II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1611 

To authorize appropriations for the Coast Guard for fiscal years 2016 and 

2017, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 18, 2015 

Mr. THUNE (for himself, Mr. NELSON, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. BOOKER, and Mr. 

SULLIVAN) 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 for fiscal 

years 2016 and 2017, 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 2015’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATIONS 

Sec. 101. Authorizations. 

Sec. 102. Conforming amendments. 


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TITLE II—COAST GUARD 

Sec. 201. Vice Commandant. 

Sec. 202. Vice admirals. 

Sec. 203. Professional development. 

Sec. 204. Senior enlisted member continuation boards. 

Sec. 205. Coast Guard member pay. 

Sec. 206. Recall. 

Sec. 207. Exchange of medical goods and services. 

Sec. 208. Coast Guard remission of indebtedness. 

Sec. 209. Coast Guard communities. 

Sec. 210. Major acquisition programs. 

Sec. 211. Major acquisitions assessment. 

Sec. 212. Polar Icebreakers. 

Sec. 213. Participation of the Coast Guard Academy in Federal, State, or other 

educational research grants. 

Sec. 214. Venue. 

Sec. 215. National Coast Guard Museum. 

Sec. 216. Investigations. 

Sec. 217. Technical and clerical amendments to title 14, United States Code. 

TITLE III—SHIPPING AND NAVIGATION 

Sec. 301. Whistleblower protections. 

Sec. 302. Maritime drug law enforcement. 

Sec. 303. Carriage of liquid dangerous cargo. 

Sec. 304. Maritime transportation of hazardous material. 

Sec. 305. Recreational vessel operator education. 

Sec. 306. Nondisclosure of certain information. 

Sec. 307. Higher volume port area regulatory definition change. 

Sec. 308. Recognition of port security assessments conducted by other entities. 

Sec. 309. Model years for recreational vessels. 

Sec. 310. Recreational vessel engine weights. 

Sec. 311. Vessel replacement. 

Sec. 312. Fishing vessel and fish tender vessel certification. 

Sec. 313. Title 46, United States Code, technical corrections. 

TITLE IV—FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION 

Sec. 401. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 402. Duties of the chairman. 

TITLE V—SPORTFISH RESTORATION AND RECREATIONAL 

BOATING SAFETY REAUTHORIZATION 

Sec. 501. Short title. 

Sec. 502. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 503. Division of annual appropriations. 

Sec. 504. Extension of exception to limitation on transfers to fund. 

Sec. 505. Recreational boating safety allocations. 

Sec. 506. Recreational boating safety. 

Sec. 507. National Boating Safety Advisory Council. 

Sec. 508. Plan evaluation. 

Sec. 509. Report to Congress. 

TITLE VI—CONVEYANCE OF COAST GUARD PROPERTY 


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Subtitle A—Conveyance of Coast Guard Property in Point Spencer, Alaska 

Sec. 601. Findings. 

Sec. 602. Definitions. 

Sec. 603. Authority to convey land in Point Spencer. 

Sec. 604. Port Coordination Advisory Council for Point Spencer. 

Sec. 605. Waiver. 

Subtitle B—Other Conveyance of Coast Guard Property 

Sec. 611. Conveyance of Coast Guard property in Point Reyes Station, California. 

Sec. 612. Conveyance of Coast Guard property in Tok, Alaska. 

TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 701. Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research. 

Sec. 702. Accident and incident notification. 

Sec. 703. Technical corrections relating to bridges. 

Sec. 704. International port and facility inspection coordination. 

Sec. 705. Reports. 

Sec. 706. Safe vessel operation in the Great Lakes. 

Sec. 707. Coastwise endorsement. 

Sec. 708. International Ice Patrol. 

1 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATIONS 

2 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATIONS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title 14, United States Code, is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘PART III—COAST GUARD AUTHORIZATIONS AND 

6 REPORTS TO CONGRESS 

‘‘Chap. Sec. 

‘‘27. Authorizations .......................................................................... 2701 

‘‘29. Reports ......................................................................................... 2901 

7 ‘‘CHAPTER 27—AUTHORIZATIONS 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘2702. Authorization of appropriations. 

‘‘2704. Authorized levels of military strength and training. 

8 ‘‘§ 2702. Authorization of appropriations 

9 ‘‘Funds are authorized to be appropriated for each 

10 of fiscal years 2016 and 2017 for necessary expenses of 

11 the Coast Guard as follows: 


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

2 Coast Guard, not otherwise provided for— 

3 ‘‘(A) $6,981,036,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(B) $6,981,036,000 for fiscal year 2017. 

6 ‘‘(2) For the acquisition, construction, renova7 tion, and improvement of aids to navigation, shore 

8 facilities, vessels, and aircraft, including equipment 

9 related thereto, and for maintenance, rehabilitation, 

10 lease, and operation of facilities and equipment— 

11 ‘‘(A) $1,546,448,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) $1,546,448,000 for fiscal year 2017. 

14 ‘‘(3) For the Coast Guard Reserve program, in15 cluding operations and maintenance of the program, 

16 personnel and training costs, equipment, and serv17 ices— 

18 ‘‘(A) $140,016,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) $140,016,000 for fiscal year 2017. 

21 ‘‘(4) For the environmental compliance and res22 toration functions of the Coast Guard under chapter 

23 19 of this title— 

24 ‘‘(A) $16,701,000 for fiscal year 2016; and 

25 ‘‘(B) $16,701,000 for fiscal year 2017. 


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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) $19,890,000 for fiscal year 2016; and 

12 ‘‘(B) $19,890,000 for fiscal year 2017. 

13 ‘‘§ 2704. Authorized levels of military strength and 

14 training 

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

16 authorized an end-of-year strength for active duty per17 sonnel of 43,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 and 2017. 

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

19 Coast Guard is authorized average military training stu20 dent loads for each of fiscal years 2016 and 2017 as fol21 lows: 

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

23 student years. 

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


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

2 civilian institutions, 350 student years. 

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

4 years. 

5 ‘‘CHAPTER 29—REPORTS 

‘‘Sec.’’. 

6 (b) REQUIREMENT FOR PRIOR AUTHORIZATION OF

7 APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 662 of title 14, United States 

8 Code, is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating such section as section 

10 2701; 

11 (2) by transferring such section to appear be12 fore section 2702 of such title (as added by sub13 section (a) of this section); and 

14 (3) by striking paragraphs (1) through (5) and 

15 inserting the following: 

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

17 Coast Guard, not otherwise provided for. 

18 ‘‘(2) For the acquisition, construction, renova19 tion, and improvement of aids to navigation, shore 

20 facilities, vessels, and aircraft, including equipment 

21 related thereto, and for maintenance, rehabilitation, 

22 lease, and operation of facilities and equipment. 

23 ‘‘(3) For the Coast Guard Reserve program, in24 cluding operations and maintenance of the program, 


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1 personnel and training costs, equipment, and serv2 ices. 

3 ‘‘(4) For the environmental compliance and res4 toration functions of the Coast Guard under chapter 

5 19 of this title. 

6 ‘‘(5) For research, development, test, and eval7 uation of technologies, materials, and human factors 

8 directly related to improving the performance of the 

9 Coast Guard. 

10 ‘‘(6) For alteration or removal of bridges over 

11 navigable waters of the United States constituting 

12 obstructions to navigation, and for personnel and 

13 administrative costs associated with the Alteration of 

14 Bridges Program.’’. 

15 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF PERSONNEL END

16 STRENGTHS.—Section 661 of title 14, United States 

17 Code, is amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating such section as section 

19 2703; and 

20 (2) by transferring such section to appear be21 fore section 2704 of such title (as added by sub22 section (a) of this section). 

23 (d) REPORTS.— 


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1 (1) TRANSMISSION OF ANNUAL COAST GUARD

2 AUTHORIZATION REQUEST.—Section 662a of title 

3 14, United States Code, is amended— 

4 (A) by redesignating such section as sec5 tion 2901; 

6 (B) by transferring such section to appear 

7 as the first section in chapter 29 of such title 

8 (as added by subsection (a) of this section); and 

9 (C) in subsection (b)— 

10 (i) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘de11 scribed in section 661’’ and inserting ‘‘de12 scribed in section 2703’’; and 

13 (ii) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘de14 scribed in section 662’’ and inserting ‘‘de15 scribed in section 2701’’. 

16 (2) CAPITAL INVESTMENT PLAN.—Section 663 

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

18 (A) by redesignating such section as sec19 tion 2902; and 

20 (B) by transferring such section to appear 

21 after section 2901 of such title (as so redesig22 nated and transferred by paragraph (1) of this 

23 subsection). 

24 (3) MAJOR ACQUISITIONS.—Section 569a of 

25 title 14, United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (A) by redesignating such section as sec2 tion 2903; 

3 (B) by transferring such section to appear 

4 after section 2902 of such title (as so redesig5 nated and transferred by paragraph (2) of this 

6 subsection); and 

7 (C) in subsection (c)(2) by striking ‘‘of this 

8 subchapter’’. 

9 (e) ADDITIONAL SUBMISSIONS.—The Commandant 

10 of the Coast Guard shall submit to the Committee on 

11 Homeland Security of the House of Representatives— 

12 (1) each plan required under section 2904 of 

13 title 14, United States Code, as added by subsection 

14 (a) of this section; 

15 (2) each plan required under section 2903(e) of 

16 title 14, United States Code, as added by section 

17 206 of this Act; 

18 (3) each plan required under section 2902 of 

19 title 14, United States Code, as redesignated by sub20 section (d) of this section; and 

21 (4) each mission need statement required under 

22 section 569 of title 14, United States Code. 


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1 SEC. 102. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

2 (a) ANALYSIS FOR TITLE 14.—The analysis for title 

3 14, United States Code, is amended by adding after the 

4 item relating to part II the following: 

‘‘III. Coast Guard Authorizations and Reports to Congress ............................................................................ 2701’’. 

5 (b) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 15.—The analysis for 

6 chapter 15 of title 14, United States Code, is amended 

7 by striking the item relating to section 569a. 

8 (c) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 17.—The analysis for 

9 chapter 17 of title 14, United States Code, is amended 

10 by striking the items relating to sections 661, 662, 662a, 

11 and 663. 

12 (d) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 27.—The analysis for 

13 chapter 27 of title 14, United States Code, as added by 

14 section 101(a) of this Act, is amended by inserting— 

15 (1) before the item relating to section 2702 the 

16 following: 

‘‘2701. Requirement for prior authorization of appropriations.’’; 

17 and 

18 (2) before the item relating to section 2704 the 

19 following: 

‘‘2703. Authorization of personnel end strengths.’’. 

20 (e) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 29.—The analysis for 

21 chapter 29 of title 14, United States Code, as added by 

22 section 101(a) of this Act, is amended by adding after 

23 ‘‘Sec.’’ the following: 


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‘‘2901. Transmission of annual Coast Guard authorization request. 

‘‘2902. Capital investment plan. 

‘‘2903. Major acquisitions.’’. 

1 (f) MISSION NEED STATEMENT.—Section 569(b) of 

2 title 14, United States Code, is amended— 

3 (1) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘in section 

4 569a(e)’’ and inserting ‘‘in section 2903’’; and 

5 (2) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘under section 

6 663(a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘under section 

7 2902(a)(1)’’. 

8 TITLE II—COAST GUARD 

9 SEC. 201. VICE COMMANDANT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of title 14, United 

11 States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) in section 41, by striking ‘‘an admiral,’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘admirals;’’; 

14 (2) in section 47, by striking ‘‘vice admiral’’ in 

15 the fourth sentence and inserting ‘‘admiral’’; and 

16 (3) in section 51— 

17 (A) in subsection (a), by striking inserting 

18 ‘‘admiral or’’ before ‘‘vice admiral,’’; 

19 (B) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘admi20 ral or’’ before ‘‘vice admiral,’’ both places it ap21 pears; and 

22 (C) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘admiral 

23 or’’ before ‘‘vice admiral,’’. 


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1 (b) TREATMENT OF INCUMBENT; TRANSITION.— 

2 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the officer 

3 who, on the date of the enactment of this Act, is serving 

4 as Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard— 

5 (1) shall continue to serve as Vice Com6 mandant; 

7 (2) shall have the grade of admiral with pay 

8 and allowances of that grade; and 

9 (3) shall not be required to be reappointed by 

10 reason of the enactment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 202. VICE ADMIRALS. 

12 Section 50 of title 14, United States Code, is amend13 ed— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)— 

15 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert16 ing the following new paragraph (1): 

17 ‘‘(1) The President may— 

18 ‘‘(A) designate, within the Coast Guard, no 

19 more than 5 positions of importance and responsi20 bility that shall be held by officers who, while so 

21 serving, shall have the grade of vice admiral, with 

22 the pay and allowances of that grade, and shall per23 form such duties as the Commandant may prescribe 

24 (and if the President designates 5 such positions, 1 


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1 position shall be the Chief of Staff of the Coast 

2 Guard); and 

3 ‘‘(B) designate within the Executive branch, 

4 other than within the Coast Guard, positions of im5 portance and responsibility that shall be held by offi6 cers who, while so serving, shall have the grade of 

7 vice admiral, with the pay and allowances of that 

8 grade.’’; and 

9 (B) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking 

10 ‘‘under paragraph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘under 

11 paragraph (1)(A)’’; and 

12 (2) in subsection (b)(2)— 

13 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

14 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

15 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 

16 subparagraph (D); and 

17 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(C) at the discretion of the Secretary, while 

20 awaiting orders after being relieved from the posi21 tion, beginning on the day the officer is relieved 

22 from the position, but not for more than 60 days; 

23 and’’. 


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1 SEC. 203. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. 

2 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con3 gress that toxic leadership can have an adverse effect on 

4 subordinates and the service, and result in degraded mis5 sion performance and the Coast Guard should develop 

6 policies consistent with those of the Department of De7 fense to prevent, identify, and correct toxic leadership. 

8 (b) REPORT ON LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 of title 14, 

10 United States Code, is amended by adding after sec11 tion 428 the following: 

12 ‘‘§ 429. Multirater assessment of certain personnel 

13 ‘‘(a) MULTIRATER ASSESSMENT OF CERTAIN PER14 SONNEL.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Commencing not later than 

16 one year after the date of the enactment of the 

17 Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015, the Com18 mandant of the Coast Guard shall develop and im19 plement a plan to conduct every two years a 

20 multirater assessment for each of the following: 

21 ‘‘(A) Each flag officer of the Coast Guard. 

22 ‘‘(B) Each member of the Senior Executive 

23 Staff of the Coast Guard. 

24 ‘‘(C) Each officer of the Coast Guard nom25 inated for promotion to the grade of captain. 


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1 ‘‘(2) POST-ASSESSMENT ELEMENTS.—Following 

2 an assessment of an individual pursuant to para3 graph (1), the individual shall be provided appro4 priate post-assessment counseling and leadership 

5 coaching. 

6 ‘‘(b) REPORT ON LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT.—Not 

7 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

8 the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015, the Com9 mandant shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

10 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com11 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

12 of Representatives a report on the feasibility of including 

13 a multirater assessment as part of the personnel develop14 ment programs of the Coast Guard. The report shall in15 clude the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) An assessment of the feasibility of— 

17 ‘‘(A) all officers (other than officers cov18 ered by subsection (a)) completing a multirater 

19 assessment; 

20 ‘‘(B) all members (other than officers cov21 ered by subsection (a)) in command positions 

22 completing a multirater assessment; 

23 ‘‘(C) all enlisted members in a supervisory 

24 position completing a multirater assessment; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(D) members completing periodic 

2 multirater assessments. 

3 ‘‘(2) Such recommendations as the Com4 mandant considers appropriate for the implementa5 tion or expansion of a multirater assessment in the 

6 personnel development programs of the Coast 

7 Guard. 

8 ‘‘(3) An overview of each of the current leader9 ship development courses of the Coast Guard, an as10 sessment of the feasibility of the expansion of any 

11 such course, and a description of the resources, if 

12 any, required to expand such courses. 

13 ‘‘(4) An assessment on the state of leadership 

14 training in the Coast Guard, and recommendations 

15 on the implementation of a policy to combat toxic 

16 leadership including— 

17 ‘‘(A) a description of methods that will be 

18 used by the Coast Guard to identify, monitor, 

19 and counsel individuals who may be identified 

20 as toxic leaders; 

21 ‘‘(B) the implementation of toxic leader22 ship recognition training (in self and others); 

23 ‘‘(C) the establishment of procedures for 

24 the administrative separation of toxic leaders; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(D) a description of the resources needed 

2 to implement this section. 

3 ‘‘(c) MULTIRATER ASSESSMENT DEFINED.—In this 

4 section, the term ‘multirater assessment’ means a review 

5 that seeks opinion from members senior to the reviewee 

6 and the peers and subordinates of the reviewee.’’. 

7 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec8 tions at the beginning of chapter 11 of such title is 

9 amended by inserting after the item related to sec10 tion 428 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 429. Multirater assessment of certain personnel.’’. 

11 (c) TRAINING COURSE ON WORKINGS OF CON12 GRESS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of title 14, United 

14 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

15 following new section: 

16 ‘‘§ 60. Training course on workings of Congress 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

18 the date of the enactment of the Coast Guard Authoriza19 tion Act of 2015, the Commandant, in consultation with 

20 the civilian and permanent commissioned teaching staff of 

21 the Department of Humanities at the Coast Guard Acad22 emy and such other individuals and organizations as the 

23 Commandant considers appropriate, shall develop an an24 nual training course for all Coast Guard flag officers 

25 newly appointed or assigned to billets in the National CapVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 Jun 23, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1611.IS S1611

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1 ital Region and all Coast Guard senior executive service 

2 personnel employed in the National Capital Region to edu3 cate them on the workings of Congress. 

4 ‘‘(b) COURSE SUBJECT MATTER.—The training 

5 course required by this section shall cover a variety of sub6 jects related to Congress and the Federal legislative proc7 ess, including— 

8 ‘‘(1) the history and structure of Congress and 

9 the committee systems of the House of Representa10 tives and the Senate, including the functions and re11 sponsibilities of the Committee on Transportation 

12 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

13 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

14 Transportation of the Senate; 

15 ‘‘(2) the documents used by Congress, including 

16 bills, resolutions, committee reports, and conference 

17 reports, and the purposes they serve; 

18 ‘‘(3) the legislative processes of the House of 

19 Representatives and the Senate, including similar20 ities and differences between the two processes; 

21 ‘‘(4) the roles of Members of Congress and con22 gressional staff in the legislative process; 

23 ‘‘(5) the congressional budget process; 

24 ‘‘(6) the congressional authorization-appropria25 tion process; 


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1 ‘‘(7) the Senate advice and consent process for 

2 presidential nominees; 

3 ‘‘(8) the Senate advice and consent process for 

4 treaty ratification; 

5 ‘‘(9) the concept and underlying purposes of 

6 congressional oversight; and 

7 ‘‘(10) best practices that promote effective and 

8 successful interactions with Congress. 

9 ‘‘(c) LECTURERS AND PANELISTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) OUTSIDE EXPERTS.—The Commandant 

11 shall ensure that not less than 60 percent of the lec12 turers, panelists, and other individuals providing 

13 education and instruction as part of the training 

14 course required by this section are experts on Con15 gress and the Federal legislative process who are not 

16 employed by the executive branch of the Federal 

17 Government, such as the Congressional Research 

18 Service. 

19 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT PRO BONO SERV20 ICES.—In satisfying the requirement under para21 graph (1), the Commandant shall seek, and is au22 thorized to accept, educational and instructional 

23 services of lecturers, panelists, and other individuals 

24 and organizations provided to the Coast Guard on a 

25 pro bono basis. 


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1 ‘‘(d) COMPLETION OF REQUIRED TRAINING.— 

2 ‘‘(1) CURRENT FLAG OFFICERS AND EMPLOY3 EES.—A Coast Guard flag officer appointed or as4 signed to a billet in the National Capital Region on 

5 the date of the enactment of this section, and a 

6 Coast Guard senior executive service employee em7 ployed in the National Capital Region on the date of 

8 the enactment of this section, shall complete a train9 ing course that meets the requirements of this sec10 tion within 60 days of the date on which the Com11 mandant completes the development of the training 

12 course. 

13 ‘‘(2) NEW FLAG OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.— 

14 A Coast Guard flag officer who is newly appointed 

15 or assigned to a billet in the National Capital Re16 gion, and a Coast Guard senior executive service em17 ployee who is newly employed in the National Cap18 ital Region, shall complete a training course that 

19 meets the requirements of this section not later than 

20 60 days after reporting for duty.’’. 

21 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec22 tions at the beginning of chapter 4 of such title is 

23 amended by adding at the end the following new 

24 item: 

‘‘60. Training course on workings of Congress.’’. 


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1 SEC. 204. SENIOR ENLISTED MEMBER CONTINUATION 

2 BOARDS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 357 of title 14, United 

4 States Code, is amended— 

5 (1) by striking subsections (a) through (h) and 

6 subsection (j); 

7 (2) in subsection (i), by striking ‘‘(i)’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AND CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

9 (1) HEADING AMENDMENT.—The heading of 

10 such section is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘§ 357. Retirement of enlisted members: increase in 

12 retired pay’’. 

13 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec14 tions at the beginning of chapter 11 of such title is 

15 amended by striking the item relating to section 357 

16 and inserting the following new item: 

‘‘357. Retirement of enlisted members: increase in retired pay.’’. 

17 SEC. 205. COAST GUARD MEMBER PAY. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

19 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commandant of 

20 the Coast Guard shall submit to the Committee on Com21 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

22 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

23 House of Representatives a report on alternative methods 

24 for notifying members of the Coast Guard of their monthly 

25 earnings. The report shall include— 


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1 (1) an assessment of the feasibility of providing 

2 members a monthly notification of their earnings, 

3 categorized by pay and allowance type; and 

4 (2) a description and assessment of mechanisms 

5 that may be used to provide members with notifica6 tion of their earnings, categorized by pay and allow7 ance type. 

8 (b) ANNUAL AUDIT OF PAY AND ALLOWANCES OF

9 MEMBERS UNDERGOING PERMANENT CHANGE OF STA10 TION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 13 of title 14, 

12 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

13 end the following new section: 

14 ‘‘§ 519. Annual audit of pay and allowances of mem15 bers undergoing permanent change of 

16 station 

17 ‘‘The Commandant shall conduct each calendar year 

18 an audit of member pay and allowances for the members 

19 who transferred to new units during such calendar year. 

20 The audit for a calendar year shall be completed by the 

21 end of the calendar year.’’. 

22 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec23 tions at the beginning of chapter 13 of such title is 

24 amended adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘519. Annual audit of pay and allowances of members undergoing permanent 

change of station.’’. 


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1 SEC. 206. RECALL. 

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

3 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 421 the 

4 following new section: 

5 ‘‘§ 421. Involuntary recall to active duty 

6 ‘‘The Commandant may recall a retired member of 

7 the Coast Guard who is subject to section 802 of title 10 

8 and order that member to active duty, without the mem9 ber’s consent, for the purpose of any of the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) A preliminary hearing under section 832 

11 of title 10. 

12 ‘‘(2) Trial by court-martial under chapter 47 of 

13 title 10. 

14 ‘‘(3) Nonjudicial punishment under section 815 

15 of title 10.’’. 

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

17 at the beginning of chapter 11 of such title is amended 

18 by inserting after the item relating to section 421 the fol19 lowing new item: 

‘‘421a. Involuntary recall to active duty.’’. 

20 SEC. 207. EXCHANGE OF MEDICAL GOODS AND SERVICES. 

21 Notwithstanding section 1085 of title 10, United 

22 States Code, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, 

23 in lieu of reimbursement, transfer, from amounts appro24 priated for the operating expenses of the Coast Guard, an 

25 amount, determined by the Department of Defense Board 


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1 of Actuaries established pursuant to section 183 of title 

2 10 United States Code, that represents the value of care 

3 that the Department of Defense or a military department, 

4 during the fiscal year in which funds are made available, 

5 provides to a member or former member of the Coast 

6 Guard (or a dependent of such member or former mem7 ber). 

8 SEC. 208. COAST GUARD REMISSION OF INDEBTEDNESS. 

9 (a) EXPANSION OF AUTHORITY TO REMIT INDEBT10 EDNESS.—Section 461 of title 14, United States Code, is 

11 amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘§ 461. Remission of indebtedness 

13 ‘‘The Secretary may have remitted or cancelled any 

14 part of a person’s indebtedness to the United States or 

15 any instrumentality of the United States if— 

16 ‘‘(1) the indebtedness was incurred while the 

17 person served on active duty as a member of the 

18 Coast Guard; and 

19 ‘‘(2) the Secretary determines that remitting or 

20 cancelling the indebtedness is in the best interest of 

21 the United States.’’. 

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

23 at the beginning of chapter 14 of such title is amended 

24 by striking the item relating to section 461 and inserting 

25 the following new item: 

‘‘461. Remission of indebtedness.’’. 


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1 SEC. 209. COAST GUARD COMMUNITIES. 

2 Section 409 of the Coast Guard Authorization Act 

3 of 1998 (14 U.S.C. 639 note) is amended by striking ‘‘90 

4 days’’ in the second sentence and inserting ‘‘30 days’’. 

5 SEC. 210. MAJOR ACQUISITION PROGRAMS. 

6 Section 569a of title 14, United States Code, is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub9 section (f); and 

10 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol11 lowing new subsection (e): 

12 ‘‘(e) QUARTERLY REPORTS ON RISKS OF PRO13 GRAMS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days 

15 after the end of each fiscal year quarter, the Com16 mandant shall submit to the committees of Congress 

17 specified in subsection (a) a report setting forth a 

18 current assessment of the risks associated with all 

19 current major acquisition programs. 

20 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—Each report under this sub21 section shall set forth, for each current major acqui22 sition program, the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) The top five current risks to such 

24 program. 

25 ‘‘(B) Any failure of such program to dem26 onstrate a key performance parameter or 


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1 threshold during operational test and evaluation 

2 conducted during the fiscal year quarter pre3 ceding such report. 

4 ‘‘(C) Whether there has been any decision 

5 during such fiscal year quarter to order full 

6 rate production before all key performance pa7 rameters or thresholds are met. 

8 ‘‘(D) Whether there has been any breach 

9 of major acquisition program cost (as defined 

10 by the Major Systems Acquisition Manual) dur11 ing such fiscal year quarter. 

12 ‘‘(E) Whether there has been any breach 

13 of major acquisition program schedule (as so 

14 defined) during such fiscal year quarter.’’. 

15 SEC. 211. MAJOR ACQUISITIONS ASSESSMENT. 

16 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact17 ment of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast Guard 

18 shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

19 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

20 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep21 resentatives a report that assesses the effect of any new 

22 major acquisition on the stated Program of Record and 

23 the Capital Investment Plan of the Coast Guard. The re24 port shall include life-cycle funding requirements, an as25 sessment of impact on delivery dates of current acquisiVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 Jun 23, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1611.IS S1611

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1 tions projects and programs, an assessment of impact on 

2 planned construction or improvement projects, and rec3 ommendations on funding levels necessary to simulta4 neously support any proposed and current acquisitions 

5 projects and programs. 

6 SEC. 212. POLAR ICEBREAKERS. 

7 (a) CLASSIFICATION OF POLAR ICEBREAKERS.—Sec8 tion 573(c) of title 14, United States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (3)(A), by inserting ‘‘or Polar 

10 Icebreaker’’ after ‘‘National Security Cutter’’; and 

11 (2) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘or Polar 

12 Icebreaker’’ after ‘‘National Security Cutter’’. 

13 (b) INCREMENTAL FUNDING AUTHORITY FOR POLAR

14 CLASS ICEBREAKERS.—In fiscal year 2016 and each fiscal 

15 year thereafter, the Commandant of the Coast Guard is 

16 granted the authority to enter into a contract or contracts 

17 for the acquisition of Polar Icebreakers and associated 

18 equipment using incremental funding. 

19 (c) ‘‘POLAR SEA’’ MATERIEL CONDITION ASSESS20 MENT AND SERVICE LIFE EXTENSION DECISION.—Sec21 tion 222 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation 

22 Act of 2012 (Public Law 112–213; 126 Stat. 1560) is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol25 lows: 


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1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days after 

2 the date of the enactment of the Coast Guard Authoriza3 tion Act of 2015, the Secretary of the department in which 

4 the Coast Guard is operating shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) complete a materiel condition assessment 

6 with respect to the Polar Sea; 

7 ‘‘(2) make a determination whether it is cost ef8 fective to reactivate the Polar Sea when compared 

9 with other options to provide icebreaking services as 

10 part of a strategy to maintain polar icebreaking 

11 services; and 

12 ‘‘(3) submit to the Committee on Transpor13 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Represent14 ative and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

15 Transportation of the Senate— 

16 ‘‘(A) the assessment required under para17 graph (1); and 

18 ‘‘(B) written notification of the determina19 tion required under paragraph (2).’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘analysis’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘written notification’’; 

22 (3) by striking subsection (c); 

23 (4) by redesignating subsections (d) through (h) 

24 as subsections (c) through (g), respectively; 


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1 (5) in subsection (c) (as redesignated by para2 graph (4) of this section)— 

3 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

4 (i) in subparagraph (A) by striking 

5 ‘‘based on the analysis required’’; and 

6 (ii) in subparagraph (C) by striking 

7 ‘‘analysis’’ and inserting ‘‘written notifica8 tion’’; 

9 (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

10 follows: 

11 ‘‘(2) DECOMMISSIONING.—If the Secretary 

12 makes a determination under subsection (a) that it 

13 is not cost effective to reactivate the Polar Sea, 

14 then, not later than 180 days after written notifica15 tion of that determination is submitted under that 

16 subsection, the Commandant of the Coast Guard 

17 may decommission the Polar Sea.’’; and 

18 (C) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 

19 follows: 

20 ‘‘(3) RESULT OF NO DETERMINATION.—If the 

21 Secretary does not make a determination under sub22 section (a) regarding whether it is cost effective to 

23 reactivate the Polar Sea, then the Commandant of 

24 the Coast Guard may decommission the Polar Sea.’’; 


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1 (6) in subsection (d)(1) (as redesignated by 

2 paragraph (4) of this section) by striking ‘‘analysis’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘written notification’’; and 

4 (7) in subsection (e) (as redesignated by para5 graph (4) of this section) by striking ‘‘in subsection 

6 (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘in subsection (c)’’. 

7 SEC. 213. PARTICIPATION OF THE COAST GUARD ACADEMY 

8 IN FEDERAL, STATE, OR OTHER EDU9 CATIONAL RESEARCH GRANTS. 

10 Section 196 of title 14, United States Code, is 

11 amended— 

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

13 ‘‘Notwithstanding’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY.— 

16 ‘‘(1) CONTRACT OR COOPERATIVE AGREE17 MENT.—Notwithstanding chapter 63 of title 31 and 

18 chapter 137 of title 10, the Commandant may enter 

19 into a contract or cooperative agreement with a non20 profit organization, described under section 

21 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 

22 exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of that 

23 Code, that the Coast Guard Academy Alumni Asso24 ciation may establish for the purpose of supporting 

25 academic research and applying for and adminVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 Jun 23, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1611.IS S1611

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1 istering Federal, State, or other educational research 

2 grants on behalf of the Coast Guard Academy. Not3 withstanding any other provision of law or policy to 

4 the contrary, the Commandant may enter such con5 tract or cooperative agreement on a sole source 

6 basis. 

7 ‘‘(2) LEASE OR LICENSE.—The Commandant 

8 may enter into a lease or license with a nonprofit or9 ganization, described under section 501(c)(3) of the 

10 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from 

11 taxation under section 501(a) of that Code, that the 

12 Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association may es13 tablish for the purpose of supporting academic re14 search and applying for and administering Federal, 

15 State, or other educational research grants on behalf 

16 of the Coast Guard Academy. 

17 ‘‘(c) USE OF COAST GUARD PERSONAL PROPERTY.— 

18 The Commandant may allow a nonprofit organization, de19 scribed under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

20 Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 

21 501(a) of that Code, that the Coast Guard Academy 

22 Alumni Association may establish to use, at no cost, per23 sonal property of the Coast Guard to assist the non-profit 

24 organization in supporting academic research and apply25 ing for and administering Federal, State, or other eduVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 Jun 23, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1611.IS S1611

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1 cational research grants on behalf of the Coast Guard 

2 Academy. 

3 ‘‘(d) ACCEPTANCE OF SUPPORT.— 

4 ‘‘(1) SUPPORT RECEIVED FROM A 501(c)(3) NON5 PROFIT ORGANIZATION.—Notwithstanding section 

6 93 of this title, the Commandant may accept funds, 

7 supplies, and services from a nonprofit organization, 

8 described under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 

9 Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation 

10 under section 501(a) of that Code, that the Coast 

11 Guard Academy Alumni Association may establish 

12 for the support of academic research and applying 

13 for and administering Federal, State, or other edu14 cational research grants on behalf of the Coast 

15 Guard Academy. For purposes of this subsection, 

16 employees or personnel of such nonprofit organiza17 tion shall not be employees of the United States. 

18 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The Commandant shall en19 sure that contributions under this subsection do not 

20 reflect unfavorably on the ability of the Coast 

21 Guard, any of its employees, or any member of the 

22 armed forces to carry out any responsibility or duty 

23 in a fair and objective manner, or compromise the 

24 integrity or appearance of integrity of any program 


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1 of the Coast Guard, or any individual involved in 

2 such a program. 

3 ‘‘(e) RETENTION AND USE OF FUNDS.—Funds re4 ceived under this section may be retained for use in sup5 port of academic research and applying for and admin6 istering Federal, State, or other educational research 

7 grants on behalf of the Coast Guard Academy and shall 

8 remain available until expended. 

9 ‘‘(f) CONDITIONS.—The authority provided in this 

10 section with respect to a nonprofit organization, described 

11 under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

12 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of 

13 that Code, that the Coast Guard Academy Alumni Asso14 ciation may establish is valid only so long as such non15 profit organization continues to— 

16 ‘‘(1) qualify as a nonprofit organization, de17 scribed under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev18 enue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under 

19 section 501(a) of that Code, and operates in accord20 ance with this section, the laws of the State of Con21 necticut, and the constitution and bylaws of the non22 profit organization; and 

23 ‘‘(2) operate exclusively to support academic re24 search and applying for and administering Federal, 


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1 State, or other educational research grants on behalf 

2 of the Coast Guard Academy.’’. 

3 SEC. 214. VENUE. 

4 Section 311(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

5 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1861(d)) 

6 is amended by striking the second sentence and inserting 

7 ‘‘In the case of Hawaii or any possession of the United 

8 States in the Pacific Ocean, the appropriate court is the 

9 United States District Court for the District of Hawaii, 

10 except that in the case of Guam and Wake Island, the 

11 appropriate court is the United States District Court for 

12 the District of Guam, and in the case of the Northern 

13 Mariana Islands, the appropriate court is the United 

14 States District Court for the District of the Northern 

15 Mariana Islands.’’. 

16 SEC. 215. NATIONAL COAST GUARD MUSEUM. 

17 Section 98 of title 14, United States Code, is amend18 ed— 

19 (1) by striking subsection (b); and 

20 (2) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

21 subsections (b) and (c), respectively. 

22 SEC. 216. INVESTIGATIONS. 

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

24 States Code, as amended by section 203(b), is further 

25 amended by adding after section 429 the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 430. Investigations of Flag Officers and Senior Ex2 ecutive Service 

3 ‘‘The Commandant shall consult with the Inspector 

4 General of the Department of Defense anytime a report 

5 of allegations of misconduct are made against senior offi6 cials. Investigations into allegations of senior official mis7 conduct shall be consistent with Department of Defense 

8 policies.’’. 

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

10 at the beginning of chapter 11 of such title, as amended 

11 by section 203(b), is further amended by inserting after 

12 the item related to section 429 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 430. Investigations of Flag Officers and Senior Executive Service.’’. 

13 SEC. 217. TECHNICAL AND CLERICAL AMENDMENTS TO 

14 TITLE 14, UNITED STATES CODE. 

15 Title 14, United States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) in the table of chapters at the beginning of 

17 part I, by striking ‘‘Coast Guard’’ in the item re18 lating to chapter 19; 

19 (2) in section 46(a), by striking ‘‘subsection’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘section’’; 

21 (3) in section 47, by striking the section head22 ing and inserting the following new section heading: 


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1 ‘‘§ 47. Vice Commandant; appointment’’; 

2 (4) in the table of sections at the beginning of 

3 chapter 9, by striking ‘‘Safety’’ in the item relating 

4 to section 199 and inserting ‘‘safety’’; 

5 (5) in section 427(b)(2), by striking ‘‘this chap6 ter’’ and inserting ‘‘chapter 61 of title 10’’; 

7 (6) in the table of sections at the beginning of 

8 chapter 15, by striking ‘‘Sec.’’ that follows the head9 ing for subchapter II; 

10 (7) in section 581(5)(B), by striking 

11 ‘‘$300,000,0000,’’ and inserting ‘‘$300,000,000,’’; 

12 (8) in section 637(c)(3), by inserting ‘‘it is’’ be13 fore ‘‘any’’ in the matter preceding subparagraph 

14 (A); 

15 (9) in section 641(d)(3), by striking ‘‘Guard, 

16 installation’’ and inserting ‘‘Guard installation’’; 

17 (10) in section 691(c)(3), by striking ‘‘state’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘State’’; 

19 (11) in the table of sections at the beginning of 

20 chapter 21— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘reserve’’ in the item relat22 ing to section 709 and inserting ‘‘Reserve’’; and 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘from active’’ in the item 

24 relating to section 740 and inserting ‘‘from an 

25 active’’; 


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1 (12) in section 742(c), by striking ‘‘subsection 

2 (a)and’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (a) and’’; 

3 (13) in section 821(b)(1), by striking ‘‘26’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘171’’; and 

5 (14) in section 823a(b)(1), by striking ‘‘26’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘171’’. 

7 TITLE III—SHIPPING AND 

8 NAVIGATION 

9 SEC. 301. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS. 

10 Subparagraph (A) of section 2114(a)(1) of title 46, 

11 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(A) the seaman in good faith has reported or 

13 is about to report to the Coast Guard, another ap14 propriate Federal department or agency, the vessel 

15 owner, the vessel operator, or the seaman’s employer 

16 that the seaman believes that a violation of a mari17 time safety or maritime environmental protection 

18 law or regulation prescribed under that law or regu19 lation has occurred;’’. 

20 SEC. 302. MARITIME DRUG LAW ENFORCEMENT. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 705 of title 46, United 

22 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘§ 70509. Destruction of evidence during maritime 

2 counter-drug operations 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Whoever, while on board a vessel 

4 used to commit, or to facilitate the commission of, an of5 fense under section 70503 of this title, knowingly or inten6 tionally destroys (including jettisoning any item or scut7 tling, burning, or hastily cleaning a vessel), or attempts 

8 or conspires to destroy, property that is subject to for9 feiture under section 511(a) of the Comprehensive Drug 

10 Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. 

11 881(a)) shall be fined in accordance with section 3571 of 

12 title 18, imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both. 

13 ‘‘(b) PRIMA FACIE EVIDENCE OF VIOLATION.—Prac14 tices commonly recognized as smuggling tactics may pro15 vide prima facie evidence of intent to use a vessel to com16 mit, or to facilitate the commission of, an offense under 

17 section 70503 of this title, even in the absence of con18 trolled substances aboard the vessel. The following indicia, 

19 among others, may be considered, in the totality of the 

20 circumstances, to be prima facie evidence that a vessel is 

21 intended to be used to commit, or to facilitate the commis22 sion of, such an offense: 

23 ‘‘(1) The construction or adaptation of the ves24 sel in a manner that facilitates smuggling, includ25 ing— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the configuration of the vessel to ride 

2 low in the water or present a low hull profile to 

3 avoid being detected visually or by radar; 

4 ‘‘(B) the presence of any compartment or 

5 equipment that is built or fitted out for smug6 gling, not including items such as a safe or 

7 lock-box reasonably used for the storage of per8 sonal valuables; 

9 ‘‘(C) the presence of an auxiliary tank not 

10 installed in accordance with applicable law or 

11 installed in such a manner as to enhance the 

12 vessel’s smuggling capability; 

13 ‘‘(D) the presence of engines that are ex14 cessively overpowered in relation to the design 

15 and size of the vessel; 

16 ‘‘(E) the presence of materials used to re17 duce or alter the heat or radar signature of the 

18 vessel and avoid detection; 

19 ‘‘(F) the presence of a camouflaging paint 

20 scheme, or of materials used to camouflage the 

21 vessel, to avoid detection; or 

22 ‘‘(G) the display of false vessel registration 

23 numbers, false indicia of vessel nationality, false 

24 vessel name, or false vessel homeport. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The presence or absence of equipment, 

2 personnel, or cargo inconsistent with the type or de3 clared purpose of the vessel. 

4 ‘‘(3) The presence of excessive fuel, lube oil, 

5 food, water, or spare parts, inconsistent with legiti6 mate vessel operation, inconsistent with the con7 struction or equipment of the vessel, or inconsistent 

8 with the character of the vessel’s stated purpose. 

9 ‘‘(4) The operation of the vessel without lights 

10 during times lights are required to be displayed 

11 under applicable law or regulation and in a manner 

12 of navigation consistent with smuggling tactics used 

13 to avoid detection by law enforcement authorities. 

14 ‘‘(5) The failure of the vessel to stop or respond 

15 or heave to when hailed by government authority, es16 pecially where the vessel conducts evasive maneu17 vering when hailed. 

18 ‘‘(6) The declaration to government authority of 

19 false information about the vessel, crew, or voyage 

20 or the failure to identify the vessel by name or coun21 try of registration when requested to do so by gov22 ernment authority. 

23 ‘‘(7) The presence of controlled substance res24 idue on the vessel, on an item aboard the vessel, or 

25 on an individual aboard the vessel, of a quantity or 


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1 other nature that reasonably indicates manufac2 turing or distribution activity. 

3 ‘‘(8) The use of petroleum products or other 

4 substances on the vessel to foil the detection of con5 trolled substance residue. 

6 ‘‘(9) The presence of a controlled substance in 

7 the water in the vicinity of the vessel, where given 

8 the currents, weather conditions, and course and 

9 speed of the vessel, the quantity or other nature is 

10 such that it reasonably indicates that the controlled 

11 substance was transported in the subject vessel. 

12 ‘‘(c) EXTENSION BEYOND TERRITORIAL JURISDIC13 TION.—Subsection (a) applies even though the act is com14 mitted outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United 

15 States. 

16 ‘‘§ 70510. Maritime bulk cash smuggling 

17 ‘‘(a) CRIMINAL OFFENSE.—Whoever, while aboard a 

18 vessel used to commit, or to facilitate the commission of, 

19 an offense under section 70503 of this title, or whoever, 

20 while aboard a vessel outfitted for smuggling, knowingly 

21 conceals, attempts to conceal, or conspires to conceal more 

22 than $100,000 in currency or other monetary instruments 

23 on the person of such individual or in any conveyance, ar24 ticle of luggage, merchandise, or other container, or com25 partment of or aboard such vessel shall be fined in accordVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 Jun 23, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1611.IS S1611

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1 ance with section 3571 of title 18, imprisoned not more 

2 than 15 years, or both. 

3 ‘‘(b) PRIMA FACIE EVIDENCE OF VIOLATION.—Prac4 tices commonly recognized as smuggling tactics may pro5 vide prima facie evidence of intent to use a vessel to com6 mit, or to facilitate the commission of, an offense under 

7 section 70503 of this title or prima facie evidence of a 

8 vessel outfitted for smuggling, even in the absence of con9 trolled substances aboard the vessel. The following indicia, 

10 among others, may be considered, in the totality of the 

11 circumstances, to be prima facie evidence that a vessel is 

12 intended to be used to commit, or to facilitate the commis13 sion of, such an offense or is outfitted for smuggling: 

14 ‘‘(1) The construction or adaptation of the ves15 sel in a manner that facilitates smuggling, includ16 ing— 

17 ‘‘(A) the configuration of the vessel to ride 

18 low in the water or present a low hull profile to 

19 avoid being detected visually or by radar; 

20 ‘‘(B) the presence of any compartment or 

21 equipment that is built or fitted out for smug22 gling, not including items such as a safe or 

23 lock-box reasonably used for the storage of per24 sonal valuables; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the presence of an auxiliary tank not 

2 installed in accordance with applicable law or 

3 installed in such a manner as to enhance the 

4 vessel’s smuggling capability; 

5 ‘‘(D) the presence of engines that are ex6 cessively overpowered in relation to the design 

7 and size of the vessel; 

8 ‘‘(E) the presence of materials used to re9 duce or alter the heat or radar signature of the 

10 vessel and avoid detection; 

11 ‘‘(F) the presence of a camouflaging paint 

12 scheme, or of materials used to camouflage the 

13 vessel, to avoid detection; or 

14 ‘‘(G) the display of false vessel registration 

15 numbers, false indicia of vessel nationality, false 

16 vessel name, or false vessel homeport. 

17 ‘‘(2) The presence or absence of equipment, 

18 personnel, or cargo inconsistent with the type or de19 clared purpose of the vessel. 

20 ‘‘(3) The presence of excessive fuel, lube oil, 

21 food, water, or spare parts, inconsistent with legiti22 mate vessel operation, inconsistent with the con23 struction or equipment of the vessel, or inconsistent 

24 with the character of the vessel’s stated purpose. 


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1 ‘‘(4) The operation of the vessel without lights 

2 during times lights are required to be displayed 

3 under applicable law or regulation and in a manner 

4 of navigation consistent with smuggling tactics used 

5 to avoid detection by law enforcement authorities. 

6 ‘‘(5) The failure of the vessel to stop or respond 

7 or heave to when hailed by government authority, es8 pecially where the vessel conducts evasive maneu9 vering when hailed. 

10 ‘‘(6) The declaration to government authority of 

11 false information about the vessel, crew, or voyage 

12 or the failure to identify the vessel by name or coun13 try of registration when requested to do so by gov14 ernment authority. 

15 ‘‘(c) FORFEITURE.— 

16 ‘‘(1) CRIMINAL FORFEITURE.—The court in im17 posing sentence for any violation of subsection (a), 

18 or any attempt or conspiracy to commit such viola19 tion, shall order the defendant to forfeit all property, 

20 real or personal, involved in the offence and any 

21 property traceable thereto. Forfeitures under this 

22 paragraph shall be governed by the procedures es23 tablished in section 413 of the Controlled Sub24 stances Act (21 U.S.C. 853). 


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1 ‘‘(2) CIVIL FORFEITURE.—Any property, real 

2 or personal, involved in a violation of subsection (a), 

3 or the attempt or a conspiracy to commit such viola4 tion, and any property, real or personal, traceable to 

5 such violation or conspiracy, may be seized and for6 feited to the United States. Forfeitures under this 

7 paragraph shall be governed by the procedures gov8 erning civil forfeitures in money laundering cases 

9 pursuant to section 981(a)(1)(A) of title 18, United 

10 States Code. 

11 ‘‘(d) EXTENSION BEYOND TERRITORIAL JURISDIC12 TION.—Subsection (a) applies even though the act is com13 mitted outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United 

14 States.’’. 

15 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap16 ter 705 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by 

17 adding at the end the following: 

‘‘70509. Destruction of evidence during maritime counter-drug operations. 

‘‘70510. Maritime bulk cash smuggling.’’. 

18 SEC. 303. CARRIAGE OF LIQUID DANGEROUS CARGO. 

19 Section 3702(c) of title 46, United States Code, is 

20 amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(c)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), this 

22 chapter does not apply to a fishing or fish tender vessel 

23 of not more than 500 gross tons as measured under sec24 tion 14502 of this title, or an alternate tonnage measured 


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1 under section 14302 of this title as prescribed by the Sec2 retary under section 14104 of this title when engaged only 

3 in the fishing industry. 

4 ‘‘(2) A vessel described in paragraph (1) is subject 

5 to regulation by the Secretary under this chapter if the 

6 vessel is carrying flammable or combustible liquid cargoes 

7 in bulk.’’. 

8 SEC. 304. MARITIME TRANSPORTATION OF HAZARDOUS MA9 TERIAL. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 51 of title 49, United 

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

13 ‘‘§ 5129. Maritime transportation of hazardous mate14 rial 

15 ‘‘For the purposes of enforcing this chapter, the Sec16 retary and the Secretary of the department in which the 

17 Coast Guard is operating shall establish policies and prac18 tices to ensure that the authorities set forth in this chapter 

19 are enforced in the same manner and to the same extent, 

20 and the civil and criminal penalties are assessed or rec21 ommended in the same manner and to the same extent.’’. 

22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for such 

23 chapter is amended by adding at the end the following 

24 new item: 

‘‘5129. Maritime Transportation of Hazardous Material.’’. 


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1 SEC. 305. RECREATIONAL VESSEL OPERATOR EDUCATION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 131 of title 46, United 

3 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘§ 13111. Recreational vessel operator education 

6 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO DEVELOP MODEL CUR7 RICULUM.—The Secretary may develop and propose a 

8 model for a national recreational vessel training cur9 riculum and education standards for operators of rec10 reational vessels equipped with propulsion machinery of 

11 any kind. 

12 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the model cur13 riculum developed under subsection (a) is to promote uni14 formity of boating safety awareness and education and im15 prove reciprocity of recreational vessel operator certifi16 cates and licenses among the States.’’. 

17 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for such 

18 chapter is amended by adding at the end the following 

19 new item: 

‘‘13111. Recreational vessel operator education.’’. 

20 SEC. 306. NONDISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN INFORMATION. 

21 (a) INAPPLICABILITY OF DISCLOSURE REQUIRE22 MENT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The requirement to make in24 formation available under section 552 of title 5, 

25 United States Code, shall not apply to— 


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1 (A) a question from any examination for a 

2 merchant seamen license, certificate, or docu3 ment that the Secretary of the department in 

4 which the Coast Guard is operating is author5 ized to issue pursuant to title 46, United States 

6 Code; 

7 (B) the answer to such question, including 

8 any correct or incorrect answer that may be 

9 presented with such question; and 

10 (C) any quality or characteristic of such 

11 question, including— 

12 (i) the manner in which such question 

13 has been, is, or may be selected for an ex14 amination; 

15 (ii) the frequency of such selection; 

16 and 

17 (iii) the frequency that an examinee 

18 correctly or incorrectly answered such 

19 question. 

20 (2) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—This section 

21 constitutes a specific exemption within the meaning 

22 of section 552(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code. 

23 (b) AUTHORITY TO RELEASE CERTAIN EXAM QUES24 TIONS.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Secretary of 

25 the department in which the Coast Guard is operating is 


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1 authorized, for the purpose of exam preparation by the 

2 general public, to release an exam question and answer 

3 that the Secretary has retired, is not presently on or part 

4 of an exam, or that the Secretary determines is appro5 priate for release. 

6 (c) EXAMINATIONS FOR MERCHANT SEAMAN LI7 CENSES, CERTIFICATES, AND DOCUMENTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 71 of title 46, 

9 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following: 

11 ‘‘§ 7116. Examinations for merchant seaman licenses, 

12 certificates, and documents 

13 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT FOR SAMPLE EXAMS.—The Sec14 retary shall develop a sample merchant mariner exam and 

15 outline of merchant mariner exam topics on an annual 

16 basis. 

17 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Each sample exam and 

18 outline of topics developed under subsection (a) shall be 

19 readily available to the public.’’. 

20 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

21 such chapter is amended by adding at the end the 

22 following new item: 

‘‘7116. Examinations for merchant seaman licenses, certificates, and documents.’’. 

23 (d) DISCLOSURE TO CONGRESS.—Nothing in this 

24 section may be construed to authorize the withholding of 


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1 information from an appropriate inspector general or the 

2 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

3 the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and In4 frastructure of the House of Representatives. 

5 SEC. 307. HIGHER VOLUME PORT AREA REGULATORY DEFI6 NITION CHANGE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 710 of 

8 the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 (Public Law 

9 111–281; 124 Stat. 2986) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(a) HIGHER VOLUME PORTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

12 provision of law, the requirements of subparts D, F, 

13 and G of part 155 of title 33, Code of Federal Regu14 lations, that apply to the higher volume port area for 

15 the Strait of Juan de Fuca at Port Angeles, Wash16 ington (including any water area within 50 nautical 

17 miles seaward), to and including Puget Sound, shall 

18 be deemed to apply, in the same manner, and to the 

19 same extent, to the Strait of Juan de Fuca at Cape 

20 Flattery, Washington (including any water area 

21 within 50 nautical miles seaward), to and including 

22 Puget Sound. 

23 ‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 

24 take effect on the date of the enactment of the Coast 

25 Guard Authorization Act of 2015.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (b) of 

2 such section is amended by striking ‘‘the modification of 

3 the higher volume port area definition required by sub4 section (a).’’ and inserting ‘‘higher volume port require5 ments made applicable under subsection (a).’’. 

6 SEC. 308. RECOGNITION OF PORT SECURITY ASSESSMENTS 

7 CONDUCTED BY OTHER ENTITIES. 

8 Section 70108 of title 46, United States Code, is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(f) RECOGNITION OF ASSESSMENT CONDUCTED BY

11 OTHER ENTITIES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION AND TREATMENT OF AS13 SESSMENTS.—For the purposes of this section and 

14 section 70109, the Secretary may treat an assess15 ment that a foreign government (including, for the 

16 purposes of this subsection, an entity of or operating 

17 under the auspices of the European Union) or inter18 national organization has conducted as an assess19 ment that the Secretary has conducted for the pur20 poses of subsection (a), provided that the Secretary 

21 certifies that the foreign government or international 

22 organization has— 

23 ‘‘(A) conducted the assessment in accord24 ance with subsection (b); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) provided the Secretary with sufficient 

2 information pertaining to its assessment (in3 cluding, but not limited to, information on the 

4 outcome of the assessment). 

5 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER INTO AN

6 AGREEMENT.—For the purposes of this section and 

7 section 70109, the Secretary, in consultation with 

8 the Secretary of State, may enter into an agreement 

9 with a foreign government (including, for the pur10 poses of this subsection, an entity of or operating 

11 under the auspices of the European Union) or inter12 national organization, under which parties to the 

13 agreement— 

14 ‘‘(A) conduct an assessment, required 

15 under subsection (a); 

16 ‘‘(B) share information pertaining to such 

17 assessment (including, but not limited to, infor18 mation on the outcome of the assessment); or 

19 ‘‘(C) both. 

20 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.—Nothing in this subsection 

21 shall be construed to— 

22 ‘‘(A) require the Secretary to recognize an 

23 assessment that a foreign government or an 

24 international organization has conducted; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) limit the discretion or ability of the 

2 Secretary to conduct an assessment under this 

3 section.’’. 

4 SEC. 309. MODEL YEARS FOR RECREATIONAL VESSELS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4302 of title 46, United 

6 States Code is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(e)(1) If in prescribing regulations under this sec9 tion the Secretary establishes a model year for recreational 

10 vessels and associated equipment, such model year shall, 

11 except as provided in paragraph (2)— 

12 ‘‘(A) begin on June 1 of a year and end on July 

13 31 of the following year; and 

14 ‘‘(B) be designated by the year in which it ends. 

15 ‘‘(2) Upon the request of a recreational vessel manu16 facturer to which this chapter applies, the Secretary may 

17 alter a model year for a model of recreational vessel of 

18 the manufacturer and associated equipment, by no more 

19 than 6 months from the model year described in para20 graph (1).’’. 

21 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by sub22 section shall only apply with respect to recreational vessels 

23 and associated equipment constructed or manufactured, 

24 respectively, on or after June 1, 2015. 


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1 (c) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 90 days after the 

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

3 department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall 

4 publish guidance to implement subsection (e)(2) of section 

5 4302 of title 46, United States Code, as added by sub6 section (a). 

7 SEC. 310. RECREATIONAL VESSEL ENGINE WEIGHTS. 

8 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact9 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the department in which 

10 the Coast Guard is operating shall issue regulations 

11 amending table 4 to subpart H of part 183 of title 33, 

12 Code of Federal Regulations (related to Weights (Pounds) 

13 of Outboard Motor and Related Equipment for Various 

14 Boat Horsepower Ratings) as appropriate to reflect 

15 ‘‘Standard 30–Outboard Engine and Related Equipment 

16 Weights’’ published by the American Boat and Yacht 

17 Council, as in effect on the date of the enactment of this 

18 Act. 

19 SEC. 311. VESSEL REPLACEMENT. 

20 (a) LOANS AND GUARANTEES.—Chapter 537 of title 

21 46, United States Code, is amended— 

22 (1) in section 53701— 

23 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (8) 

24 through (14) as paragraphs (9) through (15), 

25 respectively; and 


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1 (B) by inserting after paragraph (7) the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(8) HISTORICAL USES.—The term ‘historical 

4 uses’ includes— 

5 ‘‘(A) refurbishing, repairing, rebuilding, or 

6 replacing equipment on a fishing vessel, without 

7 materially increasing harvesting capacity; 

8 ‘‘(B) purchasing a used fishing vessel; 

9 ‘‘(C) purchasing, constructing, expanding, 

10 or reconditioning a fishery facility; 

11 ‘‘(D) refinancing existing debt; 

12 ‘‘(E) reducing fishing capacity; and 

13 ‘‘(F) making upgrades to a fishing vessel, 

14 including upgrades in technology, gear, or 

15 equipment, that improve— 

16 ‘‘(i) collection and reporting of fish17 ery-dependent data; 

18 ‘‘(ii) bycatch reduction or avoidance; 

19 ‘‘(iii) gear selectivity; 

20 ‘‘(iv) adverse impacts caused by fish21 ing gear; or 

22 ‘‘(v) safety.’’; and 

23 (2) in section 53702(b), by adding at the end 

24 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(3) MINIMUM OBLIGATIONS AVAILABLE FOR

2 HISTORIC USES.—Of the direct loan obligations 

3 issued by the Secretary under this chapter, the Sec4 retary shall make a minimum of $59,000,000 avail5 able each fiscal year for historic uses. 

6 ‘‘(4) USE OF OBLIGATIONS IN LIMITED ACCESS

7 FISHERIES.—In addition to the other eligible pur8 poses and uses of direct loan obligations provided for 

9 in this chapter, the Secretary is authorized to issue 

10 direct loan obligations for the purpose of— 

11 ‘‘(A) financing the construction or recon12 struction of a fishing vessel in a fishery man13 aged under a limited access system; or 

14 ‘‘(B) financing the purchase of harvesting 

15 rights in a fishery that is federally managed 

16 under a limited access system.’’. 

17 (b) LIMITATION ON APPLICATION TO CERTAIN FISH18 ING VESSELS OF PROHIBITION UNDER VESSEL CON19 STRUCTION PROGRAM.—Section 302(b)(2) of the Fish20 eries Financing Act (title III of Public Law 104–297; 46 

21 U.S.C. 53706 note) is amended— 

22 (1) in the second sentence— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘or in’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

24 in’’; and 


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1 (B) by inserting before the period the fol2 lowing: ‘‘, in fisheries that are under the juris3 diction of the North Pacific Fishery Manage4 ment Council and managed under a fishery 

5 management plan issued under the Magnuson6 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 

7 Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), or in the Pacific 

8 whiting fishery that is under the jurisdiction of 

9 the Pacific Fishery Management Council and 

10 managed under a fishery management plan 

11 issued under that Act’’; and 

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

13 ‘‘Any fishing vessel operated in fisheries under 

14 the jurisdiction of the North Pacific Fishery Man15 agement Council and managed under a fishery man16 agement plan issued under the Magnuson-Stevens 

17 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

18 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), or in the Pacific whiting fish19 ery under the jurisdiction of the Pacific Fishery 

20 Management Council and managed under a fishery 

21 management plan issued under that Act, and that is 

22 replaced by a vessel that is constructed or rebuilt 

23 with a loan or loan guarantee provided by the Fed24 eral Government may not be used to harvest fish in 

25 any fishery under the jurisdiction of any Regional 


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1 Fishery Management Council, other than a fishery 

2 under the jurisdiction of the North Pacific Fishery 

3 Management Council or the Pacific Fishery Manage4 ment Council.’’. 

5 SEC. 312. FISHING VESSEL AND FISH TENDER VESSEL CER6 TIFICATION. 

7 Section 4503(c) of title 46, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) by designating the existing matter as para10 graph (1); and 

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

12 ‘‘(2) This section does not apply to a fishing or fish 

13 tender vessel to which section 4502(b) of this title applies, 

14 if— 

15 ‘‘(A) the vessel is at least 50 feet overall in 

16 length, and not more than 190 feet overall in length; 

17 ‘‘(B) the vessel is built after January 1, 2016; 

18 ‘‘(C) the vessel is designed by a registered pro19 fessional engineer, and the design incorporates 

20 standards equivalent to those prescribed by a classi21 fication society designated under section 3316 of 

22 this title or another qualified organization approved 

23 by the Secretary; 

24 ‘‘(D) construction of such vessel is overseen and 

25 certified as being in accordance with its design by a 


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1 marine surveyor of an organization accepted by the 

2 Secretary; and 

3 ‘‘(E) the vessel— 

4 ‘‘(i) completes a stability test performed by 

5 a qualified individual; 

6 ‘‘(ii) has written stability and loading in7 structions from a qualified individual that are 

8 provided to the owner or operator; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) has an assigned loading mark. 

10 ‘‘(3) The person who owns a vessel meeting the re11 quirements of paragraph (2) shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) not modify or substantially change such 

13 vessel unless such modification or change is reviewed 

14 and approved by a registered professional engineer 

15 prior to beginning any modification or change; 

16 ‘‘(B) complete a condition survey at least bien17 nially to the satisfaction of a marine surveyor of an 

18 organization accepted by the Secretary; 

19 ‘‘(C) complete an out-of-water survey at least 

20 once every five years to the satisfaction of a certified 

21 marine surveyor of an organization accepted by the 

22 Secretary; 

23 ‘‘(D) update the requirements specified in para24 graph (2)(E) once every five years or at the time of 


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1 a modification or substantial change to such vessel; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(E) for the life of the vessel, maintain records 

4 to demonstrate compliance with this subsection, and 

5 make such records readily available for inspection by 

6 an official authorized to enforce this chapter.’’. 

7 SEC. 313. TITLE 46, UNITED STATES CODE, TECHNICAL COR8 RECTIONS. 

9 Title 46, United States Code, is amended— 

10 (1) in section 103, by striking ‘‘(33 U.S.C. 

11 151).’’ and inserting ‘‘(33 U.S.C. 151(b)).’’; 

12 (2) in section 2118— 

13 (A) in subsection (a), in the matter pre14 ceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘title,’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘subtitle,’’; and 

16 (B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘title’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘subtitle’’; 

18 (3) in the analysis for chapter 35— 

19 (A) by adding a period at the end of the 

20 item relating to section 3507; and 

21 (B) by adding a period at the end of the 

22 item relating to section 3508; 

23 (4) in section 3715(a)(2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

24 the end; 

25 (5) in section 4506, by striking ‘‘(a)’’; 


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1 (6) in section 8103(b)(1)(A)(iii), by striking 

2 ‘‘Academy.’’ and inserting ‘‘Academy; and’’; 

3 (7) in the analysis for chapter 701— 

4 (A) by adding a period at the end of the 

5 item relating to section 70107A; 

6 (B) in the item relating to section 70112, 

7 by striking ‘‘security advisory committee.’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘Security Advisory Committee.’’; and 

9 (C) in the item relating to section 70122, 

10 by striking ‘‘watch program.’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘Watch Program.’’; 

12 (8) in section 70105(c)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1)(B)(xv)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘18, popularly’’ and in15 serting ‘‘18 (popularly’’; and 

16 (ii) by striking ‘‘Act’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘Act)’’; and 

18 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘(D) 

19 paragraph’’ and inserting ‘‘(D) of paragraph’’; 

20 (9) in section 70107— 

21 (A) in paragraph (b)(2), by striking 

22 ‘‘5121(j)(8)),’’ and inserting ‘‘5196(j)(8)),’’; 

23 and 


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1 (B) in paragraph (m)(3)(C)(iii), by strik2 ing ‘‘that is’’ and inserting ‘‘that the appli3 cant’’; 

4 (10) in section 70122, in the section header, by 

5 striking ‘‘watch program’’ and inserting ‘‘Watch 

6 Program’’; and 

7 (11) in the analysis for chapter 705, by adding 

8 a period at the end of the item relating to section 

9 70508. 

10 TITLE IV—FEDERAL MARITIME 

11 COMMISSION 

12 SEC. 401. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of title 46, United 

14 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘§ 308. Authorization of appropriations 

17 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fed18 eral Maritime Commission $24,700,000 for each of fiscal 

19 years 2016 and 2017 for the activities of the Commission 

20 authorized under this chapter and subtitle IV.’’. 

21 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap22 ter 3 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by add23 ing at the end the following: 

‘‘308. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 


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1 SEC. 402. DUTIES OF THE CHAIRMAN. 

2 Section 301(c)(3)(A) of title 46, United States Code, 

3 is amended— 

4 (1) in clause (ii) by striking ‘‘units, but only 

5 after consultation with the other Commissioners;’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘units (with such appointments sub7 ject to the approval of the Commission);’’; 

8 (2) in clause (iv) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

9 (3) in clause (v) by striking the period at the 

10 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(vi) prepare and submit to the Presi13 dent and Congress requests for appropria14 tions for the Commission (with such re15 quests subject to the approval of the Com16 mission).’’. 

17 TITLE V—SPORTFISH RESTORA18 TION AND RECREATIONAL 

19 BOATING SAFETY REAUTHOR20 IZATION 

21 SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE. 

22 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Sport Fish Restora23 tion and Recreational Boating Safety Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 502. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 Section 3 of the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restora3 tion Act (16 U.S.C. 777b) is amended by striking ‘‘57 per4 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘57.42 percent’’. 

5 SEC. 503. DIVISION OF ANNUAL APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4 of the Dingell-Johnson 

7 Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777c) is amend8 ed— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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

11 by striking ‘‘2014 and for the period beginning 

12 on October 1, 2014, and ending on May 31, 

13 2015,’’ and inserting ‘‘2023,’’; 

14 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘18.5 

15 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘18.54 percent’’; 

16 (C) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘18.5 

17 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘18.04 percent’’; and 

18 (D) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end 

19 ‘‘Not more than 25 percent of such amount 

20 may be used for capital improvement and infra21 structure projects to support facilities that meet 

22 State requirements for minimizing the introduc23 tion of pollutants into the waterways.’’; 

24 (2) by amending the heading in subsection (b) 

25 to read as follows: ‘‘SET-ASIDES.—’’; 

26 (3) in subsection (b)(1)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

2 ‘‘2014, and for the period beginning on October 

3 1, 2014, and ending on May 31, 2015,’’ and in4 serting ‘‘2023,’’; 

5 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

6 clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), and inserting the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(i) for each of the fiscal years 2016 

9 through 2023, 1.8468 percent of total an10 nual collections under this Act for such fis11 cal year; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) not withstanding clause (i), an 

13 amount that is less than or equal to 

14 $12,299,000.’’; and 

15 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(C) SET-ASIDE FOR BOATING SAFETY.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—From the annual 

18 appropriation made in accordance with sec19 tion 3, for each fiscal year through 2023, 

20 the Secretary shall transfer to the Sec21 retary of the department in which the 

22 Coast Guard is operating— 

23 ‘‘(I)(aa) 0.3435 percent of total 

24 annual collections under this Act to 

25 pay the costs of investigations, perVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 Jun 23, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00065 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1611.IS S1611

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1 sonnel, and activities related to ad2 ministering those programs under sec3 tion 4(a)(2) (16 U.S.C. 777c(a)(2)); 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(bb) notwithstanding item (aa), 

6 an amount that is less than or equal 

7 to $2,300,000; and 

8 ‘‘(II) $1,500,000 shall be made 

9 available for the National Recreational 

10 Boating Survey, that shall be avail11 able until expended and may be 

12 awarded as a contract or grant by the 

13 Secretary. 

14 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—The amounts 

15 specified in clause (i) for a fiscal year may 

16 not be included in the amount of the an17 nual appropriation distributed under sub18 section (a) of this section for the fiscal 

19 year.’’; 

20 (4) in subsection (b)(2)— 

21 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

22 ‘‘under paragraph (1) shall remain available for 

23 obligation for use under that paragraph’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘under paragraph (1)(B) shall remain 


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1 available for obligation for use under paragraph 

2 (1)(A)’’; and 

3 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

4 (i) by striking ‘‘under paragraph (1)’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘under paragraph (1)(B)’’; 

6 and 

7 (ii) by striking ‘‘subsection (e)’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘subsection (c)’’; 

9 (5) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘57 percent’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘57.42 percent’’; 

11 (6) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘So much of 

12 any sum not allocated’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as 

13 otherwise provided in this section, so much of any 

14 sum not allocated’’; and 

15 (7) in subsection (e)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘those 

17 subsections’’ and inserting ‘‘those paragraphs’’; 

18 (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

19 follows: 

20 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—For fiscal year 

21 2016, the Secretary of the Interior may use not 

22 more than $1,200,000 in accordance with paragraph 

23 (1). For each fiscal year thereafter, the maximum 

24 amount that the Secretary of the Interior may use 


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1 in accordance with paragraph (1) shall be deter2 mined under paragraph (3).’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL ADJUSTED MAXIMUM AMOUNT.— 

5 The maximum amount referred to in paragraph (2) 

6 for fiscal year 2016 and each fiscal year thereafter 

7 shall be the sum of— 

8 ‘‘(A) the available maximum amount for 

9 the preceding fiscal year; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the amount determined by multi11 plying— 

12 ‘‘(i) the available maximum amount 

13 for the preceding fiscal year; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) the change, relative to the pre15 ceding fiscal year, in the Consumer Price 

16 Index for All Urban Consumers published 

17 by the Department of Labor.’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 9 of the 

19 Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 

20 777h) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘section 4(b)’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘section 4(b)(1)(B)’’; and 

23 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘section 

24 4(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 4(b)(1)(B)’’. 


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1 SEC. 504. EXTENSION OF EXCEPTION TO LIMITATION ON 

2 TRANSFERS TO FUND. 

3 Section 9504(d)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

4 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘June 1, 2015,’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘October 1, 2023,’’. 

6 SEC. 505. RECREATIONAL BOATING SAFETY ALLOCATIONS. 

7 Section 13104 of title 46, United States Code, is 

8 amended by striking subsection (c). 

9 SEC. 506. RECREATIONAL BOATING SAFETY. 

10 Section 13107 of title 46, United States Code, is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(1) Sub14 ject to paragraph (2) and subsection (c),’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘Subject to subsection (c),’’; and 

16 (B) by striking paragraph (2); and 

17 (2) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘title,’’ and 

18 all that follows through the end and inserting 

19 ‘‘title— 

20 ‘‘(A) including the funding of the National 

21 Boating Safety Advisory Council established 

22 under section 13110 of this title and the au23 thorized activities of the Council, including 

24 travel for the council; and 

25 ‘‘(B) of the funds referred to in paragraph 

26 (1), not less than $2,500,000 shall be available 


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1 to the Secretary only to ensure compliance with 

2 chapter 43 of this title.’’. 

3 SEC. 507. NATIONAL BOATING SAFETY ADVISORY COUNCIL. 

4 Section 13110(e) of title 46, United States Code, is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘2020’’ and inserting ‘‘2023’’. 

6 SEC. 508. PLAN EVALUATION. 

7 Section 303(b)(7) of the Coastal Wetlands Planning, 

8 Protection and Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 3952(b)(7)) is 

9 amended by inserting ‘‘and improvements made to the 

10 quality of fish and wildlife habitat conditions’’ after ‘‘en11 hancing coastal wetlands’’. 

12 SEC. 509. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

13 The Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

14 Service shall annually evaluate and report on the adminis15 trative services of such Service for the trust fund to the 

16 States and the sportfishing community, including the fol17 lowing categories of information: 

18 (1) The percent of grant actions completed 

19 within 45 days of receipt, average number of days 

20 to process new grants, and average number of days 

21 to process grant amendments. 

22 (2) Which wildlife and sport fish restoration 

23 policies are currently being updated, the start time 

24 for each update, and the anticipated completion 

25 time. 


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1 (3) The number of Federal assistance work2 shops held with States and such Service in efforts to 

3 communicate fiscal policies and procedures with the 

4 State agencies. 

5 (4) The response time to States based on initial 

6 notification or assistance requests initiated by a 

7 State. 

8 (5) The number of States with unresolved rec9 onciliation of land records and number of corrective 

10 action plans with open actions. 

11 (6) The number of employees of such Service 

12 with grants management training and outstanding 

13 training requirements and the percent of State fish 

14 and wildlife staff to have received training from 

15 Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Fund Program 

16 of such Service. 

17 (7) The number of full-time equivalents contrib18 uting to grant processing and related grant manage19 ment in each region. 

20 (8) The number of in-field state project reviews 

21 and site visits by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Res22 toration Fund Program. 

23 (9) The number of audits per year originating 

24 from such Service and response time to related ac25 tions and correspondence. 


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1 TITLE VI—CONVEYANCE OF 

2 COAST GUARD PROPERTY 

3 Subtitle A—Conveyance of Coast 

4 Guard Property in Point Spen5 cer, Alaska 

6 SEC. 601. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) Major shipping traffic is increasing through 

9 the Bering Strait, the Bering and Chukchi Seas, and 

10 the Arctic Ocean and will continue to increase 

11 whether or not development of the outer Continental 

12 Shelf of the United States is undertaken in the fu13 ture and will increase further if such outer Conti14 nental Shelf development is undertaken. 

15 (2) There is a compelling national, State, Alas16 ka Native, and private sector need for permanent in17 frastructure development and for a presence in the 

18 Arctic region of Alaska by appropriate agencies of 

19 the Federal Government, particularly in proximity to 

20 the Bering Strait, to support and facilitate search 

21 and rescue, shipping safety, economic development, 

22 oil spill prevention and response, protection of Alas23 ka Native archaeological and cultural resources, port 

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1 ment on the Bering Sea, the Chukchi Sea, and the 

2 Arctic Ocean. 

3 (3) The United States owns a parcel of land, 

4 known as Point Spencer, located between the Bering 

5 Strait and Port Clarence and adjacent to some of 

6 the best potential deepwater port sites on the coast 

7 of Alaska in the Arctic. 

8 (4) Prudent and effective use of Point Spencer 

9 may be best achieved through marshaling the en10 ergy, resources, and leadership of the public and pri11 vate sectors. 

12 (5) It is in the national interest to develop in13 frastructure at Point Spencer that would aid the 

14 Coast Guard in performing its statutory duties and 

15 functions in the Arctic on a more permanent basis 

16 and to allow for public and private sector develop17 ment of facilities and other infrastructure to support 

18 purposes that are of benefit to the United States. 

19 SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this subtitle: 

21 (1) ARCTIC.—The term ‘‘Arctic’’ has the mean22 ing given that term in section 112 of the Arctic Re23 search and Policy Act of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 4111). 

24 (2) BSNC.—The term ‘‘BSNC’’ means the 

25 Bering Straits Native Corporation authorized under 


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1 section 7 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 

2 Act (43 U.S.C. 1606). 

3 (3) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 

4 Port Coordination Advisory Council established 

5 under section 604(a). 

6 (4) PLAN.—The term ‘‘Plan’’ means the Port 

7 Management Coordination Plan developed under sec8 tion 604(c). 

9 (5) POINT SPENCER.—The term ‘‘Point Spen10 cer’’ means the land known as ‘‘Point Spencer’’ lo11 cated between the Bering Strait and Port Clarence 

12 and withdrawn by Public Land Order 2650 (pub13 lished in the Federal Register on April 12, 1962), 

14 and located in Townships 2, 3, and 4 South, Range 

15 40 West, Kateel River Meridian, Alaska. 

16 (6) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise specifi17 cally provided, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec18 retary of the department in which the Coast Guard 

19 is operating. 

20 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

21 of Alaska. 

22 (8) TRACT.—The term ‘‘Tract’’ means Tract 1, 

23 Tract 2, Tract 3, Tract 4, Tract 5, or Tract 6, as 

24 appropriate. 


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1 (9) TRACTS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, AND 6.—The terms 

2 ‘‘Tract 1, Tract 2, Tract 3, Tract 4, Tract 5, and 

3 Tract 6’’ each mean the land generally depicted as 

4 Tract 1, Tract 2, Tract 3, Tract 4, Tract 5, or 

5 Tract 6, respectively, and generally depicted as such 

6 Tract on the map entitled the ‘‘Point Spencer Land 

7 Retention and Conveyance Map’’, dated January 

8 2015, and on file with the Department of Homeland 

9 Security and the Department of the Interior. 

10 SEC. 603. AUTHORITY TO CONVEY LAND IN POINT SPEN11 CER. 

12 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONVEY TRACTS 1, 3, AND 4.— 

13 The Secretary of the Interior shall convey, subject to valid 

14 existing rights, all right, title, and interest of the United 

15 States in and to the surface and subsurface estates of 

16 Tract 1, Tract 3, and Tract 4 in accordance with sub17 section (d) if the Secretary notifies the Secretary of the 

18 Interior that the Coast Guard no longer needs to retain 

19 jurisdiction over any portion of Tract 1, Tract 3, or Tract 

20 4 and the requirements of subsection (f) are met for each 

21 such Tract to be conveyed. 

22 (b) AUTHORITY TO CONVEY TRACTS 2 AND 5.—The 

23 Secretary of the Interior shall convey, subject to valid ex24 isting rights, all right, title, and interest of the United 

25 States in and to the surface and subsurface estates of 


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1 Tract 2 and Tract 5 in accordance with subsection (d) 

2 if the requirements of subsection (f) are met for each such 

3 Tract to be conveyed. 

4 (c) AUTHORITY TO TRANSFER TRACT 6.—The Sec5 retary of the Interior shall convey, subject to valid existing 

6 rights, all right, title, and interest of the United States 

7 in and to the surface and subsurface estates of Tract 6 

8 in accordance with subsection (e) if the requirements of 

9 subsection (f) are met. 

10 (d) ORDER OF OFFER TO CONVEY TRACT 1, 2, 3, 

11 4, OR 5.— 

12 (1) DETERMINATION AND OFFER.— 

13 (A) TRACT 1, 3, OR 4.—If the Secretary 

14 makes the determination under subsection (a) 

15 and the requirements of subsection (f) are met 

16 for Tract 1, 3, or 4, or a portion of such Tract, 

17 the Secretary of the Interior shall offer such 

18 Tract or portion of such Tract for conveyance 

19 to BSNC under the Alaska Native Claims Set20 tlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). 

21 (B) TRACT 2 OR 5.—If the requirements of 

22 subsection (f) are met for Tract 2 or Tract 5, 

23 the Secretary of the Interior shall offer such 

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1 ka Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 

2 1601 et seq.). 

3 (2) OFFER TO BSNC.— 

4 (A) ACCEPTANCE BY BSNC.—If BSNC 

5 chooses to accept an offer of conveyance of a 

6 Tract under paragraph (1), the Secretary of the 

7 Interior shall consider such Tract as within 

8 BSNC’s entitlement under section 14(h)(8) of 

9 the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 

10 U.S.C. 1613(h)(8)) and shall convey such Tract 

11 to BSNC. 

12 (B) DECLINE BY BSNC.—If BSNC declines 

13 to accept an offer of conveyance of a Tract 

14 under paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Inte15 rior shall offer such Tract for conveyance to the 

16 State under the Act of July 7, 1958 (commonly 

17 known as the ‘‘Alaska Statehood Act’’) (48 

18 U.S.C. note prec. 21; Public Law 85–508). 

19 (3) OFFER TO STATE.— 

20 (A) ACCEPTANCE BY STATE.—If the State 

21 chooses to accept an offer of conveyance of a 

22 Tract under paragraph (2)(B), the Secretary of 

23 the Interior shall consider such Tract as within 

24 the State’s entitlement under the Act of July 7, 

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1 hood Act’’) (48 U.S.C. note prec. 21; Public 

2 Law 85–508) and shall convey such Tract to 

3 the State. 

4 (B) DECLINE BY STATE.—If the State de5 clines to accept an offer of conveyance of a 

6 Tract offered under paragraph (2)(B), such 

7 Tract shall be disposed of pursuant to applica8 ble public land laws. 

9 (e) ORDER OF OFFER TO CONVEY TRACT 6.— 

10 (1) OFFER.—If the requirements under sub11 section (f) are met for Tract 6, the Secretary of the 

12 Interior shall offer such Tract for conveyance to the 

13 State. 

14 (2) OFFER TO STATE.— 

15 (A) ACCEPTANCE BY STATE.—If the State 

16 chooses to accept an offer of conveyance of 

17 Tract 6 under paragraph (1), the Secretary of 

18 the Interior shall consider Tract 6 as within the 

19 State’s entitlement under the Act of July 7, 

20 1958 (commonly known as the ‘‘Alaska State21 hood Act’’) (48 U.S.C. note prec. 21; Public 

22 Law 85–508) and shall convey Tract 6 to the 

23 State. 

24 (B) DECLINE BY STATE.—If the State de25 clines to accept an offer of conveyance of Tract 


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1 6 under paragraph (1), the Secretary of the In2 terior shall offer Tract 6 for conveyance to 

3 BSNC under the Alaska Native Claims Settle4 ment Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). 

5 (3) OFFER TO BSNC.— 

6 (A) ACCEPTANCE BY BSNC.— 

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

8 (ii), if BSNC chooses to accept an offer of 

9 conveyance of Tract 6 under paragraph 

10 (2)(B), the Secretary of the Interior shall 

11 consider Tract 6 as within BSNC’s entitle12 ment under section 14(h)(8) of the Alaska 

13 Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 

14 1613(h)(8)) and shall convey Tract 6 to 

15 BSNC. 

16 (ii) LEASE BY THE STATE.—The con17 veyance of Tract 6 to BSNC shall be sub18 ject to BSNC negotiating a lease of Tract 

19 6 to the State at no cost to the State, if 

20 the State requests such a lease. 

21 (B) DECLINE BY BSNC.—If BSNC declines 

22 to accept an offer of conveyance of Tract 6 

23 under paragraph (2)(B), the Secretary of the 

24 Interior shall dispose of Tract 6 pursuant to 

25 the applicable public land laws. 


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1 (f) TERMS OF CONVEYANCE.— 

2 (1) ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE.— 

3 (A) TRACT 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, OR 6.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

5 the Interior shall not convey Tract 1, 

6 Tract 2, Tract 3, Tract 4, Tract 5, or 

7 Tract 6 under this section until— 

8 (I) the Secretary certifies that 

9 the applicable requirements under sec10 tion 120(h) of the Comprehensive En11 vironmental Response, Compensation, 

12 and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 

13 9620(h)) and other applicable envi14 ronmental laws have been satisfied for 

15 land in such Tract; or 

16 (II) the Board of Directors of 

17 BSNC adopts and submits to the Sec18 retary of the Interior a resolution 

19 stating that BSNC is willing to accept 

20 Tract 1, Tract 2, Tract 3, Tract 4, 

21 Tract 5, or Tract 6, as appropriate, 

22 ‘‘as is’’ at the time of such convey23 ance, based on known contamination. 

24 (ii) AS IS.—In this subparagraph, the 

25 term ‘‘as is’’ means the physical condition 


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1 of Tract 1, Tract 2, Tract 3, Tract 4, 

2 Tract 5, or Tract 6, as appropriate, at the 

3 time of the conveyance of such Tract, in4 cluding with respect to any known con5 tamination by hazardous materials or sub6 stances. 

7 (B) LAND TO BE CONVEYED TO THE

8 STATE OR BSNC.— 

9 (i) ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE.— 

10 To the extent cleanup and remediation of 

11 hazardous substances on land in a Tract to 

12 be conveyed to the State or to BSNC are 

13 required by existing law, all environmental 

14 compliance activities pursuant to section 

15 120(h) of the Comprehensive Environ16 mental Response, Compensation, and Li17 ability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9620(h)) 

18 and other applicable environmental laws 

19 shall be satisfied. 

20 (ii) MONITORING OF KNOWN CON21 TAMINATION.—Notwithstanding section 

22 120(h) of the Comprehensive Environ23 mental Response, Compensation, and Li24 ability Act of 1980 and other applicable 

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1 tion in a Tract to be conveyed that does 

2 not pose an immediate or long-term health 

3 or environmental risk may be routinely 

4 monitored and managed by the State or 

5 BSNC, as applicable, through institutional 

6 controls in accordance with the laws of the 

7 State. 

8 (iii) LATER FOUND CONTAMINA9 TION.—If preexisting contamination from 

10 hazardous materials and substances are 

11 found to be present in a Tract after the 

12 date the Tract is conveyed to the State or 

13 BSNC, responsibility for cleanup and re14 mediation of such contamination shall con15 tinue to be governed by section 120(h)(3) 

16 of the Comprehensive Environmental Re17 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 

18 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9620(h)(3)), applicable 

19 provisions of chapter 19 of title 14, United 

20 States Code, and applicable laws of the 

21 State. 

22 (C) LAND TO BE RETAINED BY THE COAST

23 GUARD.—With respect to land in Tract 1, Tract 

24 3, or Tract 4 to be retained by the Coast 

25 Guard, nothing in this section may be construed 


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1 to limit the obligation of the Coast Guard to 

2 comply with applicable environmental law, in3 cluding section 120(h) of the Comprehensive 

4 Environmental Response, Compensation, and 

5 Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9620(h)). 

6 (2) AIRSTRIP USE.— 

7 (A) USE BY COAST GUARD.—All convey8 ances under this section shall be subject to— 

9 (i) an easement granting unlimited 

10 use of all existing and future landing pads, 

11 airstrips, runways, and taxiways that are 

12 located on such Tract conveyed, at no cost 

13 to the Coast Guard; and 

14 (ii) the right to access such landing 

15 pads, airstrips, runways, and taxiways, at 

16 no cost to the Coast Guard. 

17 (B) USE BY STATE.— 

18 (i) IN GENERAL.—For any Tract con19 veyed to BSNC under this section, BSNC 

20 shall provide to the State, if requested and 

21 pursuant to negotiated terms with the 

22 State, for no compensation— 

23 (I) an easement over all existing 

24 and future airstrips, runways, and 

25 taxiways located on such Tract; and 


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1 (II) a right of access to and from 

2 such airstrips, runways, and taxiways. 

3 (ii) RIGHT OF ACCESS.—If the State 

4 requests a right of access for a road from 

5 the airstrip to the southern tip of Point 

6 Spencer, the location of such right of ac7 cess shall be determined by the State, in 

8 consultation with the Secretary and 

9 BSNC, so that such access is compatible 

10 with other existing or planned infrastruc11 ture development at Point Spencer. 

12 (3) RELATIONSHIP TO PUBLIC LAND ORDER

13 2650.— 

14 (A) TRACTS NOT CONVEYED.—Any Tract 

15 that is not conveyed under this section shall re16 main withdrawn pursuant to Public Land Order 

17 2650 (published in the Federal Register on 

18 April 12, 1962). 

19 (B) TRACTS CONVEYED.—For any Tract 

20 conveyed under this section, Public Land Order 

21 2650 shall automatically terminate upon 

22 issuance of a conveyance document for such 

23 Tract. 

24 (4) ARCHEOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL RE25 SOURCES.—Conveyance of any Tract under this secVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 Jun 23, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00084 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1611.IS S1611

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1 tion shall not affect criminal jurisdiction and respon2 sibilities regarding the potential theft or vandalism 

3 of archeological or cultural resources located in or 

4 on such tracts. 

5 (5) PERSONAL PROPERTY.— 

6 (A) CASH SALES AUTHORIZED.—The Sec7 retary of Homeland Security is authorized to 

8 make cash sales of personal property that is lo9 cated on Tract 4 to BSNC or to the State. 

10 (B) VALUE.—The total value of the per11 sonal property referred to in subparagraph (A) 

12 shall be deemed to be $5,580,000. 

13 (C) PROCEEDS.—Pursuant to section 559 

14 of the Department of Homeland Security Ap15 propriations Act, 2010 (Public Law 111–83; 

16 123 Stat. 2180), the proceeds from the sale of 

17 Coast Guard property referred to in subpara18 graph (A)— 

19 (i) shall be deposited as offsetting col20 lections into the Coast Guard Environ21 mental Compliance and Restoration Ac22 count; 

23 (ii) shall be available without further 

24 appropriation for environmental compli25 ance and restoration activities associated 


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1 with any tract conveyed or to be conveyed 

2 under this Act; and 

3 (iii) shall remain available until ex4 pended. 

5 (D) UNEXPENDED BALANCES.—If unex6 pended balances remain in the Coast Guard 

7 Environmental Compliance and Restoration Ac8 count after the completion of the activities de9 scribed in subparagraph (C)(ii), such balances 

10 may be expended for any other environmental 

11 compliance and restoration activities of the 

12 Coast Guard. 

13 (g) MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.— 

14 (1) PREPARATION OF MAPS AND LEGAL DE15 SCRIPTION.—As soon as practicable after the date of 

16 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Inte17 rior shall prepare maps and legal descriptions of 

18 Tract 1, Tract 2, Tract 3, Tract 4, Tract 5, and 

19 Tract 6. In doing so, the Secretary of the Interior 

20 may use metes and bounds legal descriptions based 

21 upon the official survey plats of Point Spencer ac22 cepted on December 6, 1978. 

23 (2) LEGAL EFFECT.—The maps and legal de24 scriptions shall have the same force and effect as if 

25 the maps and legal descriptions were included in this 


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1 Act, except that the Secretary of the Interior may 

2 correct any clerical and typographical errors in the 

3 maps and legal descriptions. 

4 (3) AVAILABILITY.—Copies of the maps and 

5 legal descriptions shall be available for public inspec6 tion in the appropriate offices of— 

7 (A) the Bureau of Land Management; and 

8 (B) the United States Coast Guard. 

9 (4) SURVEY.—Not later than 5 years after the 

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

11 the Interior shall survey Tracts conveyed and patent 

12 the Tracts in accordance with the official plats of 

13 survey. 

14 (h) PUBLIC ACCESS EASEMENTS.—No public access 

15 easements may be reserved to the United States under 

16 section 17(b) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 

17 (43 U.S.C. 1616(b)) with respect to the land conveyed 

18 under this Act. 

19 SEC. 604. PORT COORDINATION ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR 

20 POINT SPENCER. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Port 

22 Coordination Advisory Council for the Port of Point Spen23 cer. 

24 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Council shall consist of a 

25 representative appointed by each of the following: 


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1 (1) The State. 

2 (2) BSNC. 

3 (c) DUTIES.—The duties of the Council are as fol4 lows: 

5 (1) To develop a Port Management Coordina6 tion Plan to help coordinate infrastructure develop7 ment and operations at the Port of Point Spencer, 

8 that includes plans for— 

9 (A) construction; 

10 (B) funding eligibility; 

11 (C) land use planning and development; 

12 and 

13 (D) public interest use and access, emer14 gency preparedness, law enforcement, protection 

15 of Alaska Native archaeological and cultural re16 sources, and other matters that are necessary 

17 for public and private entities to function in 

18 proximity together in a remote location. 

19 (2) Update the Plan annually for the first 5 

20 years after the date of the enactment of this Act and 

21 biennially thereafter. 

22 (3) Facilitate coordination among stakeholders 

23 at Point Spencer, including the Coast Guard, on the 

24 development and use of the land and coastline as 


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1 such development relates to activities at the Port of 

2 Point Spencer. 

3 (4) Assess the need, benefits, efficacy, and de4 sirability of establishing in the future a port author5 ity at Point Spencer under State law and act upon 

6 that assessment, as appropriate, including taking 

7 steps for the potential formation of such a port au8 thority. 

9 (d) PLAN.—The Plan shall be developed and imple10 mented by the Council in such a manner so as to facilitate 

11 and support, and not interfere with nor impede, the statu12 tory missions, duties, and operations of the Coast Guard 

13 in the Arctic. 

14 (e) COSTS.—Operations and management costs for 

15 airstrips, runways, and taxiways at Point Spencer shall 

16 be determined pursuant to provisions of the Plan, as nego17 tiated by the Council. 

18 SEC. 605. WAIVER. 

19 Section 229 of the Howard Coble Coast Guard and 

20 Maritime Transportation Act of 2014 (Public Law 113– 

21 281; 128 Stat. 3040) shall not be construed to prohibit 

22 any transfer or conveyance of lands under to this Act or 

23 any actions that involve the dismantling or disposal of in24 frastructure that supported the former LORAN system 


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1 that are associated with the transfer or conveyance of 

2 lands under this subtitle. 

3 Subtitle B—Other Conveyance of 

4 Coast Guard Property 

5 SEC. 611. CONVEYANCE OF COAST GUARD PROPERTY IN 

6 POINT REYES STATION, CALIFORNIA. 

7 (a) CONVEYANCE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant of the 

9 Coast Guard may convey to the County of Marin all 

10 right, title, and interest of the United States in and 

11 to the covered property— 

12 (A) for fair market value, provided for in 

13 paragraph (2); 

14 (B) subject to the conditions required by 

15 this section; and 

16 (C) subject to any other term or condition 

17 that the Commandant considers appropriate to 

18 protect the interests of the United States. 

19 (2) FAIR MARKET VALUE.—The fair market 

20 value of the covered property shall be— 

21 (A) determined by a real estate appraiser, 

22 who has been selected by the County and is li23 censed to practice in California; and 

24 (B) approved by the Commandant, who 

25 shall base such approval on considerations of 


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1 equity and fairness, including the use required 

2 under this section of the covered property. 

3 (3) PROCEEDS.—The Commandant shall de4 posit the proceeds from a conveyance under para5 graph (1) in the Coast Guard Housing Fund estab6 lished by section 687 of title 14, United States Code. 

7 (b) CONDITION OF CONVEYANCE.—As a condition of 

8 any conveyance of covered property under this section, the 

9 Commandant shall require that all right, title, and interest 

10 in and to the covered property revert to the United States 

11 if the covered property or any part thereof ceases to be 

12 used for affordable housing, as defined by the County and 

13 the Commandant at conveyance, or to provide a public 

14 benefit approved by the County. 

15 (c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec16 tion may be construed to affect or limit the application 

17 of or obligation to comply with any environmental law, in18 cluding section 120(h) of the Comprehensive Environ19 mental Response, Compensation, and liability Act of 1980 

20 (42 U.S.C. 9620(h)). 

21 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) COMMANDANT.—The term ‘‘Commandant’’ 

23 means the Commandant of the Coast Guard. 

24 (2) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means the 

25 County of Marin, California. 


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1 (3) COVERED PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘covered 

2 property’’ means the 32 acres of Federal land (in3 cluding all buildings, structures, utilities, and mis4 cellaneous facilities on the land) that are located in 

5 Point Reyes Station in the County of Marin, Cali6 fornia, and that are under the administrative control 

7 of the Coast Guard and identified by the Coast 

8 Guard as ‘‘CAMSPAC Housing’’. 

9 (e) EXPIRATION.—The authority to convey the cov10 ered property under this section shall expire on the date 

11 that is four years after the date of the enactment of this 

12 Act. 

13 SEC. 612. CONVEYANCE OF COAST GUARD PROPERTY IN 

14 TOK, ALASKA. 

15 (a) CONVEYANCE AUTHORIZED.—The Commandant 

16 of the Coast Guard may convey all right, title, and interest 

17 of the United States in and to the covered property, upon 

18 payment to the United States of the fair market value of 

19 the covered property. 

20 (b) RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL.—The Tanana Chiefs’ 

21 Conference shall have the right of first refusal with respect 

22 to purchase of the covered property under this section. 

23 (c) SURVEY.—The exact acreage and legal descrip24 tion of the covered property shall be determined by a sur25 vey satisfactory to the Commandant. 


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1 (d) FAIR MARKET VALUE.—The fair market value 

2 of the covered property shall be— 

3 (1) determined by appraisal; and 

4 (2) subject to the approval of the Commandant. 

5 (e) COSTS OF CONVEYANCE.—The responsibility for 

6 all reasonable and necessary costs, including real estate 

7 transaction and environmental documentation costs, asso8 ciated with a conveyance under this section shall be deter9 mined by the Commandant and the purchaser. 

10 (f) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The 

11 Commandant may require such additional terms and con12 ditions in connection with a conveyance under this section 

13 as the Commandant considers appropriate and reasonable 

14 to protect the interests of the United States. 

15 (g) DEPOSIT OF PROCEEDS.—Any proceeds received 

16 by the United States from a conveyance under this section 

17 shall be deposited in the Coast Guard Housing Fund es18 tablished under section 687 of title 14, United States 

19 Code. 

20 (h) COVERED PROPERTY DEFINED.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

22 ‘‘covered property’’ means the approximately 3.25 

23 acres of real property (including all improvements 

24 located on the property) that are— 

25 (A) located in Tok, Alaska; 


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1 (B) under the administrative control of the 

2 Coast Guard; and 

3 (C) described in paragraph (2). 

4 (2) DESCRIPTION.—The property described in 

5 this paragraph is the following: 

6 (A) Lots 11, 12, and 13, block ‘‘G’’, Sec7 ond Addition to Hartsell Subdivision, Section 

8 20, Township 18 North, Range 13 East, Cop9 per River Meridian, Alaska as appears by Plat 

10 No. 72–39 filed in the Office of the Recorder 

11 for the Fairbanks Recording District of Alaska, 

12 bearing seal dated 25 September 1972, all con13 taining approximately 1.25 Acres and com14 monly known as 2-PLEX – Jackie Circle, Units 

15 A and B. 

16 (B) Beginning at a point being the SE corner of the SE 1⁄4 of the SE 1 17 ⁄4 Section 24, 

18 Township 18 North, Range 12 East, Copper 

19 River Meridian, Alaska; thence running westerly along the south line of said SE 1 20 ⁄4 of the 

NE 1 21 ⁄4 260 feet; thence northerly parallel to the 

east line of said SE 1⁄4 of the NE 1 22 ⁄4 335 feet; 

23 thence easterly parallel to the south line 260 

24 feet; then south 335 feet along the east bound25 ary of Section 24 to the point of beginning; all 


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1 containing approximately 2.0 acres and com2 monly known as 4-PLEX – West ‘‘C’’ and Wil3 low, Units A, B, C, and D. 

4 TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS 

5 SEC. 701. INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE ON 

6 OIL POLLUTION RESEARCH. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7001(a) of the Oil Pollu8 tion Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2761(a)) is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘Minerals Management 

11 Service’’ and inserting ‘‘Bureau of Safety and 

12 Environmental Enforcement, the Bureau of 

13 Ocean Energy Management,’’; and 

14 (B) by inserting ‘‘the United States Arctic 

15 Research Commission,’’ after ‘‘National Aero16 nautics and Space Administration,’’; and 

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

18 ‘‘(5) VICE CHAIRPERSON.—A representative of 

19 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra20 tion, a representative of the Bureau of Safety and 

21 Environmental Enforcement, and a representative of 

22 the Environmental Protection Agency shall serve, on 

23 a rotating basis, as vice chairperson of the Com24 mittee.’’. 


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1 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 7001 of the 

2 Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2761) is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (b)(2), in the matter pre4 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘Department 

5 of Transportation’’ and inserting ‘‘department in 

6 which the Coast Guard is operating’’; and 

7 (2) in subsection (c)(8)(A), by striking 

8 ‘‘(1989)’’ and inserting ‘‘(2010)’’. 

9 SEC. 702. ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT NOTIFICATION. 

10 Section 9 of the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Cer11 tainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 (49 U.S.C. 60117 

12 note; Public Law 112–90) is amended by striking sub13 section (c), and that subsection shall be deemed not to 

14 have been enacted. 

15 SEC. 703. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS RELATING TO 

16 BRIDGES. 

17 (a) ACT OF MARCH 3, 1899.—The Act of March 3, 

18 1899 (commonly known as the ‘‘Rivers and Harbors Ap19 propriation Act of 1899’’), is amended— 

20 (1) in section 9 (33 U.S.C. 401), by striking 

21 ‘‘Secretary of Transportation’’ each place it appears 

22 and inserting ‘‘Secretary of the department in which 

23 the Coast Guard is operating’’; 

24 (2) in section 12 (33 U.S.C. 406)— 


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1 (A) by striking the section designation and 

2 all that follows through the first sentence and 

3 inserting the following: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 12. PENALTY FOR WRONGFUL CONSTRUCTION; RE5 MOVAL OF STRUCTURES. 

6 ‘‘(a) PENALTY FOR WRONGFUL CONSTRUCTION.— 

7 Each individual or entity that violates an applicable provi8 sion of section 9, 10, or 11, or any rule or regulation pro9 mulgated by the Secretary of the department in which the 

10 Coast Guard is operating pursuant to section 9 or the Sec11 retary of the Army pursuant to section 11, shall be— 

12 ‘‘(1) guilty of a misdemeanor; and 

13 ‘‘(2) on conviction, punished by, at the discre14 tion of the applicable court— 

15 ‘‘(A) a fine of not less than $500 nor more 

16 than $2,500; 

17 ‘‘(B) imprisonment (in the case of an indi18 vidual) for not more than 1 year; or 

19 ‘‘(C) both the punishments described in 

20 subparagraphs (A) and (B).’’; and 

21 (B) in the second sentence— 

22 (i) by striking ‘‘And further, the re23 moval’’ and inserting the following: 

24 ‘‘(b) REMOVAL OF STRUCTURES.—The removal’’; 

25 and 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘the provisions of’’ 

2 and all that follows through ‘‘exercising’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘a provision described in 

4 subsection (a) may be enforced by the in5 junction of any district court exercising’’; 

6 and 

7 (3) in subsections (a) and (c) of section 18 (33 

8 U.S.C. 502), by striking ‘‘Secretary of Transpor9 tation’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Sec10 retary of the department in which the Coast Guard 

11 is operating’’. 

12 (b) ACT OF MARCH 23, 1906.—The Act of March 

13 23, 1906 (commonly known as the ‘‘Bridge Act of 1906’’), 

14 is amended— 

15 (1) in the first section (33 U.S.C. 491), by 

16 striking ‘‘Secretary of Transportation’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

18 Guard is operating’’; 

19 (2) in section 4 (33 U.S.C. 494), by striking 

20 ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security’’ each place it ap21 pears and inserting ‘‘Secretary of the department in 

22 which the Coast Guard is operating’’; and 

23 (3) in section 5 (33 U.S.C. 495), by striking 

24 ‘‘Secretary of Transportation’’ each place it appears 


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1 and inserting ‘‘Secretary of the department in which 

2 the Coast Guard is operating’’. 

3 (c) ACT OF AUGUST 18, 1894.—Section 5 of the Act 

4 of August 18, 1894 (33 U.S.C. 499), is amended by strik5 ing ‘‘Secretary of Transportation’’ each place it appears 

6 and inserting ‘‘Secretary of the department in which the 

7 Coast Guard is operating’’. 

8 (d) ACT OF JUNE 21, 1940.—The Act of June 21, 

9 1940 (commonly known as the ‘‘Truman-Hobbs Act’’), is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in section 1 (33 U.S.C. 511), by striking 

12 ‘‘Secretary of Transportation’’ and inserting ‘‘Sec13 retary of the department in which the Coast Guard 

14 is operating’’; 

15 (2) in section 3 (33 U.S.C. 513)— 

16 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

17 ‘‘HEARING’’ and inserting ‘‘MEETING’’; 

18 (B) in the first sentence— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘hearing’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘meeting’’; and 

21 (ii) by striking ‘‘evidence’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘supporting data’’; and 

23 (C) in the second sentence, by striking 

24 ‘‘hearing’’ and inserting ‘‘a meeting’’; 


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1 (3) in section 4 (33 U.S.C. 514), by striking 

2 ‘‘Secretary of Transportation’’ and inserting ‘‘Sec3 retary of the department in which the Coast Guard 

4 is operating’’; 

5 (4) in section 7 (33 U.S.C. 517), by striking 

6 ‘‘Secretary of Transportation’’ each place it appears 

7 and inserting ‘‘Secretary of the department in which 

8 the Coast Guard is operating’’; and 

9 (5) in section 13 (33 U.S.C. 523), in the pro10 viso, by striking ‘‘Secretary of Transportation’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘Secretary of the department in which the 

12 Coast Guard is operating’’. 

13 (e) ACT OF JULY 16, 1952.—Section 3 of the Act 

14 of July 16, 1952 (33 U.S.C. 524), is amended by striking 

15 ‘‘hearings’’ and inserting ‘‘meetings’’. 

16 (f) GENERAL BRIDGE ACT OF 1946.—The General 

17 Bridge Act 1946 is amended— 

18 (1) in section 502(b) (33 U.S.C. 525(b)), by 

19 striking ‘‘Secretary of Transportation’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

21 Guard is operating’’; and 

22 (2) in section 510 (33 U.S.C. 533), by striking 

23 ‘‘Secretary of Transportation’’ each place it appears 

24 and inserting ‘‘Secretary of the department in which 

25 the Coast Guard is operating’’. 


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1 (g) INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE ACT OF 1972.—The 

2 International Bridge Act of 1972 is amended— 

3 (1) in section 5 (33 U.S.C. 535c), by striking 

4 ‘‘Secretary of Transportation’’ and inserting ‘‘Sec5 retary of the department in which the Coast Guard 

6 is operating’’; 

7 (2) in section 8 (33 U.S.C. 535e)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘Secretary of Transpor9 tation’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘the 

10 department in which the Coast Guard is oper11 ating’’; and 

12 (B) in subsection (b), in the second sen13 tence, by striking ‘‘, and the provisions of sec14 tion 6 of this Act shall not apply’’; and 

15 (3) by striking section 11 (33 U.S.C. 535h). 

16 SEC. 704. INTERNATIONAL PORT AND FACILITY INSPEC17 TION COORDINATION. 

18 Section 825(a) of the Coast Guard Authorization Act 

19 of 2010 (6 U.S.C. 945 note; Public Law 111–281) is 

20 amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘the department in which the 

22 Coast Guard is operating’’ and inserting ‘‘Homeland 

23 Security’’; and 

24 (2) by striking ‘‘they are integrated and con25 ducted by the Coast Guard’’ and inserting ‘‘the asVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 Jun 23, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00101 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1611.IS S1611

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1 sessments are coordinated between the Coast Guard 

2 and Customs and Border Protection’’. 

3 SEC. 705. REPORTS. 

4 (a) DISTANT WATER TUNA FLEET.—Section 421(d) 

5 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 

6 2006 (Public Law 109–241; 46 U.S.C. 8103 note) is 

7 amended by striking ‘‘On March 1, 2007, and annually 

8 thereafter’’ and inserting ‘‘Not later than July 1 of each 

9 year,’’. 

10 (b) ELIMINATION OF REPORTS.— 

11 (1) ANNUAL UPDATES ON LIMITS TO LIABIL12 ITY.—Section 603(c)(3) of the Coast Guard and 

13 Maritime Transportation Act of 2006 (33 U.S.C. 

14 2704 note) is amended by striking ‘‘on an annual 

15 basis.’’ and inserting ‘‘not later than January 30 of 

16 the year following each year in which an oil dis17 charge from a vessel or nonvessel source that results 

18 or is likely to result in removal costs and damages 

19 (as those terms are defined in section 1001 of the 

20 Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701)) that ex21 ceed liability limits established under section 1004 of 

22 the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2704).’’. 

23 (2) INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE ACT OF 1972.—The 

24 International Bridge Act of 1972 is amended by 

25 striking section 11 (33 U.S.C. 535h). 


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1 SEC. 706. SAFE VESSEL OPERATION IN THE GREAT LAKES. 

2 The Howard Coble Coast Guard and Maritime Trans3 portation Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–281) is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) in section 610, by— 

6 (A) striking the section enumerator and 

7 heading and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 610. SAFE VESSEL OPERATION IN THE GREAT 

9 LAKES.’’; 

10 (B) striking ‘‘existing boundaries and any 

11 future expanded boundaries of the Thunder 

12 Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Under13 water Preserve’’ and inserting ‘‘boundaries of 

14 any National Marine Sanctuary that preserves 

15 shipwrecks or maritime heritage in the Great 

16 Lakes’’; and 

17 (C) by inserting before the period at the 

18 end the following: ‘‘, unless the designation doc19 uments for such Sanctuary do not allow taking 

20 up or discharging ballast water in such Sanc21 tuary’’; and 

22 (2) in the table of contents in section 2, by 

23 striking the item relating to section 610 and insert24 ing the following: 

‘‘Sec. 610. Safe vessel operation in the Great Lakes.’’. 


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1 SEC. 707. COASTWISE ENDORSEMENT. 

2 Notwithstanding section 12132 of title 46, United 

3 States Code, the Secretary of the department in which the 

4 Coast Guard is operating may issue a certificate of docu5 mentation with a coastwise endorsement for the F/V 

6 RONDYS (O.N. 291085). 

7 SEC. 708. INTERNATIONAL ICE PATROL. 

8 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR REPORT.—Not later than 

9 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

10 Commandant of the Coast Guard shall submit to the Com11 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

12 Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infra13 structure of the House of Representatives a report that 

14 describes the current operations to perform the Inter15 national Ice Patrol mission and on alternatives for car16 rying out that mission, including satellite surveillance 

17 technology. 

18 (b) ALTERNATIVES.—The report required by sub19 section (a) shall include whether an alternative— 

20 (1) provides timely data on ice conditions with 

21 the highest possible resolution and accuracy; 

22 (2) is able to operate in all weather conditions 

23 or any time of day; and 

24 (3) is more cost effective than the cost of cur25 rent operations. 

Æ 


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