compensation for the decedent’s pain and suf-
fering, and may include punitive damages if the 
death resulted from gross negligence or willful 
misconduct of the defendant.’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In 
this section, the term ‘nonpecuniary loss’ means 
loss of care, comfort, and companionship.’’; and 
(3) in section 30306, by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before 
the first sentence, and by adding at the end of the 
section the following: 
‘‘(b) RESTRICTION ON RECOVERY BY NONCITIZEN 
AND NONRESIDENT ALIEN WORKERS
FOR INCIDENTS 
ARISING DURING INTERNATIONAL VOYAGES OF FOREIGN 
VESSELS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), a civil action for maintenance and cure 
for damages for personal injury or death may not be 
brought under a maritime law of the United States 
if— 
‘‘(A) the individual suffering the injury or 
death was not a citizen or permanent resident 
alien of the United States at the time of the in-
cident giving rise to the action; and 
‘‘(B) the incident occurred during an inter-
national voyage of a vessel, duly registered 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
20:13 Jul 07, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5676.IH
H5676
hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
under the laws of a foreign nation, upon which 
the individual suffering the injury or death was 
employed. 
‘‘(2) NONAPPLICATION.—Paragraph (1) does 
not apply if the individual bringing the action estab-
lishes that a remedy is not available under the laws 
of— 
‘‘(A) the country in which the vessel is reg-
istered; or 
‘‘(B) the country in which the individual 
suffering the injury or death maintained citi-
zenship or residency at the time of the inci-
dent.’’. 
SEC. 7. REQUIREMENT FOR REDUNDANCY IN RESPONSE 
PLANS. 
(a) REQUIREMENT.—Section 311(j)(5)(D) of the 
Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 
1331(j)(5)(D)) is amended by redesignating clauses (v) 
and (vi) as clauses (vii) and (viii), and by inserting after 
clause (iv) the following new clauses: 
‘‘(v) include redundancies that specify 
response actions that will be taken if other 
response actions specified in the plan fail; 
‘‘(vi) be vetted by impartial experts;’’. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
20:13 Jul 07, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5676.IH
H5676
hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
(b) CONDITION OF PERMIT.—The Outer Continental 
Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 32. RESPONSE PLAN REQUIRED FOR PERMIT OR LI-
CENSE AUTHORIZING DRILLING FOR OIL AND 
GAS. 
‘‘The Secretary may not issue any license or permit 
authorizing drilling for oil and gas on the outer Conti-
nental Shelf unless the applicant for the license or permit 
has a response plan approved under section 311(j)(5)(D) 
of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 
1331(j)(5)(D)) for the vessel or facility that will be used 
to conduct such drilling.’’. 
SEC. 8. SUSPENSION OF DRILLING PERMIT FOR EXCESSIVE 
OSHA OR OTHER SAFETY VIOLATIONS. 
Section 5(a)(1)(B) of the Outer Continental Shelf 
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1334(a)(1)(B)) is amended by in-
serting after ‘‘human environment’’ the following: ‘‘, in-
cluding in any case in which 5 or more violations of the 
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 
651 et seq.), the regulations under that Act, or other safe-
ty laws or regulations occur in operations under the lease 
or permit within a 1-year period’’. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
20:13 Jul 07, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5676.IH
H5676
hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
SEC. 9. PROCESSING OF CLAIMS BY RESPONSIBLE PAR-
TIES. 
Section 1013 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 
U.S.C. 2713) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(g) PROCESSING OF CLAIMS BY RESPONSIBLE PAR-
TIES.—In processing claims under this section for loss of 
income, a responsible party shall— 
‘‘(1) consider claims for loss of income accord-
ing to categories of business of the claimants; 
‘‘(2) make determinations based on the unique 
practices within each category; and 
‘‘(3) treat fisherman as a separate category.’’. 
SEC. 10. CLASS ACTION FAIRNESS ACT. 
Title 28, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in section 1711(2), by inserting ‘‘, but does 
not include an action brought by a State or subdivi-
sion of a State on behalf of its citizens’’ before the 
period; and 
(2) in section 1332(d)(1)(B), by inserting ‘‘, 
but does not include an action brought by a State 
or subdivision of a State on behalf of its citizens’’ 
before the semicolon. 
SEC. 11. MULTI-PARTY LITIGATION. 
Section 1407 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
20:13 Jul 07, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5676.IH
H5676
hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(i) This section does not apply to any action— 
‘‘(1) under chapter 301 of title 46, United 
States Code (commonly called the Jones Act); 
‘‘(2) under the Death on the High Seas Act 
(chapter 303 of title 46, United States Code); or 
‘‘(3) brought by a State or a subdivision of a 
State on behalf of its citizens.’’. 
SEC. 12. INDEPENDENT CLAIMS SYSTEM. 
The Secretary of Homeland Security shall have the 
authority to require any entity that is liable for damages 
under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et 
seq.) to establish an independent claims system for all 
claims under that Act and for any other claims against 
such entity in regard to the same incident that gave rise 
to that liability. Such system shall include a categorization 
of claimants according to the type of loss for which the 
claim is made and guidelines for the type of proof nec-
essary based on the category involved. 
SEC. 13. EMERGENCY OIL SPILL COORDINATION TEAM. 
The President shall establish an emergency oil spill 
coordination team that includes the Commandant of the 
Coast Guard, the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary 
of Commerce, the Secretary of the Interior, and chief of 
the Army Corps of Engineers, to respond to oil spills in 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
20:13 Jul 07, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5676.IH
H5676
hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS