In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

December 5, 2012. 

Resolved, That the House agree to the amendment of the 

Senate to the title of the bill (H.R. 2838) entitled ‘‘An Act 

to authorize appropriations for the Coast Guard for fiscal 

years 2012 through 2015, and for other purposes.’’ and be 

it further 

Resolved, That the House agree to the amendment of the 

Senate to the text of the aforesaid bill, with the following: 

HOUSE AMENDMENT TO SENATE AMENDMENTS: 

In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the 

amendment of the Senate to the text of the bill, insert 

the following: 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2012’’. 

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

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION 

Sec. 101. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 102. Authorized levels of military strength and training. 

TITLE II—COAST GUARD 

Sec. 201. Interference with Coast Guard transmissions. 

Sec. 202. Coast Guard authority to operate and maintain Coast Guard assets. 

Sec. 203. Limitation on expenditures. 

Sec. 204. Academy pay, allowances, and emoluments. 

Sec. 205. Policy on sexual harassment and sexual violence. 

Sec. 206. Appointments of permanent commissioned officers. 
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Sec. 207. Selection boards; oath of members. 

Sec. 208. Special selection boards; correction of errors. 

Sec. 209. Prohibition of certain involuntary administrative separations. 

Sec. 210. Major acquisitions. 

Sec. 211. Advance procurement funding. 

Sec. 212. Minor construction. 

Sec. 213. Capital investment plan and annual list of projects to Congress. 

Sec. 214. Aircraft accident investigations. 

Sec. 215. Coast Guard Auxiliary enrollment eligibility. 

Sec. 216. Repeals. 

Sec. 217. Technical corrections to title 14. 

Sec. 218. Acquisition workforce expedited hiring authority. 

Sec. 219. Renewal of temporary early retirement authority. 

Sec. 220. Response Boat-Medium procurement. 

Sec. 221. National Security Cutters. 

Sec. 222. Coast Guard polar icebreakers. 

TITLE III—SHIPPING AND NAVIGATION 

Sec. 301. Identification of actions to enable qualified United States flag capacity 

to meet national defense requirements. 

Sec. 302. Limitation of liability for non-Federal vessel traffic service operators. 

Sec. 303. Survival craft. 

Sec. 304. Classification societies. 

Sec. 305. Dockside examinations. 

Sec. 306. Authority to extend the duration of medical certificates. 

Sec. 307. Clarification of restrictions on American Fisheries Act vessels. 

Sec. 308. Investigations by Secretary. 

Sec. 309. Penalties. 

Sec. 310. United States Committee on the Marine Transportation System. 

Sec. 311. Technical correction to title 46. 

Sec. 312. Deepwater ports. 

TITLE IV—MARITIME ADMINISTRATION AUTHORIZATION 

Sec. 401. Short title. 

Sec. 402. Authorization of appropriations for national security aspects of the 

merchant marine for fiscal year 2013. 

Sec. 403. Maritime environmental and technical assistance. 

Sec. 404. Property for instructional purposes. 

Sec. 405. Short sea transportation. 

Sec. 406. Limitation of National Defense Reserve Fleet vessels to those over 1,500 

gross tons. 

Sec. 407. Transfer of vessels to the National Defense Reserve Fleet. 

Sec. 408. Clarification of heading. 

Sec. 409. Mission of the Maritime Administration. 

Sec. 410. Amendments relating to the National Defense Reserve Fleet. 

Sec. 411. Requirement for barge design. 

Sec. 412. Container-on-barge transportation. 

Sec. 413. Department of Defense national strategic ports study and Comptroller 

General studies and reports on strategic ports. 

Sec. 414. Maritime workforce study. 

Sec. 415. Maritime Administration vessel recycling contract award practices. 
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TITLE V—PIRACY 

Sec. 501. Short title. 

Sec. 502. Training for use of force against piracy. 

Sec. 503. Security of Government-impelled cargo. 

Sec. 504. Actions taken to protect foreign-flagged vessels from piracy. 

TITLE VI—MARINE DEBRIS 

Sec. 601. Short title. 

Sec. 602. Short title amendment; references. 

Sec. 603. Purpose. 

Sec. 604. NOAA Marine Debris Program. 

Sec. 605. Repeal of obsolete provisions. 

Sec. 606. Coordination. 

Sec. 607. Confidentiality of submitted information. 

Sec. 608. Definitions. 

Sec. 609. Severe marine debris event determination. 

TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 701. Distant water tuna fleet. 

Sec. 702. Technical corrections. 

Sec. 703. Extension of moratorium. 

Sec. 704. Notice of arrival. 

Sec. 705. Waivers. 

Sec. 706. National Response Center notification requirements. 

Sec. 707. Vessel determinations. 

Sec. 708. Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota. 

Sec. 709. Transportation Worker Identification Credential process reform. 

Sec. 710. Investment amount. 

Sec. 711. Integrated cross-border maritime law enforcement operations between 

the United States and Canada. 

Sec. 712. Bridge permits. 

Sec. 713. Tonnage of Aqueos Acadian. 

Sec. 714. Navigability determination. 

Sec. 715. Coast Guard housing. 

Sec. 716. Assessment of needs for additional Coast Guard presence in high-latitude regions. 

Sec. 717. Potential Place of Refuge. 

Sec. 718. Merchant mariner medical evaluation program. 

Sec. 719. Determinations. 

Sec. 720. Impediments to the United States-flag registry. 

Sec. 721. Arctic deepwater seaport. 

Sec. 722. Risk assessment of transporting Canadian oil sands. 

1 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION 

2 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

3 Funds are authorized to be appropriated for each of 

4 fiscal years 2013 and 2014 for necessary expenses of the 

5 Coast Guard as follows: 
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1 (1) For the operation and maintenance of the 

2 Coast Guard— 

3 (A) $6,882,645,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

4 (B) $6,981,036,000 for fiscal year 2014; 

5 of which $24,500,000 is authorized each fiscal year to 

6 be derived from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to 

7 carry out the purposes of section 1012(a)(5) of the Oil 

8 Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2712(a)(5)). 

9 (2) For the acquisition, construction, rebuilding, 

10 and improvement of aids to navigation, shore and off11 shore facilities, vessels, and aircraft, including equip12 ment related thereto— 

13 (A) $1,545,312,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

14 (B) $1,546,448,000 for fiscal year 2014; 

15 to remain available until expended and of which 

16 $20,000,000 is authorized each fiscal year to be de17 rived from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to 

18 carry out the purposes of section 1012(a)(5) of the Oil 

19 Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2712(a)(5)). 

20 (3) For the Coast Guard Reserve program, in21 cluding personnel and training costs, equipment, and 

22 services— 

23 (A) $138,111,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

24 (B) $140,016,000 for fiscal year 2014. 
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1 (4) For environmental compliance and restora2 tion of Coast Guard vessels, aircraft, and facilities 

3 (other than parts and equipment associated with op4 eration and maintenance)— 

5 (A) $16,699,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

6 (B) $16,701,000 for fiscal year 2014; 

7 to remain available until expended. 

8 (5) To the Commandant of the Coast Guard for 

9 research, development, test, and evaluation of tech10 nologies, materials, and human factors directly re11 lated to improving the performance of the Coast 

12 Guard’s mission with respect to search and rescue, 

13 aids to navigation, marine safety, marine environ14 mental protection, enforcement of laws and treaties, 

15 ice operations, oceanographic research, and defense 

16 readiness— 

17 (A) $19,848,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

18 (B) $19,890,000 for fiscal year 2014. 

19 (6) For alteration or removal of bridges over 

20 navigable waters of the United States constituting ob21 structions to navigation, and for personnel and ad22 ministrative costs associated with the Alteration of 

23 Bridges Program— 

24 (A) $16,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

25 (B) $16,000,000 for fiscal year 2014. 
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1 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZED LEVELS OF MILITARY STRENGTH 

2 AND TRAINING. 

3 (a) ACTIVE DUTY STRENGTH.—The Coast Guard is 

4 authorized an end-of-year strength for active duty personnel 

5 of 47,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 and 2014. 

6 (b) MILITARY TRAINING STUDENT LOADS.—The Coast 

7 Guard is authorized average military training student 

8 loads for each of fiscal years 2013 and 2014 as follows: 

9 (1) For recruit and special training, 2,500 stu10 dent years. 

11 (2) For flight training, 165 student years. 

12 (3) For professional training in military and ci13 vilian institutions, 350 student years. 

14 (4) For officer acquisition, 1,200 student years. 

15 TITLE II—COAST GUARD 

16 SEC. 201. INTERFERENCE WITH COAST GUARD TRANS17 MISSIONS. 

18 Section 88 of title 14, United States Code, is amended 

19 by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(e) An individual who knowingly and willfully oper21 ates a device with the intention of interfering with the 

22 broadcast or reception of a radio, microwave, or other sig23 nal (including a signal from a global positioning system) 

24 transmitted, retransmitted, or augmented by the Coast 

25 Guard for the purpose of maritime safety is— 

26 ‘‘(1) guilty of a class E felony; and 
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1 ‘‘(2) subject to a civil penalty of not more than 

2 $1,000 per day for each violation.’’. 

3 SEC. 202. COAST GUARD AUTHORITY TO OPERATE AND 

4 MAINTAIN COAST GUARD ASSETS. 

5 Section 93 of title 14, United States Code, is amended 

6 by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(e) OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF COAST GUARD

8 ASSETS AND FACILITIES.—All authority, including pro9 grammatic budget authority, for the operation and mainte10 nance of Coast Guard vessels, aircraft, systems, aids to 

11 navigation, infrastructure, and other assets or facilities 

12 shall be allocated to and vested in the Coast Guard and 

13 the department in which the Coast Guard is operating.’’. 

14 SEC. 203. LIMITATION ON EXPENDITURES. 

15 Section 149(d) of title 14, United States Code, is 

16 amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(3) The amount of funds used under this sub18 section may not exceed $100,000 in any fiscal year.’’. 

19 SEC. 204. ACADEMY PAY, ALLOWANCES, AND EMOLUMENTS. 

20 Section 195 of title 14, United States Code, is amend21 ed— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘person’’ each place it appears 

23 and inserting ‘‘foreign national’’; and 
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1 (2) by striking ‘‘pay and allowances’’ each place 

2 it appears and inserting ‘‘pay, allowances, and 

3 emoluments’’. 

4 SEC. 205. POLICY ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND SEXUAL VI5 OLENCE. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Chapter 9 of title 14, United 

7 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘§ 200. Policy on sexual harassment and sexual vio9 lence 

10 ‘‘(a) REQUIRED POLICY.—The Commandant of the 

11 Coast Guard shall direct the Superintendent of the Coast 

12 Guard Academy to prescribe a policy on sexual harassment 

13 and sexual violence applicable to the cadets and other per14 sonnel of the Academy. 

15 ‘‘(b) MATTERS TO BE SPECIFIED IN POLICY.—The 

16 policy on sexual harassment and sexual violence under this 

17 section shall include specification of the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) Programs to promote awareness of the inci19 dence of rape, acquaintance rape, and other sexual of20 fenses of a criminal nature that involve cadets or 

21 other Academy personnel. 

22 ‘‘(2) Information about how the Coast Guard 

23 and the Academy will protect the confidentiality of 

24 victims of sexual harassment or sexual violence, in25 cluding how any records, statistics, or reports in-
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1 tended for public release will be formatted such that 

2 the confidentiality of victims is not jeopardized. 

3 ‘‘(3) Procedures that cadets and other Academy 

4 personnel should follow in the case of an occurrence 

5 of sexual harassment or sexual violence, including— 

6 ‘‘(A) if the victim chooses to report an oc7 currence of sexual harassment or sexual violence, 

8 a specification of the person or persons to whom 

9 the alleged offense should be reported and options 

10 for confidential reporting, including written in11 formation to be given to victims that explains 

12 how the Coast Guard and the Academy will pro13 tect the confidentiality of victims; 

14 ‘‘(B) a specification of any other person 

15 whom the victim should contact; and 

16 ‘‘(C) procedures on the preservation of evi17 dence potentially necessary for proof of criminal 

18 sexual assault. 

19 ‘‘(4) Procedures for disciplinary action in cases 

20 of criminal sexual assault involving a cadet or other 

21 Academy personnel. 

22 ‘‘(5) Sanctions authorized to be imposed in a 

23 substantiated case of sexual harassment or sexual vio24 lence involving a cadet or other Academy personnel, 

25 including with respect to rape, acquaintance rape, or 
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1 other criminal sexual offense, whether forcible or non2 forcible. 

3 ‘‘(6) Required training on the policy for all ca4 dets and other Academy personnel who process allega5 tions of sexual harassment or sexual violence involv6 ing a cadet or other Academy personnel. 

7 ‘‘(c) ASSESSMENT.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant shall di9 rect the Superintendent to conduct at the Academy 

10 during each Academy program year an assessment to 

11 determine the effectiveness of the policies of the Acad12 emy with respect to sexual harassment and sexual vi13 olence involving cadets or other Academy personnel. 

14 ‘‘(2) BIENNIAL SURVEY.—For the assessment at 

15 the Academy under paragraph (1) with respect to an 

16 Academy program year that begins in an odd-num17 bered calendar year, the Superintendent shall conduct 

18 a survey of cadets and other Academy personnel— 

19 ‘‘(A) to measure— 

20 ‘‘(i) the incidence, during that pro21 gram year, of sexual harassment and sexual 

22 violence events, on or off the Academy res23 ervation, that have been reported to an offi24 cial of the Academy; and 
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1 ‘‘(ii) the incidence, during that pro2 gram year, of sexual harassment and sexual 

3 violence events, on or off the Academy res4 ervation, that have not been reported to an 

5 official of the Academy; and 

6 ‘‘(B) to assess the perceptions of the cadets 

7 and other Academy personnel with respect to— 

8 ‘‘(i) the Academy’s policies, training, 

9 and procedures on sexual harassment and 

10 sexual violence involving cadets or other 

11 Academy personnel; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the enforcement of such policies; 

13 ‘‘(iii) the incidence of sexual harass14 ment and sexual violence involving cadets 

15 or other Academy personnel; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) any other issues relating to sex17 ual harassment and sexual violence involv18 ing cadets or other Academy personnel. 

19 ‘‘(d) REPORT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant shall di21 rect the Superintendent to submit to the Commandant 

22 a report on sexual harassment and sexual violence in23 volving cadets or other Academy personnel for each 

24 Academy program year. 
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1 ‘‘(2) REPORT SPECIFICATIONS.—Each report 

2 under paragraph (1) shall include, for the Academy 

3 program year covered by the report, the following: 

4 ‘‘(A) The number of sexual assaults, rapes, 

5 and other sexual offenses involving cadets or 

6 other Academy personnel that have been reported 

7 to Academy officials during the Academy pro8 gram year and, of those reported cases, the num9 ber that have been substantiated. 

10 ‘‘(B) A plan for the actions that are to be 

11 taken in the following Academy program year 

12 regarding prevention of and response to sexual 

13 harassment and sexual violence involving cadets 

14 or other Academy personnel. 

15 ‘‘(3) BIENNIAL SURVEY.—Each report under 

16 paragraph (1) for an Academy program year that be17 gins in an odd-numbered calendar year shall include 

18 the results of the survey conducted in that Academy 

19 program year under subsection (c)(2). 

20 ‘‘(4) TRANSMISSION OF REPORT.—The Com21 mandant shall transmit each report received by the 

22 Commandant under this subsection, together with the 

23 Commandant’s comments on the report, to— 

24 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

25 and Transportation of the Senate; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Transportation and 

2 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives. 

3 ‘‘(5) FOCUS GROUPS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each Academy pro5 gram year with respect to which the Super6 intendent is not required to conduct a survey at 

7 the Academy under subsection (c)(2), the Com8 mandant shall require focus groups to be con9 ducted at the Academy for the purposes of 

10 ascertaining information relating to sexual as11 sault and sexual harassment issues at the Acad12 emy. 

13 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION IN REPORTS.—Information 

14 derived from a focus group under subparagraph 

15 (A) shall be included in the next transmitted 

16 Commandant’s report under this subsection. 

17 ‘‘(e) VICTIM CONFIDENTIALITY.—To the extent that in18 formation collected under the authority of this section is 

19 reported or otherwise made available to the public, such in20 formation shall be provided in a form that is consistent 

21 with applicable privacy protections under Federal law and 

22 does not jeopardize the confidentiality of victims.’’. 

23 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chapter 

24 9 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

25 after the item relating to section 199 the following: 

‘‘200. Policy on sexual harassment and sexual violence.’’. 
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1 SEC. 206. APPOINTMENTS OF PERMANENT COMMISSIONED 

2 OFFICERS. 

3 Section 211 of title 14, United States Code, is amended 

4 by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(d) For the purposes of this section, the term ‘origi6 nal’, with respect to the appointment of a member of the 

7 Coast Guard, refers to that member’s most recent appoint8 ment in the Coast Guard that is neither a promotion nor 

9 a demotion.’’. 

10 SEC. 207. SELECTION BOARDS; OATH OF MEMBERS. 

11 Section 254 of title 14, United States Code, is amended 

12 to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘§ 254. Selection boards; oath of members 

14 ‘‘Each member of a selection board shall swear— 

15 ‘‘(1) that the member will, without prejudice or 

16 partiality, and having in view both the special fitness 

17 of officers and the efficiency of the Coast Guard, per18 form the duties imposed upon the member; and 

19 ‘‘(2) an oath in accordance with section 635.’’. 

20 SEC. 208. SPECIAL SELECTION BOARDS; CORRECTION OF 

21 ERRORS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 of title 14, United 

23 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 262 the 

24 following: 
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1 ‘‘§ 263. Special selection boards; correction of errors 

2 ‘‘(a) OFFICERS NOT CONSIDERED DUE TO ADMINIS3 TRATIVE ERROR.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary determines 

5 that as the result of an administrative error— 

6 ‘‘(A) an officer or former officer was not 

7 considered for selection for promotion by a selec8 tion board convened under section 251; or 

9 ‘‘(B) the name of an officer or former officer 

10 was not placed on an all-fully-qualified-officers 

11 list; 

12 the Secretary shall convene a special selection board 

13 to determine whether such officer or former officer 

14 should be recommended for promotion and such officer 

15 or former officer shall not be considered to have failed 

16 of selection for promotion prior to the consideration 

17 of the special selection board. 

18 ‘‘(2) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO RECOMMEND FOR

19 PROMOTION.—If a special selection board convened 

20 under paragraph (1) does not recommend for pro21 motion an officer or former officer, whose grade is 

22 below the grade of captain and whose name was re23 ferred to that board for consideration, the officer or 

24 former officer shall be considered to have failed of se25 lection for promotion. 
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1 ‘‘(b) OFFICERS CONSIDERED BUT NOT SELECTED; 

2 MATERIAL ERROR.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an officer or 

4 former officer who was eligible for promotion, was 

5 considered for selection for promotion by a selection 

6 board convened under section 251, and was not se7 lected for promotion by that board, the Secretary may 

8 convene a special selection board to determine whether 

9 the officer or former officer should be recommended for 

10 promotion, if the Secretary determines that— 

11 ‘‘(A) an action of the selection board that 

12 considered the officer or former officer— 

13 ‘‘(i) was contrary to law in a matter 

14 material to the decision of the board; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) involved material error of fact or 

16 material administrative error; or 

17 ‘‘(B) the selection board that considered the 

18 officer or former officer did not have before it for 

19 consideration material information. 

20 ‘‘(2) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO RECOMMEND FOR

21 PROMOTION.—If a special selection board convened 

22 under paragraph (1) does not recommend for pro23 motion an officer or former officer, whose grade is 

24 that of commander or below and whose name was re-
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1 ferred to that board for consideration, the officer or 

2 former officer shall be considered— 

3 ‘‘(A) to have failed of selection for pro4 motion with respect to the board that considered 

5 the officer or former officer prior to the consider6 ation of the special selection board; and 

7 ‘‘(B) to incur no additional failure of selec8 tion for promotion as a result of the action of the 

9 special selection board. 

10 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIAL SELECTION

11 BOARDS.—Each special selection board convened under this 

12 section shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) be composed in accordance with section 252 

14 and the members of the board shall be required to 

15 swear the oaths described in section 254; 

16 ‘‘(2) consider the record of an applicable officer 

17 or former officer as that record, if corrected, would 

18 have appeared to the selection board that should have 

19 considered or did consider the officer or former officer 

20 prior to the consideration of the special selection 

21 board and that record shall be compared with a sam22 pling of the records of— 

23 ‘‘(A) those officers of the same grade who 

24 were recommended for promotion by such prior 

25 selection board; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) those officers of the same grade who 

2 were not recommended for promotion by such 

3 prior selection board; and 

4 ‘‘(3) submit to the Secretary a written report in 

5 a manner consistent with sections 260 and 261. 

6 ‘‘(d) APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS RECOMMENDED FOR

7 PROMOTION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An officer or former officer 

9 whose name is placed on a promotion list as a result 

10 of the recommendation of a special selection board 

11 convened under this section shall be appointed, as 

12 soon as practicable, to the next higher grade in ac13 cordance with the law and policies that would have 

14 been applicable to the officer or former officer had the 

15 officer or former officer been recommended for pro16 motion by the selection board that should have consid17 ered or did consider the officer or former officer prior 

18 to the consideration of the special selection board. 

19 ‘‘(2) EFFECT.—An officer or former officer who 

20 is promoted to the next higher grade as a result of the 

21 recommendation of a special selection board convened 

22 under this section shall have, upon such promotion, 

23 the same date of rank, the same effective date for the 

24 pay and allowances of that grade, and the same posi25 tion on the active duty promotion list as the officer 
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1 or former officer would have had if the officer or 

2 former officer had been recommended for promotion to 

3 that grade by the selection board that should have 

4 considered or did consider the officer or former officer 

5 prior to the consideration of the special selection 

6 board. 

7 ‘‘(3) RECORD CORRECTION.—If the report of a 

8 special selection board convened under this section, as 

9 approved by the President, recommends for promotion 

10 to the next higher grade an officer not eligible for pro11 motion or a former officer whose name was referred 

12 to the board for consideration, the Secretary may act 

13 under section 1552 of title 10 to correct the military 

14 record of the officer or former officer to correct an 

15 error or remove an injustice resulting from the officer 

16 or former officer not being selected for promotion by 

17 the selection board that should have considered or did 

18 consider the officer or former officer prior to the con19 sideration of the special selection board. 

20 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION PROCESS AND TIME LIMITS.—The 

21 Secretary shall issue regulations regarding the process by 

22 which an officer or former officer may apply to have a mat23 ter considered by a special selection board convened under 

24 this section, including time limits related to such applica25 tions. 
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1 ‘‘(f) LIMITATION OF OTHER JURISDICTION.—No offi2 cial or court of the United States shall have authority or 

3 jurisdiction over any claim based in any way on the failure 

4 of an officer or former officer to be selected for promotion 

5 by a selection board convened under section 251, until— 

6 ‘‘(1) the claim has been referred to a special se7 lection board convened under this section and acted 

8 upon by that board; or 

9 ‘‘(2) the claim has been rejected by the Secretary 

10 without consideration by a special selection board 

11 convened under this section. 

12 ‘‘(g) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A court of the United States 

14 may review— 

15 ‘‘(A) a decision of the Secretary not to con16 vene a special selection board under this section 

17 to determine if the court finds that the decision 

18 of the Secretary was arbitrary or capricious, not 

19 based on substantial evidence, or otherwise con20 trary to law; and 

21 ‘‘(B) an action of a special selection board 

22 under this section to determine if the court finds 

23 that the action of the special selection board was 

24 contrary to law or involved material error of fact 

25 or material administrative error. 
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1 ‘‘(2) REMAND AND RECONSIDERATION.—If, with 

2 respect to a review under paragraph (1), a court 

3 makes a finding described in subparagraph (A) or 

4 (B) of that paragraph, the court shall remand the 

5 case to the Secretary and the Secretary shall provide 

6 the applicable officer or former officer consideration 

7 by a new special selection board convened under this 

8 section. 

9 ‘‘(h) DESIGNATION OF BOARDS.—The Secretary may 

10 designate a selection board convened under section 251 as 

11 a special selection board convened under this section. A se12 lection board so designated may function in the capacity 

13 of a selection board convened under section 251 and a spe14 cial selection board convened under this section.’’. 

15 (b) SELECTION BOARDS; SUBMISSION OF REPORTS.— 

16 Section 261(d) of title 14, United States Code, is amended 

17 by striking ‘‘selection board’’ and inserting ‘‘selection board, 

18 including a special selection board convened under section 

19 263,’’. 

20 (c) FAILURE OF SELECTION FOR PROMOTION.—Sec21 tion 262 of title 14, United States Code, is amended to read 

22 as follows: 

23 ‘‘§ 262. Failure of selection for promotion 

24 ‘‘An officer, other than an officer serving in the grade 

25 of captain, who is, or is senior to, the junior officer in the 
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1 promotion zone established for his grade under section 256 

2 of this title, fails of selection if he is not selected for pro3 motion by the selection board which considered him, or if 

4 having been recommended for promotion by the board, his 

5 name is thereafter removed from the report of the board by 

6 the President.’’. 

7 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chapter 

8 11 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

9 after the item relating to section 262 the following: 

‘‘263. Special selection boards; correction of errors.’’. 

10 (e) APPLICABILITY; RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

11 (1) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by 

12 this section shall take effect on the date of enactment 

13 of this Act and the Secretary may convene a special 

14 selection board on or after that date under section 263 

15 of title 14, United States Code, with respect to any 

16 error or other action for which such a board may be 

17 convened if that error or other action occurred on or 

18 after the date that is 1 year before the date of enact19 ment of this Act. 

20 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Sections 271, 

21 272, and 273 of title 14, United States Code, apply 

22 to the activities of— 

23 (A) a selection board convened under section 

24 251 of such title; and 
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1 (B) a special selection board convened 

2 under section 263 of such title. 

3 SEC. 209. PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN INVOLUNTARY ADMIN4 ISTRATIVE SEPARATIONS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 of title 14, United 

6 States Code, as amended by this Act, is further amended 

7 by inserting after section 426 the following: 

8 ‘‘§ 427. Prohibition of certain involuntary administra9 tive separations 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

11 (b), the Secretary may not authorize the involuntary ad12 ministrative separation of a covered individual based on 

13 a determination that the covered individual is unsuitable 

14 for deployment or other assignment due to a medical condi15 tion of the covered individual considered by a Physical 

16 Evaluation Board during an evaluation of the covered indi17 vidual that resulted in the covered individual being deter18 mined to be fit for duty. 

19 ‘‘(b) REEVALUATION.— 

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

21 Physical Evaluation Board to reevaluate any covered 

22 individual if the Secretary determines there is reason 

23 to believe that a medical condition of the covered in24 dividual considered by a Physical Evaluation Board 

25 during an evaluation of the covered individual ren-
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1 ders the covered individual unsuitable for continued 

2 duty. 

3 ‘‘(2) RETIREMENTS AND SEPARATIONS.—A cov4 ered individual who is determined, based on a re5 evaluation under paragraph (1), to be unfit to per6 form the duties of the covered individual’s office, 

7 grade, rank, or rating may be retired or separated for 

8 physical disability under this chapter. 

9 ‘‘(c) COVERED INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—In this section, 

10 the term ‘covered individual’ means any member of the 

11 Coast Guard who has been determined by a Physical Eval12 uation Board, pursuant to a physical evaluation by that 

13 board, to be fit for duty.’’. 

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chapter 

15 11 of title 14, United States Code, as amended by this Act, 

16 is further amended by inserting after the item relating to 

17 section 426 the following: 

‘‘427. Prohibition of certain involuntary administrative separations.’’. 

18 SEC. 210. MAJOR ACQUISITIONS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 15 of title 

20 14, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘§ 569a. Major acquisitions 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In conjunction with the trans24 mittal by the President to Congress of the budget of the 

25 United States for fiscal year 2014 and biennially thereafter, 
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1 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

2 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com3 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

4 of Representatives a report on the status of all major acqui5 sition programs. 

6 ‘‘(b) INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED.—Each report 

7 under subsection (a) shall include for each major acquisi8 tion program— 

9 ‘‘(1) a statement of the Coast Guard’s mission 

10 needs and performance goals relating to such pro11 gram, including a justification for any change to 

12 those needs and goals subsequent to a report pre13 viously submitted under this section; 

14 ‘‘(2) a justification explaining how the projected 

15 number and capabilities of assets acquired under such 

16 program meet applicable mission needs and perform17 ance goals; 

18 ‘‘(3) an identification of any and all mission 

19 hour gaps, accompanied by an explanation of how 

20 and when the Coast Guard will close those gaps; 

21 ‘‘(4) an identification of any changes with re22 spect to such program, including— 

23 ‘‘(A) any changes to the timeline for the ac24 quisition of each new asset and the phaseout of 

25 legacy assets; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) any changes to— 

2 ‘‘(i) the costs of new assets or legacy 

3 assets for that fiscal year or future fiscal 

4 years; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) the total acquisition cost; 

6 ‘‘(5) a justification explaining how any change 

7 to such program fulfills the mission needs and per8 formance goals of the Coast Guard; 

9 ‘‘(6) a description of how the Coast Guard is 

10 planning for the integration of each new asset ac11 quired under such program into the Coast Guard, in12 cluding needs related to shore-based infrastructure 

13 and human resources; 

14 ‘‘(7) an identification of how funds in the appli15 cable fiscal year’s budget request will be allocated, in16 cluding information on the purchase of specific assets; 

17 ‘‘(8) a projection of the remaining operational 

18 lifespan and life-cycle cost of each legacy asset that 

19 also identifies any anticipated resource gaps; 

20 ‘‘(9) a detailed explanation of how the costs of 

21 legacy assets are being accounted for within such pro22 gram; and 

23 ‘‘(10) an annual performance comparison of new 

24 assets to legacy assets. 
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1 ‘‘(c) ADEQUACY OF ACQUISITION WORKFORCE.—Each 

2 report under subsection (a) shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) include information on the scope of the ac4 quisition activities to be performed in the next fiscal 

5 year and on the adequacy of the current acquisition 

6 workforce to meet that anticipated workload; 

7 ‘‘(2) specify the number of officers, members, and 

8 employees of the Coast Guard currently and planned 

9 to be assigned to each position designated under sec10 tion 562(c) of this subchapter; and 

11 ‘‘(3) identify positions that are or will be under12 staffed and actions that will be taken to correct such 

13 understaffing. 

14 ‘‘(d) CUTTERS NOT MAINTAINED IN CLASS.—Each re15 port under subsection (a) shall identify which, if any, Coast 

16 Guard cutters that have been issued a certificate of classi17 fication by the American Bureau of Shipping have not been 

18 maintained in class, with an explanation detailing the rea19 sons why the cutters have not been maintained in class. 

20 ‘‘(e) MAJOR ACQUISITION PROGRAM DEFINED.—In 

21 this section, the term ‘major acquisition program’ means 

22 an ongoing acquisition undertaken by the Coast Guard with 

23 a life-cycle cost estimate greater than or equal to 

24 $300,000,000.’’. 
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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chapter 

2 15 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

3 after the item relating to section 569 the following: 

‘‘569a. Major acquisitions.’’. 

4 (c) REPEALS.— 

5 (1) Section 408(a) of the Coast Guard and Mari6 time Transportation Act of 2006 (14 U.S.C. 663 note) 

7 is repealed. 

8 (2) Title 14, United States Code, is amended— 

9 (A) in section 562, by repealing subsection 

10 (e); and 

11 (B) in section 573(c)(3), by repealing sub12 paragraph (B). 

13 SEC. 211. ADVANCE PROCUREMENT FUNDING. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 15 of title 

15 14, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘§ 577. Advance procurement funding 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to any Coast Guard 

19 vessel for which amounts are appropriated and any 

20 amounts otherwise made available for vessels for the Coast 

21 Guard in any fiscal year, the Commandant of the Coast 

22 Guard may enter into a contract or place an order, in ad23 vance of a contract or order for construction of a vessel, 

24 for— 
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1 ‘‘(1) materials, parts, components, and labor for 

2 the vessel; 

3 ‘‘(2) the advance construction of parts or compo4 nents for the vessel; 

5 ‘‘(3) protection and storage of materials, parts, 

6 or components for the vessel; and 

7 ‘‘(4) production planning, design, and other re8 lated support services that reduce the overall procure9 ment lead time of the vessel. 

10 ‘‘(b) USE OF MATERIALS, PARTS, AND COMPONENTS

11 MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES.—In entering 

12 into contracts and placing orders under subsection (a), the 

13 Commandant may give priority to persons that manufac14 ture materials, parts, and components in the United 

15 States.’’. 

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chapter 

17 15 of title 14, United States Code, as amended by this Act, 

18 is further amended by inserting after the item relating to 

19 section 576 the following: 

‘‘577. Advance procurement funding.’’. 

20 SEC. 212. MINOR CONSTRUCTION. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 656 of title 14, United 

22 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(d) MINOR CONSTRUCTION AND IMPROVEMENT.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the reporting re25 quirements set forth in paragraph (2), each fiscal 
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1 year the Secretary may expend from amounts made 

2 available for the operating expenses of the Coast 

3 Guard not more than $1,500,000 for minor construc4 tion and improvement projects at any location. 

5 ‘‘(2) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Not later 

6 than 90 days after the end of each fiscal year, the 

7 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Com8 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

9 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

10 of the House of Representatives a report on each 

11 project undertaken during the course of the preceding 

12 fiscal year for which the amount expended under 

13 paragraph (1) exceeded $500,000.’’. 

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

15 (1) HEADING.—Section 656 of title 14, United 

16 States Code, as amended by this Act, is further 

17 amended by striking the section designation and 

18 heading and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘§ 656. Use of certain appropriated funds’’. 

20 (2) ANALYSIS.—The analysis for chapter 17 of 

21 title 14, United States Code, is amended by striking 

22 the item relating to section 656 and inserting the fol23 lowing: 

‘‘656. Use of certain appropriated funds.’’. 
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1 SEC. 213. CAPITAL INVESTMENT PLAN AND ANNUAL LIST 

2 OF PROJECTS TO CONGRESS. 

3 (a) CAPITAL INVESTMENT PLAN.—Section 663 of title 

4 14, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘§ 663. Capital investment plan 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—On the date on which the Presi7 dent submits to Congress a budget pursuant to section 1105 

8 of title 31, the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall sub9 mit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

10 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com11 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate— 

12 ‘‘(1) a capital investment plan for the Coast 

13 Guard that identifies for each capital asset for which 

14 appropriations are proposed in that budget— 

15 ‘‘(A) the proposed appropriations included 

16 in the budget; 

17 ‘‘(B) the total estimated cost of completion; 

18 ‘‘(C) projected funding levels for each fiscal 

19 year for the next 5 fiscal years or until project 

20 completion, whichever is earlier; 

21 ‘‘(D) an estimated completion date at the 

22 projected funding levels; and 

23 ‘‘(E) an acquisition program baseline, as 

24 applicable; and 

25 ‘‘(2) a list of each unfunded priority for the 

26 Coast Guard. 
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1 ‘‘(b) UNFUNDED PRIORITY DEFINED.—In this section, 

2 the term ‘unfunded priority’ means a program or mission 

3 requirement that— 

4 ‘‘(1) has not been selected for funding in the ap5 plicable proposed budget; 

6 ‘‘(2) is necessary to fulfill a requirement associ7 ated with an operational need; and 

8 ‘‘(3) the Commandant would have recommended 

9 for inclusion in the applicable proposed budget had 

10 additional resources been available or had the require11 ment emerged before the budget was submitted.’’. 

12 (b) ANNUAL LIST OF PROJECTS TO CONGRESS.—Sec13 tion 693 of title 14, United States Code, is amended to read 

14 as follows: 

15 ‘‘§ 693. Annual list of projects to Congress 

16 ‘‘The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall submit 

17 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

18 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com19 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 

20 prioritized list of projects eligible for environmental compli21 ance and restoration funding for each fiscal year concurrent 

22 with the President’s budget submission for that fiscal 

23 year.’’. 

24 (c) CLERICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
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1 (1) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 17.—The analysis 

2 for chapter 17 of title 14, United States Code, as 

3 amended by this Act, is further amended by striking 

4 the item relating to section 663 and inserting the fol5 lowing: 

‘‘663. Capital investment plan.’’. 

6 (2) ANALYSIS FOR CHAPTER 19.—The analysis 

7 for chapter 19 of title 14, United States Code, is 

8 amended by striking the item relating to section 693 

9 and inserting the following: 

‘‘693. Annual list of projects to Congress.’’. 

10 (3) COAST GUARD AUTHORIZATION ACT OF

11 2010.—Section 918 of the Coast Guard Authorization 

12 Act of 2010 (14 U.S.C. 663 note), and the item relat13 ing to that section in the table of contents in section 

14 1(b) of that Act, are repealed. 

15 SEC. 214. AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 17 of title 14, United 

17 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘§ 678. Aircraft accident investigations 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Whenever the Commandant of the 

20 Coast Guard conducts an accident investigation of an acci21 dent involving an aircraft under the jurisdiction of the 

22 Commandant, the records and report of the investigation 

23 shall be treated in accordance with this section. 
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1 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN ACCIDENT IN2 VESTIGATION INFORMATION.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), the 

4 Commandant, upon request, shall publicly disclose 

5 unclassified tapes, scientific reports, and other factual 

6 information pertinent to an aircraft accident inves7 tigation. 

8 ‘‘(2) CONDITIONS.—The Commandant shall only 

9 disclose information requested pursuant to paragraph 

10 (1) if the Commandant determines— 

11 ‘‘(A) that such tapes, reports, or other infor12 mation would be included within and releasable 

13 with the final accident investigation report; and 

14 ‘‘(B) that release of such tapes, reports, or 

15 other information— 

16 ‘‘(i) would not undermine the ability of 

17 accident or safety investigators to continue 

18 to conduct the investigation; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) would not compromise national 

20 security. 

21 ‘‘(3) RESTRICTION.—A disclosure under para22 graph (1) may not be made by or through officials 

23 with responsibility for, or who are conducting, a safe24 ty investigation with respect to the accident. 
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1 ‘‘(c) OPINIONS REGARDING CAUSATION OF ACCI2 DENT.—Following an aircraft accident referred to in sub3 section (a)— 

4 ‘‘(1) if the evidence surrounding the accident is 

5 sufficient for the investigators who conduct the acci6 dent investigation to come to an opinion as to the 

7 cause or causes of the accident, the final report of the 

8 accident investigation shall set forth the opinion of 

9 the investigators as to the cause or causes of the acci10 dent; and 

11 ‘‘(2) if the evidence surrounding the accident is 

12 not sufficient for the investigators to come to an opin13 ion as to the cause or causes of the accident, the final 

14 report of the accident investigation shall include a de15 scription of those factors, if any, that, in the opinion 

16 of the investigators, substantially contributed to or 

17 caused the accident. 

18 ‘‘(d) USE OF INFORMATION IN CIVIL OR CRIMINAL

19 PROCEEDINGS.—For purposes of any civil or criminal pro20 ceeding arising from an aircraft accident referred to in sub21 section (a), any opinion of the accident investigators as to 

22 the cause of, or the factors contributing to, the accident set 

23 forth in the accident investigation report may not be consid24 ered as evidence in such proceeding, nor may such report 
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1 be considered an admission of liability by the United States 

2 or by any person referred to in such report. 

3 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

4 ‘‘(1) the term ‘accident investigation’ means any 

5 form of investigation by Coast Guard personnel of an 

6 aircraft accident referred to in subsection (a), other 

7 than a safety investigation; and 

8 ‘‘(2) the term ‘safety investigation’ means an in9 vestigation by Coast Guard personnel of an aircraft 

10 accident referred to in subsection (a) that is con11 ducted solely to determine the cause of the accident 

12 and to obtain information that may prevent the oc13 currence of similar accidents.’’. 

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chapter 

15 17 of title 14, United States Code, as amended by this Act, 

16 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘678. Aircraft accident investigations.’’. 

17 SEC. 215. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY ENROLLMENT ELIGI18 BILITY. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 823 of title 14, United 

20 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘§ 823. Eligibility; enrollments 

22 ‘‘The Auxiliary shall be composed of nationals of the 

23 United States, as defined in section 101(a)(22) of the Immi24 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22)), and 

25 aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence, as de-
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1 fined in section 101(a)(20) of the Immigration and Nation2 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20))— 

3 ‘‘(1) who— 

4 ‘‘(A) are owners, sole or part, of motorboats, 

5 yachts, aircraft, or radio stations; or 

6 ‘‘(B) by reason of their special training or 

7 experience are deemed by the Commandant to be 

8 qualified for duty in the Auxiliary; and 

9 ‘‘(2) who may be enrolled therein pursuant to 

10 applicable regulations.’’. 

11 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chapter 

12 23 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by striking 

13 the item relating to section 823 and inserting the following: 

‘‘823. Eligibility; enrollments.’’. 

14 SEC. 216. REPEALS. 

15 (a) DISTRICT OMBUDSMEN.—Section 55 of title 14, 

16 United States Code, and the item relating to such section 

17 in the analysis for chapter 3 of such title, are repealed. 

18 (b) COOPERATION WITH RESPECT TO AIDS TO AIR

19 NAVIGATION.—Section 82 of title 14, United States Code, 

20 and the item relating to such section in the analysis for 

21 chapter 5 of such title, are repealed. 

22 (c) OCEAN STATIONS.—Section 90 of title 14, United 

23 States Code, and the item relating to such section in the 

24 analysis for chapter 5 of such title, are repealed. 
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1 (d) DETAIL OF MEMBERS TO ASSIST FOREIGN GOV2 ERNMENTS.—Section 149(a) of title 14, United States Code, 

3 is amended by striking the second and third sentences. 

4 (e) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Section 193 of title 14, 

5 United States Code, and the item relating to such section 

6 in the analysis for chapter 9 of such title, are repealed. 

7 (f) HISTORY FELLOWSHIPS.—Section 198 of title 14, 

8 United States Code, and the item relating to such section 

9 in the analysis for chapter 9 of such title, are repealed. 

10 SEC. 217. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO TITLE 14. 

11 Title 14, United States Code, as amended by this Act, 

12 is further amended— 

13 (1) by amending chapter 1 to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘CHAPTER 1—ESTABLISHMENT AND 

15 DUTIES 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘1. Establishment of Coast Guard. 

‘‘2. Primary duties. 

‘‘3. Department in which the Coast Guard operates. 

‘‘4. Secretary defined. 

16 ‘‘§ 1. Establishment of Coast Guard 

17 ‘‘The Coast Guard, established January 28, 1915, shall 

18 be a military service and a branch of the armed forces of 

19 the United States at all times. 

20 ‘‘§ 2. Primary duties 

21 ‘‘The Coast Guard shall— 

22 ‘‘(1) enforce or assist in the enforcement of all 

23 applicable Federal laws on, under, and over the high 
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1 seas and waters subject to the jurisdiction of the 

2 United States; 

3 ‘‘(2) engage in maritime air surveillance or 

4 interdiction to enforce or assist in the enforcement of 

5 the laws of the United States; 

6 ‘‘(3) administer laws and promulgate and en7 force regulations for the promotion of safety of life 

8 and property on and under the high seas and waters 

9 subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, cov10 ering all matters not specifically delegated by law to 

11 some other executive department; 

12 ‘‘(4) develop, establish, maintain, and operate, 

13 with due regard to the requirements of national de14 fense, aids to maritime navigation, icebreaking facili15 ties, and rescue facilities for the promotion of safety 

16 on, under, and over the high seas and waters subject 

17 to the jurisdiction of the United States; 

18 ‘‘(5) pursuant to international agreements, de19 velop, establish, maintain, and operate icebreaking fa20 cilities on, under, and over waters other than the high 

21 seas and waters subject to the jurisdiction of the 

22 United States; 

23 ‘‘(6) engage in oceanographic research of the high 

24 seas and in waters subject to the jurisdiction of the 

25 United States; and 
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1 ‘‘(7) maintain a state of readiness to function as 

2 a specialized service in the Navy in time of war, in3 cluding the fulfillment of Maritime Defense Zone com4 mand responsibilities. 

5 ‘‘§ 3. Department in which the Coast Guard operates 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Coast Guard shall be a service 

7 in the Department of Homeland Security, except when op8 erating as a service in the Navy. 

9 ‘‘(b) TRANSFERS.—Upon the declaration of war if 

10 Congress so directs in the declaration or when the President 

11 directs, the Coast Guard shall operate as a service in the 

12 Navy, and shall so continue until the President, by Execu13 tive order, transfers the Coast Guard back to the Depart14 ment of Homeland Security. While operating as a service 

15 in the Navy, the Coast Guard shall be subject to the orders 

16 of the Secretary of the Navy, who may order changes in 

17 Coast Guard operations to render them uniform, to the ex18 tent such Secretary deems advisable, with Navy operations. 

19 ‘‘(c) OPERATION AS A SERVICE IN THE NAVY.—When20 ever the Coast Guard operates as a service in the Navy— 

21 ‘‘(1) applicable appropriations of the Navy De22 partment shall be available for the expense of the 

23 Coast Guard; 
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1 ‘‘(2) applicable appropriations of the Coast 

2 Guard shall be available for transfer to the Navy De3 partment; 

4 ‘‘(3) precedence between commissioned officers of 

5 corresponding grades in the Coast Guard and the 

6 Navy shall be determined by the date of rank stated 

7 by their commissions in those grades; 

8 ‘‘(4) personnel of the Coast Guard shall be eligi9 ble to receive gratuities, medals, and other insignia of 

10 honor on the same basis as personnel in the naval 

11 service or serving in any capacity with the Navy; and 

12 ‘‘(5) the Secretary may place on furlough any of13 ficer of the Coast Guard and officers on furlough shall 

14 receive one half of the pay to which they would be en15 titled if on leave of absence, but officers of the Coast 

16 Guard Reserve shall not be so placed on furlough. 

17 ‘‘§ 4. Secretary defined 

18 ‘‘In this title, the term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary 

19 of the respective department in which the Coast Guard is 

20 operating.’’; 

21 (2) in section 95(c), by striking ‘‘of Homeland 

22 Security’’; 

23 (3) in section 259(c)(1), by striking ‘‘After select24 ing’’ and inserting ‘‘In selecting’’; 
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1 (4) in section 286a(d), by striking ‘‘severance 

2 pay’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘separation 

3 pay’’; 

4 (5) in the second sentence of section 290(a), by 

5 striking ‘‘in the grade of vice admiral’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘in or above the grade of vice admiral’’; 

7 (6) in section 516(a), by striking ‘‘of Homeland 

8 Security’’; 

9 (7) by amending section 564 to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘§ 564. Prohibition on use of lead systems integrators 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

12 ‘‘(1) USE OF LEAD SYSTEMS INTEGRATOR.—The 

13 Commandant may not use a private sector entity as 

14 a lead systems integrator. 

15 ‘‘(2) FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION.—The Com16 mandant shall use full and open competition for any 

17 acquisition contract unless otherwise excepted in ac18 cordance with Federal acquisition laws and regula19 tions promulgated under those laws, including the 

20 Federal Acquisition Regulation. 

21 ‘‘(3) NO EFFECT ON SMALL BUSINESS ACT.— 

22 Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to super23 sede or otherwise affect the authorities provided by 

24 and under the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et 

25 seq.). 
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1 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON FINANCIAL INTEREST IN SUB2 CONTRACTORS.—Neither an entity performing lead systems 

3 integrator functions for a Coast Guard acquisition nor a 

4 Tier 1 subcontractor for any acquisition may have a finan5 cial interest in a subcontractor below the Tier 1 subcon6 tractor level unless— 

7 ‘‘(1) the subcontractor was selected by the prime 

8 contractor through full and open competition for such 

9 procurement; 

10 ‘‘(2) the procurement was awarded by an entity 

11 performing lead systems integrator functions or a 

12 subcontractor through full and open competition; 

13 ‘‘(3) the procurement was awarded by a subcon14 tractor through a process over which the entity per15 forming lead systems integrator functions or a Tier 1 

16 subcontractor exercised no control; or 

17 ‘‘(4) the Commandant has determined that the 

18 procurement was awarded in a manner consistent 

19 with Federal acquisition laws and regulations pro20 mulgated under those laws, including the Federal Ac21 quisition Regulation.’’; 

22 (8) in section 569(a), by striking ‘‘and annually 

23 thereafter,’’; 

24 (9) in the analysis for chapter 17— 
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1 (A) by striking the item relating to section 

2 669 and inserting the following: 

‘‘669. Telephone installation and charges.’’; and 

3 (B) by striking the item relating to section 

4 674 and inserting the following: 

‘‘674. Small boat station rescue capability.’’; 

5 (10) in section 666(a), by striking ‘‘of Homeland 

6 Security’’ and inserting ‘‘of the department in which 

7 the Coast Guard is operating’’; 

8 (11) in section 673(a)(3), by striking ‘‘of Home9 land Security (when the Coast Guard is not operating 

10 as a service in the Navy)’’; 

11 (12) in section 674, by striking ‘‘of Homeland 

12 Security’’; 

13 (13) in section 675(a), by striking ‘‘Secretary’’ 

14 and all that follows through ‘‘may not’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘Secretary may not’’; and 

16 (14) in the first sentence of section 740(d), by 

17 striking ‘‘that appointment’’ and inserting ‘‘that ap18 pointment to the Reserve’’. 

19 SEC. 218. ACQUISITION WORKFORCE EXPEDITED HIRING 

20 AUTHORITY. 

21 Section 404 of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 

22 2010 (Public Law 111–281; 124 Stat. 2950) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘as shortage 

24 category positions;’’ and inserting ‘‘as positions for 
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1 which there exists a shortage of candidates or there is 

2 a critical hiring need;’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (b)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘paragraph’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘section’’; and 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘2012.’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘2015.’’; and 

8 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘section 562(d) 

9 of title 14, United States Code, as added by this 

10 title,’’ and inserting ‘‘section 569a of title 14, United 

11 States Code,’’. 

12 SEC. 219. RENEWAL OF TEMPORARY EARLY RETIREMENT 

13 AUTHORITY. 

14 For fiscal years 2013 through 2018— 

15 (1) notwithstanding subsection (c)(2)(A) of sec16 tion 4403 of the National Defense Authorization Act 

17 for Fiscal Year 1993 (10 U.S.C. 1293 note), such sec18 tion shall apply to the Coast Guard in the same man19 ner and to the same extent it applies to the Depart20 ment of Defense, except that— 

21 (A) the Secretary of Homeland Security 

22 shall implement such section with respect to the 

23 Coast Guard and, for purposes of that implemen24 tation, shall apply the applicable provisions of 
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1 title 14, United States Code, relating to retire2 ment of Coast Guard personnel; and 

3 (B) the total number of commissioned offi4 cers who retire pursuant to this section may not 

5 exceed 200, and the total number of enlisted 

6 members who retire pursuant to this section may 

7 not exceed 300; and 

8 (2) only appropriations available for necessary 

9 expenses for the operation and maintenance of the 

10 Coast Guard shall be expended for the retired pay of 

11 personnel who retire pursuant to this section. 

12 SEC. 220. RESPONSE BOAT-MEDIUM PROCUREMENT. 

13 (a) REQUIREMENT TO FULFILL APPROVED PROGRAM

14 OF RECORD.—Except as provided in subsection (b), the 

15 Commandant of the Coast Guard shall maintain the sched16 ule and requirements for the total acquisition of 180 boats 

17 as specified in the approved program of record for the Re18 sponse Boat-Medium acquisition program in effect on June 

19 1, 2012. 

20 (b) APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (a) shall not apply on 

21 and after the date on which the Commandant submits to 

22 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

23 House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

24 Science, and Transportation of the Senate such documenta25 tion as the Coast Guard Major Systems Acquisition Manual 
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1 requires to justify reducing the approved program of record 

2 for Response Boat-Medium to a total acquisition of less 

3 than 180 boats. 

4 SEC. 221. NATIONAL SECURITY CUTTERS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

6 (1) MULTIYEAR AUTHORITY.—In fiscal year 

7 2013 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary of 

8 the department in which the Coast Guard is oper9 ating may enter into, in accordance with section 

10 2306b of title 10, United States Code, a multiyear 

11 contract for the procurement of Coast Guard National 

12 Security Cutters and Government-furnished equip13 ment associated with the National Security Cutter 

14 program. 

15 (2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not enter 

16 into a contract under paragraph (1) until the date 

17 that is 30 days after the date the Secretary submits 

18 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans19 portation of the Senate and the Committee on Trans20 portation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep21 resentatives a certification that the Secretary has 

22 made, with respect to the contract, each of the find23 ings specified under section 2306b(a) of title 10, 

24 United States Code, and has done so in accordance 

25 with paragraph (3) of this subsection. 
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1 (3) DETERMINATION OF SUBSTANTIAL SAV2 INGS.—For purposes of this section, in conducting an 

3 analysis with respect to substantial savings under sec4 tion 2306b(a)(1) of title 10, United States Code, the 

5 Secretary— 

6 (A) may not limit the analysis to a simple 

7 percentage-based metric; and 

8 (B) shall employ a full-scale analysis of cost 

9 avoidance— 

10 (i) based on a multiyear procurement; 

11 and 

12 (ii) taking into account the potential 

13 benefit any accrued savings might have for 

14 future shipbuilding programs if the cost 

15 avoidance savings were subsequently uti16 lized for further ship construction. 

17 (b) CERTIFICATE TO OPERATE.—The Commandant of 

18 the Coast Guard may not certify a sixth National Security 

19 Cutter as Ready for Operations before the Commandant 

20 has— 

21 (1) submitted to the Committee on Commerce, 

22 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

23 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

24 the House of Representatives program execution plans 

25 detailing— 
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1 (A) how the first 3 National Security Cut2 ters will achieve the goal of 225 days away from 

3 homeport in fiscal years following the completion 

4 of the Structural Enhancement Drydock Avail5 ability of the first 2 National Security Cutters; 

6 and 

7 (B) increased aerial coverage to support 

8 National Security Cutter operations; and 

9 (2) awarded a contract for detailed design and 

10 construction for the Offshore Patrol Cutter. 

11 SEC. 222. COAST GUARD POLAR ICEBREAKERS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the department in 

13 which the Coast Guard is operating shall conduct a business 

14 case analysis of the options for and costs of reactivating 

15 and extending the service life of the Polar Sea until at least 

16 September 30, 2022, to maintain United States polar 

17 icebreaking capabilities and fulfill the Coast Guard’s high 

18 latitude mission needs, as identified in the Coast Guard’s 

19 July 2010, High Latitude Study Mission Analysis Report, 

20 during the Coast Guard’s recapitalization of its polar class 

21 icebreaker fleet. The analysis shall include— 

22 (1) an assessment of the current condition of the 

23 Polar Sea; 

24 (2) a determination of the Polar Sea’s oper25 ational capabilities with respect to fulfilling the Coast 
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1 Guard’s high latitude operating requirements if ren2 ovated and reactivated; 

3 (3) a detailed estimate of costs with respect to re4 activating and extending the service life of the Polar 

5 Sea; 

6 (4) a life cycle cost estimate with respect to oper7 ating and maintaining the Polar Sea for the duration 

8 of its extended service life; and 

9 (5) a determination of whether it is cost-effective 

10 to reactivate the Polar Sea compared with other op11 tions to provide icebreaking services as part of a 

12 strategy to maintain polar icebreaking services. 

13 (b) RESTRICTIONS.—The Secretary shall not remove 

14 any part of the Polar Sea until the Secretary submits the 

15 analysis required under subsection (a). 

16 (c) DEADLINE.—Not later than 270 days after the date 

17 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the 

18 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

19 House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

20 Science, and Transportation of the Senate the analysis re21 quired under subsection (a). 

22 (d) REQUIREMENT FOR REACTIVATION OF POLAR

23 SEA.— 

24 (1) SERVICE LIFE EXTENSION PLAN.— 
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary deter2 mines based on the analysis required under sub3 section (a) that it is cost-effective to reactivate 

4 the Polar Sea compared with other options to 

5 provide icebreaking services, the Secretary shall 

6 develop a service life extension plan for such re7 activation, including a timetable for such reac8 tivation. 

9 (B) UTILIZATION OF EXISTING RE10 SOURCES.—In the development of the plan re11 quired under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

12 shall utilize to the greatest extent practicable re13 cent plans, studies, assessments, and analyses re14 garding the Coast Guard’s icebreakers and high 

15 latitude mission needs and operating require16 ments. 

17 (C) SUBMISSION.—The Secretary shall sub18 mit the plan required under subparagraph (A), 

19 if so required, to the Committee on Transpor20 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep21 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

22 Science, and Transportation of the Senate not 

23 later than 180 days after the submission of the 

24 analysis required under subsection (a). 
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1 (2) DECOMMISSIONING; BRIDGING STRATEGY.—If 

2 the analysis required under subsection (a) is sub3 mitted in accordance with subsection (c) and the Sec4 retary determines under subsection (a)(5) that it is 

5 not cost-effective to reactivate the Polar Sea, then not 

6 later than 180 days after the date on which the anal7 ysis is required to be submitted under subsection (c) 

8 the Commandant of the Coast Guard— 

9 (A) may decommission the Polar Sea; and 

10 (B) shall submit a bridging strategy for 

11 maintaining the Coast Guard’s polar icebreaking 

12 services until at least September 30, 2022, to the 

13 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

14 of the House of Representatives and the Com15 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor16 tation of the Senate. 

17 (e) RESTRICTION.—Except as provided in subsection 

18 (d), the Commandant of the Coast Guard may not— 

19 (1) transfer, relinquish ownership of, dismantle, 

20 or recycle the Polar Sea or Polar Star; 

21 (2) change the current homeport of either of the 

22 vessels; or 

23 (3) expend any funds— 

24 (A) for any expenses directly or indirectly 

25 associated with the decommissioning of either of 
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1 the vessels, including expenses for dock use or 

2 other goods and services; 

3 (B) for any personnel expenses directly or 

4 indirectly associated with the decommissioning 

5 of either of the vessels, including expenses for a 

6 decommissioning officer; 

7 (C) for any expenses associated with a de8 commissioning ceremony for either of the vessels; 

9 (D) to appoint a decommissioning officer to 

10 be affiliated with either of the vessels; or 

11 (E) to place either of the vessels in inactive 

12 status. 

13 (f) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section— 

14 (1) the term ‘‘Polar Sea’’ means Coast Guard 

15 Cutter Polar Sea (WAGB 11); and 

16 (2) the term ‘‘Polar Star’’ means Coast Guard 

17 Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10). 

18 (g) REPEAL.—This section shall cease to have effect on 

19 September 30, 2022. 
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1 TITLE III—SHIPPING AND 

2 NAVIGATION 

3 SEC. 301. IDENTIFICATION OF ACTIONS TO ENABLE QUALI4 FIED UNITED STATES FLAG CAPACITY TO 

5 MEET NATIONAL DEFENSE REQUIREMENTS. 

6 Section 501(b) of title 46, United States Code, is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘When the head’’ and inserting 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—When the head’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATIONS.—The Maritime Admin13 istrator shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) for each determination referred to in 

15 paragraph (1), identify any actions that could be 

16 taken to enable qualified United States flag ca17 pacity to meet national defense requirements; 

18 ‘‘(B) provide notice of each such determina19 tion to the Secretary of Transportation and the 

20 head of the agency referred to in paragraph (1) 

21 for which the determination is made; and 

22 ‘‘(C) publish each such determination on the 

23 Internet Web site of the Department of Transpor24 tation not later than 48 hours after notice of the 
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1 determination is provided to the Secretary of 

2 Transportation. 

3 ‘‘(3) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The head of an agency 

5 referred to in paragraph (1) shall notify the 

6 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

7 of the House of Representatives and the Com8 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor9 tation of the Senate— 

10 ‘‘(i) of any request for a waiver of the 

11 navigation or vessel-inspection laws under 

12 this section not later than 48 hours after re13 ceiving such a request; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) of the issuance of any such waiver 

15 not later than 48 hours after such issuance. 

16 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Such head of an agency 

17 shall include in each notification under subpara18 graph (A)(ii) an explanation of— 

19 ‘‘(i) the reasons the waiver is nec20 essary; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the reasons actions referred to in 

22 paragraph (2)(A) are not feasible.’’. 
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1 SEC. 302. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR NON-FEDERAL 

2 VESSEL TRAFFIC SERVICE OPERATORS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2307 of title 46, United 

4 States Code, is amended— 

5 (1) by striking the section designation and head6 ing and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘§ 2307. Limitation of liability for Coast Guard Vessel 

8 Traffic Service pilots and non-Federal 

9 vessel traffic service operators’’; 

10 (2) by striking ‘‘Any pilot’’ and inserting the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(a) COAST GUARD VESSEL TRAFFIC SERVICE PI13 LOTS.—Any pilot’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘(b) NON-FEDERAL VESSEL TRAFFIC SERVICE OPERA16 TORS.—An entity operating a non-Federal vessel traffic in17 formation service or advisory service pursuant to a duly 

18 executed written agreement with the Coast Guard, and any 

19 pilot acting on behalf of such entity, is not liable for dam20 ages caused by or related to information, advice, or commu21 nication assistance provided by such entity or pilot while 

22 so operating or acting unless the acts or omissions of such 

23 entity or pilot constitute gross negligence or willful mis24 conduct.’’. 

25 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chapter 

26 23 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by striking 
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1 the item relating to section 2307 and inserting the fol2 lowing: 

‘‘2307. Limitation of liability for Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service pilots and 

non-Federal vessel traffic service operators.’’. 

3 SEC. 303. SURVIVAL CRAFT. 

4 Section 3104 of title 46, United States Code, is amend5 ed— 

6 (1) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘January 1, 

7 2015’’ and inserting ‘‘the date that is 30 months after 

8 the date on which the report described in subsection 

9 (c) is submitted’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

12 of enactment of this subsection, the Commandant of the 

13 Coast Guard shall submit to the Committee on Transpor14 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

15 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor16 tation of the Senate a report on the carriage of survival 

17 craft that ensures no part of an individual is immersed in 

18 water, which shall include— 

19 ‘‘(1) the number of casualties, by vessel type and 

20 area of operation, as the result of immersion in water 

21 reported to the Coast Guard for each of fiscal years 

22 1991 through 2011; 

23 ‘‘(2) the effect the carriage of such survival craft 

24 has on— 
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1 ‘‘(A) vessel safety, including stability and 

2 safe navigation; and 

3 ‘‘(B) survivability of individuals, including 

4 persons with disabilities, children, and the elder5 ly; 

6 ‘‘(3) the efficacy of alternative safety systems, de7 vices, or measures; 

8 ‘‘(4) the cost and cost effectiveness of requiring 

9 the carriage of such survival craft on vessels; and 

10 ‘‘(5) the number of small businesses and non11 profit entities that would be affected by requiring the 

12 carriage of such survival craft on vessels.’’. 

13 SEC. 304. CLASSIFICATION SOCIETIES. 

14 Section 3316 of title 46, United States Code, is amend15 ed— 

16 (1) in subsection (b)(2)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub18 paragraph (A); 

19 (B) by striking the period at the end of sub20 paragraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

21 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(C) if the Secretary of State determines that the 

23 foreign classification society does not provide com24 parable services in or for a state sponsor of ter25 rorism.’’; 
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1 (2) in subsection (d)(2)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub3 paragraph (A); 

4 (B) by striking the period at the end of sub5 paragraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

6 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(C) the Secretary of State determines that the 

8 foreign classification society does not provide com9 parable services in or for a state sponsor of ter10 rorism.’’; and 

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

12 ‘‘(e) The Secretary shall revoke a delegation made to 

13 a classification society under subsection (b) or (d) if the 

14 Secretary of State determines that the classification society 

15 provides comparable services in or for a state sponsor of 

16 terrorism. 

17 ‘‘(f) In this section, the term ‘state sponsor of ter18 rorism’ means any country the government of which the 

19 Secretary of State has determined has repeatedly provided 

20 support for acts of international terrorism pursuant to sec21 tion 6(j) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (as con22 tinued in effect under the International Emergency Eco23 nomic Powers Act), section 620A of the Foreign Assistance 

24 Act of 1961, section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act, 

25 or any other provision of law.’’. 
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1 SEC. 305. DOCKSIDE EXAMINATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4502(f) of title 46, United 

3 States Code, is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

5 end; 

6 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘at least once every 2 years’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘at least once every 5 years’’; and 

9 (B) by striking the period at the end and 

10 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

12 ‘‘(3) shall complete the first dockside examina13 tion of a vessel under this subsection not later than 

14 October 15, 2015.’’. 

15 (b) DATABASE.—Section 4502(g)(4) of title 46, United 

16 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘a publicly accessible’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘an’’. 

18 (c) CERTIFICATION.—Section 4503 of title 46, United 

19 States Code, is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘July 1, 2012.’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘July 1, 2013.’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (d)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘July 

24 1, 2012;’’ and inserting ‘‘July 1, 2013;’’; and 

25 (B) in paragraph (2)— 
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1 (i) by striking ‘‘July 1, 2012,’’ each 

2 place it appears and inserting ‘‘July 1, 

3 2013,’’; and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘substantial change to 

5 the dimension of or type of vessel’’ and in6 serting ‘‘major conversion’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(e) For the purposes of this section, the term ‘built’ 

9 means, with respect to a vessel, that the vessel’s construction 

10 has reached any of the following stages: 

11 ‘‘(1) The vessel’s keel is laid. 

12 ‘‘(2) Construction identifiable with the vessel has 

13 begun and assembly of that vessel has commenced 

14 comprising of at least 50 metric tons or one percent 

15 of the estimated mass of all structural material, 

16 whichever is less.’’. 

17 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Chapter 51 of title 

18 46, United States Code, is amended— 

19 (1) in section 5102(b)(3), by striking ‘‘July 1, 

20 2012.’’ and inserting ‘‘July 1, 2013.’’; and 

21 (2) in section 5103(c)— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘July 1, 2012,’’ each place 

23 it appears and inserting ‘‘July 1, 2013,’’; and 
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1 (B) by striking ‘‘substantial change to the 

2 dimension of or type of the vessel’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘major conversion’’. 

4 SEC. 306. AUTHORITY TO EXTEND THE DURATION OF MED5 ICAL CERTIFICATES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 75 of title 46, United 

7 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘§ 7508. Authority to extend the duration of medical 

9 certificates 

10 ‘‘(a) GRANTING OF EXTENSIONS.—Notwithstanding 

11 any other provision of law, the Secretary may extend for 

12 not more than one year a medical certificate issued to an 

13 individual holding a license, merchant mariner’s document, 

14 or certificate of registry issued under chapter 71 or 73 if 

15 the Secretary determines that the extension is required to 

16 enable the Coast Guard to eliminate a backlog in processing 

17 applications for medical certificates or is in response to a 

18 national emergency or natural disaster. 

19 ‘‘(b) MANNER OF EXTENSION.—An extension under 

20 this section may be granted to individual seamen or a spe21 cifically identified group of seamen.’’. 

22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chapter 

23 75 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding 

24 at the end the following: 

‘‘7508. Authority to extend the duration of medical certificates.’’. 
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1 SEC. 307. CLARIFICATION OF RESTRICTIONS ON AMERICAN 

2 FISHERIES ACT VESSELS. 

3 Section 12113(d)(2) of title 46, United States Code, 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (B)— 

6 (A) by striking ‘‘that the regional’’ and in7 serting the following: ‘‘that— 

8 ‘‘(i) the regional’’; 

9 (B) by striking the semicolon and inserting 

10 ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a vessel listed in 

13 paragraphs (1) through (20) of section 

14 208(e) of the American Fisheries Act (title 

15 II of division C of Public Law 105–277; 

16 112 Stat. 2681–625 et seq.), the vessel is 

17 neither participating in nor eligible to par18 ticipate in the non–AFA trawl catcher proc19 essor subsector (as that term is defined 

20 under section 219(a)(7) of the Department 

21 of Commerce and Related Agencies Appro22 priations Act, 2005 (Public Law 108–447; 

23 118 Stat. 2887));’’; and 

24 (2) by amending subparagraph (C) to read as 

25 follows: 

26 ‘‘(C) the vessel— 
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1 ‘‘(i) is either a rebuilt vessel or replace2 ment vessel under section 208(g) of the 

3 American Fisheries Act (title II of division 

4 C of Public Law 105–277; 112 Stat. 2681– 

5 627); 

6 ‘‘(ii) is eligible for a fishery endorse7 ment under this section; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a vessel listed in 

9 paragraphs (1) through (20) of section 

10 208(e) of the American Fisheries Act (title 

11 II of division C of Public Law 105–277; 

12 112 Stat. 2681–625 et seq.), is neither par13 ticipating in nor eligible to participate in 

14 the non–AFA trawl catcher processor sub15 sector (as that term is defined under section 

16 219(a)(7) of the Department of Commerce 

17 and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 

18 2005 (Public Law 108–447; 118 Stat. 

19 2887); or’’. 

20 SEC. 308. INVESTIGATIONS BY SECRETARY. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 121 of title 46, United 

22 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 12139 

23 the following: 
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1 ‘‘§ 12140. Investigations by Secretary 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may conduct inves3 tigations and inspections regarding compliance with this 

4 chapter and regulations prescribed under this chapter. 

5 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN EVIDENCE.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of any in7 vestigation conducted under this section, the Secretary 

8 may issue a subpoena to require the attendance of a 

9 witness or the production of documents or other evi10 dence relevant to the matter under investigation if— 

11 ‘‘(A) before the issuance of the subpoena, the 

12 Secretary requests a determination by the Attor13 ney General as to whether the subpoena— 

14 ‘‘(i) is reasonable; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) will interfere with a criminal in16 vestigation; and 

17 ‘‘(B) the Attorney General— 

18 ‘‘(i) determines that the subpoena is 

19 reasonable and will not interfere with a 

20 criminal investigation; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) fails to make a determination 

22 with respect to the subpoena before the date 

23 that is 30 days after the date on which the 

24 Secretary makes a request under subpara25 graph (A) with respect to the subpoena. 
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1 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT.—In the case of a refusal to 

2 obey a subpoena issued to any person under this sec3 tion, the Secretary may invoke the aid of the appro4 priate district court of the United States to compel 

5 compliance.’’. 

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chapter 

7 121 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

8 after the item relating to section 12139 the following: 

‘‘12140. Investigations by Secretary.’’. 

9 SEC. 309. PENALTIES. 

10 Section 12151(a) of title 46, United States Code, is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘A person that violates’’ and in13 serting the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Except as provided in 

15 paragraph (2), a person that violates’’; 

16 (2) by striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘$15,000’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES INVOLVING MOBILE OFFSHORE

20 DRILLING UNITS.—A person that violates section 

21 12111(d) or a regulation prescribed under that section 

22 is liable to the United States Government for a civil 

23 penalty in an amount that is $25,000 or twice the 

24 charter rate of the vessel involved in the violation (as 

25 determined by the Secretary), whichever is greater. 
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1 Each day of a continuing violation is a separate vio2 lation.’’. 

3 SEC. 310. UNITED STATES COMMITTEE ON THE MARINE 

4 TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 555 of title 46, United 

6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘§ 55502. United States Committee on the Marine 

8 Transportation System 

9 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a United 

10 States Committee on the Marine Transportation System (in 

11 this section referred to as the ‘Committee’). 

12 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The Committee shall serve as a Fed13 eral interagency coordinating committee for the purpose 

14 of— 

15 ‘‘(1) assessing the adequacy of the marine trans16 portation system (including ports, waterways, chan17 nels, and their intermodal connections); 

18 ‘‘(2) promoting the integration of the marine 

19 transportation system with other modes of transpor20 tation and other uses of the marine environment; and 

21 ‘‘(3) coordinating, improving the coordination 

22 of, and making recommendations with regard to Fed23 eral policies that impact the marine transportation 

24 system. 

25 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall consist 

2 of— 

3 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Transportation; 

4 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Defense; 

5 ‘‘(C) the Secretary of Homeland Security; 

6 ‘‘(D) the Secretary of Commerce; 

7 ‘‘(E) the Secretary of the Treasury; 

8 ‘‘(F) the Secretary of State; 

9 ‘‘(G) the Secretary of the Interior; 

10 ‘‘(H) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

11 ‘‘(I) the Attorney General; 

12 ‘‘(J) the Secretary of Labor; 

13 ‘‘(K) the Secretary of Energy; 

14 ‘‘(L) the Administrator of the Environ15 mental Protection Agency; 

16 ‘‘(M) the Chairman of the Federal Maritime 

17 Commission; 

18 ‘‘(N) the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of 

19 Staff; and 

20 ‘‘(O) the head of any other Federal agency 

21 who a majority of the voting members of the 

22 Committee determines can further the purpose 

23 and activities of the Committee. 

24 ‘‘(2) NONVOTING MEMBERS.—The Committee 

25 may include as many nonvoting members as a major-
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1 ity of the voting members of the Committee deter2 mines is appropriate to further the purpose and ac3 tivities of the Committee. 

4 ‘‘(d) SUPPORT.— 

5 ‘‘(1) COORDINATING BOARD.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is hereby estab7 lished, within the Committee, a Coordinating 

8 Board. Each member of the Committee may se9 lect a senior level representative to serve on such 

10 Board. The Board shall assist the Committee in 

11 carrying out its purpose and activities. 

12 ‘‘(B) CHAIR.—There shall be a Chair of the 

13 Coordinating Board. The Chair of the Coordi14 nating Board shall rotate each year among the 

15 Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of De16 fense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and 

17 the Secretary of Commerce. The order of rotation 

18 shall be determined by a majority of the voting 

19 members of the Committee. 

20 ‘‘(2) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Secretary of 

21 Transportation, in consultation with the Secretary of 

22 Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the 

23 Secretary of Commerce, shall appoint an Executive 

24 Director of the Committee. 
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1 ‘‘(3) TRANSFERS.—Notwithstanding any other 

2 provision of law, the head of a Federal department or 

3 agency who is a member of the Committee may— 

4 ‘‘(A) provide, on a reimbursable or nonre5 imbursable basis, facilities, equipment, services, 

6 personnel, and other support services to carry 

7 out the activities of the Committee; and 

8 ‘‘(B) transfer funds to another Federal de9 partment or agency in order to carry out the ac10 tivities of the Committee. 

11 ‘‘(e) MARINE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ASSESSMENT

12 AND STRATEGY.—Not later than one year after the date of 

13 enactment of this Act and every 5 years thereafter, the Com14 mittee shall provide to the Committee on Commerce, 

15 Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Envi16 ronment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee 

17 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep18 resentatives a report that includes— 

19 ‘‘(1) steps taken to implement actions rec20 ommended in the document titled ‘National Strategy 

21 for the Marine Transportation System: A Framework 

22 for Action’ and dated July 2008; 

23 ‘‘(2) an assessment of the condition of the marine 

24 transportation system; 
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1 ‘‘(3) a discussion of the challenges the marine 

2 transportation system faces in meeting user demand, 

3 including estimates of investment levels required to 

4 ensure system infrastructure meets such demand; 

5 ‘‘(4) a plan, with recommended actions, for im6 proving the marine transportation system to meet 

7 current and future challenges; and 

8 ‘‘(5) steps taken to implement actions rec9 ommended in previous reports required under this 

10 subsection. 

11 ‘‘(f) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out its purpose and 

12 activities, the Committee may consult with marine trans13 portation system-related advisory committees, interested 

14 parties, and the public.’’. 

15 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chapter 

16 555 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding 

17 at the end the following: 

‘‘55502. United States Committee on the Marine Transportation System.’’. 

18 SEC. 311. TECHNICAL CORRECTION TO TITLE 46. 

19 Section 7507(a) of title 46, United States Code, is 

20 amended by striking ‘‘73’’ each place it appears and insert21 ing ‘‘71’’. 

22 SEC. 312. DEEPWATER PORTS. 

23 Section 3(9)(A) of the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 (33 

24 U.S.C. 1502(9)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or from’’ be25 fore ‘‘any State’’. 
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1 TITLE IV—MARITIME ADMINIS2 TRATION AUTHORIZATION 

3 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Maritime Administra5 tion Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 402. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR NA7 TIONAL SECURITY ASPECTS OF THE MER8 CHANT MARINE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2013. 

9 Funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated for fis10 cal year 2013, to be available without fiscal year limitation 

11 if so provided in appropriations Acts, for the use of the De12 partment of Transportation for Maritime Administration 

13 programs associated with maintaining national security 

14 aspects of the merchant marine, as follows: 

15 (1) For expenses necessary for operations of the 

16 United States Merchant Marine Academy, 

17 $77,253,000, of which— 

18 (A) $67,253,000 shall remain available 

19 until expended for Academy operations; and 

20 (B) $10,000,000 shall remain available 

21 until expended for capital asset management at 

22 the Academy. 

23 (2) For expenses necessary to support the State 

24 maritime academies, $16,045,000, of which— 
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1 (A) $2,400,000 shall remain available until 

2 expended for student incentive payments; 

3 (B) $2,545,000 shall remain available until 

4 expended for direct payments to such academies; 

5 and 

6 (C) $11,100,000 shall remain available 

7 until expended for maintenance and repair of 

8 State maritime academy training vessels. 

9 (3) For expenses necessary to dispose of vessels in 

10 the National Defense Reserve Fleet, $12,717,000, to 

11 remain available until expended. 

12 (4) For expenses to maintain and preserve a 

13 United States-flag merchant marine to serve the na14 tional security needs of the United States under chap15 ter 531 of title 46, United States Code, $186,000,000. 

16 (5) For the cost (as defined in section 502(5) of 

17 the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 

18 661a(5))) of loan guarantees under the program au19 thorized by chapter 537 of title 46, United States 

20 Code, $3,750,000, all of which shall remain available 

21 until expended for administrative expenses of the pro22 gram. 
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1 SEC. 403. MARITIME ENVIRONMENTAL AND TECHNICAL AS2 SISTANCE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 503 of title 46, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘§ 50307. Maritime environmental and technical as6 sistance program 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 

8 may engage in the environmental study, research, develop9 ment, assessment, and deployment of emerging marine tech10 nologies and practices related to the marine transportation 

11 system through the use of public vessels under the control 

12 of the Maritime Administration or private vessels under 

13 United States registry, and through partnerships and coop14 erative efforts with academic, public, private, and non15 governmental entities and facilities. 

16 ‘‘(b) COMPONENTS.—Under this section, the Secretary 

17 of Transportation may— 

18 ‘‘(1) identify, study, evaluate, test, demonstrate, 

19 or improve emerging marine technologies and prac20 tices that are likely to achieve environmental im21 provements by— 

22 ‘‘(A) reducing air emissions, water emis23 sions, or other ship discharges; 

24 ‘‘(B) increasing fuel economy or the use of 

25 alternative fuels and alternative energy (includ26 ing the use of shore power); or 
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1 ‘‘(C) controlling aquatic invasive species; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(2) coordinate with the Environmental Protec4 tion Agency, the Coast Guard, and other Federal, 

5 State, local, or tribal agencies, as appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION.—Coordination under subsection 

7 (b)(2) may include— 

8 ‘‘(1) activities that are associated with the devel9 opment or approval of validation and testing regimes; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(2) certification or validation of emerging tech12 nologies or practices that demonstrate significant en13 vironmental benefits. 

14 ‘‘(d) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of Transportation 

15 may accept gifts, or enter into cooperative agreements, con16 tracts, or other agreements with academic, public, private, 

17 and nongovernmental entities and facilities to carry out the 

18 activities authorized under subsection (a).’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

20 chapter 503 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by 

21 inserting after the item relating to section 50306 the fol22 lowing: 

‘‘50307. Maritime environmental and technical assistance program.’’. 

23 SEC. 404. PROPERTY FOR INSTRUCTIONAL PURPOSES. 

24 Section 51103(b) of title 46, United States Code, is 

25 amended— 
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1 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ‘‘SUR2 PLUS’’; 

3 (2) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol4 lows: 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may cooperate 

6 with and assist the institutions named in paragraph 

7 (2) by making vessels, fuel, shipboard equipment, and 

8 other marine equipment, owned by the United States 

9 Government and determined by the entity having cus10 tody and control of such property to be excess or sur11 plus, available to those institutions for instructional 

12 purposes, by gift, loan, sale, lease, or charter on terms 

13 and conditions the Secretary considers appropriate. 

14 The consent of the Secretary of the Navy shall be ob15 tained with respect to any property from National 

16 Defense Reserve Fleet vessels, if such vessels are either 

17 Ready Reserve Force vessels or other National Defense 

18 Reserve Fleet vessels determined to be of sufficient 

19 value to the Navy to warrant their further preserva20 tion and retention.’’; and 

21 (3) in paragraph (2)(C), by inserting ‘‘or a 

22 training institution that is an instrumentality of a 

23 State, the District of Columbia, a territory or posses24 sion of the United States, or a unit of local govern-
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1 ment thereof’’ after ‘‘a nonprofit training institu2 tion’’. 

3 SEC. 405. SHORT SEA TRANSPORTATION. 

4 (a) PURPOSE.—Section 55601 of title 46, United 

5 States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘landside con7 gestion.’’ and inserting ‘‘landside congestion or to 

8 promote short sea transportation.’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘coastal cor10 ridors’’ and inserting ‘‘coastal corridors or to promote 

11 short sea transportation’’; 

12 (3) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘that the 

13 project may’’ and all that follows through the end of 

14 the subsection and inserting ‘‘that the project uses 

15 documented vessels and— 

16 ‘‘(1) mitigates landside congestion; or 

17 ‘‘(2) promotes short sea transportation.’’; and 

18 (4) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘shall’’ each 

19 place it appears and inserting ‘‘may’’. 

20 (b) DOCUMENTATION.—Section 55605 is amended in 

21 the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘by vessel’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘by a documented vessel’’. 
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1 SEC. 406. LIMITATION OF NATIONAL DEFENSE RESERVE 

2 FLEET VESSELS TO THOSE OVER 1,500 GROSS 

3 TONS. 

4 Section 57101(a) of title 46, United States Code, is 

5 amended by inserting ‘‘of 1,500 gross tons or more or such 

6 other vessels as the Secretary of Transportation determines 

7 are appropriate’’ after ‘‘Administration’’. 

8 SEC. 407. TRANSFER OF VESSELS TO THE NATIONAL DE9 FENSE RESERVE FLEET. 

10 Section 57101 of title 46, United States Code, is 

11 amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITY OF FEDERAL ENTITIES TO TRANS13 FER VESSELS.—All Federal entities are authorized to 

14 transfer vessels to the National Defense Reserve Fleet with15 out reimbursement subject to the approval of the Secretary 

16 of Transportation and the Secretary of the Navy with re17 spect to Ready Reserve Force vessels and the Secretary of 

18 Transportation with respect to all other vessels.’’. 

19 SEC. 408. CLARIFICATION OF HEADING. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The section designation and head21 ing for section 57103 of title 46, United States Code, is 

22 amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘§ 57103. Donation of nonretention vessels in the Na24 tional Defense Reserve Fleet’’. 

25 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chapter 

26 571 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by striking 
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1 the item relating to section 57103 and inserting the fol2 lowing: 

‘‘57103. Donation of nonretention vessels in the National Defense Reserve Fleet.’’. 

3 SEC. 409. MISSION OF THE MARITIME ADMINISTRATION. 

4 Section 109(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in the subsection heading by striking ‘‘ORGA7 NIZATION’’ and inserting ‘‘ORGANIZATION AND MIS8 SION’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The mis10 sion of the Maritime Administration is to foster, pro11 mote, and develop the merchant maritime industry of 

12 the United States.’’. 

13 SEC. 410. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO THE NATIONAL DE14 FENSE RESERVE FLEET. 

15 Subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D) of section 11(c)(1) 

16 of the Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946 (50 U.S.C. App. 

17 1744(c)(1)) are amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(B) activate and conduct sea trials on each 

19 vessel at a frequency that is considered by the 

20 Secretary to be necessary; 

21 ‘‘(C) maintain and adequately crew, as nec22 essary, in an enhanced readiness status those 

23 vessels that are scheduled to be activated in 5 or 

24 less days; 
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1 ‘‘(D) locate those vessels that are scheduled 

2 to be activated near embarkation ports specified 

3 for those vessels; and’’. 

4 SEC. 411. REQUIREMENT FOR BARGE DESIGN. 

5 Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, the Administrator of the Maritime Administra7 tion shall complete the design for a containerized, articu8 lated barge, as identified in the dual-use vessel study car9 ried out by the Administrator and the Secretary of Defense, 

10 that is able to utilize roll-on/roll-off or load-on/load-off tech11 nology in marine highway maritime commerce. 

12 SEC. 412. CONTAINER-ON-BARGE TRANSPORTATION. 

13 (a) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator of the Maritime 

14 Administration shall assess the potential for using con15 tainer-on-barge transportation in short sea transportation 

16 (as such term is defined in section 55605 of title 46, United 

17 States Code). 

18 (b) FACTORS.—In conducting the assessment under 

19 subsection (a), the Administrator shall consider— 

20 (1) the environmental benefits of increasing con21 tainer-on-barge movements in short sea transpor22 tation; 

23 (2) the regional differences in the use of short sea 

24 transportation; 
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1 (3) the existing programs established at coastal 

2 and Great Lakes ports for establishing awareness of 

3 deep sea shipping operations; 

4 (4) the mechanisms necessary to ensure that im5 plementation of a plan under subsection (c) will not 

6 be inconsistent with antitrust laws; and 

7 (5) the potential frequency of container-on-barge 

8 service at short sea transportation ports. 

9 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The assessment under sub10 section (a) may include recommendations for a plan to in11 crease awareness of the potential for use of container-on12 barge transportation. 

13 (d) DEADLINE.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

14 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 

15 the assessment required under this section to the Committee 

16 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

17 and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

18 of the House of Representatives. 

19 SEC. 413. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NATIONAL STRATEGIC 

20 PORTS STUDY AND COMPTROLLER GENERAL 

21 STUDIES AND REPORTS ON STRATEGIC 

22 PORTS. 

23 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON COMPLETION OF DOD 

24 REPORT.—It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of 

25 Defense should expedite completion of the study of strategic 
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1 ports in the United States called for in the conference report 

2 to accompany the National Defense Authorization Act for 

3 Fiscal Year 2012 (Conference Report 112–329) so that it 

4 can be submitted to Congress before July 1, 2013. 

5 (b) SUBMISSION OF REPORT TO COMPTROLLER GEN6 ERAL.—In addition to submitting the report referred to in 

7 subsection (a) to Congress, the Secretary of Defense shall 

8 submit the report to the Comptroller General of the United 

9 States for consideration under subsection (c). 

10 (c) COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDIES AND REPORTS

11 ON STRATEGIC PORTS.— 

12 (1) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEW.—Not later 

13 than 90 days after receipt of the report referred to in 

14 subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall conduct 

15 an assessment of the report and submit to the Com16 mittee on Armed Services of the House of Representa17 tives and the Committee on Armed Services of the 

18 Senate a report of such assessment. 

19 (2) COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDY AND RE20 PORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date of en21 actment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

22 conduct a study of the Department of Defense’s pro23 grams and efforts related to the state of strategic ports 

24 with respect to the Department’s operational and 

25 readiness requirements, and report to the Committee 
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1 on Armed Services of the House of Representatives 

2 and the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate 

3 on the findings of such study. The report may include 

4 an assessment of— 

5 (A) the extent to which the facilities at stra6 tegic ports meet the Department of Defense’s re7 quirements; 

8 (B) the extent to which the Department has 

9 identified gaps in the ability of existing strategic 

10 ports to meet its needs and identified and under11 taken efforts to address any gaps; and 

12 (C) the Department’s ability to oversee, co13 ordinate, and provide security for military de14 ployments through strategic ports. 

15 (d) STRATEGIC PORT DEFINED.—In this section, the 

16 term ‘‘strategic port’’ means a United States port des17 ignated by the Secretary of Defense as a significant trans18 portation hub important to the readiness and cargo 

19 throughput capacity of the Department of Defense. 

20 SEC. 414. MARITIME WORKFORCE STUDY. 

21 (a) TRAINING STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the 

22 United States shall conduct a study on the training needs 

23 of the maritime workforce. 

24 (b) STUDY COMPONENTS.—The study shall— 
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1 (1) analyze the impact of maritime training re2 quirements imposed by domestic and international 

3 regulations and conventions, companies, and govern4 ment agencies that charter or operate vessels; 

5 (2) evaluate the ability of the United States mar6 itime training infrastructure to meet the needs of the 

7 maritime industry; 

8 (3) identify trends in maritime training; 

9 (4) compare the training needs of United States 

10 mariners with the vocational training and edu11 cational assistance programs available from Federal 

12 agencies to evaluate the ability of Federal programs 

13 to meet the training needs of United States mariners; 

14 (5) include recommendations to enhance the ca15 pabilities of the United States maritime training in16 frastructure; and 

17 (6) include recommendations to assist United 

18 States mariners and those entering the maritime pro19 fession to achieve the required training. 

20 (c) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

22 submit a report on the results of the study to the Committee 

23 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

24 and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

25 of the House of Representatives. 
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1 SEC. 415. MARITIME ADMINISTRATION VESSEL RECYCLING 

2 CONTRACT AWARD PRACTICES. 

3 (a) ASSESSMENT.—The Comptroller General of the 

4 United States shall conduct an assessment of the source se5 lection procedures and practices used to award the Mari6 time Administration’s National Defense Reserve Fleet vessel 

7 recycling contracts. 

8 (b) CONTENTS.—The assessment under subsection (a) 

9 shall include a review of— 

10 (1) whether the Maritime Administration’s con11 tract source selection procedures and practices are 

12 consistent with law, including the Federal Acquisition 

13 Regulation, and Federal best practices associated with 

14 making source selection decisions; 

15 (2) the process, procedures, and practices used 

16 for the Maritime Administration’s qualification of 

17 vessel recycling facilities; and 

18 (3) any other aspect of the Maritime Adminis19 tration’s vessel recycling process that the Comptroller 

20 General deems appropriate to review. 

21 (c) FINDINGS.—Not later than one year after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall re23 port the findings of the assessment under subsection (a) to 

24 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

25 and the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and 

26 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and 
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1 the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Represent2 atives. 

3 TITLE V—PIRACY 

4 SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Piracy Suppression Act 

6 of 2012’’. 

7 SEC. 502. TRAINING FOR USE OF FORCE AGAINST PIRACY. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 517 of title 46, United 

9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘§ 51705. Training for use of force against piracy 

11 ‘‘The Secretary of Transportation, in consultation 

12 with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the de13 partment in which the Coast Guard is operating, shall cer14 tify a training curriculum for United States mariners on 

15 the use of force against pirates. The curriculum shall in16 clude— 

17 ‘‘(1) information on waters designated as high18 risk waters by the Commandant of the Coast Guard; 

19 ‘‘(2) information on current threats and patterns 

20 of attack by pirates; 

21 ‘‘(3) tactics for defense of a vessel, including in22 struction on the types, use, and limitations of security 

23 equipment; 

24 ‘‘(4) standard rules for the use of force for self25 defense as developed by the Secretary of the depart-
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1 ment in which the Coast Guard is operating under 

2 section 912(c) of the Coast Guard Authorization Act 

3 of 2010 (Public Law 111–281; 46 U.S.C. 8107 note), 

4 including instruction on firearm safety for crew5 members of vessels carrying cargo under section 

6 55305 of this title; and 

7 ‘‘(5) procedures to follow to improve crewmember 

8 survivability if captured and taken hostage by pi9 rates.’’. 

10 (b) DEADLINE.—The Secretary of Transportation shall 

11 certify the curriculum required under the amendment made 

12 by subsection (a) not later than 270 days after the date 

13 of enactment of this Act. 

14 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chapter 

15 517 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding 

16 at the end the following: 

‘‘51705. Training program for use of force against piracy.’’. 

17 SEC. 503. SECURITY OF GOVERNMENT-IMPELLED CARGO. 

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

19 amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(e) SECURITY OF GOVERNMENT-IMPELLED CARGO.— 

21 ‘‘(1) In order to ensure the safety of vessels and 

22 crewmembers transporting equipment, materials, or 

23 commodities under this section, the Secretary of 

24 Transportation shall direct each department or agen25 cy (except the Department of Defense), when respon-
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1 sible for the carriage of such equipment, materials, or 

2 commodities, to provide armed personnel aboard ves3 sels of the United States carrying such equipment, 

4 materials, or commodities if the vessels are transiting 

5 high-risk waters. 

6 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of Transportation shall direct 

7 each department or agency responsible to provide 

8 armed personnel under paragraph (1) to reimburse, 

9 subject to the availability of appropriations, the own10 ers or operators of applicable vessels for the cost of 

11 providing armed personnel. 

12 ‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘high-risk 

13 waters’ means waters so designated by the Com14 mandant of the Coast Guard in the Port Security Ad15 visory in effect on the date on which an applicable 

16 voyage begins.’’. 

17 SEC. 504. ACTIONS TAKEN TO PROTECT FOREIGN-FLAGGED 

18 VESSELS FROM PIRACY. 

19 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

20 of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with 

21 the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard 

22 is operating, shall provide to the Committee on Armed Serv23 ices and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc24 ture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

25 Armed Services and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
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1 and Transportation of the Senate a report on actions taken 

2 by the Secretary of Defense to protect foreign-flagged vessels 

3 from acts of piracy on the high seas. The report shall in4 clude— 

5 (1) the total number of incidents for each of the 

6 fiscal years 2009 through 2012 in which a member of 

7 the armed services or an asset under the control of the 

8 Secretary of Defense was used to interdict or defend 

9 against an act of piracy directed against any vessel 

10 not documented under the laws of the United States; 

11 and 

12 (2) the estimated cost for each of the fiscal years 

13 2009 through 2012 for such incidents. 

14 TITLE VI—MARINE DEBRIS 

15 SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE. 

16 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Marine Debris Act 

17 Amendments of 2012’’. 

18 SEC. 602. SHORT TITLE AMENDMENT; REFERENCES. 

19 (a) SHORT TITLE AMENDMENT.—Section 1 of the Ma20 rine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act (33 

21 U.S.C. 1951 note) is amended by striking ‘‘Research, Pre22 vention, and Reduction’’. 

23 (b) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise expressly pro24 vided, whenever in this title an amendment is expressed as 

25 an amendment to a section or other provision, the reference 
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1 shall be considered to be made to a section or other provi2 sion of the Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. 1951 et seq.), as 

3 so retitled by subsection (a) of this section. 

4 SEC. 603. PURPOSE. 

5 Section 2 (33 U.S.C. 1951) is amended to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

8 ‘‘The purpose of this Act is to address the adverse im9 pacts of marine debris on the United States economy, the 

10 marine environment, and navigation safety through the 

11 identification, determination of sources, assessment, preven12 tion, reduction, and removal of marine debris.’’. 

13 SEC. 604. NOAA MARINE DEBRIS PROGRAM. 

14 (a) NAME OF PROGRAM.—Section 3 (33 U.S.C. 1952) 

15 is amended— 

16 (1) in the section heading by striking ‘‘PREVEN17 TION AND REMOVAL’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (a)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘Prevention and Removal 

20 Program to reduce and prevent the occurrence 

21 and’’ and inserting ‘‘Program to identify, deter22 mine sources of, assess, prevent, reduce, and re23 move marine debris and address the’’; 

24 (B) by inserting ‘‘the economy of the United 

25 States,’’ after ‘‘marine debris on’’; and 
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1 (C) by inserting a comma after ‘‘environ2 ment’’. 

3 (b) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—Section 3(b) (33 U.S.C. 

4 1952(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—The Administrator, 

6 acting through the Program and subject to the availability 

7 of appropriations, shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) identify, determine sources of, assess, pre9 vent, reduce, and remove marine debris, with a focus 

10 on marine debris posing a threat to living marine re11 sources and navigation safety; 

12 ‘‘(2) provide national and regional coordination 

13 to assist States, Indian tribes, and regional organiza14 tions in the identification, determination of sources, 

15 assessment, prevention, reduction, and removal of ma16 rine debris; 

17 ‘‘(3) undertake efforts to reduce the adverse im18 pacts of lost and discarded fishing gear on living ma19 rine resources and navigation safety, including— 

20 ‘‘(A) research and development of alter21 natives to gear posing threats to the marine en22 vironment and methods for marking gear used in 

23 certain fisheries to enhance the tracking, recov24 ery, and identification of lost and discarded 

25 gear; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) the development of effective nonregula2 tory measures and incentives to cooperatively re3 duce the volume of lost and discarded fishing 

4 gear and to aid in gear recovery; 

5 ‘‘(4) undertake outreach and education activities 

6 for the public and other stakeholders on sources of 

7 marine debris, threats associated with marine debris, 

8 and approaches to identifying, determining sources of, 

9 assessing, preventing, reducing, and removing marine 

10 debris and its adverse impacts on the United States 

11 economy, the marine environment, and navigation 

12 safety, including outreach and education activities 

13 through public-private initiatives; and 

14 ‘‘(5) develop, in consultation with the Inter15 agency Committee, interagency plans for the timely 

16 response to events determined by the Administrator to 

17 be severe marine debris events, including plans to— 

18 ‘‘(A) coordinate across agencies and with 

19 relevant State, tribal, and local governments to 

20 ensure adequate, timely, and efficient response; 

21 ‘‘(B) assess the composition, volume, and 

22 trajectory of marine debris associated with a se23 vere marine debris event; and 

24 ‘‘(C) estimate the potential impacts of a se25 vere marine debris event, including economic im-
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1 pacts on human health, navigation safety, nat2 ural resources, tourism, and livestock, including 

3 aquaculture.’’. 

4 (c) GRANT CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES.—Section 3(c) 

5 (33 U.S.C. 1952(c)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘section 2(1)’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘section 2’’; 

8 (2) by striking paragraph (5); and 

9 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as 

10 paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively. 

11 (d) REPEAL.—Section 2204 of the Marine Plastic Pol12 lution Research and Control Act of 1987 (33 U.S.C. 1915), 

13 and the item relating to that section in the table of contents 

14 contained in section 2 of the United States-Japan Fishery 

15 Agreement Approval Act of 1987, are repealed. 

16 SEC. 605. REPEAL OF OBSOLETE PROVISIONS. 

17 Section 4 (33 U.S.C. 1953) is amended— 

18 (1) by striking ‘‘(a) STRATEGY.—’’; and 

19 (2) by striking subsections (b) and (c). 

20 SEC. 606. COORDINATION. 

21 (a) INTERAGENCY MARINE DEBRIS COORDINATING

22 COMMITTEE.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2203 of the Marine 

24 Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act of 1987 

25 (33 U.S.C. 1914) is redesignated and moved to re-
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1 place and appear as section 5 of the Marine Debris 

2 Act (33 U.S.C. 1954), as so retitled by section 602(a) 

3 of this title. 

4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 5 of the 

5 Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. 1954), as amended by 

6 paragraph (1) of this subsection, is further amended 

7 in subsection (d)(2)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘this Act’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘the Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Con10 trol Act of 1987’’; and 

11 (B) by inserting ‘‘of the Marine Plastic Pol12 lution Research and Control Act of 1987’’ after 

13 ‘‘section 2201’’. 

14 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The item relating 

15 to section 2203 in the table of contents contained in 

16 section 2 of the United States-Japan Fishery Agree17 ment Approval Act of 1987 is repealed. 

18 (b) BIENNIAL PROGRESS REPORTS.—Section 5(c)(2) 

19 of the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction 

20 Act (33 U.S.C. 1954(c)(2)), as in effect immediately before 

21 the enactment of this Act— 

22 (1) is redesignated and moved to appear as sub23 section (e) at the end of section 5 of the Marine De24 bris Act, as amended by subsection (a) of this section; 

25 and 
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1 (2) is amended— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘ANNUAL PROGRESS RE3 PORTS.—’’ and all that follows through ‘‘there4 after’’ and inserting ‘‘BIENNIAL PROGRESS RE5 PORTS.—Biennially’’; 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘Interagency’’ each place it 

7 appears; 

8 (C) by striking ‘‘chairperson’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘Chairperson’’; 

10 (D) by inserting ‘‘Natural’’ before ‘‘Re11 sources’’; 

12 (E) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

13 through (E) as paragraphs (1) through (5), re14 spectively; and 

15 (F) by moving all text 2 ems to the left. 

16 SEC. 607. CONFIDENTIALITY OF SUBMITTED INFORMATION. 

17 Section 6(2) (33 U.S.C. 1955(2)) is amended by strik18 ing ‘‘by the fishing industry’’. 

19 SEC. 608. DEFINITIONS. 

20 Section 7 (33 U.S.C. 1956) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘2203 of the 

22 Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act of 

23 1987 (33 U.S.C. 1914)’’ and inserting ‘‘5 of this Act’’; 

24 (2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

25 following: 
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1 ‘‘(3) MARINE DEBRIS.—The term ‘marine debris’ 

2 means any persistent solid material that is manufac3 tured or processed and directly or indirectly, inten4 tionally or unintentionally, disposed of or abandoned 

5 into the marine environment or the Great Lakes.’’; 

6 (3) by striking paragraph (5); 

7 (4) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para8 graph (5); 

9 (5) in paragraph (5), as redesignated by para10 graph (4) of this section, by striking ‘‘Prevention and 

11 Removal’’; 

12 (6) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(6) SEVERE MARINE DEBRIS EVENT.—The term 

15 ‘severe marine debris event’ means atypically large 

16 amounts of marine debris caused by a natural dis17 aster, including a tsunami, flood, landslide, or hurri18 cane, or other source.’’; and 

19 (7) by redesignating paragraph (8) as para20 graph (7). 

21 SEC. 609. SEVERE MARINE DEBRIS EVENT DETERMINATION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the National 

23 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall determine 

24 whether the March 2011, Tohoku earthquake and subsequent 

25 tsunami and the October 2012, hurricane Sandy each 
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1 caused a severe marine debris event (as that term is defined 

2 in section 7(6) of the Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. 

3 1956(6)), as amended by this Act). 

4 (b) DEADLINE.—Not later than 30 days after the date 

5 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall provide 

6 the determination required under subsection (a) to the Com7 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

8 Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infra9 structure and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

10 House of Representatives. 

11 TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS 

12 SEC. 701. DISTANT WATER TUNA FLEET. 

13 Section 421 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Trans14 portation Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–241; 120 Stat. 547) 

15 is amended— 

16 (1) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(b) LICENSING RESTRICTIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) only applies 

20 to a foreign citizen who holds a credential that is 

21 equivalent to the credential issued by the Coast Guard 

22 to a United States citizen for the position, with re23 spect to requirements for experience, training, and 

24 other qualifications. 
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1 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF CREDENTIAL.—An equiva2 lent credential under paragraph (1) shall be consid3 ered as meeting the requirements of section 8304 of 

4 title 46, United States Code, but only while a person 

5 holding the credential is in the service of the vessel to 

6 which this section applies.’’; 

7 (2) in subsection (c) by inserting ‘‘or Guam’’ be8 fore the period at the end; and 

9 (3) in subsection (d) by striking ‘‘on December 

10 31, 2012’’ and inserting ‘‘on the date the Treaty on 

11 Fisheries Between the Governments of Certain Pacific 

12 Island States and the Government of the United 

13 States of America ceases to have effect for any party 

14 under Article 12.6 or 12.7 of such treaty, as in effect 

15 on the date of enactment of the Coast Guard and 

16 Maritime Transportation Act of 2012’’. 

17 SEC. 702. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 

18 (a) STUDY OF BRIDGES.—Section 905 of the Coast 

19 Guard Authorization Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–281; 33 

20 U.S.C. 494a) is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 905. STUDY OF BRIDGES OVER NAVIGABLE WATERS. 

22 ‘‘The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall submit 

23 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor24 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation 

25 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a com-
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1 prehensive study on the construction or alteration of any 

2 bridge, drawbridge, or causeway over the navigable waters 

3 of the United States with a channel depth of 25 feet or 

4 greater that may impede or obstruct future navigation to 

5 or from port facilities and for which a permit under the 

6 Act of March 23, 1906 (33 U.S.C. 491 et seq.), popularly 

7 known as the Bridge Act of 1906, was requested during the 

8 period beginning on January 1, 2006, and ending on Au9 gust 3, 2011.’’. 

10 (b) WAIVER.—Section 7(c) of the America’s Cup Act 

11 of 2011 (125 Stat. 755) is amended by inserting ‘‘located 

12 in Ketchikan, Alaska’’ after ‘‘moorage’’. 

13 SEC. 703. EXTENSION OF MORATORIUM. 

14 Section 2(a) of Public Law 110–299 (33 U.S.C. 1342 

15 note) is amended by striking ‘‘2013’’ and inserting ‘‘2014’’. 

16 SEC. 704. NOTICE OF ARRIVAL. 

17 The regulations required under section 109(a) of the 

18 Security and Accountability For Every Port Act of 2006 

19 (33 U.S.C. 1223 note) dealing with notice of arrival re20 quirements for foreign vessels on the Outer Continental 

21 Shelf shall not apply to a vessel documented under section 

22 12105 of title 46, United States Code, unless the vessel ar23 rives from a foreign port or place. 

24 SEC. 705. WAIVERS. 

25 (a) TEXAS STAR CASINO.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

2 12113(a)(4) of title 46, United States Code, the Sec3 retary of the department in which the Coast Guard 

4 is operating may issue a certificate of documentation 

5 with a fishery endorsement for the Texas Star Casino 

6 (IMO number 7722047). 

7 (2) RESTRICTION.—Notwithstanding section 

8 12113(b)(1) of title 46, United States Code, a fishery 

9 endorsement issued under paragraph (1) is not valid 

10 for any fishery for which a fishery management plan 

11 has been approved by the Secretary of Commerce pur12 suant to section 304 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

13 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1854) 

14 before the date of enactment of this Act. 

15 (b) RANGER III.—Section 3703a of title 46, United 

16 States Code, does not apply to the passenger vessel Ranger 

17 III (United States official number 277361), during any pe18 riod that the vessel is owned and operated by the National 

19 Park Service. 

20 SEC. 706. NATIONAL RESPONSE CENTER NOTIFICATION RE21 QUIREMENTS. 

22 The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission, 

23 established pursuant to the Ohio River Valley Water Sani24 tation Compact consented to and approved by Congress in 

25 the Act of July 11, 1940 (54 Stat. 752), is deemed a Govern-
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1 ment agency for purposes of the notification requirements 

2 of section 103 of the Comprehensive Environmental Re3 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 

4 9603). The National Response Center shall convey notifica5 tion, including complete and unredacted incident reports, 

6 expeditiously to the Commission regarding each release in 

7 or affecting the Ohio River Basin for which notification to 

8 all appropriate Government agencies is required. 

9 SEC. 707. VESSEL DETERMINATIONS. 

10 The vessel with United States official number 981472 

11 and the vessel with United States official number 988333 

12 shall each be deemed to be a new vessel effective on the date 

13 of delivery after January 1, 2008, from a privately owned 

14 United States shipyard if no encumbrances are on record 

15 with the Coast Guard at the time of the issuance of the 

16 new vessel certificate of documentation for each vessel. 

17 SEC. 708. MILLE LACS LAKE, MINNESOTA. 

18 The waters of Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota, are not 

19 waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States for 

20 the purposes of section 2 of title 14, United States Code. 

21 SEC. 709. TRANSPORTATION WORKER IDENTIFICATION 

22 CREDENTIAL PROCESS REFORM. 

23 Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment 

24 of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall reform 

25 the process for Transportation Worker Identification Cre-
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1 dential enrollment, activation, issuance, and renewal to re2 quire, in total, not more than one in-person visit to a des3 ignated enrollment center except in cases in which there are 

4 extenuating circumstances, as determined by the Secretary, 

5 requiring more than one such in-person visit. 

6 SEC. 710. INVESTMENT AMOUNT. 

7 Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of 

8 this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall increase the 

9 $22,500,000 invested in income-producing securities for 

10 purposes of section 5006(b) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 

11 (33 U.S.C. 2736(b)) by $12,851,340. 

12 SEC. 711. INTEGRATED CROSS-BORDER MARITIME LAW EN13 FORCEMENT OPERATIONS BETWEEN THE 

14 UNITED STATES AND CANADA. 

15 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of Homeland Se16 curity, acting through the Commandant of the Coast Guard, 

17 may establish an Integrated Cross-Border Maritime Law 

18 Enforcement Operations Program to coordinate the mari19 time security operations of the United States and Canada 

20 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Program’’). 

21 (b) PURPOSE.—The Secretary, acting through the 

22 Commandant, shall administer the Program in a manner 

23 that results in a cooperative approach between the United 

24 States and Canada to strengthen border security and detect, 
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1 prevent, suppress, investigate, and respond to terrorism and 

2 violations of law related to border security. 

3 (c) TRAINING.—The Secretary, acting through the 

4 Commandant and in consultation with the Secretary of 

5 State, may— 

6 (1) establish, as an element of the Program, a 

7 training program for individuals who will serve as 

8 maritime law enforcement officers; and 

9 (2) conduct training jointly with Canada to en10 hance border security, including training— 

11 (A) on the detection and apprehension of 

12 suspected terrorists and individuals attempting 

13 to unlawfully cross or unlawfully use the inter14 national maritime border between the United 

15 States and Canada; 

16 (B) on the integration, analysis, and dis17 semination of port security information by and 

18 between the United States and Canada; 

19 (C) on policy, regulatory, and legal consid20 erations related to the Program; 

21 (D) on the use of force in maritime security; 

22 (E) on operational procedures and protec23 tion of sensitive information; and 

24 (F) on preparedness and response to mari25 time terrorist incidents. 
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1 (d) COORDINATION.—The Secretary, acting through 

2 the Commandant, shall coordinate the Program with other 

3 similar border security and antiterrorism programs within 

4 the Department of Homeland Security. 

5 (e) MEMORANDA OF AGREEMENT.—The Secretary may 

6 enter into any memorandum of agreement necessary to 

7 carry out the Program. 

8 SEC. 712. BRIDGE PERMITS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of reviewing a 

10 permit application pursuant to section 9 of the Act of 

11 March 3, 1899, popularly known as the Rivers and Harbors 

12 Appropriation Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 401), the Act of 

13 March 23, 1906, popularly known as the Bridge Act of 1906 

14 (33 U.S.C. 491 et seq.), the Act of June 21, 1940, popularly 

15 known as the Truman-Hobbs Act (33 U.S.C. 511 et seq.), 

16 or the General Bridge Act of 1946 (33 U.S.C. 525 et seq.), 

17 the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard 

18 is operating may— 

19 (1) accept voluntary services from one or more 

20 owners of a bridge; and 

21 (2) accept and credit to Coast Guard operating 

22 expenses any amounts received from one or more own23 ers of a bridge. 

24 (b) EXPEDITED PROCESS.—The Secretary of the de25 partment in which the Coast Guard is operating shall com-
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1 plete, on an expeditious basis and using the shortest existing 

2 applicable process, determinations on any required ap3 proval for issuance of any permits under the jurisdiction 

4 of such department related to the construction or alteration 

5 of a bridge over the Kill Van Kull consistent with Executive 

6 Order 13604 (March 22, 2012) and the Administration’s 

7 objectives for the project. 

8 SEC. 713. TONNAGE OF AQUEOS ACADIAN. 

9 The Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

10 Guard is operating may consider the tonnage measurements 

11 for the vessel Aqueos Acadian (United States official num12 ber 553645) recorded on the certificate of inspection for the 

13 vessel issued on September 8, 2011, to be valid until May 

14 2, 2014, if the vessel and the use of its space is not changed 

15 after November 16, 2012, in a way that substantially affects 

16 the tonnage of the vessel. 

17 SEC. 714. NAVIGABILITY DETERMINATION. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast 

20 Guard shall submit to the Committee on Transportation 

21 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the 

22 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

23 the Senate an assessment of the impact of additional regu24 latory requirements imposed on passenger vessels operating 
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1 on the Ringo Cocke Canal in Louisiana as a result of the 

2 covered navigability determination. 

3 (b) RESTRICTION.—Before the date that is 180 days 

4 after the date on which the assessment required under sub5 section (a) is submitted, the Commandant may not enforce 

6 any regulatory requirements imposed on passenger vessels 

7 operating on the Ringo Cocke Canal in Louisiana that are 

8 a result of the covered navigability determination. 

9 (c) COVERED NAVIGABILITY DETERMINATION DE10 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘covered navigability de11 termination’’ means the Coast Guard’s Navigability Deter12 mination for Ringo Cocke Canal, Louisiana, dated March 

13 25, 2010. 

14 SEC. 715. COAST GUARD HOUSING. 

15 Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of 

16 this Act, the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall submit 

17 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor18 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation 

19 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives the 

20 Coast Guard’s National Housing Assessment and any anal21 ysis conducted by the Coast Guard of such assessment. 
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1 SEC. 716. ASSESSMENT OF NEEDS FOR ADDITIONAL COAST 

2 GUARD PRESENCE IN HIGH-LATITUDE RE3 GIONS. 

4 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

5 of this Act, the Secretary of the department in which the 

6 Coast Guard is operating shall submit to the Committee 

7 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

8 and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

9 of the House of Representatives an assessment of the need 

10 for additional Coast Guard prevention and response capa11 bility in the high-latitude regions. The assessment shall ad12 dress needs for all Coast Guard mission areas, including 

13 search and rescue, marine pollution response and preven14 tion, fisheries enforcement, and maritime commerce. The 

15 Secretary shall include in the assessment— 

16 (1) an analysis of the high-latitude operating ca17 pabilities of all current Coast Guard assets other than 

18 icebreakers, including assets acquired under the Deep19 water program; 

20 (2) an analysis of projected needs for Coast 

21 Guard operations in the high-latitude regions; and 

22 (3) an analysis of shore infrastructure, per23 sonnel, logistics, communications, and resources re24 quirements to support Coast Guard operations in the 

25 high-latitude regions, including forward operating 

26 bases and existing infrastructure in the furthest north 
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1 locations that are ice free, or nearly ice free, year 

2 round. 

3 SEC. 717. POTENTIAL PLACE OF REFUGE. 

4 (a) CONSULTATION.—Not later than 1 year after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast 

6 Guard shall consult with appropriate Federal agencies and 

7 with State and local interests to determine what improve8 ments, if any, are necessary to designate existing ice-free 

9 facilities or infrastructure in the Central Bering Sea as a 

10 fully functional, year-round Potential Place of Refuge. 

11 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the consultation 

12 under subsection (a) shall be to enhance safety of human 

13 life at sea and protect the marine environment in the Cen14 tral Bering Sea. 

15 (c) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION.—Not later than 90 

16 days after making the determination under subsection (a), 

17 the Commandant shall inform 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 in writing of the findings under sub21 section (a). 

22 SEC. 718. MERCHANT MARINER MEDICAL EVALUATION PRO23 GRAM. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast 
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1 Guard shall submit to the Committee on Transportation 

2 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the 

3 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

4 the Senate an assessment of the Coast Guard National Mar5 itime Center’s merchant mariner medical evaluation pro6 gram and alternatives to the program. 

7 (b) CONTENTS.—The assessment required under sub8 section (a) shall include the following: 

9 (1) An overview of the adequacy of the program 

10 for making medical certification determinations for 

11 issuance of merchant mariners’ documents. 

12 (2) An analysis of how a system similar to the 

13 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Na14 tional Registry of Certified Medical Examiners pro15 gram, and the Federal Aviation Administration’s 

16 Designated Aviation Medical Examiners program, 

17 could be applied by the Coast Guard in making med18 ical fitness determinations for issuance of merchant 

19 mariners’ documents. 

20 (3) An explanation of how the amendments to 

21 the International Convention on Standards of Train22 ing, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 

23 1978, that entered into force on January 1, 2012, re24 quired changes to the Coast Guard’s merchant mar25 iner medical evaluation program. 
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1 SEC. 719. DETERMINATIONS. 

2 Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Secretary of the department in which the 

4 Coast Guard is operating shall provide to the Committee 

5 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep6 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

7 Transportation of the Senate an assessment of— 

8 (1) the loss of United States shipyard jobs and 

9 industrial base expertise as a result of rebuild, conver10 sion, and double-hull work on United States-flag ves11 sels eligible to engage in the coastwise trade being per12 formed in foreign shipyards; 

13 (2) enforcement of the Coast Guard’s foreign re14 build determination regulations; and 

15 (3) recommendations for improving trans16 parency in the Coast Guard’s foreign rebuild deter17 mination process. 

18 SEC. 720. IMPEDIMENTS TO THE UNITED STATES-FLAG REG19 ISTRY. 

20 (a) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 180 days after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast 

22 Guard shall submit to the Committee on Transportation 

23 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the 

24 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

25 the Senate an assessment of factors under the authority of 

26 the Coast Guard that impact the ability of vessels docu-
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1 mented in the United States to effectively compete in inter2 national transportation markets. 

3 (b) CONTENT.—The assessment under subsection (a) 

4 shall include— 

5 (1) a review of differences between Coast Guard 

6 policies and regulations governing the inspection of 

7 vessels documented in the United States and Inter8 national Maritime Organization policies and regula9 tions governing the inspection of vessels not docu10 mented in the United States; 

11 (2) a statement on the impact such differences 

12 have on operating costs for vessels documented in the 

13 United States; and 

14 (3) recommendations on whether to harmonize 

15 any such differences. 

16 (c) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the assessment 

17 under subsection (a), the Commandant may consider the 

18 views of representatives of the owners or operators of vessels 

19 documented in the United States and the organizations rep20 resenting the employees employed on such vessels. 

21 SEC. 721. ARCTIC DEEPWATER SEAPORT. 

22 (a) STUDY.—The Commandant of the Coast Guard, in 

23 consultation with the Commanding General of the Army 

24 Corps of Engineers, the Maritime Administrator, and the 

25 Chief of Naval Operations, shall conduct a study on the fea-
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1 sibility of establishing a deepwater seaport in the Arctic 

2 to protect and advance strategic United States interests 

3 within the Arctic region. 

4 (b) SCOPE.—The study under subsection (a) shall in5 clude an analysis of— 

6 (1) the capability provided by a deepwater sea7 port that— 

8 (A) is in the Arctic (as that term is defined 

9 in the section 112 of the Arctic Research and 

10 Policy Act of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 4111)); and 

11 (B) has a depth of not less than 34 feet; 

12 (2) the potential and optimum locations for such 

13 deepwater seaport; 

14 (3) the resources needed to establish such deep15 water seaport; 

16 (4) the timeframe needed to establish such deep17 water seaport; 

18 (5) the infrastructure required to support such 

19 deepwater seaport; and 

20 (6) any other issues the Secretary considers nec21 essary to complete the study. 

22 (c) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF FINDINGS.—Not 

23 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

24 the Commandant shall submit the findings of the study 

25 under subsection (a) to the Committee on Commerce, 
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1 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com2 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

3 of Representatives. 

4 SEC. 722. RISK ASSESSMENT OF TRANSPORTING CANADIAN 

5 OIL SANDS. 

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

7 Guard shall assess the increased vessel traffic in the Salish 

8 Sea (including Puget Sound, the Strait of Georgia, Haro 

9 Strait, Rosario Strait, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca), 

10 that may occur from the transport of Canadian oil sands 

11 oil. 

12 (b) SCOPE.—The assessment required under subsection 

13 (a) shall, at a minimum, consider— 

14 (1) the extent to which vessel (including barge, 

15 tanker, and supertanker) traffic may increase due to 

16 Canadian oil sands development; 

17 (2) whether the transport of oil from Canadian 

18 oil sands within the Salish Sea is likely to require 

19 navigation through United States territorial waters; 

20 (3) the rules or regulations that restrict super21 tanker traffic in United States waters, including an 

22 assessment of whether there are methods to bypass 

23 those rules or regulations in such waters and adjacent 

24 Canadian waters; 
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1 (4) the rules or regulations that restrict the 

2 amount of oil transported in tankers or barges in 

3 United States waters, including an assessment of 

4 whether there are methods to bypass those rules or 

5 regulations in such waters and adjacent Canadian 

6 waters; 

7 (5) the spill response capability throughout the 

8 shared waters of the United States and Canada, in9 cluding oil spill response planning requirements for 

10 vessels bound for one nation transiting through the 

11 waters of the other nation; 

12 (6) the vessel emergency response towing capa13 bility at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca; 

14 (7) the agreement between the United States and 

15 Canada that outlines requirements for laden tank ves16 sels to be escorted by tug boats; 

17 (8) whether oil extracted from oil sands has dif18 ferent properties from other types of oil, including 

19 toxicity and other properties, that may require dif20 ferent maritime clean up technologies; 

21 (9) a risk assessment of the increasing super22 tanker, tanker, and barge traffic associated with Ca23 nadian oil sands development or expected to be associ24 ated with Canadian oil sands development; and 
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1 (10) the potential costs and benefits to the 

2 United States public and the private sector of mari3 time transportation of oil sands products. 

4 (c) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.—In conducting the 

5 assessment required under this section, the Commandant 

6 shall consult with the State of Washington, affected tribal 

7 governments, and industry, including vessel operators, oil 

8 sands producers, and spill response experts. The Com9 mandant may consult with the Secretary of State. 

10 (d) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION.—Not later than 180 

11 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Com12 mandant shall submit the assessment required under this 

13 section to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans14 portation of the Senate and the Committee on Transpor15 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 
112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H.R. 2838 

HOUSE AMENDMENT TO 

SENATE AMENDMENTS