II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2297 

To authorize appropriations for the Coast Guard, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 25, 2019 

Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself, Mr. WICKER, Ms. CANTWELL, and Mr. MARKEY) 

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

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To authorize appropriations for the Coast Guard, and for 

other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2019’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definition. 

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATIONS 

Sec. 101. Authorizations of appropriations. 

Sec. 102. Authorized levels of military strength and training. 


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Sec. 103. Vessel safety standards. 

Sec. 104. Availability of amounts for acquisition of additional National Security 

Cutter. 

Sec. 105. Procurement authority for polar security cutters. 

TITLE II—COAST GUARD 

Subtitle A—Military Personnel Matters 

Sec. 201. Authority for officers to opt out of promotion board consideration. 

Sec. 202. Temporary promotion authority for officers in certain grades with 

critical skills. 

Sec. 203. Grade on retirement. 

Sec. 204. Career intermission program. 

Sec. 205. Direct commissioning authority for individuals with critical skills. 

Sec. 206. Renewal of temporary early retirement authority. 

Sec. 207. Strategy on leadership of the Coast Guard. 

Sec. 208. Support of women serving in the Coast Guard. 

Sec. 209. Policy on expedited transfer of members of the Coast Guard in cases 

of sexual assault of dependents of members. 

Subtitle B—Organization and Management Matters 

Sec. 221. Continuation of Coast Guard pay during lapse in appropriations. 

Sec. 222. Authority to enter into agreements with National Coast Guard Museum Association. 

Sec. 223. Research projects; transactions other than contracts and grants. 

Sec. 224. Support of elementary and secondary education in science, mathematics, and technology. 

Sec. 225. Limitations on claims. 

Sec. 226. Acquisition workforce authorities. 

Sec. 227. Resolution by Chief Acquisition Officer of acquisition disputes elevated to the Officer. 

Sec. 228. Vessel conversion, alteration, and repair projects. 

Sec. 229. Coast Guard Housing Fund. 

Sec. 230. Operation and sustainment costs in major long-term acquisition 

plans. 

Sec. 231. Port, harbor, and coastal facility security. 

Sec. 232. Access to resources during creosote-related building closures at Coast 

Guard Base Seattle, Washington. 

Sec. 233. Southern resident orca conservation and enforcement. 

Sec. 234. Briefing on policy on issuance of warrants and subpoenas and whistleblower protections by agents of the Coast Guard Investigative Service. 

Subtitle C—Access to Child Care for Coast Guard Families 

Sec. 241. Report on child care and school age care assistance for qualified families. 

Sec. 242. Review of family support services website and online tracking system. 

Sec. 243. Study and survey on Coast Guard child care needs. 

Sec. 244. Pilot program to expand access to child care. 

Sec. 245. Improvements to Coast Guard-owned family housing. 

Sec. 246. Briefing on transfer of family child care provider qualifications and 

certifications. 

Sec. 247. Employees of Coast Guard child development centers. 


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Sec. 248. Inspections of Coast Guard child development centers and family 

child care providers. 

Sec. 249. Expanding opportunities for family child care. 

Sec. 250. Definitions. 

Subtitle D—Reports 

Sec. 261. Modifications of certain reporting requirements. 

Sec. 262. Report on cybersecurity workforce. 

Sec. 263. Report on navigation and bridge resource management. 

Sec. 264. Report on the Arctic capabilities of the Armed Forces. 

Sec. 265. Report on Arctic search and rescue. 

Sec. 266. Report on helicopter life cycle support and recapitalization. 

Sec. 267. Report on response to racial discrimination at the Coast Guard Academy. 

Sec. 268. Report on Coast Guard response capabilities for cyber incidents on 

vessels entering ports or waters of the United States. 

Sec. 269. Study and report on Coast Guard interdiction of illicit drugs in the 

transit zones. 

Sec. 270. Report on effects of extreme weather and related events on the Coast 

Guard. 

Sec. 271. Comptroller General of the United States report on Certificate of 

Compliance inspection program with respect to vessels that 

carry bulk liquified gases as cargo and liquefied natural gas 

tank vessels. 

Sec. 272. Comptroller General of the United States review and report on the 

Coast Guard’s International Port Security Program. 

Sec. 273. Comptroller General of the United States review and report on the 

surge capacity of the Coast Guard. 

Sec. 274. Comptroller General of the United States review and report on the 

marine inspections program of the Coast Guard. 

Sec. 275. Comptroller General of the United States review and report on the 

information technology program of the Coast Guard. 

Sec. 276. Comptroller General of the United States study and report on access 

to health care by members of the Coast Guard and dependents. 

Sec. 277. Comptroller General of the United States study and report on medical staffing standards and needs for the Coast Guard. 

Sec. 278. Comptroller General of the United States study and report on vertical 

evacuation for tsunamis at Coast Guard Station Grays Harbor, 

Washington. 

Subtitle E—Other Matters 

Sec. 291. Technical corrections. 

TITLE III—MARITIME 

Sec. 301. Electronic charts; equivalency. 

Sec. 302. Common appropriation structure. 

Sec. 303. Alternate safety compliance program exception for certain vessels. 

Sec. 304. License exemptions; repeal of obsolete provisions. 

Sec. 305. Small passenger vessels and uninspected passenger vessels. 

Sec. 306. National Offshore Safety Advisory Committee; representation. 

Sec. 307. National Maritime Transportation System Advisory Committee. 

Sec. 308. Security plans; reviews. 

Sec. 309. Ice patrol; payments. 


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Sec. 310. Great Lakes pilotage advisory committee extension. 

Sec. 311. Report on liability limits applicable to the Coast Guard. 

Sec. 312. Authority to waive operator of self-propelled uninspected passenger 

vessel requirements. 

Sec. 313. Towing vessel inspections; user fees. 

TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 401. Common appropriation structure. 

Sec. 402. Improved employment assistance. 

Sec. 403. Unmanned maritime systems. 

Sec. 404. Unmanned aircraft systems testing. 

Sec. 405. Report of determination; technical correction. 

Sec. 406. Towing vessels operating outside the boundary line. 

Sec. 407. Repeal of Caribbean support tender authorization. 

Sec. 408. Fairways. 

Sec. 409. Nonoperating individuals. 

Sec. 410. Abandoned seafarers fund amendments. 

Sec. 411. Conforming amendments: training; public safety personnel. 

Sec. 412. Accident and incident notification. 

Sec. 413. Subrogated claims. 

Sec. 414. Use of engine cut-off switch links. 

Sec. 415. Equivalency authority. 

Sec. 416. Arctic PARS Native engagement. 

Sec. 417. Authorization of use of automatic identification systems devices to 

mark fishing equipment. 

Sec. 418. Direct hire authority for certain competitive service positions in the 

Department of Homeland Security. 

Sec. 419. National policy, performance evaluations, and research regarding vessel traffic service centers. 

Sec. 420. Replacement vessel. 

Sec. 421. Limited indemnity provisions in standby oil spill response contracts. 

Sec. 422. United States commercial space-based radio frequency maritime domain awareness testing and evaluation program. 

Sec. 423. Exemption of commercial fishing vessels operating in the Alaskan Region from the Global Marine Distress and Safety Service requirements of the Federal Communications Commission. 

Sec. 424. Educational vessel. 

Sec. 425. Conveyance of Coast Guard real property at Point Spencer, Alaska. 

Sec. 426. Coast Guard shore infrastructure improvement. 

Sec. 427. Coast Guard Arctic prioritization. 

Sec. 428. National Commercial Fishing Safety Advisory Committee. 

Sec. 429. Oil pollution research and development program. 

TITLE V—FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION 

Sec. 501. Short title. 

Sec. 502. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITION. 

2 In this Act, the term ‘‘Commandant’’ means the 

3 Commandant of the Coast Guard. 


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1 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATIONS 

2 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

3 Section 4902 of title 14, United States Code, is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘pro7 vided for, $7,914,195,000 for fiscal year 2019.’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘provided for— 

9 ‘‘(i) $8,801,620,850 for fiscal year 2020; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) $8,396,169,475 for fiscal year 2021.’’; 

11 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘sub12 paragraph (A)’’ in the matter preceding clause 

13 (i) and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A)(i)’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘(C) Of the amount authorized under subpara16 graph (A)(ii)— 

17 ‘‘(i) $17,119,000 shall be for environ18 mental compliance and restoration; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) $204,344,000 shall be for the con20 tribution of the Coast Guard to the Department 

21 of Defense Medicare-Eligible Retiree Health 

22 care Fund.’’; 

23 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and equip24 ment, $2,694,745,000 for fiscal year 2019.’’ and in25 serting ‘‘and equipment— 


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1 ‘‘(A) $2,694,745,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) $2,762,114,000 for fiscal year 

4 2021.’’; and 

5 (3) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and equip6 ment, $29,141,000 for fiscal year 2019.’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘and equipment— 

8 ‘‘(A) $29,141,000 for fiscal year 2020; and 

9 ‘‘(B) $29,870,000 for fiscal year 2021.’’. 

10 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZED LEVELS OF MILITARY STRENGTH 

11 AND TRAINING. 

12 Section 4904 of title 14, United States Code, is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘43,000 for 

15 fiscal year 2018 and 44,500 for fiscal year 2019’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘44,500 for each of fiscal years 2020 

17 and 2021’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘fiscal years 

19 2018 and 2019’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2020 

20 and 2021’’. 

21 SEC. 103. VESSEL SAFETY STANDARDS. 

22 (a) FISHING SAFETY TRAINING GRANTS PRO23 GRAM.—Subsection (i) of section 4502 of title 46, United 

24 States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘50 percent’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘75 percent’’; and 

3 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘2019’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘2021’’. 

5 (b) FISHING SAFETY RESEARCH GRANT PRO6 GRAM.—Subsection (j) of such section is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘50 percent’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘75 percent’’; and 

9 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘2019’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘2021’’. 

11 SEC. 104. AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS FOR ACQUISITION OF 

12 ADDITIONAL NATIONAL SECURITY CUTTER. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Of the aggregate amount author14 ized to be appropriated for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 

15 by section 4902(2) of title 14, United States Code, as 

16 amended by section 101 of this Act, $650,000,000 is au17 thorized to be available for the acquisition of a National 

18 Security Cutter. 

19 (b) TREATMENT OF ACQUIRED CUTTER.—Any Cut20 ter acquired using amounts available pursuant to sub21 section (a) shall be in addition to the National Security 

22 Cutters approved under the existing acquisition baseline 

23 in the program of record for the National Security Cutter. 


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1 SEC. 105. PROCUREMENT AUTHORITY FOR POLAR SECU2 RITY CUTTERS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—For fiscal year 2020 and each fis4 cal year thereafter, the Secretary of the department in 

5 which the Coast Guard is operating shall enter into one 

6 or more contracts for the procurement of not fewer than 

7 three heavy polar security cutters and three medium polar 

8 security cutters and the associated equipment for such 

9 polar security cutters. 

10 (b) FUNDING.—Of the amounts made available for 

11 fiscal years 2020 and 2021 by this Act, not less than 

12 $745,000,000 shall be available for each heavy polar secu13 rity cutter authorized to be procured in such fiscal years. 

14 (c) PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTS OR USE OF FUNDS

15 FOR DEVELOPMENT OF COMMON HULL DESIGN.—Not16 withstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of 

17 the department in which the Coast Guard is operating 

18 may not enter into any contract for, and no funds shall 

19 be obligated or expended on, the development of a common 

20 hull design for medium polar security cutters and Great 

21 Lakes icebreakers. 


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1 TITLE II—COAST GUARD 

2 Subtitle A—Military Personnel 

3 Matters 

4 SEC. 201. AUTHORITY FOR OFFICERS TO OPT OUT OF PRO5 MOTION BOARD CONSIDERATION. 

6 (a) ACTIVE-DUTY LIST OFFICERS.—Section 2113 of 

7 title 14, United States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘he’’ each place it appears and 

9 inserting ‘‘the officer’’; 

10 (2) by striking ‘‘his’’ each place it appears and 

11 inserting ‘‘the officer’s’’; 

12 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘him’’ and in13 serting ‘‘the officer’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘(g)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Com16 mandant may provide that an officer may, upon the offi17 cer’s request, be excluded from consideration by a selec18 tion board convened under 2106 of this title to consider 

19 officers for promotion to the next higher grade. 

20 ‘‘(2) The Commandant may only approve a request 

21 under paragraph (1) if— 

22 ‘‘(A) the basis for the request is to allow an of23 ficer to complete a broadening assignment, advanced 

24 education, a unique personal or professional goal, or 

25 another assignment of significant value to the Coast 


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1 Guard, or a career progression requirement delayed 

2 by the assignment, education, or goal; 

3 ‘‘(B) the Commandant determines the exclusion 

4 from consideration is in the best interest of the 

5 Coast Guard; and 

6 ‘‘(C) the officer has not previously failed selec7 tion for promotion to the grade for which the officer 

8 requests the exclusion from consideration.’’. 

9 (b) RESERVE ACTIVE-STATUS LIST OFFICERS.—The 

10 text of section 3743 of title 14, United States Code, is 

11 amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A Reserve officer is eligible for 

13 consideration for promotion and for promotion under this 

14 subchapter, if that officer is in an active status. 

15 ‘‘(b) INELIGIBILITY.—A Reserve officer who has been 

16 considered but not recommended for retention in an active 

17 status by a board convened under section 3752(a) of this 

18 title, is not eligible for consideration for promotion. 

19 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITY TO OPT OUT OF PROMOTION

20 BOARD CONSIDERATION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant may pro22 vide that an officer may, upon the officer’s request, 

23 be excluded from consideration by a selection board 

24 convened under section 3740(b) of this title to con25 sider officers for promotion to the next higher grade. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Commandant may 

2 only approve a request under paragraph (1) if— 

3 ‘‘(A) the basis for the request is to allow 

4 an officer to complete a broadening assignment, 

5 advanced education, a unique personal or pro6 fessional goal, or another assignment of signifi7 cant value to the Coast Guard, or a career pro8 gression requirement delayed by the assign9 ment, education, or goal; 

10 ‘‘(B) the Commandant determines the ex11 clusion from consideration is in the best inter12 est of the Coast Guard; and 

13 ‘‘(C) the officer has not previously failed of 

14 selection for promotion to the grade for which 

15 the officer requests the exclusion from consider16 ation.’’. 

17 SEC. 202. TEMPORARY PROMOTION AUTHORITY FOR OFFI18 CERS IN CERTAIN GRADES WITH CRITICAL 

19 SKILLS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 21 of title 

21 14, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

22 the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 2130. Promotion to certain grades for officers with 

2 critical skills; captain, commander, lieu3 tenant commander, lieutenant 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An officer in the grade of lieu5 tenant (junior grade), lieutenant, lieutenant commander, 

6 or commander, who is described in subsection (b) may be 

7 temporarily promoted to the grade of lieutenant, lieuten8 ant commander, commander, or captain under regulations 

9 prescribed by the Secretary. Appointments under this sec10 tion shall be made by the President, by and with the advice 

11 and consent of the Senate. 

12 ‘‘(b) COVERED OFFICERS.—An officer described in 

13 this subsection is any officer in a grade specified in sub14 section (a) who— 

15 ‘‘(1) has a skill in which the Coast Guard has 

16 a critical shortage of personnel (as determined by 

17 the Secretary); and 

18 ‘‘(2) is serving in a position (as determined by 

19 the Secretary) that— 

20 ‘‘(A) is designated to be held by a lieuten21 ant, lieutenant commander, commander, or cap22 tain; and 

23 ‘‘(B) requires that an officer serving in 

24 such position have the skill possessed by such 

25 officer. 


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1 ‘‘(c) PRESERVATION OF POSITION AND STATUS OF

2 OFFICERS APPOINTED.—(1) The temporary positions au3 thorized by this section shall not be counted among or in4 cluded in the list of positions on the active duty promotion 

5 list. 

6 ‘‘(2) An appointment under this section does not 

7 change the position on the active-duty promotion list or 

8 the permanent, probationary, or acting status of the offi9 cer so appointed, prejudice the officer in regard to other 

10 promotions or appointments, or abridge the rights or bene11 fits of the officer. 

12 ‘‘(d) BOARD RECOMMENDATION REQUIRED.—A tem13 porary promotion under this section may be made only 

14 upon the recommendation of a board of officers convened 

15 by the Secretary for the purpose of recommending officers 

16 for such promotions. 

17 ‘‘(e) ACCEPTANCE AND EFFECTIVE DATE OF AP18 POINTMENT.—Each appointment under this section, un19 less expressly declined, is, without formal acceptance, re20 garded as accepted on the date such appointment is made, 

21 and a member so appointed is entitled to the pay and al22 lowances of the grade of the temporary promotion under 

23 this section from the date the appointment is made. 


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1 ‘‘(f) TERMINATION OF APPOINTMENT.—Unless soon2 er terminated, an appointment under this section termi3 nates— 

4 ‘‘(1) on the date the officer who received the 

5 appointment is promoted to the permanent grade of 

6 lieutenant, lieutenant commander, commander, or 

7 captain; 

8 ‘‘(2) on the date the officer is detached from a 

9 position described in subsection (b)(2), unless the of10 ficer is on a promotion list to the permanent grade 

11 of lieutenant, lieutenant commander, commander, or 

12 captain, in which case the appointment terminates 

13 on the date the officer is promoted to that grade; 

14 ‘‘(3) if the officer is determined to have en15 gaged in misconduct or displayed substandard per16 formance in the position concerned; or 

17 ‘‘(4) when otherwise determined by the Com18 mandant to be in the best interests of the Coast 

19 Guard. 

20 ‘‘(g) LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE POSI21 TIONS.—An appointment under this section may only be 

22 made for service in a position designated by the Secretary 

23 for the purposes of this section. The number of positions 

24 so designated may not exceed the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) As lieutenant, the number equal to 0.2 

2 percent of the authorized number of lieutenants in 

3 the Coast Guard as of the end of the fiscal year in 

4 which the appointment is made. 

5 ‘‘(2) As lieutenant commander, the number 

6 equal to 0.6 percent of the authorized number of 

7 lieutenant commanders in the Coast Guard as of the 

8 end of the fiscal year in which the appointment is 

9 made. 

10 ‘‘(3) As commander, the number equal to 0.3 

11 percent of the authorized number of commanders in 

12 the Coast Guard as of the end of the fiscal year in 

13 which the appointment is made. 

14 ‘‘(4) As captain, the number equal to 0.15 per15 cent of the authorized number of captains in the 

16 Coast Guard as of the end of the fiscal year in which 

17 the appointment is made.’’. 

18 (b) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 21.—The analysis for 

19 chapter 21 of title 14, United States Code, is amended 

20 by inserting after the item relating to section 2129 the 

21 following: 

‘‘2130. Promotion to certain grades for officers with critical skills; captain, commander, lieutenant commander, lieutenant.’’. 


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1 SEC. 203. GRADE ON RETIREMENT. 

2 (a) RETIREMENT OF COMMANDANT OR VICE COM3 MANDANT.—Section 303 of title 14, United States Code, 

4 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(d) Retirement under this section is subject to sec6 tion 2501(a) of this title.’’. 

7 (b) RETIREMENT.—Section 306 of title 14, United 

8 States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘satisfac10 torily, as determined under section 2501 of this 

11 title’’ before the period; 

12 (2) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘satisfac13 torily, as determined under section 2501 of this 

14 title’’ before the period; and 

15 (3) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘if perform16 ance of duties in such grade is determined to have 

17 been satisfactory pursuant to section 2501 of this 

18 title’’ before the period. 

19 (c) GRADE ON RETIREMENT.—Section 2501 of title 

20 14, United States Code, is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a)— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘Any commissioned officer, 

23 other than a commissioned warrant officer,’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.— 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A commissioned officer’’; 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘him’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

2 commissioned officer’’; 

3 (C) by striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

4 commissioned officer’s’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(2) CONDITIONAL DETERMINATION.—When a 

7 commissioned officer is under investigation for al8 leged misconduct at the time of retirement— 

9 ‘‘(A) the Secretary may conditionally de10 termine the highest grade of satisfactory service 

11 of the commissioned officer pending completion 

12 of the investigation; and 

13 ‘‘(B) the grade under subparagraph (A) is 

14 subject to resolution under subsection (c)(2).’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (b)— 

16 (A) by inserting ‘‘WARRANT OFFICERS.— 

17 ’’ after ‘‘(b)’’; 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘him’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

19 warrant officer’’; and 

20 (C) by striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

21 warrant officer’s’’; and 

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

23 ‘‘(c) RETIREMENT IN LOWER GRADE.— 

24 ‘‘(1) MISCONDUCT IN LOWER GRADE.—In the 

25 case of a commissioned officer whom the Secretary 


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1 determines committed misconduct in a lower grade, 

2 the Secretary may determine the commissioned offi3 cer has not served satisfactorily in any grade equal 

4 to or higher than that lower grade. 

5 ‘‘(2) ADVERSE FINDINGS.—A determination of 

6 the retired grade of a commissioned officer shall be 

7 resolved following a conditional determination under 

8 subsection (a)(2) if the investigation of or personnel 

9 action against the commissioned officer results in 

10 adverse findings. 

11 ‘‘(3) RECALCULATION OF RETIRED PAY.—If the 

12 retired grade of a commissioned officer is reduced 

13 pursuant to this subsection, the retired pay of the 

14 commissioned officer shall be recalculated under 

15 chapter 71 of title 10, and any modification of the 

16 retired pay of the commissioned officer shall go into 

17 effect on the effective date of the reduction in re18 tired grade. 

19 ‘‘(d) FINALITY OF RETIRED GRADE DETERMINA20 TIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para22 graph (2), a determination of the retired grade of a 

23 commissioned officer under this section is adminis24 tratively final on the day the commissioned officer is 

25 retired, and may not be reopened. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REOPENING DETERMINATIONS.—A deter2 mination of the retired grade of a commissioned offi3 cer may be reopened if— 

4 ‘‘(A) the retirement or retired grade of the 

5 commissioned officer was procured by fraud; 

6 ‘‘(B) substantial evidence comes to light 

7 after the retirement that could have led to a 

8 lower retired grade under this section and such 

9 evidence was known by competent authority at 

10 the time of retirement; 

11 ‘‘(C) a mistake of law or calculation was 

12 made in the determination of the retired grade; 

13 ‘‘(D) in the case of a retired grade fol14 lowing a conditional determination under sub15 section (a)(2), the investigation of or personnel 

16 action against the commissioned officer results 

17 in adverse findings; or 

18 ‘‘(E) the Secretary determines, under regu19 lations prescribed by the Secretary, that good 

20 cause exists to reopen the determination. 

21 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—If a determination of 

22 the retired grade of a commissioned officer is re23 opened under paragraph (2), the Secretary— 

24 ‘‘(A) shall notify the commissioned officer 

25 of the reopening; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) may not make an adverse determina2 tion on the retired grade of the commissioned 

3 officer until the commissioned officer has had a 

4 reasonable opportunity to respond regarding the 

5 basis of the reopening. 

6 ‘‘(4) RECALCULATION OF RETIRED PAY.—If the 

7 retired grade of a commissioned officer is reduced 

8 through the reopening of the commissioned officer’s 

9 retired grade under paragraph (2), the retired pay 

10 of the commissioned officer shall be recalculated 

11 under chapter 71 of title 10, and any modification 

12 of the retired pay of the commissioned officer shall 

13 go into effect on the effective date of the reduction 

14 in retired grade. 

15 ‘‘(e) INAPPLICABILITY TO COMMISSIONED WARRANT

16 OFFICERS.—This section, including subsection (b), shall 

17 not apply to commissioned warrant officers.’’. 

18 SEC. 204. CAREER INTERMISSION PROGRAM. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 25 of title 

20 14, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘§ 2514. Career flexibility to enhance retention of 

23 members 

24 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Commandant 

25 may carry out a program under which members of the 


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1 Coast Guard may be inactivated from active service to 

2 meet personal or professional needs and returned to active 

3 service at the end of such period of inactivation from ac4 tive service. 

5 ‘‘(b) PERIOD OF INACTIVATION FROM ACTIVE SERV6 ICE; EFFECT OF INACTIVATION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The period of inactivation 

8 from active service under the program under this 

9 section of a member participating in the program 

10 shall be such period as the Commandant shall speci11 fy in the agreement of the member under subsection 

12 (c), except that such period may not exceed 3 years. 

13 ‘‘(2) TOTAL YEARS OF SERVICE.—Any service 

14 by a Reserve officer while participating in the pro15 gram under this section shall be excluded from com16 putation of the total years of service of that officer 

17 under section 14706(a) of title 10. 

18 ‘‘(3) RETIREMENT OR TRANSFER.—Any period 

19 of participation of a member in the program under 

20 this section shall not count toward— 

21 ‘‘(A) eligibility for retirement or transfer 

22 to the Ready Reserve under chapter 841 or 

23 1223 of title 10; or 

24 ‘‘(B) computation of retired or retainer 

25 pay under chapter 71 or 1223 of title 10. 


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1 ‘‘(c) AGREEMENT.—Each member of the Coast 

2 Guard who participates in the program under this section 

3 shall enter into a written agreement with the Commandant 

4 under which agreement that member shall agree as fol5 lows: 

6 ‘‘(1) To accept an appointment or enlist, as ap7 plicable, and serve in the Coast Guard Ready Re8 serve during the period of the inactivation of the 

9 member from active service under the program. 

10 ‘‘(2) To undergo during the period of the inac11 tivation of the member from active service under the 

12 program such inactive service training as the Com13 mandant shall require in order to ensure that the 

14 member retains proficiency, at a level determined by 

15 the Commandant to be sufficient, in the military 

16 skills, professional qualifications, and physical readi17 ness of the member during the inactivation of the 

18 member from active service. 

19 ‘‘(3) Following completion of the period of the 

20 inactivation of the member from active service under 

21 the program, to serve 2 months as a member of the 

22 Coast Guard on active service for each month of the 

23 period of the inactivation of the member from active 

24 service under the program. 


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1 ‘‘(d) CONDITIONS OF RELEASE.—The Commandant 

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) prescribe regulations specifying the guide4 lines regarding the conditions of release that must 

5 be considered and addressed in the agreement re6 quired by subsection (c); and 

7 ‘‘(2) at a minimum, prescribe the procedures 

8 and standards to be used to instruct a member on 

9 the obligations to be assumed by the member under 

10 subsection (c)(2) while the member is released from 

11 active service. 

12 ‘‘(e) ORDER TO ACTIVE SERVICE.—Under regula13 tions prescribed by the Commandant, a member of the 

14 Coast Guard participating in the program under this sec15 tion may, in the discretion of the Commandant, be re16 quired to terminate participation in the program and be 

17 ordered to active service. 

18 ‘‘(f) PAY AND ALLOWANCES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During each month of par20 ticipation in the program under this section, a mem21 ber who participates in the program shall be paid 

22 basic pay in an amount equal to two-thirtieths of the 

23 amount of monthly basic pay to which the member 

24 would otherwise be entitled under section 204 of title 

25 37 as a member of the uniformed services on active 


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1 service in the grade and years of service of the mem2 ber when the member commences participation in 

3 the program. 

4 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) SPECIAL OR INCENTIVE PAY OR BO6 NUSES.—A member who participates in the pro7 gram shall not, while participating in the pro8 gram, be paid any special or incentive pay or 

9 bonus to which the member is otherwise entitled 

10 under an agreement under section 1925 of this 

11 title or chapter 5 of title 37 that is in force 

12 when the member commences participation in 

13 the program. 

14 ‘‘(B) NOT TREATED AS FAILURE TO PER15 FORM.—The inactivation from active service of 

16 a member participating in the program shall 

17 not be treated as a failure of the member to 

18 perform any period of service required of the 

19 member in connection with an agreement for a 

20 special or incentive pay or bonus under section 

21 1925 of this title or chapter 5 of title 37 that 

22 is in force when the member commences partici23 pation in the program. 

24 ‘‘(3) RETURN TO SERVICE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara2 graph (B), upon the return of a member to ac3 tive service after completion by the member of 

4 participation in the program— 

5 ‘‘(i) any agreement entered into by 

6 the member under section 1925 of this 

7 title or chapter 5 of title 37 for the pay8 ment of a special or incentive pay or bonus 

9 that was in force when the member com10 menced participation in the program shall 

11 be revived, with the term of such agree12 ment after revival being the period of the 

13 agreement remaining to run when the 

14 member commenced participation in the 

15 program; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) any special or incentive pay or 

17 bonus shall be payable to the member in 

18 accordance with the terms of the agree19 ment concerned for the term specified in 

20 clause (i). 

21 ‘‘(B) NONAPPLICABILITY.—Subparagraph 

22 (A)— 

23 ‘‘(i) shall not apply to any special or 

24 incentive pay or bonus otherwise covered 

25 by that subparagraph with respect to a 


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1 member if, at the time of the return of the 

2 member to active service as described in 

3 that subparagraph— 

4 ‘‘(I) such pay or bonus is no 

5 longer authorized by law; or 

6 ‘‘(II) the member does not satisfy 

7 eligibility criteria for such pay or 

8 bonus as in effect at the time of the 

9 return of the member to active serv10 ice; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) shall cease to apply to any spe12 cial or incentive pay or bonus otherwise 

13 covered by that subparagraph with respect 

14 to a member if, during the term of the re15 vived agreement of the member under sub16 paragraph (A)(i), such pay or bonus ceases 

17 being authorized by law. 

18 ‘‘(C) REPAYMENT.—A member who is in19 eligible for payment of a special or incentive 

20 pay or bonus otherwise covered by this para21 graph by reason of subparagraph (B)(i)(II) 

22 shall be subject to the requirements for repay23 ment of such pay or bonus in accordance with 

24 the terms of the applicable agreement of the 


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1 member under section 1925 of this title or 

2 chapter 5 of title 37. 

3 ‘‘(D) SERVICE IN ADDITION TO OTHER

4 SERVICE.—Any service required of a member 

5 under an agreement covered by this paragraph 

6 after the member returns to active service as 

7 described in subparagraph (A) shall be in addi8 tion to any service required of the member 

9 under an agreement under subsection (c). 

10 ‘‘(4) TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION ALLOW11 ANCES.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara13 graph (B), a member who participates in the 

14 program is entitled, while participating in the 

15 program, to the travel and transportation allow16 ances authorized by section 474 of title 37 

17 for— 

18 ‘‘(i) travel performed from the resi19 dence of the member, at the time of release 

20 from active service to participate in the 

21 program, to the location in the United 

22 States designated by the member as his 

23 residence during the period of participation 

24 in the program; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) travel performed to the residence 

2 of the member upon return to active serv3 ice at the end of the participation of the 

4 member in the program. 

5 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS.—An allowance is pay6 able under this paragraph only with respect to 

7 travel of a member to and from a single resi8 dence. 

9 ‘‘(5) LEAVE BALANCES.—A member who par10 ticipates in the program is entitled to carry forward 

11 the leave balance existing as of the day on which the 

12 member begins participation and accumulated in ac13 cordance with section 701 of title 10, but not to ex14 ceed 60 days. 

15 ‘‘(g) PROMOTION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) INELIGIBILITY.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An officer partici18 pating in the program under this section shall 

19 not, while participating in the program, be eligi20 ble for consideration for promotion under chap21 ter 21 or 37 of this title. 

22 ‘‘(B) RETURN TO ACTIVE SERVICE.—Upon 

23 the return of an officer to active service after 

24 completion by the officer of participation in the 

25 program— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the Commandant may adjust the 

2 date of rank of the officer in such manner 

3 as the Commandant may prescribe in regu4 lations for purposes of this section; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) the officer shall be eligible for 

6 consideration for promotion when officers 

7 of the same grade and seniority are eligible 

8 for consideration for promotion. 

9 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF INELIGIBILITY.—An enlisted 

10 member participating in the program shall not be el11 igible for consideration for advancement during the 

12 period that— 

13 ‘‘(A) begins on the date of the inactivation 

14 of the member from active service under the 

15 program; and 

16 ‘‘(B) ends at such time after the return of 

17 the member to active service under the program 

18 that the member is treatable as eligible for ad19 vancement by reason of time in grade and such 

20 other requirements as the Commandant may 

21 prescribe in regulations for purposes of the pro22 gram. 

23 ‘‘(h) CONTINUED ENTITLEMENT.—A member par24 ticipating in the program under this section shall, while 

25 participating in the program, be treated as a member of 


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1 the armed forces on active duty for a period of more than 

2 30 days for purposes of— 

3 ‘‘(1) the entitlement of the member and of the 

4 dependents of the member to medical and dental 

5 care under the provisions of chapter 55 of title 10; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(2) retirement or separation for physical dis8 ability under the provisions of chapter 61 of title 10 

9 and chapters 21 and 23 of this title.’’. 

10 (b) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 25.—The analysis for 

11 chapter 25 of title 14, United States Code, is amended 

12 by inserting after the item relating to section 2513 the 

13 following: 

‘‘2514. Career flexibility to enhance retention of members.’’. 

14 SEC. 205. DIRECT COMMISSIONING AUTHORITY FOR INDI15 VIDUALS WITH CRITICAL SKILLS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 37 of 

17 title 14, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

18 section 3738 the following: 

19 ‘‘§ 3738a. Direct commissioning authority for individ20 uals with critical skills 

21 ‘‘An individual with critical skills that the Com22 mandant consider necessary for the Coast Guard to com23 plete its missions who is not currently serving as an officer 

24 in the Coast Guard, may be commissioned into the Coast 

25 Guard at a grade up to, and including, commander.’’. 


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1 (b) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 37.—The analysis for 

2 chapter 37 of title 14, United States Code, is amended 

3 by inserting after the item relating to section 3738 the 

4 following: 

‘‘3738a. Direct commissioning authority for individuals with critical skills.’’. 

5 SEC. 206. RENEWAL OF TEMPORARY EARLY RETIREMENT 

6 AUTHORITY. 

7 Section 219 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Trans8 portation Act of 2012 (Public Law 112–213; 10 U.S.C. 

9 1293 note) is amended— 

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

11 striking ‘‘For fiscal years 2013 through 2018’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘For fiscal years 2019 through 2025’’; and 

13 (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘subsection 

14 (c)(2)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (c)(1)’’. 

15 SEC. 207. STRATEGY ON LEADERSHIP OF THE COAST 

16 GUARD. 

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

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

19 department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall 

20 develop and make available to the public a strategy to im21 prove leadership development in the Coast Guard, includ22 ing mechanisms to address toxic leadership in the Coast 

23 Guard. 

24 (b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy shall include the fol25 lowing: 


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1 (1) Mechanisms to foster positive and produc2 tive leadership qualities in emerging Coast Guard 

3 leaders, beginning, at minimum, members at grade 

4 O–2 for officers, members at grade E–6 for enlisted 

5 members, and members training to become an offi6 cer-in-charge. 

7 (2) Mechanisms for the ongoing evaluation of 

8 unit commanders, including identification of toxic 

9 leadership qualities in commanders. 

10 (3) Formal training on the recognition of toxic 

11 leadership qualities (in self and others), including at 

12 leadership seminars and school houses in the Coast 

13 Guard, including means to correct such qualities. 

14 (4) Clear and transparent policies on standards 

15 for command climate, leadership qualities, and inclu16 sion. 

17 (5) Policy to ensure established and emerging 

18 leaders have access to hands-on training and tools to 

19 improve diversity and inclusion. 

20 (6) Policy and procedures for commanders to 

21 identify and hold accountable toxic leaders. 

22 (c) TOXIC LEADERSHIP DEFINED.—In this section, 

23 the term ‘‘toxic leadership’’ has the meaning given that 

24 term for purposes of Army Doctrine Publication 6–22. 


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1 SEC. 208. SUPPORT OF WOMEN SERVING IN THE COAST 

2 GUARD. 

3 (a) CONSIDERATION OF WOMEN’S ISSUES BY BOARD

4 OF VISITORS OF COAST GUARD ACADEMY.—Section 

5 1903(d) of title 14, United States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

7 end; 

8 (2) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para9 graph (7); and 

10 (3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol11 lowing new paragraph (6): 

12 ‘‘(6) women’s issues; and’’. 

13 (b) NATIONAL COAST GUARD WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP

14 COMMITTEE.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant shall es16 tablish within the Coast Guard a national advisory 

17 board to be known as the ‘‘National Coast Guard 

18 Women’s Leadership Committee’’ (in this subsection 

19 referred to as the ‘‘Committee’’). 

20 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall be 

21 composed of such number of members as the Com22 mandant considers appropriate, selected by the Com23 mandant through a public selection process from 

24 among applicants for membership on the Committee. 

25 The members of the Committee shall, to the extent 

26 practicable, represent the range and diversity of the 


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1 Coast Guard. The members of the Committee shall 

2 include an equal number of each of the following: 

3 (A) Active duty officers of the Coast 

4 Guard. 

5 (B) Active duty enlisted members of the 

6 Coast Guard. 

7 (C) Members of the Coast Guard Reserve. 

8 (D) Retired members of the Coast Guard. 

9 (3) DUTIES.—The Committee— 

10 (A) shall advise the Commandant on im11 provements to the recruitment, retention, suc12 cess, and well-being of women serving in the 

13 Coast Guard; 

14 (B) may submit to the Secretary of the de15 partment in which the Coast Guard is oper16 ating, and to the Commandant, recommenda17 tions in connection with its duties under this 

18 subsection, including recommendations to im19 plement the advice described in subparagraph 

20 (A); and 

21 (C) may brief Congress on its duties under 

22 this subsection, including the advice described 

23 in subparagraph (A) and any recommendations 

24 described in subparagraph (B). 


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1 (c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON WOMEN’S LEADER2 SHIP AT THE COAST GUARD ACADEMY.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Superintendent of the 

4 Coast Guard Academy shall establish at the Coast 

5 Guard Academy an advisory committee to be known 

6 as the Advisory Committee on Women’s Leadership 

7 at the Coast Guard Academy (in this subsection re8 ferred to as the ‘‘Advisory Committee’’). 

9 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Committee 

10 shall be composed of not fewer than 12 current ca11 dets of the Coast Guard Academy, including not 

12 fewer than 3 cadets from each current class. 

13 (3) APPOINTMENT; TERM.—Cadets shall serve 

14 on the Advisory Committee pursuant to appointment 

15 by the Superintendent. Appointments shall be made 

16 not later than 60 days after the swearing in of a 

17 new class of cadets at the Academy. The term of 

18 membership of a cadet on the Advisory Committee 

19 shall be one year. 

20 (4) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Committee shall 

21 meet with the Commandant not less frequently than 

22 once each academic year of the Coast Guard Acad23 emy on the duties of the Advisory Committee. The 

24 Advisory Committee shall meet in person with the 

25 Superintendent not less frequently than twice each 


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1 such academic year on the duties of the Advisory 

2 Committee. 

3 (5) DUTIES.—The Advisory Committee shall 

4 identify cultural opportunities and challenges facing 

5 women cadets at the Academy, including an assess6 ment of culture, leadership development, access to 

7 health care, and overall well-being of women cadets 

8 at the Academy. 

9 (6) ADVISORY GROUPS.—The Advisory Com10 mittee may establish one or more advisory groups to 

11 assist the Advisory Committee in carrying out its 

12 duties, including advisory groups composed in part 

13 of cadets at the Academy who are not current mem14 bers of the Advisory Committee. 

15 (7) REPORTS AND BRIEFINGS.—The Advisory 

16 Committee shall regularly provide the Commandant 

17 and the Superintendent reports and briefings on the 

18 results of its duties, including recommendations for 

19 actions to be taken in light of such results. Such re20 ports and briefings may be provided in writing, in 

21 person, or both. 

22 (d) CURRICULUM AND TRAINING ON CLIMATE AND

23 CULTURE CONCERNS.—The Secretary of the department 

24 in which the Coast Guard is operating shall periodically 

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1 ship and positive climate in the Coast Guard, and shall 

2 develop a plan to synchronize such updates to respond to 

3 the findings of the RAND gender diversity report, deliv4 ered at each of the following: 

5 (1) Officer accession points, including the Coast 

6 Guard Academy and the Leadership Development 

7 Center. 

8 (2) Enlisted member accession at the United 

9 States Coast Guard Training Center Cape May, 

10 New Jersey. 

11 (3) The officer, enlisted member, and civilian 

12 leadership courses managed by the Leadership De13 velopment Center. 

14 (e) ACTION PLAN.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Com17 mandant shall submit to Congress, and make avail18 able to the public on an internet website of the 

19 Coast Guard available to the public, a report on the 

20 implementation of the recommendations of the 

21 RAND gender diversity report. 

22 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report shall set forth the 

23 following: 


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1 (A) A review and assessment of the status 

2 of actions on the recommendations in the 

3 RAND gender diversity report. 

4 (B) Additional recommendations to im5 prove the recruitment and retention of women 

6 in the Coast Guard. 

7 (C) A plan (including milestones) for ac8 tions being taken by the Coast Guard to imple9 ment the recommendations in the RAND gen10 der diversity report and the additional rec11 ommendations described in subparagraph (B), 

12 including recommendations for such legislative 

13 or administrative action as may be required in 

14 order to carry out the plan. 

15 (D) A plan to launch and maintain an 

16 internet website for the sharing of significant 

17 policy, benefits, services, and resources, and rel18 evant announcements, in order to centralize re19 sources and tools provided by the Coast Guard, 

20 and other resources (as appropriate), to im21 prove gender diversity and retention of women 

22 in the Coast Guard. 

23 (3) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the report, 

24 the Commandant shall consult with the National 


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1 Coast Guard Women’s Leadership Committee estab2 lished pursuant to subsection (b). 

3 (f) RAND GENDER DIVERSITY REPORT DEFINED.— 

4 In this section, the term ‘‘RAND gender diversity report’’ 

5 means the 2019 report of the Homeland Security Oper6 ational Analysis Center of the RAND Corporation entitled 

7 ‘‘Improving Gender Diversity in the U.S. Coast Guard: 

8 Identifying Barriers to Female Retention’’. 

9 SEC. 209. POLICY ON EXPEDITED TRANSFER OF MEMBERS 

10 OF THE COAST GUARD IN CASES OF SEXUAL 

11 ASSAULT OF DEPENDENTS OF MEMBERS. 

12 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact13 ment of this Act, the Commandant shall establish a policy 

14 to permit the transfer of a member of the Coast Guard 

15 whose dependent is the victim of sexual assault committed 

16 by a member of the Armed Forces who is not related to 

17 the victim. 

18 Subtitle B—Organization and 

19 Management Matters 

20 SEC. 221. CONTINUATION OF COAST GUARD PAY DURING 

21 LAPSE IN APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 27 of title 14, United 

23 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘§ 2780. Pay; continuation during lapse in appropria2 tions 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any period in 

4 which there is a Coast Guard-specific funding lapse, there 

5 are appropriated such sums as may be necessary— 

6 ‘‘(1) to provide pay and allowances to military 

7 members of the Coast Guard, including the reserve 

8 component thereof, who perform active service or in9 active-duty training during such period; 

10 ‘‘(2) to provide pay and benefits to qualified ci11 vilian employees of the Coast Guard; 

12 ‘‘(3) to provide pay and benefits to qualified 

13 contract employees of the Coast Guard; 

14 ‘‘(4) to provide for— 

15 ‘‘(A) the payment of a death gratuity 

16 under sections 1475 through 1477 and 1489 of 

17 title 10, with respect to members of the Coast 

18 Guard; 

19 ‘‘(B) the payment or reimbursement of au20 thorized funeral travel and travel related to the 

21 dignified transfer of remains and unit memorial 

22 services under section 481f of title 37, with re23 spect to members of the Coast Guard; and 

24 ‘‘(C) the temporary continuation of a basic 

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1 bers of the Coast Guard dying on active duty, 

2 as authorized by section 403(1) of title 37; and 

3 ‘‘(5) to provide for Coast Guard retired pay, in4 cluding the payment of obligations otherwise charge5 able to lapsed appropriations for this purpose, pay6 ments under the Retired Serviceman’s Family Pro7 tection and Survivor Benefits Plans, payment for ca8 reer status bonuses, payment of continuation pay 

9 under section 356 of title 37, concurrent receipts, 

10 combat-related special compensation, and payments 

11 for medical care of retired personnel and their de12 pendents under chapter 55 of title 10. 

13 ‘‘(b) COAST GUARD-SPECIFIC FUNDING LAPSE.— 

14 For purposes of this section, a Coast Guard-specific fund15 ing lapse occurs in any case in which— 

16 ‘‘(1) a general appropriation bill providing ap17 propriations for the Coast Guard for a fiscal year is 

18 not enacted before the beginning of such fiscal year 

19 (and no joint resolution making continuing appro20 priations for the Coast Guard is in effect); and 

21 ‘‘(2) a general appropriation bill providing ap22 propriations for the Department of Defense for such 

23 fiscal year is enacted before the beginning of such 

24 fiscal year (or a joint resolution making continuing 


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1 appropriations for the Department of Defense is in 

2 effect). 

3 ‘‘(c) TERMINATION.—Appropriations and funds made 

4 available and authority granted for any fiscal year for any 

5 purpose under subsection (a) shall be available until 

6 whichever of the following first occurs: 

7 ‘‘(1) The enactment into law of an appropria8 tion (including a continuing appropriation) for such 

9 purpose. 

10 ‘‘(2) The enactment into law of an appropria11 tion (including a continuing appropriation) for the 

12 Coast Guard without provision for such purpose. 

13 ‘‘(3) The termination of availability of appro14 priations for the Department of Defense. 

15 ‘‘(4) The date that is 180 days after the begin16 ning of the Coast Guard-specific funding lapse. 

17 ‘‘(d) RATE FOR OPERATIONS; APPLICABILITY TO AP18 PROPRIATION ACTS.—Appropriations made pursuant this 

19 section shall be available at a rate for operations and to 

20 the extent and in the manner that would be provided by 

21 the pertinent appropriations Act. 

22 ‘‘(e) CHARGE TO FUTURE APPROPRIATIONS.—Ex23 penditures made pursuant to this section shall be charged 

24 to the applicable appropriation, fund, or authorization 


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1 whenever a bill in which such applicable appropriation, 

2 fund, or authorization is enacted into law. 

3 ‘‘(f) APPORTIONMENT.—Appropriations and funds 

4 made available by or authority granted under this section 

5 may be used without regard to the time limitations for 

6 submission and approval of apportionments set forth in 

7 section 1513 of title 31, but nothing in this section may 

8 be construed to waive any other provision of law governing 

9 the apportionment of funds. 

10 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 ‘‘(1) The term ‘qualified civilian employee’ 

12 means a civilian employee of the Coast Guard whom 

13 the Commandant determines is— 

14 ‘‘(A) providing support to members of the 

15 Coast Guard or another Armed Force; or 

16 ‘‘(B) performing work as an excepted em17 ployee or an employee performing emergency 

18 work, as those terms are defined by the Office 

19 of Personnel Management. 

20 ‘‘(2) The term ‘qualified contract employee of 

21 the Coast Guard’ means an individual performing 

22 work under a contract whom the Commandant de23 termines is— 


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1 ‘‘(A) providing support to military mem2 bers or qualified civilian employees of the Coast 

3 Guard or another Armed Force; or 

4 ‘‘(B) required to perform work during a 

5 lapse in appropriations.’’. 

6 (b) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 27.—The analysis for 

7 chapter 27 of title 14, United States Code, is amended 

8 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘2780. Pay; continuation during lapse in appropriations.’’. 

9 SEC. 222. AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS WITH 

10 NATIONAL COAST GUARD MUSEUM ASSOCIA11 TION. 

12 Section 316 of title 14, United States Code, is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub15 section (e); and 

16 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(d) AGREEMENTS WITH NATIONAL COAST GUARD

19 MUSEUM ASSOCIATION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) The Commandant may offer to enter into 

21 one or more agreements with the National Coast 

22 Guard Museum Association (referred to in this sub23 section as the ‘Association’) for any purpose the 

24 Commandant considers beneficial to the Coast 

25 Guard. 


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1 ‘‘(2) With respect to the construction of the 

2 National Coast Guard Museum, the Commandant 

3 may— 

4 ‘‘(A) permit the Association to enter into 

5 one or more contracts for the design and con6 struction of the National Coast Guard Museum; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(B) carry out oversight responsibilities 

9 that, among other things, ensures construction 

10 of the museum will comport with future Coast 

11 Guard operations and sustainment after it is 

12 accepted by the Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(3)(A) On the satisfactory completion of the 

14 National Coast Guard Museum and the satisfaction 

15 by the Association of any financial obligations inci16 dent to the National Coast Guard Museum— 

17 ‘‘(i) the Commandant may accept the Na18 tional Coast Guard Museum from the Associa19 tion; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) all right, title, and interest in and to 

21 the National Coast Guard Museum shall vest in 

22 the United States. 

23 ‘‘(B) Beginning on the date on which the Com24 mandant accepts the National Coast Guard Museum 

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1 sume administrative jurisdiction over the National 

2 Coast Guard Museum. 

3 ‘‘(C) Before the date on which the Com4 mandant accepts the National Coast Guard Museum 

5 under subparagraph (A), the Association may lease 

6 the National Coast Guard Museum to the Com7 mandant— 

8 ‘‘(i) under such terms and conditions as 

9 the Commandant considers appropriate; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) for use consistent with the purposes 

11 of the National Coast Guard Museum. 

12 ‘‘(D) After the date on which the Commandant 

13 accepts the National Coast Guard Museum under 

14 subparagraph (A), the Commandant may lease 1 or 

15 more portions of the National Coast Guard Museum 

16 to the Association— 

17 ‘‘(i) under such terms and conditions as 

18 the Commandant considers appropriate; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) for use consistent with the purposes 

20 of the National Coast Guard Museum. 

21 ‘‘(E) Prior to the acceptance of the National 

22 Coast Guard Museum by the Commandant under 

23 subparagraph (A), the Commandant may coordinate 

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1 poses of establishing the National Coast Guard Mu2 seum. 

3 ‘‘(4) The Commandant may require such addi4 tional terms and conditions with respect to an agree5 ment or lease authorized under this subsection as 

6 the Commandant considers appropriate to protect 

7 the interests of the United States.’’. 

8 SEC. 223. RESEARCH PROJECTS; TRANSACTIONS OTHER 

9 THAN CONTRACTS AND GRANTS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 7 of title 14, United 

11 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 717 the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘§ 717a. Research projects; transactions other than 

14 contracts and grants 

15 ‘‘(a) ADDITIONAL FORMS OF TRANSACTIONS AU16 THORIZED.—The Commandant may enter into trans17 actions (other than contracts, cooperative agreements, and 

18 grants) under the authority of this subsection in carrying 

19 out basic, applied, and advanced research projects. The 

20 authority under this subsection is in addition to the au21 thority provided in section 717 of this title to use con22 tracts, cooperative agreements, and grants in carrying out 

23 such projects. 


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1 ‘‘(b) ADVANCE PAYMENTS.—The authority provided 

2 under subsection (a) may be exercised without regard to 

3 section 3324 of title 31. 

4 ‘‘(c) RECOVERY OF FUNDS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A cooperative agreement 

6 for performance of basic, applied, or advanced re7 search authorized by section 717 of this title and a 

8 transaction authorized by subsection (a) may include 

9 a clause that requires a person or other entity to 

10 make payments to the Coast Guard or any other de11 partment or agency of the Federal Government as a 

12 condition for receiving support under the agreement 

13 or other transaction. 

14 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—The amount of 

15 any payment received by the Federal Government 

16 pursuant to a requirement imposed under paragraph 

17 (1) may be credited, to the extent authorized by the 

18 Commandant, to an appropriate account. Amounts 

19 so credited shall be merged with other funds in the 

20 account and shall be available for the same purposes 

21 and the same period for which other funds in such 

22 account are available. 

23 ‘‘(d) CONDITIONS.—The Commandant shall ensure 

24 that, to the maximum extent practicable, no cooperative 

25 agreement containing a clause under subsection (c)(1), 


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1 and no transaction entered into under subsection (a), pro2 vides for research that duplicates research being con3 ducted under existing programs carried out by the Coast 

4 Guard. 

5 ‘‘(e) EDUCATION AND TRAINING.—The Commandant 

6 shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) ensure that management, technical, and 

8 contracting personnel of the Coast Guard involved in 

9 the award or administration of transactions under 

10 this section or other innovative forms of contracting 

11 are afforded opportunities for adequate education 

12 and training on such transactions and forms of con13 tracting; and 

14 ‘‘(2) establish minimum levels and requirements 

15 for continuous and experiential learning on such 

16 transactions and forms of contracting for such per17 sonnel, including levels and requirements for acquisi18 tion certification programs. 

19 ‘‘(f) PROTECTION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION FROM

20 DISCLOSURE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Disclosure of information 

22 described in paragraph (2) is not required, and may 

23 not be compelled under section 552 of title 5 for 5 

24 years after the date on which the information is re25 ceived by the Coast Guard. 


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1 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.— 

2 ‘‘(A) APPLICABILITY.—Paragraph (1) ap3 plies to the information described in subpara4 graph (B) that is in the records of the Coast 

5 Guard if the information was submitted to the 

6 Coast Guard in a competitive or noncompetitive 

7 process having the potential for resulting in an 

8 award, to the party submitting the information, 

9 of a cooperative agreement for performance of 

10 basic, applied, or advanced research authorized 

11 by section 717 of this title or another trans12 action authorized by subsection (a). 

13 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The in14 formation described in this subparagraph is as 

15 follows: 

16 ‘‘(i) A proposal, proposal abstract, 

17 and supporting documents. 

18 ‘‘(ii) A business plan submitted on a 

19 confidential basis. 

20 ‘‘(iii) Technical information submitted 

21 on a confidential basis. 

22 ‘‘(g) REGULATIONS.—The Commandant shall pre23 scribe regulations, as necessary, to carry out this sec24 tion.’’. 


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1 (b) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 7.—The analysis for 

2 chapter 7 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by 

3 inserting after the item relating to section 717 the fol4 lowing: 

‘‘717a. Research projects; transactions other than contracts and grants.’’. 

5 SEC. 224. SUPPORT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY 

6 EDUCATION IN SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND 

7 TECHNOLOGY. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 7 of title 14, United 

9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘§ 719. Support of elementary and secondary edu12 cation in science, mathematics, and tech13 nology 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the department 

15 in which the Coast Guard is operating, in coordination 

16 with the Secretary of Education, may establish programs 

17 for the purpose of improving the mathematics and sci18 entific knowledge and skills of elementary and secondary 

19 school students and faculty members. 

20 ‘‘(b) COOPERATION WITH DEPARTMENT OF DE21 FENSE.—The Secretary of the department in which the 

22 Coast Guard is operating may cooperate and coordinate 

23 with the Secretary of Defense for the purpose of improving 

24 the mathematics and scientific knowledge and skills of ele25 mentary school students and faculty members, including 


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1 participating in the Department of Defense STARBASE 

2 Program under section 2193b of title 10. 

3 ‘‘(c) AREAS OF FOCUS.—In addition to general math4 ematics and scientific knowledge, any program or activity 

5 carried out under subsection (a) or (b) may also focus on 

6 areas of specific Coast Guard expertise, including lim7 nology, marine science, and oceanography.’’. 

8 (b) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 7.—The analysis for 

9 chapter 7 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by 

10 adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘719. Support of elementary and secondary education in science, mathematics, 

and technology.’’. 

11 SEC. 225. LIMITATIONS ON CLAIMS. 

12 (a) ADMIRALTY CLAIMS AGAINST THE UNITED

13 STATES.—Section 937(a) of title 14, United States Code, 

14 is amended by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘$425,000’’. 

16 (b) CLAIMS FOR DAMAGE TO PROPERTY OF THE

17 UNITED STATES.—Section 938 of title 14, United States 

18 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘$425,000’’. 

20 SEC. 226. ACQUISITION WORKFORCE AUTHORITIES. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 11 of title 

22 14, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

23 the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 1111. Acquisition workforce authorities 

2 ‘‘(a) EXPEDITED HIRING AUTHORITY.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 

4 3304 of title 5, the Commandant may— 

5 ‘‘(A) designate any category of acquisition 

6 positions within the Coast Guard as shortage 

7 category positions; and 

8 ‘‘(B) use the authorities in such section to 

9 recruit and appoint highly qualified persons di10 rectly to positions so designated. 

11 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.—The Commandant shall in12 clude in reports under section 5103 of this title in13 formation described in that section regarding posi14 tions designated under this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(b) REEMPLOYMENT AUTHORITY.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), if an annuitant receiving an annuity from 

18 the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund be19 comes employed in any category of acquisition posi20 tions designated by the Commandant under sub21 section (a), the annuity of an annuitant so employed 

22 shall continue. An annuitant so reemployed shall not 

23 be considered an employee for purposes of sub24 chapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84 of title 5. 

25 ‘‘(2) ELECTION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An annuitant retired 

2 under section 8336(d)(1) or 8414(b)(1)(A) of 

3 title 5, receiving an annuity from the Civil Serv4 ice Retirement and Disability Fund, who be5 comes employed in a position designated by the 

6 Commandant under subsection (a) may elect to 

7 be subject to section 8344 or 8468 of such title 

8 (as the case may be), respectively. 

9 ‘‘(B) DEADLINE.—An election for coverage 

10 under this paragraph shall be filed not later 

11 than 90 days after the Commandant takes rea12 sonable actions to notify employees who may 

13 file an election. 

14 ‘‘(C) COVERAGE.—If an employee files an 

15 election under this paragraph, coverage shall be 

16 effective beginning on the first day of the first 

17 applicable pay period beginning on or after the 

18 date of the filing of the election. 

19 ‘‘(D) APPLICATION.—Paragraph (1) shall 

20 apply to an individual who is eligible to file an 

21 election under such paragraph and does not file 

22 a timely election under this paragraph in ac23 cordance with subparagraph (B).’’. 

24 (b) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 11.—The analysis for 

25 chapter 11 of title 14, United States Code, is amended 


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1 by inserting after the item relating to section 1110 the 

2 following: 

‘‘1111. Acquisition workforce authorities.’’. 

3 (c) REPEAL OF SUPERSEDED AUTHORITY.—Section 

4 404 of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 (Public 

5 Law 111–281) is repealed. 

6 SEC. 227. RESOLUTION BY CHIEF ACQUISITION OFFICER OF 

7 ACQUISITION DISPUTES ELEVATED TO THE 

8 OFFICER. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 11 of title 

10 14, United States Code, as amended by section 226, is 

11 further amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘§ 1112. Resolution by the Chief Acquisition Officer 

13 of acquisition disputes elevated to the Of14 ficer 

15 ‘‘If, after 90 days following the elevation to the Chief 

16 Acquisition Officer of any design or other dispute regard17 ing Level 1 or Level 2 acquisition, the dispute remains 

18 unresolved, the Commandant shall provide to the appro19 priate congressional committees a detailed description of 

20 the issue and the rationale underlying the decision taken 

21 by the Chief Acquisition Officer to resolve the issue.’’. 

22 (b) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 11.—The analysis for 

23 chapter 11 of title 14, United States Code, as amended 

24 by section 226, is further amended by inserting after the 

25 item relating to section 1111 the following: 


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‘‘1112. Resolution by the Chief Acquisition Officer of acquisition disputes elevated to the Officer.’’. 

1 (c) REPEAL OF SUPERSEDED REQUIREMENT.—Sec2 tion 401 of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 

3 (Public Law 111–281) is amended by striking subsection 

4 (e). 

5 SEC. 228. VESSEL CONVERSION, ALTERATION, AND REPAIR 

6 PROJECTS. 

7 Notwithstanding any provision of the Small Business 

8 Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) and any regulation or policy 

9 implementing that Act, the Commandant may use full and 

10 open competitive procedures, as prescribed in section 2304 

11 of title 10, United States Code, to acquire maintenance 

12 and repair services for vessels with a homeport in Coast 

13 Guard District 17. 

14 SEC. 229. COAST GUARD HOUSING FUND. 

15 Section 2946(c) of title 14, United States Code, is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) by striking paragraph (2); 

18 (2) by redesignating paragraph (1) as para19 graph (2); 

20 (3) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘(2) In such amounts as 

22 provided in appropriations Acts, and except’’ 

23 and inserting the following: 

24 ‘‘(2) PERMISSIBLE USES.—Except’’; 


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1 (B) by indenting subparagraphs (A), (B), 

2 and (C) four ems from the left margin; 

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

4 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

5 (D) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 

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

7 (E) by adding at the end the following new 

8 subparagraph: 

9 ‘‘(D) the construction or recapitalization of 

10 existing military family housing and military 

11 unaccompanied housing.’’; and 

12 (4) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so re13 designated, the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts in the Fund 

15 shall be available to the Secretary without further 

16 appropriation, and shall remain available until ex17 pended.’’. 

18 SEC. 230. OPERATION AND SUSTAINMENT COSTS IN MAJOR 

19 LONG-TERM ACQUISITION PLANS. 

20 Section 5103(e)(3) of title 14, United States Code, 

21 is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and 

23 (C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively; and 

24 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(B) operate and sustain the cutters and 

2 aircraft identified under paragraph (2);’’. 

3 SEC. 231. PORT, HARBOR, AND COASTAL FACILITY SECU4 RITY. 

5 Section 70116 of title 46, United States Code, is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, cyber inci8 dents, transnational organized crime, and foreign 

9 state threats’’ after ‘‘an act of terrorism’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (b)— 

11 (A) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by inserting 

12 ‘‘cyber incidents, transnational organized crime, 

13 and foreign state threats’’ after ‘‘terrorism’’ 

14 each place it appears; and 

15 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘armed’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘, armed (as needed),’’; and 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘terrorism or trans19 portation security incidents,’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘terrorism, cyber incidents, transnational 

21 organized crime, foreign state threats, or 

22 transportation security incidents,’’; and 

23 (3) in subsection (c)— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘70034,’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘70033,’’; and 


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1 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

2 sentence: ‘‘When preventing or responding to 

3 acts of terrorism, cyber incidents, transnational 

4 organized crime, or foreign state threats, the 

5 Secretary may carry out this section without re6 gard to chapters 5 and 6 of title 5 or Executive 

7 Orders 12866 and 13563.’’. 

8 SEC. 232. ACCESS TO RESOURCES DURING CREOSOTE-RE9 LATED BUILDING CLOSURES AT COAST 

10 GUARD BASE SEATTLE, WASHINGTON. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to the creosote-re12 lated building closures at Coast Guard Base Seattle, 

13 Washington, the Commandant shall, to the maximum ex14 tent practicable, enter into one or more agreements or oth15 erwise take actions to secure access to resources, including 

16 a gym, that are not otherwise available to members of the 

17 Coast Guard during such closures. 

18 (b) BRIEFING.—Not later than 60 days after the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act, the Commandant shall brief 

20 Congress with respect to actions taken by the Com21 mandant to comply with subsection (a). 

22 SEC. 233. SOUTHERN RESIDENT ORCA CONSERVATION AND 

23 ENFORCEMENT. 

24 (a) REPORT ON ORCA ENFORCEMENT OPPORTUNI25 TIES.—The Commandant, in consultation with the Under 


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1 Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, shall 

2 submit to Congress a report on Coast Guard efforts to 

3 enforce southern resident orca vessel buffer zones and 

4 other vessel related regulations in Puget Sound in coordi5 nation with existing Coast Guard fisheries enforcement, 

6 maritime domain awareness, operation Be Whale Wise, 

7 and other related missions. 

8 (b) ACTION PLAN.—Not later than 180 days after 

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

10 shall submit to Congress a briefing on steps the Coast 

11 Guard is taking to meet fisheries enforcement boarding 

12 and vessel traffic, including orca buffer zone and other 

13 related activities, enforcement targets in District 13, as 

14 well as recommendations on what resources, appropria15 tions, and assets are needed to meet those targets within 

16 1 year from enactment of this Act. 

17 (c) PILOT PROGRAM ON REDUCING DISTURBANCE TO

18 ORCAS IN PUGET SOUND.—The Commandant, in con19 sultation with the Maritime Administrator, the Under Sec20 retary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and 

21 State and Tribal governments, shall establish a pilot pro22 gram to assess the feasibility and benefit of implementing 

23 a program similar to the Enhancing Cetacean Habitat and 

24 Observation program, or ‘‘ECHO program’’, in United 

25 States waters to reduce acoustic disturbance of southern 


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1 resident orcas in Puget Sound and the surrounding 

2 waters. 

3 SEC. 234. BRIEFING ON POLICY ON ISSUANCE OF WAR4 RANTS AND SUBPOENAS AND WHISTLE5 BLOWER PROTECTIONS BY AGENTS OF THE 

6 COAST GUARD INVESTIGATIVE SERVICE. 

7 (a) BRIEFING REQUIRED.—Not later than 30 days 

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Com9 mandant shall provide the Committee on Commerce, 

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

12 of Representatives a briefing on the policy of the Coast 

13 Guard on the issuance of warrants and subpoenas and 

14 whistleblower protections by agents of the Coast Guard 

15 Investigative Service. 

16 (b) ELEMENTS.—The briefing required by subsection 

17 (a) shall include the following: 

18 (1) A discussion of current and any new policy 

19 of the Coast Guard on the issuance of warrants and 

20 subpoenas and whistleblower protections by agents 

21 of the Coast Guard Investigative Service, including 

22 Coast Guard Investigative Service Criminal Inves23 tigation Operating Procedure CIOP 2019–02, and 

24 the differences between such current policies and 

25 new policies. 


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1 (2) A plan (including milestones) for the imple2 mentation of the following: 

3 (A) Incorporation of Coast Guard Inves4 tigative Service Criminal Investigation Oper5 ating Procedure CIOP 2019–02 into the next 

6 revision of the Administrative Investigations 

7 Manual of the Coast Guard Investigative Serv8 ice. 

9 (B) Training on the policy described in 

10 paragraph (1) for the following: 

11 (i) Agents and legal counsel of the 

12 Coast Guard Investigative Service. 

13 (ii) Personnel of the Office of General 

14 Law. 

15 (iii) Coast Guard headquarters per16 sonnel. 

17 (iv) Such other Coast Guard per18 sonnel as the Commandant considers ap19 propriate. 

20 Subtitle C—Access to Child Care 

21 for Coast Guard Families 

22 SEC. 241. REPORT ON CHILD CARE AND SCHOOL AGE CARE 

23 ASSISTANCE FOR QUALIFIED FAMILIES. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

25 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 


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1 General of the United States shall submit to the Com2 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

3 Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infra4 structure of the House of Representatives a report on 

5 child care and school age care options available to quali6 fied families. 

7 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 

8 (a) shall include the following: 

9 (1) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

10 (A) An assessment of— 

11 (i) the subsidies and financial assist12 ance for child care and school age care 

13 made available by the Coast Guard to 

14 qualified families; and 

15 (ii) the extent to which qualified fami16 lies have taken advantage of such subsidies 

17 and assistance. 

18 (B) The average number of days be19 tween— 

20 (i) the date on which an application 

21 for a subsidy or other financial assistance 

22 for child care or school age care is sub23 mitted by a qualified family; and 


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1 (ii) upon approval of an application, 

2 the date on which such subsidy or assist3 ance is received by the qualified family. 

4 (C) Recommendations for streamlining the 

5 payment of such subsidies and financial assist6 ance. 

7 (D) The amount of funding allocated to 

8 such subsidies and financial assistance. 

9 (E) The remaining costs for child care or 

10 school age care to qualified families that are 

11 not covered by the Coast Guard. 

12 (F) A description of barriers to access to 

13 such subsidies and financial assistance. 

14 (G) The number of qualified families that 

15 do not receive any such subsidies or financial 

16 assistance. 

17 (H) An assessment whether there is a need 

18 for increased subsidies and financial assistance 

19 for child care or school age care for qualified 

20 families in areas with high costs of living. 

21 (2) REGULATION OF CHILD CARE SERVICES.— 

22 (A) An assessment of— 

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1 riculum requirements, and allowable care 

2 hours); and 

3 (ii) the effect that differences in such 

4 regulations may have on access to child 

5 care for qualified families. 

6 (B) An assessment of— 

7 (i) the regulations of the Coast Guard 

8 and the Department of Defense with re9 spect to child development centers and 

10 other child care providers (including school 

11 age care providers), and a comparison of 

12 such regulations with similar State regula13 tions; and 

14 (ii) the effect that such regulations 

15 may have on access to child care and 

16 school age care for qualified families. 

17 (C) The number of qualified families, and 

18 children, that do not have access to a Coast 

19 Guard child development center for child care. 

20 (3) PARITY WITH DEPARTMENT OF DE21 FENSE.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The differences be23 tween child care and school age care services of24 fered by the Coast Guard and child care and 

25 school age care authorities of the Coast Guard 


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1 and the Department of Defense relating to the 

2 following: 

3 (i) Authorized uses of appropriated 

4 funds for child care and school age care 

5 services. 

6 (ii) Access to, and total capacity of, 

7 Coast Guard child development centers and 

8 Department of Defense child development 

9 centers. 

10 (iii) Child care and school age care 

11 programs or policy. 

12 (iv) Coast Guard and Department of 

13 Defense programs to provide additional as14 sistance to members and civilian employees 

15 with respect to child care and school age 

16 care options. 

17 (v) Respite care programs. 

18 (vi) Nonappropriated funds. 

19 (vii) Coast Guard and Department of 

20 Defense support of certified Family Child 

21 Care centers. 

22 (viii) Coast Guard and Department of 

23 Defense publicly available online resources 

24 for families seeking military child care and 

25 school age care. 


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1 (4) FEASIBILITY.—An analysis of the feasibility 

2 of the Commandant entering into agreements with 

3 private child care and school age care service pro4 viders to provide child care and school age care for 

5 qualified families. 

6 (5) AVAILABILITY.—An analysis of the avail7 ability of child care and school age care for qualified 

8 families, including accessibility after normal work 

9 hours, proximity, and total capacity. 

10 (6) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Recommendations— 

11 (A) to improve access to child care and 

12 school age care for qualified families; 

13 (B) to ensure parity between the Coast 

14 Guard and the Department of Defense with re15 spect to child care and school age care; 

16 (C) to expand access to child care and 

17 school age care for all qualified families, includ18 ing qualified families that have a child with spe19 cial needs; and 

20 (D) to ensure that regional child care and 

21 child development center needs at the unit, sec22 tor, or district level are identified, assessed, and 

23 reasonably evaluated by the Commandant for 

24 future infrastructure needs. 


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1 (7) OTHER MATTERS.—A description or anal2 ysis of any other matter the Comptroller General 

3 considers relevant to the improvement of expanded 

4 access to child care and school age care for qualified 

5 families. 

6 SEC. 242. REVIEW OF FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES WEBSITE 

7 AND ONLINE TRACKING SYSTEM. 

8 (a) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant shall 

10 enter into a memorandum of understanding with the 

11 Secretary of Defense to enable qualified families to 

12 access the website at https://militarychildcare.com 

13 (or a successor website) for purposes of Coast Guard 

14 family access to information with respect to State15 accredited child development centers and other child 

16 care support services as such services become avail17 able from the Department of Defense through such 

18 website. The memorandum shall provide for the ex19 pansion of the geographical areas covered by such 

20 website, including regions in which qualified families 

21 live that are not yet covered by the program. 

22 (2) INCLUSION OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT CEN23 TERS ACCESSIBLE UNDER PILOT PROGRAM.—The in24 formation accessible pursuant to the memorandum 

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1 clude information with respect to any child develop2 ment center accessible pursuant to the pilot program 

3 under section 244. 

4 (3) ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION, PAYMENT, 

5 AND TRACKING SYSTEM.—Not later than one year 

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

7 Commandant shall develop and maintain an internet 

8 website of the Coast Guard accessible to qualified 

9 families to carry out the following activities: 

10 (A) Register children for a Coast Guard 

11 child development center. 

12 (B) Make online child care payments to a 

13 Coast Guard child development center. 

14 (C) Track the status of a child on the 

15 waitlist of a Coast Guard child development 

16 center, including the placement and position of 

17 the child on the waitlist. 

18 (b) WAITLIST.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant shall 

20 maintain a record of the waitlist for each Coast 

21 Guard child development center. 

22 (2) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—Each record 

23 under paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

24 (A) The total number of children of quali25 fied families on the waitlist. 


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1 (B) With respect to each child on the 

2 waitlist— 

3 (i) the age of the child; 

4 (ii) the number of days the child has 

5 been on the waitlist; 

6 (iii) the position of the child on the 

7 waitlist; 

8 (iv) any special needs consideration; 

9 and 

10 (v) information on whether a sibling 

11 of the child is on the waitlist of, or cur12 rently enrolled in, the Coast Guard child 

13 development center concerned. 

14 (3) REQUIREMENT TO ARCHIVE.—Information 

15 placed in the record of a Coast Guard child develop16 ment center under paragraph (1) shall be archived 

17 for a period of not less than 10 years after the date 

18 of its placement in the record. 

19 SEC. 243. STUDY AND SURVEY ON COAST GUARD CHILD 

20 CARE NEEDS. 

21 (a) STUDY.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and for 

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1 mandant shall conduct a study on the child care 

2 needs of qualified families that incorporates— 

3 (A) the results of the survey under sub4 section (b); and 

5 (B) any other information the Com6 mandant considers appropriate to ensure ade7 quate tracking and future needs-based assess8 ments with respect to adequate access to Coast 

9 Guard child development centers. 

10 (2) CONSULTATION.—In conducting a study 

11 under paragraph (1), the Commandant may consult 

12 a federally funded research and development center. 

13 (3) SCOPE OF DATA.—The data obtained 

14 through each study under paragraph (1) shall be ob15 tained on a regional basis, including by Coast Guard 

16 unit, sector, and district. 

17 (b) SURVEY.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Together with each study 

19 under subsection (a), and annually as the Com20 mandant considers appropriate, the Commandant 

21 shall carry out a survey of individuals described in 

22 paragraph (2) on access to Coast Guard child devel23 opment centers. 

24 (2) PARTICIPANTS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant shall 

2 seek the participation in the survey of the fol3 lowing Coast Guard individuals: 

4 (i) Commanding officers, regardless of 

5 whether the commanding officers have chil6 dren. 

7 (ii) Regular and reserve personnel. 

8 (iii) Spouses of individuals described 

9 in clauses (i) and (ii). 

10 (B) SCOPE OF PARTICIPATION.—Individ11 uals described in clauses (i) through (iii) of sub12 paragraph (A) shall be surveyed regardless of 

13 whether such individuals use or have access to 

14 Coast Guard child development centers or other 

15 Federal child care facilities. 

16 (C) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.—Partici17 pation of any individual described in subpara18 graph (A) in a survey shall be on a voluntary 

19 basis. 

20 (c) AVAILABILITY.—On request, the Commandant 

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

22 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

23 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep24 resentatives the results of a study or survey under this 

25 section. 


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1 SEC. 244. PILOT PROGRAM TO EXPAND ACCESS TO CHILD 

2 CARE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Commencing not later than 60 

4 days after the date on which the report under section 241 

5 is submitted, the Commandant shall carry out a pilot pro6 gram, based on the recommendations provided in such re7 port, to expand access to public or private child develop8 ment centers for qualified families. 

9 (b) DURATION.—The duration of the pilot program 

10 under subsection (a) shall be not more than three years 

11 beginning on the date on which the pilot program is estab12 lished. 

13 (c) DISCHARGE ON REGIONAL BASIS.—The Com14 mandant— 

15 (1) may carry out the pilot program on a re16 gional basis; and 

17 (2) shall include in the pilot program remote 

18 and urban locations. 

19 (d) RESERVATION OF CHILD CARE SLOTS.—As part 

20 of the pilot program, the Commandant shall seek to enter 

21 into one or more memoranda of understanding with one 

22 or more child development centers to reserve slots for 

23 qualified families in locations in which— 

24 (1) the Coast Guard lacks a Coast Guard child 

25 development center; or 


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1 (2) the waitlists for the nearest Coast Guard 

2 child development center or Department of Defense 

3 child development center, where applicable, indicate 

4 that qualified families may not be accommodated. 

5 (e) ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF RESULTS.—As part of 

6 any study conducted pursuant to section 243(a) after the 

7 end of the one-year period beginning with the commence8 ment of the pilot program, the Commandant shall also un9 dertake a current assessment of the impact of the pilot 

10 program on access to child development centers for quali11 fied families. The Commandant shall include the results 

12 of any such assessment in the results of the most current 

13 study or survey submitted pursuant to section 243(b). 

14 SEC. 245. IMPROVEMENTS TO COAST GUARD-OWNED FAM15 ILY HOUSING. 

16 The Commandant may use amounts authorized for 

17 operations and support to conduct improvements on Coast 

18 Guard-owned housing— 

19 (1) to improve or address a housing unit defi20 ciency found during a family child care provider, 

21 health, fire and safety, or other home inspection; 

22 (2) to ensure a housing unit is maintained at 

23 the standard necessary to meet health, fire and safe24 ty, or other home inspection requirements so as to 


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1 enable the establishment of a Coast Guard family 

2 child care center in the housing unit; and 

3 (3) to the maximum extent practicable, the 

4 Commandant shall ensure that, in a location in 

5 which Coast Guard family child care centers are nec6 essary to meet the demand for child care for quali7 fied families, not fewer than two housing units are 

8 maintained in accordance with safety inspection 

9 standards so as to accommodate family child care 

10 providers. 

11 SEC. 246. BRIEFING ON TRANSFER OF FAMILY CHILD CARE 

12 PROVIDER QUALIFICATIONS AND CERTIFI13 CATIONS. 

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

15 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commandant shall 

16 brief the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor17 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation 

18 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives on the 

19 feasibility of developing a policy to allow the transfer of 

20 a Coast Guard-mandated family child care provider quali21 fication or certification between Coast Guard-owned hous22 ing units if, as determined by the Commandant— 

23 (1) the qualification or certification is not ex24 pired; 


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1 (2) the transfer of the qualification or certifi2 cation would not pose a danger to any child in the 

3 care of the family child care provider; and 

4 (3) the transfer would expedite the ability of 

5 the family child care provider to establish, admin6 ister, and provide family home daycare in a Coast 

7 Guard-owned housing unit. 

8 (b) BRIEFING ELEMENT.—The briefing required by 

9 subsection (a) shall include analysis of options for trans10 ferring a Coast Guard-mandated family child care pro11 vider qualification or certification as described in that sub12 section, and of any legal challenges associated with such 

13 transfer. 

14 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The policy under sub15 section (a) shall not be construed to supersede any other 

16 applicable Federal, State, or local law (including regula17 tions) relating to the provision of child care services. 

18 SEC. 247. EMPLOYEES OF COAST GUARD CHILD DEVELOP19 MENT CENTERS. 

20 (a) TRAINING AND CURRICULUM SPECIALIST.—The 

21 Commandant shall require that at least one employee at 

22 each Coast Guard child development center is a specialist 

23 in training and curriculum development. The Com24 mandant shall ensure that such employees have appro25 priate credentials and experience. 


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1 (b) DUTIES.—An employee described in subsection 

2 (a) shall— 

3 (1) carry out special teaching activities at the 

4 Coast Guard child development center concerned; 

5 (2) provide— 

6 (A) daily oversight and instruction of other 

7 child care employees at such Coast Guard child 

8 development center; 

9 (B) daily assistance in the preparation of 

10 lesson plans for such Coast Guard child devel11 opment center; and 

12 (C) assistance in the child abuse preven13 tion and detection program of such Coast 

14 Guard child development center; and 

15 (3) advise the director of such Coast Guard 

16 child development center on the performance of 

17 other child care employees at such center. 

18 (c) EMPLOYEE STATUS.—Each employee referred to 

19 in subsection (a) shall be an employee of the Coast Guard 

20 in a competitive service position. 

21 SEC. 248. INSPECTIONS OF COAST GUARD CHILD DEVELOP22 MENT CENTERS AND FAMILY CHILD CARE 

23 PROVIDERS. 

24 (a) CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTERS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less than twice annu2 ally, the Commandant shall ensure that each Coast 

3 Guard child development center is subject to an un4 announced inspection. 

5 (2) RESPONSIBILITY FOR INSPECTIONS.—Of 

6 the annual inspections under paragraph (1)— 

7 (A) one shall be carried out by a represent8 ative of the Coast Guard installation served by 

9 the Coast Guard child development center con10 cerned; and 

11 (B) one shall be carried out by a rep12 resentative of the Coast Guard Child Develop13 ment Services Work Life Programs. 

14 (b) FAMILY CHILD CARE PROVIDERS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than 

16 quarterly, the Commandant shall ensure that each 

17 family child care provider is subject to inspection. 

18 (2) RESPONSIBILITY FOR INSPECTIONS.—Of 

19 the quarterly inspections under paragraph (1) each 

20 year— 

21 (A) three inspections shall be carried out 

22 by a representative of the Coast Guard installa23 tion served by the family child care provider 

24 concerned; and 


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1 (B) one inspection shall be carried out by 

2 a representative of the Coast Guard Child De3 velopment Services Work Life Programs. 

4 SEC. 249. EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR FAMILY CHILD 

5 CARE. 

6 The Commandant shall allow family child care pro7 grams to occur at off-base housing, including off-base 

8 Coast Guard-owned or subsidized housing. The Com9 mandant shall establish a procedure to ensure that all re10 quirements with respect to such family child care pro11 grams are met, including home inspections. 

12 SEC. 250. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this subtitle: 

14 (1) COAST GUARD CHILD DEVELOPMENT CEN15 TER.—The term ‘‘Coast Guard child development 

16 center’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

17 2921(3) of title 14, United States Code. 

18 (2) COAST GUARD FAMILY CHILD CARE CEN19 TER.—The term ‘‘Coast Guard family child care 

20 center’’ means a location at which family home 

21 daycare is provided. 

22 (3) FAMILY CHILD CARE PROVIDER.—The term 

23 ‘‘family child care provider’’ means an individual 

24 who provides family home daycare. 


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1 (4) FAMILY HOME DAYCARE.—The term ‘‘fam2 ily home daycare’’ has the meaning given that term 

3 in section 2921(5) of title 14, United States Code. 

4 (5) QUALIFIED FAMILY.—The term ‘‘qualified 

5 family’’ means any regular, reserve, or retired mem6 ber of the Coast Guard, and any civilian employee 

7 of the Coast Guard, with one or more dependents. 

8 Subtitle D—Reports 

9 SEC. 261. MODIFICATIONS OF CERTAIN REPORTING RE10 QUIREMENTS. 

11 (a) USE OF CERTAIN APPROPRIATED FUNDS.—Sec12 tion 903 of title 14, United States Code, is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘reporting’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘briefing’’; and 

15 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

16 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

17 ‘‘REPORT’’ and inserting ‘‘BRIEFING’’; and 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘report’’ each place it ap19 pears and inserting ‘‘brief’’. 

20 (b) ESPECIALLY HAZARDOUS CARGO.—Subsection 

21 (e) of section 70103 of title 46, United States Code, is 

22 amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(e) ESPECIALLY HAZARDOUS CARGO.— 

24 ‘‘(1) ENFORCEMENT OF SECURITY ZONES.— 

25 Consistent with other provisions of Federal law, the 


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1 Coast Guard shall coordinate and be responsible for 

2 the enforcement of any Federal security zone estab3 lished by the Coast Guard around a vessel con4 taining especially hazardous cargo. The Coast Guard 

5 shall allocate available resources so as to deter and 

6 respond to a transportation security incident, to the 

7 maximum extent practicable, and to protect lives or 

8 protect property in danger. 

9 ‘‘(2) ESPECIALLY HAZARDOUS CARGO DE10 FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘especially haz11 ardous cargo’ means anhydrous ammonia, ammo12 nium nitrate, chlorine, liquefied natural gas, lique13 fied petroleum gas, and any other substance, mate14 rial, or group or class of material, in a particular 

15 amount and form that the Secretary determines by 

16 regulation poses a significant risk of creating a 

17 transportation security incident while being trans18 ported in maritime commerce.’’. 

19 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH SECURITY STANDARDS.— 

20 Section 809 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transpor21 tation Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–293; 46 U.S.C. 

22 70101 note) is amended by striking subsections (g) and 

23 (i). 

24 (d) MARINE SAFETY LONG-TERM STRATEGY.—Sec25 tion 2116 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘The strategy 

2 shall include the issuance of a triennial plan’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘The 5-year strategy shall include the 

4 issuance of a plan’’; 

5 (2) in subsection (b)— 

6 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

7 ‘‘CONTENTS OF STRATEGY AND TRIENNIAL

8 PLANS’’ and inserting ‘‘5-YEAR STRATEGY AND

9 PLAN’’; 

10 (B) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre11 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘strategy 

12 and triennial plans’’ and inserting ‘‘5-year 

13 strategy and plan’’; and 

14 (C) in paragraph (2)— 

15 (i) in the matter preceding subpara16 graph (A), by striking ‘‘strategy and tri17 ennial plans’’ and inserting ‘‘5-year strat18 egy and plan’’; and 

19 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

20 ‘‘plans’’ and inserting ‘‘plan’’; 

21 (3) in subsection (c)— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and in23 serting ‘‘Not later than 5 years after the date 

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1 tion Act of 2019, and every 5 years thereafter, 

2 the Secretary’’; and 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘triennial’’; and 

4 (4) in subsection (d)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘No less 

6 frequently than semiannually’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘In conjunction with the submission of the 5- 

8 year strategy and plan’’; and 

9 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

10 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik11 ing ‘‘REPORT TO CONGRESS’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘PERIODIC BRIEFINGS’’; 

13 (ii) in the matter preceding subpara14 graph (A), by striking ‘‘report triennially’’ 

15 and all that follows through ‘‘the Senate’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘periodically brief the Com17 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Trans18 portation of the Senate and the Committee 

19 on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

20 the House of Representatives’’; 

21 (iii) in subparagraph (A)— 

22 (I) by striking ‘‘annual’’; and 

23 (II) by striking ‘‘for the year cov24 ered by the report’’ and inserting ‘‘for 


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1 the period covered by the briefing’’; 

2 and 

3 (iv) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by strik4 ing ‘‘plans’’ and inserting ‘‘plan’’. 

5 (e) ABANDONED SEAFARERS FUND.—Section 

6 11113(a) of title 46, United States Code, is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘On the date’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (5), 

9 on the date’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘(5) NO REPORT REQUIRED.—A report under 

12 paragraph (4) shall not be required if there were no 

13 expenditures from the Fund in the preceding fiscal 

14 year. The Commandant shall notify Congress in the 

15 event a report is not required under paragraph (4) 

16 by reason of this paragraph.’’. 

17 (f) MAJOR ACQUISITION PROGRAM RISK ASSESS18 MENT.—Section 5107 of title 14, United States Code, is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘April 15 and 

21 October 15’’ and inserting ‘‘October 15’’; and 

22 (2) in subsection (b)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘the 2 

24 fiscal-year quarters preceding such assessment’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘the previous fiscal year’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘such 2 

2 fiscal-year quarters’’ and inserting ‘‘such fiscal 

3 year’’; 

4 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘such 2 

5 fiscal-year quarters’’ and inserting ‘‘such fiscal 

6 year’’; and 

7 (D) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘such 2 

8 fiscal-year quarters’’ and inserting ‘‘such fiscal 

9 year’’. 

10 SEC. 262. REPORT ON CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commandant shall 

13 submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

14 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

15 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep16 resentatives a report on how the Coast Guard plans to 

17 establish a workforce with the cybersecurity expertise to 

18 provide prevention assessments and response capacity to 

19 Operational Technology (OT) and Industrial Control Sys20 tems (ICS) in national port and maritime environments. 

21 (b) CONTENTS.—The report under subsection (a) 

22 shall include the following: 

23 (1) A description of the number and skills of 

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1 ating capacity of the workforce described in sub2 section (a). 

3 (2) A description of the career development 

4 path for officers and enlisted members participating 

5 in the workforce. 

6 (3) A determination of how the workforce will 

7 fulfill the cybersecurity needs of the Area Maritime 

8 Security Council and United States port environ9 ments. 

10 (4) A determination of how the workforce will 

11 integrate with the Hunt and Incident Response 

12 (HIRT) and Assessment Teams of the Cyber and 

13 Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) of the De14 partment of Homeland Security. 

15 (5) An assessment of successful models used by 

16 other Armed Forces, including National Guard, to 

17 recruit, maintain and utilize a cyber workforce in18 cluding the use of Reserve personnel for that pur19 pose. 

20 SEC. 263. REPORT ON NAVIGATION AND BRIDGE RESOURCE 

21 MANAGEMENT. 

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

23 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commandant shall 

24 submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

25 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 


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1 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep2 resentatives a report on the training and qualification 

3 processes of the Coast Guard for deck watch officers, with 

4 a specific focus on basic navigation, bridge resource man5 agement, crew rest, and qualification processes. 

6 (b) CONTENTS.—The report under subsection (a) 

7 shall include the following: 

8 (1) Recommendations for improving pipeline 

9 training, if necessary, and an assessment how com10 mercial industry best practices on pipeline training 

11 can be incorporated into military at sea 

12 watchkeeping. 

13 (2) A detailed description of the deck watch of14 ficer assessment process of the Coast Guard. 

15 (3) A list of programs that have been approved 

16 for credit toward merchant mariner credentials. 

17 (4) A complete analysis of the gap between the 

18 existing curriculum for deck watch officer training 

19 and the Standards of Training, Certification, and 

20 Watchkeeping (STCW) for officer in charge of a 

21 navigational watch at the operational level, Chief 

22 level, and Master level. 

23 (5) A complete analysis of the gap between the 

24 existing training curriculum for deck watch officers 


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1 and the licensing requirement for 3rd mate unlim2 ited, Chief, and Master. 

3 (6) An assessment of deck watch officer options 

4 to complete the 3rd mate unlimited license and the 

5 qualification under the Standards of Training, Cer6 tification, and Watchkeeping for officer in charge of 

7 a navigational watch. 

8 (7) An assessment of senior deck watch officer 

9 options to complete the Chief Mate and Master un10 limited license and the qualification under the 

11 Standards of Training, Certification, and 

12 Watchkeeping for Chief Mate and Master. 

13 SEC. 264. REPORT ON THE ARCTIC CAPABILITIES OF THE 

14 ARMED FORCES. 

15 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

17 of Homeland Security, with the concurrence of the Sec18 retary of Defense, shall submit to the appropriate commit19 tees of Congress a report on the Arctic capabilities of the 

20 Armed Forces. 

21 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 

22 (a) shall include the following: 

23 (1) A comparison of the capabilities of the 

24 United States, the Russian Federation, the People’s 

25 Republic of China, and other countries operating in 


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1 the Arctic, including an assessment of the ability of 

2 the navy of each such country to operate in varying 

3 sea-ice conditions. 

4 (2) A description of commercial and foreign 

5 military surface forces currently operating in the 

6 Arctic in conditions inaccessible to Navy surface 

7 forces. 

8 (3) An assessment of the potential security risk 

9 posed to Coast Guard forces by military forces of 

10 other countries operating in the Arctic in conditions 

11 inaccessible to Navy surface or aviation forces in the 

12 manner such forces currently operate. 

13 (4) A comparison of the domain awareness ca14 pabilities of— 

15 (A) Coast Guard forces operating alone; 

16 and 

17 (B) Coast Guard forces operating in tan18 dem with Navy surface and aviation forces and 

19 the surface and aviation forces of other allies. 

20 (5) A comparison of the defensive capabilities 

21 of— 

22 (A) Coast Guard forces operating alone; 

23 and 


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1 (B) Coast Guard forces operating in mu2 tual defense with Navy forces, other Armed 

3 Forces, and the military forces of allies. 

4 (c) FORM.—The report required under subsection (a) 

5 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain 

6 a classified annex. 

7 (d) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE8 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate commit9 tees of Congress’’ means— 

10 (1) the Committee on Armed Services, the 

11 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor12 tation, and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

13 Senate; and 

14 (2) the Committee on Armed Services, the 

15 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 

16 and the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

17 of Representatives. 

18 SEC. 265. REPORT ON ARCTIC SEARCH AND RESCUE. 

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

20 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commandant shall 

21 submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

22 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

23 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep24 resentatives a report on the search and rescue capabilities 

25 of the Coast Guard in Arctic coastal communities. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS.—The report under subsection (a) 

2 shall include the following: 

3 (1) An identification of ways in which the Coast 

4 Guard can more effectively partner with Arctic 

5 coastal communities to respond to search and rescue 

6 incidents through training, funding, and deployment 

7 of assets. 

8 (2) An analysis of the costs of forward deploy9 ing on a seasonal basis Coast Guard assets in sup10 port of such communities for responses to such inci11 dents. 

12 SEC. 266. REPORT ON HELICOPTER LIFE CYCLE SUPPORT 

13 AND RECAPITALIZATION. 

14 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find15 ings: 

16 (1) The acquisition strategy of the Coast Guard 

17 to recapitalize its fleet of MH–65 helicopters for 

18 land-based and sea-based operations is critical to 

19 maintaining the various missions of the Coast 

20 Guard. 

21 (2) As of July 2019, the Commandant intends 

22 to leverage the Department of Defense future 

23 vertical lift acquisition program in the mid-2030s to 

24 replace the legacy fleet of the Coast Guard, and in 

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1 gram of the MH–65D fleet to an upgraded ‘‘Echo’’ 

2 capability. 

3 (3) The current MH–65 sustainment plan may 

4 be under resourced and insufficient to accommodate 

5 the additional hours required to meet operational de6 mands until recapitalization. 

7 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

8 of the enactment of this Act, the Commandant shall sub9 mit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans10 portation of the Senate and the Committee on Transpor11 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

12 a report that— 

13 (1) includes an updated fleet life-cycle analysis 

14 and service life extension plan that includes dynamic 

15 components, and which clearly demonstrates the 

16 mission viability of the MH–65 through anticipated 

17 fleet recapitalization; 

18 (2) includes a realistic sustainment budget nec19 essary to achieve the operational availability rates 

20 necessary to meet MH–65 mission requirements 

21 through fleet recapitalization; 

22 (3) includes an update on the status of the 

23 Coast Guard MH–65 helicopter recapitalization; and 

24 (4) includes a description of any alternative, 

25 available, and cost-effective Government and civil 


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1 systems, or updates, that the Coast Guard is consid2 ering for MH–65 operational missions, including 

3 Coast Guard cutter deployability requirements, in 

4 the event of delays to the future vertical lift program 

5 of the Coast Guard. 

6 SEC. 267. REPORT ON RESPONSE TO RACIAL DISCRIMINA7 TION AT THE COAST GUARD ACADEMY. 

8 Not later than 180 days after the release of the In9 spector General of the Department of Homeland Security 

10 report titled ‘‘Allegations of Racial Discrimination and In11 adequate Action at the United States Coast Guard Acad12 emy’’, the Commandant shall submit to Congress a report 

13 on the implementation of the recommendations made by 

14 the Inspector General. The report of the Commandant 

15 shall include a timeline, accountability measures, and 

16 metrics for evaluation of the comprehensive implementa17 tion of the recommendations in the report of the Inspector 

18 General, and of such other measures in connection with 

19 such recommendations as have been specified by the Sec20 retary of Homeland Security. 


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1 SEC. 268. REPORT ON COAST GUARD RESPONSE CAPABILI2 TIES FOR CYBER INCIDENTS ON VESSELS EN3 TERING PORTS OR WATERS OF THE UNITED 

4 STATES. 

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

6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commandant shall 

7 submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

8 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

9 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep10 resentatives a report on the response capabilities of the 

11 Coast Guard with respect to cyber incidents on vessels en12 tering ports or waters of the United States. 

13 (b) REVIEW.—The report under subsection (a) shall 

14 include a review of each of the following: 

15 (1) The number and type of commercial vessels 

16 of the United States subject to regulations under 

17 part 104 of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

18 any corresponding similar regulation or ruling). 

19 (2) Policies and guidance issued by the Com20 mandant, in accordance with guidelines on cyber risk 

21 management of the International Maritime Organi22 zation, to vessels of the United States. 

23 (3) Measures to be taken by owners or opera24 tors of commercial vessels of the United States to 

25 increase cybersecurity posture on such vessels. 


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1 (4) Responses of the Commandant to cyber in2 cidents on vessels described in paragraph (1) prior 

3 to the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 (5) Response protocols followed by personnel of 

5 the Coast Guard to a cyber incident on any vessel 

6 described in paragraph (1) experienced while that 

7 vessel is traveling to ports or waters of the United 

8 States. 

9 (6) Oversight by the Commandant of— 

10 (A) vessel-to-facility interface, as defined 

11 in section 101.105 of title 33, Code of Federal 

12 Regulations (or any corresponding similar regu13 lation or ruling); and 

14 (B) actions taken by the Coast Guard in 

15 coordination with vessel and facility owners and 

16 operators to protect commercial vessels and 

17 port facility infrastructure from cyber attacks 

18 and proliferation. 

19 (7) Requirements of the Commandant for the 

20 reporting of cyber incidents that occur on the vessels 

21 described in paragraph (1). 

22 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS AND APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 The Commandant shall include in the report under sub24 section (a)— 

25 (1) recommendations— 


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1 (A) to improve cyber incident response; 

2 and 

3 (B) for policies to address gaps identified 

4 by the review under subsection (b); and 

5 (2) a description of authorities and appropria6 tions necessary to improve the preparedness of the 

7 Coast Guard for cyber incidents on vessels entering 

8 ports or waters of the United States and the ability 

9 of the Coast Guard to prevent and respond to such 

10 incidents. 

11 (d) FORM.—The report required under subsection (a) 

12 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain 

13 a classified annex. 

14 (e) VESSEL OF THE UNITED STATES DEFINED.—In 

15 this section, the term ‘‘vessel of the United States’’ has 

16 the meaning given such term in section 116 of title 46, 

17 United States Code. 

18 SEC. 269. STUDY AND REPORT ON COAST GUARD INTERDIC19 TION OF ILLICIT DRUGS IN THE TRANSIT 

20 ZONES. 

21 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find22 ings: 

23 (1) The Coast Guard seizes an average of 1,221 

24 pounds of cocaine and 85 pounds of marijuana each 

25 day in the transit zones of the Eastern Pacific 


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1 Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Southern maritime bor2 der approaches. 

3 (2) The Joint Interagency Task Force–South 

4 (JIATF–South) estimates that it has a spectrum of 

5 actionable intelligence on more than 80 percent of 

6 drug movements into the United States from Central 

7 America and South America. 

8 (3) The Coast Guard must balance asset alloca9 tion across 11 statutory missions. As such, the 

10 Coast Guard interdicts less than 10 percent of mari11 time noncommercial smuggling of illicit drugs into 

12 the United States from Central America and South 

13 America. 

14 (4) In 2017, the Government Accountability Of15 fice recommended that the Commandant of the 

16 Coast Guard— 

17 (A) develop new performance goals relating 

18 to the interdiction of illicit drugs smuggled into 

19 the United States, or describe the manner in 

20 which existing goals are sufficient; 

21 (B) report such goals to the public; 

22 (C) assess the extent to which limitations 

23 in performance data with respect to such goals 

24 are documented; 


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1 (D) document measurable corrective ac2 tions and implementation timeframes with re3 spect to such goals; and 

4 (E) document efforts to monitor implemen5 tation of such corrective actions. 

6 (b) STUDY.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 

7 coordination with the Secretary of Defense and the heads 

8 of other relevant Federal agencies, shall conduct a study 

9 in order to identify gaps in resources that contribute to 

10 low interdiction rates for maritime noncommercial smug11 gling of illicit drugs into the United States from Central 

12 America and South America despite having actionable in13 telligence on more than 80 percent of drug movements in 

14 the transit zones of the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Caribbean 

15 Sea, and Southern maritime border approaches. 

16 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

17 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 

18 Security shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

19 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com20 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

21 of Representatives a report on the results of the study 

22 under subsection (b). 

23 (d) FORM.—The report required under subsection (a) 

24 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain 

25 a classified annex. 


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1 SEC. 270. REPORT ON EFFECTS OF EXTREME WEATHER 

2 AND RELATED EVENTS ON THE COAST 

3 GUARD. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commandant shall 

6 submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

7 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

8 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep9 resentatives a report on vulnerabilities of installations of 

10 the Coast Guard resulting from the current and potential 

11 effects of rising temperatures, rising sea levels, increased 

12 flooding, drought, desertification, wildfires, thawing per13 mafrost, changing ice conditions, and other extreme 

14 weather events, and on requirements for mitigating the 

15 effects of such events on the Coast Guard, over the 20- 

16 year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 

17 Act. 

18 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 

19 (a) shall include the following: 

20 (1) A list of the ten most vulnerable installa21 tions of the Coast Guard based on the current and 

22 potential effects of rising temperatures, rising sea 

23 levels, increased flooding, drought, desertification, 

24 wildfires, thawing permafrost, changing ice condi25 tions, other extreme weather events, and any other 

26 effects the Commandant considers necessary. 


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1 (2) An overview of mitigations that may be nec2 essary to ensure the continued operational viability 

3 and to increase the resiliency of the installations list4 ed under paragraph (1) and the cost of such mitiga5 tions. 

6 (3) A discussion of the current and potential ef7 fects of rising temperatures, rising sea levels, in8 creased flooding, drought, desertification, wildfires, 

9 thawing permafrost, changing ice conditions, and 

10 other extreme weather events on the Coast Guard, 

11 including— 

12 (A) the increase in the frequency of hu13 manitarian assistance and disaster relief mis14 sions; and 

15 (B) the campaign plans, contingency plans, 

16 and operational posture of the Coast Guard. 

17 (4) An overview of mitigations that may be nec18 essary to ensure mission resiliency and the cost of 

19 such mitigations. 

20 (c) FORM.—The report required by subsection (a) 

21 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include 

22 a classified annex. 


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1 SEC. 271. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED 

2 STATES REPORT ON CERTIFICATE OF COM3 PLIANCE INSPECTION PROGRAM WITH RE4 SPECT TO VESSELS THAT CARRY BULK 

5 LIQUIFIED GASES AS CARGO AND LIQUEFIED 

6 NATURAL GAS TANK VESSELS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

8 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

9 of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 

10 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

11 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

12 the House of Representatives a report on the resources, 

13 regulations, policies, protocols, and other actions designed 

14 to carry out the Coast Guard Certificate of Compliance 

15 program with respect to liquefied natural gas tank vessels 

16 (including examinations under section 153.808 of title 46, 

17 Code of Federal Regulations) and vessels that carry bulk 

18 liquified gases as cargo (including examinations under sec19 tion 154 of title 46, Code of Federal Regulations) for pur20 poses of maintaining the efficiency of examinations under 

21 that program. 

22 (b) CONTENTS.—The report under subsection (a) 

23 shall include the following: 

24 (1) An assessment of the adequacy of current 

25 Coast Guard resources, regulations, policies, and 

26 protocols to maintain vessel examination efficiency 


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1 while carrying out the program referred to in sub2 section (a) as United States bulk liquified gases 

3 cargo, liquefied natural gas exports, and associated 

4 vessel traffic at United States ports increase. 

5 (2) An evaluation of the constraints and chal6 lenges to maintaining examination efficiency under 

7 the program as United States bulk liquified gases 

8 cargo, liquefied natural gas exports, and associated 

9 vessel traffic at United States ports increase. 

10 (3) Recommendations for changes to resources, 

11 regulations, policies, and protocols to maintain the 

12 efficiency of the program, including analysis of the 

13 following alternatives: 

14 (A) Establishment of a Coast Guard ma15 rine examination unit near the Panama Canal 

16 to conduct inspections under the program on 

17 liquefied natural gas tank vessels bound for the 

18 United States, similar to Coast Guard oper19 ations carried out by Coast Guard Activities 

20 Europe and Coast Guard Activities Far East, 

21 including the effects of the establishment of 

22 such a unit on the domestic aspects of the pro23 gram. 

24 (B) Management of all marine examiners 

25 with gas carrier qualification within each Coast 


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1 Guard District by a single Officer in Charge, 

2 Marine Inspection (as defined in section 50.10– 

3 10 of title 46, Code of Federal Regulations) to 

4 improve the efficiency of their vessel examina5 tion assignments. 

6 (C) Extension of the duration of assign7 ment of marine examiners with a gas carrier 

8 qualification at Coast Guard units that most 

9 frequently inspect vessels that carry bulk 

10 liquified gases as cargo and liquefied natural 

11 gas tank vessels. 

12 (D) Increase in the use of civilians to con13 duct and support examinations under the pro14 gram. 

15 (E) Extension of the duration of certifi16 cates of compliance under the program for ves17 sels that carry bulk liquified gases as cargo and 

18 liquefied natural gas tank vessels that are less 

19 than 10 years of age and participate in a Coast 

20 Guard vessel quality program. 


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1 SEC. 272. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED 

2 STATES REVIEW AND REPORT ON THE COAST 

3 GUARD’S INTERNATIONAL PORT SECURITY 

4 PROGRAM. 

5 (a) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

7 of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 

8 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

9 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

10 the House of Representatives a report setting for the re11 sults of a comprehensive review, conducted by the Comp12 troller General for purposes of the report, on the Coast 

13 Guard’s International Port Security Program, including 

14 the findings, and any recommendations for improvement 

15 of the program, of the Comptroller General. 

16 (b) REQUIRED ELEMENTS OF REVIEW.—The review 

17 required under subsection (a) shall include— 

18 (1) review of the actions of the Coast Guard 

19 under the Coast Guard’s International Port Security 

20 Program, since 2014, to enhance foreign port in21 spections; 

22 (2) review of the actions of the Coast Guard to 

23 recognize and monitor port inspection programs of 

24 foreign governments; 


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1 (3) identification and review of the actions the 

2 Coast Guard takes to address any deficiencies it ob3 serves during visits with foreign ports; 

4 (4) identify and review the benchmarks of the 

5 Coast Guard for measuring the effectiveness of the 

6 program; and 

7 (5) review of the extent to which the Coast 

8 Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection co9 ordinate efforts to secure cargo at foreign ports. 

10 SEC. 273. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED 

11 STATES REVIEW AND REPORT ON THE SURGE 

12 CAPACITY OF THE COAST GUARD. 

13 (a) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

15 of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 

16 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

17 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

18 the House of Representatives a report setting for the re19 sults of a comprehensive review, conducted by the Comp20 troller General for purposes of the report, on the surge 

21 capacity of the Coast Guard to respond to a catastrophic 

22 incident (such as a hurricane), including the findings, and 

23 any recommendations for improvement, of the Comptroller 

24 General. 


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1 (b) REQUIRED ELEMENTS OF REVIEW.—The review 

2 required under subsection (a) shall include— 

3 (1) a description and review of each Coast 

4 Guard deployment in response to a catastrophic inci5 dent after 2005; 

6 (2) identification of best practices informed by 

7 the deployments described in paragraph (1); 

8 (3) a review of the ability of the surge force of 

9 the Coast Guard to meet the demands of the re10 sponse roles in which it was serving during each de11 ployment described in paragraph (1); 

12 (4) identification of any impediments, such as 

13 adaptability, planning, training, mobilization, or in14 formation and resource integration, to the surge ca15 pacity of the Coast Guard in response to a cata16 strophic incident; 

17 (5) review of the impacts of a surge of the 

18 Coast Guard in response to a catastrophic incident 

19 on the capacity of the Coast Guard to perform its 

20 statutory missions; 

21 (6) review of the capability of the Coast Guard 

22 to surge in response to concurrent or subsequent 

23 catastrophic incidents; and 

24 (7) review and description of existing voluntary 

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1 sonnel and assets in support of U.S. Customs and 

2 Border Protection response to a national emergency 

3 (as defined in Presidential Proclamation 9844) on 

4 the surge capacity of the Coast Guard in the event 

5 of a catastrophic incident. 

6 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘cata7 strophic incident’’ and ‘‘surge capacity’’ have the meaning 

8 given such terms in section 602 of the Post-Katrina Emer9 gency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 701). 

10 SEC. 274. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED 

11 STATES REVIEW AND REPORT ON THE MA12 RINE INSPECTIONS PROGRAM OF THE COAST 

13 GUARD. 

14 (a) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

16 of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 

17 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

18 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

19 the House of Representatives a report setting forth the 

20 results of a comprehensive review, conducted by the Comp21 troller General for purposes of the report, on the marine 

22 inspections program of the Coast Guard, including the 

23 findings, and any recommendations for improvement of 

24 the program, of the Comptroller General. 


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1 (b) REQUIRED ELEMENTS OF REVIEW.—The review 

2 required under subsection (a) shall include— 

3 (1) analysis of the demand for marine inspec4 tors; 

5 (2) identification of the number of fully quali6 fied marine inspectors; 

7 (3) determination of whether the number of 

8 marine inspectors identified in paragraph (2) is suf9 ficient to meet the demand described in paragraph 

10 (1); 

11 (4) review of the enlisted marine inspector 

12 workforce compared to the civilian marine inspector 

13 workforce and whether there is any discernable dis14 tinction or impact between such workforces in the 

15 performance of the marine safety mission; 

16 (5) evaluation of the training continuum of ma17 rine inspectors; and 

18 (6) description and review of what actions, if 

19 any, the Coast Guard is taking to adapt to the cur20 rent rise in United States export of crude oil and 

21 other fuels, such as implementing a safety inspection 

22 regime for barges. 


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1 SEC. 275. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED 

2 STATES REVIEW AND REPORT ON THE INFOR3 MATION TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM OF THE 

4 COAST GUARD. 

5 (a) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

7 of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 

8 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

9 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

10 the House of Representatives a report setting forth the 

11 results of a comprehensive review, conducted by the Comp12 troller General for purposes of the report, on the informa13 tion technology program of the Coast Guard, including the 

14 findings, and any recommendations for improvement of 

15 the program, of the Comptroller General. 

16 (b) REQUIRED ELEMENTS OF REVIEW.—The review 

17 required under subsection (a) shall include— 

18 (1) analysis of how the Coast Guard manages 

19 its information technology program, including infor20 mation technology acquisitions, to meet its various 

21 mission needs and reporting requirements; 

22 (2) analysis of whether and, if so, how the 

23 Coast Guard— 

24 (A) identifies and satisfies any knowledge 

25 and skill requirements; and 


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1 (B) recruits, trains, and develops its infor2 mation technology personnel; and 

3 (3) analysis of whether and, if so, how the 

4 Coast Guard separates information technology from 

5 operational technology for cybersecurity purposes. 

6 SEC. 276. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED 

7 STATES STUDY AND REPORT ON ACCESS TO 

8 HEALTH CARE BY MEMBERS OF THE COAST 

9 GUARD AND DEPENDENTS. 

10 (a) STUDY.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

12 the United States shall conduct a study that exam13 ines access to, experience with, and needs under the 

14 TRICARE program of members of the Coast Guard 

15 and their dependents. 

16 (2) ELEMENTS.—The study conducted under 

17 paragraph (1) shall analyze the following: 

18 (A) The record of the TRICARE program 

19 in meeting the standards for care for primary 

20 and specialty care for members of the Coast 

21 Guard and dependents of those members, in22 cluding members stationed in remote units. 

23 (B) The accuracy and update periodicity of 

24 lists of providers under the TRICARE program 

25 in areas serving Coast Guard families. 


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1 (C) The wait times under the TRICARE 

2 program for appointments, specialty care, and 

3 referrals for members of the Coast Guard and 

4 dependents of those members. 

5 (D) The availability of providers under the 

6 TRICARE program in remote locations, includ7 ing providers for mental health, juvenile spe8 cialty care, dental, and female health. 

9 (E) The access of members of the Coast 

10 Guard and dependents of those members to 

11 services under the TRICARE program in com12 parison to the access to such services by per13 sonnel of the Department of Defense and de14 pendents of such personnel. 

15 (F) The liaison assistance between mem16 bers of the Coast Guard and dependents of 

17 those members and the TRICARE program 

18 provided by the Coast Guard in comparison to 

19 such assistance provided by the Department of 

20 Defense. 

21 (G) How delayed access to care, timeliness 

22 of care, and distance traveled to care may im23 pact personnel readiness of members of the 

24 Coast Guard. 


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1 (H) The regions particularly impacted by 

2 lack of access to care and recommendations to 

3 address those access issues. 

4 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

5 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

6 submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

7 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

8 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep9 resentatives a report containing the findings, conclusions, 

10 and recommendations to improve access to quality, timely, 

11 and effective health care for members of the Coast Guard 

12 and dependents of those members from the study required 

13 under subsection (a). 

14 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘de15 pendent’’ and ‘‘TRICARE program’’ have the meanings 

16 given those terms in section 1072 of title 10, United 

17 States Code. 

18 SEC. 277. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED 

19 STATES STUDY AND REPORT ON MEDICAL 

20 STAFFING STANDARDS AND NEEDS FOR THE 

21 COAST GUARD. 

22 (a) STUDY.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

24 the United States shall conduct a study that exam25 ines the health care system of the Coast Guard. 


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1 (2) ELEMENTS.—The study conducted under 

2 paragraph (1) shall analyze the following: 

3 (A) The billets in clinics of the Coast 

4 Guard, whether for personnel of the Coast 

5 Guard or otherwise, including the number of 

6 billets, vacancies, and length of vacancies. 

7 (B) The wait times for patients to attain 

8 an appointment for urgent care, routine physi9 cian care, and dental care. 

10 (C) The impact of billet vacancies on such 

11 wait times. 

12 (D) The ability of the Coast Guard to use 

13 other medical personnel of the Department of 

14 Defense, including physicians and physician as15 sistants, to fill provider vacancies for the Coast 

16 Guard. 

17 (E) The barriers, if any, to improving co18 ordination and access to physicians within the 

19 health care system of the Department of De20 fense. 

21 (F) The accessibility and availability of be22 havioral health medical personnel at clinics of 

23 the Coast Guard, including personnel available 

24 for family counseling, therapy, and other needs. 


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1 (G) The staffing models of clinics of the 

2 Coast Guard, including recommendations to 

3 modernize those models. 

4 (H) The locations and needs of Coast 

5 Guard units with or without clinics. 

6 (I) How access to care models for members 

7 of the Coast Guard are managed, including 

8 models with respect to the time and distance 

9 traveled to receive care, the cost of that travel, 

10 and alternate options to secure care quickly and 

11 efficiently for members serving in units without 

12 a clinic. 

13 (b) REPORT.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

15 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp16 troller General shall submit to the Committee on 

17 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen18 ate and the Committee on Transportation and Infra19 structure of the House of Representatives a report 

20 containing the findings, conclusions, and rec21 ommendations from the study required under sub22 section (a). 

23 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report submitted under 

24 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 


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1 (A) Recommendations for medical staffing 

2 standards for the Coast Guard, including rec3 ommendations for health service technicians, 

4 flight surgeons, physician assistants, dentists, 

5 dental hygienists, family advocate services, 

6 pharmacists, and administrators. 

7 (B) An identification of the number of 

8 members of the Coast Guard and types of units 

9 of the Coast Guard serviced by the health care 

10 system of the Coast Guard. 

11 (C) An assessment of the ability of the 

12 Coast Guard to conduct medical support at out13 lying units, including remote units. 

14 (D) An assessment of the capacity of the 

15 Coast Guard to support surge operations using 

16 historical data from the 10-year period pre17 ceding the date of the report. 

18 (E) An assessment of the impact to oper19 ations of the Coast Guard by extended wait 

20 times or travel times to receive care or other 

21 issues identified by the report. 


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1 SEC. 278. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED 

2 STATES STUDY AND REPORT ON VERTICAL 

3 EVACUATION FOR TSUNAMIS AT COAST 

4 GUARD STATION GRAYS HARBOR, WASH5 INGTON. 

6 (a) STUDY.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

8 the United States shall conduct a study that exam9 ines the potential use, in the event of a Cascadia 

10 subduction zone event, of a vertical evacuation of 

11 Coast Guard personnel stationed at United States 

12 Coast Guard Station Grays Harbor, Washington, 

13 and the dependents of such Coast Guard personnel 

14 housed in Coast Guard housing. 

15 (2) ELEMENTS.—The study required under 

16 paragraph (1) shall analyze the following: 

17 (A) The number of such personnel and de18 pendents to be evacuated. 

19 (B) The resources available to conduct an 

20 evacuation, and the feasibility of a successful 

21 evacuation in a case in which inundation maps 

22 and timelines are available. 

23 (C) With the resources available, the 

24 amount of time needed to evacuate such per25 sonnel and dependents. 


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1 (D) Any resource that is otherwise avail2 able within a reasonable walking distance to 

3 Station Grays Harbor and Coast Guard housing 

4 for Station Grays Harbor. 

5 (E) The benefit to the surrounding com6 munity of such a vertical evacuation. 

7 (F) The interoperability of the tsunami 

8 warning system with the Coast Guard commu9 nication systems at Station Grays Harbor and 

10 Coast Guard housing for Station Grays Harbor. 

11 (G) Current interagency coordination and 

12 communication policies in place for emergency 

13 responders to address a Cascadia subduction 

14 zone event. 

15 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

16 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

17 submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

18 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

19 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep20 resentatives a report containing the findings, conclusions, 

21 and recommendations, if any, from the study required 

22 under subsection (a). 


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1 Subtitle E—Other Matters 

2 SEC. 291. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 

3 (a) MARITIME TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.—Section 

4 312(b)(4) of title 14, United States Code, is amended by 

5 striking ‘‘marine transportation system’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘maritime transportation system’’. 

7 (b) COMMON APPROPRIATIONS STRUCTURE.— 

8 (1) PROSPECTIVE PAYMENT OF FUNDS NEC9 ESSARY TO PROVIDE MEDICAL CARE.—Section 506 

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

11 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ‘‘as 

12 established under chapter 56 of title 10’’ after 

13 ‘‘Medicare-Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund’’; 

14 and 

15 (B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘oper16 ating expenses’’ and inserting ‘‘operations and 

17 support’’. 

18 (2) USE OF CERTAIN APPROPRIATED FUNDS.— 

19 Section 903 of title 14, United States Code, is 

20 amended— 

21 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘acquisi22 tion, construction, and improvement of facili23 ties, for research, development, test, and eval24 uation; and for the alteration of bridges over 

25 the navigable waters’’ and inserting ‘‘procureVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:32 Aug 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00118 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2297.IS S2297

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1 ment, construction, and improvement of facili2 ties and for research and development’’; and 

3 (B) in subsection (d)(1), amended by sec4 tion 241(b)(1), by striking ‘‘operating ex5 penses’’ and inserting ‘‘operations and sup6 port’’. 

7 (3) DISPOSITION OF INFRASTRUCTURE RE8 LATED TO E-LORAN.—Section 914(c)(2)(A) of title 

9 14, United States Code, is amended by striking 

10 ‘‘Environmental Compliance and Restoration’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘Operations and Support’’. 

12 (4) CONFIDENTIAL INVESTIGATIVE EX13 PENSES.—Section 944 of title 14, United States 

14 Code, is amended— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘necessary expenses for the 

16 operation’’ and inserting ‘‘the operations and 

17 support’’; and 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘his’’ each place it appears 

19 and inserting ‘‘the Commandant’s’’. 

20 (5) PROCUREMENT OF PERSONNEL.—Section 

21 2701 of title 14, United States Code, is amended— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘operating expenses’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘operations and support’’; 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘but not limited to’’; and 

25 (C) by striking ‘‘in order’’. 


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1 (6) REQUIREMENT FOR PRIOR AUTHORIZATION

2 OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 4901 of title 14, 

3 United States Code, is amended— 

4 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘mainte5 nance’’ and inserting ‘‘support’’; 

6 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘acquisi7 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘procurement’’; 

8 (C) by striking paragraphs (3), (4), and 

9 (6); 

10 (D) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 

11 paragraph (3); and 

12 (E) in paragraph (3), as redesignated by 

13 subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘research, devel14 opment, test, and evaluation’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘research and development.’’. 

16 (c) MISSION NEED STATEMENT.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1110 of title 14, 

18 United States Code— 

19 (A) is transferred to appear after section 

20 5108 of such title; and 

21 (B) is redesignated as section 5109. 

22 (2) ANALYSES.— 

23 (A) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 11.—The 

24 analysis for chapter 11 of title 14, United 


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1 States Code, is amended by striking the item 

2 relating to section 1110. 

3 (B) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 51.—The 

4 analysis for chapter 51 of title 14, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following: 

‘‘5109. Mission need statement.’’. 

7 (3) REPEAL OF SUPERSEDED REQUIREMENT.— 

8 Section 401 of the Coast Guard Authorization Act 

9 of 2010 (Public Law 111–281) is amended by strik10 ing subsection (e). 

11 TITLE III—MARITIME 

12 SEC. 301. ELECTRONIC CHARTS; EQUIVALENCY. 

13 Section 3105 of title 46, United States Code, is 

14 amended by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(c) EQUIVALENCY BETWEEN PAPER CHARTS AND

16 ELECTRONIC CHARTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Until the date that final 

18 regulations are published under subsection (a)— 

19 ‘‘(A) a covered vessel equipped with and 

20 operating electronic navigational charts pro21 duced by a government hydrographic office and 

22 that conform to a standard acceptable to the 

23 Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

24 Guard is operating shall be deemed in compli25 ance with any requirement under title 33 or 


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1 title 46, Code of Federal Regulations, to have 

2 a chart, marine chart, or map on board the cov3 ered vessel; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of the department in 

5 which the Coast Guard is operating may allow 

6 a covered vessel that operates solely within the 

7 baseline of the territorial sea of the United 

8 States (as described in Presidential Proclama9 tion No. 5928 of December 27, 1988 (43 

10 U.S.C. 1331 note)) to utilize a software-based, 

11 platform-independent electronic chart system 

12 that is capable of displaying electronic naviga13 tional charts with necessary scale and detail to 

14 ensure safe navigation for the intended voyage. 

15 ‘‘(2) COVERED VESSEL DEFINED.—In this sub16 section, the term ‘covered vessel’ means a vessel de17 scribed in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) of 

18 subsection (a)(1).’’. 

19 SEC. 302. COMMON APPROPRIATION STRUCTURE. 

20 Sections 3317(b), 7504, 80301(c), and 80505(b)(3) 

21 of title 46, United States Code, are each amended by strik22 ing ‘‘operating expenses’’ and inserting ‘‘operations and 

23 support’’. 


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1 SEC. 303. ALTERNATE SAFETY COMPLIANCE PROGRAM EX2 CEPTION FOR CERTAIN VESSELS. 

3 Section 4503a of title 46, United States Code, is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) through (f) 

6 as subsections (e) through (g), respectively; and 

7 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(d) Subsection (a) shall not apply to a vessel that— 

10 ‘‘(1) is 79 feet or less in length as listed on the 

11 vessel’s certificate of documentation or certificate of 

12 number; and 

13 ‘‘(2) is examined at dockside by the Secretary 

14 every 2 years upon the request of the owner and in 

15 accordance with section 4502(f)(2) of this title.’’. 

16 SEC. 304. LICENSE EXEMPTIONS; REPEAL OF OBSOLETE 

17 PROVISIONS. 

18 (a) SERVICE UNDER LICENSES ISSUED WITHOUT

19 EXAMINATION.—Section 8303 of title 46, United States 

20 Code, and the item relating to that section in the analysis 

21 for chapter 83 of such title, are repealed. 

22 (b) STANDARDS FOR TANK VESSELS OF THE UNITED

23 STATES.—Section 9102 of title 46, United States Code, 

24 is amended— 

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


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘(a) The Secretary’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘The Secretary’’. 

3 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

4 14305(a)(10) of title 46, United States Code, is amended 

5 by striking ‘‘sections 8303 and 8304’’ and inserting ‘‘sec6 tion 8304’’. 

7 SEC. 305. SMALL PASSENGER VESSELS AND UNINSPECTED 

8 PASSENGER VESSELS. 

9 Section 12121 of title 46, United States Code, is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking subpara12 graphs (A) and (B) and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(A) was built in the United States; 

14 ‘‘(B) was not built in the United States 

15 and is at least 3 years old; or 

16 ‘‘(C) if rebuilt, was rebuilt— 

17 ‘‘(i) in the United States; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) outside the United States at 

19 least 3 years before the certificate re20 quested under subsection (b) would take 

21 effect.’’; and 

22 (2) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘12132,’’ 

23 after ‘‘12113,’’. 


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1 SEC. 306. NATIONAL OFFSHORE SAFETY ADVISORY COM2 MITTEE; REPRESENTATION. 

3 Section 15106(c)(3) of title 46, United States Code, 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘mineral 

6 and oil operations, including geophysical services’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘operations’’; 

8 (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘explo9 ration and recovery’’; 

10 (3) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘engaged 

11 in diving services related to offshore construction, 

12 inspection, and maintenance’’ and inserting ‘‘pro13 viding diving services to the offshore industry’’; 

14 (4) in subparagraph (F), by striking ‘‘engaged 

15 in safety and training services related to offshore ex16 ploration and construction’’ and inserting ‘‘providing 

17 safety and training services to the offshore indus18 try’’; 

19 (5) in subparagraph (G), by striking ‘‘engaged 

20 in pipelaying services related to offshore construc21 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘providing subsea engineering, 

22 construction, or remotely operated vehicle support to 

23 the offshore industry’’; 

24 (6) in subparagraph (H), by striking ‘‘mineral 

25 and energy’’; and 


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1 (7) in subparagraph (J), by striking ‘‘deepwater 

2 ports’’ and inserting ‘‘entities engaged in offshore oil 

3 exploration and production on the Outer Continental 

4 Shelf including adjacent to Alaska’’. 

5 SEC. 307. NATIONAL MARITIME TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM 

6 ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 555 of title 46, United 

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 55502. NATIONAL MARITIME TRANSPORTATION SYS11 TEM ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

12 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Na13 tional Maritime Transportation System Advisory Com14 mittee (in this section referred to as the ‘Committee’). 

15 ‘‘(b) FUNCTION.—The Committee shall advise the 

16 Secretary of Transportation on matters relating to the 

17 United States maritime transportation system and its 

18 seamless integration with other segments of the transpor19 tation system, including the viability of the United States 

20 Merchant Marine. 

21 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall con23 sist of 25 members appointed by the Secretary of 

24 Transportation in accordance with this section and 

25 section 15109 (subject to paragraph (4)). 


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1 ‘‘(2) EXPERTISE.—Each member of the Com2 mittee shall have particular expertise, knowledge, 

3 and experience in matters relating to the function of 

4 the Committee. 

5 ‘‘(3) REPRESENTATION.—Members of the Com6 mittee shall be appointed as follows: 

7 ‘‘(A) At least 1 member shall represent the 

8 Environmental Protection Agency. 

9 ‘‘(B) At least 1 member shall represent the 

10 Department of Commerce. 

11 ‘‘(C) At least 1 member shall represent the 

12 Army Corps of Engineers. 

13 ‘‘(D) At least 1 member shall represent the 

14 Coast Guard. 

15 ‘‘(E) At least 1 member shall represent 

16 U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

17 ‘‘(F) At least 1 member shall represent 

18 State and local governmental entities. 

19 ‘‘(G) Additional members shall represent 

20 private sector entities that reflect a cross-sec21 tion of maritime industries, including port and 

22 water stakeholders, academia, and labor rep23 resentatives. 

24 ‘‘(H) The Secretary of Transportation may 

25 appoint additional representatives from other 


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1 Federal agencies as the Secretary considers ap2 propriate. 

3 ‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATION.—For purposes of sec4 tion 15109, the Committee shall be treated as a 

5 committee established under chapter 151, except 

6 that in applying such section to the Committee any 

7 reference in such section to the ‘Secretary’ shall be 

8 deemed to be a reference to the Secretary of Trans9 portation.’’. 

10 (b) TREATMENT OF EXISTING COMMITTEE.—Not11 withstanding any other provision of law— 

12 (1) an advisory committee that is substantially 

13 similar to the National Maritime Transportation 

14 System Advisory Committee established by section 

15 55502 of title 46, United States Code, as added by 

16 subsection (a), and that was in force or in effect on 

17 the day before the date of the enactment of such 

18 section, including the charter, membership, and 

19 other aspects of such substantially similar advisory 

20 committee, may remain in force or in effect for the 

21 2-year period beginning on the date of enactment of 

22 such section; and 

23 (2) during such 2-year period— 

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1 sory Committee established by such section 

2 shall be deemed satisfied by the substantially 

3 similar advisory committee; and 

4 (B) the enactment of this section, includ5 ing the amendment made by subsection (a), 

6 shall not be the basis— 

7 (i) to deem, find, or declare such sub8 stantially similar advisory committee, in9 cluding the charter, membership, and other 

10 aspects thereof, void, not in force, or not 

11 in effect; 

12 (ii) to suspend the activities of such 

13 substantially similar advisory committee; 

14 or 

15 (iii) to bar the members of such sub16 stantially similar advisory committee from 

17 a meeting. 

18 (c) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 555.—The analysis for 

19 chapter 555 of title 46, United States Code, is amended 

20 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘55502. National Maritime Transportation System Advisory Committee.’’. 

21 (d) REPEAL.—Section 55603 of title 46, United 

22 States Code, and the item relating to that section in the 

23 analysis for chapter 556 of such title, are repealed. 


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1 SEC. 308. SECURITY PLANS; REVIEWS. 

2 Section 70103 of title 46, United States Code, is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (b)(3), by inserting ‘‘and up5 dates thereto’’ after ‘‘Area Maritime Transportation 

6 Security Plans’’ each place it appears; and 

7 (2) in subsection (c)(4), by inserting ‘‘or update 

8 thereto’’ after ‘‘plan’’ each place it appears. 

9 SEC. 309. ICE PATROL; PAYMENTS. 

10 Section 80301(c) of title 46, United States Code, as 

11 amended by section 302, is further amended by inserting 

12 ‘‘and shall be available until expended’’ before the period 

13 at the end. 

14 SEC. 310. GREAT LAKES PILOTAGE ADVISORY COMMITTEE 

15 EXTENSION. 

16 Section 9307(f)(1) of title 46, United States Code, 

17 is amended by striking ‘‘2020’’ and inserting ‘‘2027’’. 

18 SEC. 311. REPORT ON LIABILITY LIMITS APPLICABLE TO 

19 THE COAST GUARD. 

20 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act, the Commandant shall submit to the 

22 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

23 the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and In24 frastructure of the House of Representatives a report set25 ting forth the following: 


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1 (1) A list of each liability limit to which the 

2 Coast Guard is currently subject, including the stat3 utory or administration authority establishing such 

4 limit. 

5 (2) If the Commandant determines that any li6 ability limit listed pursuant to paragraph (1) should 

7 be modified— 

8 (A) a description of the liability limit, as so 

9 modified; 

10 (B) a justification for such modification; 

11 and 

12 (C) a recommendation for legislative or ad13 ministrative action to achieve such modification. 

14 SEC. 312. AUTHORITY TO WAIVE OPERATOR OF SELF-PRO15 PELLED UNINSPECTED PASSENGER VESSEL 

16 REQUIREMENTS. 

17 Section 8905 of title 46, United States Code, is 

18 amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(c) After consultation with the Governor of Alaska 

20 and the State boating law administrator of Alaska, the 

21 Secretary may exempt an individual operating a self-pro22 pelled uninspected passenger vessel from the requirements 

23 of section 8903 of this title, if— 

24 ‘‘(1) the individual only operates such vessel 

25 wholly within waters located in Alaska; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) such vessel is— 

2 ‘‘(A) 26 feet or less in length; and 

3 ‘‘(B) carrying not more than 6 pas4 sengers.’’. 

5 SEC. 313. TOWING VESSEL INSPECTIONS; USER FEES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 9701 of 

7 title 31, United States Code, and section 2110 of title 46, 

8 United States Code, the Commandant of the Coast Guard 

9 may, until the date described in subsection (b), charge an 

10 annual inspection fee to an owner or managing operator 

11 of a towing vessel who selects the Towing Safety Manage12 ment System option under subchapter M of chapter I of 

13 title 46, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 

14 day before the date of enactment of this Act), for a towing 

15 vessel required to have a Certificate of Inspection under 

16 such subchapter. 

17 (b) DATE DESCRIBED.—The date described in this 

18 subsection is the first day on which the Commandant of 

19 the Coast Guard has— 

20 (1) completed the review of towing safety man21 agement system fees required by section 815 of the 

22 Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act of 

23 2018 (Public Law 115–282); and 

24 (2) promulgated regulations for annual inspec25 tion user fees for towing vessels required to have a 


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1 Certificate of Inspection under subchapter M of 

2 chapter I of title 46, Code of Federal Regulations 

3 (as in effect on the day before the date of enactment 

4 of this Act). 

5 TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS 

6 SEC. 401. COMMON APPROPRIATION STRUCTURE. 

7 (a) OIL SPILL LIABILITY TRUST FUND.—Section 

8 1012(a)(5)(A) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 

9 2712(a)(5)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘operating ex10 penses incurred by’’ and inserting ‘‘operations and sup11 port of’’. 

12 (b) HISTORIC LIGHT STATION SALES.—Section 

13 305106(b) of title 54, United States Code, is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (1)(B)(i), by striking ‘‘Oper15 ating Expenses’’ and inserting ‘‘Operations and Sup16 port’’; and 

17 (2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘Operating 

18 Expense’’ and inserting ‘‘Operations and Support’’. 

19 (c) BRIDGE PERMITS.—Section 712(a)(2) of the 

20 Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2012 

21 (Public Law 112–213; 33 U.S.C. 491 prec. note) is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘operating expenses’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘operations and support’’. 

24 (d) CONTRACTS.—Section 557(a) of the Consolidated 

25 and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 (Public 


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1 Law 113–6; 14 U.S.C. 577 note) is amended by striking 

2 ‘‘Acquisition’’ and inserting ‘‘Procurement’’. 

3 (e) CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.—Section 

4 214(d)(1) of the Howard Coble Coast Guard and Maritime 

5 Transportation Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–281; 128 

6 Stat. 3034) is amended by striking ‘‘operating expenses’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘operations and support’’. 

8 (f) PROSPECTIVE PAYMENT OF FUNDS NECESSARY

9 TO PROVIDE MEDICAL CARE.—Section 506(b)(1) of title 

10 14, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘operating 

11 expenses’’ and inserting ‘‘operations and support’’. 

12 SEC. 402. IMPROVED EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE. 

13 Section 1143(a) of title 10, United States Code, is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

17 (i) in the matter preceding subpara18 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘and the Secretary 

19 of Homeland Security with respect to the 

20 Coast Guard when it is not operating as a 

21 service in the Navy’’ before ‘‘shall’’; and 

22 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

23 ‘‘Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine 

24 Corps’’ and inserting ‘‘armed forces’’; and 


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1 (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘and 

2 the Secretary of Homeland Security with re3 spect to the Coast Guard when it is not oper4 ating as a service in the Navy’’ before ‘‘shall’’; 

5 and 

6 (2) in subsection (c)(2)(A)(ii), by striking ‘‘in 

7 the case of members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, 

8 and Marine Corps, request the Department of De9 fense’’ and inserting ‘‘make a request to the applica10 ble Secretary under subsection (a)(1)’’. 

11 SEC. 403. UNMANNED MARITIME SYSTEMS. 

12 (a) ASSESSMENT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant shall reg14 ularly assess available unmanned maritime systems 

15 for potential use to support missions of the Coast 

16 Guard. 

17 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Commandant shall 

18 make the assessment required under paragraph (1) 

19 after consultation with the Department of Defense, 

20 other Federal agencies, the academic sector, and de21 velopers and manufacturers of unmanned maritime 

22 systems. 

23 (b) REPORT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

25 the date of enactment of this Act, and biennially 


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1 thereafter, the Commandant shall submit to the 

2 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor3 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Trans4 portation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep5 resentatives a report on the actual and potential ef6 fects of the use of available unmanned maritime sys7 tems on the mission effectiveness of the Coast 

8 Guard. 

9 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 

10 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

11 (A) An inventory of available unmanned 

12 maritime systems used by the Coast Guard, an 

13 overview of such usage, and a discussion of the 

14 mission effectiveness of such systems, including 

15 any benefits realized or risks or negative as16 pects of such usage. 

17 (B) A prioritized list of Coast Guard mis18 sion requirements that could be met with addi19 tional unmanned maritime systems, and the es20 timated costs of acquiring and operating such 

21 systems. This list should take into consideration 

22 interoperability with the current and future 

23 fleet of National Security Cutters, Fast Re24 sponse Cutters, Offshore Patrol Cutters, Polar 

25 Security Cutters, and in-service legacy cutters 


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1 such as the 270-foot, 210-foot, and 225-foot 

2 Buoy Tenders. 

3 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) UNMANNED MARITIME SYSTEM.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘unmanned 

6 maritime system’’ means a remotely operated or 

7 autonomous vehicle that— 

8 (i) is produced by the commercial sec9 tor; 

10 (ii) is designed to travel in the air, on 

11 or under the ocean surface, on land, or any 

12 combination thereof; and 

13 (iii) functions without an on-board 

14 human presence. 

15 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘unmanned 

16 maritime system’’ includes— 

17 (i) associated components, such as 

18 control and communications, data trans19 mission, and processing systems; 

20 (ii) an unmanned undersea vehicle; 

21 (iii) an unmanned surface vehicle; 

22 (iv) an unmanned aerial vehicle; 

23 (v) an autonomous underwater vehi24 cle; 


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1 (vi) an autonomous surface vehicle; 

2 and 

3 (vii) an autonomous aerial vehicle. 

4 (2) AVAILABLE UNMANNED MARITIME SYS5 TEMS.—The term ‘‘available unmanned maritime 

6 systems’’ includes unmanned maritime systems that 

7 can be purchased commercially or are available to 

8 the Coast Guard in coordination with the Depart9 ment of Defense or other Federal agency. 

10 SEC. 404. UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS TESTING. 

11 (a) TRAINING AREA.—The Commandant shall carry 

12 out and update, as appropriate, a program for the use of 

13 a training area to facilitate the use of unmanned aircraft 

14 systems and small unmanned aircraft systems to support 

15 missions of the Coast Guard. 

16 (b) DESIGNATION OF AREA.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Com19 mandant shall, as part of the program under sub20 section (a), designate an area for the training, test21 ing, and development of unmanned aircraft systems 

22 and small unmanned aircraft systems. 

23 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In designating a train24 ing area under paragraph (1), the Commandant 

25 shall— 


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1 (A) select an area that leverages the capa2 bilities of the common test site for unmanned 

3 aircraft systems of the Department of Home4 land Security; and 

5 (B) take into consideration all of the fol6 lowing attributes of the training area: 

7 (i) Direct over-water maritime access 

8 from the site. 

9 (ii) The availability of existing Coast 

10 Guard support facilities, including pier and 

11 dock space. 

12 (iii) Proximity to existing and avail13 able offshore Warning Area airspace for 

14 test and training. 

15 (iv) Existing facilities and infrastruc16 ture to support unmanned aircraft system17 augmented, and small unmanned aircraft 

18 system-augmented, training, evaluations, 

19 and exercises. 

20 (v) Existing and appropriate Federal 

21 Aviation Administration flight authoriza22 tions for the area. 

23 (vi) Existing facilities with a proven 

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1 craft systems and small unmanned aircraft 

2 systems flight operations. 

3 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

4 (1) the term ‘‘existing’’ means as of the date of 

5 enactment of this Act; and 

6 (2) the terms ‘‘small unmanned aircraft’’ and 

7 ‘‘unmanned aircraft system’’ have the meanings 

8 given those terms in section 44801 of title 49, 

9 United States Code. 

10 SEC. 405. REPORT OF DETERMINATION; TECHNICAL COR11 RECTION. 

12 Section 105(f)(2) of the Pribilof Islands Transition 

13 Act (Public Law 106–562; 16 U.S.C. 1161 note) is 

14 amended by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘para15 graph (1)’’. 

16 SEC. 406. TOWING VESSELS OPERATING OUTSIDE THE 

17 BOUNDARY LINE. 

18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

19 (1) the term ‘‘Boundary Line’’ has the meaning 

20 given the term in section 103 of title 46, United 

21 States Code; 

22 (2) the term ‘‘Officer in Charge, Marine Inspec23 tion’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

24 3305(d)(4) of title 46, United States Code; and 


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1 (3) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

2 of the Department in which the Coast Guard is op3 erating. 

4 (b) INTERIM EXEMPTION.—A towing vessel described 

5 in subsection (c) is exempt from any additional require6 ments of subtitle II of title 46, United States Code, and 

7 chapter I of title 33 and chapter I of title 46, Code of 

8 Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment 

9 of this Act), that would result solely from such vessel oper10 ating outside the Boundary Line, if— 

11 (1) the vessel is operating outside the Boundary 

12 Line solely to perform regular harbor assist oper13 ations; 

14 (2) the voyage of the vessel occurring outside of 

15 the Boundary Line— 

16 (A) is less than 12 hours in total duration; 

17 (B) originates and ends in the inspection 

18 zone of a single Officer in Charge, Marine In19 spection; and 

20 (C) occurs no further than 10 nautical 

21 miles from the Boundary Line; 

22 (3) the vessel is approved for operations outside 

23 the Boundary Line by the Officer in Charge, Marine 

24 Inspection and the Coast Guard Marine Safety Cen25 ter; and 


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1 (4) the vessel has sufficient manning and life2 saving equipment for all persons on board, in ac3 cordance with part 15 and section 141.225 of title 

4 46, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor 

5 regulation). 

6 (c) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies to a towing 

7 vessel— 

8 (1) that is subject to inspection under chapter 

9 33 of title 46, United States Code, and subchapter 

10 M of chapter I of title 46, Code of Federal Regula11 tions (or any successor regulation); 

12 (2) with only ‘‘Lakes, Bays, and Sounds’’ or 

13 ‘‘Rivers’’ routes recorded on such vessel’s certificate 

14 of inspection under section 136.230 of title 46, Code 

15 of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation); 

16 and 

17 (3) that is operating as a harbor assist vessel 

18 and regularly engaged in harbor assist operations, 

19 including the docking, undocking, mooring, 

20 unmooring, and escorting of vessels with limited ma21 neuverability. 

22 (d) SAFETY.— 

23 (1) SAFETY RESTRICTIONS.—The Officer in 

24 Charge, Marine Inspection for an inspection zone 


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1 may restrict operations under the interim exemption 

2 provided under subsection (b) for safety purposes. 

3 (2) COMPREHENSIVE LISTS.—The Officer in 

4 Charge, Marine Inspection for an inspection zone 

5 shall maintain a comprehensive list, updated periodi6 cally, of all towing vessels described in subsection (c) 

7 that operate in the inspection zone. 

8 (3) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 24 hours 

9 prior to intended operations outside of the Boundary 

10 Line, a towing vessel exempted under subsection (b) 

11 shall notify the Office in Charge, Marine Inspection 

12 for the inspection zone of such operations. Such no13 tification shall include— 

14 (A) the date, time, and length of voyage; 

15 (B) a crew list, with each crew member’s 

16 credentials and work hours; and 

17 (C) an attestation from the master of the 

18 towing vessel that the vessel has sufficient man19 ning and lifesaving equipment for all persons on 

20 board. 

21 (e) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after the 

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

23 Coast Guard shall brief the Committee on Commerce, 

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1 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

2 of Representatives regarding the following: 

3 (1) The impacts of the interim exemption pro4 vided under this section. 

5 (2) Any safety concerns regarding the expira6 tion of such interim exemption. 

7 (3) Whether such interim exemption should be 

8 extended. 

9 (f) TERMINATION.—The interim exemption provided 

10 under subsection (b) shall terminate on the date that is 

11 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

12 SEC. 407. REPEAL OF CARIBBEAN SUPPORT TENDER AU13 THORIZATION. 

14 Section 343 of the Maritime Transportation Security 

15 Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–295; 116 Stat. 2106) and 

16 the item relating to that section in section 1(b) of that 

17 Act, are repealed. 

18 SEC. 408. FAIRWAYS. 

19 Not later than May 1, 2021, the Commandant shall 

20 conduct a review of navigation on the East Coast of the 

21 United States and submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

22 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com23 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

24 of Representatives a report on the findings of the review, 


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1 including any recommendations for new fairways on that 

2 coast to facilitate commerce. 

3 SEC. 409. NONOPERATING INDIVIDUALS. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2101 of title 46, 

6 United States Code, is amended— 

7 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (24) 

8 through (54) as paragraphs (25) through (55), 

9 respectively; and 

10 (B) by inserting after paragraph (23) the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(24) ‘nonoperating individual’ means an indi13 vidual on a vessel who— 

14 ‘‘(A) does not perform— 

15 ‘‘(i) watchstanding, automated engine 

16 room duty watch, navigation, or personnel 

17 safety functions; 

18 ‘‘(ii) cargo handling functions, includ19 ing any activity relating to the loading or 

20 unloading of cargo, the operation of cargo21 related equipment (whether or not integral 

22 to the vessel), and the handling of mooring 

23 lines on the dock when the vessel is made 

24 fast or let go; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) vessel maintenance, including 

2 any repairs that can be performed by the 

3 vessel’s crew or a riding gang member; or 

4 ‘‘(iv) safety, security, or environ5 mental protection activities directly related 

6 to the operation of the vessel and normally 

7 conducted by the vessel’s crew; 

8 ‘‘(B) does not serve as part of the crew 

9 complement required under section 8101 of this 

10 title; 

11 ‘‘(C) does not serve as a riding gang mem12 ber; 

13 ‘‘(D) is not a member of the steward’s de14 partment; 

15 ‘‘(E) is not a citizen or temporary or per16 manent resident of a country designated by the 

17 United States as a sponsor of terrorism or any 

18 other country that the Secretary, in consulta19 tion with the Secretary of State and the heads 

20 of other appropriate United States agencies, de21 termines to be a security threat to the United 

22 States; and 

23 ‘‘(F) is not specifically exempted from the 

24 requirement to have a merchant mariner’s doc25 ument under section 8701(a) of this title.’’. 


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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

2 (A) Section 3(3) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

3 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

4 U.S.C. 1802(3)), is amended by striking ‘‘sec5 tion 2101(30)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2101’’. 

6 (B) Section 1992(d)(7) of title 18, United 

7 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 

8 2101(31)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2101(32)’’. 

9 (C) Section 2113(3) of title 46, United 

10 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 

11 2101(51)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

12 2101(52)(A)’’. 

13 (D) Section 3202(a)(1)(A) of title 46, 

14 United States Code, is amended by striking 

15 ‘‘section 2101(29)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

16 2101(30)(A)’’. 

17 (E) Section 3507(k)(1) of title 46, United 

18 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 

19 2101(31)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2101’’. 

20 (F) Section 4105 of title 46, United States 

21 Code, is amended— 

22 (i) in each of subsections (b)(1) and 

23 (c), by striking ‘‘section 2101(51)’’ and in24 serting ‘‘section 2101(52)’’; and 


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1 (ii) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘sec2 tion 2101(51)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

3 2101(52)(A)’’. 

4 (G) Section 12119(a)(3) of title 46, United 

5 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 

6 2101(26)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2101’’. 

7 (H) Section 1131(a)(1)(E) of title 49, 

8 United States Code, is amended by striking 

9 ‘‘section 2101(46) of title 46’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘section 116 of title 46’’. 

11 (b) CITIZENSHIP AND NAVY RESERVE REQUIRE12 MENTS.—Section 8103(j) of title 46, United States Code, 

13 is amended— 

14 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking 

15 ‘‘RIDING GANG MEMBER’’ and inserting ‘‘RIDING

16 GANG MEMBER OR NONOPERATING INDIVIDUAL’’; 

17 and 

18 (2) by inserting ‘‘or a nonoperating individual’’ 

19 before the period. 

20 (c) NONOPERATING INDIVIDUALS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 81 of title 46, 

22 United States Code, is amended— 

23 (A) by redesignating section 8107 as sec24 tion 8108; and 


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1 (B) by inserting after section 8106 the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘§ 8107. Nonoperating individuals 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The owner or managing operator 

5 of a merchant vessel of the United States of at least 100 

6 gross tons as measured under section 14502, or an alter7 nate tonnage measured under section 14302 as prescribed 

8 by the Secretary under section 14104, shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) ensure that— 

10 ‘‘(A) each nonoperating individual on the 

11 vessel— 

12 ‘‘(i) is a United States citizen or an 

13 alien lawfully admitted to the United 

14 States for permanent residence; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) possesses— 

16 ‘‘(I) a United States non17 immigrant visa for individuals desir18 ing to enter the United States tempo19 rarily for business; 

20 ‘‘(II) employment-related and 

21 personal identifying information; and 

22 ‘‘(III) any other documentation 

23 required by the Secretary; 


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1 ‘‘(B) all required documentation for such 

2 individual is kept on the vessel and available for 

3 inspection by the Secretary; and 

4 ‘‘(C) each nonoperating individual is iden5 tified on the vessel’s crew list; 

6 ‘‘(2) ensure that— 

7 ‘‘(A) each nonoperating individual pos8 sesses— 

9 ‘‘(i) a merchant mariner’s document; 

10 ‘‘(ii) a transportation security card 

11 issued under section 70105; or 

12 ‘‘(iii) a current security clearance 

13 issued by a Federal agency; or 

14 ‘‘(B) the employer of the nonoperating in15 dividual attests in a certificate to the owner or 

16 managing operator that— 

17 ‘‘(i) the background of such individual 

18 has been examined and found to be free of 

19 any credible information indicating a mate20 rial risk to the security of the vessel, the 

21 cargo of the vessel, the ports the vessel vis22 its, or other individuals onboard the vessel; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the examination under clause 

24 (i)— 


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1 ‘‘(I) with regard to an individual 

2 described in paragraph (1)(A)(i), met 

3 the requirements of section 

4 70105(d)(2); or 

5 ‘‘(II) with regard to an individual 

6 described in paragraph (1)(A)(ii), con7 sisted of a check of relevant inter8 national databases and such other in9 formation that the Secretary considers 

10 relevant and reasonably available to 

11 the owner or managing operator in 

12 the individual’s country of citizenship 

13 and any other country in which the 

14 individual works, receives employment 

15 referrals, or resides; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) the information derived from the 

17 examination under clause (i) is made avail18 able to the Secretary upon request; 

19 ‘‘(3) ensure that each nonoperating individual 

20 of the vessel, while on board the vessel, is subject to 

21 the same random chemical testing and reporting re22 gimes as crew members; 

23 ‘‘(4) ensure that each such individual employed 

24 on the vessel receives basic safety familiarization and 

25 basic safety training approved by the Coast Guard 


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1 as satisfying the requirements for such training 

2 under the International Convention on Standards of 

3 Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Sea4 farers, done at London July 7, 1978; 

5 ‘‘(5) prevent from boarding the vessel, or cause 

6 the removal from the vessel at the first available 

7 port, and disqualify from future service on board 

8 any other vessel owned or operated by that owner or 

9 operator, any nonoperating individual— 

10 ‘‘(A) who has been convicted in any juris11 diction of an offense described in paragraph (2) 

12 or (3) of section 7703; 

13 ‘‘(B) whose license, certificate of registry, 

14 or merchant mariner’s document has been sus15 pended or revoked under section 7704; or 

16 ‘‘(C) who otherwise constitutes a threat to 

17 the safety of the vessel; 

18 ‘‘(6) ensure and certify to the Secretary that 

19 the vessel is in compliance with section 3304 and 

20 chapter 35, to the extent such section or chapter 

21 otherwise applies to the vessel; and 

22 ‘‘(7) ensure that each nonoperating individual 

23 on board the vessel is employed under conditions 

24 that meet or exceed the minimum international 

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1 ventions to which the United States is a party, in2 cluding all of the merchant seamen protection and 

3 relief provided under United States law. 

4 ‘‘(b) WORK RESTRICTIONS.—A nonoperating indi5 vidual on board a vessel to which subsection (a) applies 

6 may not perform on board the vessel— 

7 ‘‘(1) watchstanding, automated engine room 

8 duty watch, navigational, or personnel safety func9 tions; 

10 ‘‘(2) cargo handling functions, including any ac11 tivity relating to the loading or unloading of cargo, 

12 the operation of cargo-related equipment (whether or 

13 not integral to the vessel), and the handling of moor14 ing lines on the dock when the vessel is made fast 

15 or let go; 

16 ‘‘(3) vessel maintenance, including any repairs 

17 that can be performed by the vessel’s crew or a 

18 riding gang member; or 

19 ‘‘(4) safety, security, or environmental protec20 tion activities directly related to the operation of the 

21 vessel and normally conducted by the vessel’s crew. 

22 ‘‘(c) RECORDKEEPING.—In addition to the require23 ments of subsection (a), the owner or managing operator 

24 of a vessel to which subsection (a) applies shall ensure that 

25 all information necessary to ensure compliance with this 


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1 section, as determined by the Secretary, is entered into 

2 the vessel’s official logbook required by chapter 113. 

3 ‘‘(d) CIVIL PENALTY.—A person violating this sec4 tion is liable to the United States Government for a civil 

5 penalty of $1,250.’’. 

6 (2) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 81.—The analysis 

7 for chapter 81 of title 46, United States Code, is 

8 amended by striking the item relating to section 

9 8107 and inserting the following: 

‘‘8107. Nonoperating individuals. 

‘‘8108. Use of force against piracy.’’. 

10 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Title 46, 

11 United States Code, is amended— 

12 (A) in section 8701, by adding at the end 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(e) This section shall not apply to an individual en15 gaged, employed, or serving on board a vessel who is a 

16 nonoperating individual, as defined in section 8107 of this 

17 title.’’; and 

18 (B) in section 51705(4), by striking ‘‘46 

19 U.S.C. 8107 note’’ and inserting ‘‘46 U.S.C. 

20 8108 note’’. 

21 SEC. 410. ABANDONED SEAFARERS FUND AMENDMENTS. 

22 Section 11113 of title 46, United States Code, is 

23 amended— 


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1 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) 

2 of subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘may be appro3 priated’’ and inserting ‘‘shall be available without 

4 further appropriations and shall remain available 

5 until expended’’; and 

6 (2) in subsection (c)— 

7 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

8 (A) of paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘plus a sur9 charge of 25 percent of such total amount,’’ 

10 after ‘‘seafarer,’’; and 

11 (B) by striking paragraph (4). 

12 SEC. 411. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS: TRAINING; PUBLIC 

13 SAFETY PERSONNEL. 

14 Chapter 701 of title 46, United States Code, is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) in section 70107— 

17 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘law en18 forcement personnel’’ and inserting ‘‘public 

19 safety personnel’’; 

20 (B) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

21 (A) of subsection (b)(8), by striking ‘‘law en22 forcement personnel—’’ and inserting ‘‘public 

23 safety personnel—’’; and 


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1 (C) in subsection (c)(2)(C), by striking 

2 ‘‘law enforcement personnel’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘public safety personnel’’; and 

4 (2) in section 70132— 

5 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) 

6 of subsection (a), by striking ‘‘law enforcement 

7 personnel—’’ and inserting ‘‘public safety per8 sonnel—’’; 

9 (B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘law en10 forcement personnel’’ each instance such term 

11 appears and inserting ‘‘public safety per12 sonnel’’; and 

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

14 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONNEL DEFINED.—For 

15 the purposes of this section, the term ‘public safety per16 sonnel’ includes any Federal, State (or political subdivi17 sion thereof), territorial, or Tribal law enforcement officer, 

18 firefighter, or emergency response provider.’’. 

19 SEC. 412. ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT NOTIFICATION. 

20 Subsection (c) of section 9 of the Pipeline Safety, 

21 Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 (Pub22 lic Law 112–90; 125 Stat. 1912; 49 U.S.C. 60117 note) 

23 is repealed and shall be deemed not to have been enacted. 


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1 SEC. 413. SUBROGATED CLAIMS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1012(b) of the Oil Pollu3 tion Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2712(b)) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘FUND.—The’’ and inserting 

5 the following: ‘‘FUND.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(2) SUBROGATION.—Except for a guarantor 

9 claim pursuant to a defense under section 

10 1016(f)(1), Fund compensation of any claim by an 

11 insurer or other indemnifier of a responsible party or 

12 injured third party is subject to the subrogated 

13 rights of that responsible party or third party to 

14 such compensation.’’. 

15 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

16 this section shall take effect 180 days following the date 

17 of enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 414. USE OF ENGINE CUT-OFF SWITCH LINKS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 43 of title 46, United 

20 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘§ 4313. Use of engine cut-off switch links 

23 ‘‘(a) USE OF ENGINE CUT-OFF SWITCH LINKS.—A 

24 person shall not operate a covered recreational vessel un25 less— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the person is wearing an engine cut-off 

2 switch link while operating above no-wake speed; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(2) the engine cut-off switch is equipped under 

5 the requirements of section 4312. 

6 ‘‘(b) PENALTY.—A person that violates subsection 

7 (a) shall be subject to a civil penalty under section 4311 

8 of this title not to exceed— 

9 ‘‘(1) $100 for the first offense; 

10 ‘‘(2) $250 for the second offense; and 

11 ‘‘(3) $500 for any subsequent offense. 

12 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

13 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered recreation vessel’ means 

14 a recreational vessel less than 26 feet overall in 

15 length, except such term shall not include any ves16 sel— 

17 ‘‘(A) whose main helm is installed within 

18 an enclosed cabin that would protect an oper19 ator from being thrown overboard should the 

20 operator be displaced from the helm; 

21 ‘‘(B) with propulsion machinery developing 

22 static thrust of less than 115 pounds or 3 

23 horsepower; or 

24 ‘‘(C) without an engine cut-off switch in25 stalled under the requirements of section 4312; 


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1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘engine cut-off switch’ means a 

2 mechanical or electronic device that is connected to 

3 propulsion machinery that will stop propulsion if— 

4 ‘‘(A) the switch is not properly connected; 

5 or 

6 ‘‘(B) the switch components are submerged 

7 in water or separated from the switch by a pre8 determined distance; and 

9 ‘‘(3) the term ‘engine cut-off switch link’ means 

10 the equipment attached to the recreational vessel op11 erator that activates the engine cut-off switch.’’. 

12 (b) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 43.—The analysis for 

13 chapter 43 of title 46, United States Code, is amended 

14 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘4313. Use of engine cut-off switch links.’’. 

15 SEC. 415. EQUIVALENCY AUTHORITY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4305 of title 46, United 

17 States Code, is amended— 

18 (1) in the section heading, by adding ‘‘and 

19 Equivalents’’ after ‘‘Exemptions’’; 

20 (2) by striking ‘‘If the Secretary’’ and inserting 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(a) EXEMPTIONS.—If the Secretary’’; and 

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

24 ‘‘(b) EQUIVALENTS.—If the Secretary considers that 

25 recreational vessel safety will not be adversely affected, the 


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1 Secretary may accept a substitution for associated equip2 ment performance or other safety standards for a rec3 reational vessel as required by this chapter, if the substi4 tution provides an equivalent level of safety.’’. 

5 (b) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 43.—The analysis for 

6 chapter 43 of title 46, United States Code, is amended 

7 by striking the item relating to section 4305 and inserting 

8 the following: 

‘‘4305. Exemptions and equivalents.’’. 

9 SEC. 416. ARCTIC PARS NATIVE ENGAGEMENT. 

10 The Commandant shall— 

11 (1) engage directly with local coastal whaling 

12 and fishing communities in the Arctic region when 

13 conducting the Alaskan Arctic Coast Port Access 

14 Route Study, in accordance with chapter 700 of title 

15 46, United States Code, and as described in the no16 tice of study published in the Federal Register on 

17 December 21, 2018 (83 Fed. Reg. 65701); and 

18 (2) shall consider the concerns of the Arctic 

19 coastal community regarding any Alaskan Arctic 

20 Coast Port Access Route, including safety needs and 

21 concerns. 

22 SEC. 417. AUTHORIZATION OF USE OF AUTOMATIC IDENTI23 FICATION SYSTEMS DEVICES TO MARK FISH24 ING EQUIPMENT. 

25 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 


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1 (1) the term ‘‘Automatic Identification System’’ 

2 has the meaning given the term in section 164.46(a) 

3 of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations, or any suc4 cessor regulation; 

5 (2) the term ‘‘Automatic Identification System 

6 device’’ means a covered device that operates in 

7 radio frequencies assigned to the Automatic Identi8 fication System; 

9 (3) the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal 

10 Communications Commission; and 

11 (4) the term ‘‘covered device’’ means a device 

12 used to mark fishing equipment. 

13 (b) RULEMAKING REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 

14 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis15 sion, in consultation with the Commandant, shall initiate 

16 a rulemaking proceeding to consider whether to authorize 

17 covered devices to operate in radio frequencies assigned 

18 to the Automatic Identification System. 

19 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the rulemaking 

20 under subsection (b), the Commission shall consider 

21 whether imposing requirements with respect to the man22 ner in which Automatic Identification System devices are 

23 deployed and used would enable the authorization of cov24 ered devices to operate in radio frequencies assigned to 

25 the Automatic Identification System consistent with the 


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1 core purpose of the Automatic Identification System to 

2 prevent maritime accidents. 

3 SEC. 418. DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY FOR CERTAIN COM4 PETITIVE SERVICE POSITIONS IN THE DE5 PARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 

6 (a) PARALLEL DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY FOR THE

7 DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.—Chapter 99 of 

8 title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following: 

10 ‘‘§ 9905a. Direct hire authority for certain personnel 

11 of the Department of Homeland Security 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Se13 curity may appoint, without regard to the provisions of 

14 subchapter I of chapter 33 (other than sections 3303 and 

15 3328 of such chapter), qualified candidates to any of the 

16 following positions in the competitive service in the De17 partment of Homeland Security in support of the Coast 

18 Guard: 

19 ‘‘(1) Any position involved with Department 

20 maintenance activities, including depot-level mainte21 nance and repair. 

22 ‘‘(2) Any position involved with cybersecurity. 

23 ‘‘(3) Any individual in the acquisition workforce 

24 that manages any services contracts necessary to the 


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1 operation and maintenance of programs of the De2 partment. 

3 ‘‘(4) Any science, technology, or engineering po4 sition in order to allow development of new systems 

5 and provide for the maintenance of legacy systems. 

6 ‘‘(b) SUNSET.—Effective on September 30, 2025, the 

7 authority provided under subsection (a) shall expire.’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AND CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

9 (1) CHAPTER HEADING.—The heading of chap10 ter 99 of such title is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘CHAPTER 99—PERSONNEL AUTHORITIES 

12 FOR DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND 

13 DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECU14 RITY’’. 

15 (2) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 99.—The analysis 

16 for chapter 99 of such title is amended by adding at 

17 the end the following new item: 

‘‘9905a. Direct hire authority for certain personnel of the Department of Homeland Security.’’. 

18 (3) TABLES OF CHAPTERS.—The tables of 

19 chapters at the beginning of title 5, United States 

20 Code, and at the beginning of part III of such title 

21 are each amended by striking the item relating to 

22 chapter 99 and inserting the following new item: 

‘‘99. Personnel Authorities for Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security .......................................... 9901’’. 


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1 SEC. 419. NATIONAL POLICY, PERFORMANCE EVALUA2 TIONS, AND RESEARCH REGARDING VESSEL 

3 TRAFFIC SERVICE CENTERS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 700 of title 46, United 

5 States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating sections 70004 and 70005 

7 as sections 70005 and 70006, respectively; and 

8 (2) by inserting after section 70003 the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘§ 70004. Vessel traffic service system 

11 ‘‘(a) NATIONAL POLICY.— 

12 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT AND UPDATE OF NA13 TIONAL POLICY.— 

14 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF POLICY.—Not 

15 later than one year after the date of enactment 

16 of this section, the Secretary shall establish a 

17 national policy to be applied to all vessel traffic 

18 service centers and publish such policy in the 

19 Federal Register. 

20 ‘‘(B) UPDATE.—The Secretary shall peri21 odically update the national policy established 

22 under subparagraph (A) and publish such up23 date in the Federal Register. 

24 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—The national policy estab25 lished and updated under paragraph (1) shall in26 clude, at a minimum, the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Standardization of titles, roles, and 

2 responsibilities for all personnel assigned, work3 ing, or employed in a vessel traffic service cen4 ter. 

5 ‘‘(B) Standardization of organizational 

6 structure within vessel traffic service centers, to 

7 include supervisory and reporting chain and 

8 processes. 

9 ‘‘(C) Establishment of directives for the 

10 application of authority provided to each vessel 

11 traffic service center, specifically with respect to 

12 directing or controlling vessel movement when 

13 such action is justified in the interest of safety. 

14 ‘‘(D) Establishment of thresholds and 

15 measures for monitoring, informing, recom16 mending, and directing vessel traffic. 

17 ‘‘(E) Establishment of national procedures 

18 and protocols for vessel traffic management. 

19 ‘‘(F) Standardization of training for all 

20 vessel traffic service directors, operators, and 

21 watchstanders. 

22 ‘‘(G) Establishment of certification and 

23 competency evaluation for all vessel traffic serv24 ice directors, operators, and watchstanders. 


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1 ‘‘(H) Establishment of standard operating 

2 language when communicating with vessel traf3 fic users. 

4 ‘‘(I) Establishment of data collection and 

5 archiving processes for vessel incidents and 

6 near-miss events. 

7 ‘‘(3) REGIONAL POLICIES.— 

8 ‘‘(A) DEVELOPMENT.—The captain of the 

9 port covered by a vessel traffic service center 

10 may develop and submit to the Secretary re11 gional policies in addition to the national policy 

12 established and updated under paragraph (1) to 

13 account for variances from that national policy 

14 with respect to local vessel traffic conditions 

15 and volume, geography, water body characteris16 tics, waterway usage, and any additional factors 

17 that the captain considers appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(B) REVIEW AND APPROVAL BY SEC19 RETARY.—Not later than 180 days after receiv20 ing regional policies under subparagraph (A)— 

21 ‘‘(i) the Secretary shall review those 

22 regional policies; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) the captain of the port concerned 

24 shall implement the policies that the Sec25 retary approves. 


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1 ‘‘(C) MAINTENANCE OF POLICIES.—The 

2 Secretary shall maintain a central depository 

3 for all regional policies approved under sub4 paragraph (B). 

5 ‘‘(b) PERFORMANCE EVALUATION.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 

7 and implement a standard method for evaluating the 

8 performance of vessel traffic service centers. 

9 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—The standard method devel10 oped and implemented under paragraph (1) shall in11 clude, at a minimum, analysis and collection of data 

12 with respect to the following within a vessel traffic 

13 service area covered by each vessel traffic service 

14 center: 

15 ‘‘(A) Volume of vessel traffic, categorized 

16 by type of vessel. 

17 ‘‘(B) Total volume of flammable, combus18 tible, or hazardous liquid cargo transported, 

19 categorized by vessel type. 

20 ‘‘(C) Data on near-miss events. 

21 ‘‘(D) Data on marine casualties. 

22 ‘‘(E) Application by vessel traffic operators 

23 of traffic management authority during near24 miss events and marine casualties. 


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1 ‘‘(F) Other additional methods as the Sec2 retary considers appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not less frequently 

4 than annually, the Secretary shall submit to the 

5 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor6 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Trans7 portation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep8 resentatives a report on the evaluation conducted 

9 under paragraph (1) of the performance of vessel 

10 traffic service centers, including— 

11 ‘‘(A) recommendations to improve safety 

12 and performance; and 

13 ‘‘(B) data regarding marine casualties and 

14 near-miss events that have occurred during the 

15 period covered by the report. 

16 ‘‘(c) RISK ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 

18 a continuous risk assessment program to evaluate 

19 and mitigate safety risks for each vessel traffic serv20 ice area to improve safety and reduce the risks of oil 

21 and hazardous material discharge in navigable 

22 waters. 

23 ‘‘(2) METHOD FOR ASSESSMENT.—The Sec24 retary, in coordination with State and Tribal govern25 ments, ports, nongovernmental organizations, and 


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1 private citizens, shall develop a standard method for 

2 conducting risk assessments under paragraph (1) 

3 that includes the collection and management of all 

4 information necessary to identify and analyze poten5 tial hazardous navigational trends within a vessel 

6 traffic service area. 

7 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION TO BE ASSESSED.— 

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

9 ensure that a risk assessment conducted under 

10 paragraph (1) includes an assessment of the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(i) Volume of vessel traffic, cat13 egorized by type of vessel. 

14 ‘‘(ii) Total volume of flammable, com15 bustible, or hazardous liquid cargo trans16 ported, categorized by vessel type. 

17 ‘‘(iii) Data on near-miss events. 

18 ‘‘(iv) Data on marine casualties. 

19 ‘‘(v) Geographic locations for near20 miss events and marine casualties, includ21 ing latitude and longitude. 

22 ‘‘(vi) Cyclical risk factors such as 

23 weather, seasonal water body currents, 

24 tides, bathymetry, and topography. 


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1 ‘‘(vii) Weather data, in coordination 

2 with the National Oceanic and Atmos3 pheric Administration. 

4 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION STORAGE AND MAN5 AGEMENT POLICIES.—The Secretary shall re6 tain all information collected under subpara7 graph (A) and ensure policies and procedures 

8 are in place to standardize the format in which 

9 that information is retained to facilitate statis10 tical analysis of that information to calculate 

11 within a vessel traffic service area, at a min12 imum, the incident rate, intervention rate, and 

13 accident prevention rate. 

14 ‘‘(C) INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION.— 

15 With respect to vessel traffic service areas that 

16 cross international boundaries, the Secretary 

17 may work with international partners that have 

18 entered into bilateral or cooperative agreements 

19 with vessel traffic service centers to jointly 

20 manage those areas to collect, share, and ana21 lyze, at a minimum, information described in 

22 subparagraph (A) that is in the possession or 

23 control of the international partner. 

24 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ASSESSMENTS AND INFORMATION.— 

2 In accordance with section 552 of title 5, 

3 United States Code, the Secretary shall make 

4 any risk assessments conducted under para5 graph (1) and any information collected under 

6 paragraph (3)(A) available to the public. 

7 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION IN POSSESSION OR

8 CONTROL OF INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS.—The 

9 Secretary shall endeavor to work with inter10 national partners described in paragraph (3)(C) 

11 to enter into agreements to make information 

12 collected, shared, and analyzed under that para13 graph available to the public. 

14 ‘‘(d) VESSEL TRAFFIC SERVICE TRAINING.— 

15 ‘‘(1) TRAINING PROGRAM.— 

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

17 develop a comprehensive nationwide training 

18 program for all vessel traffic service directors, 

19 operators, and watchstanders. 

20 ‘‘(B) LOCAL VARIANCES.—The Secretary 

21 shall provide for such local variances to the pro22 gram developed under subparagraph (A) as the 

23 Secretary considers appropriate. 

24 ‘‘(C) ELEMENTS.—The comprehensive na25 tionwide training program under subparagraph 


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1 (A) and any variances to that program under 

2 subparagraph (B) shall include, at a minimum, 

3 the following: 

4 ‘‘(i) Realistic vessel traffic scenarios 

5 to the maximum extent practicable that in6 tegrate— 

7 ‘‘(I) the national policy developed 

8 under subsection (a); 

9 ‘‘(II) international and inland 

10 navigation rules of the United States 

11 under the International Navigational 

12 Rules Act of 1977 (33 U.S.C. 1601 et 

13 seq.); 

14 ‘‘(III) the application of vessel 

15 traffic authority; and 

16 ‘‘(IV) communication with vessel 

17 traffic service users. 

18 ‘‘(ii) Proficiency training with respect 

19 to use, interpretation, and integration of 

20 available data on vessel traffic service dis21 play systems such as radar, video and ves22 sel automatic identification system feeds. 

23 ‘‘(iii) Practical application of the 

24 international and inland navigation rules of 

25 the United States under the International 


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1 Navigational Rules Act of 1977 (33 U.S.C. 

2 1601 et seq.). 

3 ‘‘(iv) Proficiency training with respect 

4 to the operation of radio communications 

5 equipment and any other applicable sys6 tems necessary to execute vessel traffic 

7 service authorities. 

8 ‘‘(v) Incorporation of the Standard 

9 Maritime Communication Phrases adopted 

10 by the International Maritime Organiza11 tion by resolution on April 4, 2000, as 

12 amended and consolidated, or any suc13 cessor resolution. 

14 ‘‘(vi) Incorporation to the maximum 

15 extent possible of guidance and rec16 ommendations contained in vessel traffic 

17 services operator training, vessel traffic 

18 services supervisor training, or other rel19 evant training set forth by the Inter20 national Association of Marine Aids to 

21 Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities. 

22 ‘‘(vii) A minimum number of hours of 

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1 sel traffic services position without super2 vision. 

3 ‘‘(viii) Local area geographic and 

4 operational familiarization. 

5 ‘‘(ix) Such additional components as 

6 the Secretary considers appropriate. 

7 ‘‘(2) STANDARD COMPETENCY QUALIFICATION

8 PROCESS.— 

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

10 develop a standard competency qualification 

11 process to be applied to all personnel assigned, 

12 employed, or working in a vessel traffic service 

13 center. 

14 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION OF PROCESS.—The 

15 competency qualification process developed 

16 under subparagraph (A) shall include measur17 able thresholds for determining proficiency. 

18 ‘‘(3) INTERNATIONAL AND INLAND NAVIGATION

19 RULES TEST.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—All personnel as21 signed, employed, or working in a vessel traffic 

22 service center with responsibilities that include 

23 communicating, interacting, or directing vessels 

24 within a vessel traffic service area, as deter25 mined under the national policy developed 


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1 under subsection (a), shall be required to pass 

2 a United States international and inland navi3 gation rules test developed by the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTS OF TEST.—The Secretary 

5 shall determine the content and passing stand6 ard for the rules test developed under subpara7 graph (A). 

8 ‘‘(C) TESTING FREQUENCY.—The Sec9 retary shall establish a frequency, not to exceed 

10 once every 5 years, for personnel described in 

11 subparagraph (A) to be required to pass the 

12 rules test developed under such subparagraph. 

13 ‘‘(e) RESEARCH ON VESSEL TRAFFIC.— 

14 ‘‘(1) VESSEL COMMUNICATION.—The Secretary 

15 shall conduct research, in consultation with subject 

16 matter experts identified by the Secretary, to de17 velop more effective procedures for monitoring vessel 

18 communications on radio frequencies to identify and 

19 address unsafe situations in a vessel traffic service 

20 area. The Secretary shall consider data collected 

21 under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection 

22 (c)(3). 

23 ‘‘(2) PROFESSIONAL MARINER REPRESENTA24 TION.— 


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

2 conduct research, in consultation with local 

3 stakeholders and subject matter experts identi4 fied by the Secretary, to evaluate and determine 

5 the feasibility and benefits of representation by 

6 professional mariners on the vessel traffic serv7 ice watchfloor at each vessel traffic service cen8 ter. 

9 ‘‘(B) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary 

10 shall implement representation by professional 

11 mariners on the vessel traffic service watchfloor 

12 at those vessel traffic service centers for which 

13 it is determined feasible and beneficial pursuant 

14 to research conducted under subparagraph (A). 

15 ‘‘(f) WORKING GROUP.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab17 lish a working group with regional stakeholders, in18 dustry subject matter experts, and representatives of 

19 the Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Serv20 ices (or, if such Commission does not provide rep21 resentatives, representatives of a similar organiza22 tion selected by the Secretary) to carry out the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(A) To evaluate, and provide rec25 ommendations to the Secretary regarding the 


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1 implementation of, regulations, procedures, and 

2 equipment standards as necessary to improve 

3 and ensure broadcasted vessel automatic identi4 fication system data is accurate regarding the 

5 following, as applicable: 

6 ‘‘(i) Navigation status. 

7 ‘‘(ii) Radio call sign. 

8 ‘‘(iii) Vessel name. 

9 ‘‘(iv) Vessel type. 

10 ‘‘(v) Vessel cargo. 

11 ‘‘(vi) Vessel dimensions. 

12 ‘‘(vii) Vessel tow size. 

13 ‘‘(viii) Vessel tow configuration. 

14 ‘‘(B) To develop recommended industry 

15 methods for reporting inaccuracies regarding 

16 the information listed in clauses (i) through 

17 (viii) of subparagraph (A). 

18 ‘‘(2) INCLUSION OF IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM

19 ON CERTAIN VESSELS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The working group 

21 established under paragraph (1) shall evaluate 

22 and determine the practicability, economic cost, 

23 regulatory burden, and navigational benefit to 

24 outfitting vessels lacking independent means of 

25 propulsion that carry flammable, combustible, 


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1 or hazardous liquid cargo with vessel automatic 

2 identification systems. 

3 ‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.—Based on the eval4 uation under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

5 shall prescribe such regulations as the Sec6 retary considers appropriate to establish re7 quirements relating to the outfitting of vessels 

8 described in such subparagraph with vessel 

9 automatic identification systems. 

10 ‘‘(g) PERIODIC REVIEW OF VESSEL TRAFFIC SERV11 ICE NEEDS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Based on the performance 

13 evaluation conducted under subsection (b), the Sec14 retary shall periodically review vessel traffic service 

15 areas to determine— 

16 ‘‘(A) if there are any additional vessel traf17 fic service needs in those areas; and 

18 ‘‘(B) if a vessel traffic service area should 

19 be moved or modified. 

20 ‘‘(2) STAKEHOLDER INPUT.—In conducting the 

21 periodic review under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

22 shall seek input from port and waterway stake23 holders to identify areas of increased vessel conflicts 

24 or accidents that could benefit from the use of rout25 ing measures or vessel traffic service special areas to 


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1 improve safety, port security, and environmental 

2 protection. 

3 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) HAZARDOUS LIQUID CARGO.—The term 

5 ‘hazardous liquid cargo’ has the meaning given that 

6 term in regulations prescribed under section 5103 of 

7 title 49, United States Code. 

8 ‘‘(2) MARINE CASUALTY.—The term ‘marine 

9 casualty’ has the meaning given that term in regula10 tions prescribed under section 6101(a) of title 46, 

11 United States Code. 

12 ‘‘(3) VESSEL TRAFFIC SERVICE AREA.—The 

13 term ‘vessel traffic service area’ means an area spec14 ified in subpart C of part 161 of title 33, Code of 

15 Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation. 

16 ‘‘(4) VESSEL TRAFFIC SERVICE CENTER.—The 

17 term ‘vessel traffic service center’ means a center for 

18 the provision of vessel traffic services in a vessel 

19 traffic service area.’’. 

20 (b) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 700.—The analysis for 

21 chapter 700 of title 46, United States Code, is amended 

22 by striking the items relating to sections 70004 and 70005 

23 and inserting the following: 

‘‘70004. Vessel traffic service system. 

‘‘70005. Considerations by Secretary. 

‘‘70006. International agreements.’’. 


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1 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Chapter 700 of 

2 title 46, United States Code, as amended by this section, 

3 is further amended— 

4 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) of 

5 section 70005, as redesignated by subsection (a)(1), 

6 by striking ‘‘and 70003’’ and inserting ‘‘70003, and 

7 70004’’; and 

8 (2) in section 70032, by inserting ‘‘70005,’’ 

9 after ‘‘70004,’’. 

10 SEC. 420. REPLACEMENT VESSEL. 

11 Notwithstanding section 208(g)(5) of the American 

12 Fisheries Act (16 U.S.C. 1851 note), a vessel described 

13 in section 208(e)(21) of such Act that is replaced under 

14 section 208(g) of such Act shall be subject to a sideboard 

15 restriction catch limit of zero metric tons in the Bering 

16 Sea and Aleutian Islands and in the Gulf of Alaska unless 

17 such vessel is also a replacement vessel described in sec18 tion 679.4(o)(4) of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations 

19 (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act), in 

20 which case such vessel shall not be eligible to be a catcher/ 

21 processor under section 206(b)(2) of such Act. 

22 SEC. 421. LIMITED INDEMNITY PROVISIONS IN STANDBY 

23 OIL SPILL RESPONSE CONTRACTS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), a con25 tract for the containment or removal of a discharge enVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:32 Aug 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00180 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2297.IS S2297

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1 tered into by the President (or a delegate) under section 

2 311(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 

3 U.S.C. 1321(c)) shall contain a provision to indemnify a 

4 contractor for liabilities and expenses incidental to the 

5 containment or removal arising out of the performance of 

6 the contract that is substantially identical to the terms 

7 contained in subsections (d) through (h) of section H.4 

8 of the contract offered by the Coast Guard in the solicita9 tion numbered DTCG89–98–A–68F953 and dated No10 vember 17, 1998. 

11 (b) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—The provision required 

12 under subsection (a) shall include a provision that the obli13 gation to indemnify is limited to funds available in the 

14 Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund established by section 

15 9509(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 at the time 

16 the claim for indemnity is made. 

17 (c) APPLICABILITY OF EXEMPTIONS.—Except as pro18 vided in the indemnity provisions described in subsection 

19 (a), nothing in a contract described in that subsection may 

20 create liability of the United States to a contractor for 

21 any act or omission for which the contractor is exempt 

22 from liability under section 311(c)(4) of the Federal 

23 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(c)(4)). 


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1 SEC. 422. UNITED STATES COMMERCIAL SPACE-BASED 

2 RADIO FREQUENCY MARITIME DOMAIN 

3 AWARENESS TESTING AND EVALUATION PRO4 GRAM. 

5 (a) TESTING AND EVALUATION PROGRAM.—The Sec6 retary of the department in which the Coast Guard is op7 erating shall carry out a testing and evaluation program 

8 of United States commercial space-based radio frequency 

9 geolocation and maritime domain awareness products and 

10 services to support the mission objectives of maritime en11 forcement by the Coast Guard and other components of 

12 the Coast Guard. The objectives of this testing and evalua13 tion program shall include— 

14 (1) developing an understanding of how United 

15 States commercial space-based radio frequency data 

16 products can meet current and future mission re17 quirements; 

18 (2) establishing how United States commercial 

19 space-based radio frequency data products should in20 tegrate into existing work flows; and 

21 (3) establishing how United States commercial 

22 space-based radio frequency data products could be 

23 integrated into analytics platforms. 

24 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 240 days after the date 

25 of enactment of this Act, such Secretary shall prepare and 

26 submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 


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1 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

2 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep3 resentatives a report on the results of the testing and eval4 uation program under subsection (a), including rec5 ommendations on how the Coast Guard should fully ex6 ploit United States commercial space-based radio fre7 quency data products to meet current and future mission 

8 requirements. 

9 SEC. 423. EXEMPTION OF COMMERCIAL FISHING VESSELS 

10 OPERATING IN THE ALASKAN REGION FROM 

11 THE GLOBAL MARINE DISTRESS AND SAFETY 

12 SERVICE REQUIREMENTS OF THE FEDERAL 

13 COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION. 

14 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

15 (1) the term ‘‘Alaskan Region’’ has the mean16 ing given the term by the Secretary for purposes of 

17 this section; and 

18 (2) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

19 of the Department in which the Coast Guard is op20 erating. 

21 (b) EXEMPTION.—Subject to subsection (c), the Fed22 eral Communications Commission shall exempt fishing 

23 vessels that primarily operate in the Alaskan Region, in24 cluding fishing vessels that transit from States in the Pa25 cific Northwest to conduct fishing operations in the AlasVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:32 Aug 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00183 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2297.IS S2297

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1 kan Region, from the requirements relating to carriage of 

2 VHF–DSC and MF–DSC equipment under subpart W of 

3 part 80 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any 

4 successor regulation. 

5 (c) FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—A fishing vessel 

6 exempted under subsection (b) shall— 

7 (1) be capable of transmitting ship-to-shore dis8 tress alerts using not fewer than 2 separate and 

9 independent systems, each using a different radio 

10 communication service; 

11 (2) be equipped with— 

12 (A) a VHF radiotelephone installation; 

13 (B) an MF or HF radiotelephone installa14 tion; 

15 (C) a Category 1, 406.0–406.1 MHz 

16 EPIRB meeting the requirements of section 

17 80.1061 of title 47, Code of Federal Regula18 tions, or any successor regulation; 

19 (D) a NAVTEX receiver meeting the re20 quirements of section 80.1101(c)(1) of title 47, 

21 Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 

22 regulation; 

23 (E) survival craft equipment meeting the 

24 requirements of section 80.1095 of title 47, 


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1 Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 

2 regulation; and 

3 (F) a Search and Rescue Transponder 

4 meeting the requirements of section 

5 80.1101(c)(6) of title 47, Code of Federal Reg6 ulations, or any successor regulation; and 

7 (3) maintain a continuous watch on VHF 

8 Channel 16. 

9 (d) DEFINITION OF ALASKAN REGION.—Not later 

10 than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

11 Secretary shall define the term ‘‘Alaskan Region’’ for pur12 poses of this section. 

13 SEC. 424. EDUCATIONAL VESSEL. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

15 12112(a)(2) of title 46, United States Code, the Secretary 

16 of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating 

17 may issue a certificate of documentation with a coastwise 

18 endorsement for the vessel OLIVER HAZARD PERRY 

19 (IMO number 8775560; United States official number 

20 1257224). 

21 (b) TERMINATION OF EFFECTIVENESS OF ENDORSE22 MENT.—The coastwise endorsement authorized under sub23 section (a) for the vessel OLIVER HAZARD PERRY 

24 (IMO number 8775560; United States official number 


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1 1257224) shall expire on the first date on which any of 

2 the following apply: 

3 (1) The vessel is sold to a person, including an 

4 entity, that is not related by ownership or control to 

5 the person, including an entity, that owned the ves6 sel on the date of enactment of this Act. 

7 (2) The vessel is rebuilt and not rebuilt in the 

8 United States (as defined in section 12101(a) of 

9 title 46, United States Code). 

10 (3) The vessel is no longer operating in primary 

11 service as a sailing school vessel or an educational 

12 sailing vessel. 

13 SEC. 425. CONVEYANCE OF COAST GUARD REAL PROPERTY 

14 AT POINT SPENCER, ALASKA. 

15 (a) REMEDIAL ACTIONS.—Section 533 of the Coast 

16 Guard Authorization Act of 2016 (Public Law 114–120; 

17 130 Stat. 74) is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(f) REMEDIAL ACTIONS.—For purposes of the 

20 transfer of any Tract under this section— 

21 ‘‘(1) any remedial actions required under sec22 tion 120(h) of the Comprehensive Environmental 

23 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 

24 (42 U.S.C. 9620(h)) may be completed by the 


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1 United States Coast Guard after the date of that 

2 transfer; and 

3 ‘‘(2) a deed entered into for that transfer shall 

4 contain a clause granting the United States Coast 

5 Guard access to the property in any case in which 

6 remedial action or corrective action is found to be 

7 necessary after the date of that transfer.’’. 

8 (b) EFFECT ON ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE.— 

9 Section 534(a) of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 

10 2016 (42 U.S.C. 9620 note; Public Law 114–120) is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘Nothing’’ and inserting the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para15 graph (2), nothing’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY AFTER CONVEYANCE.— 

18 Prior to the date on which a Tract is conveyed 

19 under section 533, section 120(h) of the Comprehen20 sive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 

21 Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9620(h)) and any 

22 other applicable environmental law shall not apply 

23 with respect to any hazardous substance released on 

24 the applicable Tract.’’. 


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1 SEC. 426. COAST GUARD SHORE INFRASTRUCTURE IM2 PROVEMENT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 31, 

4 2020, the Commandant shall— 

5 (1) develop a plan to standardize Coast Guard 

6 facility condition assessments; 

7 (2) establish shore infrastructure performance 

8 goals, measures, and baselines to track the effective9 ness of maintenance and repair investments and pro10 vide feedback on progress made; 

11 (3) develop a process to routinely align the 

12 Coast Guard shore infrastructure portfolio with mis13 sion needs, including disposing of unneeded assets; 

14 (4) establish guidance for planning boards to 

15 document inputs, deliberations, and project 

16 prioritization decisions for infrastructure mainte17 nance projects; 

18 (5) employ models for Coast Guard infrastruc19 ture asset lines for— 

20 (A) predicting the outcome of investments 

21 in shore infrastructure; 

22 (B) analyzing tradeoffs; and 

23 (C) optimizing decisions among competing 

24 investments; 


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1 (6) include in congressional budget requests 

2 and related reports supporting details on competing 

3 project alternatives and report tradeoffs; and 

4 (7) explore the development of real property 

5 management expertise in the Coast Guard work 

6 force, including members of the Senior Executive 

7 Service. 

8 (b) BRIEFING.—Not later than January 31, 2021, 

9 the Commandant shall brief the Committee on Commerce, 

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

12 of Representatives with respect to the status of the actions 

13 required under subsection (a). 

14 SEC. 427. COAST GUARD ARCTIC PRIORITIZATION. 

15 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find16 ings: 

17 (1) The strategic importance of the Arctic con18 tinues to increase as the United States and other 

19 countries recognize the military significance of the 

20 sea lanes and choke points within the region and un21 derstand the potential for power projection from the 

22 Arctic into multiple regions. 

23 (2) Russia and China have conducted military 

24 exercises together in the Arctic, have agreed to con25 nect the Northern Sea Route, claimed by Russia, 


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1 with China’s Maritime Silk Road, and are working 

2 together in developing natural gas resources in the 

3 Arctic. 

4 (3) The economic significance of the Arctic con5 tinues to grow as countries around the globe begin 

6 to understand the potential for maritime transpor7 tation through, and economic and trade development 

8 in, the region. 

9 (4) Increases in human, maritime, and resource 

10 development activity in the Arctic region may create 

11 additional mission requirements for the Department 

12 of Defense and the Department of Homeland Secu13 rity. 

14 (5) The increasing role of the United States in 

15 the Arctic has been highlighted in each of the last 

16 four National Defense Authorization Acts. 

17 (6) The United States Coast Guard Arctic 

18 Strategic Outlook released in April 2019 states, 

19 ‘‘Demonstrating commitment to operational pres20 ence, Canada, Denmark, and Norway have made 

21 strategic investments in ice-capable patrol ships 

22 charged with national or homeland security missions. 

23 [The United States] is the only Arctic State that 

24 has not made similar investments in ice-capable sur25 face maritime security assets. This limits the ability 


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1 of the Coast Guard, and the Nation, to credibly up2 hold sovereignty or respond to contingencies in the 

3 Arctic.’’. 

4 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that— 

6 (1) the Arctic is a region of strategic impor7 tance to the national security interests of the United 

8 States, and the Coast Guard must better align its 

9 mission prioritization and development of capabilities 

10 to meet the growing array of challenges in the re11 gion; 

12 (2) the increasing freedom of navigation and 

13 expansion of activity in the Arctic must be met with 

14 an increasing show of Coast Guard forces capable of 

15 exerting influence through persistent presence; 

16 (3) Congress fully supports the needed and im17 portant re-capitalization of the fleet of cutters and 

18 aircraft of the Coast Guard, but, the Coast Guard 

19 must avoid overextending operational assets for re20 mote international missions at the cost of dedicated 

21 focus on this domestic area of responsibility with 

22 significant international interest and activity; and 

23 (4) although some progress has been made to 

24 increase awareness of Arctic issues and to promote 

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1 ures are needed to protect vital economic, environ2 mental, and national security interests of the United 

3 States, and to show the commitment of the United 

4 States to this emerging strategic choke point of in5 creasing great power competition. 

6 (c) ARCTIC DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

7 ‘‘Arctic’’ has the meaning given that term in section 112 

8 of the Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 

9 4111). 

10 SEC. 428. NATIONAL COMMERCIAL FISHING SAFETY ADVI11 SORY COMMITTEE. 

12 Section 15102 of title 46, United States Code, is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (b)— 

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

16 by striking ‘‘shall’’; 

17 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘advise’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘shall advise and provide recommendations 

20 in writing to’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

23 (C) in paragraph (2)— 

24 (i) by inserting ‘‘shall’’ before ‘‘re25 view’’; and 


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1 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

2 and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

4 ‘‘(3) shall review marine casualties and inves5 tigations of vessels covered by chapter 45 of this 

6 title and make recommendations to the Secretary to 

7 improve safety and reduce future vessel casualties; 

8 ‘‘(4) shall submit recommendations on matters 

9 described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) to the Sec10 retary and the Commandant of the Coast Guard in 

11 writing, and make those recommendations available 

12 on a publicly accessible website; 

13 ‘‘(5) may submit any recommendations on mat14 ters described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) at any 

15 time and frequency as decided appropriate by the 

16 Committee; 

17 ‘‘(6) may make available to Congress any infor18 mation, advice, and recommendations that the Com19 mittee is authorized to give to the Secretary; and 

20 ‘‘(7) shall meet at the call of the Secretary, who 

21 shall call such a meeting at least twice per year in 

22 person, and additional meetings as appropriate.’’; 

23 (2) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 

24 following: 

25 ‘‘(4) SERVICE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) TERMS.—Each member of the Com2 mittee— 

3 ‘‘(i) shall serve a term of 3 years; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) may serve not more than 3 

5 terms. 

6 ‘‘(B) CONTINUED SERVICE AFTER TERM.— 

7 When the term of a member of the Committee 

8 ends, the member may continue to serve as a 

9 member until a successor is appointed, but not 

10 for longer than 1 year after the end of the 

11 term. 

12 ‘‘(C) VACANCY.—If a vacancy occurs in the 

13 membership of the Committee, the Secretary 

14 shall appoint a member to fill the remainder of 

15 the vacated term. 

16 ‘‘(5) FAILURE TO APPOINT.—The Secretary 

17 shall appoint Committee members not later than 60 

18 days after the date of the application deadline. 

19 ‘‘(6) REPRESENTATIVE.—The Commandant of 

20 the Coast Guard shall, and the head of any other in21 terested agency may, designate a representative to 

22 participate as an observer with the Committee. Such 

23 representatives shall, as appropriate, report to and 

24 advise the Committee on matters relating to vessels 

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1 risdiction of their respective agencies. The Sec2 retary’s designated representative shall act as execu3 tive secretary for the Committee and perform the 

4 duties set forth in section 10(c) of the Federal Advi5 sory Committee Act (5 App. U.S.C.). 

6 ‘‘(7) COMMITTEE CONSULTATION.—The Com7 mittee shall seek expertise from the fishing industry, 

8 marine safety experts, the shipbuilding industry, and 

9 others as the Committee determines appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(8) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—The Committee 

11 may establish standing or ad hoc committees as 

12 needed. 

13 ‘‘(9) OUTREACH AND RECRUITMENT.—At least 

14 once each year, the Secretary shall publish a notice 

15 in the Federal Register and in newspapers of general 

16 circulation in coastal areas soliciting nominations for 

17 membership on the Committee, and, after timely no18 tice is published, appoint the members of the Com19 mittee. An individual may be appointed to a term as 

20 a member of the Committee more than once. The 

21 Secretary may not seek or use information con22 cerning the political affiliation of individuals in mak23 ing appointments to the Committee. 


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1 ‘‘(10) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

2 shall provide technical assistance to the Committee 

3 if requested by a Committee member.’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(d) MEETINGS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) FREQUENCY.—The Committee shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) meet in person not less often than 

8 twice per year; and 

9 ‘‘(B) hold additional meetings as needed. 

10 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The Secretary shall pro11 vide reasonable public notice of any meeting of the 

12 Committee, and publish such notice in the Federal 

13 Register and on a publicly available website. 

14 ‘‘(3) QUORUM.—A quorum of 10 of the 18 

15 members is required to send any written rec16 ommendations from the meeting to the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(e) ACTIONS OF THE SECRETARY.—The Secretary 

18 shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) consult with the Committee before taking 

20 any significant action relating to the safe operation 

21 of vessels to which this chapter applies; 

22 ‘‘(2) consider the information, advice, and rec23 ommendations of the Committee in consulting with 

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1 icy regarding the safe operation of vessels to which 

2 this chapter applies; 

3 ‘‘(3) make all recommendations made by the 

4 Committee under subsection (b) public within 30 

5 days of receiving the recommendation from the Com6 mittee; 

7 ‘‘(4) respond in writing to any recommenda8 tions made by the Committee under subsection (b) 

9 and provide reasoning for acceptance or rejection to 

10 all recommendations not later than 30 days after the 

11 date of receipt of the recommendation; and 

12 ‘‘(5) make all responses in paragraph (4) avail13 able to the public not later than 30 days after the 

14 date of response. 

15 ‘‘(f) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in subsection (b) 

16 shall preclude the Secretary from taking emergency action 

17 within the existing authorities of the Secretary to ensure 

18 safety and preservation of life at sea. 

19 ‘‘(g) TRANSPARENCY.—Meeting minutes of the Com20 mittee shall be posted on a publicly available website not 

21 later than 2 weeks after a meeting concludes. 

22 ‘‘(h) APPLICABILITY OF FACA.—Section 14 of the 

23 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 

24 apply to the Committee.’’. 


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1 SEC. 429. OIL POLLUTION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 Section 7001 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 

4 U.S.C. 2761) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), (e), 

6 and (f) as subsections (e), (f), (g), and (h), respec7 tively; 

8 (2) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in9 serting the following: 

10 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

11 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Chair’ means the Chairperson of 

12 the Interagency Committee designated under sub13 section (c)(2); 

14 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Commandant’ means the Com15 mandant of the Coast Guard; 

16 ‘‘(3) the term ‘institution of higher education’ 

17 means an institution of higher education, as defined 

18 in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 

19 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001); 

20 ‘‘(4) the term ‘Interagency Committee’ means 

21 the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pol22 lution Research established under subsection (b); 

23 ‘‘(5) the term ‘Under Secretary’ means the 

24 Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and At25 mosphere; and 


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1 ‘‘(6) the term ‘Vice-Chair’ means the Vice2 Chairperson of the Interagency Committee des3 ignated under subsection (c)(3). 

4 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERAGENCY COORDI5 NATING COMMITTEE ON OIL POLLUTION RESEARCH.— 

6 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an 

7 Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollu8 tion Research. 

9 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The Interagency Committee 

10 shall coordinate a comprehensive program of oil pol11 lution research, technology development, and dem12 onstration among the Federal agencies, in coopera13 tion and coordination with industry, 4-year institu14 tions of higher education and research institutions, 

15 State governments, and other nations, as appro16 priate, and shall foster cost-effective research mech17 anisms, including the joint funding of research. 

18 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

19 ‘‘(1) COMPOSITION.—The Interagency Com20 mittee shall be composed of— 

21 ‘‘(A) at least 1 representative of the Coast 

22 Guard; 

23 ‘‘(B) at least 1 representative of the Na24 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 


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1 ‘‘(C) at least 1 representative of the Envi2 ronmental Protection Agency; 

3 ‘‘(D) at least 1 representative of the De4 partment of the Interior; 

5 ‘‘(E) at least 1 representative of the Bu6 reau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement; 

7 ‘‘(F) at least 1 representative of the Bu8 reau of Ocean Energy Management; 

9 ‘‘(G) at least 1 representative of the 

10 United States Fish and Wildlife Service; 

11 ‘‘(H) at least 1 representative of the De12 partment of Energy; 

13 ‘‘(I) at least 1 representative of the Pipe14 line and Hazardous Materials Safety Adminis15 tration; 

16 ‘‘(J) at least 1 representative of the Fed17 eral Emergency Management Agency; 

18 ‘‘(K) at least 1 representative of the Navy; 

19 ‘‘(L) at least 1 representative of the Army 

20 Corps of Engineers; 

21 ‘‘(M) at least 1 representative of the 

22 United States Arctic Research Commission; and 

23 ‘‘(N) at least 1 representative of each of 

24 such other Federal agencies as the President 

25 considers to be appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Commandant shall 

2 designate a Chairperson from among members of 

3 the Interagency Committee selected under paragraph 

4 (1)(A). 

5 ‘‘(3) VICE-CHAIRPERSON.—The Under Sec6 retary shall designate a Vice-Chairperson from 

7 among members of the Interagency Committee se8 lected under paragraph (1)(B). 

9 ‘‘(4) MEETINGS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) QUARTERLY MEETINGS.—At a min11 imum, the members of the Interagency Com12 mittee shall meet once each quarter. 

13 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC SUMMARIES.—After each 

14 meeting, a summary shall be made available by 

15 the Chair or Vice-Chair, as appropriate. 

16 ‘‘(d) DUTIES OF THE INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE.— 

17 ‘‘(1) RESEARCH.—The Interagency Committee 

18 shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) coordinate a comprehensive program 

20 of oil pollution research, technology develop21 ment, and demonstration among the Federal 

22 agencies, in cooperation and coordination with 

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1 ernments, and other nations, as appropriate; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) foster cost-effective research mecha4 nisms, including the joint funding of research 

5 and the development of public-private partner6 ships for the purpose of expanding research. 

7 ‘‘(2) OIL POLLUTION RESEARCH AND TECH8 NOLOGY PLAN.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later 

10 than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

11 the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2019, the 

12 Interagency Committee shall submit to Con13 gress a research plan to report on the state of 

14 oil discharge prevention and response capabili15 ties that— 

16 ‘‘(i) identifies current research pro17 grams conducted by Federal agencies, 

18 State and tribal governments, 4-year insti19 tutions of higher education, and corporate 

20 entities; 

21 ‘‘(ii) assesses the current status of 

22 knowledge on oil pollution prevention, re23 sponse, and mitigation technologies and ef24 fects of oil pollution on the environment; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) identifies significant oil pollution 

2 research gaps, including an assessment of 

3 major technological deficiencies in re4 sponses to past oil discharges; 

5 ‘‘(iv) establishes national research pri6 orities and goals for oil pollution tech7 nology development related to prevention, 

8 response, mitigation, and environmental ef9 fects; 

10 ‘‘(v) assesses the research on the ap11 plicability and effectiveness of the preven12 tion, response, and mitigation technologies 

13 to each class of oil; 

14 ‘‘(vi) estimates the resources needed 

15 to conduct the oil pollution research and 

16 development program established pursuant 

17 to subsection (e), and timetables for com18 pleting research tasks; 

19 ‘‘(vii) summarizes research on re20 sponse equipment in varying environmental 

21 conditions, such as in currents, ice cover, 

22 and ice floes; and 

23 ‘‘(viii) includes such other information 

24 or recommendations as the Interagency 

25 Committee determines to be appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ADVICE AND GUIDANCE.— 

2 ‘‘(i) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF

3 SCIENCES CONTRACT.—The Chair, through 

4 the department in which the Coast Guard 

5 is operating, shall contract with the Na6 tional Academy of Sciences to— 

7 ‘‘(I) provide advice and guidance 

8 in the preparation and development of 

9 the research plan; 

10 ‘‘(II) assess the adequacy of the 

11 plan as submitted, and submit a re12 port to Congress on the conclusions of 

13 such assessment; and 

14 ‘‘(III) provide organization guid15 ance regarding the implementation of 

16 the research plan, including delegation 

17 of topics and research among Federal 

18 agencies represented on the Inter19 agency Committee. 

20 ‘‘(ii) NIST ADVICE AND GUIDANCE.— 

21 The National Institute of Standards and 

22 Technology shall provide the Interagency 

23 Committee with advice and guidance on 

24 issues relating to quality assurance and 


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1 standards measurements relating to its ac2 tivities under this section. 

3 ‘‘(C) 10-YEAR UPDATES.—Not later than 

4 10 years after the date of enactment of the 

5 Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2019 and 

6 every 10 years thereafter, the Interagency Com7 mittee shall submit to Congress a research plan 

8 that updates the information contained in the 

9 previous research plan submitted under this 

10 subsection.’’; 

11 (3) in subsection (e), as redesignated by para12 graph (1) of this section— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘tech14 nology’’ after ‘‘research and’’; 

15 (B) in paragraph (2), in the matter pre16 ceding subparagraph (A)— 

17 (i) by striking ‘‘this subsection’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; and 

19 (ii) by striking ‘‘which are effective in 

20 preventing or mitigating oil discharges and 

21 which’’ and inserting ‘‘and methods that 

22 are effective in preventing, mitigating, or 

23 restoring damage from oil discharges and 

24 that’’; 

25 (C) in paragraph (4)(A)— 


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

2 by striking ‘‘oil discharges. Such program 

3 shall’’ and inserting ‘‘acute and chronic oil 

4 discharges on coastal and marine resources 

5 (including impacts on protected areas such 

6 as sanctuaries) and protected species, and 

7 such program shall’’; 

8 (ii) by redesignating clauses (iii) and 

9 (iv) as clauses (iv) and (v), respectively; 

10 (iii) by inserting after clause (ii) the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(iii) Research to understand and quantify 

13 the effects of sublethal impacts of oil discharge 

14 on living natural marine resources, including 

15 impacts on pelagic fish species, marine mam16 mals, and commercially and recreationally tar17 geted fish and shellfish species.’’; and 

18 (iv) by inserting after clause (v), as 

19 redesignated by subclause (II), the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(vi) Research to understand the long-term 

22 effects of major oil discharges and the long23 term effects of smaller endemic oil discharges. 

24 ‘‘(vii) Potential impacts on ecosystems, 

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1 icity, heavy metal concentrations, and increased 

2 corrosiveness of mixed crude, such as diluted bi3 tumen crude. 

4 ‘‘(viii) Methods to restore and rehabilitate 

5 natural resources and ecosystem functions dam6 aged by oil discharges.’’; 

7 (D) by striking paragraph (7) and insert8 ing the following: 

9 ‘‘(7) SIMULATED ENVIRONMENTAL TESTING.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Agencies represented 

11 on the Interagency Committee shall ensure the 

12 long-term use and operation of the Oil and 

13 Hazardous Materials Simulated Environmental 

14 Test Tank (OHMSETT) Research Center in 

15 New Jersey for oil pollution technology testing 

16 and evaluations. 

17 ‘‘(B) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

19 the Department in which the Coast Guard 

20 is operating and the Administrator of the 

21 Environmental Protection Agency may ac22 cept donations of crude oil and crude oil 

23 product samples in the form of in-kind 

24 contributions for use by the Federal Gov25 ernment for product testing, research and 


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1 development, and for other purposes as the 

2 Secretary and the Administrator determine 

3 appropriate. 

4 ‘‘(ii) USE OF DONATED OIL.—Oil ac5 cepted under clause (i) may be used di6 rectly by the Secretary and shall be pro7 vided to other Federal agencies or depart8 ments through interagency agreements to 

9 carry out the purposes of this Act.’’; 

10 (E) in paragraph (8)— 

11 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

12 ‘‘subsection (b)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

13 (d)’’; and 

14 (ii) in subparagraph (D)(iii), by strik15 ing ‘‘subsection (b)(1)(F)’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘subsection (d)’’; and 

17 (F) in paragraph (10)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘agencies represented 

19 on the Interagency Committee’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘Under Secretary’’; 

21 (ii) by inserting ‘‘States, tribes,’’ after 

22 ‘‘research institutions,’’; and 

23 (iii) by striking ‘‘subsection (b)’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘subsection (d)’’; 


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1 (4) in subsection (f), as redesignated by para2 graph (1) of this section, by striking ‘‘subsection 

3 (b)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (d)’’; 

4 (5) in subsection (g), as redesignated by para5 graph (1) of this section, by striking ‘‘Chairman of 

6 the Interagency Committee’’ and inserting ‘‘Chair’’; 

7 and 

8 (6) in subsection (h), as redesignated by para9 graph (1) of this section, by striking ‘‘subsection 

10 (c)(8)’’ each place the term appears and inserting 

11 ‘‘subsection (e)(8)’’. 

12 TITLE V—FEDERAL MARITIME 

13 COMMISSION 

14 SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE. 

15 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Maritime 

16 Commission Authorization Act of 2019’’. 

17 SEC. 502. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 Section 308 of title 46, United States Code, is 

19 amended by striking ‘‘$28,012,310 for fiscal year 2018 

20 and $28,544,543 for fiscal year 2019’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘$29,086,888 for fiscal year 2020 and $29,639,538 for 

22 fiscal year 2021’’. 

Æ 


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