I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7515 
To amend title 46, United States Code, to authorize maritime transportation 
emergency relief, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 9, 2020 
Mr. DEFAZIO (for himself and Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend title 46, United States Code, to authorize mari-
time transportation emergency relief, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Maritime Transpor-
tation System Emergency Relief Act of 2020’’. 
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SEC. 2. MARITIME TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM EMERGENCY 
RELIEF PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 503 of title 46, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 50308. Maritime transportation system emergency 
relief program 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section the following 
definitions shall apply: 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE STATE ENTITY.—The term ‘eli-
gible State entity’ means a port authority, or a 
State-owned or -operated vessel and facilities associ-
ated with the operation of such vessel, in any State. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means a public or private entity that is created 
or organized in the United States or under the laws 
of the United States, with significant operations in 
and a majority of its employees based in the United 
States, that is engaged in— 
‘‘(A) vessel construction, transportation by 
water, or support activities for transportation 
by water with an assigned North American In-
dustry Classification System code beginning 
with 3366, 483, or 4883; or 
‘‘(B) as determined by the Secretary of 
Transportation— 
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‘‘(i) construction related to activities 
described in subparagraph (A); or 
‘‘(ii) maritime education and training. 
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE OPERATING COSTS.—The term 
‘eligible operating costs’ means costs relating to— 
‘‘(A) emergency response; 
‘‘(B) cleaning; 
‘‘(C) sanitization; 
‘‘(D) janitorial services; 
‘‘(E) staffing; 
‘‘(F) workforce retention; 
‘‘(G) paid leave; 
‘‘(H) procurement and use of protective 
health equipment and training for employees 
and contractors; 
‘‘(I) debt service payments; 
‘‘(J) infrastructure repair projects; and 
‘‘(K) other maritime transportation system 
operations; 
‘‘(4) 
EMERGENCY.—The 
term 
‘emergency’ 
means a natural disaster affecting a wide area (such 
as a flood, hurricane, tidal wave, earthquake, severe 
storm, or landslide) or a catastrophic failure from 
any external cause, that impacts the United States 
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maritime transportation system and as a result of 
which— 
‘‘(A) the Governor of a State has declared 
an emergency and the Maritime Administrator, 
in consultation with the Administrator of the 
Federal Emergency Management Administra-
tion, has concurred in the declaration; 
‘‘(B) the President has declared a major 
disaster under section 401 of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170); 
‘‘(C) national emergency declared by the 
President under the National Emergencies Act 
(50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is in effect; or 
‘‘(D) a public health emergency declared 
pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) is in effect. 
‘‘(b) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Maritime Admin-
istrator may— 
‘‘(1) make grants to eligible State entities for 
eligible operating costs; and 
‘‘(2) make grants and enter into contracts and 
other agreements with eligible entities for— 
‘‘(A) the costs of capital projects to pro-
tect, repair, reconstruct, or replace equipment 
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and facilities of the United States maritime 
transportation system that the Maritime Ad-
ministrator determines is in danger of suffering 
serious damage, or has suffered serious dam-
age, as a result of an emergency; and 
‘‘(B) eligible operating costs of United 
States maritime transportation equipment and 
facilities in an area directly affected by an 
emergency during— 
‘‘(i) the 1-year period beginning on 
the date of a declaration described in sub-
sections (a)(4)(A) and (a)(4)(B); and 
‘‘(ii) an additional 1-year period be-
ginning 1 year after the date of a declara-
tion described in subsection (a)(4)(B), if 
the Maritime Administrator, in consulta-
tion with the Administrator of the Federal 
Emergency Management Administration, 
determines there is a compelling need aris-
ing out of the emergency for which the 
declaration is made. 
‘‘(c) ALLOCATION.—The Maritime Administrator 
shall determine an appropriate method for the equitable 
allocation and distribution of funds under this section to 
eligible State entities and eligible entities. 
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