II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 937

To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2000 and 2001 for certain maritime programs of the Department of Transportation, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 3, 1999

Mrs. HUTCHISON (for herself, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. HOLLINGS, and Mr. INOUYE)

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2000 and 2001

for certain maritime programs of the Department of

Transportation, and for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Maritime Administra5 tion Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2000 and 2001’’.
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1 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL

2 YEARS 2000 AND 2001.

3 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec4 retary of Transportation for the Maritime Administration

5 as follows:

6 (1) For expenses necessary for operations and

7 training activities, not to exceed $72,164,000 for the

8 fiscal year ending September 30, 2000.

9 (2) For the costs, as defined in section 502 of

10 the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, of guaran11 teed loans authorized by Title XI of the Merchant

12 Marine Act, 1936, (46 U.S.C. App. 1271 et seq.),

13 $6,000,000, to be available until expended. In addi14 tion, for administrative expenses related to loan

15 guarantee commitments under Title XI of the Mer16 chant Marine Act, 1936, (46 U.S.C. App. 1271 et

17 seq.), $3,893,000.

18 (3) For the fiscal year ending September 30,

19 2001, such sums as may be necessary.

20 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE XI OF THE MERCHANT MA21 RINE ACT, 1936.

22 (a) Section 1108(a) of the Merchant Marine Act,

23 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1279a(a)) is amended by striking

24 from ‘‘If the proceeds’’ through ‘‘require: Provided, That

25 in the event’’ and inserting ‘‘If the proceeds of an obliga26 tion guaranteed under this title are to be used to finance
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1 the construction, reconstruction, or reconditioning of a

2 vessel or vessels which will serve as security for the guar3 antee of the Secretary, the Secretary is authorized to ac4 cept and hold, in escrow under an escrow agreement with

5 the obligor, proceeds of that obligation (together with such

6 interest as may be earned thereon and, if required by the

7 Secretary, an amount equal to 6 month’s interest on the

8 obligation). The Secretary may not release funds from the

9 escrow until the Secretary first determines that the obligor

10 has paid its portion of the actual cost of constructing, re11 constructing, or reconditioning the vessel or vessels and,

12 second, determines that the funds to be released are need13 ed to pay, or make reimbursements in connection with

14 payments previously made to the shipyard or other con15 tractors for work performed, or to pay for other approved

16 costs, with respect to the vessel or vessels. If’’.

17 (b) Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, (46

18 U.S.C. App. 1271 et seq.) is amended by inserting after

19 section 1108 the following:

20 ‘‘SEC. 1109. RESERVE FUNDS AND COLLATERAL ACCOUNTS.

21 ‘‘(a) CREATION OF FUNDS AND ACCOUNTS.—There

22 is hereby established in the Treasury a deposit fund into

23 which the Secretary is authorized to deposit cash belong24 ing to an obligor so long as the Secretary has a security

25 interest in such cash. The account shall be governed by
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1 the terms of an agreement, as described hereunder, to be

2 entered into by the Secretary and an obligor.

3 ‘‘(b) TERMS OF AGREEMENT.—The Secretary and an

4 obligor shall enter into a reserve fund or other collateral

5 account agreement to govern the making of deposits and

6 withdrawals and the retention, use, and reinvestment of

7 the cash deposited under subsection (a). The agreement

8 shall contain such terms and conditions as are further re9 quired hereunder and as are considered by the Secretary

10 to be necessary to protect fully the interests of the United

11 States.

12 ‘‘(c) INVESTMENT.—The Secretary is authorized to

13 invest and reinvest any part of the cash of a reserve fund

14 or collateral account in obligations of the United States

15 with such maturities that these funds and accounts will

16 be available as required for purposes of the agreement.

17 Cash balances of the deposit fund in excess of current re18 quirements shall be maintained in a form of uninvested

19 funds and the Secretary of the Treasury shall pay interest

20 on these funds.

21 ‘‘(d) INCOME.—The cash deposited in a reserve fund

22 or collateral account may not be withdrawn without the

23 consent of the Secretary. The Secretary may retain and

24 offset any or all of the cash on deposit in a reserve fund

25 or collateral account, and any income realized thereon, as
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1 part of the Secretary’s recovery against an obligor that

2 has defaulted on an obligation. In the absence of a default

3 on an obligation, the Secretary may pay any income real4 ized on a reserve fund or collateral account in accordance

5 with the terms of the agreement.’’.

6 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE IX OF THE MERCHANT MA7 RINE ACT, 1936.

8 (a) Title IX of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46

9 U.S.C. App. 1241 et seq.) is amended by inserting after

10 section 902 the following:

11 ‘‘SEC. 903. DOCUMENTATION OF CERTAIN DRY CARGO VES12 SELS.

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The restrictions of section

14 901(b)(1) of this Act concerning the building, rebuilding,

15 or documentation of a vessel in a foreign country shall

16 not apply to dry bulk vessels and breakbulk vessels over

17 5,000 deadweight tons constructed, reconstructed, or ac18 quired in a foreign shipyard within 1 year after the date

19 of enactment of the Maritime Administration Authoriza20 tion Act for Fiscal Years 2000 and 2001 and before the

21 date of enactment of the OECD Shipbuilding Trade

22 Agreement Act, and transferred to U.S.-flag registry

23 under section 12105 of title 46, United States Code, if—

24 ‘‘(1) the vessels have non-emergency shipyard

25 repairs, and other shipyard work necessary to con-
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1 form the vessel to U.S.-flag standards, performed in

2 a shipyard of the United States;

3 ‘‘(2) the vessels comply with the standards set

4 forth in section 1137 of the Coast Guard Authoriza5 tion Act of 1996 (46 U.S.C. App. 1187 note); and

6 ‘‘(3) the vessels have not be granted approval

7 under section 9(e) of the Shipping Act, 1916 (as

8 amended by section 1136(b) of the Coast Guard Au9 thorization Act of 1996).

10 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION OF SECTION 607.—Section 607 of

11 this Act does not apply to vessels the construction, recon12 struction, modification, or acquisition of which is described

13 in subsection (a).’’.

14 (b) Section 901b(c)(2) of the Merchant Marine Act,

15 1936, (46 U.S.C. App. 1241f(c)(2)) is amended by strik16 ing ‘‘1986.’’ and inserting ‘‘1986, the 18-month period

17 commencing April 1, 1999, and the 12-month period be18 ginning on the first day of October in the year 2000 and

19 each year thereafter.’’.

20 SEC. 5. EXTENSION OF WAR RISK INSURANCE AUTHORITY.

21 Section 1214 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, (46

22 App. U.S.C. 1294) is amended by striking ‘‘June 30,

23 2000.’’ and inserting ‘‘June 30, 2005’’.
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1 SEC. 6. TRANSPORTATION REPORT ON MARITIME ACTIVI2 TIES.

3 Section 208 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46

4 U.S.C. App. 1118) is amended by striking ‘‘1 each’’ and

5 inserting ‘‘1st of each odd-numbered’’.

6 SEC. 7. OWNERSHIP OF THE JEREMIAH O’BRIEN.

7 Section 3302(l)(1)(C) of title 46, United States Code,

8 is amended by striking ‘‘United States Maritime Adminis9 tration.’’ and inserting ‘‘National Liberty Ship Memorial,

10 Inc.’’.

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