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[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2279 Referred in House (RFH)]

  2d Session
                                S. 2279

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 22, 2004

     Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 
    To amend title 46, United States Code, with respect to maritime 
            transportation security, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Maritime 
Transportation Security Act of 2004''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents
Sec. 2. Enforcement; pier and wharf security costs.
Sec. 3. Security at foreign ports.
Sec. 4. Federal and State commercial maritime transportation training.
Sec. 5. Transportation worker background investigation programs.
Sec. 6. Report on cruise ship security.
Sec. 7. Maritime transportation security plan grants.
Sec. 8. Report on design of maritime security grant programs.

SEC. 2. ENFORCEMENT; PIER AND WHARF SECURITY COSTS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 701 of title 46, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating the second section 70118 (relating to 
        firearms, arrests, and seizure of property), as added by 
        section 801(a) of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation 
        Act of 2004, as section 70119;
            (2) by redesignating the first section 70119 (relating to 
        enforcement by State and local officers), as added by section 
        801(a) of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 
        2004, as section 70120;
            (3) by redesignating the second section 70119 (relating to 
        civil penalty), as redesignated by section 802(a)(1) of the 
        Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2004, as section 
        70123; and
            (4) by inserting after section 70120 the following:
``Sec. 70121. Enforcement by injunction or withholding of clearance
    ``(a) Injunction.--The United States district courts shall have 
jurisdiction to restrain violations of this chapter or of regulations 
issued hereunder, for cause shown.
    ``(b) Withholding of Clearance.--
            ``(1) If any owner, agent, master, officer, or person in 
        charge of a vessel is liable for a penalty or fine under 
        section 70119, or if reasonable cause exists to believe that 
        the owner, agent, master, officer, or person in charge may be 
        subject to a penalty under section 70119, the Secretary may, 
        with respect to such vessel, refuse or revoke any clearance 
        required by section 4197 of the Revised Statutes of the United 
        States (46 U.S.C. App. 91).
            ``(2) Clearance refused or revoked under this subsection 
        may be granted upon filing of a bond or other surety 
        satisfactory to the Secretary.
``Sec. 70122. Security of piers and wharfs
    ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Secretary shall require any uncleared, imported merchandise remaining 
on the wharf or pier onto which it was unladen for more than 7 calendar 
days, not including any time the imported merchandise was held in 
federal custody, to be removed from the wharf or pier and deposited in 
the public stores or a general order warehouse, where it shall be 
inspected for determination of contents, and thereafter a permit for 
its delivery may be granted.
    ``(b) Penalty.--The Secretary may impose an administrative penalty 
of $5,000 on the consignee for each bill of lading for general order 
merchandise remaining on a wharf or pier in violation of subsection 
(a), except that no penalty shall be imposed if the violation was a 
result of force majeure.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) The chapter analysis for chapter 701 of title 46, 
        United States Code, is amended by striking the items following 
        the item relating to section 70116 and inserting the following:

        ``70117. In rem liability for civil penalties and certain costs
        ``70118. Withholding of clearance
        ``70119. Firearms, arrests, and seizure of property
        ``70120. Enforcement by State and local officers
        ``70121. Enforcement by injunction or withholding of clearance
        ``70122. Security of piers and wharfs
        ``70123. Civil penalty''.
            (2) Section 70117(a) of title 46, United States Code, is 
        amended by striking ``section 70120'' and inserting ``section 
        70123''.
            (3) Section 70118(a) of such title is amended by striking 
        ``under section 70120,'' and inserting ``under that section,''.

SEC. 3. SECURITY AT FOREIGN PORTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 70109 of title 46, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``The Secretary,'' in subsection (b) and 
        inserting ``The Administrator of the Maritime 
        Administration,''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Foreign Assistance Programs.--The Administrator of the 
Maritime Administration, in coordination with the Secretary of State, 
shall identify foreign assistance programs that could facilitate 
implementation of port security antiterrorism measures in foreign 
countries. The Administrator and the Secretary shall establish a 
program to utilize those programs that are capable of implementing port 
security antiterrorism measures at ports in foreign countries that the 
Secretary finds, under section 70108, to lack effective antiterrorism 
measures.''.
    (b) Report on Security at Ports in the Caribbean Basin.--Not later 
than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate and Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report on the security 
of ports in the Caribbean Basin. The report shall include the 
following:
            (1) An assessment of the effectiveness of the measures 
        employed to improve security at ports in the Caribbean Basin 
        and recommendations for any additional measures to improve such 
        security.
            (2) An estimate of the number of ports in the Caribbean 
        Basin that will not be secured by July 2004, and an estimate of 
        the financial impact in the United States of any action taken 
        pursuant to section 70110 of title 46, United States Code, that 
        affects trade between such ports and the United States.
            (3) An assessment of the additional resources and program 
        changes that are necessary to maximize security at ports in the 
        Caribbean Basin.

SEC. 4. FEDERAL AND STATE COMMERCIAL MARITIME TRANSPORTATION TRAINING.

    Section 109 of the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (46 
U.S.C. 70101 note) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (c) through (f) as 
        subsections (d) through (g), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
    ``(c) Federal and State Commercial Maritime Transportation 
Training.--The Secretary of Transportation shall establish a 
curriculum, to be incorporated into the curriculum developed under 
subsection (a)(1), to educate and instruct Federal and State officials 
on commercial maritime and intermodal transportation. The curriculum 
shall be designed to familiarize those officials with commercial 
maritime transportation in order to facilitate performance of their 
commercial maritime and intermodal transportation security 
responsibilities. In developing the standards for the curriculum, the 
Secretary shall consult with each agency in the Department of Homeland 
Security with maritime security responsibilities to determine areas of 
educational need. The Secretary shall also coordinate with the Federal 
Law Enforcement Training Center in the development of the curriculum 
and the provision of training opportunities for Federal and State law 
enforcement officials at appropriate law enforcement training 
facilities.''.

SEC. 5. TRANSPORTATION WORKER BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION PROGRAMS.

    Within 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, after consultation with the Secretary 
of Transportation, shall transmit a report to the Senate Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Representatives 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure--
            (1) making recommendations (including legislative 
        recommendations, if appropriate or necessary) for harmonizing, 
        combining, or coordinating requirements, procedures, and 
        programs for conducting background checks under section 70105 
        of title 46, United States Code, section 5103a(c) of title 49, 
        United States Code, section 44936 of title 49, United States 
        Code, and other provisions of Federal law or regulations 
        requiring background checks for individuals engaged in 
        transportation or transportation-related activities;
            (2) setting forth a detailed timeline for implementation of 
        such harmonization, combination, or coordination;
            (3) setting forth a plan with a detailed timeline for the 
        implementation of the Transportation Worker Identification 
        Credential in seaports;
            (4) making recommendations for a waiver and appeals process 
        for issuing a transportation security card to an individual 
        found otherwise ineligible for such a card under section 
        70105(c)(2) and (3) of title 46, United States Code, along with 
        recommendations on the appropriate level of funding for such a 
        process; and
            (5) making recommendations for how information collected 
        through the Transportation Worker Identification Credential 
        program may be shared with port officials, terminal operators, 
        and other officials responsible for maintaining access control 
        while also protecting workers' privacy.

SEC. 6. REPORT ON CRUISE SHIP SECURITY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit 
to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and 
the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure a report on the security of ships and facilities used in 
the cruise line industry.
    (b) Content.--The report required by subsection (a) shall include 
an assessment of security measures employed by the cruise line 
industry, including the following:
            (1) An assessment of the security of cruise ships that 
        originate at ports in foreign countries.
            (2) An assessment of the security of ports utilized for 
        cruise ship docking.
            (3) The costs incurred by the cruise line industry to carry 
        out the measures required by the Maritime Transportation 
        Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-295; 116 Stat. 2064) and 
        the amendments made by that Act.
            (4) The costs of employing canine units and hand-held 
        explosive detection wands at ports, including the costs of 
        screening passengers and baggage with such methods.
            (5) An assessment of security measures taken by the 
        Secretary of Homeland Security to increase the security of the 
        cruise line industry and the costs incurred to carry out such 
        security measures.
            (6) A description of the need for and the feasibility of 
        deploying explosive detection systems and canine units at ports 
        used by cruise ships and an assessment of the cost of such 
        deployment.
            (7) A summary of the fees paid by passengers of cruise 
        ships that are used for inspections and the feasibility of 
        creating a dedicated passenger vessel security fund from such 
        fees.
            (8) The recommendations of the Secretary, if any, for 
        measures that should be carried out to improve security of 
        cruise ships that originate at ports in foreign countries.
            (9) The recommendations of the Secretary, if any, on the 
        deployment of further measures to improve the security of 
        cruise ships, including explosive detection systems, canine 
        units, and the use of technology to improve baggage screening, 
        and an assessment of the cost of implementing such measures.

SEC. 7. MARITIME TRANSPORTATION SECURITY PLAN GRANTS.

    Section 70107(a) of title 46, United States Code, is amended to 
read as follows:
    ``(a) In General.--The Under Secretary of Homeland Security for 
Border and Transportation Security shall establish a grant program for 
making a fair and equitable allocation of funds to implement Area 
Maritime Transportation Security Plans and to help fund compliance with 
Federal security plans among port authorities, facility operators, and 
State and local agencies required to provide security services. Grants 
shall be made on the basis of threat-based risk assessments subject to 
review and comment by the appropriate Federal Maritime Security 
Coordinators and the Maritime Administration. The grant program shall 
take into account national security priorities, national economic, and 
strategic defense concerns and shall be coordinated with the Director 
of the Office of Domestic Preparedness to ensure that the grant process 
is consistent with other Department of Homeland Security grant 
programs.''.

SEC. 8. REPORT ON DESIGN OF MARITIME SECURITY GRANT PROGRAMS.

    Within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Homeland Security shall transmit a report to the Senate 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of 
Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on the 
design of maritime security grant programs that includes 
recommendations on--
            (1) whether the grant programs should be discretionary or 
        formula based and why;
            (2) requirements for ensuring that Federal funds will not 
        be substituted for grantee funds;
            (3) targeting requirements to ensure that funding is 
        directed in a manner that reflects a national, risk-based 
        perspective on priority needs, the fiscal capacity of 
        recipients to fund the improvements without grant funds, and an 
        explicit analysis of the impact of minimum funding to small 
        ports that could affect funding available for the most 
        strategic or economically important ports; and
            (4) matching requirements to ensure that Federal funds 
        provide an incentive to grantees for the investment of their 
        own funds in the improvements financed in part by Federal 
        funds.

            Passed the Senate September 21, 2004.

            Attest:

                                             EMILY J. REYNOLDS,

                                                             Secretary.
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