II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 744 

To establish a Caribbean Basin Port Assistance Program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 11, 2005 

Mr. NELSON of Florida introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To establish a Caribbean Basin Port Assistance Program. 

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

3 SECTION 1. ASSISTANCE TO FOREIGN PORTS. 

4 Section 70109 of title 46, United States Code, is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(c) CARIBBEAN BASIN PORT ASSISTANCE PRO7 GRAM.— 

8 ‘‘(1) The Administrator of the Maritime Admin9 istration, in coordination with the Secretary of 

10 State, shall identify foreign assistance programs that 

11 could facilitate implementation of port security 

12 antiterrorism measures at ports in a country in the 
2 

•S 744 IS 

1 Caribbean Basin. The Administrator and the Sec2 retary, in consultation with the Organization of 

3 American States, shall establish a program to utilize 

4 those programs that are capable of implementing 

5 port security antiterrorism measures at ports in a 

6 country in the Caribbean Basin that the Secretary 

7 finds, under section 70108, to lack effective 

8 antiterrorism measures. 

9 ‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘country in the 

10 Caribbean Basin’ means a country listed in section 

11 212(b) of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery 

12 Act (19 U.S.C. 2702(b)).’’. 

13 SEC. 2. REPORT ON SECURITY AT PORTS IN THE CARIB14 BEAN BASIN. 

15 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 90 days after the 

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

17 Security shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

18 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and Committee 

19 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

20 Representatives a report on the security of ports in a 

21 country in the Caribbean Basin. 

22 (b) CONTENT.—The report required by paragraph 

23 (1) shall include the following: 

24 (1) An assessment of the vulnerability of ports 

25 in a country in the Caribbean Basin. 
3 

•S 744 IS 

1 (2) An assessment of the willingness of officials 

2 at ports in a country in the Caribbean Basin to uti3 lize screening equipment to screen cargo at such 

4 ports and of the effectiveness of the use of such 

5 equipment, including the number of cargo containers 

6 that have been screened at each such port. 

7 (3) An analysis of which countries in the Carib8 bean Basin utilize screening equipment to screen 

9 cargo at ports in such countries that will be im10 ported into the United States and the recommenda11 tion of the Secretary as to whether, and to what ex12 tent, such equipment from the United States should 

13 be stationed at such ports. 

14 (4) An estimate of the number of ports in a 

15 country in the Caribbean Basin that will not be se16 cured by July, 2005, and an estimate of the finan17 cial impact in the United States of any action taken 

18 pursuant to section 70110 of title 46, United States 

19 Code, that affects trade between such ports and the 

20 United States. 

21 (5) An assessment of the additional resources 

22 and program changes that are necessary to maxi23 mize screening of cargo at ports in a country in the 

24 Caribbean Basin. 
4 

•S 744 IS 

1 (c) COUNTRY IN THE CARIBBEAN BASIN DEFINED.— 

2 In this section, the term ‘‘country in the Caribbean Basin’’ 

3 means a country listed in section 212(b) of the Caribbean 

4 Basin Economic Recovery Act (19 U.S.C. 2702(b)). 

Æ