. 

18 ‘‘(D) BACKGROUND EXAMINATIONS.—The 

19 Secretary may require an individual to have 

20 passed an appropriate security background ex21 amination before appointment to the Com22 mittee. 

23 ‘‘(5) TERM; VACANCY.— 

24 ‘‘(A) TERM.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term of each 

2 member of the Committee shall expire on 

3 December 31 of the third full year after 

4 the effective date of the appointment. 

5 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSIONS.—Notwithstanding 

6 clause (i), paragraph (4), or any other pro7 vision of law or policy, the Commandant 

8 (or the Commandant’s designee) may ex9 tend the term of a member of the Com10 mittee to December 31 of the fifth full 

11 year after the effective date of the appoint12 ment. 

13 ‘‘(iii) VACANCY.—In the case of an 

14 appointment to fill a vacancy on the Com15 mittee, the Secretary shall appoint an indi16 vidual for a full term. 

17 ‘‘(6) CHAIRMAN; VICE CHAIRMAN.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant (or 

19 the Commandant’s designee) shall designate 1 

20 member of the Committee as the Chairman and 

21 another member of the Committee as the Vice 

22 Chairman, both of whom shall serve in such ca23 pacity at the pleasure of the Commandant (or 

24 the Commandant’s designee) and for a term to 


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1 be fixed by the Commandant (or the Com2 mandant’s designee). 

3 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Com4 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) may 

5 solicit, from the Committee, recommendations 

6 with regard to the members whom the Com7 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) shall 

8 designate as the Chairman and the Vice Chair9 man. 

10 ‘‘(C) VACANCY.—The Vice Chairman shall 

11 act as Chairman in the absence or incapacity 

12 of, or in the event of a vacancy in the office of, 

13 the Chairman. 

14 ‘‘(7) DESIGNATED FEDERAL OFFICER.—The 

15 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee) shall 

16 designate a Designated Federal Officer to the Com17 mittee in accordance with the Federal Advisory 

18 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

19 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT; TERMI20 NATION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

22 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the Committee. 

23 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION.—The Committee shall ter24 minate on September 30, 2027. 


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1 ‘‘§ 710. National Offshore Safety Advisory Committee 

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Na3 tional Offshore Safety Advisory Committee (referred to in 

4 this section as the ‘Committee’). 

5 ‘‘(b) FUNCTION.—The Committee, acting through 

6 the Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee), is au7 thorized to advise, consult with, report to, and make rec8 ommendations to the Secretary on matters relating to ac9 tivities directly involved with, or in support of, the explo10 ration of offshore mineral and energy resources insofar as 

11 such activities relate to matters within Coast Guard juris12 diction. 

13 ‘‘(c) ORGANIZATION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) MEETING.—The Committee shall, at least 

15 once each calendar year, meet at the call of the 

16 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee). 

17 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 

19 consist of 15 members. 

20 ‘‘(B) POINTS OF VIEW.—Except as pro21 vided in subparagraph (C), each member of the 

22 Committee shall represent the point of view of 

23 an entity or group, as follows: 

24 ‘‘(i) 2 members representing compa25 nies, organizations, enterprises, or similar 


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1 entities engaged in the production of petro2 leum. 

3 ‘‘(ii) 2 members representing compa4 nies, organizations, enterprises, or similar 

5 entities engaged in offshore drilling. 

6 ‘‘(iii) 2 members representing compa7 nies, organizations, enterprises or similar 

8 entities engaged in the support, by offshore 

9 supply vessels or other vessels, of offshore 

10 operations. 

11 ‘‘(iv) 1 member representing a com12 pany, organization, enterprise or similar 

13 entity engaged in the construction of off14 shore facilities. 

15 ‘‘(v) 1 member representing a com16 pany, organization, enterprise or similar 

17 entity providing diving services to the off18 shore industry. 

19 ‘‘(vi) 1 member representing a com20 pany, organization, enterprise or similar 

21 entity providing safety and training serv22 ices to the offshore industry. 

23 ‘‘(vii) 1 member representing a com24 pany, organization, enterprise or similar 

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1 struction or remotely operated vehicle sup2 port to the offshore industry. 

3 ‘‘(viii) 2 members representing em4 ployees of companies, organizations, enter5 prises or similar entities engaged in off6 shore operations, 1 of whom should have 

7 recent practical experience on vessels or 

8 units involved in the offshore industry. 

9 ‘‘(ix) 1 member representing a com10 pany, organization, enterprise or similar 

11 entity providing environmental protection, 

12 compliance or response services to the off13 shore industry. 

14 ‘‘(x) 1 member representing a com15 pany, organization, enterprise or similar 

16 entity engaged in offshore oil exploration 

17 or production on the Outer Continental 

18 Shelf of Alaska. 

19 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL MEMBER.—1 member of 

20 the Committee shall represent the general pub21 lic. 

22 ‘‘(3) STATUS OF MEMBERS.—For the purposes 

23 of Federal law, including the Ethics in Government 

24 Act of 1978 and chapter 11 of title 18— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a member of the Committee, whom 

2 the Secretary appoints to represent the point of 

3 view of an entity or group set out in paragraph 

4 (2)(C), is hereby deemed a representative of the 

5 member’s respective special interest entity or 

6 group, and not a special Government employee 

7 (as defined in section 202(a) of title 18); and 

8 ‘‘(B) a member of the Committee, whom 

9 the Secretary appoints to represent the general 

10 public, is hereby deemed a special Government 

11 employee (as defined in section 202(a) of title 

12 18). 

13 ‘‘(4) NOMINATIONS; APPOINTMENTS; SERV14 ICE.— 

15 ‘‘(A) NOMINATIONS.—As necessary, the 

16 Secretary shall publish, in the Federal Register, 

17 a notice soliciting nominations for membership 

18 on the Committee. 

19 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After timely notice 

21 is published, the Secretary shall, as nec22 essary, appoint members to the Committee. 

23 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary 

24 may not seek, consider, or otherwise use 

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1 ation of a nominee in making an appoint2 ment to the Committee. 

3 ‘‘(iii) REAPPOINTMENTS.—The Sec4 retary may reappoint a member to the 

5 Committee more than once. 

6 ‘‘(C) SERVICE.—Each member of the Com7 mittee shall serve at the pleasure of the Sec8 retary. 

9 ‘‘(5) TERM; VACANCY.— 

10 ‘‘(A) TERM.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term of each 

12 member of the Committee shall expire on 

13 December 31 of the third full year after 

14 the effective date of the appointment. 

15 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSIONS.—Notwithstanding 

16 clause (i), paragraph (4), or any other pro17 vision of law or policy, the Commandant 

18 (or the Commandant’s designee) may ex19 tend the term of a member of the Com20 mittee to December 31 of the fifth full 

21 year after the effective date of the appoint22 ment. 

23 ‘‘(iii) VACANCY.—In the case of an 

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1 mittee, the Secretary shall appoint an indi2 vidual for a full term. 

3 ‘‘(6) CHAIRMAN; VICE CHAIRMAN.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant (or 

5 the Commandant’s designee) shall designate 

6 one member of the Committee as the Chairman 

7 and another member of the Committee as the 

8 Vice Chairman, both of whom shall serve in 

9 such capacity at the pleasure of the Com10 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) and 

11 for a term to be fixed by the Commandant (or 

12 the Commandant’s designee). 

13 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Com14 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) may 

15 solicit, from the Committee, recommendations 

16 with regard to the members whom the Com17 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) shall 

18 designate as the Chairman and the Vice Chair19 man. 

20 ‘‘(C) VACANCY.—The Vice Chairman shall 

21 act as Chairman in the absence or incapacity 

22 of, or in the event of a vacancy in the office of, 

23 the Chairman. 

24 ‘‘(7) DESIGNATED FEDERAL OFFICER.—The 

25 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee) shall 


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1 designate a Designated Federal Officer to the Com2 mittee in accordance with the Federal Advisory 

3 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

4 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT; TERMI5 NATION.— 

6 ‘‘(1) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

7 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the Committee. 

8 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION.—The Committee shall ter9 minate on September 30, 2027. 

10 ‘‘§ 711. Navigation Safety Advisory Council 

11 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Navi12 gation Safety Advisory Council (referred to in this section 

13 as the ‘Council’). 

14 ‘‘(b) FUNCTION.—The Council, acting through the 

15 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee), is author16 ized to advise, consult with, report to, and make rec17 ommendations to the Secretary on matters relating to 

18 maritime collisions, rammings and groundings, Inland 

19 Rules of the Road, International Rules of the Road, navi20 gation regulations and equipment, routing measures, ma21 rine information, and aids to navigation systems. 

22 ‘‘(c) ORGANIZATION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) MEETING.—The Council shall, at least 

24 once each calendar year, meet at the call of the 

25 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee). 


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1 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall con3 sist of not more than 21 members. 

4 ‘‘(B) EXPERIENCE.—Each member of the 

5 Council shall have expertise in Inland and 

6 International vessel navigation Rules of the 

7 Road, aids to maritime navigation, maritime 

8 law, vessel safety, or port safety. 

9 ‘‘(C) POINTS OF VIEW.—Each member of 

10 the Council shall represent the point of view of 

11 one of the following entities or groups: 

12 ‘‘(i) Commercial vessel owners or op13 erators. 

14 ‘‘(ii) Professional mariners. 

15 ‘‘(iii) Recreational boaters. 

16 ‘‘(iv) State agencies responsible for 

17 vessel or port safety. 

18 ‘‘(v) The Maritime Law Association. 

19 ‘‘(3) STATUS OF MEMBERS.—For the purposes 

20 of Federal law, including the Ethics in Government 

21 Act of 1978 and chapter 11 of title 18, each member 

22 of the Council is hereby deemed a representative of 

23 the member’s respective special interest entity or 

24 group, and not a special Government employee (as 

25 defined in section 202(a) of title 18). 


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1 ‘‘(4) NOMINATIONS; APPOINTMENTS; SERV2 ICE.— 

3 ‘‘(A) NOMINATIONS.—As necessary, the 

4 Secretary shall publish, in the Federal Register, 

5 a notice soliciting nominations for membership 

6 on the Council. 

7 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After timely notice 

9 is published, the Secretary shall, as nec10 essary, appoint members to the Council. 

11 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary 

12 may not seek, consider, or otherwise use 

13 information concerning the political affili14 ation of a nominee in making an appoint15 ment to the Council. 

16 ‘‘(iii) REAPPOINTMENTS.—The Sec17 retary may reappoint a member to the 

18 Council more than once. 

19 ‘‘(C) SERVICE.—Each member of the 

20 Council shall serve at the pleasure of the Sec21 retary. 

22 ‘‘(5) TERM; VACANCY.— 

23 ‘‘(A) TERM.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term of each 

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1 cember 31 of the third full year after the 

2 effective date of the appointment. 

3 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSIONS.—Notwithstanding 

4 clause (i), paragraph (4), or any other pro5 vision of law or policy, the Commandant 

6 (or the Commandant’s designee) may ex7 tend the term of a member of the Council 

8 to December 31 of the fifth full year after 

9 the effective date of the appointment. 

10 ‘‘(iii) REAPPOINTMENTS.—In the case 

11 of an appointment to fill a vacancy on the 

12 Council, the Secretary shall appoint an in13 dividual for a full term. 

14 ‘‘(6) CHAIRMAN; VICE CHAIRMAN.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant (or 

16 the Commandant’s designee) shall designate 1 

17 member of the Council as the Chairman and 

18 another member of the Council as the Vice 

19 Chairman, both of whom shall serve in such ca20 pacity at the pleasure of the Commandant (or 

21 the Commandant’s designee) and for a term to 

22 be fixed by the Commandant (or the Com23 mandant’s designee). 

24 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Com25 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) may 


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1 solicit, from the Council, recommendations with 

2 regard to the members whom the Commandant 

3 (or the Commandant’s designee) shall designate 

4 as the Chairman and the Vice Chairman. 

5 ‘‘(C) VACANCY.—The Vice Chairman shall 

6 act as Chairman in the absence or incapacity 

7 of, or in the event of a vacancy in the office of, 

8 the Chairman. 

9 ‘‘(7) DESIGNATED FEDERAL OFFICER.—The 

10 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee) shall 

11 designate a Designated Federal Officer to the Coun12 cil who shall perform the duties set forth in section 

13 10(c) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

14 U.S.C. App.). 

15 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT; TERMI16 NATION.— 

17 ‘‘(1) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

18 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the Council. 

19 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION.—The Council shall termi20 nate on September 30, 2027. 

21 ‘‘§ 712. Towing Safety Advisory Committee 

22 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Tow23 ing Safety Advisory Committee (referred to in this section 

24 as the ‘Committee’). 


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1 ‘‘(b) FUNCTION.—The Committee, acting through 

2 the Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee), is au3 thorized to advise, consult with, report to, and make rec4 ommendations to the Secretary on matters relating to 

5 shallow-draft inland navigation, coastal waterway naviga6 tion, and towing safety. 

7 ‘‘(c) ORGANIZATION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) MEETING.—The Committee shall, at least 

9 once each calendar year, meet at the call of the 

10 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee). 

11 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 

13 consist of 18 members. 

14 ‘‘(B) EXPERIENCE.—Each member of the 

15 Committee shall have particular expertise, 

16 knowledge, and experience regarding— 

17 ‘‘(i) shallow-draft inland navigation or 

18 coastal waterway navigation; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) towing safety. 

20 ‘‘(C) POINTS OF VIEW.—Except as pro21 vided in subparagraph (D), each member of the 

22 Committee shall represent the point of view of 

23 an entity or group, as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(i) 7 members representing the barge 

2 and towing industry, reflecting a regional 

3 geographic balance. 

4 ‘‘(ii) 1 member representing the off5 shore mineral and oil supply vessel indus6 try. 

7 ‘‘(iii) 1 member representing Masters 

8 or Pilots of towing vessels who have experi9 ence on the Western Rivers and the Gulf 

10 Intracoastal Waterway. 

11 ‘‘(iv) 1 member representing Masters 

12 of towing vessels who have experience in 

13 offshore service. 

14 ‘‘(v) 1 member representing Masters 

15 of towing vessels who have experience in 

16 harbor-assist operations. 

17 ‘‘(vi) 1 member representing towing 

18 vessel engineers. 

19 ‘‘(vii) 2 members representing port 

20 districts, authorities, or terminal operators. 

21 ‘‘(viii) 1 member representing ship22 pers. 

23 ‘‘(ix) 1 member representing shippers 

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1 ping of oil or hazardous materials by 

2 barge. 

3 ‘‘(D) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—2 members 

4 of the Committee shall represent the general 

5 public. 

6 ‘‘(3) STATUS OF MEMBERS.—For the purposes 

7 of Federal law, including the Ethics in Government 

8 Act of 1978 and chapter 11 of title 18— 

9 ‘‘(A) a member of the Committee, whom 

10 the Secretary appoints to represent the point of 

11 view of an entity or group set out in paragraph 

12 (2)(C), is hereby deemed a representative of the 

13 member’s respective special interest entity or 

14 group, and not a special Government employee 

15 (as defined in section 202(a) of title 18); and 

16 ‘‘(B) a member of the Committee, whom 

17 the Secretary appoints to represent the general 

18 public, is hereby deemed a special Government 

19 employee (as defined in section 202(a) of title 

20 18). 

21 ‘‘(4) NOMINATIONS; APPOINTMENTS; SERV22 ICE.— 

23 ‘‘(A) NOMINATIONS.—As necessary, the 

24 Secretary shall publish, in the Federal Register, 


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1 a notice soliciting nominations for membership 

2 on the Committee. 

3 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After timely notice 

5 is published, the Secretary shall, as nec6 essary, appoint members to the Committee. 

7 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary 

8 may not seek, consider, or otherwise use 

9 information concerning the political affili10 ation of an individual in making an ap11 pointment to the Committee. 

12 ‘‘(iii) REAPPOINTMENTS.—The Sec13 retary may reappoint a member to the 

14 Committee more than once. 

15 ‘‘(C) SERVICE.—Each member of the Com16 mittee shall serve at the pleasure of the Sec17 retary. 

18 ‘‘(5) TERM; VACANCY.— 

19 ‘‘(A) TERM.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term of each 

21 member of the Committee shall expire on 

22 December 31 of the third full year after 

23 the effective date of the appointment. 

24 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSIONS.—Notwithstanding 

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1 vision of law or policy, the Commandant 

2 (or the Commandant’s designee) may ex3 tend the term of a member of the Com4 mittee to December 31 of the fifth full 

5 year after the effective date of the appoint6 ment. 

7 ‘‘(iii) VACANCY.—In the case of an 

8 appointment to fill a vacancy on the Com9 mittee, the Secretary shall appoint an indi10 vidual for a full term. 

11 ‘‘(6) CHAIRMAN; VICE CHAIRMAN.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant (or 

13 the Commandant’s designee) shall designate 1 

14 member of the Committee as the Chairman and 

15 another member of the Committee as the Vice 

16 Chairman, both of whom shall serve in such ca17 pacity at the pleasure of the Commandant (or 

18 the Commandant’s designee) and for a term to 

19 be fixed by the Commandant (or the Com20 mandant’s designee). 

21 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Com22 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) may 

23 solicit, from the Committee, recommendations 

24 with regard to the members whom the Com25 mandant (or the Commandant’s designee) shall 


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1 designate as the Chairman and the Vice Chair2 man. 

3 ‘‘(C) VACANCY.—The Vice Chairman shall 

4 act as Chairman in the absence or incapacity 

5 of, or in the event of a vacancy in the office of, 

6 the Chairman. 

7 ‘‘(7) DESIGNATED FEDERAL OFFICER.—The 

8 Commandant (or the Commandant’s designee) shall 

9 designate a Designated Federal Officer to the Com10 mittee in accordance with the Federal Advisory 

11 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

12 ‘‘(d) CONSULTATION.—The Commandant (or the 

13 Commandant’s designee) shall, whenever practicable, con14 sult with the Committee before taking any significant ac15 tion affecting shallow-draft inland navigation, coastal wa16 terway navigation, and towing safety. 

17 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT; TERMI18 NATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

20 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the Committee. 

21 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION.—The Committee shall ter22 minate on September 30, 2027.’’. 

23 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) TABLE OF CHAPTERS.—The table of chap2 ters for subtitle I of title 46, United States Code, is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘7. Coast Guard advisory committees ..................................................... 701’’. 

4 (2) COMMERCIAL FISHING SAFETY ADVISORY

5 COMMITTEE.— 

6 (A) REPEAL.—Section 4508 of title 46, 

7 United States Code, is repealed. 

8 (B) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of 

9 contents of chapter 45 of title 46, United 

10 States Code, is amended by striking the item 

11 relating to section 4508. 

12 (3) GREAT LAKES PILOTAGE ADVISORY COM13 MITTEE.— 

14 (A) REPEAL.—Section 9307 of title 46, 

15 United States Code, is repealed. 

16 (B) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of 

17 contents of chapter 93 of title 46, United 

18 States Code, is amended by striking the item 

19 relating to section 9307. 

20 (4) LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER WATERWAY

21 SAFETY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Section 19 of the 

22 Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1991 (Public Law 

23 102–241; 105 Stat. 2215) is repealed. 

24 (5) MERCHANT MARINE PERSONNEL ADVISORY

25 COMMITTEE.— 


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1 (A) REPEAL.—Section 8108 of title 46, 

2 United States Code, is repealed. 

3 (B) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of 

4 contents of chapter 81 of title 46, United 

5 States Code, is amended by striking the item 

6 relating to section 8108. 

7 (6) MERCHANT MARINER MEDICAL ADVISORY

8 COMMITTEE.— 

9 (A) REPEAL.—Section 7115 of title 46, 

10 United States Code, is repealed. 

11 (B) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of 

12 contents of chapter 71 of title 46, United 

13 States Code, is amended by striking the item 

14 relating to section 7115. 

15 (7) NATIONAL BOATING SAFETY ADVISORY

16 COUNCIL.— 

17 (A) REPEAL.—Section 13110 of title 46, 

18 United States Code, is repealed. 

19 (B) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of 

20 contents of chapter 131 of title 46, United 

21 States Code, is amended by striking the item 

22 relating to section 13110. 

23 (C) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 

24 4302(c)(4) of title 46, United States Code, is 


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1 amended by striking ‘‘13110’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘708’’. 

3 (8) NATIONAL MARITIME SECURITY ADVISORY

4 COMMITTEE.—Section 109(a)(1) of the Maritime 

5 Transportation Security Act of 2002 (46 U.S.C. 

6 70101 note) is amended by striking ‘‘section 70112 

7 of title 46, United States Code, as amended by this 

8 Act’’ and inserting ‘‘section 709 of title 46, United 

9 States Code’’. 

10 (9) NAVIGATION SAFETY ADVISORY COUNCIL.— 

11 Section 5 of the Inland Navigational Rules Act of 

12 1980 (33 U.S.C. 2073) is repealed. 

13 (10) TOWING SAFETY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

14 The Act to establish a Towing Safety Advisory Com15 mittee in the Department of Transportation, ap16 proved October 6, 1980 (33 U.S.C. 1231a), is re17 pealed. 

18 (c) AREA MARITIME SECURITY ADVISORY COMMIT19 TEES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 70112 of title 46, 

21 United States Code, is amended— 

22 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘Mari23 time Security Advisory Committees’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘Area Maritime Security 

25 Advisory Committees’’; 


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1 (B) by amending subsection (a) to read as 

2 follows: 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) The Secretary may— 

5 ‘‘(A) establish an Area Maritime Security 

6 Advisory Committee for any port area of the 

7 United States; and 

8 ‘‘(B) request an Area Maritime Security 

9 Committee to review the proposed Area Mari10 time Transportation Security Plan developed 

11 under section 70103(b) and make recommenda12 tions to the Secretary that the Committee con13 siders appropriate. 

14 ‘‘(2) Each Area Maritime Security Advisory 

15 Committee— 

16 ‘‘(A) may advise, consult with, report to, 

17 and make recommendations to the Secretary on 

18 matters relating to maritime security in that 

19 area; 

20 ‘‘(B) may make available to the Congress 

21 recommendations that the Committee makes to 

22 the Secretary; and 

23 ‘‘(C) shall meet at the call of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the Secretary, who shall call such 

2 a meeting at least once during each cal3 endar year; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) a majority of the Committee.’’; 

5 (C) in subsection (b)— 

6 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘of 

7 the committees’’ and inserting ‘‘Area Mari8 time Security Advisory Committee’’; 

9 (ii) in paragraph (3)— 

10 (I) by striking ‘‘such a com11 mittee’’ and inserting ‘‘an Area Mari12 time Security Advisory Committee’’; 

13 and 

14 (II) by striking ‘‘the committee’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘an Area Maritime Se16 curity Advisory Committee’’; 

17 (iii) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘the 

18 Committee’’ and inserting ‘‘an Area Mari19 time Security Advisory Committee’’; and 

20 (iv) in paragraph (5)— 

21 (I) by striking subparagraph (A); 

22 and 

23 (II) in subparagraph (B), by 

24 striking ‘‘(B)’’ and indenting appro25 priately; 


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1 (D) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘com2 mittee’’ and inserting ‘‘Area Maritime Security 

3 Advisory Committee’’; 

4 (E) by striking subsection (d); 

5 (F) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), 

6 and (g) as subsections (d), (e), and (f), respec7 tively; 

8 (G) in subsection (d), as redesignated— 

9 (i) by striking ‘‘the Committee’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘an Area Maritime Security Ad11 visory Committee’’; and 

12 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

13 and inserting ‘‘for an area.’’; 

14 (H) in subsection (e), as redesignated— 

15 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a 

16 committee’’ and inserting ‘‘an Area Mari17 time Security Advisory Committee’’; and 

18 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking 

19 ‘‘such a committee’’ and inserting ‘‘an 

20 Area Maritime Security Advisory Com21 mittee’’; and 

22 (I) by amending subsection (f), as redesig23 nated, to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT; TERMI25 NATION DATE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

2 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) does not apply to Area Mari3 time Security Advisory Committees established 

4 under this section. 

5 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION.—The Area Maritime Secu6 rity Advisory Committees shall terminate on Sep7 tember 30, 2027.’’. 

8 (d) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

9 chapter 701 of title 46, United States Code, is amended 

10 in the item relating to section 70112 by striking ‘‘Mari11 time Security Advisory Committees’’ and inserting ‘‘Area 

12 Maritime Security Advisory Committees’’. 

13 (e) HOUSTON-GALVESTON NAVIGATION SAFETY AD14 VISORY COMMITTEE; REPEAL.—Section 18 of the Coast 

15 Guard Authorization Act of 1991 (Public Law 102–241; 

16 105 Stat. 2213) is repealed. 

17 (f) TRANSITION OF COAST GUARD ADVISORY COM18 MITTEES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the amend20 ments made under subsections (b) and (c) of this 

21 section, an advisory committee described in para22 graph (2) of this subsection shall continue to be sub23 ject to the requirements under law to which such ad24 visory committee was subject as in effect on the day 

25 before the date of enactment of this Act, including 


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1 its charter, and the members appointed to such advi2 sory committee shall continue to serve pursuant 

3 thereto, until the Secretary of the department in 

4 which the Coast Guard is operating makes the appli5 cable appointments under sections 702 through 712 

6 of title 46, United States Code. 

7 (2) COAST GUARD ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—An 

8 advisory committee described in this paragraph is as 

9 follows: 

10 (A) Chemical Transportation Advisory 

11 Committee. 

12 (B) Commercial Fishing Safety Advisory 

13 Committee established under section 4508 of 

14 title 46, United States Code. 

15 (C) Great Lakes Pilotage Advisory Com16 mittee established under section 9307 of title 

17 46, United States Code. 

18 (D) Lower Mississippi River Waterway 

19 Safety Advisory Committee established under 

20 section 19 of the Coast Guard Authorization 

21 Act of 1991 (Public Law 102–241; 105 Stat. 

22 2215). 

23 (E) Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory 

24 Committee established under section 8108 of 

25 title 46, United States Code. 


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1 (F) Merchant Mariner Medical Advisory 

2 Committee established under section 7115 of 

3 title 46, United States Code. 

4 (G) National Boating Safety Advisory 

5 Committee established under section 13110 of 

6 title 46, United States Code. 

7 (H) National Maritime Security Advisory 

8 Committee established under section 70112 of 

9 title 46, United States Code. 

10 (I) National Offshore Safety Advisory 

11 Committee. 

12 (J) Navigation Safety Advisory Council es13 tablished under section 5 of the Inland Naviga14 tional Rules Act of 1980 (33 U.S.C. 2073). 

15 (K) Towing Safety Advisory Committee es16 tablished under the Act entitled the ‘‘Act to es17 tablish a Towing Safety Advisory Committee in 

18 the Department of Transportation’’, approved 

19 October 6, 1980 (33 U.S.C. 1231a). 

20 (3) DEADLINE.—Not later than 2 years after 

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

22 the department in which the Coast Guard is oper23 ating shall make the appointments, and file any nec24 essary charters, under sections 702 through 712 of 

25 title 46, United States Code. 


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1 SEC. 302. CLARIFICATION OF LOGBOOK AND ENTRY RE2 QUIREMENTS. 

3 Section 11304 of title 46, United States Code, is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a)— 

6 (A) by striking ‘‘an official logbook, which’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘a logbook, which may be in any 

8 form, including electronic, and’’; and 

9 (B) by inserting ‘‘or a ferry, passenger ves10 sel, or small passenger vessel (as those terms 

11 are defined in section 2101)’’ after ‘‘Canada’’; 

12 and 

13 (2) in subsection (b)— 

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

15 by striking ‘‘log book’’ and inserting ‘‘logbook’’; 

16 and 

17 (B) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 

18 follows: 

19 ‘‘(3) Each illness of or injury, the nature of the 

20 illness or injury, and any medical treatment admin21 istered.’’. 

22 SEC. 303. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; LICENSES, CERTIFI23 CATIONS OF REGISTRY, AND MERCHANT 

24 MARINER DOCUMENTS. 

25 Part E of subtitle II of title 46, United States Code, 

26 is amended— 


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1 (1) in section 7106(b), by striking ‘‘merchant 

2 mariner’s document’’ and inserting ‘‘license’’; 

3 (2) in section 7107(b), by striking ‘‘merchant 

4 mariner’s document’’ and inserting ‘‘certificate of 

5 registry’’; and 

6 (3) in section 7507(b)(2), by striking ‘‘a mer7 chant mariner’s document’’ and inserting ‘‘a license 

8 or a certificate of registry.’’. 

9 SEC. 304. NUMBERING FOR UNDOCUMENTED BARGES. 

10 Chapter 121 of title 46, United States Code, is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) in section 12102— 

13 (A) in subsection (c), by adding at the end 

14 the following: ‘‘The Secretary may require such 

15 an undocumented barge more than 100 gross 

16 tons operating on the navigable waters of the 

17 United States to be numbered under chapter 

18 123 of this title.’’; and 

19 (B) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘Sec20 retary of Transportation’’ and inserting ‘‘Sec21 retary of the department in which the Coast 

22 Guard is operating’’; and 

23 (2) in section 12301— 

24 (A) by striking subsection (b); and 


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1 (B) by striking the subsection designation 

2 in subsection (a) and indenting appropriately. 

3 SEC. 305. AIDS TO NAVIGATION. 

4 (a) AUTHORIZATIONS.—Section 210(a) of the Water 

5 Resources Development Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2238) is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

8 inserting a semicolon; 

9 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at 

10 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

12 ‘‘(3) up to 100 percent of the Coast Guard’s el13 igible operations and maintenance costs necessitated 

14 by the completion of a navigation improvement 

15 project.’’. 

16 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 214(2) of the Water Re17 sources Development Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2241) is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘subpara20 graph (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (B) and 

21 (C)’’; 

22 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub23 paragraph (D); 

24 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(C) As applied to the Coast Guard, the 

2 term ‘eligible operations and maintenance’ 

3 means all operations and maintenance reason4 ably necessary to relocate or establish a Federal 

5 navigational aid necessary for a navigation im6 provement project.’’; and 

7 (4) in subparagraph (D), as redesignated, by 

8 striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘, except 

9 as applied to the Coast Guard under subparagraph 

10 (C).’’. 

11 SEC. 306. EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS; EXEMPTION FROM 

12 THROWABLE PERSONAL FLOTATION DE13 VICES. 

14 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

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

16 Coast Guard is operating shall revise section 175.17 of 

17 title 33, Code of Federal Regulations, to exempt 

18 paddleboards and rafts from the requirement for carriage 

19 of an additional throwable personal flotation device if each 

20 person is required to wear a personal flotation device while 

21 under way and at least 1 rescue throw bag, as typically 

22 used in whitewater rafting, is on board. 

23 SEC. 307. ENSURING MARITIME COVERAGE. 

24 In order to meet all of the mission requirements of 

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1 capitalizes assets, it shall ensure continuity of the coverage 

2 currently provided by that program to locations that may 

3 lose assets. 

4 SEC. 308. DEADLINE FOR COMPLIANCE WITH ALTERNATE 

5 SAFETY COMPLIANCE PROGRAM. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4503(d) of title 46, 

7 United States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘After Janu9 ary 1, 2020,’’ and all that follows through ‘‘the Sec10 retary, if’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to paragraph (3), 

11 beginning on the date that is 3 years after the date 

12 that the Secretary prescribes an alternate safety 

13 compliance program, a fishing vessel, fish processing 

14 vessel, or fish tender vessel to which section 4502(b) 

15 of this title applies shall comply with the alternate 

16 safety compliance program if’’; 

17 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘establishes 

18 standards for an alternate safety compliance pro19 gram, shall comply with such an alternative safety 

20 compliance program that is developed in cooperation 

21 with the commercial fishing industry and prescribed 

22 by the Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘prescribes an alter23 nate safety compliance program under paragraph 

24 (1), shall comply with the alternate safety compli25 ance program’’; and 


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1 (3) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(3) For purposes of paragraph (1), a separate 

4 alternate safety compliance program may be devel5 oped for a specific region or specific fishery.’’. 

6 (b) FINAL RULE.—Not later than 1 year after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the depart8 ment in which the Coast Guard is operating shall issue 

9 a final rule implementing the alternate safety compliance 

10 programs under section 4503 of title 46, United States 

11 Code, as amended by subsection (a) of this section. 

12 SEC. 309. FISHING, FISH TENDER, AND FISH PROCESSING 

13 VESSEL CERTIFICATION. 

14 (a) NONAPPLICATION.—Section 4503(c)(2)(A) of 

15 title 46, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘79’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘180’’. 

17 (b) DETERMINING WHEN KEEL IS LAID.—Section 

18 4503 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub20 section (h); and 

21 (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(g) For purposes of this section, a keel is laid when 

24 a structure, adequate of serving as a keel for a vessel 

25 greater than 79 feet in length is identified for use in the 


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1 construction of a specific vessel and is so affirmed by a 

2 marine surveyor.’’. 

3 SEC. 310. TERMINATION OF UNSAFE OPERATIONS; TECH4 NICAL AMENDMENT. 

5 Section 4505 of title 46, United States Code, is 

6 amended by striking ‘‘4503(1)’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘4503(a)(1)’’. 

8 SEC. 311. INSTALLATION AND USE OF ENGINE CUT-OFF 

9 SWITCHES ON RECREATIONAL VESSEL. 

10 (a) USE OF ENGINE CUT-OFF SWITCH LINKS.— 

11 (1) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of the de12 partment in which the Coast Guard is operating 

13 shall revised the regulations under part 175 of title 

14 33, Code of Federal Regulations, to prohibit a per15 son from operating a recreational vessel 25 feet or 

16 less in length unless— 

17 (A) the person is wearing an engine cut-off 

18 switch link while operating on plane or above 

19 displacement speed; and 

20 (B) the engine cut-off switch is factory 

21 equipped on the primary propulsion machinery. 

22 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—The requirement under 

23 paragraph (1) shall not apply to the following: 

24 (A) A vessel 25 feet or less in length whose 

25 main helm is installed within an enclosed cabin 


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1 that would protect an operator from being 

2 thrown overboard should the operator be dis3 placed from the helm. 

4 (B) A vessel with propulsion machinery de5 veloping static thrust of less than 115 pounds 

6 or 3 horsepower. 

7 (C) A vessel without factory equipped en8 gine cut-off switches. 

9 (b) INSTALLATION OF ENGINE CUT-OFF SWITCH10 ES.—The Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

11 Guard is operating shall revise the regulations under part 

12 183 of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations, to require 

13 an equipment manufacturer, distributor, or dealer that in14 stalls propulsion machinery and associate starting controls 

15 on a recreational vessel 25 feet or less in length and capa16 ble of developing at least 115 pounds of static thrust to 

17 install an engine cut-off switch on such recreational vessel 

18 in accordance with the American Boat and Yacht Stand19 ard A–33, as amended. 

20 (c) PENALTY.—A person that violates a regulation 

21 promulgated under subsection (a)(1) of this section shall 

22 be subject to a civil penalty under section 4311 of title 

23 46, United States Code, not to exceed— 

24 (1) $100 for the first offense; 

25 (2) $250 for the second offense; and 


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1 (3) $500 for any subsequent offense. 

2 (d) PREEMPTION.—In accordance with section 4306 

3 of title 46, United States Code, a State may not establish, 

4 continue in effect, or enforce any law or regulation ad5 dressing engine cut-off switch requirements that is not 

6 identical to a regulation prescribed under this section. 

7 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) ENGINE CUT-OFF SWITCH.—The term ‘‘en9 gine cut-off switch’’ means a mechanical or elec10 tronic device that is connected to propulsion machin11 ery that will stop propulsion if— 

12 (A) the switch is not properly connected; 

13 or 

14 (B) the switch components are submerged 

15 in water or separated from the switch by a pre16 determined distance. 

17 (2) ENGINE CUT-OFF SWITCH LINK.—The term 

18 ‘‘engine cut-off switch link’’ means the equipment 

19 attached to the recreational vessel operator and 

20 which activates the engine cut-off switch. 

21 (f) EFFECTIVE DATES.—A regulation prescribed 

22 under this section shall specify an effective date that is 

23 not earlier than 1 year from the date the regulation was 

24 published. 


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1 SEC. 312. VISUAL DISTRESS SIGNALS AND ALTERNATIVE 

2 USE. 

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

4 in which the Coast Guard is operating shall develop a per5 formance standard for the alternative use and possession 

6 of visual distress signals as mandated by carriage require7 ments for recreational boats in subpart C of part 175 of 

8 title 33, Code of Federal Regulations. 

9 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

10 the performance standard for alternative use and posses11 sion of a visual distress signal is finalized, the Secretary 

12 shall revise part 175 of title 33, Code of Federal Regula13 tions, to allow for carriage of such alternative signal de14 vices. 

15 (c) EPIRBS AND PLBS.—In revising the regulations 

16 under subsection (b), the Secretary shall allow use of a 

17 position indicating radio beacons (EPIRBs) or Personal 

18 Locating Devices (PLBs) of 406 megahertz, operating on 

19 the COSPAS–SARSAT system to meet the alternative 

20 carriage requirements for recreational boats under subpart 

21 C of part 175 of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations. 

22 SEC. 313. RENEWAL PERIOD FOR DOCUMENTED REC23 REATIONAL VESSELS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

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

26 department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall 


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1 issue certificates of documentation for recreational vessels 

2 effective for 5 years and charge a nonrefundable fee of 

3 $130 per issuance. 

4 (b) FEES.—All fees collected from recreational vessel 

5 owners under subsection (a) shall be available to fund rec6 reational vessel documentation costs until expended. 

7 SEC. 314. EXCEPTION FROM SURVIVAL CRAFT REQUIRE8 MENTS. 

9 Section 3104 of title 46, United States Code, is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub12 section (e); and 

13 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(d) AUXILIARY CRAFT.— 

16 ‘‘(1) EXCEPTION.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

17 this section shall not apply to a vessel carrying an 

18 auxiliary craft on board, except an inflatable liferaft, 

19 if the auxiliary craft— 

20 ‘‘(A) is readily accessible during an emer21 gency; and 

22 ‘‘(B) is capable of safely holding all indi23 viduals on board the vessel. 

24 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—A vessel described in 

25 paragraph (1) may not exceed the rated capacity on 


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1 the capacity plate of the auxiliary craft if the auxil2 iary craft is equipped with a Coast Guard required 

3 capacity plate.’’. 

4 SEC. 315. INLAND WATERWAY AND RIVER TENDER ACQUISI5 TION PLAN. 

6 (a) ACQUISITION PLAN.—Not later than 545 days 

7 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commandant 

8 of the Coast Guard shall submit to the Committee on 

9 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

10 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

11 the House of Representatives a plan to replace the aging 

12 fleet of inland waterway and river tenders. 

13 (b) CONTENTS.—The plan described in subsection (a) 

14 shall include— 

15 (1) a schedule for the acquisition to begin; 

16 (2) the date the first vessel will be delivered; 

17 (3) the date the acquisition will be complete; 

18 (4) a description of the order and location of re19 placements; 

20 (5) an estimate of the cost per vessel and for 

21 total acquisition program of record; and 

22 (6) an analysis of whether existing vessels can 

23 be used. 


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1 SEC. 316. ARCTIC PLANNING CRITERIA. 

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

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

4 Coast Guard shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

5 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com6 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

7 of Representatives a report on the oil spill prevention and 

8 response capabilities for the area covered by the Captain 

9 of the Port Zone that includes the Arctic. 

10 (b) CONTENTS.—The report shall include the fol11 lowing: 

12 (1) Levels of equipment and assets. 

13 (2) Location the equipment and assets that are 

14 to be deployed, including an estimate of the time to 

15 deploy the equipment and assets. 

16 (3) A determination on the degree of how effec17 tively the assets are distributed throughout the area. 

18 (4) A statement on whether performance of 

19 ability to deploy equipment is taken into account 

20 when measuring the level of equipment available. 

21 (5) Validation of port assessment visit process 

22 and response resource inventory. 

23 (6) A description of the resources need through24 out the Coast Guard to conduct port assessments, 

25 exercises, response plan review and spill responses. 


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1 (c) DEFINITION OF ARCTIC.—In this section, the 

2 term ‘‘Arctic’’ has the meaning given the term under sec3 tion 112 of the Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984 

4 (15 U.S.C. 4111). 

5 TITLE IV—MARITIME SECURITY 

6 SEC. 401. MARITIME BORDER SECURITY COOPERATION. 

7 The Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

8 Guard is operating shall, in accordance with law— 

9 (1) partner with other Federal, State, and local 

10 government agencies to leverage technology, includ11 ing existing sensor and camera systems and other 

12 sensors, to provide continuous monitoring of the 

13 maritime border; and 

14 (2) enter into such agreements as the Secretary 

15 considers necessary to ensure 24-hour monitoring of 

16 such technology. 

17 SEC. 402. CURRENCY DETECTION CANINE TEAM PROGRAM. 

18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (1) CANINE CURRENCY DETECTION TEAM.— 

20 The term ‘‘canine currency detection team’’ means a 

21 canine and a canine handler that are trained to de22 tect currency. 

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

24 the Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

25 Guard is operating. 


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1 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es3 tablish a program to allow the use of canine currency de4 tection teams for purposes of Coast Guard maritime law 

5 enforcement and maritime security operations, including 

6 underway vessel boardings. 

7 (c) OPERATION.—The Secretary may cooperate with, 

8 or enter into an agreement with, the head of another Fed9 eral agency to meet the requirements under subsection (b). 

10 SEC. 403. CONFIDENTIAL INVESTIGATIVE EXPENSES. 

11 Section 658 of title 14, United States Code, is 

12 amended by striking ‘‘$45,000’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘$250,000’’. 

14 SEC. 404. ARCTIC MARITIME DOMAIN AWARENESS. 

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

16 in which the Coast Guard is operating shall conduct a 1- 

17 year pilot program to determine the impact of persistent 

18 aircraft-based surveillance on illegal maritime activities in 

19 the Alaskan and Western Pacific regions. 

20 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The pilot program shall— 

21 (1) use light aircraft-based detection systems 

22 which can identify potential illegal activity from 

23 higher altitudes and produce enforcement-quality 

24 evidence at lower altitudes; and 


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1 (2) be directed at detecting and deterring ille2 gal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and en3 hancing maritime domain awareness. 

4 SEC. 405. STRATEGIC ASSETS IN THE ARCTIC. 

5 (a) DEFINITION OF ARCTIC.—In this section, the 

6 term ‘‘Arctic’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

7 112 of the Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984 (15 

8 U.S.C. 4111). 

9 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con10 gress that— 

11 (1) the Arctic continues to grow in significance 

12 to both the national security interests and the eco13 nomic prosperity of the United States; and 

14 (2) the Coast Guard must ensure it is posi15 tioned to respond to any accident, incident, or threat 

16 with appropriate assets. 

17 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

18 of enactment of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast 

19 Guard shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

20 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com21 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

22 of Representatives a report on the progress toward imple23 menting the strategic objectives described in the United 

24 States Coast Guard Arctic Strategy dated May 2013. 


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1 (d) CONTENTS.—The report under subsection (c) 

2 shall include— 

3 (1) a description of the Coast Guard’s progress 

4 toward each strategic objective; 

5 (2) plans to provide communications throughout 

6 the entire Coastal Western Alaska Captain of the 

7 Port zone to improve waterway safety and mitigate 

8 close calls, collisions, and other dangerous inter9 actions between the shipping industry and subsist10 ence hunters; 

11 (3) plans to prevent marine casualties, when 

12 possible, by ensuring vessels avoid environmentally 

13 sensitive areas and permanent security zones; 

14 (4) an explanation of— 

15 (A) whether it is feasible to establish a ves16 sel traffic service, using existing resources or 

17 otherwise; and 

18 (B) whether an Arctic Response Center of 

19 Expertise is necessary to address the gaps in 

20 experience, skills, equipment, resources, train21 ing, and doctrine to prepare, respond to, and 

22 recover spilled oil in the Arctic; 

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1 ceiving the information it needs to carry out its re2 sponsibilities; 

3 (6) an assessment of the assets and infrastruc4 ture necessary to meet the strategic objectives iden5 tified in the United States Coast Guard Arctic 

6 Strategy dated May 2013 based on factors such 

7 as— 

8 (A) response time; 

9 (B) coverage area; 

10 (C) endurance on scene; 

11 (D) presence; and 

12 (E) deterrence; and 

13 (7) an analysis of National Security Cutters, 

14 Offshore Patrol Cutters, and Fast Response Cutters 

15 capabilities based on the factors described in sub16 paragraphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (6), both 

17 stationed from various Alaska ports and in other lo18 cations. 

19 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

20 SEC. 501. SHIP SHOAL LIGHTHOUSE TRANSFER; REPEAL. 

21 Section 27 of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 

22 1991 (Public Law 102–241; 105 Stat. 2218) is repealed. 

23 SEC. 502. ACQUISITION WORKFORCE EXPEDITED HIRING 

24 AUTHORITY. 

25 (a) EXPEDITED HIRING AUTHORITY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 15 of title 14, 

2 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

3 section 563 the following: 

4 ‘‘§ 563a. Acquisition workforce expedited hiring au5 thority 

6 ‘‘For purposes of section 3304 of title 5, the Com7 mandant of the Coast Guard may— 

8 ‘‘(1) designate any category of acquisition posi9 tions within the Coast Guard as shortage category 

10 positions; and 

11 ‘‘(2) use the authorities in such section to re12 cruit and appoint highly qualified persons directly to 

13 positions so designated.’’. 

14 (2) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of con15 tents of chapter 15 of title 14, United States Code, 

16 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

17 section 563 the following: 

‘‘563a. Acquisition workforce expedited hiring authority.’’. 

18 (3) REPEAL.—Section 404 of the Coast Guard 

19 Authorization Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–281; 

20 124 Stat. 2950) is repealed. 

21 (b) ACQUISITION WORKFORCE REEMPLOYMENT AU22 THORITY.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 15 of title 14, as 

24 amended by subsection (a) of this section, is further 


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1 amended by inserting after section 563a the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘§ 563b. Acquisition workforce reemployment author4 ity 

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

6 (b), if an annuitant receiving an annuity from the Civil 

7 Service Retirement and Disability Fund becomes em8 ployed in any category of acquisition positions designated 

9 by the Commandant of the Coast Guard under section 

10 563a of this title, the annuity of an annuitant so employed 

11 shall continue. An annuitant so reemployed shall not be 

12 considered an employee for purposes of subchapter III of 

13 chapter 83 or chapter 84 of title 5. 

14 ‘‘(b)(1) ELECTION.—An annuitant retired under sec15 tion 8336(d)(1) or 8414(b)(1)(A) of title 5, receiving an 

16 annuity from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability 

17 Fund, who becomes employed in a position within the 

18 Coast Guard after the date of enactment of the Coast 

19 Guard Authorization Act of 2017, may elect to be subject 

20 to section 8344 or 8468 of such title (as the case may 

21 be). 

22 ‘‘(A) DEADLINE.—An election for coverage 

23 under this subsection shall be filed not later than 90 

24 days after the Commandant takes reasonable actions 

25 to notify employees who may file an election. 


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1 ‘‘(B) COVERAGE.—If an employee files an elec2 tion under this subsection, coverage shall be effective 

3 beginning on the first day of the first applicable pay 

4 period beginning on or after the date of the filing of 

5 the election. 

6 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—Paragraph (1) shall apply to an 

7 individual who is eligible to file an election under subpara8 graph (A) and does not file a timely election under sub9 paragraph (B).’’. 

10 (2) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of con11 tents of chapter 15 of title 14, United States Code, 

12 as amended in subsection (a) of this section, is fur13 ther amended by inserting after the item relating to 

14 section 563a the following: 

‘‘563b. Acquisition workforce reemployment authority.’’. 

15 SEC. 503. DRAWBRIDGES. 

16 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are— 

17 (1) to ensure the public is made aware of any 

18 temporary change to a drawbridge operating sched19 ule; and 

20 (2) to ensure the operators are maintaining logs 

21 of drawbridge movement. 

22 (b) TEMPORARY CHANGES TO DRAWBRIDGE OPER23 ATING SCHEDULES.—Section 5 of the Act entitled ‘‘An 

24 Act making appropriations for the construction, repair, 

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1 bors, and for other purposes’’, approved August 18, 1894 

2 (33 U.S.C. 499), is amended by adding at the end the 

3 following— 

4 ‘‘(d) TEMPORARY CHANGES TO DRAWBRIDGE OPER5 ATING SCHEDULES.—Notwithstanding section 553 of title 

6 5, United States Code, whenever a temporary change to 

7 the operating schedule of a drawbridge, lasting 180 days 

8 or less, is approved— 

9 ‘‘(1) the Secretary of the department in which 

10 the Coast Guard is operating shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) issue a deviation approval letter to 

12 the bridge owner; 

13 ‘‘(B) publish a notice of the temporary de14 viation from the regulations in the Federal Reg15 ister; and 

16 ‘‘(C) announce the temporary change in— 

17 ‘‘(i) the Local Notice to Mariners; 

18 ‘‘(ii) broadcast notices to mariners 

19 through the Coast Guard radio station or 

20 Navy radio station, or both; or 

21 ‘‘(iii) such other local media as the 

22 Secretary considers appropriate; and 

23 ‘‘(2) the bridge owner, except a railroad bridge 

24 owner, shall notify— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the public by publishing notice of the 

2 temporary change in a newspaper of general 

3 circulation published in the place where the 

4 bridge is located; 

5 ‘‘(B) the department, agency, or office of 

6 transportation with jurisdiction over the road7 way that abuts the approaches to the bridge; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(C) the law enforcement organization 

10 with jurisdiction over the roadway that abuts 

11 the approaches to the bridge. 

12 ‘‘(e) DRAWBRIDGE MOVEMENTS.—The Secretary of 

13 the department in which the Coast Guard is operating— 

14 ‘‘(1) shall require a drawbridge operator to 

15 record each movement of the drawbridge in a log; 

16 ‘‘(2) may inspect the log to ensure drawbridge 

17 movement is in accordance with the posted operating 

18 schedule; and 

19 ‘‘(3) may determine if the operating schedule 

20 should be adjusted for efficiency.’’. 

21 SEC. 504. INCENTIVE CONTRACT; COAST GUARD YARD AND 

22 INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENTS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Whenever the parties to a project 

24 order for industrial work to be performed by the Coast 

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1 lishment agree that delivery or technical performance of 

2 the wage-grade industrial employees may, during the term 

3 of such project order, improve, the parties to such project 

4 order may, notwithstanding any other provision of law, in5 cluding any provision of law that provides for the time 

6 or purpose of appropriated funds, enter into an incentive 

7 project order or a cost-plus-incentive-fee project order by 

8 which an agreed upon amount of the adjustment to be 

9 made pursuant to section 648(a) of title 14, United States 

10 Code, may, notwithstanding that provision of law or any 

11 other provision of law, be distributed as an incentive to 

12 the wage-grade industrial employees who completed the 

13 project order. 

14 (b) CONDITION.—Before entering into an incentive 

15 project order or a cost-plus-incentive-fee project order, the 

16 commanding officer of the Coast Guard Yard or the com17 manding officer of the Coast Guard industrial establish18 ment, as the case may be, shall complete a determination 

19 and finding for such incentive project order or cost-plus20 incentive-fee project order that justifies the use of such 

21 project order as in the best interest of the Federal Govern22 ment. 

23 (c) TREATMENT OF INCENTIVE AWARD.—Notwith24 standing any other provision of law, in the event that the 

25 industrial workforce of the Coast Guard Yard or a Coast 


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1 Guard industrial establishment satisfies the performance 

2 target set out in an incentive project order or a cost-plus3 incentive-fee project order— 

4 (1) the adjustment to be made pursuant to sec5 tion 648(a) of title 14, United States Code, shall, 

6 notwithstanding that provision of law, be reduced by 

7 the agreed amount and distributed as an incentive to 

8 such wage-grade industrial employees; and 

9 (2) the remainder of the adjustment shall be 

10 credited to the appropriation current at that time. 

11 SEC. 505. COAST GUARD HEALTH-CARE PROFESSIONALS; 

12 LICENSURE PORTABILITY. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1094(d)(1) of title 10, 

14 United States Code, shall apply in the same manner and 

15 to the same degree as such section applies to a health16 care professional described in subsection (d)(2) of that 

17 section to a health-care professional described in sub18 section (b) of this section. 

19 (b) HEALTH-CARE PROFESSIONAL.—A health-care 

20 professional described in this subsection is a member of 

21 the Coast Guard, civilian employee of the Coast Guard, 

22 member of the Public Health Service assigned to the Coast 

23 Guard, personal services contractor under section 1091 of 

24 title 10, United States Code, or other health-care profes25 sional credentialed and privileged at a Federal health care 


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1 institution or location specially designated by the Sec2 retary of the department in which the Coast Guard is op3 erating for this purpose who— 

4 (1) has a current license to practice medicine, 

5 osteopathic medicine, dentistry, or another health 

6 profession; and 

7 (2) is performing authorized duties for the 

8 Coast Guard. 

9 SEC. 506. LAND EXCHANGE; AYAKULIK ISLAND, ALASKA. 

10 (a) LAND EXCHANGE; AYAKULIK ISLAND, ALAS11 KA.—If the owner of Ayakulik Island, Alaska, offers to 

12 exchange the Island for the Tract— 

13 (1) within 30 days after receiving such offer, 

14 the Secretary shall provide notice of the offer to the 

15 Commandant; 

16 (2) within 30 days after receiving the notice 

17 under paragraph (1), the Commandant shall develop 

18 and transmit to the Secretary proposed operational 

19 restrictions on commercial activity conducted on the 

20 Tract, including the right of the Commandant to— 

21 (A) order the immediate termination, for a 

22 period of up to 72 hours, of any activity occur23 ring on or from the Tract that violates or 

24 threatens to violate 1 or more of such restric25 tions; or 


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1 (B) commence a civil action for appro2 priate relief, including a permanent or tem3 porary injunction enjoining the activity that vio4 lates or threatens to violate such restrictions; 

5 (3) within 30 days after receiving the proposed 

6 operational restrictions from the Commandant, the 

7 Secretary shall transmit such restrictions to the 

8 owner of Ayakulik Island; and 

9 (4) within 30 days after transmitting the pro10 posed operational restrictions to the owner of 

11 Ayakulik Island, and if the owner agrees to such re12 strictions, the Secretary shall convey all right, title, 

13 and interest of the United States in and to the 

14 Tract to the owner, subject to an easement granted 

15 to the Commandant to enforce such restrictions, in 

16 exchange for all right, title, and interest of such 

17 owner in and to Ayakulik Island. 

18 (b) BOUNDARY REVISIONS.—The Secretary may 

19 make technical and conforming revisions to the boundaries 

20 of the Tract before the date of the exchange. 

21 (c) PUBLIC LAND ORDER.—Effective on the date of 

22 an exchange under subsection (a), Public Land Order 

23 5550 shall have no force or effect with respect to sub24 merged lands that are part of the Tract. 


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1 (d) FAILURE TO TIMELY RESPOND TO NOTICE.—If 

2 the Commandant does not transmit proposed operational 

3 restrictions to the Secretary within 30 days after receiving 

4 the notice under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall, by 

5 not later than 60 days after transmitting such notice, con6 vey all right, title, and interest of the United States in 

7 and to the Tract to the owner of Ayakulik Island in ex8 change for all right, title, and interest of such owner in 

9 and to Ayakulik Island. 

10 (e) CERCLA NOT AFFECTED.—This section and an 

11 exchange under this section shall not be construed to limit 

12 the application of or otherwise affect section 120(h) of the 

13 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, 

14 and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9620(h)). 

15 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 (1) COMMANDANT.—The term ‘‘Commandant’’ 

17 means the Secretary of the department in which the 

18 Coast Guard is operating, acting through the Com19 mandant of the Coast Guard. 

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

21 the Secretary of the Interior. 

22 (3) TRACT.—The term ‘‘Tract’’ means the land 

23 (including submerged land) depicted as ‘‘PRO24 POSED PROPERTY EXCHANGE AREA’’ on the 


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1 survey titled ‘‘PROPOSED PROPERTY EX2 CHANGE PARCEL’’ and dated March 22, 2017. 

3 SEC. 507. ABANDONED SEAFARERS FUND AMENDMENTS. 

4 Section 11113 of title 46, United States Code, is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘may be 

7 appropriated to the Secretary’’ in the matter before 

8 subparagraph (A) and inserting ‘‘shall be available 

9 to the Secretary without further appropriation, and 

10 shall remain available until expended,’’; and 

11 (2) in subsection (c)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘plus a 

13 surcharge of 25 percent of such total amount,’’ 

14 after ‘‘seafarer,’’ in the matter preceding sub15 paragraph (A); and 

16 (B) by striking paragraph (4). 

17 SEC. 508. ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL SHIPYARDS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 54101 of title 46, United 

19 States Code, is amended— 

20 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘and mari21 time communities’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘in commu23 nities’’ and all that follows through the period and 

24 inserting ‘‘relating to shipbuilding, ship repair, and 

25 associated industries.’’; 


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1 (3) by amending subsection (b)(1) to read as 

2 follows: 

3 ‘‘(1) consider projects that foster— 

4 ‘‘(A) efficiency, competitive operations, and 

5 quality ship construction, repair, and reconfig6 uration; and 

7 ‘‘(B) employee skills and enhancing pro8 ductivity related to shipbuilding, ship repair, 

9 and associated industries; and’’; 

10 (4) in subsection (c)(1), by striking subpara11 graphs (A), (B), and (C) and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) to make capital and related improve13 ments in small shipyards; and 

14 ‘‘(B) to provide training for workers in 

15 shipbuilding, ship repair, and associated indus16 tries.’’; 

17 (5) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘unless’’ and 

18 all that follows and inserting a period; 

19 (6) in subsection (e)— 

20 (A) by striking paragraph (2); and 

21 (B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

22 paragraph (2); and 

23 (7) in subsection (i), by striking ‘‘for each of 

24 fiscal years 2015 through 2017’’ and all that follows 


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1 and inserting ‘‘to carry out this section $5,000,000 

2 for each of fiscal years 2018 and 2019.’’. 

3 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 54101(f)(2) 

4 is amended by striking ‘‘shall include’’ and all that follows 

5 and inserting: ‘‘shall include a comprehensive description 

6 of— 

7 ‘‘(1) the need for the project; 

8 ‘‘(2) the methodology for implementing the 

9 project; and 

10 ‘‘(3) any existing programs or arrangements 

11 that can be used to supplement or leverage assist12 ance under the program.’’. 

13 (c) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section, or 

14 the amendments made by this section, shall affect an 

15 agreement to provide assistance under section 54101 of 

16 title 46, United States Code, that was executed before Oc17 tober 1, 2017. Such an agreement shall continue to be 

18 subject to the requirements to which such agreement was 

19 subject under section 54101 of that title as in effect on 

20 the day before October 1, 2017. 

21 SEC. 509. SMALL SHIPYARD CONTRACTS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 17 of title 14, United 

23 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 667 the 

24 following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 667a. Construction of Coast Guard vessels and as2 signment of vessel projects 

3 ‘‘The assignment of Coast Guard vessel conversion, 

4 alteration, and repair projects shall be based on economic 

5 and military considerations and may not be restricted by 

6 a requirement that certain parts of Coast Guard shipwork 

7 be assigned to a particular type of shipyard or geo8 graphical area or by a similar requirement.’’. 

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

10 chapter 17 of title 14, United States Code, is amended 

11 by inserting after the item relating to section 667 the fol12 lowing: 

‘‘667a. Construction of Coast Guard vessels and assignment of vessel projects.’’. 

13 SEC. 510. WESTERN CHALLENGER; CERTIFICATE OF DOCU14 MENTATION. 

15 Section 604(b) of the Howard Coble Coast Guard and 

16 Maritime Transportation Act of 2014 (Public Law 113– 

17 281; 128 Stat. 3062) is amended by inserting ‘‘and a fish18 eries endorsement’’ after ‘‘endorsement’’. 

19 TITLE VI—DEPARTMENT OF 

20 COMMERCE VESSELS 

21 SEC. 601. WAIVERS FOR CERTAIN CONTRACTS. 

22 Section 3134 of title 40, United States Code, is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) by inserting ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Secu25 rity,’’ after ‘‘Air Force,’’ each place it appears; and 


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

2 ‘‘(c) COMMERCE.—The Secretary of Commerce may 

3 waive this subchapter with respect to contracts for the 

4 construction, alteration, or repair of vessels, regardless of 

5 the terms of the contracts as to payment or title, when 

6 the contract is made under the Act entitled ‘An Act to 

7 define the functions and duties of the Coast and Geodetic 

8 Survey, and for other purposes’, approved August 6, 1947 

9 (33 U.S.C. 883a et seq.).’’. 

Æ 


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