I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2150

To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1994 for the United States Coast

Guard, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 19, 1993

Mr. TAUZIN (for himself, Mr. STUDDS, Mr. COBLE, and Mr. FIELDS of Texas)

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on

Merchant Marine and Fisheries

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1994 for the

United States Coast Guard, and for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Coast Guard Author5 ization Act of 1993’’.

6 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION

7 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

8 Funds are authorized to be appropriated for nec9 essary expenses of the Coast Guard for fiscal year 1994,

10 as follows:
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1 (a) For the operation and maintenance of the Coast

2 Guard, $2,612,497,000 of which $25,000,000 shall be de3 rived from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, and of which

4 $35,000,000 shall be expended from the Boat Safety

5 Account.

6 (b) For the acquisition, construction, rebuilding and

7 improvement of aids to navigation, shore and offshore fa8 cilities, vessels, and aircraft, including equipment related

9 thereto, $417,030,000, to remain available until expended,

10 of which $23,030,000 shall be derived from the Oil Spill

11 Liability Trust Fund.

12 (c) For research, development, test, and evaluation,

13 in support of search and rescue, aids to navigation, marine

14 safety, marine environmental protection, enforcement of

15 laws and treaties, ice operations, and defense readiness,

16 $25,000,000, to remain available until expended, of which

17 $4,457,000, shall be derived from the Oil Spill Liability

18 Trust Fund.

19 (d) For retired pay (including the payment of obliga20 tions otherwise chargeable to lapsed appropriations for

21 this purpose), payments under the Retired Serviceman’s

22 Family Protection and Survivor Benefit Plans, and pay23 ments for medical care of retired personnel and their de24 pendents under chapter 55 of title 10, United States Code,

25 $548,774,000.
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1 (e) For alteration or removal of bridges over navi2 gable waters of the United States constituting obstruc3 tions to navigation associated with the Bridge Alteration

4 Program, $12,940,000, to remain available until ex5 pended.

6 (f) For environmental compliance and restoration at

7 Coast Guard facilities, $23,057,000, to remain available

8 until expended.

9 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZED LEVELS OF MILITARY STRENGTH

10 AND TRAINING.

11 (a) As of September 30, 1994, the Coast Guard is

12 authorized an end-of-year strength for active duty person13 nel of 39,138. The authorized strength does not include

14 members of the Ready Reserve called to active duty for

15 special or emergency augmentation of regular Coast

16 Guard forces for periods of one hundred and eighty days

17 or less.

18 (b) For fiscal year 1994, the Coast Guard is author19 ized average military training student loads as follows:

20 (1) For recruit and special training, 1,986 stu21 dent years.

22 (2) For flight training, 114 student years.

23 (3) For professional training in military and ci24 vilian institutions, 338 student years.

25 (4) For officer acquisition, 955 student years.
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1 TITLE II—PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

2 IMPROVEMENT

3 SEC. 201. CEILING ON OFFICER CORPS.

4 Subsection (a) of section 42 of title 14, United States

5 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘6,000’’ and inserting

6 ‘‘6,200’’.

7 SEC. 202. VOLUNTEER SERVICES.

8 Section 93 of title 14, United States Code, is amend9 ed by—

10 (1) striking the word ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub11 section (r);

12 (2) striking the period at the end of subsection

13 (s) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

14 (3) adding the following new subsection:

15 ‘‘(t)(1) notwithstanding any other provision of law,

16 enter into cooperative agreements, with States, local gov17 ernments, nongovernmental organizations, and individ18 uals, to accept and utilize voluntary services for the main19 tenance and improvement of natural and historic resources

20 on, or to benefit natural and historic research on, Coast

21 Guard facilities.

22 (2) A cooperative agreement under this subsection

23 shall provide for the parties to contribute funds or services

24 on a matching basis to defray the costs of such programs,

25 projects, and activities under the agreement.
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1 SEC. 203. RESERVE RETENTION BOARDS.

2 Section 741(a) of title 14, United States Code, is

3 amended by—

4 (1) deleting at the end of the first sentence the

5 following, ‘‘and are not on active duty and not on an

6 approved list of selectees for promotion to the next

7 higher grade’’ and inserting’’, except those officers

8 who—

9 ‘‘(A) are on extended active duty;

10 ‘‘(B) are on a list of selectees for pro11 motion;

12 ‘‘(C) will complete 30 years total commis13 sioned service by June 30th following the date

14 that the retention board is convened; or

15 ‘‘(D) have reached age 59 by the date on

16 which the retention board is convened’’.

17 (2) in the third sentence of subsection (a) in18 serting ‘‘(b)’’ before ‘‘This board shall—’’.

19 (3) Redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as

20 subsections (c) and (d), respectively.

21 SEC. 204. BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

22 DEADLINE.

23 (a) Ten months after a complete application for cor24 rection of military records is received by the Board for

25 Correction of Military Records of the Coast Guard, admin-
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1 istrative remedies are deemed to have been exhausted,

2 and—

3 (1) if the Board has received a recommended

4 decision, its recommendation shall be final agency

5 action and not subject to further review or approval

6 within the Department of Transportation; or

7 (2) if the Board has not rendered a rec8 ommended decision, agency action is deemed to have

9 been unreasonably delayed or withheld and the ap10 plicant is entitled to—

11 (A) an order directing final action be taken

12 within thirty days from the date the order is

13 entered; and

14 (B) the costs of obtaining the order, in15 cluding a reasonable attorney’s fee.

16 (b) the ten-month deadline established in section 212

17 of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1989, Public Law

18 101–225, 103 Stat. 1914, is mandatory, and applies to

19 any application pending before the Board or the Secretary

20 of Transportation on June 12, 1990.

21 SEC. 205. CONTINUITY OF GRADE OF ADMIRALS AND VICE

22 ADMIRALS.

23 (a) Section 46(a) of title 14, United States Code, is

24 amended to read as follows—
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1 ‘‘(a) Any Commandant who is not reappointed shall

2 be retired with the grade of admiral at the expiration of

3 the appointed term, except as provided in subsection 51(d)

4 of this title’’.

5 (b) Section 47 of title 14, United States Code, is

6 amended—

7 (1) by deleting ‘‘; retirement’’ from the title of

8 the section;

9 (2) in subsection (a) by deleting ‘‘(a)’’ at the

10 beginning thereof, and by striking the last sentence

11 and substituting ‘‘The appointment and grade of a

12 Vice Commandant shall be effective on the date the

13 officer assumes that duty, and shall terminate on

14 the date the officer is detached from that duty, ex15 cept as provided in subsection 51(d) of this title.’’;

16 and

17 (3) by striking subsections (b), (c), and (d).

18 (c) Section 50(b) of title 14, United States Code, is

19 amended by striking the last sentence and inserting ‘‘The

20 appointment and grade of an area commander shall be ef21 fective on the date the officer assumes that duty, and shall

22 terminate on the date the officer is detached from that

23 duty, except as provided in subsection 51(d) of this title.’’

24 (d) Section 51 of title 14, United States Code, is

25 amended by adding the following new subsection:
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1 ‘‘(d) An officer serving in the grade of admiral or vice

2 admiral shall continue to hold that grade—

3 ‘‘(1) while being processed for physical disabil4 ity retirement, beginning on the day of the process5 ing and ending on the day that officer is retired, but

6 not for more than one hundred and eighty days; and

7 ‘‘(2) while awaiting retirement, beginning on

8 the day that officer is relieved from the position of

9 Commandant, Area Commander, or Chief of Staff

10 and ending on the day before the officer’s retire11 ment, but not more than sixty days.’’.

12 SEC. 206. CHIEF OF STAFF.

13 (a) Section 41a(b) of title 14, United States Code,

14 is amended by striking ‘‘, except that the rear admiral

15 serving as Chief of Staff shall be the senior rear admiral

16 for all purposes other than pay’’ at the end of the first

17 sentence;

18 (b) Section 50a of title 14 is enacted to read as fol19 lows—

20 ‘‘§ 50a. Chief of Staff

21 ‘‘(a) The President may appoint, by and with the ad22 vice and consent of the Senate, a Chief of Staff of the

23 Coast Guard who shall rank next after the area command24 ers and who shall perform such duties as the Commandant

25 may prescribe. The Chief of Staff shall be appointed from
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1 the officers on the active duty promotion list serving above

2 the grade of captain. The Commandant shall make rec3 ommendations for such appointment.

4 ‘‘(b) The Chief of Staff, shall, while so serving, have

5 the grade of vice admiral with the pay and allowances of

6 that grade. The appointment and grade of the Chief of

7 Staff shall be effective on the date the officer assumes that

8 duty, and shall terminate on the date the officer is de9 tached from that duty, except as provided in subsection

10 51(d) of this title.’’.

11 (c) Section 51 of title 14, United States Code, is

12 amended—

13 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘as Com14 mander, Atlantic Area, or Commander, Pacific

15 Area’’ and inserting ‘‘in the grade of vice admiral’’;

16 (2) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘as Com17 mander, Atlantic Area, or Commander, Pacific

18 Area’’ and inserting ‘‘in the grade of vice admiral’’;

19 and

20 (d) Section 290 of title 14, United States Code, is

21 amended—

22 (1) in subsection (a) by striking the words ‘‘or

23 in the position of Chief of Staff’’ in the second sen24 tence;
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1 (2) in paragraph (f)(1) by striking the words

2 ‘‘Chief of Staff or’’; and

3 (3) in paragraph (f)(2) by striking the words

4 ‘‘Chief of Staff or’’.

5 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS SECTIONS

6 SEC. 301. NORTH ATLANTIC ROUTES.

7 Sections 3 and 5 of the Act of June 25, 1936, (49

8 Stat. 1922, 46 App. U.S.C. 738b and 738d), are repealed.

9 SEC. 302. COAST GUARD FAMILY HOUSING.

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

11 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow12 ing new section:

13 ‘‘SEC. 670. PROCUREMENT AUTHORITY FOR FAMILY HOUS14 ING.

15 ‘‘(A) The Secretary is authorized—

16 ‘‘(1) to acquire, subject to the availability of ap17 propriations sufficient to cover its full obligations,

18 real property or interests therein by purchase, lease

19 for a term not to exceed five years, or otherwise, for

20 use as Coast Guard family housing units, including

21 the acquisition of condominium units, which may in22 clude the obligation to pay maintenance, repair, and

23 other condominium related fees; and

24 ‘‘(2) to dispose of by sale, lease, or otherwise,

25 any real property or interest therein used for Coast
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1 Guard family housing units for adequate consider2 ation.

3 ‘‘(b)(1) For the purposes of this section, a multiyear

4 contract is a contract to lease Coast Guard family housing

5 units for at least one, but not more than five, fiscal years.

6 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may enter into multiyear con7 tracts under subsection (a) of this section whenever the

8 Coast Guard finds that—

9 ‘‘(A) the use of a contract will promote the effi10 ciency of the Coast Guard family housing program

11 and will result in reduced total costs under the con12 tract; and

13 ‘‘(B) there are realistic estimates of both the

14 cost of the contract and the anticipated cost avoid15 ance through the use of a multiyear contract.

16 ‘‘(3) A multiyear contract authorized under sub17 section (a) of this section shall contain cancellation and

18 termination provisions to the extent necessary to protect

19 the best interests of the United States, and may include

20 consideration of both recurring and nonrecurring costs.

21 The contract may provide for a cancellation payment to

22 be made. Amounts that were originally obligated for the

23 cost of the contract may be used for cancellation or termi24 nation costs.
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1 SEC. 303. AIR STATION CAPE CODE IMPROVEMENTS.

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

3 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow4 ing new section:

5 ‘‘SEC. 671. AIR STATION CAPE COD IMPROVEMENTS.

6 ‘‘The Secretary may spend or obligate appropriate

7 funds for the repair, improvement, restoration, or replace8 ment of those federally or nonfederally owned support

9 buildings, including appurtenances, which are on leased or

10 permitted real property constituting Coast Guard Air Sta11 tion Cape Cod, located on Massachusetts Military Res12 ervation, Cape Cod Massachusetts.’’.

13 SEC. 304. LONG-TERM LEASE AUTHORITY FOR AIDS TO

14 NAVIGATION.

15 (a) Chapter 17 of title 14, United States Code, is

16 amended by adding at the end the following new section:

17 ‘‘SEC. 672. LONG-TERM LEASE AUTHORITY FOR NAVIGA18 TION AND COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS

19 SITES.

20 ‘‘(a) The Secretary is authorized, subject to the avail21 ability of appropriations, to enter into lease agreements

22 to acquire real property or interests therein for a term

23 not to exceed twenty years, inclusive of any automatic re24 newal clauses, for aids to navigation (hereafter referred

25 to as ATON) sites, vessel traffic service (hereafter re26 ferred to as VTS) sensor sites, or National Distress Sys-
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1 tem (hereafter referred to as NDS) high level antenna

2 sites. These lease agreements shall include cancellation

3 and termination provisions to the extent necessary to pro4 tect the best interests of the United States. Cancellation

5 payment provisions may include consideration of both re6 curring and nonrecurring costs associated with the real

7 property interests under the contract. These lease agree8 ments may provide for a cancellation payment to be made.

9 Amounts that were originally obligated for the cost of the

10 contract may be used for cancellation or termination costs.

11 ‘‘(b) The Secretary may enter into multiyear lease

12 agreements under subsection (a) of this section whenever

13 the Secretary finds that—

14 ‘‘(A) the use of such a lease agreement will pro15 mote the efficiency of the ATON, VTS, or NDS pro16 grams and will result in reduced total costs under

17 the agreement;

18 ‘‘(B) the minimum need for the real property or

19 interest therein to be leased is expected to remain

20 substantially unchanged during the contemplated

21 lease period; and

22 ‘‘(C) the estimates of both the cost of the lease

23 and the anticipated cost avoidance through the use

24 of a multiyear lease are realistic.
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1 SEC. 305. AUTHORITY FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

2 GRANTS.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 9 of title 14, United

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow5 ing new section:

6 ‘‘SEC. 196. PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL, STATE, OR OTHER

7 EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH GRANTS.

8 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

9 United States Coast Guard Academy may compete for and

10 accept Federal, State, or other educational research

11 grants, subject to the following limitations:

12 ‘‘(1) No award may be accepted for the acquisi13 tion or construction of facilities; and

14 ‘‘(2) No award may be accepted for the routine

15 functions of the Academy.’’.

16 SEC. 306. PREPOSITIONED OIL SPILL CLEANUP EQUIP17 MENT.

18 The Secretary of Transportation is authorized to ex19 pend out of amounts appropriated for acquisition, con20 struction, and improvement that are derived from the Oil

21 Spill Liability Trust Fund in fiscal year 1994;

22 (1) $890,000 to acquire and preposition oil spill

23 response equipment at Port Arthur, Texas, and

24 (2) $890,000 to acquire and preposition oil spill

25 response equipment at Helena, Arkansas, subject to
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1 the Secretary determining that adequate storage and

2 maintenance facilities are available.

3 SEC. 307. SHORE FACILITIES IMPROVEMENTS AT COAST

4 GUARD STATION, LITTLE CREEK, VIRGINIA.

5 (a) The Secretary of Transportation, subject to the

6 availability of appropriations, may construct at Coast

7 Guard Station, Little Creek, Virginia—

8 (1) a two-story station building with oper9 ational, administrative, and living spaces;

10 (2) a one hundred eighty-foot long pier for

11 Coast Guard patrol boats;

12 (3) a boat ramp; and

13 (4) strengthen a waterfront bulkhead.

14 (b) Funds necessary to carry out this section are au15 thorized to be appropriated in fiscal years 1994, 1995, and

16 1996.

17 SEC. 308. OIL SPILL TRAINING SIMULATOR.

18 The Secretary of Transportation is authorized to ex19 pend out of the amounts appropriated for acquisition, con20 struction, improvement that are derived from the Oil Spill

21 Liability Trust Fund not more than $1,250,000 to the

22 New York Maritime College of the State of New York to

23 purchase a marine oil spill management simulator in fiscal

24 year 1994.
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1 SEC. 309. GULF OF MEXICO REGIONAL FISHERIES LAW EN2 FORCEMENT TRAINING CENTER.

3 The Coast Guard shall establish the Gulf of Mexico

4 Regional Fisheries Law Enforcement Training Center in

5 the Eighth Coast Guard District in southeastern Louisi6 ana. The purpose of the Gulf of Mexico Regional Fisheries

7 Law Enforcement Training Center shall be to increase the

8 skills and training of Coast Guard fisheries law enforce9 ment personnel and to insure that such training considers

10 and meets the unique and complex needs and demands

11 of the fisheries of the Gulf of Mexico

12 SEC. 310. OIL SPILL PREVENTION AND RESPONSE TECH13 NOLOGY TEST AND EVALUATION PROGRAM.

14 (a) Not later than than six months after the date of

15 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation

16 shall establish a program to evaluate the technological fea17 sibility and environmental benefits of having tank vessels

18 carry oil spill prevention and response technology. To im19 plement the program the Secretary shall:

20 (1) publish in the Federal Register an invita21 tion for submission of proposals including plans and

22 procedures for testing; and

23 (2) review and evaluate technology using to the

24 maximum extent possible, existing evaluation and

25 performance standards.
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1 (b) the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent pos2 sible, incorporate in the program established in subsection

3 (a), the results of existing studies and evaluations of oil

4 spill prevention and response technology carried on tank

5 vessels.

6 (c) Not later than two years after the date of the

7 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall evaluate the re8 sults of the program established in subsection (a) and sub9 mit a report to Congress with recommendations on the

10 feasibility and environmental benefits of requiring tank

11 vessels to carry oil spill prevention and response equip12 ment.

13 (d) Not latter than six months after the date of the

14 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall evaluate and

15 report to Congress on the feasibility of using segregated

16 ballast tanks for emergency storage of recovered oil.

17 SEC. 311. UNMANNED SEAGOING BARGES

18 Section 3302 of title 46, United States Code, is

19 amended by adding a new subsection (m) at the end to

20 read as follows:

21 ‘‘(m) A seagoing barge is not subject to inspection

22 under section 3301 of this title if the vessel is—

23 (1) unmanned; and

24 (2) does not carry oil in bulk or a reportable or

25 harmful quantity of a hazardous material.’’.
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