I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1879 

To promote secure ferry transportation and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 12, 2011 

Mr. LARSEN of Washington (for himself, Mr. DICKS, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. SMITH

of Washington, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. GRIMM, Mr. KEATING, Mr. SIRES, 

Ms. PINGREE of Maine, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. BISHOP of New York, 

and Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To promote secure ferry transportation and for other 

purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Ferry 

5 Systems Investment Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Ferries are a vital part of the United States 

9 transportation system, carrying more than 


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1 100,000,000 passengers annually in at least 38 

2 States. 

3 (2) In many congested metropolitan areas, fer4 ries are one of the few remaining options for signifi5 cant transportation capacity expansion. 

6 (3) Ferries are the sole or primary transpor7 tation connection for many island and isolated com8 munities. 

9 (4) Ferries provide a critical emergency evacu10 ation alternative for both large cities and remote lo11 cations. 

12 (5) Ferries can be part of an interim solution 

13 when transportation infrastructure fails. For exam14 ple, ferries were used to provide interim transpor15 tation after the terrorist attacks in New York on 

16 September 11, 2001, disrupted train service and 

17 after part of the San Francisco Bay Bridge col18 lapsed in the Loma Prieta earthquake. 

19 (6) Ferries offer a relatively energy-efficient, 

20 environmentally friendly, and low-stress mode of 

21 travel. 

22 (7) Almost all of the largest and most impor23 tant ferry services are publicly owned or provide 

24 transportation at public terminals, are integrated 


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1 with other transportation modes, and are operated 

2 in a manner to serve the public interest. 

3 (8) According to the Secretary of Transpor4 tation, almost 25 percent of United States ferries 

5 are 40 years or older and 5 percent of United States 

6 ferries are 60 years or older. 

7 (9) Federal investment in the United States 

8 ferry system is necessary because— 

9 (A) of the unique and important role fer10 ries play in the United States transportation 

11 system; 

12 (B) of the large and growing need for new 

13 and replacement ferry vessels and terminals; 

14 and 

15 (C) ferries do not fit neatly into other Fed16 eral mode-specific transportation programs. 

17 (10) The distribution of Federal ferry funds by 

18 formula is appropriate because that method of dis19 tribution would dedicate funding to the largest and 

20 most important public ferry systems. 

21 (11) The distribution of Federal ferry funds by 

22 discretionary awards is also appropriate because that 

23 method of distribution would help initiate and ex24 pand ferry services throughout the United States. 


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1 SEC. 3. SECRETARY DEFINED. 

2 In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec3 retary of Transportation. 

4 SEC. 4. CONSTRUCTION OF FERRY BOATS AND FERRY TER5 MINAL FACILITIES. 

6 Section 147 of title 23, United States Code, is 

7 amended by striking subsections (c), (d), and (e) and in8 serting the following: 

9 ‘‘(c) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The funds made 

10 available to carry out this section for a fiscal year shall 

11 be allocated to those ferry systems and public entities re12 sponsible for developing ferries as follows: 

13 ‘‘(1) Fifty percent of such funds shall be allo14 cated at the discretion of the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(2) Fifty percent of such funds shall be allo16 cated in accordance with the formula set out in sub17 section (d). 

18 ‘‘(d) FORMULA.—The funds referred to in subsection 

19 (c)(2) shall be distributed as follows: 

20 ‘‘(1) Fifty percent shall be based on the total 

21 annual number of passengers carried by a ferry sys22 tem. 

23 ‘‘(2) Twenty-five percent shall be based on the 

24 total annual number of vehicles carried by a ferry 

25 system. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Twenty-five percent shall be based on the 

2 total route miles serviced by a ferry system. 

3 ‘‘(e) FUNDING.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be available to 

5 the Secretary from the Highway Trust Fund (other 

6 than the Mass Transit Account) $200,000,000 for 

7 each of the fiscal years 2012 through 2018 to carry 

8 out this section. 

9 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—Notwith10 standing section 118(b), funds made available to 

11 carry out this section shall remain available until ex12 pended.’’. 

13 SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY OF FERRIES FOR THE CLEAN FUELS 

14 GRANT PROGRAM. 

15 Section 5308 of title 49, United States Code, is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a)(2)(A)— 

18 (A) in clause (i) by striking the semicolon 

19 and inserting ‘‘, or ferries;’’; and 

20 (B) in clause (iii) by striking the semicolon 

21 and inserting ‘‘or ferries;’’; and 

22 (2) in subsection (c)— 

23 (A) in the heading by striking the period 

24 and inserting ‘‘AND FERRIES.’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking the period at the end and 

2 inserting ‘‘or ferries.’’. 

3 SEC. 6. FERRY JOINT PROGRAM OFFICE. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.— 

5 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es6 tablish within the Department of Transportation a 

7 Ferry Joint Program Office (in this section, referred 

8 to as the ‘‘Office’’) for the purposes described in 

9 paragraph (2). 

10 (2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Office 

11 shall be— 

12 (A) to coordinate Federal programs affect13 ing ferry and ferry facility construction, mainte14 nance, operations, and security; and 

15 (B) to promote transportation by ferry as 

16 a component of the United States transpor17 tation system. 

18 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The head of the Office shall carry 

19 out the following functions: 

20 (1) Coordinating programs related to ferry 

21 transportation carried out by the Department of 

22 Transportation, including programs carried out by 

23 the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal 

24 Transit Administration, the Maritime Administra25 tion, and the Research and Innovative Technology 


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1 Administration, and such programs carried out by 

2 the Department of Homeland Security and other 

3 Federal and State agencies, as appropriate. 

4 (2) Ensuring resource accountability for pro5 grams carried out by the Secretary related to ferry 

6 transportation. 

7 (3) Providing strategic leadership for research, 

8 development, testing, and deployment of technologies 

9 related to ferry transportation. 

10 (4) Promoting ferry transportation as a means 

11 to reduce social, economic, and environmental costs 

12 associated with traffic congestion. 

13 (5) Developing energy-efficient operating mod14 els to reduce carbon emissions associated with ferry 

15 transportation. 

16 SEC. 7. NATIONAL FERRY DATABASE. 

17 Section 1801(e) of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, 

18 Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users 

19 (Public Law 109–59; 23 U.S.C. 129 note) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (2) by inserting ‘‘, including 

21 any Federal, State, or local government funding 

22 sources,’’ after ‘‘sources’’; and 

23 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

24 (A) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ 

25 at the end; 


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1 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 

2 subparagraph (D); 

3 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(C) ensure that the database is consistent 

6 with the national transit database maintained 

7 by the Federal Transit Administration; and’’; 

8 and 

9 (D) in subparagraph (D), as redesignated 

10 by subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, by 

11 striking ‘‘2009’’ and inserting ‘‘2018’’. 

12 SEC. 8. NATIONAL FERRY TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 

14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

15 award a grant to a college to establish a National Ferry 

16 Transportation Institute (in this section referred to as an 

17 ‘‘Institute’’) at the college. 

18 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall award 

19 and administer the grant under subsection (a) in coopera20 tion with the heads of appropriate entities of the Depart21 ment of Transportation and of the appropriate State 

22 transportation department, public ferry transportation au23 thorities, private ferry operators, ferry builders, ferry 

24 transportation employees, and other colleges, universities, 

25 and research institutes. 


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1 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The Institute— 

2 (1) shall— 

3 (A) conduct research and recommend de4 velopment activities on methods of improving 

5 ferry transportation programs in the United 

6 States, including methods of reducing wake, 

7 providing alternative propulsion, integrating use 

8 of clean, renewable fuels, and testing advanced 

9 materials for use in ferry construction; 

10 (B) develop and conduct training programs 

11 for ferry transportation system employees, 

12 United States Government employees, and 

13 other individuals, as appropriate, on develop14 ments, techniques, and procedures pertaining to 

15 the construction and operation of ferries; 

16 (C) encourage and assist collaborative ef17 forts by public and private entities to preserve, 

18 improve, and expand the use of ferries as a 

19 mode of transportation; 

20 (D) preserve, utilize, and display historical 

21 information about the use of ferry transpor22 tation in the United States and in foreign coun23 tries; and 


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1 (E) develop models and recommendations 

2 to enhance security on ferries and in and 

3 around ferry facilities; and 

4 (2) may provide funds from a grant under sub5 section (a) to a contractor or other entity to assist 

6 the Institute in carrying out the functions described 

7 in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (1). 

8 (d) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall 

9 award the grant under subsection (a) on the basis of the 

10 following criteria: 

11 (1) The extent to which the needs of the State 

12 in which the applicant is located are representative 

13 of the importance of public and private ferries to the 

14 region’s transportation system, including both re15 gional travel and long-range travel and service to 

16 isolated communities. 

17 (2) The historical importance of ferry transpor18 tation to the region in which the applicant is located. 

19 (3) The history and diversity of such region in 

20 the maritime community, including ferry construc21 tion and repair and other shipbuilding activities. 

22 (4) The anticipated growth of ferry transpor23 tation and the building of ferries in such region. 

24 (5) The availability of public-private collabora25 tion in such region. 


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1 (6) The demonstrated research and extension 

2 resources available to the applicant to successfully 

3 carry out the functions described in subsection (c). 

4 (e) REQUIREMENT FOR NON-FEDERAL FUNDING.— 

5 A college may not be awarded the grant under subsection 

6 (a) unless the college is able to provide 25 percent of the 

7 costs associated with establishing, operating, and main8 taining the Institute and the research and development ac9 tivities carried out by the Institute from non-Federal 

10 sources. 

11 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

12 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Sec13 retary shall submit to Congress a report on activities car14 ried out under this section, including a description of the 

15 activities carried out by the Institute. 

16 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

17 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $5,000,000 

18 for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2018 to carry out 

19 this section. 

Æ 


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