II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1439 

To reauthorize activities of the Maritime Administration, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 14, 2019 

Mr. WICKER (for himself and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To reauthorize activities of the Maritime Administration, and 

for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Maritime Administra5 tion Authorization and Enhancement Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents of the Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

TITLE I—MARITIME ADMINISTRATION 

Sec. 101. Authorization of the Maritime Administration. 


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Sec. 102. Maritime Security Program. 

Sec. 103. Department of Transportation Inspector General Report. 

Sec. 104. Authority for MARAD to retain foreign student tuition reimbursement. 

Sec. 105. Appointment of candidates attending sponsored preparatory school. 

Sec. 106. Independent study on the United States Merchant Marine Academy. 

Sec. 107. Centers of excellence for domestic maritime workforce training and 

education. 

Sec. 108. Military to mariner. 

Sec. 109. Salvage recoveries of federally owned cargoes. 

Sec. 110. Salvage recoveries for subrogated ownership of vessels and cargoes. 

Sec. 111. Port operations, research, and technology. 

Sec. 112. Strategic seaports. 

Sec. 113. Maritime technical assistance program. 

Sec. 114. Requirement for small shipyard grantees. 

Sec. 115. Improvement of National Oceanographic Partnership Program. 

Sec. 116. Improvements to the maritime guaranteed loan program. 

Sec. 117. Technical corrections. 

TITLE II—MARITIME SAFE ACT 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Definitions. 

Sec. 203. Findings. 

Sec. 204. Purposes. 

Sec. 205. Statement of policy. 

Subtitle A—Programs To Combat IUU Fishing and Increase Maritime 

Security 

Sec. 211. Coordination with international organizations. 

Sec. 212. Engagement of diplomatic missions of the United States. 

Sec. 213. Assistance by Federal agencies to improve law enforcement within 

priority regions and priority flag states. 

Sec. 214. Expansion of existing mechanisms to combat IUU fishing. 

Sec. 215. Improvement of transparency and traceability programs. 

Sec. 216. Technology programs. 

Sec. 217. Information sharing. 

Subtitle B—Establishment of Interagency Working Group on IUU Fishing 

Sec. 221. Interagency Working Group on IUU Fishing. 

Sec. 222. Strategic plan. 

Sec. 223. Reports. 

Sec. 224. Gulf of Mexico IUU Fishing Subworking Group. 

Subtitle C—Authorization of Appropriations 

Sec. 231. Authorization of appropriations. 


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1 TITLE I—MARITIME 

2 ADMINISTRATION 

3 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF THE MARITIME ADMINISTRA4 TION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro6 priated to the Department of Transportation for fiscal 

7 year 2020, to be available without fiscal year limitation 

8 if so provided in appropriations Acts, for programs associ9 ated with maintaining the United States Merchant Ma10 rine, the following amounts: 

11 (1) For expenses necessary for operations of the 

12 United States Merchant Marine Academy, 

13 $95,944,000, of which— 

14 (A) $77,944,000 shall remain available 

15 until September 30, 2021 for Academy oper16 ations; and 

17 (B) $18,000,000 shall remain available 

18 until expended for capital asset management at 

19 the Academy. 

20 (2) For expenses necessary to support the State 

21 maritime academies, $50,280,000, of which— 

22 (A) $2,400,000 shall remain available until 

23 September 30, 2021, for the Student Incentive 

24 Program; 


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1 (B) $6,000,000 shall remain available until 

2 expended for direct payments to such acad3 emies; 

4 (C) $30,080,000 shall remain available 

5 until expended for maintenance and repair of 

6 State maritime academy training vessels; 

7 (D) $3,800,000 shall remain available until 

8 expended for training ship fuel assistance; and 

9 (E) $8,000,000 shall remain available until 

10 expended for offsetting the costs of training 

11 ship sharing. 

12 (3) For expenses necessary to support the Na13 tional Security Multi-Mission Vessel Program, 

14 $300,000,000, which shall remain available until ex15 pended. 

16 (4) For expenses necessary to support Maritime 

17 Administration operations and programs, 

18 $60,442,000, of which $5,000,000 shall remain 

19 available until expended for activities authorized 

20 under section 50307 of title 46, United States Code. 

21 (5) For expenses necessary to dispose of vessels 

22 in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, $5,000,000, 

23 which shall remain available until expended. 

24 (6) For expenses necessary to maintain and 

25 preserve a United States flag Merchant Marine to 


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1 serve the national security needs of the United 

2 States under chapter 531 of title 46, United States 

3 Code, $300,000,000, which shall remain available 

4 until expended. 

5 (7) For expenses necessary for the loan guar6 antee program authorized under chapter 537 of title 

7 46, United States Code, $33,000,000, of which— 

8 (A) $30,000,000 may be used for the cost 

9 (as defined in section 502(5) of the Federal 

10 Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a(5)) 

11 of loan guarantees under the program, which 

12 shall remain available until expended; and 

13 (B) $3,000,000 may be used for adminis14 trative expenses relating to loan guarantee com15 mitments under the program. 

16 (8) For expenses necessary to provide assist17 ance to small shipyards and for maritime training 

18 programs under section 54101 of title 46, United 

19 States Code, $40,000,000, which shall remain avail20 able until expended. 

21 (9) For expenses necessary to implement the 

22 Port Operations, Research, and Technology Act, 

23 $600,000,000, except that no funds shall be used for 

24 a grant award to purchase fully automated cargo 

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1 motely monitored with or without the exercise of 

2 human intervention or control, if the Secretary de3 termines such equipment would result in a net loss 

4 of jobs that relate to the movement of goods through 

5 a port and its intermodal connections. 

6 SEC. 102. MARITIME SECURITY PROGRAM. 

7 (a) AWARD OF OPERATING AGREEMENTS.—Section 

8 53103 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by 

9 striking ‘‘2025’’ each place it appears and inserting 

10 ‘‘2035’’. 

11 (b) EFFECTIVENESS OF OPERATING AGREE12 MENTS.—Section 53104(a) of title 46, United States 

13 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘2025’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘2035’’. 

15 (c) PAYMENTS.—Section 53106(a)(1) of title 46, 

16 United States Code, is amended— 

17 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

18 after the semicolon; 

19 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

20 ‘‘$3,700,000 for each of fiscal years 2022, 2023, 

21 2024, and 2025.’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,233,463 for 

22 each of fiscal years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025; 

23 and’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(D) $5,233,463 for each of fiscal years 

2 2026 through 2035.’’. 

3 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

4 53111 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

6 the semicolon; 

7 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking 

8 ‘‘$222,000,000 for each fiscal year thereafter 

9 through fiscal year 2025.’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘$314,007,780 for each of fiscal years 2022, 2023, 

11 2024, and 2025; and’’; and 

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

13 ‘‘(4) $314,007,780 for each of fiscal years 2026 

14 through 2035.’’. 

15 SEC. 103. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION INSPECTOR 

16 GENERAL REPORT. 

17 The Inspector General of the Department of Trans18 portation shall— 

19 (1) not later than 180 days after the date of 

20 enactment of this Act, initiate an audit of the Mari21 time Administration’s actions to address the 27 rec22 ommendations for improvement identified by a Na23 tional Academy of Public Administration panel in a 

24 November 2017 report; and 


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1 (2) submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

2 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

3 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

4 the House of Representatives a report containing the 

5 results of that audit once the audit is completed. 

6 SEC. 104. AUTHORITY FOR MARAD TO RETAIN FOREIGN 

7 STUDENT TUITION REIMBURSEMENT. 

8 Section 51304 of title 46, United States Code, is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(e) CREDIT OF REIMBURSEMENT.—Reimburse11 ments under this section shall be credited to the Maritime 

12 Administration’s Operations and Training appropriation, 

13 to remain available until expended, for use only for those 

14 expenses related to the operations of the United States 

15 Merchant Marine Academy.’’. 

16 SEC. 105. APPOINTMENT OF CANDIDATES ATTENDING 

17 SPONSORED PREPARATORY SCHOOL. 

18 Section 51303 of title 46, United States Code, is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

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

24 ‘‘(b) APPOINTMENT OF CANDIDATES SELECTED FOR

25 PREPARATORY SCHOOL SPONSORSHIP.—The Secretary of 


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1 Transportation may appoint each year as cadets at the 

2 United States Merchant Marine Academy not more than 

3 40 qualified individuals sponsored by the Academy to at4 tend preparatory school during the academic year prior 

5 to entrance in the Academy, and who have successfully 

6 met the terms and conditions of sponsorship set by the 

7 Academy.’’. 

8 SEC. 106. INDEPENDENT STUDY ON THE UNITED STATES 

9 MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY. 

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

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor12 tation shall seek to enter into an agreement with the Na13 tional Academy of Public Administration (referred to in 

14 this section as the ‘‘Academy’’) to carry out the activities 

15 described in this section. 

16 (b) STUDY ELEMENTS.—In accordance with the 

17 agreement described in subsection (a), the Academy shall 

18 conduct a study of the United States Merchant Marine 

19 Academy that consists of the following: 

20 (1) A comprehensive assessment of the United 

21 States Merchant Marine Academy’s systems, train22 ing, facilities, infrastructure, information technology, 

23 and stakeholder engagement. 

24 (2) Identification of needs and opportunities for 

25 modernization to help the United States Merchant 


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1 Marine Academy keep pace with more modern cam2 puses. 

3 (3) Development of an action plan for the 

4 United States Merchant Marine Academy with spe5 cific recommendations for— 

6 (A) improvements or updates relating to 

7 the opportunities described in paragraph (2); 

8 and 

9 (B) systemic changes needed to help the 

10 United States Merchant Marine Academy 

11 achieve its mission of inspiring and educating 

12 the next generation of the mariner workforce on 

13 a long-term basis. 

14 (c) DEADLINE AND REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

15 after the date of the agreement described in subsection 

16 (a), the Academy shall prepare and submit to the Adminis17 trator of the Maritime Administration a report containing 

18 the action plan described in subsection (b)(3), including 

19 specific findings and recommendations. 

20 SEC. 107. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE FOR DOMESTIC MARI21 TIME WORKFORCE TRAINING AND EDU22 CATION. 

23 Section 54102 of title 46, United States Code, is 

24 amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘or sub2 section (d)’’ after ‘‘designated under subsection (a)’’; 

3 and 

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

5 ‘‘(d) STATE MARITIME ACADEMY.—The Secretary of 

6 Transportation shall designate each State maritime acad7 emy, as defined in section 51102(4) of this title, as a cen8 ter of excellence under this section.’’. 

9 SEC. 108. MILITARY TO MARINER. 

10 (a) CREDENTIALING SUPPORT.—Not later than 1 

11 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

12 of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Sec13 retary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Health and 

14 Human Services, with respect to the applicable services 

15 in their respective departments, and in coordination with 

16 one another and with the United States Committee on the 

17 Marine Transportation System, shall, consistent with ap18 plicable law, identify all training and experience within the 

19 applicable service that may qualify for merchant mariner 

20 credentialing, and submit a list of all identified training 

21 and experience to the United States Coast Guard National 

22 Maritime Center for a determination of whether such 

23 training and experience counts for credentialing purposes. 

24 (b) REVIEW OF APPLICABLE SERVICE.—The United 

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1 tion of whether training and experience counts for 

2 credentialing purposes, as described in subsection (a), not 

3 later than 6 months after the date on which the United 

4 States Coast Guard National Maritime Center receives a 

5 submission under subsection (a) identifying a training or 

6 experience and requesting such a determination. 

7 (c) FEES AND SERVICES.—The Secretary of Defense, 

8 the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of 

9 Commerce, and the Secretary of Health and Human Serv10 ices shall— 

11 (1) take all necessary and appropriate actions 

12 to provide for the waiver of fees through the Na13 tional Maritime Center license evaluation, issuance, 

14 and examination for members of the uniformed serv15 ices on active duty or separated members of the uni16 formed services, if a waiver is authorized and appro17 priate, and, if a waiver is not granted, take all nec18 essary and appropriate actions to provide for the 

19 payment of fees for members of the uniformed serv20 ices on active duty or separated members of the uni21 formed services by the applicable service to the full22 est extent permitted by law; 

23 (2) direct the applicable services to take all nec24 essary and appropriate actions to pay for Transpor25 tation Worker Identification Credential cards for 


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1 members of the uniformed services on active duty or 

2 separated members of the uniformed services pur3 suing or possessing a mariner credential; 

4 (3) ensure that members of the applicable serv5 ices who are to be discharged or released from active 

6 duty and who request certification or verification of 

7 sea service be provided such certification or 

8 verification no later than one month after discharge 

9 or release; 

10 (4) ensure the applicable services have devel11 oped, or continue to operate, as appropriate, the on12 line resource known as Credentialing Opportunities 

13 On-Line to support separating members of the uni14 formed services who are seeking information and as15 sistance on merchant mariner credentialing; and 

16 (5) not later than 1 year after the date of en17 actment of this section, take all necessary and ap18 propriate actions to apply service-related medical 

19 certifications to merchant mariner credential re20 quirements. 

21 (d) ADVANCING MILITARY TO MARINER WITHIN THE

22 EMPLOYER AGENCIES.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, 

24 the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary 

25 of Commerce, and the Secretary of Health and 


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1 Human Services shall have direct hiring authority to 

2 employ separated members of the uniformed services 

3 with valid merchant mariner licenses or sea service 

4 experience in support of United States national mar5 itime needs, including the Army Corps of Engineers, 

6 U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Na7 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

8 (e) SEPARATED MEMBER OF THE UNIFORMED SERV9 ICES.—In this section, the term ‘‘separated member of the 

10 uniformed services’’ means an individual who— 

11 (1) is retiring or is retired as a member of the 

12 uniformed services; 

13 (2) is voluntarily separating or voluntarily sepa14 rated from the uniformed services at the end of en15 listment or service obligation; or 

16 (3) is administratively separating or has admin17 istratively separated from the uniformed services 

18 with an honorable or general discharge characteriza19 tion. 

20 SEC. 109. SALVAGE RECOVERIES OF FEDERALLY OWNED 

21 CARGOES. 

22 Section 57100 of title 46, United States Code, is 

23 amended by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(h) FUNDS TRANSFER AUTHORITY RELATED TO

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1 SELS AND THE PROVISION OF MARITIME-RELATED SERV2 ICES.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—When the Secretary of 

4 Transportation provides for the use of its vessels or 

5 maritime-related services and goods under a reim6 bursable agreement with a Federal entity, or State 

7 or local entity, authorized to receive goods and serv8 ices from the Maritime Administration for programs, 

9 projects, activities, and expenses related to the Na10 tional Defense Reserve Fleet or maritime-related 

11 services: 

12 ‘‘(A) Federal entities are authorized to 

13 transfer funds to the Secretary in advance of 

14 expenditure or upon providing the goods or 

15 services ordered, as determined by the Sec16 retary. 

17 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall determine all 

18 other terms and conditions under which such 

19 payments should be made and provide such 

20 goods and services using its existing or new 

21 contracts, including general agency agreements, 

22 memoranda of understanding, or similar agree23 ments. 

24 ‘‘(2) REIMBURSABLE AGREEMENT WITH A FED25 ERAL ENTITY.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Maritime Admin2 istration is authorized to provide maritime-re3 lated services and goods under a reimbursable 

4 agreement with a Federal entity. 

5 ‘‘(B) MARITIME-RELATED SERVICES DE6 FINED.—For the purposes of this subsection, 

7 maritime-related services includes the acquisi8 tion, procurement, operation, maintenance, 

9 preservation, sale, lease, charter, construction, 

10 reconstruction, or reconditioning (including out11 fitting and equipping incidental to construction, 

12 reconstruction, or reconditioning) of a merchant 

13 vessel or shipyard, ship site, terminal, pier, 

14 dock, warehouse, or other installation related to 

15 the maritime operations of a Federal entity. 

16 ‘‘(3) SALVAGING CARGOES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Maritime Admin18 istration may provide services and purchase 

19 goods relating to the salvaging of cargoes 

20 aboard vessels in the custody or control of the 

21 Maritime Administration or its predecessor 

22 agencies and receive and retain reimbursement 

23 from Federal entities for all such costs as it 

24 may incur. 


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1 ‘‘(B) REIMBURSEMENT.—Reimbursement 

2 as provided for in subparagraph (A) may come 

3 from— 

4 ‘‘(i) the proceeds recovered from such 

5 salvage; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) the Federal entity for which the 

7 Maritime Administration has or will pro8 vide such goods and services, depending on 

9 the agreement of the parties involved. 

10 ‘‘(4) AMOUNTS RECEIVED.—Amounts received 

11 as reimbursements under this subsection shall be 

12 credited to the fund or account that was used to 

13 cover the costs incurred by the Secretary or, if the 

14 period of availability of obligations for that appro15 priation has expired, to the appropriation of funds 

16 that is currently available to the Secretary for sub17 stantially the same purpose. Amounts so credited 

18 shall be merged with amounts in such fund or ac19 count and shall be available for the same purposes, 

20 and subject to the same conditions and limitations, 

21 as amounts in such fund or account. 

22 ‘‘(5) ADVANCE PAYMENTS.—Payments made in 

23 advance shall be for any part of the estimated cost 

24 as determined by the Secretary of Transportation. 

25 Adjustments to the amounts paid in advance shall be 


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1 made as agreed to by the Secretary of Transpor2 tation and the head of the ordering agency or unit 

3 based on the actual cost of goods or services pro4 vided. 

5 ‘‘(6) BILL OR REQUEST FOR PAYMENT.—A bill 

6 submitted or a request for payment is not subject to 

7 audit or certification in advance of payment.’’. 

8 SEC. 110. SALVAGE RECOVERIES FOR SUBROGATED OWN9 ERSHIP OF VESSELS AND CARGOES. 

10 Section 53909 of title 46, United States Code, is 

11 amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(e) SALVAGE AGREEMENTS.—Notwithstanding title 

13 XIV of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Author14 ization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (10 U.S.C. 113 note), 

15 the Secretary of Transportation is authorized to enter into 

16 marine salvage agreements for the recoveries, sale, and 

17 disposal of sunken or damaged vessels, cargoes, or prop18 erties owned or insured by or on behalf of the Maritime 

19 Administration, the United States Shipping Board, the 

20 U.S. Shipping Board Bureau, the United States Maritime 

21 Commission, or the War Shipping Administration. 

22 ‘‘(f) RECOVERIES.—Notwithstanding other provisions 

23 of law, the net proceeds from salvage agreements entered 

24 into as authorized in subsection (e) shall remain available 


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1 until expended and be distributed as follows for marine 

2 insurance-related salvages: 

3 ‘‘(1) Fifty percent of the net funds recovered 

4 shall be deposited in the war risk revolving fund and 

5 shall be available for the purposes of the war risk re6 volving fund. 

7 ‘‘(2) Fifty percent of the net funds recovered 

8 shall be deposited in the Vessel Operations Revolving 

9 Fund as established by section 50301(a) of this title 

10 and shall be available until expended as follows: 

11 ‘‘(A) Fifty percent shall be available to the 

12 Administrator of the Maritime Administration 

13 for such acquisition, maintenance, repair, recon14 ditioning, or improvement of vessels in the Na15 tional Defense Reserve Fleet as is authorized 

16 under other Federal law. 

17 ‘‘(B) Twenty-five percent shall be available 

18 to the Administrator of the Maritime Adminis19 tration for the payment or reimbursement of 

20 expenses incurred by or on behalf of State mar21 itime academies or the United States Merchant 

22 Marine Academy for facility and training ship 

23 maintenance, repair, and modernization, and 

24 for the purchase of simulators and fuel. 


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1 ‘‘(C) The remainder shall be distributed 

2 for maritime heritage preservation to the De3 partment of the Interior for grants as author4 ized by section 308703 of title 54.’’. 

5 SEC. 111. PORT OPERATIONS, RESEARCH, AND TECH6 NOLOGY. 

7 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 

8 ‘‘Ports Improvement Act’’. 

9 (b) PORT AND INTERMODAL IMPROVEMENT PRO10 GRAM.—Section 50302 of title 46, United States Code, is 

11 amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(c) PORT AND INTERMODAL IMPROVEMENT PRO14 GRAM.— 

15 ‘‘(1) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Subject to the 

16 availability of appropriations, the Secretary of 

17 Transportation shall make grants, on a competitive 

18 basis, to eligible applicants to assist in funding eligi19 ble projects for the purpose of improving the safety, 

20 efficiency, or reliability of the movement of goods 

21 through ports and intermodal connections to ports. 

22 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT.—The Secretary 

23 may make a grant under this subsection to the fol24 lowing: 

25 ‘‘(A) A State. 


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1 ‘‘(B) A political subdivision of a State or 

2 local government. 

3 ‘‘(C) A public agency or publicly chartered 

4 authority established by 1 or more States. 

5 ‘‘(D) A special purpose district with a 

6 transportation function. 

7 ‘‘(E) An Indian Tribe (as defined in sec8 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 

9 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304), 

10 without regard to capitalization), or a consor11 tium of Indian Tribes. 

12 ‘‘(F) A multistate or multijurisdictional 

13 group of entities described in this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(G) A lead entity described in subpara15 graph (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), or (F) jointly 

16 with a private entity or group of private enti17 ties. 

18 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—The Secretary may 

19 make a grant under this subsection— 

20 ‘‘(A) for a project that— 

21 ‘‘(i) is either— 

22 ‘‘(I) within the boundary of a 

23 port; or 

24 ‘‘(II) outside the boundary of a 

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1 erations or to an intermodal connec2 tion to a port; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) will be used to improve the safe4 ty, efficiency, or reliability of— 

5 ‘‘(I) the loading and unloading of 

6 goods at the port, such as for marine 

7 terminal equipment; 

8 ‘‘(II) the movement of goods 

9 into, out of, around, or within a port, 

10 such as for highway or rail infrastruc11 ture, intermodal facilities, freight in12 telligent transportation systems, and 

13 digital infrastructure systems; 

14 ‘‘(III) environmental mitigation 

15 measures and operational improve16 ments directly related to enhancing 

17 the efficiency of ports and intermodal 

18 connections to ports; or 

19 ‘‘(IV) the movement of vessels in 

20 and out of the port facility by dredg21 ing a vessel berthing area or per22 forming construction or maintenance 

23 dredging that is not part of a Federal 

24 channel or an access channel associ25 ated with a Federal channel; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) notwithstanding paragraph (6)(A)(v), 

2 to provide financial assistance to 1 or more 

3 projects under subparagraph (A) for develop4 ment phase activities, including planning, feasi5 bility analysis, revenue forecasting, environ6 mental review, permitting, and preliminary en7 gineering and design work. 

8 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITED USES.—A grant award under 

9 this subsection may not be used— 

10 ‘‘(A) to finance or refinance the construc11 tion, reconstruction, reconditioning, or purchase 

12 of a vessel that is eligible for such assistance 

13 under chapter 537, unless the Secretary deter14 mines such vessel— 

15 ‘‘(i) is necessary for a project de16 scribed in paragraph (3)(A)(ii)(III) of this 

17 subsection; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) is not receiving assistance under 

19 chapter 537; or 

20 ‘‘(B) for any project within a small ship21 yard (as defined in section 54101). 

22 ‘‘(5) APPLICATIONS AND PROCESS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible for a 

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1 tion in such form, at such time, and containing 

2 such information as the Secretary considers ap3 propriate. 

4 ‘‘(B) SOLICITATION PROCESS.—Not later 

5 than 60 days after the date that amounts are 

6 made available for grants under this subsection 

7 for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall solicit 

8 grant applications for eligible projects in ac9 cordance with this subsection. 

10 ‘‘(6) PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may se12 lect a project described in paragraph (3) for 

13 funding under this subsection if the Secretary 

14 determines that— 

15 ‘‘(i) the project improves the safety, 

16 efficiency, or reliability of the movement of 

17 goods through a port or intermodal con18 nection to a port; 

19 ‘‘(ii) the project is cost effective; 

20 ‘‘(iii) the eligible applicant has author21 ity to carry out the project; 

22 ‘‘(iv) the eligible applicant has suffi23 cient funding available to meet the match24 ing requirements under paragraph (8); 


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1 ‘‘(v) the project will be completed 

2 without unreasonable delay; and 

3 ‘‘(vi) the project cannot be easily and 

4 efficiently completed without Federal fund5 ing or financial assistance available to the 

6 project sponsor. 

7 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In 

8 selecting projects described in paragraph (3) for 

9 funding under this subsection, the Secretary 

10 shall give substantial weight to— 

11 ‘‘(i) the utilization of non-Federal 

12 contributions; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the net benefits of the funds 

14 awarded under this subsection, considering 

15 the cost-benefit analysis of the project, as 

16 applicable. 

17 ‘‘(C) SMALL PROJECTS.—The Secretary 

18 may waive the cost-benefit analysis under sub19 paragraph (A)(ii), and establish a simplified, al20 ternative basis for determining whether a 

21 project is cost effective, for a small project de22 scribed in paragraph (7)(B). 

23 ‘‘(7) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—Not 

25 more than 25 percent of the amounts made 


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1 available for grants under this subsection for a 

2 fiscal year may be used to make grants for 

3 projects in any 1 State. 

4 ‘‘(B) SMALL PROJECTS.—The Secretary 

5 shall reserve 25 percent of the amounts made 

6 available for grants under this subsection each 

7 fiscal year to make grants for eligible projects 

8 described in paragraph (3)(A) that request the 

9 lesser of— 

10 ‘‘(i) 10 percent of the amounts made 

11 available for grants under this subsection 

12 for a fiscal year; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) $11,000,000. 

14 ‘‘(C) DREDGING PROJECTS.—Not more 

15 than 25 percent of the amounts made available 

16 for grants under this subsection for a fiscal 

17 year may be used to make grants for projects 

18 described in paragraph (3)(A)(ii)(III). 

19 ‘‘(D) DEVELOPMENT PHASE ACTIVITIES.— 

20 Not more than 10 percent of the amounts made 

21 available for grants under this subsection for a 

22 fiscal year may be used to make grants for de23 velopment phase activities under paragraph 

24 (3)(B). 

25 ‘‘(E) RESEARCH HARBORS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds that 

2 may be used under subparagraph (C), the 

3 Secretary shall consider reserving an 

4 amount equal to not more than 5 percent 

5 of the amounts made available for grants 

6 under this subsection to make grants for 

7 projects described in paragraph 

8 (3)(A)(ii)(III) for research harbors. 

9 ‘‘(ii) APPLICANTS.—Notwithstanding 

10 paragraph (2), the Secretary may allow en11 tities not described in that paragraph to be 

12 eligible applicants for grants under this 

13 subparagraph. 

14 ‘‘(8) FEDERAL SHARE OF TOTAL PROJECT

15 COSTS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) TOTAL PROJECT COSTS.—To be eligi17 ble for a grant under this subsection, an eligible 

18 applicant shall submit to the Secretary an esti19 mate of the total costs of a project under this 

20 subsection based on the best available informa21 tion, including any available engineering stud22 ies, studies of economic feasibility, environ23 mental analyses, and information on the ex24 pected use of equipment or facilities. 

25 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL SHARE.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro2 vided in clauses (ii) and (iii), the Federal 

3 share of the total costs of a project under 

4 this subsection shall not exceed 80 percent. 

5 ‘‘(ii) DREDGING PROJECTS.—The 

6 Federal share of the total costs of a 

7 project described in paragraph 

8 (3)(A)(ii)(III) shall not exceed 50 percent. 

9 ‘‘(iii) RURAL AREAS.—The Secretary 

10 may increase the Federal share of costs 

11 above 80 percent for a project located in a 

12 rural area. 

13 ‘‘(9) PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS.—The Sec14 retary shall issue guidelines to establish appropriate 

15 accounting, reporting, and review procedures to en16 sure that— 

17 ‘‘(A) grant funds are used for the purposes 

18 for which those funds were made available; 

19 ‘‘(B) each grantee properly accounts for all 

20 expenditures of grant funds; and 

21 ‘‘(C) grant funds not used for such pur22 poses and amounts not obligated or expended 

23 are returned. 

24 ‘‘(10) CONDITIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

2 require as a condition of making a grant under 

3 this subsection that a grantee— 

4 ‘‘(i) maintain such records as the Sec5 retary considers necessary; 

6 ‘‘(ii) make the records described in 

7 clause (i) available for review and audit by 

8 the Secretary; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) periodically report to the Sec10 retary such information as the Secretary 

11 considers necessary to assess progress. 

12 ‘‘(B) LABOR.—The Federal wage rate re13 quirements of subchapter IV of chapter 31 of 

14 title 40 shall apply, in the same manner as such 

15 requirements apply to contracts subject to such 

16 subchapter, to— 

17 ‘‘(i) each project for which a grant is 

18 provided under this subsection; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) all portions of a project described 

20 in clause (i), regardless of whether such a 

21 portion is funded using— 

22 ‘‘(I) other Federal funds; or 

23 ‘‘(II) non-Federal funds. 

24 ‘‘(11) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) NOTIFICATION.—Not less than 60 

2 days before making a grant for a project under 

3 this subsection, the Secretary shall notify, in 

4 writing, the appropriate committees of Congress 

5 of the proposed grant. 

6 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each notification under 

7 subparagraph (A) shall include— 

8 ‘‘(i) an evaluation of and justification 

9 for the project; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the amount of the proposed 

11 grant award. 

12 ‘‘(C) CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL.—The 

13 Secretary shall not make a grant or any other 

14 obligation or commitment to fund a project 

15 under this subsection if a joint resolution is en16 acted disapproving funding for the project be17 fore the last day of the 60-day period described 

18 in subparagraph (A). 

19 ‘‘(12) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUC20 TION.—Nothing in this subsection shall be construed 

21 to affect existing authorities to conduct port infra22 structure programs in— 

23 ‘‘(A) Hawaii, as authorized by section 

24 9008 of the SAFETEA–LU Act (Public Law 

25 109–59; 119 Stat. 1926); 


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1 ‘‘(B) Alaska, as authorized by section 

2 10205 of the SAFETEA–LU Act (Public Law 

3 109–59; 119 Stat. 1934); or 

4 ‘‘(C) Guam, as authorized by section 3512 

5 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Au6 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 (48 U.S.C. 

7 1421r). 

8 ‘‘(13) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall make 

9 available on the website of the Department of Trans10 portation at the end of each fiscal year an annual 

11 report that lists each project for which a grant has 

12 been provided under this subsection during that fis13 cal year. 

14 ‘‘(14) ADMINISTRATION.— 

15 ‘‘(A) ADMINISTRATIVE AND OVERSIGHT

16 COSTS.—The Secretary may retain not more 

17 than 2 percent of the amounts appropriated for 

18 each fiscal year under this subsection for the 

19 administrative and oversight costs incurred by 

20 the Secretary to carry out this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Amounts appro23 priated for carrying out this subsection 

24 shall remain available until expended. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) UNEXPENDED FUNDS.— 

2 Amounts awarded as a grant under this 

3 subsection that are not expended by the 

4 grantee during the 5-year period following 

5 the date of the award shall remain avail6 able to the Secretary for use for grants 

7 under this subsection in a subsequent fis8 cal year. 

9 ‘‘(15) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

10 ‘‘(A) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON11 GRESS.—The term ‘appropriate committees of 

12 Congress’ means— 

13 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Commerce, 

14 Science, and Transportation of the Senate; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on Transportation 

17 and Infrastructure of the House of Rep18 resentatives. 

19 ‘‘(B) PORT.—The term ‘port’ includes— 

20 ‘‘(i) a seaport; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) an inland waterways port. 

22 ‘‘(C) PROJECT.—The term ‘project’ in23 cludes construction, reconstruction, environ24 mental rehabilitation, acquisition of property, 

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1 provements to the land, equipment acquisition, 

2 and operational improvements. 

3 ‘‘(D) RESEARCH HARBOR.—The term ‘re4 search harbor’ includes a harbor that supports 

5 or will support a federally owned vessel oper6 ated by a State maritime academy (as defined 

7 in section 51102 of this title) or a non-Federal 

8 oceanographic research facility. 

9 ‘‘(E) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘rural area’ 

10 means an area that is outside an urbanized 

11 area. 

12 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY OF THE SEC13 RETARY.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary 

14 may— 

15 ‘‘(1) receive funds from a Federal or non-Fed16 eral entity that has a specific agreement with the 

17 Secretary to further the purposes of this section; 

18 ‘‘(2) coordinate with other Federal agencies to 

19 expedite the process established under the National 

20 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 

21 et seq.) for the improvement of port facilities to im22 prove the efficiency of the transportation system, to 

23 increase port security, or to provide greater access 

24 to port facilities; 


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1 ‘‘(3) seek to coordinate all reviews or require2 ments with appropriate local, State, and Federal 

3 agencies; and 

4 ‘‘(4) in addition to any financial assistance pro5 vided under subsection (c), provide such technical 

6 assistance to port authorities or commissions or 

7 their subdivisions and agents as needed for project 

8 planning, design, and construction.’’. 

9 (c) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—A repeal made by subsection 

10 (b) of this section shall not affect amounts apportioned 

11 or allocated before the effective date of the repeal. Such 

12 apportioned or allocated funds shall continue to be subject 

13 to the requirements to which the funds were subject under 

14 section 50302(c) of title 46, United States Code, as in ef15 fect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act. 

16 SEC. 112. STRATEGIC SEAPORTS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

18 (1) PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.—The Adminis19 trator of the Maritime Administration (referred to in 

20 this section as the ‘‘Administrator’’) and the United 

21 States Transportation Command shall establish a 

22 strategic seaport infrastructure readiness develop23 ment program to improve infrastructure at strategic 

24 seaports to ensure those strategic seaport facilities 

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1 structure, and have sufficient readiness to support 

2 operations on 48 hours notice. 

3 (2) STRATEGIC SEAPORT.—In this section, the 

4 term ‘‘strategic seaport’’ means a commercial sea5 port that is designated by the Commanding General 

6 of the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution 

7 Command as a strategic seaport that will support 

8 the deployment of United States forces during a 

9 military contingency or national emergency. 

10 (b) AUTHORITY OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.—In order 

11 to carry out any project under the strategic seaport infra12 structure readiness development program established 

13 under subsection (a), the Administrator may— 

14 (1) receive funds provided for the project from 

15 the Department of Defense and non-Federal private 

16 entities that have a specific agreement or contract 

17 with the Administrator to further the purposes of 

18 this section; 

19 (2) coordinate with other Federal agencies to 

20 harmonize efforts to comply with requirements and 

21 procedures established under the National Environ22 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 

23 in carrying out projects under the program, includ24 ing projects to improve port facilities, improve the 


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1 efficiency of the transportation system, increase port 

2 security, or provide greater access to port facilities; 

3 (3) seek to coordinate all reviews or require4 ments relating to the project with appropriate Fed5 eral, State, and local agencies; and 

6 (4) provide such technical assistance to port au7 thorities or commissions or their subdivisions and 

8 agents as needed for project planning, design, and 

9 construction. 

10 (c) STRATEGIC SEAPORT INFRASTRUCTURE DEVEL11 OPMENT FUND.— 

12 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

13 the Treasury of the United States a fund to be 

14 known as the Strategic Seaport Readiness Infra15 structure Development Fund, (referred to in this 

16 section as the ‘‘Fund’’) consisting of such amounts 

17 as may be appropriated or credited to such Fund as 

18 provided in this section. 

19 (2) CREDITS.—There may be deposited into the 

20 Fund— 

21 (A) funds from the Department of Defense 

22 and funds from non-Federal private entities 

23 that have agreements or contracts with the Ad24 ministrator, which shall remain in the Fund 

25 until expended or refunded; and 


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1 (B) such amounts as may be appropriated 

2 or transferred to the Fund. 

3 (3) TRANSFERS.—Amounts appropriated or 

4 otherwise made available for any fiscal year for a 

5 strategic seaport may be transferred, at the option 

6 of the recipient of such amounts, to the Fund and 

7 may be administered by the Administrator as a com8 ponent of a project under the program. 

9 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—The Administrator, in conjunc10 tion with the United States Transportation Command, 

11 may use funds from the Fund to— 

12 (1) administer and carry out projects under the 

13 strategic seaport infrastructure readiness develop14 ment program under this section, including projects 

15 to— 

16 (A) upgrade infrastructure resiliency of 

17 piers or wharfs or enhancing flexible lay-down 

18 areas for heavy lift, increase efficiency in the 

19 handling of Department of Defense intermodal 

20 cargo movements, enhance shoreside intermodal 

21 transportation infrastructure, or carry out other 

22 similar improvements designed to increase effi23 ciency of Department of Defense readiness; 

24 (B) facilitate funding for training dedi25 cated to enhancing interoperability between 


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1 military and port terminal personnel, and test2 ing and expanding operational areas to maxi3 mize strategic seaport capability and assets; 

4 and 

5 (C) provide cyber resiliency project funding 

6 dedicated to the installation of new cybersecu7 rity infrastructure, or the enhancement of exist8 ing cybersecurity infrastructure, in order to en9 sure security of military operations at strategic 

10 seaports; and 

11 (2) make refunds for projects under that pro12 gram that will not be completed. 

13 SEC. 113. MARITIME TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

14 Section 50307 of title 46, United States Code, is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘The Sec17 retary of Transportation may engage in the environ18 mental study’’ and inserting ‘‘The Maritime Admin19 istrator, on behalf of the Secretary of Transpor20 tation, shall engage in the study’’; 

21 (2) in subsection (b)— 

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

23 by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting ‘‘shall’’; and 

24 (B) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (i) in the matter preceding subpara2 graph (A), by striking ‘‘that are likely to 

3 achieve environmental improvements by’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘to improve’’; 

5 (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

6 (A) through (C) as clauses (i) through 

7 (iii), respectively; 

8 (iii) by inserting before clause (i), the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(A) performance to meet United States 

11 Federal and international standards and guide12 lines, including—’’; and 

13 (iv) in clause (iii), as redesignated by 

14 clause (ii), by striking ‘‘species; and’’ and 

15 all that follows through the end of the sub16 section and inserting ‘‘species, reducing 

17 propeller cavitation; 

18 ‘‘(B) the efficiency and competitiveness of 

19 domestic maritime industries; and 

20 ‘‘(2) coordinate with the Environmental Protec21 tion Agency, the Coast Guard, and other Federal, 

22 State, local, or tribal agencies, as appropriate.’’; 

23 (3) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ‘‘benefits’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘or other benefits to domestic mari25 time industries’’; and 


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

2 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS ON THE USE OF FUNDS.—For the 

3 purposes of this program, no more than 3 percent of funds 

4 may be used for administrative purposes.’’. 

5 SEC. 114. REQUIREMENT FOR SMALL SHIPYARD GRANTEES. 

6 Section 54101(d) of title 46, United States Code, is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘Grants awarded’’ and inserting 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Grants awarded’’; and 

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

12 ‘‘(2) BUY AMERICA.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara14 graph (B), no funds may be obligated by the 

15 Administrator of the Maritime Administration 

16 under this section, unless each product and ma17 terial purchased with those funds (including 

18 products and materials purchased by a grant19 ee), and including any commercially available 

20 off-the-shelf item, is— 

21 ‘‘(i) an unmanufactured article, mate22 rial, or supply that has been mined or pro23 duced in the United States; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) a manufactured article, material, 

25 or supply that has been manufactured in 


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1 the United States substantially all from ar2 ticles, materials, or supplies mined, pro3 duced, or manufactured in the United 

4 States. 

5 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

7 subparagraph (A), the requirements of 

8 that subparagraph shall not apply with re9 spect to a particular product or material if 

10 the Administrator determines— 

11 ‘‘(I) that the application of those 

12 requirements would be inconsistent 

13 with the public interest; 

14 ‘‘(II) that such product or mate15 rial is not available in the United 

16 States in sufficient and reasonably 

17 available quantities, of a satisfactory 

18 quality, or on a timely basis; or 

19 ‘‘(III) that inclusion of a domes20 tic product or material will increase 

21 the cost of that product or material by 

22 more than 25 percent, with respect to 

23 a certain contract between a grantee 

24 and that grantee’s supplier. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) FEDERAL REGISTER.—A deter2 mination made by the Administrator under 

3 this subparagraph shall be published in the 

4 Federal Register. 

5 ‘‘(C) DEFINITIONS.—ln this paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(i) The term ‘commercially available 

7 off-the-shelf item’ means— 

8 ‘‘(I) any item of supply (includ9 ing construction material) that is— 

10 ‘‘(aa) a commercial item, as 

11 defined by section 2.101 of title 

12 48, Code of Federal Regulations; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(bb) sold in substantial 

15 quantities in the commercial 

16 marketplace; and 

17 ‘‘(II) does not include bulk cargo, 

18 as defined in section 40102(4) of this 

19 title, such as agricultural products 

20 and petroleum products. 

21 ‘‘(ii) The term ‘product or material’ 

22 means an article, material, or supply 

23 brought to the site by the recipient for in24 corporation into the building, work, or 

25 project. The term also includes an item 


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1 brought to the site preassembled from arti2 cles, materials, or supplies. However, emer3 gency life safety systems, such as emer4 gency lighting, fire alarm, and audio evac5 uation systems, that are discrete systems 

6 incorporated into a public building or work 

7 and that are produced as complete sys8 tems, are evaluated as a single and distinct 

9 construction material regardless of when or 

10 how the individual parts or components of 

11 those systems are delivered to the con12 struction site. 

13 ‘‘(iii) The term ‘United States’ in14 cludes the District of Columbia, the Com15 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern 

16 Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, 

17 and the Virgin Islands.’’. 

18 SEC. 115. IMPROVEMENT OF NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC 

19 PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM. 

20 (a) ADDITIONAL MEANS OF ACHIEVEMENT OF

21 GOALS OF PROGRAM THROUGH OCEANOGRAPHIC EF22 FORTS.—Section 8931(b)(2) of title 10, United States 

23 Code, is amended— 

24 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘identifying’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘creating’’; and 

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘science,’’ after ‘‘areas 

4 of’’; and 

5 (2) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(B) soliciting, accepting, and executing 

8 oceanographic research and observational 

9 projects funded by private grants, contracts, or 

10 cooperative agreements that contribute to such 

11 goals.’’. 

12 (b) NATIONAL OCEAN RESEARCH LEADERSHIP

13 COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP.—Section 8932 of title 10, United 

14 States Code, is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (b)— 

16 (A) by striking paragraph (10); 

17 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (11) 

18 through (14) as paragraphs (12) through (15), 

19 respectively; and 

20 (C) by inserting after paragraph (9) the 

21 following new paragraphs: 

22 ‘‘(10) The Bureau of Ocean Energy Manage23 ment of the Department of the Interior. 

24 ‘‘(11) The Bureau of Safety and Environmental 

25 Enforcement of the Department of the Interior.’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (d)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

3 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

4 ‘‘broad participation within the oceano5 graphic community’’ and inserting ‘‘appro6 priate participation within the oceano7 graphic community, including public, aca8 demic, commercial, and private participa9 tion or support’’; 

10 (ii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

11 ‘‘peer’’; and 

12 (iii) by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(F) Preexisting facilities, such as regional 

15 data centers operated by the Integrated Ocean 

16 Observing system, and expertise.’’; and 

17 (B) by striking paragraph (3); 

18 (3) in subsection (e)— 

19 (A) in the subsection heading by striking 

20 ‘‘REPORT’’ and inserting ‘‘BRIEFING’’; 

21 (B) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

22 by striking ‘‘to Congress a report’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

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1 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of 

2 Representatives a briefing’’; 

3 (C) by striking ‘‘report’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘briefing’’ each place the term appears; 

5 (D) by striking paragraph (4) and insert6 ing the following: 

7 ‘‘(4) A description of the involvement of Fed8 eral agencies and non-Federal contributors partici9 pating in the program.’’; and 

10 (E) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and the 

11 estimated expenditures under such programs, 

12 projects, and activities during such following 

13 fiscal year’’ and inserting ‘‘and the estimated 

14 expenditures under such programs, projects, 

15 and activities of the program during such fol16 lowing fiscal year’’; 

17 (4) in subsection (f)— 

18 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert19 ing the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) The Secretary of the Navy shall establish 

21 an office to support the National Oceanographic 

22 Partnership Program. The Council shall use com23 petitive procedures in selecting an operator for the 

24 partnership program office. If practicable, an organi25 zation or entity may be selected as operator only if 


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1 the organization or entity has experience managing 

2 interagency programs and programs with participa3 tion from other public and private entities.’’; and 

4 (B) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting ‘‘, 

5 where appropriate,’’ before ‘‘managing’’; and 

6 (5) by amending subsection (g) to read as fol7 lows: 

8 ‘‘(g) CONTRACT AND GRANT AUTHORITY.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the purposes 

10 of the National Oceanographic Partnership Pro11 gram, the Council shall have, in addition to other 

12 powers otherwise given it under this chapter, the fol13 lowing authorities: 

14 ‘‘(A) To authorize one or more of the de15 partments or agencies represented on the Coun16 cil to enter into contracts and make grants or 

17 cooperative agreements, and establish and man18 age new collaborative programs as considered 

19 appropriate, to address emerging science prior20 ities using both donated and appropriated 

21 funds. 

22 ‘‘(B) To authorize the program office 

23 under subsection (f), on behalf of the Council, 

24 to accept funds, including fines and penalties, 


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1 from other Federal and State departments and 

2 agencies. 

3 ‘‘(C) To authorize the program office, on 

4 behalf of the Council, to award grants and 

5 enter into contracts for purposes of the Na6 tional Oceanographic Partnership Program. 

7 ‘‘(D) To authorize the program office, on 

8 behalf of the Council, to solicit, accept and exe9 cute oceanographic research projects for pur10 poses of the National Oceanographic Partner11 ship Program that are funded by private 

12 grants, contracts, and donations. 

13 ‘‘(E) To transfer funds to other Federal 

14 and State departments and agencies in further15 ance of the purposes of the National Oceano16 graphic Partnership Program. 

17 ‘‘(F) To authorize one or more of the de18 partments or agencies represented on the Coun19 cil to enter into contracts and make grants, for 

20 the purpose of implementing the National 

21 Oceanographic Partnership Program and car22 rying out the responsibilities of the Council. 

23 ‘‘(G) To use, with the consent of the head 

24 of the agency or entity concerned, on a non-re25 imbursable basis, the land, services, equipment, 


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1 personnel, facilities, advice, and information 

2 provided by a Federal agency or entity, State, 

3 local government, Tribal government, territory, 

4 or possession, or any subdivisions thereof, or 

5 the District of Columbia as may be helpful in 

6 the performance of the duties of the Council. 

7 ‘‘(2) FUNDS TRANSFERRED.—Funds identified 

8 for direct support of National Oceanographic Part9 nership Program grants are authorized for transfer 

10 between agencies and are exempt from section 1535 

11 of title 31, United States Code (commonly known as 

12 the ‘Economy Act of 1932’).’’. 

13 (c) OCEAN RESEARCH ADVISORY PANEL.—Section 

14 8933(a)(4) of title 10, United States Code, is amended 

15 by striking ‘‘State governments’’ and inserting ‘‘State and 

16 Tribal governments’’. 

17 SEC. 116. IMPROVEMENTS TO THE MARITIME GUARANTEED 

18 LOAN PROGRAM. 

19 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 53701 of title 46, United 

20 States Code, is amended— 

21 (1) by striking paragraph (5); 

22 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through 

23 (15) as paragraphs (5) through (14), respectively; 

24 and 

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


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1 ‘‘(15) VESSEL OF NATIONAL INTEREST.—The 

2 term ‘Vessel of National Interest’ means a vessel 

3 deemed to be of national interest that meets charac4 teristics determined by the Administrator, in con5 sultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Sec6 retary of Homeland Security, or the heads of other 

7 Federal agencies, as described in section 53703(e).’’. 

8 (b) PREFERRED LENDER.—Section 53702(a) of title 

9 46, United States Code, is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary or Adminis11 trator, on terms the Secretary or Administrator may 

12 prescribe,’’ and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) GUARANTEE.—The Secretary, acting 

14 through the Administrator, on terms the Secretary 

15 or Administrator may prescribe,’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(2) PREFERRED ELIGIBLE LENDER.—The 

18 Federal Financing Bank shall be the preferred eligi19 ble lender of the principal and interest of the guar20 anteed obligations issued under this chapter.’’. 

21 (c) APPLICATION AND ADMINISTRATION.—Section 

22 53703 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— 

23 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘proce24 dures’’ and inserting ‘‘and administration’’; 

25 and 


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

2 ‘‘(c) INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To assess and mitigate the 

4 risks due to factors associated with markets, tech5 nology, financial, or legal structures related to an 

6 application or guarantee under this chapter, the Sec7 retary or Administrator may utilize third-party ex8 perts, including legal counsel, to— 

9 ‘‘(A) process and review applications under 

10 this chapter, including conducting independent 

11 analysis and review of aspects of an application; 

12 ‘‘(B) represent the Secretary or Adminis13 trator in structuring and documenting the obli14 gation guarantee; 

15 ‘‘(C) analyze and review aspects of, struc16 ture, and document the obligation guarantee 

17 during the term of the guarantee; 

18 ‘‘(D) recommend financial covenants or fi19 nancial ratios to be met by the applicant during 

20 the time a guarantee under this chapter is out21 standing that are— 

22 ‘‘(i) based on the financial covenants 

23 or financial ratios, if any, that are then ap24 plicable to the obligor under private sector 

25 credit agreements; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in lieu of other financial cov2 enants applicable to the obligor under this 

3 chapter with respect to requirements re4 garding long-term debt-to-equity, minimum 

5 working capital, or minimum amount of 

6 equity; and 

7 ‘‘(E) represent the Secretary or Adminis8 trator to protect the security interests of the 

9 Government relating to an obligation guarantee. 

10 ‘‘(2) PRIVATE SECTOR EXPERT.—Independent 

11 analysis, review, and representation conducted under 

12 this subsection shall be performed by a private sec13 tor expert in the applicable field who is selected by 

14 the Secretary or Administrator. 

15 ‘‘(d) VESSELS OF NATIONAL INTEREST.— 

16 ‘‘(1) NOTICE OF FUNDING.—The Secretary or 

17 Administrator may post a notice in the Federal Reg18 ister regarding the availability of funding for obliga19 tion guarantees under this chapter for the construc20 tion, reconstruction, or reconditioning of a Vessel of 

21 National Interest and include a timeline for the sub22 mission of applications for such vessels. 

23 ‘‘(2) VESSEL CHARACTERISTICS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary or Ad25 ministrator, in consultation with the Secretary 


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1 of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Secu2 rity, or the heads of other Federal agencies, 

3 shall develop and publish a list of vessel types 

4 that would be considered Vessels of National 

5 Interest. 

6 ‘‘(B) REVIEW.—Such list shall be reviewed 

7 and revised every 4 years or as necessary, as 

8 determined by the Administrator.’’. 

9 (d) FUNDING LIMITS.—Section 53704 of title 46, 

10 United States Code, is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘that amount’’ and all the 

13 follows through ‘‘$850,000,000’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘that amount, $850,000,000’’; and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘facilities’’ and all that fol16 lows through the end of the subsection and in17 serting ‘‘facilities.’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (c)(4)— 

19 (A) by striking subparagraph (A); and 

20 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

21 through (K), as subparagraphs (A) through (J), 

22 respectively. 

23 (e) ELIGIBLE PURPOSES OF OBLIGATIONS.—Section 

24 53706 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(A)— 


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1 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 

2 striking ‘‘(including an eligible export vessel)’’; 

3 (B) in clause (iv) by adding ‘‘or’’ after the 

4 semicolon; 

5 (C) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘; or’’ and in6 serting a period; and 

7 (D) by striking clause (vi); and 

8 (2) in subsection (c)(1)— 

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

10 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

11 (B) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking 

12 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

13 and 

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

15 ‘‘(C) after applying subparagraphs (A) and 

16 (B), Vessels of National Interest.’’. 

17 (f) AMOUNT OF OBLIGATIONS.—Section 53709(b) of 

18 title 46, United States Code, is amended— 

19 (1) by striking paragraphs (3) and (6); and 

20 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as 

21 paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively. 

22 (g) CONTENTS OF OBLIGATIONS.—Section 53710 of 

23 title 46, United States Code, is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (a)(4)— 

25 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘or, in the case of’’ and 

2 all that follows through ‘‘party’’; and 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semi4 colon; 

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

6 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(C) documented under the laws of the 

9 United States for the term of the guarantee of 

10 the obligation or until the obligation is paid in 

11 full, whichever is sooner.’’; and 

12 (2) in subsection (c)— 

13 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

14 ‘‘AND PROVIDE FOR THE FINANCIAL STABILITY

15 OF THE OBLIGOR’’ after ‘‘INTERESTS’’; 

16 (B) by striking ‘‘provisions for the protec17 tion of’’ and inserting ‘‘provisions, which shall 

18 include— 

19 ‘‘(1) provisions for the protection of’’; 

20 (C) by striking ‘‘, and other matters that 

21 the Secretary or Administrator may prescribe.’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

23 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(2) any other provisions that the Secretary or 

25 Administrator may prescribe.’’. 


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1 (h) ADMINISTRATIVE FEES.—Section 53713 of title 

2 46, United States Code, is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (a)— 

4 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 

5 (1)— 

6 (i) by striking ‘‘shall’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘may’’; and 

8 (ii) by striking ‘‘reasonable for—’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘reasonable for processing 

10 the application and monitoring the loan 

11 guarantee, including for—’’; 

12 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘or a deposit fund under section 

14 53716 of this title;’’; 

15 (C) in paragraph (5), by striking the pe16 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(6) monitoring and providing services related 

19 to the obligor’s compliance with any terms related to 

20 the obligations, the guarantee, or maintenance of the 

21 Secretary or Administrator’s security interests under 

22 this chapter.’’; and 

23 (2) in subsection (c)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘under 

2 section 53708(d) of this title’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘under section 53703(d) of this title’’; 

4 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

5 through (3) as subparagraphs (A) through (C), 

6 respectively; 

7 (C) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and in8 serting the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

10 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(2) FEE LIMITATION INAPPLICABLE.—Fees 

12 collected under this subsection are not subject to the 

13 limitation of subsection (b).’’. 

14 (i) BEST PRACTICES; ELIGIBLE EXPORT VESSELS.— 

15 Chapter 537 of title 46, United States Code, is further 

16 amended— 

17 (1) in subchapter I, by adding at the end the 

18 following new section: 

19 ‘‘§ 53719. Best practices 

20 ‘‘The Secretary or Administrator shall ensure that all 

21 standard documents and agreements that relate to loan 

22 guarantees made pursuant to this chapter are reviewed 

23 and updated every four years to ensure that such docu24 ments and agreements meet the current commercial best 

25 practices to the extent permitted by law.’’; and 


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1 (2) in subchapter III, by striking section 

2 53732. 

3 (j) EXPRESS CONSIDERATION OF LOW-RISK APPLI4 CATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of en5 actment of this Act, the Administrator of the Maritime 

6 Administration shall, in consultation with affected stake7 holders, create a process for express processing of low-risk 

8 maritime guaranteed loan applications under chapter 537 

9 of title 46, United States Code, based on Federal and in10 dustry best practices, including proposals to better assist 

11 applicants to submit complete applications within 6 

12 months of the initial application. 

13 (k) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.— 

14 (1) NOTIFICATION.—Not less than 60 days be15 fore reorganizing or consolidating the activities or 

16 personnel covered under chapter 537 of title 46, 

17 United States Code, the Secretary of Transportation 

18 shall notify, in writing, the Committee on Com19 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

20 and the Committee on Transportation and Infra21 structure of the House of Representatives of the 

22 proposed reorganization or consolidation. 

23 (2) CONTENTS.—Each notification under para24 graph (1) shall include an evaluation of, and jus25 tification for, the reorganization or consolidation. 


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1 (l) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

2 (1) The table of sections at the beginning of 

3 chapter 537 of title 46, United States Code, is 

4 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec5 tion 53718 the following new item: 

‘‘53719. Best practices.’’. 

6 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of 

7 chapter 537 of title 46, United States Code, is fur8 ther amended by striking the item relating to section 

9 53732. 

10 SEC. 117. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 

11 (a) THE NATIVE AMERICAN VETERANS’ MEMORIAL

12 ESTABLISHMENT ACT OF 1994.—The Native American 

13 Veterans’ Memorial Establishment Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 

14 80q–5 note) is amended— 

15 (1) in section 2, by striking ‘‘Armed Forces’’ 

16 each place the term appears and inserting ‘‘uni17 formed services’’; and 

18 (2) in section 3(c), by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(3) Any design so selected shall include a rep21 resentation of all the uniformed services (as that 

22 term is defined in section 101(a) of title 10, United 

23 States Code).’’. 

24 (b) OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT GUID25 ANCE.—Not later than 120 days after the date of enactVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1439.IS S1439

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1 ment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Personnel 

2 Management, in consultation with the Administrator of 

3 the Maritime Administration, shall identify key skills and 

4 competencies necessary to maintain a balance of expertise 

5 in merchant marine seagoing service and strategic sealift 

6 military service in each of the following positions within 

7 the Office of the Commandant: 

8 (1) Commandant. 

9 (2) Deputy Commandant. 

10 (3) Tactical company officers. 

11 (4) Regimental officers. 

12 (c) SEA YEAR COMPLIANCE.—Section 3514(a)(1)(A) 

13 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 

14 2017 (Public Law 114–328; 46 U.S.C. 51318 note) is 

15 amended by inserting ‘‘domestic and international’’ after 

16 ‘‘criteria that’’. 

17 TITLE II—MARITIME SAFE ACT 

18 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

19 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This title may be cited as the 

20 ‘‘Maritime Security and Fisheries Enforcement Act’’ or 

21 the ‘‘Maritime SAFE Act’’. 

22 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this title: 

24 (1) AIS.—The term ‘‘AIS’’ means Automatic 

25 Identification System (as defined in section 164.46 


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1 of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations, or a similar 

2 successor regulation). 

3 (2) COMBINED MARITIME FORCES.—The term 

4 ‘‘Combined Maritime Forces’’ means the 33-nation 

5 naval partnership, originally established in February 

6 2002, which promotes security, stability, and pros7 perity across approximately 3,200,000 square miles 

8 of international waters. 

9 (3) EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Unless otherwise speci11 fied by the President as being in the public in12 terest in a writing published in the Federal 

13 Register, the term ‘‘exclusive economic zone’’ 

14 means— 

15 (i) the area within a zone established 

16 by a maritime boundary that has been es17 tablished by a treaty in force or a treaty 

18 that is being provisionally applied by the 

19 United States; or 

20 (ii) in the absence of a treaty de21 scribed in clause (i)— 

22 (I) a zone, the outer boundary of 

23 which is 200 nautical miles from the 

24 baseline from which the breadth of 

25 the territorial sea is measured; or 


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1 (II) if the distance between the 

2 United States and another country is 

3 less than 400 nautical miles, a zone, 

4 the outer boundary of which is rep5 resented by a line equidistant between 

6 the United States and the other coun7 try. 

8 (B) INNER BOUNDARY.—Without affecting 

9 any Presidential Proclamation with regard to 

10 the establishment of the United States terri11 torial sea or exclusive economic zone, the inner 

12 boundary of the exclusive economic zone is— 

13 (i) in the case of coastal States, a line 

14 coterminous with the seaward boundary of 

15 each such State (as described in section 4 

16 of the Submerged Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

17 1312)); 

18 (ii) in the case of the Commonwealth 

19 of Puerto Rico, a line that is 3 marine 

20 leagues from the coastline of the Common21 wealth of Puerto Rico; 

22 (iii) in the case of American Samoa, 

23 the United States Virgin Islands, and 

24 Guam, a line that is 3 geographic miles 

25 from the coastlines of American Samoa, 


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1 the United States Virgin Islands, or Guam, 

2 respectively; 

3 (iv) in the case of the Commonwealth 

4 of the Northern Mariana Islands— 

5 (I) the coastline of the Common6 wealth of the Northern Mariana Is7 lands, until the Commonwealth of the 

8 Northern Mariana Islands is granted 

9 authority by the United States to reg10 ulate all fishing to a line seaward of 

11 its coastline; and 

12 (II) upon the United States 

13 grant of the authority described in 

14 subclause (I), the line established by 

15 such grant of authority; or 

16 (v) for any possession of the United 

17 States not referred to in clause (ii), (iii), or 

18 (iv), the coastline of such possession. 

19 (C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

20 this paragraph may be construed to diminish 

21 the authority of the Department of Defense, the 

22 Department of the Interior, or any other Fed23 eral department or agency. 

24 (4) FOOD SECURITY.—The term ‘‘food secu25 rity’’ means access to, and availability, utilization, 


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1 and stability of, sufficient food to meet caloric and 

2 nutritional needs for an active and healthy life. 

3 (5) GLOBAL RECORD OF FISHING VESSELS, RE4 FRIGERATED TRANSPORT VESSELS, AND SUPPLY

5 VESSELS.—The term ‘‘global record of fishing ves6 sels, refrigerated transport vessels, and supply ves7 sels’’ means the Food and Agriculture Organization 

8 of the United Nations’ initiative to rapidly make 

9 available certified data from state authorities about 

10 vessels and vessel related activities. 

11 (6) IUU FISHING.—The term ‘‘IUU fishing’’ 

12 means illegal fishing, unreported fishing, or unregu13 lated fishing (as such terms are defined in para14 graph 3 of the International Plan of Action to Pre15 vent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and 

16 Unregulated Fishing, adopted at the 24th Session of 

17 the Committee on Fisheries in Rome on March 2, 

18 2001). 

19 (7) PORT STATE MEASURES AGREEMENT.—The 

20 term ‘‘Port State Measures Agreement’’ means the 

21 Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, 

22 Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported, and Un23 regulated Fishing set forth by the Food and Agri24 culture Organization of the United Nations, done at 

25 Rome, Italy November 22, 2009, and entered into 


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1 force June 5, 2016, which offers standards for re2 porting and inspecting fishing activities of foreign3 flagged fishing vessels at port. 

4 (8) PRIORITY FLAG STATE.—The term ‘‘priority 

5 flag state’’ means a country selected in accordance 

6 with section 222(b)(3)— 

7 (A) whereby the flagged vessels of which 

8 actively engage in, knowingly profit from, or are 

9 complicit in IUU fishing; and 

10 (B) that is willing, but lacks the capacity, 

11 to monitor or take effective enforcement action 

12 against its fleet. 

13 (9) PRIORITY REGION.—The term ‘‘priority re14 gion’’ means a region selected in accordance with 

15 section 222(b)(2)— 

16 (A) that is at high risk for IUU fishing ac17 tivity or the entry of illegally caught seafood 

18 into the markets of countries in the region; and 

19 (B) in which countries lack the capacity to 

20 fully address the illegal activity described in 

21 subparagraph (A). 

22 (10) REGIONAL FISHERIES MANAGEMENT OR23 GANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Regional Fisheries Man24 agement Organization’’ means an intergovernmental 

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1 priate, that has the competence to establish con2 servation and management measures. 

3 (11) SEAFOOD.—The term ‘‘seafood’’— 

4 (A) means marine finfish, mollusks, crus5 taceans, and all other forms of marine animal 

6 and plant life, including those grown, produced, 

7 or reared through marine aquaculture oper8 ations or techniques; and 

9 (B) does not include marine mammals or 

10 birds. 

11 (12) SEAFOOD FRAUD.—The term ‘‘seafood 

12 fraud’’ means the knowing mislabeling or misrepre13 sentation of information regarding seafood or sea14 food products with the intent to deceive or defraud. 

15 (13) SEAFOOD TRACEABILITY PROGRAM.—The 

16 term ‘‘seafood traceability program’’ means any pro17 gram implemented by the National Oceanic and At18 mospheric Administration (such as the Seafood Im19 port Monitoring Program) that requires, with re20 spect to seafood and seafood products imported into 

21 the United States— 

22 (A) permitting, data reporting, and record23 keeping to prevent illegal, unreported, unregu24 lated, or misrepresented seafood from entering 

25 United States commerce; and 


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1 (B) verifying the chain of custody of such 

2 seafood, from harvest to point of entry into the 

3 United States. 

4 (14) TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED ILLEGAL AC5 TIVITY.—The term ‘‘transnational organized illegal 

6 activity’’ means criminal activity conducted by self7 perpetuating associations of individuals who operate 

8 transnationally for the purpose of obtaining power, 

9 influence, or monetary or commercial gains, wholly 

10 or in part by illegal means, while protecting their ac11 tivities through a pattern of corruption or violence 

12 or through a transnational organizational structure 

13 and the exploitation of transnational commerce or 

14 communication mechanisms. 

15 (15) TRANSSHIPMENT.—The term ‘‘trans16 shipment’’ means the use of refrigerated vessels 

17 that— 

18 (A) collect catch from multiple fishing 

19 boats; 

20 (B) carry the accumulated catches back to 

21 port; and 

22 (C) deliver supplies to fishing boats, which 

23 allows fishing vessels to remain at sea for ex24 tended periods without coming into port. 


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1 SEC. 203. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) In a report titled, ‘‘Global Implications of 

4 Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fish5 ing’’, the Office of the Director of National Intel6 ligence identified IUU fishing as— 

7 (A) a threat to the national security of the 

8 United States; and 

9 (B) a challenge to peace and stability in 

10 regions of importance to the United States. 

11 (2) Executive Order 13773 (82 Fed. Reg. 

12 10691), issued on February 9, 2017, calls for a 

13 comprehensive approach by the Federal Government 

14 to combat crime syndicates, including transnational 

15 organized illegal activities that may be associated 

16 with IUU fishing. 

17 (3) It is estimated that the value of IUU fish18 ing may exceed $1,000,000,000 annually in unlawful 

19 or undocumented revenue and may sometimes be 

20 linked to transnational organized illegal activities, 

21 including weapons, drug, and human trafficking. 

22 (4) IUU fishing— 

23 (A) undermines the business of legitimate 

24 workers in the seafood industry; and 

25 (B) can create inaccurate population esti26 mates for fish and other seafood species. 


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1 (5) Marine fisheries employ millions of people 

2 worldwide, the livelihoods of whom can be negatively 

3 impacted by IUU fishing and associated 

4 transnational organized illegal activities. 

5 (6) IUU fishing vessels play a significant role 

6 in other forms of trafficking, particularly drug traf7 ficking. The Department of Justice has documented 

8 numerous cases of illicit fishing ships involved in 

9 trafficking cocaine, heroin, and cannabis from South 

10 America to the United States. 

11 (7) By introducing cheaper, illegal products 

12 into the global market, IUU fishing undercuts the 

13 business and economic livelihoods of legitimate fish14 ermen in the United States and around the world. 

15 (8) In the United States and around the world, 

16 seafood fraud undermines the economic viability of 

17 fisheries and deceives consumers about their pur18 chasing choices. 

19 (9) Competition over seafood resources can lead 

20 to heightened tensions, conflict, and geostrategic in21 stability in regions of importance to the United 

22 States. 

23 SEC. 204. PURPOSES. 

24 The purposes of this title are— 


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1 (1) to support a whole-of-government approach 

2 across the Federal Government to counter IUU fish3 ing and related threats to maritime security; 

4 (2) to improve data sharing that enhances sur5 veillance, enforcement, and prosecution against IUU 

6 fishing and related activities at a global level; 

7 (3) to support coordination and collaboration to 

8 counter IUU fishing and seafood fraud within pri9 ority regions; 

10 (4) to increase and improve global transparency 

11 and traceability across the seafood supply chain as— 

12 (A) a deterrent to IUU fishing and seafood 

13 fraud; and 

14 (B) a tool for strengthening fisheries man15 agement and food security; 

16 (5) to improve global enforcement operations 

17 against IUU fishing through a whole-of-government 

18 approach by the United States; and 

19 (6) to prevent the use of IUU fishing as a fi20 nancing source for transnational organized groups 

21 that undermine United States and global security in22 terests. 

23 SEC. 205. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

24 It is the policy of the United States— 


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1 (1) to take action to curtail the global trade in 

2 seafood and seafood products derived from IUU 

3 fishing, including its links to forced labor and 

4 transnational organized illegal activity; 

5 (2) to develop holistic diplomatic, military, law 

6 enforcement, economic, and capacity-building tools 

7 to counter IUU fishing; 

8 (3) to provide technical and other forms of as9 sistance to countries in priority regions and priority 

10 flag states to combat IUU fishing and seafood fraud, 

11 including assistance— 

12 (A) to increase local, national, and regional 

13 level capacities to counter IUU fishing through 

14 the engagement of law enforcement and secu15 rity forces; 

16 (B) to enhance port capacity and security, 

17 including through support to implement the 

18 Port State Measures Agreement; 

19 (C) to combat corruption and increase 

20 transparency and traceability in fisheries man21 agement and trade; 

22 (D) to enhance information sharing within 

23 and across governments and multilateral orga24 nizations through the development and use of 

25 agreed standards for information sharing; and 


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1 (E) to support effective, science-based fish2 eries management regimes that promote legal 

3 and safe fisheries and act as a deterrent to 

4 IUU fishing; 

5 (4) to promote global maritime security through 

6 improved capacity and technological assistance to 

7 support improved maritime domain awareness; 

8 (5) to engage with priority flag states to en9 courage the use of high quality vessel tracking tech10 nologies where existing enforcement tools are lack11 ing; 

12 (6) to engage with multilateral organizations 

13 working on fisheries issues, including Regional Fish14 eries Management Organizations and the Food and 

15 Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, to 

16 combat and deter IUU fishing; 

17 (7) to advance information sharing across gov18 ernments and multilateral organizations in areas 

19 that cross multiple jurisdictions, through the devel20 opment and use of an agreed standard for informa21 tion sharing; 

22 (8) to continue to use existing and future trade 

23 agreements to combat IUU fishing; 

24 (9) to employ appropriate assets and resources 

25 of the United States Government in a coordinated 


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1 manner to disrupt the illicit networks involved in 

2 IUU fishing; 

3 (10) to continue to declassify and make avail4 able, as appropriate and practicable, technologies de5 veloped by the United States Government that can 

6 be used to help counter IUU fishing; 

7 (11) to recognize the ties of IUU fishing to 

8 transnational organized illegal activity, including 

9 human trafficking and illegal trade in narcotics and 

10 arms, and as applicable, to focus on illicit activity in 

11 a coordinated, cross-cutting manner; 

12 (12) to recognize and respond to poor working 

13 conditions, labor abuses, and other violent crimes in 

14 the fishing industry; 

15 (13) to increase and improve global trans16 parency and traceability along the seafood supply 

17 chain as— 

18 (A) a deterrent to IUU fishing; and 

19 (B) an approach for strengthening fish20 eries management and food security; and 

21 (14) to promote technological investment and 

22 innovation to combat IUU fishing. 


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1 Subtitle A—Programs To Combat 

2 IUU Fishing and Increase Mari3 time Security 

4 SEC. 211. COORDINATION WITH INTERNATIONAL ORGANI5 ZATIONS. 

6 The Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Sec7 retary of Commerce, shall coordinate with Regional Fish8 eries Management Organizations and the Food and Agri9 culture Organization of the United Nations, and may co10 ordinate with other relevant international governmental or 

11 nongovernmental organizations, or the private sector, as 

12 appropriate, to enhance regional responses to IUU fishing 

13 and related transnational organized illegal activities. 

14 SEC. 212. ENGAGEMENT OF DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS OF THE 

15 UNITED STATES. 

16 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

17 of this title, each chief of mission (as defined in section 

18 102 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3902)) 

19 to a relevant country in a priority region or to a priority 

20 flag state may, if the Secretary of State determines such 

21 action is appropriate— 

22 (1) convene a working group, led by Depart23 ment of State officials, to examine IUU fishing, 

24 which may include stakeholders such as— 


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1 (A) United States officials from relevant 

2 agencies participating in the interagency work3 ing group identified in section 221, foreign offi4 cials, nongovernmental organizations, the pri5 vate sector, and representatives of local fisher6 men in the region; and 

7 (B) experts on IUU fishing, law enforce8 ment, criminal justice, transnational organized 

9 illegal activity, defense, intelligence, vessel 

10 movement monitoring, and international devel11 opment operating in or with knowledge of the 

12 region; and 

13 (2) designate a counter-IUU Fishing Coordi14 nator from among existing personnel at the mission 

15 if the chief of mission determines such action is ap16 propriate. 

17 SEC. 213. ASSISTANCE BY FEDERAL AGENCIES TO IMPROVE 

18 LAW ENFORCEMENT WITHIN PRIORITY RE19 GIONS AND PRIORITY FLAG STATES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in collabo21 ration with the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary 

22 of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, 

23 shall provide assistance, as appropriate, in accordance 

24 with this section. 


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1 (b) LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING AND COORDINA2 TION ACTIVITIES.—The officials referred to in subsection 

3 (a) shall evaluate opportunities to provide assistance, as 

4 appropriate, to countries in priority regions and priority 

5 flag states to improve the effectiveness of IUU fishing en6 forcement, with clear and measurable targets and indica7 tors of success, including— 

8 (1) by assessing and using existing resources, 

9 enforcement tools, and legal authorities to coordi10 nate efforts to combat IUU fishing with efforts to 

11 combat other illegal trade, including weapons, drugs, 

12 and human trafficking; 

13 (2) by expanding existing IUU fishing enforce14 ment training; 

15 (3) by providing targeted, country- and region16 specific training on combating IUU fishing; 

17 (4) by supporting increased effectiveness and 

18 transparency of the fisheries enforcement sectors of 

19 the governments of such countries; and 

20 (5) by supporting increased outreach to stake21 holders in the affected communities as key partners 

22 in combating and prosecuting IUU fishing. 

23 (c) PORT SECURITY ASSISTANCE.—The officials re24 ferred to in subsection (a) shall evaluate opportunities to 

25 provide assistance, as appropriate, to countries in priority 


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1 regions and priority flag states to help those states imple2 ment programs related to port security and capacity for 

3 the purposes of preventing IUU fishing products from en4 tering the global seafood market, including support for im5 plementing the Port State Measures Agreement. 

6 (d) CAPACITY BUILDING FOR INVESTIGATIONS AND

7 PROSECUTIONS.—The officials referred to in subsection 

8 (a), in collaboration with the governments of countries in 

9 priority regions and of priority flag states, shall evaluate 

10 opportunities to assist those countries in designing and 

11 implementing programs in such countries, as appropriate, 

12 to increase the capacity of IUU fishing enforcement and 

13 customs and border security officers to improve their abil14 ity— 

15 (1) to conduct effective investigations, including 

16 using law enforcement techniques such as under17 cover investigations and the development of informer 

18 networks and actionable intelligence; 

19 (2) to conduct vessel boardings and inspections 

20 at sea and associated enforcement actions; 

21 (3) to exercise existing shiprider agreements 

22 and to enter into and implement new shiprider 

23 agreements, as appropriate; 

24 (4) to conduct vessel inspections at port and as25 sociated enforcement actions; 


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1 (5) to assess technology needs and promote the 

2 use of technology to improve monitoring, enforce3 ment, and prosecution of IUU fishing; 

4 (6) to conduct DNA-based and forensic identi5 fication of seafood used in trade; 

6 (7) to conduct training on techniques, such as 

7 collecting electronic evidence and using computer 

8 forensics, for law enforcement personnel involved in 

9 complex investigations related to international mat10 ters, financial issues, and government corruption 

11 that include IUU fishing; 

12 (8) to assess financial flows and the use of fi13 nancial institutions to launder profits related to IUU 

14 fishing; 

15 (9) to conduct training on the legal mechanisms 

16 that can be used to prosecute those identified in the 

17 investigations as alleged perpetrators of IUU fishing 

18 and other associated crimes such as trafficking and 

19 forced labor; and 

20 (10) to conduct training to raise awareness of 

21 the use of whistleblower information and ways to 

22 incentivize whistleblowers to come forward with 

23 original information related to IUU fishing. 

24 (e) CAPACITY BUILDING FOR INFORMATION SHAR25 ING.—The officials referred to in subsection (a) shall 


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1 evaluate opportunities to provide assistance, as appro2 priate, to key countries in priority regions and priority flag 

3 states in the form of training, equipment, and systems de4 velopment to build capacity for information sharing re5 lated to maritime enforcement and port security. 

6 (f) COORDINATION WITH OTHER RELEVANT AGEN7 CIES.—The Secretary of State, in collaboration with the 

8 Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is 

9 operating and the Secretary of Commerce, shall coordinate 

10 with other relevant agencies, as appropriate, in accordance 

11 with this section. 

12 SEC. 214. EXPANSION OF EXISTING MECHANISMS TO COM13 BAT IUU FISHING. 

14 The Secretary of State, the Administrator of the 

15 United States Agency for International Development, the 

16 Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard 

17 is operating, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of 

18 Commerce, the Attorney General, and the heads of other 

19 appropriate Federal agencies shall assess opportunities to 

20 combat IUU fishing by expanding, as appropriate, the use 

21 of the following mechanisms: 

22 (1) Including counter-IUU fishing in existing 

23 shiprider agreements in which the United States is 

24 a party. 


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1 (2) Entering into shiprider agreements that in2 clude counter-IUU fishing with priority flag states 

3 and countries in priority regions with which the 

4 United States does not already have such an agree5 ment. 

6 (3) Including counter-IUU fishing as part of 

7 the mission of the Combined Maritime Forces. 

8 (4) Including counter-IUU fishing exercises in 

9 the annual at-sea exercises conducted by the Depart10 ment of Defense, in coordination with the United 

11 States Coast Guard. 

12 (5) Creating partnerships similar to the Oce13 ania Maritime Security Initiative and the Africa 

14 Maritime Law Enforcement Partnership in other 

15 priority regions. 

16 SEC. 215. IMPROVEMENT OF TRANSPARENCY AND 

17 TRACEABILITY PROGRAMS. 

18 The Secretary of State, the Administrator of the 

19 United States Agency for International Development, the 

20 Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard 

21 is operating, the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads 

22 of other Federal agencies, if merited, shall work, as appro23 priate, with priority flag states and key countries in pri24 ority regions— 


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1 (1) to increase knowledge within such countries 

2 about the United States transparency and 

3 traceability standards for imports of seafood and 

4 seafood products; 

5 (2) to improve the capacity of seafood indus6 tries within such countries through information 

7 sharing and training to meet the requirements of 

8 transparency and traceability standards for seafood 

9 and seafood product imports, including catch docu10 mentation and trade tracking programs adopted by 

11 relevant regional fisheries management organiza12 tions; 

13 (3) to improve the capacities of government, in14 dustry, and civil society groups to develop and imple15 ment comprehensive traceability systems that— 

16 (A) deter IUU fishing; 

17 (B) strengthen fisheries management; and 

18 (C) enhance maritime domain awareness; 

19 and 

20 (4) to support the implementation of seafood 

21 traceability standards in such countries to prevent 

22 IUU fishing products from entering the global sea23 food market and assess capacity and training needs 

24 in those countries. 


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1 SEC. 216. TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS. 

2 The Secretary of State, the Administrator of the 

3 United States Agency for International Development, the 

4 Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard 

5 is operating, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of 

6 Commerce, and the heads of other Federal agencies, as 

7 appropriate, shall pursue programs to expand the role of 

8 technology for combating IUU fishing, including by— 

9 (1) promoting the use of technology to combat 

10 IUU fishing; 

11 (2) assessing the technology needs, including 

12 vessel tracking technologies and data sharing, in pri13 ority regions and priority flag states; 

14 (3) engaging with priority flag states to encour15 age the mandated use of vessel tracking tech16 nologies, including vessel monitoring systems, AIS, 

17 or other vessel movement monitoring technologies on 

18 fishing vessels and transshipment vessels at all 

19 times, as appropriate, while at sea as a means to 

20 identify IUU fishing activities and the shipment of 

21 illegally caught fish products; and 

22 (4) building partnerships with the private sec23 tor, including universities, nonprofit research organi24 zations, the seafood industry, and the technology, 

25 transportation and logistics sectors, to leverage new 


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1 and existing technologies and data analytics to ad2 dress IUU fishing. 

3 SEC. 217. INFORMATION SHARING. 

4 The Director of National Intelligence, in conjunction 

5 with other agencies, as appropriate, shall develop an enter6 prise approach to appropriately share information and 

7 data within the United States Government or with other 

8 countries or nongovernmental organizations, or the private 

9 sector, as appropriate, on IUU fishing and other con10 nected transnational organized illegal activity occurring in 

11 priority regions and elsewhere, including big data analytics 

12 and machine learning. 

13 Subtitle B—Establishment of Inter14 agency Working Group on IUU 

15 Fishing 

16 SEC. 221. INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP ON IUU FISHING. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a collabo18 rative interagency working group on maritime security 

19 and IUU fishing (referred to in this title as the ‘‘Working 

20 Group’’). 

21 (b) MEMBERS.—The members of the Working Group 

22 shall be composed of— 

23 (1) 1 chair, who shall rotate between the Coast 

24 Guard, the Department of State, and the National 


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1 Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration on a 

2 3-year term; 

3 (2) 2 deputy chairs, who shall be appointed by 

4 their respective agency heads and shall be from a 

5 different Department than that of the chair, from— 

6 (A) the Coast Guard; 

7 (B) the Department of State; and 

8 (C) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

9 Administration; 

10 (3) 12 members, who shall be appointed by 

11 their respective agency heads, from— 

12 (A) the Department of Defense; 

13 (B) the United States Navy; 

14 (C) the United States Agency for Inter15 national Development; 

16 (D) the United States Fish and Wildlife 

17 Service; 

18 (E) the Department of Justice; 

19 (F) the Department of the Treasury; 

20 (G) U.S. Customs and Border Protection; 

21 (H) U.S. Immigration and Customs En22 forcement; 

23 (I) the Federal Trade Commission; 

24 (J) the National Institute of Food and Ag25 riculture; 


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1 (K) the Food and Drug Administration; 

2 and 

3 (L) the Department of Labor; 

4 (4) 1 or more members from the intelligence 

5 community (as defined in section 3 of the National 

6 Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003)), who shall 

7 be appointed by the Director of National Intel8 ligence; and 

9 (5) 5 members, who shall be appointed by the 

10 President, from— 

11 (A) the National Security Council; 

12 (B) the Council on Environmental Quality; 

13 (C) the Office of Management and Budget; 

14 (D) the Office of Science and Technology 

15 Policy; and 

16 (E) the Office of the United States Trade 

17 Representative. 

18 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Working Group shall 

19 ensure an integrated, Federal Governmentwide response 

20 to IUU fishing globally, including by— 

21 (1) improving the coordination of Federal agen22 cies to identify, interdict, investigate, prosecute, and 

23 dismantle IUU fishing operations and organizations 

24 perpetrating and knowingly benefiting from IUU 

25 fishing; 


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1 (2) assessing areas for increased interagency in2 formation sharing on matters related to IUU fishing 

3 and related crimes; 

4 (3) establishing standards for information shar5 ing related to maritime enforcement; 

6 (4) developing a strategy to determine how mili7 tary assets and intelligence can contribute to en8 forcement strategies to combat IUU fishing; 

9 (5) increasing maritime domain awareness re10 lating to IUU fishing and related crimes and devel11 oping a strategy to leverage awareness for enhanced 

12 enforcement and prosecution actions against IUU 

13 fishing; 

14 (6) supporting the implementation of the Port 

15 State Measures Agreement in relevant countries and 

16 assessing the capacity and training needs in such 

17 countries; 

18 (7) outlining a strategy to coordinate, increase, 

19 and use shiprider agreements between the Depart20 ment of Defense or the Coast Guard and relevant 

21 countries; 

22 (8) enhancing cooperation with partner govern23 ments to combat IUU fishing; 


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1 (9) identifying opportunities for increased infor2 mation sharing between Federal agencies and part3 ner governments working to combat IUU fishing; 

4 (10) consulting and coordinating with the sea5 food industry and nongovernmental stakeholders 

6 that work to combat IUU fishing; 

7 (11) supporting the work of collaborative inter8 national initiatives to make available certified data 

9 from state authorities about vessel and vessel-related 

10 activities related to IUU fishing; 

11 (12) supporting the identification and certifi12 cation procedures to address IUU fishing in accord13 ance with the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Morato14 rium Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1826d et seq.); and 

15 (13) developing a strategy for raising domestic 

16 awareness of the issues relating to IUU fishing, in17 cluding publishing annual reports summarizing non18 sensitive information about the Working Group’s ef19 forts to investigate, enforce, and prosecute groups 

20 and individuals engaging in IUU fishing. 

21 SEC. 222. STRATEGIC PLAN. 

22 (a) STRATEGIC PLAN.—Not later than 2 years after 

23 the date of the enactment of this title, the Working Group, 

24 after consultation with the relevant stakeholders, shall 

25 submit to Congress a 5-year integrated strategic plan on 


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1 combating IUU fishing and enhancing maritime security, 

2 including specific strategies with monitoring benchmarks 

3 for addressing IUU fishing in priority regions. 

4 (b) IDENTIFICATION OF PRIORITY REGIONS AND

5 PRIORITY FLAG STATES.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The strategic plan submitted 

7 under subsection (a) shall identify priority regions 

8 and priority flag states to be the focus of assistance 

9 coordinated by the Working Group under section 

10 221. 

11 (2) PRIORITY REGION SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

12 In selecting priority regions under paragraph (1), 

13 the Working Group shall select regions that— 

14 (A) are at high risk for IUU fishing activ15 ity or the entry of illegally caught seafood into 

16 their markets; and 

17 (B) lack the capacity to fully address the 

18 issues described in subparagraph (A). 

19 (3) PRIORITY FLAG STATES SELECTION CRI20 TERIA.—In selecting priority flag states under para21 graph (1), the Working Group shall select coun22 tries— 

23 (A) the flagged vessels of which actively 

24 engage in, knowingly profit from, or are 

25 complicit in IUU fishing; and 


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1 (B) that lack the capacity to police their 

2 fleet. 

3 SEC. 223. REPORTS. 

4 Not later than 5 years after the submission of the 

5 5-year integrated strategic plan under section 222, and 

6 every 5 years thereafter, the Working Group shall submit 

7 a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

8 Transportation of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign 

9 Relations of the Senate, the Committee on Appropriations 

10 of the Senate, the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

11 House of Representatives, the Committee on Foreign Af12 fairs of the House of Representatives, and the Committee 

13 on Appropriations of the House of Representatives that 

14 contains— 

15 (1) a summary of global and regional trends in 

16 IUU fishing; 

17 (2) an assessment of the extent of the conver18 gence between transnational organized illegal activ19 ity, including human trafficking and forced labor, 

20 and IUU fishing; 

21 (3) an assessment of the topics, data sources, 

22 and strategies that would benefit from increased in23 formation sharing and recommendations regarding 

24 harmonization of data collection and sharing; 


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1 (4) an assessment of assets, including military 

2 assets and intelligence, which can be used for either 

3 enforcement operations or strategies to combat IUU 

4 fishing; 

5 (5) summaries of the situational threats with 

6 respect to IUU fishing in priority regions and an as7 sessment of the capacity of countries within such re8 gions to respond to those threats; 

9 (6) an assessment of the progress of countries 

10 in priority regions in responding to those threats as 

11 a result of assistance by the United States pursuant 

12 to the strategic plan developed under section 222, 

13 including— 

14 (A) the identification of— 

15 (i) relevant supply routes, ports of 

16 call, methods of landing and entering ille17 gally caught product into legal supply 

18 chains, and financial institutions used in 

19 each country by participants engaging in 

20 IUU fishing; and 

21 (ii) indicators of IUU fishing that are 

22 related to money laundering; 

23 (B) an assessment of the adherence of 

24 countries in priority regions to international 


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1 treaties related to IUU fishing, including the 

2 Port State Measures Agreement; 

3 (C) an assessment of the implementation 

4 by countries in priority regions of seafood 

5 traceability or capacity to apply traceability to 

6 verify the legality of catch and strengthen fish7 eries management; 

8 (D) an assessment of the capacity of coun9 tries in priority regions to implement shiprider 

10 agreements; 

11 (E) an assessment of the capacity of coun12 tries in priority regions to increase maritime 

13 domain awareness; and 

14 (F) an assessment of the capacity of gov15 ernments of relevant countries in priority re16 gions to sustain the programs for which the 

17 United States has provided assistance under 

18 this title; 

19 (7) an assessment of the capacity of priority 

20 flag states to track the movement of and police their 

21 fleet, prevent their flagged vessels from engaging in 

22 IUU fishing, and enforce applicable laws and regula23 tions; and 

24 (8) an assessment of the extent of involvement 

25 in IUU fishing of organizations designated as forVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00091 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1439.IS S1439

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1 eign terrorist organizations under section 219 of the 

2 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189). 

3 SEC. 224. GULF OF MEXICO IUU FISHING SUBWORKING 

4 GROUP. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

6 date of the enactment of this title, the Administrator of 

7 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in 

8 coordination with the Coast Guard and the Department 

9 of State, shall establish a subworking group to address 

10 IUU fishing in the exclusive economic zone of the United 

11 States in the Gulf of Mexico. 

12 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The subworking group established 

13 under subsection (a) shall identify— 

14 (1) Federal actions taken and policies estab15 lished during the 5-year period immediately pre16 ceding the date of the enactment of this title with 

17 respect to IUU fishing in the exclusive economic 

18 zone of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico, in19 cluding such actions and policies related to— 

20 (A) the surveillance, interdiction, and pros21 ecution of any foreign nationals engaged in 

22 such fishing; and 

23 (B) the application of the provisions of the 

24 High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protec25 tion Act (16 U.S.C. 1826d et seq.) to any relVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00092 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1439.IS S1439

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1 evant nation, including the status of any past 

2 or ongoing consultations and certification proce3 dures; 

4 (2) actions and policies, in addition to the ac5 tions and policies described in paragraph (1), each 

6 of the Federal agencies described in subsection (a) 

7 can take, using existing resources, to combat IUU 

8 fishing in the exclusive economic zone of the United 

9 States in the Gulf of Mexico; and 

10 (3) any additional authorities that could assist 

11 each such agency in more effectively addressing such 

12 IUU fishing. 

13 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the IUU 

14 Fishing Subworking Group is established under subsection 

15 (a), the group shall submit a report to the Committee on 

16 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

17 the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep18 resentatives that contains— 

19 (1) the findings identified pursuant to sub20 section (b); and 

21 (2) a timeline for each of the Federal agencies 

22 described in subsection (a) to implement each action 

23 or policy identified pursuant to subsection (b)(2). 


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1 Subtitle C—Authorization of 

2 Appropriations 

3 SEC. 231. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

5 as may be necessary to carry out the activities required 

6 under this title. 

Æ 


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