IIB 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 517

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 14, 2003

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation 

AN ACT

To direct the Commandant of the Coast Guard to convey 

2 Coast Guard cutters.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. CONVEYANCE OF DECOMMISSIONED COAST 

2 GUARD CUTTERS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant of the Coast 

4 Guard shall convey all right, title, and interest of the 

5 United States in and to a vessel described in subsection 

6 (b) to the person designated in subsection (b) with respect 

7 to the vessel (in this section referred to as the ‘‘recipi8 ent’’), without consideration, if the person complies with 

9 the conditions under subsection (c). 

10 (b) VESSELS DESCRIBED.—The vessels referred to in 

11 subsection (a) are the following: 

12 (1) The Coast Guard Cutter BRAMBLE, to be 

13 conveyed to the Port Huron Museum of Arts and 

14 History (a nonprofit corporation under the laws of 

15 the State of Michigan), located in Port Huron, 

16 Michigan. 

17 (2) The Coast Guard Cutter PLANETREE, to 

18 be conveyed to Jewish Life (a nonprofit corporation 

19 under the laws of the State of California), located in 

20 Sherman Oaks, California. 

21 (c) CONDITIONS.—As a condition of any conveyance 

22 of a vessel under subsection (a), the Commandant shall 

23 require the recipient to—

24 (1) agree—

25 (A) to use the vessel for purposes of edu26 cation and historical display; 
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HR 517 RFS 

1 (B) not to use the vessel for commercial 

2 transportation purposes; 

3 (C) to make the vessel available to the 

4 United States Government if needed for use by 

5 the Commandant in time of war or a national 

6 emergency; and 

7 (D) to hold the Government harmless for 

8 any claims arising from exposure to hazardous 

9 materials, including asbestos and poly10 chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), after conveyance 

11 of the vessel, except for claims arising from use 

12 of the vessel by the Government under subpara13 graph (C); 

14 (2) have funds available that will be committed 

15 to operate and maintain the vessel conveyed in good 

16 working condition—

17 (A) in the form of cash, liquid assets, or 

18 a written loan commitment; and 

19 (B) in an amount of at least $700,000; 

20 and 

21 (3) agree to any other conditions the Com22 mandant considers appropriate. 

23 (d) MAINTENANCE AND DELIVERY OF VESSEL.—

24 Prior to conveyance of a vessel under this section, the 

25 Commandant shall, to the extent practical, and subject to 
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1 other Coast Guard mission requirements, make every ef2 fort to maintain the integrity of the vessel and its equip3 ment until the time of delivery. The Commandant shall 

4 deliver a vessel conveyed under this section at the place 

5 where the vessel is located, in its present condition, and 

6 without cost to the Government. The conveyance of a ves7 sel under this section shall not be considered a distribution 

8 in commerce for purposes of section 6(e) of Public Law 

9 94–469 (15 U.S.C. 2605(e)). 

10 (e) OTHER EXCESS EQUIPMENT.—The Commandant 

11 may convey to the recipient of a vessel under this section 

12 any excess equipment or parts from other decommissioned 

13 Coast Guard vessels for use to enhance the vessel’s oper14 ability and function as an historical display.

Passed the House of Representatives May 13, 2003. 

Attest: JEFF TRANDAHL, 

Clerk. 

By MARTHA C. MORRISON,

Deputy Clerk.