II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4357 

To reauthorize the Maritime Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 8 (legislative day, JUNE 7), 2022 

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

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

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Maritime Administration, and for other 

purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 ‘‘Maritime Administration Authorization Act for Fiscal 

6 Year 2023’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Authorization of appropriations for the Maritime Administration. 

TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 4357 IS

Sec. 101. Study to inform a national maritime strategy. 

Sec. 102. National maritime strategy. 

Sec. 103. Modification of cargo preference 3-year eligibility rule. 

TITLE II—MARITIME INFRASTRUCTURE 

Sec. 201. Marine highways. 

Sec. 202. GAO review of efforts to support and grow the United States Merchant Fleet. 

Sec. 203. GAO review of Federal efforts to enhance port infrastructure resiliency and disaster preparedness. 

Sec. 204. Study on foreign investment in shipping. 

Sec. 205. Report regarding alternate marine fuel bunkering facilities at ports. 

TITLE III—MARITIME WORKFORCE 

Sec. 301. Sense of Congress on Merchant Marine. 

Sec. 302. Ensuring diverse mariner recruitment. 

Sec. 303. Low emissions vessels training. 

Sec. 304. Improving Protections for Midshipmen Act. 

Sec. 305. Board of Visitors. 

Sec. 306. Maritime Technical Advancement Act. 

Sec. 307. Study on CIP program at the USMMA. 

Sec. 308. Implementation of recommendations from the National Academy of 

Public Administration. 

Sec. 309. Service Academy faculty parity. 

Sec. 310. Updated Requirements for Fishing Crew Agreements. 

TITLE IV—TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION AND RESILIENCE 

Sec. 401. Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance Program. 

Sec. 402. Quieting Federal non-combative vessels. 

Sec. 403. Study on stormwater impacts on salmon. 

1 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 

2 MARITIME ADMINISTRATION. 

3 (a) MARITIME ADMINISTRATION.—There are author4 ized to be appropriated to the Department of Transpor5 tation for fiscal year 2023, for programs associated with 

6 maintaining the United States Merchant Marine, the fol7 lowing amounts: 

8 (1) For expenses necessary to support the 

9 United States Merchant Marine Academy, 

10 $112,848,000, of which— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 4357 IS

1 (A) $87,848,000 shall be for Academy op2 erations; 

3 (B) $22,000,000 shall be for facilities 

4 maintenance and repair and equipment; and 

5 (C) $3,000,000 shall be for training, staff6 ing, retention, recruiting, and contract manage7 ment for United States Merchant Marine Acad8 emy capital improvement projects. 

9 (2) For expenses necessary to support the State 

10 maritime academies, $80,700,000, of which— 

11 (A) $2,400,000 shall be for the Student 

12 Incentive Program; 

13 (B) $6,000,000 shall be for direct pay14 ments for State maritime academies; 

15 (C) $6,800,000 shall be for training ship 

16 fuel assistance; 

17 (D) $8,080,000 shall be for offsetting the 

18 costs of training ship sharing; and 

19 (E) $30,500,000 shall be for maintenance 

20 and repair of State maritime academy training 

21 vessels. 

22 (3) For expenses necessary to support the Na23 tional Security Multi-Mission Vessel Program and to 

24 meet requirements for shore-side infrastructure im25 provements, $75,000,000. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 4357 IS

1 (4) For expenses necessary to support Maritime 

2 Administration operations and programs, 

3 $101,250,000, of which— 

4 (A) $15,000,000 shall be for the Maritime 

5 Environmental and Technical Assistance pro6 gram authorized under section 50307 of title 

7 46, United States Code; 

8 (B) $14,819,000 shall be for the Marine 

9 Highways Program, including to make grants 

10 as authorized under section 55601 of title 46, 

11 United States Code; and 

12 (C) $67,433,000 shall be for headquarters 

13 operations expenses. 

14 (5) For expenses necessary for the disposal of 

15 obsolete vessels in the National Defense Reserve 

16 Fleet of the Maritime Administration, $6,000,000. 

17 (6) For expenses necessary to maintain and 

18 preserve a fleet of merchant vessels documented 

19 under chapter 121 of title 46, United States Code, 

20 to serve the national security needs of the United 

21 States, as authorized under chapter 531 of title 46, 

22 United States Code, $318,000,000. 

23 (7) For expenses necessary for the loan guar24 antee program authorized under chapter 537 of title 

25 46, United States Code, $33,000,000, of which— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 4357 IS

1 (A) $30,000,000 may be for the cost (as 

2 defined in section 502(5) of the Federal Credit 

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

4 loan guarantees under the program; and 

5 (B) $3,000,000, may be used for adminis6 trative expenses relating to loan guarantee com7 mitments under the program. 

8 (8) For expenses necessary to provide assist9 ance to small shipyards and for maritime training 

10 programs authorized under section 54101 of title 46, 

11 United States Code, $40,000,000. 

12 (9) For expenses necessary to implement the 

13 Port Infrastructure Development Program, as au14 thorized under section 54301 of title 46, United 

15 States Code, $750,000,000, to remain available until 

16 expended, except that no such funds authorized 

17 under this Act for this program may be used to pro18 vide a grant to purchase fully automated cargo han19 dling equipment that is remotely operated or re20 motely monitored with or without the exercise of 

21 human intervention or control, if the Secretary of 

22 Transportation determines such equipment would re23 sult in a net loss of jobs within a port or port ter24 minal. If such a determination is made, the data and 

25 analysis for such determination shall be reported to 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 4357 IS

1 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans2 portation of the Senate and the Committee on 

3 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

4 Representatives not later than 3 days after the date 

5 of the determination. 

6 (b) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts appro7 priated— 

8 (1) pursuant to the authority provided in para9 graphs (1)(A), (2)(A), and (4)(A) of subsection (a) 

10 shall remain available through September 30, 2023; 

11 and 

12 (2) pursuant to the authority provided in para13 graphs (1)(B), (1)(C), (2)(B), (2)(C), (2)(D), 

14 (2)(E), (3), (4)(B), (4)(C), (5), (6), (7)(A), (7)(B), 

15 (8), and (9) of subsection (a) shall remain available 

16 without fiscal year limitation. 

17 (c) TANKER SECURITY FLEET.—Section 53411 of 

18 title 46, United States Code, is amended by striking 

19 ‘‘$60,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$120,000,000’’. 

20 TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

21 SEC. 101. STUDY TO INFORM A NATIONAL MARITIME 

22 STRATEGY. 

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

24 and the Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

25 Guard is operating shall enter into an agreement with a 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 4357 IS

1 federally funded research and development center under 

2 which such federally funded research and development 

3 center shall conduct a study of the key elements and objec4 tives needed for a national maritime strategy. The strat5 egy shall address national objectives, as described in sec6 tion 50101 of title 46, United States Code, to ensure— 

7 (1) a capable, commercially viable, militarily 

8 useful fleet of merchant vessels documented under 

9 chapter 121 of title 46, United States Code; 

10 (2) a robust United States mariner workforce, 

11 as described in section 50101 of title 46, United 

12 States Code; 

13 (3) strong United States domestic shipbuilding 

14 infrastructure, and related shipbuilding trades 

15 amongst skilled workers in the United States; and 

16 (4) that the Navy Fleet Auxiliary Force, the 

17 National Defense Reserve Fleet, the Military Sealift 

18 Command, the Maritime Security Program under 

19 chapter 531 of title 46, United States Code, the 

20 Tanker Security Program under chapter 534 of title 

21 46, United States Code, and the Cable Security Pro22 gram under chapter 532 of title 46, United States 

23 Code, currently meet the economic and national se24 curity needs of the United States and would reliably 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 4357 IS

1 continue to meet those needs under future economic 

2 or national security emergencies. 

3 (b) INPUT.—In carrying out the study, the federally 

4 funded research and development center shall solicit input 

5 from— 

6 (1) relevant Federal departments and agencies; 

7 (2) nongovernmental organizations; 

8 (3) United States companies; 

9 (4) maritime labor organizations; 

10 (5) commercial industries that depend on 

11 United States mariners; 

12 (6) domestic shipyards regarding shipbuilding 

13 and repair capacity, and the associated skilled work14 force, such as the workforce required for transpor15 tation, offshore wind, fishing, and aquaculture; 

16 (7) providers of maritime workforce training; 

17 and 

18 (8) any other relevant organizations. 

19 (c) ELEMENTS OF THE STUDY.—The study con20 ducted under subsection (a) shall include consultation with 

21 the Department of Transportation, the Department of De22 fense, the Department of Homeland Security, the National 

23 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other rel24 evant Federal agencies, in the identification and evalua25 tion of— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 4357 IS

1 (1) incentives needed to continue to meet the 

2 shipbuilding and ship maintenance needs of the 

3 United States for commercial and national security 

4 purposes, including through a review of— 

5 (A) the loans and guarantees program car6 ried out under chapter 537 of title 46, United 

7 States Code, and how the development of new 

8 offshore commercial industries, such as wind, 

9 could be supported through modification of 

10 such program or other Federal programs, and 

11 thus also support the United States sealift in 

12 the future; 

13 (B) the barriers to participation in the 

14 loans and guarantees program carried out 

15 under chapter 537 of title 46, United States 

16 Code, and how the program may be improved to 

17 facilitate additional shipbuilding activities in the 

18 United States; and 

19 (C) the needed resources, human and fi20 nancial, for such incentives; 

21 (2) incentives needed to maintain a commer22 cially viable United States-documented fleet, which 

23 shall include— 

24 (A) an examination of how the preferences 

25 under section 2631 of title 10, United States 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 4357 IS

1 Code, and chapter 553 of title 46, United 

2 States Code, the Maritime Security Program 

3 under chapter 531 of title 46, United States 

4 Code, the Tanker Security Program under 

5 chapter 534 of title 46, United States Code, 

6 and the Cable Security Program under chapter 

7 532 of title 46, United States Code, should be 

8 used to further maintain and grow a United 

9 States-documented fleet and the identification 

10 of other incentives that could be used that may 

11 not be authorized at the time of the study; and 

12 (B) estimates of the needed human and fi13 nancial resources for such incentives; 

14 (3) the availability of United States mariners, 

15 and future needs, including— 

16 (A) the number of mariners needed for the 

17 United States commercial and national security 

18 needs over the next 30 years; 

19 (B) the policies and programs (at the time 

20 of the study) to recruit, train, and retain 

21 United States mariners to support the United 

22 States maritime workforce needs during peace 

23 time and at war; 

24 (C) how those programs could be improved 

25 to grow the number of maritime workers 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 4357 IS

1 trained each year, including potential collabora2 tion between the uniformed services, the United 

3 States Merchant Marine Academy, State mari4 time academies, maritime labor training cen5 ters, and the Centers of Excellence for Domes6 tic Maritime Workforce Training under section 

7 51706 of title 46, United States Code, could be 

8 used most effectively; and 

9 (D) estimates of the necessary resources, 

10 human and financial, to implement such pro11 grams in each relevant Federal agency over the 

12 next 30 years; and 

13 (4) the interaction among the elements de14 scribed under paragraphs (1) through (3). 

15 (d) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The study conducted 

16 under subsection (a) shall be made publicly available on 

17 a website of the Department of Transportation. 

18 SEC. 102. NATIONAL MARITIME STRATEGY. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

20 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Trans21 portation, in consultation with the Secretary of the depart22 ment in which the Coast Guard is operating, and every 

23 5 years thereafter, shall submit to the Committee on 

24 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep25 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 4357 IS

1 and Transportation of the Senate a national maritime 

2 strategy. 

3 (b) CONTENTS.—The strategy required under sub4 section (a) shall— 

5 (1) identify— 

6 (A) international policies and Federal reg7 ulations and policies that reduce the competi8 tiveness of United States-documented vessels 

9 with foreign vessels in domestic and inter10 national transportation markets; and 

11 (B) the impact of reduced cargo flow due 

12 to reductions in the number of members of the 

13 United States Armed Forces stationed or de14 ployed outside of the United States; and 

15 (2) include recommendations to— 

16 (A) make United States-documented ves17 sels more competitive in shipping routes be18 tween United States and foreign ports; 

19 (B) increase the use of United States-doc20 umented vessels to carry cargo imported to and 

21 exported from the United States; 

22 (C) ensure compliance by Federal agencies 

23 with chapter 553 of title 46, United States 

24 Code; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 4357 IS

1 (D) increase the use of short sea transpor2 tation routes, including routes designated under 

3 section 55601(c) of title 46, United States 

4 Code, to enhance intermodal freight movements; 

5 (E) enhance United States shipbuilding ca6 pability; 

7 (F) invest in, and identify gaps in, infra8 structure needed to facilitate the movement of 

9 goods at ports and throughout the transpor10 tation system, including innovative physical and 

11 information technologies; 

12 (G) enhance workforce training and re13 cruitment for the maritime workforce, including 

14 training on innovative physical and information 

15 technologies; 

16 (H) increase the resilience of ports and the 

17 marine transportation system; and 

18 (I) increase the carriage of government-im19 pelled cargo on United States-documented ves20 sels pursuant to chapter 553 of title 46, United 

21 States Code, section 2631 of title 10, United 

22 States Code, or otherwise. 

23 (c) UPDATE.—Not later than 6 months after the date 

24 of receipt of the study conducted under section 101, the 

25 Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 09, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4357.IS S4357

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 4357 IS

1 retary of the department in which the Coast Guard is op2 erating and the Secretary of Defense, shall— 

3 (1) update the national maritime strategy re4 quired by section 603 of the Howard Coble Coast 

5 Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2014 

6 (Public Law 113–281); 

7 (2) submit a report to Congress containing the 

8 updated national maritime strategy; and 

9 (3) make the updated national maritime strat10 egy publicly available on the website of the Depart11 ment of Transportation. 

12 (d) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later than 6 

13 months after completion of the updated national maritime 

14 strategy under subsection (c), and after the completion of 

15 each strategy thereafter, the Secretary of Transportation, 

16 in consultation with the Secretary of the department in 

17 which the Coast Guard is operating and the Secretary of 

18 Defense, shall publish on a publicly available website an 

19 implementation plan for the most recent national maritime 

20 strategy. 

21 SEC. 103. MODIFICATION OF CARGO PREFERENCE 3-YEAR 

22 ELIGIBILITY RULE. 

23 Section 55305 of title 46, United States Code, is 

24 amended— 

25 (1) by striking subsection (a); 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 4357 IS

1 (2) by redesignating— 

2 (A) subsection (b) as subsection (a); and 

3 (B) subsections (c), (d), and (e), as sub4 sections (d), (e), and (f), respectively; 

5 (3) in subsection (a), as redesignated by para6 graph (1), by striking ‘‘privately-owned commercial 

7 vessels of the United States,’’ and inserting ‘‘pri8 vately-owned commercial vessels of the United 

9 States, as provided under subsection (b),’’; and 

10 (4) by inserting after subsection (a), as redesig11 nated by paragraph (1), the following: 

12 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE VESSELS.—To be eligible to carry 

13 cargo as provided under subsection (a), a privately-owned 

14 commercial vessel shall be documented under the laws of 

15 the United States— 

16 ‘‘(1) for not less than 3 years; or 

17 ‘‘(2) for less than 3 years if the vessel owner 

18 signs an agreement with the Secretary providing 

19 that— 

20 ‘‘(A) the vessel shall remain documented 

21 under the laws of the United States for not less 

22 than 3 years; and 

23 ‘‘(B) the vessel owner shall, upon request 

24 of the Secretary, agree to enroll the vessel in an 

25 emergency preparedness agreement or voluntary 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 4357 IS

1 agreement authorized under section 708 of the 

2 Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 

3 4558) and shall remain so enrolled until the 

4 vessel ceases to be documented under the laws 

5 of the United States. 

6 ‘‘(c) VIOLATION OF AGREEMENT.—A vessel under an 

7 agreement executed pursuant to subsection (b)(2) may be 

8 seized by and forfeited to the United States if, in violation 

9 of that agreement— 

10 ‘‘(1) the vessel owner places the vessel under 

11 foreign registry; or 

12 ‘‘(2) a person operates the vessel under the au13 thority of a foreign country.’’. 

14 TITLE II—MARITIME 

15 INFRASTRUCTURE 

16 SEC. 201. MARINE HIGHWAYS. 

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

18 ‘‘Marine Highway Promotion Act’’. 

19 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

20 (1) Our Nation’s waterways are an integral 

21 part of the transportation network of the United 

22 States. 

23 (2) Using the Nation’s coastal, inland, and 

24 other waterways can support commercial transporVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 09, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4357.IS S4357

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 4357 IS

1 tation, and alleviates surface transportation conges2 tion and burdensome road and bridge repair costs. 

3 (3) Marine highways are serviced by docu4 mented United States Flag vessels and manned by 

5 United States citizens, providing added resources for 

6 national security and to aid in times of crisis. 

7 (4) According to the United States Army Corps 

8 of Engineers, inland navigation is a key element of 

9 economics development and is essential in maintain10 ing economic competitiveness and national security. 

11 (c) UNITED STATES MARINE HIGHWAY PROGRAM.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 55601 of title 46, 

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

14 ‘‘§ 55601. United States Marine Highway Program 

15 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM.— 

16 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Maritime Admin17 istrator shall establish a Marine Highway Program 

18 to be known as the ‘United States Marine Highway 

19 Program’. Under such program, the Maritime Ad20 ministrator shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) designate marine highway routes as 

22 extensions of the surface transportation system 

23 under subsection (b); and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(B) subject to the availability of appro2 priations, make grants or enter into contracts 

3 or cooperative agreements under subsection (c). 

4 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out 

5 the Marine Highway Program established under 

6 paragraph (1), the Maritime Administrator may— 

7 ‘‘(A) coordinate with ports, State depart8 ments of transportation, localities, other public 

9 agencies, and the private sector on the develop10 ment of landside facilities and infrastructure to 

11 support marine highway transportation; 

12 ‘‘(B) develop performance measures for 

13 such Marine Highway Program; 

14 ‘‘(C) collect and disseminate data for the 

15 designation and delineation of marine highway 

16 routes under subsection (b); and 

17 ‘‘(D) conduct research on solutions to im18 pediments to marine highway services eligible 

19 for assistance under subsection (c)(1). 

20 ‘‘(b) DESIGNATION OF MARINE HIGHWAY

21 ROUTES.— 

22 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Maritime Adminis23 trator may designate or modify a marine highway 

24 route as an extension of the surface transportation 

25 system if— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(A) such a designation or modification is 

2 requested by— 

3 ‘‘(i) the government of a State or ter4 ritory; 

5 ‘‘(ii) a metropolitan planning organi6 zation; 

7 ‘‘(iii) a port authority; 

8 ‘‘(iv) a non-Federal navigation dis9 trict; or 

10 ‘‘(v) a Tribal government; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the Maritime Administrator deter12 mines such marine highway route satisfies at 

13 least one covered function under subsection (d). 

14 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION.—Not later than 180 

15 days after the date on which the Maritime Adminis16 trator receives a request for designation or modifica17 tion of a marine highway route under paragraph (1), 

18 the Maritime Administrator shall make a determina19 tion of whether to make the requested designation or 

20 modification. 

21 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 14 days 

22 after the date on which the Maritime Administrator 

23 makes the determination whether to make the re24 quested designation or modification, the Maritime 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
20 

•S 4357 IS

1 Administrator shall send the requester a notification 

2 of the determination. 

3 ‘‘(4) MAP.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 

5 days after the date of enactment of the Marine 

6 Highway Promotion Act, and thereafter each 

7 time a marine highway route is designated or 

8 modified, the Administrator shall make publicly 

9 available a map showing the location of marine 

10 highway routes, including such routes along the 

11 coasts, in the inland waterways, and at sea. 

12 ‘‘(B) COORDINATION.—The Administrator 

13 shall coordinate with the National Oceanic and 

14 Atmospheric Administration to incorporate the 

15 map into the Marine Cadastre. 

16 ‘‘(c) ASSISTANCE FOR MARINE HIGHWAY SERV17 ICES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Maritime Adminis19 trator may make grants to, or enter into contracts 

20 or cooperative agreements with an eligible entity to 

21 implement a marine highway service or component 

22 of a marine highway service, if the Administrator de23 termines the service— 

24 ‘‘(A) satisfies at least one covered function 

25 under subsection (d); 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
21 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(B) uses vessels documented under chap2 ter 121 of this title; and 

3 ‘‘(C)(i) implements strategies developed 

4 under section 55603; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) develops, expands, or promotes— 

6 ‘‘(I) marine highway transportation 

7 services; or 

8 ‘‘(II) shipper utilization of marine 

9 highway transportation. 

10 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this subsection, the 

11 term ‘eligible entity’ means— 

12 ‘‘(A) a State, a political subdivision of a 

13 State, or a local government; 

14 ‘‘(B) a United States metropolitan plan15 ning organization; 

16 ‘‘(C) a United States port authority; 

17 ‘‘(D) a Tribal government in the United 

18 States; or 

19 ‘‘(E) a United States private sector oper20 ator of marine highway services or private sec21 tor owners of facilities with an endorsement let22 ter from the marine highway route sponsor de23 scribed in subsection (b)(1)(A). 

24 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
22 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re2 ceive a grant or enter into a contract or cooper3 ative agreement under this subsection to imple4 ment a marine highway service, an eligible enti5 ty shall submit an application in such form and 

6 manner, at such time, and containing such in7 formation as the Maritime Administrator may 

8 require, including— 

9 ‘‘(i) a comprehensive description of— 

10 ‘‘(I) the regions to be served by 

11 the marine highway service; 

12 ‘‘(II) the marine highway route 

13 that the service will use, which may 

14 include connection to existing or 

15 planned transportation infrastructure 

16 and intermodal facilities, key naviga17 tional factors such as available draft, 

18 channel width, bridge air draft, or 

19 lock clearance, and any foreseeable 

20 impacts on navigation or commerce, 

21 and a map of the proposed route; 

22 ‘‘(III) the marine highway service 

23 supporters, which may include busi24 ness affiliations, private sector stake25 holders, State departments of transVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 09, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4357.IS S4357

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
23 

•S 4357 IS

1 portation, metropolitan planning orga2 nizations, municipalities, or other gov3 ernmental entities (including Tribal 

4 governments), as applicable; 

5 ‘‘(IV) the estimated volume of 

6 passengers, if applicable, or cargo 

7 using the service, and predicted 

8 changes in such volume during the 5- 

9 year period following the date of the 

10 application; 

11 ‘‘(V) the need for the service; 

12 ‘‘(VI) the definition of the suc13 cess goal for the service, such as vol14 umes of cargo or passengers moved, 

15 or contribution to environmental miti16 gation, safety, reduced vehicle miles 

17 traveled, or reduced maintenance and 

18 repair costs; 

19 ‘‘(VII) the methodology for im20 plementing the service, including a de21 scription of the proposed operational 

22 framework of the service including the 

23 origin, destination, and any inter24 mediate stops on the route, transit 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
24 

•S 4357 IS

1 times, vessel types, and service fre2 quency; and 

3 ‘‘(VIII) any existing programs or 

4 arrangements that can be used to 

5 supplement or leverage assistance 

6 under the program; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) a demonstration, to the satisfac8 tion of the Maritime Administrator, that— 

9 ‘‘(I) the marine highway service 

10 is financially viable; 

11 ‘‘(II) the funds or other assist12 ance provided under this subsection 

13 will be spent or used efficiently and 

14 effectively; and 

15 ‘‘(III) a market exists for the 

16 services of the proposed marine high17 way service, as evidenced by contracts 

18 or written statements of intent from 

19 potential customers. 

20 ‘‘(B) PRE-PROPOSAL.—Prior to accepting 

21 a full application under subparagraph (A), the 

22 Maritime Administrator may require that an el23 igible entity first submit a pre-proposal that 

24 contains a brief description of the items under 

25 subparagraph (A). 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
25 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(C) PRE-PROPOSAL FEEDBACK.—Not 

2 later than 30 days after receiving a pre-pro3 posal, the Maritime Administrator shall provide 

4 feedback to the eligible entity that submitted 

5 the pre-proposal to encourage or discourage the 

6 eligible entity from submitting a full applica7 tion. An eligible entity may still submit a full 

8 application even if that eligible entity is not en9 couraged to do so after submitting a pre-pro10 posal. 

11 ‘‘(4) TIMING OF GRANT NOTICE.—The Mari12 time Administrator shall post a Notice of Funding 

13 Opportunity regarding grants, contracts, or coopera14 tive agreements under this subsection not more than 

15 60 days after the date of enactment of the appro16 priations Act for the fiscal year concerned. 

17 ‘‘(5) GRANT APPLICATION FEEDBACK.—Fol18 lowing the award of grants for a particular fiscal 

19 year, the Maritime Administrator may provide feed20 back to applicants to help applicants improve future 

21 applications if the feedback is requested by that ap22 plicant. 

23 ‘‘(6) TIMING OF GRANTS.—The Maritime Ad24 ministrator shall award grants, contracts, or cooper25 ative agreements under this subsection not later 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
26 

•S 4357 IS

1 than 270 days after the date of the enactment of the 

2 appropriations Act for the fiscal year concerned. 

3 ‘‘(7) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An applicant shall 

5 provide not less than 20 percent of the costs 

6 from non-Federal sources, except as provided in 

7 subparagraph (B). 

8 ‘‘(B) TRIBAL AND RURAL AREAS.—The 

9 Maritime Administrator may increase the Fed10 eral share of service costs above 80 percent for 

11 a service located in a Tribal or rural area. 

12 ‘‘(C) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The Mari13 time Administrator may increase the Federal 

14 share of service costs above 80 percent for a 

15 service benefitting a Tribal Government. 

16 ‘‘(D) PREFERENCE.—In awarding grants, 

17 or entering in contracts or cooperative agree18 ments under this subsection, the Maritime Ad19 ministrator shall give a preference to marine 

20 highway services that present the most finan21 cially viable transportation services and require 

22 the lowest percentage Federal share of the 

23 costs. 

24 ‘‘(8) REUSE OF UNEXPENDED GRANT FUNDS.— 

25 Notwithstanding paragraph (6), amounts awarded 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
27 

•S 4357 IS

1 under this subsection that are not expended by the 

2 recipient within 3 years after obligation of funds or 

3 that are returned under paragraph (10)(C) shall re4 main available to the Maritime Administrator to 

5 make grants and enter into contracts and coopera6 tive agreements under this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(9) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more than 

8 3 percent of the total amount made available to 

9 carry out this subsection for any fiscal year may be 

10 used for the necessary administrative costs associ11 ated with grants, contracts, and cooperative agree12 ments made under this subsection. 

13 ‘‘(10) PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS.—The Mari14 time Administrator, in consultation with the Office 

15 of the Inspector General, shall issue guidelines to es16 tablish appropriate accounting, reporting, and review 

17 procedures to ensure that— 

18 ‘‘(A) amounts made available to carry out 

19 this subsection are used for the purposes for 

20 which they were made available; 

21 ‘‘(B) recipients of funds under this sub22 section (including through grants, contracts, or 

23 cooperative agreements) have properly ac24 counted for all expenditures of such funds; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
28 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(C) any such funds that are not obligated 

2 or expended for the purposes for which they 

3 were made available are returned to the Admin4 istrator. 

5 ‘‘(11) CONDITIONS ON PROVISION OF FUNDS.— 

6 The Maritime Administrator may not award funds 

7 an applicant under this subsection unless the Mari8 time Administrator determines that— 

9 ‘‘(A) sufficient funding is available to meet 

10 the non-Federal share requirement of para11 graph (7); 

12 ‘‘(B) the marine highway service for which 

13 such funds are provided will be completed with14 out unreasonable delay; and 

15 ‘‘(C) the recipient of such funds has au16 thority to implement the proposed marine high17 way service. 

18 ‘‘(d) COVERED FUNCTIONS.—A covered function 

19 under this subsection is one of the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) Promotion of marine highway transpor21 tation. 

22 ‘‘(2) Provision of a coordinated and capable al23 ternative to landside transportation. 

24 ‘‘(3) Mitigation or relief of landside congestion. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
29 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(e) PROHIBITED USES.—Funds awarded under this 

2 section may not be used to— 

3 ‘‘(1) raise sunken vessels, construct buildings or 

4 other physical facilities, or acquire land unless such 

5 activities are necessary for the establishment or op6 eration of a marine highway service implemented 

7 using grant funds provided, or pursuant to a con8 tract or cooperative entered into under, subsection 

9 (c); or 

10 ‘‘(2) improve port or land-based infrastructure 

11 outside the United States. 

12 ‘‘(f) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—In making 

13 grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements under this 

14 section the Maritime Administrator shall take such meas15 ures so as to ensure an equitable geographic distribution 

16 of funds. 

17 ‘‘(g) AUDITS AND EXAMINATIONS.—All recipients 

18 (including recipients of grants, contracts, and cooperative 

19 agreements) under this section shall maintain such 

20 records as the Maritime Administrator may require and 

21 make such records available for review and audit by the 

22 Maritime Administrator.’’. 

23 (2) RULES.— 

24 (A) FINAL RULE.—Not later than 1 year 

25 after the date of enactment of this Act, the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 09, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4357.IS S4357

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
30 

•S 4357 IS

1 retary of Transportation shall prescribe such 

2 final rules as are necessary to carry out the 

3 amendments made by this subsection. 

4 (B) INTERIM RULES.—The Secretary of 

5 Transportation may prescribe temporary in6 terim rules necessary to carry out the amend7 ments made by this subsection. For this pur8 pose, the Maritime Administrator, in pre9 scribing rules under this subparagraph, is ex10 cepted from compliance with the notice and 

11 comment requirements of section 553 of title 5, 

12 United States Code, prior to the effective date 

13 of the interim rules. All interim rules prescribed 

14 under the authority of this subparagraph shall 

15 request comment and remain in effect until 

16 such time as the interim rules are superseded 

17 by a final rule, following notice and comment. 

18 (C) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—The requirements 

19 under section 55601 of title 46, United States 

20 Code, as amended by this subsection, shall take 

21 effect only after the interim rule described in 

22 subparagraph (B) is promulgated by the Sec23 retary. 

24 (d) MULTISTATE, STATE, AND REGIONAL TRANSPOR25 TATION PLANNING.—Chapter 556 of title 46, United 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
31 

•S 4357 IS

1 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 55602 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 55603. MULTISTATE, STATE, AND REGIONAL TRANS4 PORTATION PLANNING. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Maritime Administrator, in 

6 consultation with the heads of other appropriate Federal 

7 departments and agencies, State and local governments, 

8 and appropriate private sector entities, may develop strat9 egies to encourage the use of marine highway transpor10 tation for the transportation of passengers and cargo. 

11 ‘‘(b) STRATEGIES.—If the Maritime Administrator 

12 develops the strategies described in subsection (a), the 

13 Maritime Administrator may— 

14 ‘‘(1) assess the extent to which States and local 

15 governments include marine highway transportation 

16 and other marine transportation solutions in trans17 portation planning; 

18 ‘‘(2) encourage State departments of transpor19 tation to develop strategies, where appropriate, to 

20 incorporate marine highway transportation, ferries, 

21 and other marine transportation solutions for re22 gional and interstate transport of freight and pas23 sengers in transportation planning; and 

24 ‘‘(3) encourage groups of States and multistate 

25 transportation entities to determine how marine 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
32 

•S 4357 IS

1 highway transportation can address congestion, bot2 tlenecks, and other interstate transportation chal3 lenges.’’. 

4 (e) RESEARCH ON MARINE HIGHWAY TRANSPOR5 TATION.—Section 55604 of title 46, United States Code, 

6 is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 

8 (3) as paragraphs (4) through (6), respectively; and 

9 (2) by inserting before paragraph (4), as redes10 ignated by paragraph (1), the following new para11 graphs: 

12 ‘‘(1) the economic importance of marine high13 way transportation to the United States economy; 

14 ‘‘(2) the importance of marine highway trans15 portation to rural areas; 

16 ‘‘(3) pairs of United States regions and terri17 tories, and within-region areas, that do not yet have 

18 marine highway services underway, but that could 

19 benefit from the establishment of marine highway 

20 services;’’. 

21 (f) DEFINITIONS.—Section 55605 of title 46, United 

22 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘§ 55605. Definitions 

24 ‘‘In this chapter— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
33 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(1) the term ‘marine highway transportation’ 

2 means the carriage by a documented vessel of 

3 cargo— 

4 ‘‘(A) that is— 

5 ‘‘(i) contained in intermodal cargo 

6 containers and loaded by crane on the ves7 sel; 

8 ‘‘(ii) loaded on the vessel by means of 

9 wheeled technology; 

10 ‘‘(iii) shipped in discrete units or 

11 packages that are handled individually, 

12 palletized, or unitized for purposes of 

13 transportation; or 

14 ‘‘(iv) freight vehicles carried aboard 

15 commuter ferry boats; and 

16 ‘‘(B) that is— 

17 ‘‘(i) loaded at a port in the United 

18 States and unloaded either at another port 

19 in the United States or at a port in Can20 ada or Mexico; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) loaded at a port in Canada or 

22 Mexico and unloaded at a port in the 

23 United States; 

24 ‘‘(2) the term ‘marine highway service’ means a 

25 planned or contemplated new service, or expansion 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
34 

•S 4357 IS

1 of an existing service, on a marine highway route, 

2 that seeks to provide new modal choices to shippers, 

3 offer more desirable services, reduce transportation 

4 costs, or provide public benefits; 

5 ‘‘(3) the term ‘marine highway route’ means a 

6 route on commercially navigable coastal, inland, or 

7 intracoastal waters of the United States, including 

8 connections between the United States and a port in 

9 Canada or Mexico, that is designated under section 

10 55601(b); and 

11 ‘‘(4) the term ‘‘Tribal Government’’ means the 

12 recognized governing body of any Indian or Alaska 

13 Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, commu14 nity, component band, or component reservation, in15 dividually identified (including parenthetically) in 

16 the list published most recently as of the date of en17 actment of Marine Highway Promotion Act pursu18 ant to section 104 of the Federally Recognized In19 dian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131).’’. 

20 (g) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The analysis for 

21 chapter 556 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— 

22 (1) by striking the item relating to section 

23 55601 and inserting the following: 

‘‘55601. United States Marine Highway Program.’’; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
35 

•S 4357 IS

1 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec2 tion 55602 the following: 

‘‘55603. Multistate, State, and regional transportation planning.’’; 

3 and 

4 (3) by striking the item relating to section 

5 55605 and inserting the following: 

‘‘55605. Definitions.’’. 

6 SEC. 202. GAO REVIEW OF EFFORTS TO SUPPORT AND 

7 GROW THE UNITED STATES MERCHANT 

8 FLEET. 

9 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

10 of this section, the Comptroller General of the United 

11 States shall transmit a report to the Committee on Com12 merce of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation 

13 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives that 

14 examines United States Government efforts to promote 

15 the growth and modernization of the United States mari16 time industry, and the vessels of the United States, as de17 fined in section 116 of title 46, United States Code, in18 cluding the overall efficacy of United States Government 

19 financial support and policies, including the Capital Con20 struction Fund, Construction Reserve Fund, and other eli21 gible loan, grant, or other programs. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
36 

•S 4357 IS

1 SEC. 203. GAO REVIEW OF FEDERAL EFFORTS TO ENHANCE 

2 PORT INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCY AND 

3 DISASTER PREPAREDNESS. 

4 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

5 of this section, the Comptroller General of the United 

6 States shall transmit a report to the Committee on Com7 merce of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation 

8 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives that 

9 examines Federal efforts to assist ports in enhancing the 

10 resiliency of their key intermodal connectors to weather11 related disasters. The report shall include consideration of 

12 the following: 

13 (1) Actions being undertaken at various ports 

14 to better identify critical land-side connectors that 

15 may be vulnerable to disruption in the event of a 

16 natural disaster, including how to communicate such 

17 information during a disaster when communications 

18 systems may be compromised, and the level of Fed19 eral involvement in such efforts. 

20 (2) The extent to which the Department of 

21 Transportation and other Federal agencies are work22 ing in line with recent recommendations from key 

23 resiliency reports, including the National Academies 

24 of Science study on strengthening supply chain resil25 ience, to establish a framework for ports to follow to 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
37 

•S 4357 IS

1 increase resiliency to major weather-related disrup2 tions before they happen. 

3 (3) The extent to which the Department of 

4 Transportation or other Federal agencies have pro5 vided funds to ports for resiliency-related projects. 

6 (4) The extent to which Federal agencies have 

7 a coordinated approach to helping ports and the 

8 multiple State, local, and private stakeholders in9 volved, to improve resiliency prior to weather-related 

10 disasters. 

11 SEC. 204. STUDY ON FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN SHIPPING. 

12 (a) ASSESSMENT.—The Under Secretary of Com13 merce for International Trade (referred to in this section 

14 as the ‘‘Under Secretary’’) in coordination with Maritime 

15 Administration, the United States Transportation Com16 mand, and the Federal Maritime Commission shall con17 duct an assessment of subsidies, indirect state support, or 

18 other financial infrastructure or benefits provided by for19 eign states that control more than 1 percent of the world 

20 merchant fleet to entities or individuals building, owning, 

21 chartering, operating, or financing vessels not documented 

22 under the laws of the United States that are engaged in 

23 foreign commerce. 

24 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

25 of enactment of this section, the Under Secretary shall 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
38 

•S 4357 IS

1 submit to Congress a report on the assessment conducted 

2 under subsection (a), including— 

3 (1) the amount, in United States dollars, of 

4 such support provided by a foreign state described in 

5 subsection (a) to— 

6 (A) the shipping industry of each country 

7 as a whole; 

8 (B) the shipping industry as a percent of 

9 gross domestic product of each country; and 

10 (C) each ship on average, by ship type for 

11 cargo, tanker, and bulk; 

12 (2) the amount, in United States dollars, of 

13 such support provided by a foreign state described in 

14 subsection (a) to the shipping industry of another 

15 foreign state, including favorable financial arrange16 ments for ship construction; 

17 (3) a description of the shipping industry activi18 ties of state-owned enterprises of a foreign state de19 scribed in subsection (a); 

20 (4) a description of the type of support pro21 vided by a foreign state described in subsection (a), 

22 including tax relief, direct payment, indirect support 

23 of state-controlled financial entities, or other such 

24 support, as determined by the Under Secretary; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
39 

•S 4357 IS

1 (5) a description of how the subsidies provided 

2 by a foreign state described in subsection (a) may be 

3 disadvantaging the competitiveness of vessels docu4 mented under the laws of the United States that are 

5 engaged in foreign commerce and the national secu6 rity of the United States. 

7 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) FOREIGN COMMERCE.—The term ‘‘foreign 

9 commerce’’ means— 

10 (A) commerce or trade between the United 

11 States, its territories or possessions, or the Dis12 trict of Columbia, and a foreign country; 

13 (B) commerce or trade between foreign 

14 countries; or 

15 (C) commerce or trade within a foreign 

16 country. 

17 (2) FOREIGN STATE.—The term ‘‘foreign state’’ 

18 has the meaning given the term in section 1603(a) 

19 of title 28, United States Code. 

20 (3) SHIPPING INDUSTRY.—The term ‘‘shipping 

21 industry’’ means the construction, ownership, char22 tering, operation, or financing of vessels engaged in 

23 foreign commerce. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
40 

•S 4357 IS

1 SEC. 205. REPORT REGARDING ALTERNATE MARINE FUEL 

2 BUNKERING FACILITIES AT PORTS. 

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

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Maritime Administrator 

5 shall report on the necessary port-related infrastructure 

6 needed to support bunkering facilities for liquefied natural 

7 gas, hydrogen, ammonia, or other new marine fuels under 

8 development. The Maritime Administrator shall publish 

9 the report on a publicly available website. 

10 (b) CONTENTS.—The report described in subsection 

11 (a) shall include— 

12 (1) information about the existing United 

13 States infrastructure, in particular the storage facili14 ties, bunkering vessels, and transfer systems to sup15 port bunkering facilities for liquefied natural gas, 

16 hydrogen, ammonia, or other new marine fuels 

17 under development; 

18 (2) a review of the needed upgrades to United 

19 States infrastructure, including storage facilities, 

20 bunkering vessels, and transfer systems, to support 

21 bunkering facilities for liquefied natural gas, hydro22 gen, ammonia, or other new marine fuels under de23 velopment; 

24 (3) an assessment of the estimated government 

25 investment in this infrastructure and the duration of 

26 that investment; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
41 

•S 4357 IS

1 (4) in consultation with relevant Federal agen2 cies, information on the relevant Federal agencies 

3 that would oversee the permitting and construction 

4 of bunkering facilities for liquefied natural gas, hy5 drogen, ammonia, or other new marine fuels, as well 

6 as the Federal funding grants or formula programs 

7 that could be used for such marine fuels. 

8 TITLE III—MARITIME 

9 WORKFORCE 

10 SEC. 301. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON MERCHANT MARINE. 

11 It is the sense of Congress that the United States 

12 Merchant Marine is a critical part of the national infra13 structure of the United States, and the men and women 

14 of the United States Merchant Marine are essential work15 ers. 

16 SEC. 302. ENSURING DIVERSE MARINER RECRUITMENT. 

17 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

18 of this section, the Secretary of Transportation shall de19 velop and deliver to Congress a strategy to assist State 

20 maritime academies and the United States Merchant Ma21 rine Academy to improve the representation of women and 

22 underrepresented communities in the next generation of 

23 the mariner workforce, including each of the following: 

24 (1) Black and African American. 

25 (2) Hispanic and Latino. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
42 

•S 4357 IS

1 (3) Asian. 

2 (4) American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native 

3 Hawaiian. 

4 (5) Pacific Islander. 

5 SEC. 303. LOW EMISSIONS VESSELS TRAINING. 

6 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGY.—The Secretary of 

7 Transportation, in consultation with the United States 

8 Merchant Marine Academy, State maritime academies, 

9 and civilian nautical schools and the Secretary of the de10 partment in which Coast Guard is operating, shall develop 

11 a strategy to ensure there is an adequate supply of trained 

12 United States citizen mariners sufficient to meet the oper13 ational requirements of low and zero emission vessels. 

14 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 

15 the Secretary of Transportation determines that there is 

16 commercially viable technology for low and zero emission 

17 vessels, the Secretary of Transportation shall— 

18 (1) submit a report on the strategy developed 

19 under subsection (a) and plans for its implementa20 tion to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

21 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

22 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

23 Representatives; and 

24 (2) make such report publicly available. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
43 

•S 4357 IS

1 SEC. 304. IMPROVING PROTECTIONS FOR MIDSHIPMEN 

2 ACT. 

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

4 ‘‘Improving Protections for Midshipmen Act’’. 

5 (b) SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF MERCHANT

6 MARINER CREDENTIALS FOR PERPETRATORS OF SEXUAL

7 HARASSMENT OR SEXUAL ASSAULT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 77 of title 46, 

9 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

10 section 7704 the following: 

11 ‘‘§ 7704a. Sexual harassment or sexual assault as 

12 grounds for suspension or revocation 

13 ‘‘(a) SEXUAL HARASSMENT.—If it is shown at a 

14 hearing under this chapter that a holder of a license, cer15 tificate of registry, or merchant mariner’s document 

16 issued under this part, within 10 years before the begin17 ning of the suspension and revocation proceedings, is the 

18 subject of a substantiated claim of sexual harassment, 

19 then the license, certificate of registry, or merchant mari20 ner’s document shall be suspended or revoked. 

21 ‘‘(b) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—If it is shown at a hearing 

22 under this chapter that a holder of a license, certificate 

23 of registry, or merchant mariner’s document issued under 

24 this part, within 20 years before the beginning of the sus25 pension and revocation proceedings, is the subject of a 

26 substantiated claim of sexual assault, then the license, cerVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 09, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4357.IS S4357

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
44 

•S 4357 IS

1 tificate of registry, or merchant mariner’s document shall 

2 be revoked. 

3 ‘‘(c) SUBSTANTIATED CLAIM.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘substantiated 

5 claim’ means— 

6 ‘‘(A) a legal proceeding or agency action in 

7 any administrative proceeding that determines 

8 the individual committed sexual harassment or 

9 sexual assault in violation of any Federal, 

10 State, local, or Tribal law or regulation and for 

11 which all appeals have been exhausted, as appli12 cable; or 

13 ‘‘(B) a determination after an investigation 

14 by the Coast Guard that it is more likely than 

15 not the individual committed sexual harassment 

16 or sexual assault as defined in subsection (d), 

17 if the determination affords appropriate due 

18 process rights to the subject of the investiga19 tion. 

20 ‘‘(2) INVESTIGATION BY THE COAST GUARD.— 

21 An investigation by the Coast Guard under para22 graph (1)(B) shall include evaluation of the fol23 lowing materials that shall be provided to the Coast 

24 Guard: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
45 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(A) Any inquiry or determination made 

2 by the employer of the individual as to whether 

3 the individual committed sexual harassment or 

4 sexual assault. 

5 ‘‘(B) Upon request from the Coast Guard, 

6 any investigative materials, documents, records, 

7 or files in the possession of an employer or 

8 former employer of the individual that are re9 lated to the claim of sexual harassment or sex10 ual assault by the individual. 

11 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL REVIEW.—A license, certifi12 cate of registry, or merchant mariner’s document 

13 shall not be suspended or revoked under subsection 

14 (a) or (b) unless the substantiated claim is reviewed 

15 and affirmed, in accordance with the applicable defi16 nition in subsection (d), by an administrative law 

17 judge at the same suspension or revocation hearing 

18 under this chapter described in subsection (a) or (b), 

19 as applicable. 

20 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) SEXUAL HARASSMENT.—The term ‘sexual 

22 harassment’ means any of the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) Conduct that— 

24 ‘‘(i) involves unwelcome sexual ad25 vances, requests for sexual favors, or delibVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 09, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4357.IS S4357

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
46 

•S 4357 IS

1 erate or repeated offensive comments or 

2 gestures of a sexual nature, when— 

3 ‘‘(I) submission to such conduct 

4 is made either explicitly or implicitly a 

5 term or condition of a person’s job, 

6 pay, or career; 

7 ‘‘(II) submission to or rejection 

8 of such conduct by a person is used as 

9 a basis for career or employment deci10 sions affecting that person; 

11 ‘‘(III) such conduct has the pur12 pose or effect of unreasonably inter13 fering with an individual’s work per14 formance or creates an intimidating, 

15 hostile, or offensive working environ16 ment; or 

17 ‘‘(IV) conduct may have been by 

18 a person’s supervisor, a supervisor in 

19 another area, a co-worker, or another 

20 credentialed mariner; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) is so severe or pervasive that a 

22 reasonable person would perceive, and the 

23 victim does perceive, the environment as 

24 hostile or offensive. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
47 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(B) Any use or condonation, by any per2 son in a supervisory or command position, of 

3 any form of sexual behavior to control, influ4 ence, or affect the career, pay, or job of a sub5 ordinate. 

6 ‘‘(C) Any deliberate or repeated unwelcome 

7 verbal comment or gesture of a sexual nature 

8 by any fellow employee of the complainant. 

9 ‘‘(2) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘sexual as10 sault’ means any form of abuse or contact as defined 

11 in chapter 109A of title 18. 

12 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of the depart13 ment in which the Coast Guard is operating may issue 

14 further regulations as necessary to update the definitions 

15 in this section, consistent with descriptions of sexual har16 assment and sexual assault addressed in titles 10 and title 

17 18 to implement this section.’’. 

18 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis 

19 of chapter 77 of title 46, United States Code, is amended 

20 by inserting after the item relating to section 7704 the 

21 following: 

‘‘7704a. Sexual harassment or sexual assault as grounds for suspension or revocation.’’. 

22 (d) SUPPORTING THE UNITED STATES MERCHANT

23 MARINE ACADEMY.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
48 

•S 4357 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 513 of title 46, 

2 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

3 end the following: 

4 ‘‘§ 51325. Sexual assault and sexual harassment pre5 vention information management system 

6 ‘‘(a) INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 

8 2023, the Maritime Administrator shall establish an 

9 information management system to track and main10 tain, in such a manner that patterns can be reason11 ably identified, information regarding claims and in12 cidents involving cadets that are reportable pursuant 

13 to subsection (d) of section 51318 of this chapter. 

14 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION MAINTAINED IN THE SYS15 TEM.—Information maintained in the system shall 

16 include the following information, to the extent that 

17 information is available: 

18 ‘‘(A) The overall number of sexual assault 

19 or sexual harassment incidents per fiscal year. 

20 ‘‘(B) The location of each such incident, 

21 including vessel name and the name of the com22 pany operating the vessel, if applicable. 

23 ‘‘(C) The names and ranks of the individ24 uals involved in each such incident. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
49 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(D) The general nature of each such inci2 dent, to include copies of any associated reports 

3 completed on the incidents. 

4 ‘‘(E) The type of inquiry made into each 

5 such incident. 

6 ‘‘(F) A determination as to whether each 

7 such incident is substantiated. 

8 ‘‘(G) Any informal and formal account9 ability measures taken for misconduct related to 

10 the incident, including decisions on whether to 

11 prosecute the case. 

12 ‘‘(3) PAST INFORMATION INCLUDED.—The in13 formation management system under this section 

14 shall include the relevant data listed in this sub15 section related to sexual assault and sexual harass16 ment that the Maritime Administrator possesses, 

17 and shall not be limited to data collected after Janu18 ary 1, 2023. 

19 ‘‘(4) PRIVACY PROTECTIONS.—The Maritime 

20 Administrator and the Department of Transpor21 tation Chief Information Officer shall coordinate to 

22 ensure that the information management system 

23 under this section shall be established and main24 tained in a secure fashion to ensure the protection 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
50 

•S 4357 IS

1 of the privacy of any individuals whose information 

2 is entered in such system. 

3 ‘‘(5) CYBERSECURITY AUDIT.—Ninety days 

4 after the implementation of the information manage5 ment system, the Office of Inspector General of the 

6 Department of Transportation shall commence an 

7 audit of the cybersecurity of the system and shall 

8 submit a report containing the results of that audit 

9 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans10 portation of the Senate and the Committee on 

11 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

12 Representatives. 

13 ‘‘(6) CORRECTING RECORDS.—In establishing 

14 the information management system, the Maritime 

15 Administrator shall create a process to ensure that 

16 if any incident report results in a final agency action 

17 or final judgement that acquits an individual of 

18 wrongdoing, all personally identifiable information 

19 about the acquitted individual is removed from that 

20 incident report in the system. 

21 ‘‘(b) SEA YEAR PROGRAM.—The Maritime Adminis22 trator shall provide for the establishment of in-person and 

23 virtual confidential exit interviews, to be conducted by per24 sonnel who are not involved in the assignment of the mid25 shipmen to a Sea Year vessel, for midshipmen from the 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
51 

•S 4357 IS

1 Academy upon completion of Sea Year and following com2 pletion by the midshipmen of the survey under section 

3 51322(d). 

4 ‘‘(c) DATA-INFORMED DECISIONMAKING.—The data 

5 maintained in the data management system under sub6 section (a) and through the exit interviews under sub7 section (b) shall be affirmatively referenced and used to 

8 inform the creation of new policy or regulation, or changes 

9 to any existing policy or regulation, in the areas of sexual 

10 harassment, dating violence, domestic violence, sexual as11 sault, and stalking. 

12 ‘‘§ 51326. Student advisory board at the United States 

13 Merchant Marine Academy 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Maritime Administrator 

15 shall establish at the United States Merchant Marine 

16 Academy an advisory board to be known as the Advisory 

17 Board to the Secretary of Transportation (referred to in 

18 this section as the ‘Advisory Board’). 

19 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Board shall be 

20 composed of not fewer than 12 midshipmen of the Mer21 chant Marine Academy who are enrolled at the Merchant 

22 Marine Academy at the time of the appointment, including 

23 not fewer than 3 cadets from each class. 

24 ‘‘(c) APPOINTMENT; TERM.—Midshipmen shall serve 

25 on the Advisory Board pursuant to appointment by the 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
52 

•S 4357 IS

1 Maritime Administrator. Appointments shall be made not 

2 later than 60 days after the date of the swearing in of 

3 a new class of midshipmen at the Academy. The term of 

4 membership of a midshipmen on the Advisory Board shall 

5 be 1 academic year. 

6 ‘‘(d) REAPPOINTMENT.—The Maritime Adminis7 trator may reappoint not more than 6 cadets from the pre8 vious term to serve on the Advisory Board for an addi9 tional academic year if the Maritime Administrator deter10 mines such reappointment to be in the best interests of 

11 the Merchant Marine Academy. 

12 ‘‘(e) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Board shall meet 

13 with the Secretary of Transportation not less than once 

14 each academic year to discuss the activities of the Advisory 

15 Board. The Advisory Board shall meet in person with the 

16 Maritime Administrator not less than 2 times each aca17 demic year to discuss the activities of the Advisory Board. 

18 ‘‘(f) DUTIES.—The Advisory Board shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) identify health and wellbeing, diversity, 

20 and sexual assault and harassment challenges and 

21 other topics considered important by the Advisory 

22 Board facing midshipmen at the Merchant Marine 

23 Academy, off campus, and while aboard ships during 

24 Sea Year or other training opportunities; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
53 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(2) discuss and propose possible solutions, in2 cluding improvements to culture and leadership de3 velopment at the Merchant Marine Academy; and 

4 ‘‘(3) periodically review the efficacy of the pro5 gram in section 51325(b), as appropriate, and pro6 vide recommendations to the Maritime Adminis7 trator for improvement. 

8 ‘‘(g) WORKING GROUPS.—The Advisory Board may 

9 establish one or more working groups to assist the Advi10 sory Board in carrying out its duties, including working 

11 groups composed in part of midshipmen at the Merchant 

12 Marine Academy who are not current members of the Ad13 visory Board. 

14 ‘‘(h) REPORTS AND BRIEFINGS.—The Advisory 

15 Board shall regularly provide the Secretary of Transpor16 tation and the Maritime Administrator reports and brief17 ings on the results of its duties, including recommenda18 tions for actions to be taken in light of such results. Such 

19 reports and briefings may be provided in writing, in per20 son, or both. 

21 ‘‘§ 51327. Sexual Assault Advisory Council 

22 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Transpor23 tation shall establish a Sexual Assault Advisory Council 

24 (in this section referred to as the ‘Council’). 

25 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
54 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall be com2 posed of not fewer than 8 and not more than 14 in3 dividuals selected by the Secretary of Transportation 

4 who are alumni that have graduated within the last 

5 4 years or current midshipmen of the United States 

6 Merchant Marine Academy (including midshipmen 

7 or alumni who were victims of sexual assault and 

8 midshipmen or alumni who were not victims of sex9 ual assault) and governmental and nongovernmental 

10 experts and professionals in the sexual assault field. 

11 ‘‘(2) EXPERTS INCLUDED.—The Council shall 

12 include— 

13 ‘‘(A) not less than 1 member who is li14 censed in the field of mental health and has 

15 prior experience working as a counselor or ther16 apist providing mental health care to survivors 

17 of sexual assault in a victim services agency or 

18 organization; and 

19 ‘‘(B) not less than 1 member who has 

20 prior experience developing or implementing 

21 sexual assault or sexual harassment prevention 

22 and response policies in an academic setting. 

23 ‘‘(3) RULES REGARDING MEMBERSHIP.—No 

24 employee of the Department of Transportation shall 

25 be a member of the Council. The number of governVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 09, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4357.IS S4357

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
55 

•S 4357 IS

1 mental experts appointed to the Council shall not ex2 ceed the number of nongovernmental experts. 

3 ‘‘(c) DUTIES; AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall meet not 

5 less often than semiannually to— 

6 ‘‘(A) review— 

7 ‘‘(i) the policies on sexual harassment, 

8 dating violence, domestic violence, sexual 

9 assault, and stalking under section 51318 

10 of this title; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the trends and patterns of data 

12 contained in the system described under 

13 section 51325 of this title; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) related matters the Council 

15 views as appropriate; and 

16 ‘‘(B) develop recommendations designed to 

17 ensure that such policies and such matters con18 form, to the extent practicable, to best practices 

19 in the field of sexual assault and sexual harass20 ment response and prevention. 

21 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—To carry out 

22 this subsection, the Council may— 

23 ‘‘(A) conduct case reviews, as appropriate 

24 and only with the consent of the victim of sex25 ual assault or harassment; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
56 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(B) interview current and former mid2 shipmen of the United States Merchant Marine 

3 Academy (to the extent that such midshipmen 

4 provide the Department of Transportation ex5 press consent to be interviewed by the Council); 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(C) review— 

8 ‘‘(i) exit interviews under section 

9 51325(b) and surveys under section 

10 51322(d); 

11 ‘‘(ii) data collected from restricted re12 porting; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) any other information necessary 

14 to conduct such case reviews. 

15 ‘‘(3) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMA16 TION.—In carrying out this subsection, the Council 

17 shall comply with the obligations of the Department 

18 of Transportation to protect personally identifiable 

19 information. 

20 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.—On an annual basis for each of the 

21 5 years after the date of enactment of this section, and 

22 at the discretion of the Council thereafter, the Council 

23 shall submit, to the President and the Committee on Com24 merce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on 

25 Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
57 

•S 4357 IS

1 Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on 

2 Appropriations of the House of Representatives, a report 

3 on the Council’s findings based on the reviews conducted 

4 pursuant to subsection (c) and related recommendations. 

5 ‘‘(e) EMPLOYEE STATUS.—Members of the Council 

6 shall not be considered employees of the United States 

7 Government for any purpose and shall not receive com8 pensation other than reimbursement of travel expenses 

9 and per diem allowance in accordance with section 5703 

10 of title 5. 

11 ‘‘(f) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Federal 

12 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply 

13 to the Council. 

14 ‘‘§ 51328. Student support 

15 ‘‘The Maritime Administrator shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) require a biannual survey of midshipmen, 

17 faculty, and staff of the Academy assessing the in18 clusiveness of the environment of the Academy; and 

19 ‘‘(2) require an annual survey of faculty and 

20 staff of the Academy assessing the inclusiveness of 

21 the environment of the Sea Year program.’’. 

22 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 30 days 

23 after the date of enactment of this section, the Maritime 

24 Administrator shall provide Congress with a briefing on 

25 the resources necessary to properly implement section 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
58 

•S 4357 IS

1 51328 of title 46, United States Code, as added by this 

2 section. 

3 (f) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The chapter anal4 ysis for chapter 513 of title 46, United States Code, is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘51325. Sexual assault and sexual harassment prevention information management system. 

‘‘51326. Student advisory board at the United States Merchant Marine Academy. 

‘‘51327. Sexual Assault Advisory Council. 

‘‘51328. Student support.’’. 

6 (g) UNITED STATES MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY

7 STUDENT SUPPORT PLAN.— 

8 (1) STUDENT SUPPORT PLAN.—Not later than 

9 January 1, 2023, the Maritime Administrator shall 

10 issue a Student Support Plan for the United States 

11 Merchant Marine Academy, in consultation with rel12 evant mental health professionals in the Federal 

13 Government or experienced with the maritime indus14 try or related industries. Such plan shall— 

15 (A) address the mental health resources 

16 available to midshipmen, both on-campus and 

17 during Sea Year; 

18 (B) establish a tracking system for suicidal 

19 ideations and suicide attempts of midshipmen; 

20 (C) create an option for midshipmen to ob21 tain assistance from a professional care pro22 vider virtually; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
59 

•S 4357 IS

1 (D) require an annual survey of faculty 

2 and staff assessing the adequacy of mental 

3 health resources for midshipmen of the Acad4 emy, both on campus and during Sea Year. 

5 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 30 

6 days after the date of enactment of this section, the 

7 Maritime Administrator shall provide Congress with 

8 a report on the resources necessary to properly im9 plement this subsection. 

10 (h) SPECIAL VICTIMS ADVISOR.—Section 51319 of 

11 title 46, United States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub13 section (d); 

14 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL VICTIMS ADVISOR.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall des18 ignate an attorney (to be known as the ‘Special Vic19 tims Advisor’) for the purpose of providing legal as20 sistance to any cadet of the Academy who is the vic21 tim of an alleged sex-related offense regarding ad22 ministrative and criminal proceedings related to such 

23 offense, regardless of whether the report of that of24 fense is restricted or unrestricted. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
60 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL VICTIMS ADVISORY.—The Sec2 retary shall ensure that the attorney designated as 

3 the Special Victims Advisor has knowledge of the 

4 Uniform Code of Military Justice, as well as crimi5 nal and civil law. 

6 ‘‘(3) PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATIONS.—Any 

7 communications between a victim of an alleged sex8 related offense and the Special Victim Advisor, when 

9 acting in their capacity as such, shall have the same 

10 protection that applicable law provides for confiden11 tial attorney-client communications.’’; and 

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

13 ‘‘(e) UNFILLED VACANCIES.—The Administrator of 

14 the Maritime Administration may appoint qualified can15 didates to positions under subsections (a) and (d) of this 

16 section without regard to sections 3309 through 3319 of 

17 title 5.’’. 

18 (i) CATCH A SERIAL OFFENDER ASSESSMENT.— 

19 (1) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than one year 

20 after the date of enactment of this section, the Com21 mandant of the Coast Guard, in coordination with 

22 the Maritime Administrator, shall conduct an assess23 ment of the feasibility and process necessary, and 

24 appropriate responsible entities to establish a pro25 gram for the United States Merchant Marine AcadVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 09, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4357.IS S4357

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
61 

•S 4357 IS

1 emy and United States Merchant Marine modeled on 

2 the Catch a Serial Offender program of the Depart3 ment of Defense using the information management 

4 system required under subsection (a) of section 

5 51325 of title 46, United States Code, and the exit 

6 interviews under subsection (b) of such section. 

7 (2) LEGISLATIVE CHANGE PROPOSALS.—If, as 

8 a result of the assessment required by paragraph 

9 (1), the Commandant or the Administrator deter10 mines that additional authority is necessary to im11 plement the program described in paragraph (1), the 

12 Commandant or the Administrator, as applicable, 

13 shall provide appropriate legislative change proposals 

14 to Congress. 

15 (j) SHIPBOARD TRAINING.—Section 51322(a) of title 

16 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(3) TRAINING.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—As part of training 

20 that shall be provided not less than semiannu21 ally to all midshipmen of the Academy, pursu22 ant to section 51318, the Maritime Adminis23 trator shall develop and implement comprehen24 sive in-person sexual assault risk-reduction and 

25 response training that, to the extent pracVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 09, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4357.IS S4357

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
62 

•S 4357 IS

1 ticable, conforms to best practices in the sexual 

2 assault prevention and response field and in3 cludes appropriate scenario-based training. 

4 ‘‘(B) DEVELOPMENT AND CONSULTATION

5 WITH EXPERTS.—In developing the sexual as6 sault risk-reduction and response training 

7 under subparagraph (A), the Maritime Admin8 istrator shall consult with and incorporate, as 

9 appropriate, the recommendations and views of 

10 experts in the sexual assault field.’’. 

11 SEC. 305. BOARD OF VISITORS. 

12 Section 51312 of title 46, United States Code, is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (b)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

16 (i) by redesignating subparagraph (C) 

17 as subparagraph (D); 

18 (ii) in subparagraph (D), as redesig19 nated by clause (i), by striking ‘‘flag-rank 

20 who’’ and inserting ‘‘flag-rank’’; 

21 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

22 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; and 

23 (iv) by inserting after subparagraph 

24 (B) the following: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
63 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(C) at least 1 shall be a representative of 

2 a maritime labor organization; and’’; and 

3 (B) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(C) REPLACEMENT.—If a member of the 

6 Board is replaced, not later than 60 days after 

7 the date of the replacement, the Designated 

8 Federal Officer selected under subsection (g)(2) 

9 shall notify that member.’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (d)— 

11 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and 2 

12 additional meetings, which may be held in per13 son or virtually’’ after ‘‘Academy’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘(3) SCHEDULING; NOTIFICATION.—When 

16 scheduling a meeting, the Designated Federal Offi17 cer shall coordinate, to the greatest extent prac18 ticable, with the members of the Board to determine 

19 the date and time of the meeting. Members of the 

20 Board shall be notified of the date of each meeting 

21 not less than 30 days prior to the meeting date.’’; 

22 (3) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the 

23 following: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
64 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(4) STAFF.—One of more staff of each mem2 ber of the Board may accompany them on Academy 

3 visits. 

4 ‘‘(5) SCHEDULING; NOTIFICATION.—When 

5 scheduling a visit to the Academy, the Designated 

6 Federal Officer shall coordinate, to the greatest ex7 tent practicable, with the members of the Board to 

8 determine the date and time of the visit. Members 

9 of the Board shall be notified of the date of each 

10 visit not less than 30 days prior to the visit date.’’; 

11 and 

12 (4) in subsection (h)— 

13 (A) by inserting ‘‘and ranking member’’ 

14 after ‘‘chairman’’ each place the term appears; 

15 and 

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

17 ‘‘Such staff may attend meetings and may visit 

18 the Academy.’’. 

19 SEC. 306. MARITIME TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENT ACT. 

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

21 ‘‘Maritime Technological Advancement Act of 2022’’. 

22 (b) CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE FOR DOMESTIC MARI23 TIME WORKFORCE.—Section 51706 of title 46, United 

24 States Code, is amended— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
65 

•S 4357 IS

1 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘of Transpor2 tation’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (b), in the subsection heading, 

4 by striking ‘‘ASSISTANCE’’ and inserting ‘‘COOPERA5 TIVE AGREEMENTS’’; 

6 (3) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub7 section (d); 

8 (4) in subsection (d), as redesignated by para9 graph (2), by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

11 the Secretary of Transportation.’’; and 

12 (5) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(c) GRANT PROGRAM.— 

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

16 ‘‘(A) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Admin17 istrator’ means the Administrator of the Mari18 time Administration. 

19 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term 

20 ‘eligible institution’ means an institution that 

21 has a demonstrated record of success in train22 ing and is— 

23 ‘‘(i) a postsecondary educational insti24 tution (as defined in section 3 of the Carl 

25 D. Perkins Career and Technical EduVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 09, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00065 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4357.IS S4357

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
66 

•S 4357 IS

1 cation Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302)) that 

2 offers a 2-year program of study or a 1- 

3 year program of training; 

4 ‘‘(ii) a postsecondary vocational insti5 tution (as defined under section 102(c) of 

6 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

7 U.S.C. 1002(c))); 

8 ‘‘(iii) a public or private nonprofit en9 tity that offers 1 or more other structured 

10 experiential learning training programs for 

11 American workers in the United States 

12 maritime industry, including a program 

13 that is offered by a labor organization or 

14 conducted in partnership with a nonprofit 

15 organization or 1 or more employers in the 

16 maritime industry; or 

17 ‘‘(iv) an entity sponsoring a registered 

18 apprenticeship program. 

19 ‘‘(C) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PRO20 GRAM.—The term ‘registered apprenticeship 

21 program’ means an apprenticeship program 

22 registered with the Office of Apprenticeship of 

23 the Employment and Training Administration 

24 of the Department of Labor or a State appren25 ticeship agency recognized by the Office of ApVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 09, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4357.IS S4357

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
67 

•S 4357 IS

1 prenticeship pursuant to the Act of August 16, 

2 1937 (commonly known as the ‘National Ap3 prenticeship Act’; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 

4 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 

5 ‘‘(D) UNITED STATES MARITIME INDUS6 TRY.—The term ‘United States maritime indus7 try’ means all segments of the maritime-related 

8 transportation system of the United States, 

9 both in domestic and foreign trade, and in 

10 coastal, offshore, and inland waters, as well as 

11 non-commercial maritime activities, such as 

12 pleasure boating and marine sciences (including 

13 all scientific research vessels), and all of the in14 dustries that support or depend upon such uses, 

15 including vessel construction and repair, vessel 

16 operations, ship logistics supply, berthing, port 

17 operations, port intermodal operations, marine 

18 terminal operations, vessel design, marine bro19 kerage, marine insurance, marine financing, 

20 chartering, maritime-oriented supply chain op21 erations, offshore industry, offshore wind, and 

22 maritime-oriented research and development. 

23 ‘‘(2) GRANT AUTHORIZATION.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

25 after the date of enactment of the Maritime 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
68 

•S 4357 IS

1 Technological Advancement Act of 2022, the 

2 Administrator may award maritime career 

3 training grants to eligible institutions for the 

4 purpose of developing, offering, or improving 

5 educational or career training programs for 

6 American workers related to the maritime work7 force. 

8 ‘‘(B) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 1 year 

9 after the date of enactment of the Maritime 

10 Technological Advancement Act of 2022, the 

11 Administrator shall— 

12 ‘‘(i) promulgate guidelines for the 

13 submission of grant proposals under this 

14 subsection; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) publish and maintain such guide16 lines on the website of the Maritime Ad17 ministration. 

18 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.—The Administrator may 

19 not award a grant under this subsection in an 

20 amount that is more than $12,000,000. 

21 ‘‘(4) REQUIRED INFORMATION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible institution 

23 that desires to receive a grant under this sub24 section shall submit to the Administrator a 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
69 

•S 4357 IS

1 grant proposal that includes a detailed descrip2 tion of— 

3 ‘‘(i) the specific project for which the 

4 grant proposal is submitted, including the 

5 manner in which the grant will be used to 

6 develop, offer, or improve an educational 

7 or career training program that is suited 

8 to maritime industry workers; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the extent to which the project 

10 for which the grant proposal is submitted 

11 will meet the educational or career training 

12 needs of maritime workers in the commu13 nity served by the eligible institution, par14 ticularly any individuals with a barrier to 

15 employment; 

16 ‘‘(iii) the extent to which the project 

17 for which the grant proposal is submitted 

18 fits within any overall strategic plan devel19 oped by an eligible community; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) any previous experience of the 

21 eligible institution in providing maritime 

22 educational or career training programs. 

23 ‘‘(B) COMMUNITY OUTREACH REQUIRED.— 

24 In order to be considered by the Administrator, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
70 

•S 4357 IS

1 a grant proposal submitted by an eligible insti2 tution under this subsection shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) demonstrate that the eligible in4 stitution— 

5 ‘‘(I) reached out to employers to 

6 identify— 

7 ‘‘(aa) any shortcomings in 

8 existing maritime educational 

9 and career training opportunities 

10 available to workers in the com11 munity; and 

12 ‘‘(bb) any future employ13 ment opportunities within the 

14 community and the educational 

15 and career training skills re16 quired for workers to meet the 

17 future maritime employment de18 mand; and 

19 ‘‘(II) reached out to other simi20 larly situated institutions in an effort 

21 to benefit from any best practices that 

22 may be shared with respect to pro23 viding maritime educational or career 

24 training programs to workers eligible 

25 for training; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
71 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) include a detailed description 

2 of— 

3 ‘‘(I) the extent and outcome of 

4 the outreach conducted under clause 

5 (i); 

6 ‘‘(II) the extent to which the 

7 project for which the grant proposal is 

8 submitted will contribute to meeting 

9 any shortcomings identified under 

10 clause (i)(I)(aa) or any maritime edu11 cational or career training needs iden12 tified under clause (i)(I)(bb); and 

13 ‘‘(III) the extent to which em14 ployers, including small- and medium15 sized firms within the community, 

16 have demonstrated a commitment to 

17 employing workers who would benefit 

18 from the project for which the grant 

19 proposal is submitted. 

20 ‘‘(5) CRITERIA FOR AWARD OF GRANTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the appro22 priation of funds, the Administrator shall award 

23 a grant under this subsection based on— 

24 ‘‘(i) a determination of the merits of 

25 the grant proposal submitted by the eligiVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 09, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4357.IS S4357

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
72 

•S 4357 IS

1 ble institution to develop, offer, or improve 

2 maritime educational or career training 

3 programs to be made available to workers; 

4 ‘‘(ii) an evaluation of the likely em5 ployment opportunities available to workers 

6 who complete a maritime educational or 

7 career training program that the eligible 

8 institution proposes to develop, offer, or 

9 improve; 

10 ‘‘(iii) an evaluation of prior demand 

11 for training programs by workers in the 

12 community served by the eligible institu13 tion, as well as the availability and capac14 ity of existing maritime training programs 

15 to meet future demand for training pro16 grams; 

17 ‘‘(iv) any prior designation of an insti18 tution as a Center of Excellence for Do19 mestic Maritime Workforce Training and 

20 Education; and 

21 ‘‘(v) an evaluation of the previous ex22 perience of the eligible institution in pro23 viding maritime educational or career 

24 training programs. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
73 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(B) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.—A 

2 grant awarded under this subsection may not 

3 be used to satisfy any private matching require4 ment under any other provision of law. 

5 ‘‘(6) COMPETITIVE AWARDS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

7 shall award grants under this subsection to eli8 gible institutions on a competitive basis in ac9 cordance with guidelines and requirements es10 tablished by the Administrator under paragraph 

11 (2)(B). 

12 ‘‘(B) TIMING OF GRANT NOTICE.—The Ad13 ministrator shall post a Notice of Funding Op14 portunity regarding grants awarded under this 

15 subsection not more than 90 days after the date 

16 of enactment of the appropriations Act for the 

17 fiscal year concerned. 

18 ‘‘(C) TIMING OF GRANTS.—The Adminis19 trator shall award grants under this subsection 

20 not later than 270 days after the date of the 

21 enactment of the appropriations Act for the fis22 cal year concerned. 

23 ‘‘(D) APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENTS.— 

24 The requirements under subparagraphs (B) and 

25 (C) shall not apply until the guidelines required 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
74 

•S 4357 IS

1 under paragraph (2)(B) have been promul2 gated. 

3 ‘‘(E) REUSE OF UNEXPENDED GRANT

4 FUNDS.—Notwithstanding subparagraph (C), 

5 amounts awarded as a grant under this sub6 section that are not expended by the grantee 

7 shall remain available to the Administrator for 

8 use for grants under this subsection. 

9 ‘‘(F) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more 

10 than 3 percent of amounts made available to 

11 carry out this subsection may be used for the 

12 necessary costs of grant administration. 

13 ‘‘(7) ELIGIBLE USES OF GRANT FUNDS.—An el14 igible institution receiving a grant under this sub15 section— 

16 ‘‘(A) shall carry out activities that are 

17 identified as priorities for the purpose of devel18 oping, offering, or improving educational or ca19 reer training programs for the United States 

20 maritime industry workforce; 

21 ‘‘(B) shall provide training to upgrade the 

22 skills of the United States maritime industry 

23 workforce, including training to acquire covered 

24 requirements as well as technical skills training 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
75 

•S 4357 IS

1 for jobs in the United States maritime industry; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(C) may use the grant funds to— 

4 ‘‘(i) admit additional students to mar5 itime training programs; 

6 ‘‘(ii) develop, establish, and annually 

7 update viable training capacity, courses, 

8 and mechanisms to rapidly upgrade skills 

9 and perform assessments of merchant 

10 mariners during time of war or a national 

11 emergency, and to increase credentials for 

12 domestic or defense needs where training 

13 can decrease the gap in the numbers of 

14 qualified mariners for sealift; 

15 ‘‘(iii) provide services to upgrade the 

16 skills of United States offshore wind ma17 rine service workers who transport, install, 

18 operate, or maintain offshore wind compo19 nents and turbines, including training, cur20 riculum and career pathway development, 

21 on-the-job training, safety and health 

22 training, and classroom training; 

23 ‘‘(iv) expand existing or create new 

24 maritime training programs, including 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
76 

•S 4357 IS

1 through partnerships and memoranda of 

2 understanding with— 

3 ‘‘(I) 4-year institutions of higher 

4 education; 

5 ‘‘(II) labor organizations; 

6 ‘‘(III) registered apprenticeship 

7 programs with the United States mar8 itime industry; or 

9 ‘‘(IV) an entity described in sub10 clause (I) through (III) that has a 

11 memorandum of understanding with 1 

12 or more employers in the maritime in13 dustry; 

14 ‘‘(v) create new maritime career path15 ways; 

16 ‘‘(vi) expand existing or create new 

17 training programs for transitioning mili18 tary veterans to careers in the United 

19 States maritime industry; 

20 ‘‘(vii) expand existing or create new 

21 training programs that address the needs 

22 of individuals with a barrier to employ23 ment, as determined by the Secretary in 

24 consultation with the Secretary of Labor, 

25 in the United States maritime industry; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
77 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(viii) purchase, construct, develop, 

2 expand, or improve training facilities, 

3 buildings, and equipment to deliver mari4 time training programs; 

5 ‘‘(ix) recruit and train additional fac6 ulty to expand the maritime training pro7 grams offered by the institution; 

8 ‘‘(x) provide financial assistance 

9 through scholarships or tuition waivers, 

10 not to exceed the applicable tuition ex11 penses associated with the covered pro12 grams; 

13 ‘‘(xi) promote the use of distance 

14 learning that enables students to take 

15 courses through the use of teleconfer16 encing, the Internet, and other media tech17 nology; 

18 ‘‘(xii) assist in providing services to 

19 address maritime workforce recruitment 

20 and training of youth residing in targeted 

21 high-poverty areas within empowerment 

22 zones and enterprise communities; 

23 ‘‘(xiii) implement partnerships with 

24 national and regional organizations with 

25 special expertise in developing, organizing, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
78 

•S 4357 IS

1 and administering maritime workforce re2 cruitment and training services; 

3 ‘‘(xiv) carry out customized training 

4 in conjunction with— 

5 ‘‘(I) an existing registered ap6 prenticeship program or a pre-appren7 ticeship program that articulates to a 

8 registered apprenticeship program; 

9 ‘‘(II) a paid internship; or 

10 ‘‘(III) a joint labor-management 

11 partnership; 

12 ‘‘(xv) design, develop, and test an 

13 array of approaches to providing recruit14 ment, training, or retention services, to en15 hance diversity, equity and inclusion in the 

16 United States maritime industry work17 force; 

18 ‘‘(xvi) in conjunction with employers, 

19 organized labor, other groups (such as 

20 community coalitions), and Federal, State, 

21 or local agencies, design, develop, and test 

22 various training approaches in order to de23 termine effective practices; or 

24 ‘‘(xvii) assist in the development and 

25 replication of effective service delivery 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
79 

•S 4357 IS

1 strategies for the United States maritime 

2 industry as a whole. 

3 ‘‘(8) PUBLIC REPORT.—Not later than Decem4 ber 15 in each of the calendar years 2023 through 

5 2025, the Administrator shall make available on a 

6 publicly available website a report and provide a 

7 briefing to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

8 and Transportation of the Senate and the Com9 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

10 House of Representatives— 

11 ‘‘(A) describing each grant awarded under 

12 this subsection during the preceding fiscal year; 

13 ‘‘(B) assessing the impact of each award of 

14 a grant under this subsection in a fiscal year 

15 preceding the fiscal year referred to in subpara16 graph (A) on workers receiving training; and 

17 ‘‘(C) the performance of the grant awarded 

18 with respect to the indicators of performance 

19 under section 116(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Workforce 

20 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

21 3141(b)(2)(A)(i)). 

22 ‘‘(9) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

24 this subsection $60,000,000 for each of the fiscal 

25 years 2023 through 2027.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
80 

•S 4357 IS

1 SEC. 307. STUDY ON CIP PROGRAM AT THE USMMA. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The United States Merchant Marine Acad4 emy campus is nearly 80 years old and many of the 

5 buildings have fallen into a serious state of dis6 repair. 

7 (2) Except for renovations to student barracks 

8 in the early 2000s, all of the buildings on campus 

9 have exceeded their useful life and need to be re10 placed or undergo major renovations. 

11 (3) According to the Maritime Administration, 

12 since 2011, $234,000,000 has been invested in cap13 ital improvements on the campus, but partly due to 

14 poor planning and cost overruns, maintenance and 

15 building replacement backlogs continue. 

16 (b) STUDY.—The Comptroller General shall conduct 

17 a study of the United States Merchant Marine Academy 

18 Capital Improvement Program. The study shall include an 

19 evaluation of— 

20 (1) the actions the United States Merchant Ma21 rine Academy has taken to bring the buildings, in22 frastructure, and other facilities on campus up to 

23 standards and the further actions that are required 

24 to do so; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
81 

•S 4357 IS

1 (2) how the approach that the United States 

2 Merchant Marine Academy uses to manage its cap3 ital assets meets leading practices; 

4 (3) how cost estimates prepared for capital 

5 asset projects meet cost estimating leading practices; 

6 (4) whether the United States Merchant Marine 

7 Academy has adequate staff who are trained to iden8 tify needed capital projects, estimate the cost of 

9 those projects, perform building maintenance, and 

10 manage capital improvement projects; and 

11 (5) how the United States Merchant Marine 

12 Academy identifies and prioritizes capital construc13 tion needs, and how that priority relates to the safe14 ty, education, and wellbeing of midshipmen. 

15 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

16 date of enactment of this section, the Comptroller General 

17 shall prepare and submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

18 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com19 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

20 of Representatives a report containing the results of the 

21 study under this section. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
82 

•S 4357 IS

1 SEC. 308. IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS FROM 

2 THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMIN3 ISTRATION. 

4 (a) INSPECTOR GENERAL AUDIT.—The Inspector 

5 General of the Department of Transportation shall— 

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

7 enactment of this section, initiate an audit of the 

8 Maritime Administration’s actions to address only 

9 recommendations 4.1 through 4.3, 4.7 through 4.11, 

10 5.1 through 5.4, 5.6, 5.7, 5.11, 5.14, 5.15, 5.16, 6.1 

11 through 6.4, 6.6, and 6.7, identified by a National 

12 Academy of Public Administration panel in the No13 vember 2021 report entitled ‘‘Organizational Assess14 ment of the United States Merchant Marine Acad15 emy: A Path Forward’’; and 

16 (2) release publicly, and submit to the appro17 priate committees of Congress, a report containing 

18 the results of the audit described in paragraph (1) 

19 once the audit is completed. 

20 (b) AGREEMENT FOR STUDY BY NATIONAL ACADEMY

21 OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

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

24 Transportation shall enter into an agreement with 

25 the National Academy of Public Administration (reVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 09, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00082 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4357.IS S4357

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
83 

•S 4357 IS

1 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Academy’’) to pro2 vide support for— 

3 (A) prioritizing and addressing the rec4 ommendations described in subsection (a)(1), 

5 and establishing a process for prioritizing other 

6 recommendations in the future; 

7 (B) development of long-term processes 

8 and a timeframe for long-term process improve9 ments, as well as corrective actions and best 

10 practice criteria that can be implemented in the 

11 medium- and near-term; 

12 (C) establishment of a clear assignment of 

13 responsibility for implementation of each rec14 ommendation described in subsection (a)(1), 

15 and a strategy for assigning other recommenda16 tions in the future; and 

17 (D) a performance measurement system, 

18 including data collection and tracking and eval19 uating progress toward goals. 

20 (2) REPORT OF PROGRESS.—Not later than 1 

21 year after the date of the agreement described in 

22 paragraph (1), the Academy shall prepare and sub23 mit a report of progress to the Maritime Adminis24 trator and the appropriate committees of Congress. 

25 (c) PRIORITIZATION AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
84 

•S 4357 IS

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

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Maritime Ad3 ministrator shall provide a prioritization and imple4 mentation plan to assess, prioritize, and address the 

5 recommendations identified by the National Acad6 emy of Public Administration panel in the November 

7 2021 report entitled ‘‘Organizational Assessment of 

8 the United States Merchant Marine Academy: A 

9 Path Forward’’ that are relevant to the Maritime 

10 Administration and not listed in subsection (a)(1). 

11 The prioritization and implementation plan shall— 

12 (A) make use of the strategies, processes, 

13 and systems described in subsection (b)(1); 

14 (B) include estimated timelines and cost 

15 estimates for implementation of priority goals; 

16 (C) include summaries of stakeholder and 

17 interagency engagement used to assess goals 

18 and timelines; and 

19 (D) be released publicly and submitted to 

20 the appropriate committees of Congress. 

21 (2) AUDIT AND REPORT.—The Inspector Gen22 eral of the Department of Transportation shall— 

23 (A) not later than 180 days after the date 

24 of publication of the prioritization and imple25 mentation plan described in paragraph (1), iniVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 09, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00084 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4357.IS S4357

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
85 

•S 4357 IS

1 tiate an audit of the Maritime Administration’s 

2 actions to address the prioritization and imple3 mentation plan; 

4 (B) not later than 2 years after the date 

5 of publication of the prioritization and imple6 mentation plan, and every 3 years thereafter, 

7 initiate an audit of the Maritime Administra8 tion’s progress on the plan; and 

9 (C) release publicly and submit to the ap10 propriate committees of Congress a report con11 taining the results of the audit once the audit 

12 is completed. 

13 (d) AGREEMENT FOR PLAN ON CAPITAL IMPROVE14 MENTS.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enact15 ment of this Act, the Maritime Administration shall enter 

16 into an agreement with a Federal construction agent to 

17 create a plan to execute capital improvements at the 

18 United States Merchant Marine Academy. 

19 (e) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE20 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate commit21 tees of Congress’’ means the Committee on Commerce, 

22 Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Committee 

23 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

24 Representatives, the Appropriations Subcommittees on 

25 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
86 

•S 4357 IS

1 Related Agencies of the Senate and the House of Rep2 resentatives, and the Committees on Armed Services of 

3 the Senate and the House of Representatives. 

4 SEC. 309. SERVICE ACADEMY FACULTY PARITY. 

5 Section 105 of title 17, United States Code, is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in the heading of subsection (b), by deleting 

8 ‘‘CERTAIN OF WORKS’’ and inserting ‘‘CERTAIN

9 WORKS’’; 

10 (2) in the first subsection (c), by deleting ‘‘The 

11 Secretary of Defense may’’ and inserting ‘‘The Sec12 retary of Defense (or, with respect to the United 

13 States Merchant Marine Academy, the Secretary of 

14 Transportation, or, with respect to the United States 

15 Coast Guard Academy, the Secretary of Homeland 

16 Security) may’’; 

17 (3) by redesignating the second subsection (c) 

18 as subsection (d); and 

19 (4) in subsection (d), as redesignated by para20 graph (3), by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(M) United States Merchant Marine 

22 Academy.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
87 

•S 4357 IS

1 SEC. 310. UPDATED REQUIREMENTS FOR FISHING CREW 

2 AGREEMENTS. 

3 Section 10601(b) of title 46, United States Code, is 

4 amended— 

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

6 the semicolon; 

7 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para8 graph (4); and 

9 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(3) if the vessel is a catcher processor with 

12 more than 25 crew, require that the crewmember be 

13 served not less than 3 meals a day that total not less 

14 than 3,100 calories, including adequate water and 

15 minerals in accordance with the Untied States Rec16 ommended Daily Allowances; and’’. 

17 TITLE IV—TECHNOLOGY 

18 INNOVATION AND RESILIENCE 

19 SEC. 401. MARITIME ENVIRONMENTAL AND TECHNICAL AS20 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

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

22 amended— 

23 (1) by striking the subsection (a) enumerator 

24 and all that follows through ‘‘Transportation’’ and 

25 inserting the following: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
88 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(a) EMERGING MARINE TECHNOLOGIES AND PRAC2 TICES.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor4 tation’’; 

5 (2) in subsection (b)— 

6 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

7 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs 

8 (A) through (D) as clauses (i) through 

9 (iv), respectively and adjusting the margins 

10 accordingly; and 

11 (ii) in clause (iv), as redesignated by 

12 clause (i), by striking ‘‘propeller cavita13 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘incidental vessel-gen14 erated underwater noise, such as noise 

15 from propeller cavitation or hydrodynamic 

16 flow’’; and 

17 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 

18 (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively 

19 and adjusting the margins accordingly; 

20 (3) in subsection (c), by redesignating para21 graphs (1) and (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), 

22 respectively and adjusting the margins accordingly; 

23 (4) in subsection (e), by redesignating para24 graphs (1) and (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), 

25 respectively and adjusting the margins accordingly; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
89 

•S 4357 IS

1 (5) by redesignating subsections (b) through (d) 

2 as paragraphs (2) through (4), respectively and ad3 justing the margins accordingly; 

4 (6) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub5 section (b); 

6 (7) by striking subsection (f); 

7 (8) in subsection (a)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (1), as designated under 

9 paragraph (1) of this section— 

10 (i) by inserting ‘‘or support’’ after 

11 ‘‘engage in’’; and 

12 (ii) by striking ‘‘the use of public’’ 

13 and all that follows through the end of the 

14 sentence and inserting ‘‘eligible entities.’’; 

15 (B) in paragraph (2), as redesignated 

16 under paragraph (5) of this section— 

17 (i) by striking ‘‘this section’’ and in18 serting ‘‘this subsection’’; and 

19 (ii) by striking ‘‘or improve’’ and in20 serting ‘‘improve, or support efforts related 

21 to,’’; 

22 (C) in paragraph (3), as redesignated by 

23 paragraph (5) of this section, by striking 

24 ‘‘under subsection (b)(2) may include’’ and in25 serting ‘‘with other Federal agencies or with 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
90 

•S 4357 IS

1 State, local, or Tribal governments, as appro2 priate, under paragraph (2)(B) may include’’; 

3 (D) in paragraph (4), as redesignated by 

4 paragraph (5) of this section— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘academic, public, pri6 vate, and nongovernmental entities and fa7 cilities’’ and inserting eligible entities; and 

8 (ii) by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘this subsection’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘(5) GRANTS.—Subject to the availability of 

12 appropriations, the Maritime Administrator, may es13 tablish and carry out a competitive grant program to 

14 award grants to eligible entities for projects in the 

15 United States consistent with the goals of this sub16 section to study, evaluate, test, demonstrate, or 

17 apply technologies and practices to improve environ18 mental performance.’’; 

19 (9) in subsection (b), as redesignated by para20 graph (6) of this section, by striking ‘‘subsection 

21 (b)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘this section’’; and 

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

23 ‘‘(c) VESSELS.—Activities carried out under a grant 

24 or cooperative agreement made under this section may be 

25 conducted on public vessels under the control of the MariVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 09, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00090 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4357.IS S4357

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
91 

•S 4357 IS

1 time Administration, upon approval of the Maritime Ad2 ministrator. 

3 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—In this section, 

4 the term ‘eligible entity’ means— 

5 ‘‘(1) a private entity, including a nonprofit or6 ganization; 

7 ‘‘(2) a State, regional, local, or Tribal govern8 ment or entity, including special districts; 

9 ‘‘(3) an institution of higher education as de10 fined under section 102 of the Higher Education Act 

11 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002); and 

12 ‘‘(4) a partnership or collaboration of entities 

13 described in paragraphs (1) through (3). 

14 ‘‘(e) CENTER FOR MARITIME INNOVATION.— 

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

16 the date of enactment of the Maritime Administra17 tion Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, the 

18 Secretary of Transportation shall, through a cooper19 ative agreement, establish a United States Center 

20 for Maritime Innovation (referred to in this sub21 section as the ‘Center’) to support the study, re22 search, development, assessment, and deployment of 

23 emerging marine technologies and practices related 

24 to the maritime transportation system. 

25 ‘‘(2) SELECTION.—The Center shall be— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
92 

•S 4357 IS

1 ‘‘(A) selected through a competitive proc2 ess; 

3 ‘‘(B) a nonprofit organization based in the 

4 United States with technical expertise in emerg5 ing marine technologies and practices related to 

6 the maritime transportation system; and 

7 ‘‘(C) located in close proximity to eligible 

8 entities with expertise in United States emerg9 ing marine technologies and practices, including 

10 the use of alternative fuels and the development 

11 of both vessel and shoreside infrastructure. 

12 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION.—The Secretary of Trans13 portation shall coordinate with other agencies critical 

14 for science, research, and regulation of emerging 

15 marine technologies for the maritime sector, includ16 ing the Department of Energy, the Environmental 

17 Protection Agency, and the Coast Guard, when es18 tablishing the Center. 

19 ‘‘(4) FUNCTIONS.—The Center shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) support eligible entities regarding the 

21 development and use of clean energy and nec22 essary infrastructure to support the deployment 

23 of clean energy on vessels of the United States; 

24 ‘‘(B) monitor and assess, on an ongoing 

25 basis, the current state of knowledge regarding 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
93 

•S 4357 IS

1 emerging marine technologies in the United 

2 States; 

3 ‘‘(C) identify any significant gaps in 

4 emerging marine technologies research specific 

5 to the United States maritime industry, and 

6 seek to fill those gaps; 

7 ‘‘(D) conduct research, development, test8 ing, and evaluation for equipment, technologies, 

9 and techniques to address the components 

10 under subsection (a)(2); 

11 ‘‘(E) provide— 

12 ‘‘(i) guidance on best available tech13 nologies; 

14 ‘‘(ii) technical analysis; 

15 ‘‘(iii) assistance with understanding 

16 complex regulatory requirements; and 

17 ‘‘(iv) documentation of best practices 

18 in the maritime industry, including train19 ing and informational webinars on solu20 tions for the maritime industry; and 

21 ‘‘(F) work with academic and private sec22 tor response training centers to develop mari23 time strategies applicable to various segments 

24 of the United States maritime industry, includ25 ing the inland, deep water, and coastal fleets.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
94 

•S 4357 IS

1 SEC. 402. QUIETING FEDERAL NON-COMBATIVE VESSELS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, in con3 sultation with the Administrator of the National Oceanic 

4 and Atmospheric Administration, the Administrator of the 

5 Maritime Administration, and the Secretary of the depart6 ment in which the Coast Guard is operating, shall, not 

7 later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this 

8 section, submit a report to the committees identified under 

9 subsection (b) and publish an unclassified report— 

10 (1) identifying existing, at the time of submis11 sion, non-classified naval technologies that reduce 

12 underwater noise; and 

13 (2) evaluating the effectiveness and feasibility 

14 of incorporating such technologies in the design, pro15 curement, and construction of non-combatant vessels 

16 of the United States. 

17 (b) COMMITTEES.—The report under subsection (a) 

18 shall be submitted the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

19 and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

20 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep21 resentatives. 

22 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

23 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Defense 

24 for carrying out this section, $100,000 for fiscal year 

25 2022, to remain available until expended. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
95 

•S 4357 IS

1 SEC. 403. STUDY ON STORMWATER IMPACTS ON SALMON. 

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

3 date of enactment of this section, the Administrator of the 

4 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in con5 cert with the Secretary of Transportation and the Admin6 istrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall 

7 commence a study that— 

8 (1) examines the existing science on tire-related 

9 chemicals in stormwater runoff at ports and associ10 ated transportation infrastructure and the impacts 

11 of such chemicals on Pacific salmon and steelhead; 

12 (2) examines the challenges of studying tire-re13 lated chemicals in stormwater runoff at ports and 

14 associated transportation infrastructure and the im15 pacts of such chemicals on Pacific salmon and 

16 steelhead; 

17 (3) provides recommendations for improving 

18 monitoring of stormwater and research related to 

19 run-off for tire-related chemicals and the impacts of 

20 such chemicals on Pacific salmon and steelhead at 

21 ports and associated transportation infrastructure 

22 near ports; and 

23 (4) provides recommendations based on the best 

24 available science on relevant management ap25 proaches at ports and associated transportation in26 frastructure under their respective jurisdictions. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
96 

•S 4357 IS

1 (b) SUBMISSION OF STUDY.—Not later than 18 

2 months after commencing the study under subsection (a), 

3 the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos4 pheric Administration, in concert with the Secretary of 

5 Transportation and the Administrator of the Environ6 mental Protection Agency, shall— 

7 (1) submit the study to the Committee on Com8 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

9 and the Committee on Transportation and Infra10 structure of the House of Representatives, including 

11 detailing any findings from the study; and 

12 (2) make such study publicly available. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS