106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2487

AN ACT

To authorize appropriations for Fiscal Year 2001 for certain

maritime programs of the Department of Transportation.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

2 YEAR 2001.

3 Funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated, as

4 Appropriations Acts may provide, for the use of the De5 partment of Transportation for the Maritime Administra6 tion as follows:

7 (1) For expenses necessary for operations and

8 training activities, not to exceed $80,240,000 for the

9 fiscal year ending September 30, 2001.

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

11 the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, of guaran12 teed loans authorized by title XI of the Merchant

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

14 $50,000,000, to be available until expended. In addi15 tion, for administrative expenses related to loan

16 guarantee commitments under title XI of that Act,

17 $4,179,000.

18 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE IX OF THE MERCHANT MA19 RINE ACT, 1936.

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

21 U.S.C. App. 101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end

22 thereof the following:

23 ‘‘SEC. 910. DOCUMENTATION OF CERTAIN DRY CARGO VES24 SELS.

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

26 901(b)(1) of this Act concerning a vessel built in a foreign
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1 country shall not apply to a newly constructed drybulk or

2 breakbulk vessel over 7,500 deadweight tons that has been

3 delivered from a foreign shipyard or contracted for con4 struction in a foreign shipyard before the earlier of—

5 ‘‘(1) the date that is 1 year after the date of

6 enactment of the Maritime Administration Author7 ization Act for Fiscal Year 2001; or

8 ‘‘(2) the effective date of the OECD Ship9 building Trade Agreement Act.

10 ‘‘(b) COMPLIANCE WITH CERTAIN U.S.-BUILD RE11 QUIREMENTS.—A vessel timely contracted for or delivered

12 pursuant to this section and documented under the laws

13 of the United States shall be deemed to have been United14 States built for purposes of sections 901(b) and 901b of

15 this Act if—

16 ‘‘(1) following delivery by a foreign shipyard,

17 the vessel has any additional shipyard work nec18 essary to receive its initial Coast Guard certificate of

19 inspection performed in a United States shipyard;

20 ‘‘(2) the vessel is not documented in another

21 country before being documented under the laws of

22 the United States;

23 ‘‘(3) the vessel complies with the same inspec24 tion standards set forth for ocean common carriers
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1 in section 1137 of the Coast Guard Authorization

2 Act of 1996 (46 U.S.C. App. 1187 note); and

3 ‘‘(4) actual delivery of a vessel contracted for

4 construction takes place on or before the 3-year an5 niversary of the date of the contract to construct the

6 vessel.

7 ‘‘(c) SECTION 12106(e) OF TITLE 46.—Section

8 12106(e) of title 46, United States Code, shall not apply

9 to a vessel built pursuant to this section.’’.

10 (b) CONFORMING CALENDAR YEAR TO FEDERAL

11 FISCAL YEAR FOR SECTION 901b PURPOSES.—Section

12 901b(c)(2) of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C

13 App. 1241f(c)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘1986.’’ and in14 serting ‘‘1986, the 18-month period commencing April 1,

15 2000, and the 12-month period beginning on the first day

16 of October in the year 2001 and each year thereafter.’’.

17 SEC. 4. SCRAPPING OF CERTAIN VESSELS.

18 (a) INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SCRAPPING

19 STANDARD.—The Secretary of State in coordination with

20 the Secretary of Transportation shall initiate discussions

21 in all appropriate international forums in order to estab22 lish an international standard for the scrapping of vessels

23 in a safe and environmentally sound manner.

24 (b) SCRAPPING OF OBSOLETE NATIONAL DEFENSE

25 RESERVE FLEET VESSELS.—
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1 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF A SHIP SCRAPPING PRO2 GRAM.—The Secretary of Transportation, in con3 sultation with the Secretary of the Navy, the Admin4 istrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the

5 Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and

6 Health, and the Secretary of State, shall develop a

7 program within 9 months after the date of enact8 ment of this Act for the scrapping of obsolete Na9 tional Defense Reserve Fleet Vessels and report to

10 the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and

11 Transportation and the House of Representatives

12 Committee on Armed Services.

13 (A) CONTENT.—The report shall include

14 information concerning the initial determination

15 of scrapping capacity, both domestically and

16 abroad, development of appropriate regulations,

17 funding and staffing requirements, milestone

18 dates for the disposal of each obsolete vessel,

19 and long term cost estimates for the ship scrap20 ping program.

21 (B) ALTERNATIVES.—In developing the

22 program the Secretary of Transportation, in

23 consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, the

24 Administrator of the Environmental Protection

25 Agency, and the Secretary of State shall con-
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1 sider all alternatives and available information

2 including—

3 (i) alternative scrapping sites;

4 (ii) vessel donations;

5 (iii) sinking of vessels in deep water;

6 (iv) sinking vessels for development of

7 artificial reefs;

8 (v) sales of vessels before they become

9 obsolete;

10 (vi) results from the Navy Pilot

11 Scrapping Program under section 8124 of

12 the Department of Defense Appropriations

13 Act, 1999; and

14 (vii) the Report of the Department of

15 Defense’s Interagency Panel on Ship

16 Scrapping issued in April, 1998.

17 (2) SELECTION OF SCRAPPING FACILITIES.—

18 Notwithstanding the provisions of the Toxic Sub19 stances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2605 et seq.), a ship

20 scrapping program shall be accomplished through

21 qualified scrapping facilities whether located in the

22 United States or abroad. Scrapping facilities shall be

23 selected on a best value basis taking into consider24 ation, among other things, the facilities’s ability to

25 scrap vessels—
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1 (A) economically;

2 (B) in a safe and timely manner;

3 (C) with minimal impact on the environ4 ment;

5 (D) with proper respect for worker safety;

6 and

7 (E) by minimizing the geographic distance

8 that a vessel must be towed when such a vessel

9 poses a serious threat to the environment.

10 (3) AMENDMENT OF NATIONAL MARITIME HER11 ITAGE ACT.—Section 6(c)(1) of the National Mari12 time Heritage Act of 1994 (16 U.S.C. 5405(c)(1))

13 is amended—

14 (A) by striking ‘‘2001’’ in subparagraph

15 (A) and inserting ‘‘2006’’; and

16 (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and in17 serting the following:

18 ‘‘(B) in the most cost effective manner to the

19 United States taking into account the need for dis20 posal, the environment, and safety concerns; and’’.

21 (4) FUNDING FOR SCRAPPING.—Section

22 2218(c)(1)(E) of title 10, United States Code, is

23 amended by inserting ‘‘and scrapping the vessels of’’

24 after ‘‘maintaining’’.
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1 (c) LIMITATION ON SCRAPPING BEFORE PRO2 GRAM.—Until the report required by subsection (b)(1) is

3 transmitted to the Congress, the Secretary may not pro4 ceed with the scrapping of any vessels in the National De5 fense Reserve Fleet except the following:

6 (1) EXPORT CHALLENGER.

7 (2) EXPORT COMMERCE.

8 (3) BUILDER.

9 (4) ALBERT E. WATTS.

10 (5) WAYNE VICTORY.

11 (6) MORMACDAWN.

12 (7) MORMACMOON.

13 (8) SANTA ELENA.

14 (9) SANTA ISABEL.

15 (10) SANTA CRUZ.

16 (11) PROTECTOR.

17 (12) LAUDERDALE.

18 (13) PVT. FRED C. MURPHY.

19 (14) BEAUJOLAIS.

20 (15) MEACHAM.

21 (16) NEACO.

22 (17) WABASH.

23 (18) NEMASKET.

24 (19) MIRFAK.

25 (20) GEN. ALEX M. PATCH.
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1 (21) ARTHUR M. HUDDELL.

2 (22) WASHINGTON.

3 (23) SUFFOLK COUNTY.

4 (24) CRANDALL.

5 (25) CRILLEY.

6 (26) RIGEL.

7 (27) VEGA.

8 (28) COMPASS ISLAND.

9 (29) DONNER.

10 (30) PRESERVER.

11 (31) MARINE FIDDLER.

12 (32) WOOD COUNTY.

13 (33) CATAWBA VICTORY.

14 (34) GEN. NELSON M. WALKER.

15 (35) LORAIN COUNTY.

16 (36) LYNCH.

17 (37) MISSION SANTA YNEZ.

18 (38) CALOOSAHATCHEE.

19 (39) CANISTEO.

20 (d) BIANNUAL REPORT.—Beginning 1 year after the

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor22 tation in coordination with the Secretary of the Navy shall

23 report to Congress biannually on the progress of the ship

24 scrapping program developed under subsection (b)(1) and
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1 on the progress of any other scrapping of obsolete govern2 ment-owned vessels.

3 SEC. 5. REPORTING OF ADMINISTERED AND OVERSIGHT

4 FUNDS.

5 The Maritime Administration, in its annual report to

6 the Congress under section 208 of the Merchant Marine

7 Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1118), and in its annual budg8 et estimate submitted to the Congress, shall state sepa9 rately the amount, source, intended use, and nature of any

10 funds (other than funds appropriated to the Administra11 tion or to the Secretary of Transportation for use by the

12 Administration) administered, or subject to oversight, by

13 the Administration.

14 SEC. 6. MARITIME INTERMODAL RESEARCH.

15 Section 8 of Public Law 101–115 (46 U.S.C. App.

16 1121–2) is amended by adding at the end thereof the fol17 lowing:

18 ‘‘(f) UNIVERSITY TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH

19 FUNDS.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make a

21 grant under section 5505 of title 49, United States

22 Code, to an institute designated under subsection (a)

23 for maritime and maritime intermodal research

24 under that section as if the institute were a univer25 sity transportation center.
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1 ‘‘(2) ADVICE AND CONSULTATION OF MARAD.—

2 In making a grant under the authority of paragraph

3 (1), the Secretary, through the Research and Special

4 Programs Administration, shall advise the Maritime

5 Administration concerning the availability of funds

6 for the grants, and consult with the Administration

7 on the making of the grants.’’.

8 SEC. 7. MARITIME RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOP9 MENT.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation

11 shall conduct a study of maritime research and technology

12 development, and report its findings and conclusions, to13 gether with any recommendations it finds appropriate, to

14 the Congress within 9 months after the date of enactment

15 of this Act.

16 (b) REQUIRED AREAS OF STUDY.—The Secretary

17 shall include the following items in the report required by

18 subsection (a):

19 (1) The approximate dollar values appropriated

20 by the Congress for each of the 5 fiscal years ending

21 before the study is commenced for each of the fol22 lowing modes of transportation:

23 (A) Highway.

24 (B) Rail.

25 (C) Aviation.
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1 (D) Public transit.

2 (E) Maritime.

3 (2) A description of how Federal funds appro4 priated for research in the different transportation

5 modes are utilized.

6 (3) A summary and description of current re7 search and technology development funds appro8 priated for each of those fiscal years for maritime

9 research initiatives, with separate categories for

10 funds provided to the Coast Guard for marine safety

11 research purposes.

12 (4) A description of cooperative mechanisms

13 that could be used to attract and leverage non-fed14 eral investments in United States maritime research

15 and technology development and application pro16 grams, including the potential for the creation of

17 maritime transportation research centers and the

18 benefits of cooperating with existing surface trans19 portation research centers.

20 (5) Proposals for research and technology devel21 opment funding to facilitate the evolution of Mari22 time Transportation System.

23 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

24 are authorized to be appropriated $100,000 to carry out

25 this section.
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1 SEC. 8. AUTHORITY TO CONVEY NATIONAL DEFENSE RE2 SERVE FLEET VESSEL, GLACIER.

3 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONVEY.—Notwithstanding any

4 other law, the Secretary of Transportation may, subject

5 to subsection (b), convey all right, title, and interest of

6 the United States Government in and to the vessel in the

7 National Defense Reserve Fleet that was formerly the

8 U.S.S. GLACIER (United States official number AGB–

9 4) to the Glacier Society, Inc., a corporation established

10 under the laws of the State of Connecticut that is located

11 in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

12 (b) TERMS OF CONVEYANCE.—

13 (1) REQUIRED CONDITIONS.—The Secretary

14 may not convey the vessel under this section unless

15 the corporation—

16 (A) agrees to use the vessel for the pur17 pose of a monument to the accomplishments of

18 members of the Armed Forces of the United

19 States, civilians, scientists, and diplomats in ex20 ploration of the Arctic and the Antarctic;

21 (B) agrees that the vessel will not be used

22 for commercial purposes;

23 (C) agrees to make the vessel available to

24 the Government if the Secretary requires use of

25 the vessel by the Government for war or na26 tional emergency;
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1 (D) agrees to hold the Government harm2 less for any claims arising from exposure to as3 bestos, polychlorinated biphenyls, or lead paint

4 after the conveyance of the vessel, except for

5 claims arising from use of the vessel by the

6 Government pursuant to the agreement under

7 subparagraph (C); and

8 (E) provides sufficient evidence to the Sec9 retary that it has available for use to restore

10 the vessel, in the form of cash, liquid assets, or

11 a written loan commitment, financial resources

12 of at least $100,000.

13 (2) DELIVERY OF VESSEL.—If the Secretary

14 conveys the vessel under this section, the Secretary

15 shall deliver the vessel—

16 (A) at the place where the vessel is located

17 on the date of conveyance;

18 (B) in its condition on that date; and

19 (C) at no cost to the United States Gov20 ernment.

21 (3) ADDITIONAL TERMS.—The Secretary may

22 require such additional terms in connection with the

23 conveyance authorized by this section as the Sec24 retary considers appropriate.
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1 (c) OTHER UNNEEDED EQUIPMENT.—If the Sec2 retary conveys the vessel under this section, the Secretary

3 may also convey to the corporation any unneeded equip4 ment from other vessels in the National Defense Reserve

5 Fleet or Government storage facilities for use to restore

6 the vessel to museum quality or to its original configura7 tion (or both).

8 (d) RETENTION OF VESSEL IN NDRF.—The Sec9 retary shall retain in the National Defense Reserve Fleet

10 the vessel authorized to be conveyed under this section

11 until the earlier of—

12 (1) 2 years after the date of the enactment of

13 this Act; or

14 (2) the date of the conveyance of the vessel

15 under this section.

Passed the Senate September 28 (legislative day,

September 22), 2000.

Attest:

Secretary.

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2487

AN ACT

To authorize appropriations for Fiscal Year 2001

for certain maritime programs of the Departmentof Transportation.