I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3103

To amend the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, to establish a National Commission to Ensure a Strong and Competitive United States Maritime

Industry.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 21, 1993

Mr. LIPINSKI (for himself, Mr. STUDDS, Mr. FIELDS of Texas, Mr. BATEMAN,

Mr. HUGHES, Mr. HUTTO, Mr. TAUZIN, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. MANTON, Mr.

PICKETT, Mr. HOCHBRUECKNER, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. REED, Ms.

SCHENK, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. BARLOW, Mr. STUPAK, Mr.

ACKERMAN, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Ms. FURSE, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. DIAZBALART, Mrs. BENTLEY, Mr. TORKILDSEN, and Mr. CUNNINGHAM) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries

A BILL

To amend the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, to establish a

National Commission to Ensure a Strong and Competitive United States Maritime Industry.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Maritime Competitive5 ness Commission Act of 1993’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds the following:

3 (1) Since early in our Nation’s history, it has

4 been the policy of the United States to maintain a

5 strong United States maritime industry that—

6 (A) includes an operating fleet of modern

7 United States-flag vessels that is sufficient to

8 carry the domestic waterborne commerce of the

9 United States and a substantial portion of the

10 waterborne export and import foreign commerce

11 of the United States, and to provide shipping

12 service essential for maintaining the flow of

13 such domestic and foreign waterborne com14 merce at all times;

15 (B) includes a fleet of vessels under United

16 States registry that is adequate to serve as a

17 naval auxiliary in time of war or national emer18 gency;

19 (C) has a labor force composed of highly

20 trained and efficient United States citizens; and

21 (D) includes a United States shipbuilding

22 industry with the most modern and efficient fa23 cilities.

24 (2) The United States maritime industry has

25 declined to the point that this longstanding national

26 policy is imperiled.
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1 (3) There is a growing sentiment in favor of re2 forming the maritime laws and governmental prac3 tices in order to revitalize the industry.

4 (4) Without such reform, it is foreseeable that

5 the remaining United States-flag carriers will shift

6 their operations to foreign-flag vessels and the Na7 tion’s shipbuilding industry and other sectors of the

8 maritime industry will continue to decline.

9 (5) A focused review of the United States mari10 time industry and impediments to its success should

11 be undertaken in order to lay a solid foundation for

12 reform.

13 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO MERCHANT MARINE ACT, 1936.

14 The Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 App. U.S.C.

15 1101 et seq.), is amended by adding at the end the follow16 ing new title:

17 ‘‘TITLE XIV—NATIONAL COMMISSION ON MARITIME INDUS18 TRY COMPETITIVENESS

19 ‘‘SEC. 1401. ESTABLISHMENT.

20 ‘‘There is established a commission to be known as

21 the ‘National Commission to Ensure a Strong and Com22 petitive United States Maritime Industry’ (hereinafter re23 ferred to as the ‘Commission’).
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1 ‘‘SEC. 1402. FUNCTIONS.

2 ‘‘(a) INVESTIGATION AND STUDY.—The Commission

3 shall make a complete investigation and study of the con4 dition of the United States maritime industry, and impedi5 ments to a strong and competitive United States maritime

6 industry.

7 ‘‘(b) POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS.—Based on the re8 sults of the investigation and study to be conducted under

9 subsection (a), the Commission shall recommend to the

10 President and Congress those policies which should be

11 adopted to—

12 ‘‘(1) achieve the national goal of a strong and

13 competitive United States maritime industry which

14 will help to provide for the national defense and eco15 nomic security;

16 ‘‘(2) revitalize the fleet of United States-flag

17 vessels and maintain that fleet at a level sufficient

18 to contribute to the national defense and the eco19 nomic security of the Nation;

20 ‘‘(3) foster a viable United States shipbuilding

21 industry to provide an industrial base for meeting

22 present and future military and civilian shipbuilding

23 needs; and

24 ‘‘(4) reduce the loss of seafaring and shipbuild25 ing jobs for United States citizens so as to ensure

26 the existence of a reliable maritime labor force.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 1403. SPECIFIC MATTERS TO BE ADDRESSED.

2 ‘‘The Commission shall specifically investigate and

3 study under section 1402(a) the following:

4 ‘‘(1) CURRENT CONDITION OF UNITED STATES

5 MARITIME INDUSTRY.—The current condition of the

6 United States maritime industry, including how the

7 condition of the industry is likely to change over the

8 next ten years.

9 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL DEFENSE.—The adequacy of

10 the United States maritime industry to ensure the

11 national defense.

12 ‘‘(3) MARITIME LABOR.—Whether there is an

13 adequate number of skilled mariners and shipyard

14 workers, the level of training of United States mari15 ners at training facilities in the United States, and

16 the effect of wage rates on the global competitive17 ness of the United States maritime industry.

18 ‘‘(4) IMPEDIMENTS TO A STRONG AND COM19 PETITIVE MARITIME INDUSTRY.—Whether the Fed20 eral Government should take any legislative or ad21 ministrative actions to improve the condition of the

22 United States maritime industry, including whether

23 any changes are needed in the legal and administra24 tive policies which govern—

25 ‘‘(A) support for United States-flag vessel

26 operations;
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1 ‘‘(B) the taxes and user fees imposed on

2 United States maritime enterprises;

3 ‘‘(C) the regulatory requirements imposed

4 on United States-flag vessels and their opera5 tors, including environmental, vessel construc6 tion, and safety standards; and

7 ‘‘(D) incentives to encourage investment in

8 United States-flag vessel operations and United

9 States shipbuilding.

10 ‘‘(5) INTERNATIONAL MARITIME POLICY.—

11 Whether the policies and strategies followed by the

12 United States in international maritime policy are

13 promoting the ability of the United States maritime

14 industry to achieve long-term competitive success in

15 international markets, including—

16 ‘‘(A) the Government’s general negotiating

17 policy;

18 ‘‘(B) the desirability of multilateral rather

19 than bilateral negotiations;

20 ‘‘(C) the rights granted foreign investors to

21 invest in United States-flag shipping and Unit22 ed States shipbuilding; and

23 ‘‘(D) the effect of subsidies and other fi24 nancial assistance by foreign governments to

25 their vessel operators and shipbuilders.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 1404. MEMBERSHIP; ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.

2 ‘‘(a) APPOINTMENT.—The Commission shall be com3 posed of 15 voting members and 11 nonvoting members

4 as follows:

5 ‘‘(1) 5 voting members and 1 nonvoting mem6 ber appointed by the President.

7 ‘‘(2) 3 voting members and 3 nonvoting mem8 bers appointed by the majority leader of the Senate.

9 ‘‘(3) 2 voting members and 2 nonvoting mem10 bers appointed by the minority leader of the Senate.

11 ‘‘(4) 3 voting members and 3 nonvoting mem12 bers appointed by the Speaker of the House of Rep13 resentatives.

14 ‘‘(5) 2 voting members and 2 nonvoting mem15 bers appointed by the minority leader of the House

16 of Representatives.

17 ‘‘(b) QUALIFICATIONS.—Voting members appointed

18 pursuant to subsection (a) shall be appointed from among

19 individuals who are experts in commercial shipping, inter20 national trade, and related disciplines and who can rep21 resent United States-flag vessel operators (including do22 mestic passenger vessel operators), seafaring and ship23 building labor, shipbuilders, shippers, and the financial

24 community with expertise in maritime matters.

25 ‘‘(c) TERMS OF OFFICE.—Members shall be ap26 pointed for the life of the Commission.
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1 ‘‘(d) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission

2 shall be filled in the manner in which the original appoint3 ment was made.

4 ‘‘(e) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members shall serve with5 out pay but shall receive travel expenses, including per

6 diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with subchapter

7 I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.

8 ‘‘(f) CHAIRMAN.—The President, in consultation with

9 the majority leader of the Senate and the Speaker of the

10 House of Representatives, shall designate the Chairman

11 of the Commission from among its voting members.

12 ‘‘(g) COMMISSION PANELS.—The Chairman shall es13 tablish such panels consisting of voting members of the

14 Commission as the Chairman determines appropriate to

15 carry out the functions of the Commission.

16 ‘‘(h) STAFF.—The Commission may appoint and fix

17 the pay of such personnel as it considers appropriate.

18 ‘‘(i) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request

19 of the Commission, the head of any department or agency

20 of the United States may detail, on a reimbursable basis,

21 any of the personnel of that department or agency to the

22 Commission to assist it in carrying out its duties under

23 this title.

24 ‘‘(j) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon

25 request of the Commission, the Administrator of General
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1 Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reimburs2 able basis, the administrative support services necessary

3 for the Commission to carry out its duties under this title.

4 ‘‘(k) STAFF AND OTHER SUPPORT.—Upon the re5 quest of the Commission or a panel of the Commission,

6 the Secretary of Transportation shall provide the Commis7 sion or panel with staff and other support to assist the

8 Commission or panel in carrying out its responsibilities.

9 ‘‘(l) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission

10 may secure directly from any department or agency of the

11 United States information (other than information re12 quired by any statute of the United States to be kept con13 fidential by such department or agency) necessary for the

14 Commission to carry out its duties under this title. Upon

15 request of the Commission, the head of that department

16 or agency shall furnish such nonconfidential information

17 to the Commission.

18 ‘‘SEC. 1405. REPORT.

19 ‘‘Not later than sixty days after the date on which

20 the initial appointments of members to the Commission

21 are completed, the Commission shall transmit to the Presi22 dent and Congress a report on the activities of the Com23 mission, including recommendations made by the Commis24 sion under section 1402(b).
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1 ‘‘SEC. 1406. TERMINATION.

2 ‘‘The Commission shall terminate on the 30th day

3 after the date of transmittal of the report under section

4 1405.’’.