I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1557
To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2000 and 2001 for certain mari-
time programs of the Department of Transportation, and for other pur-
poses.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 26, 1999
Mr. BATEMAN (for himself and Mr. UNDERWOOD) (both by request) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed
Services
A BILL
To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2000 and 2001
for certain maritime programs of the Department of
Transportation, and for other purposes.
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 Administra-
tion Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2000 and 2001’’.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL
YEARS 2000 AND 2001.
Funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated, as
Appropriations Acts may provide, for the use of the De-
partment of Transportation for the Maritime Administra-
tion as follows:
(1) For expenses necessary for operations and
training activities, not to exceed $72,164,000 for the
fiscal year ending September 30, 2000.
(2) For the costs, as defined in section 502 of
the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, of guaran-
teed loans authorized by title XI of the Merchant
Marine Act, 1936, as amended (46 App. U.S.C.
1271 et seq.), $6,000,000, to be available until ex-
pended. In addition, for administrative expenses re-
lated to loan guarantee commitments under title XI
of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended (46
App. U.S.C. 1271 et seq.), $3,893,000.
(3) For the fiscal year ending September 30,
2001, such sums as may be necessary.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE XI OF THE MERCHANT MA-
RINE ACT, 1936.
(a) Section 1108(a) of the Merchant Marine Act,
1936 (46 App. U.S.C. 1279a(a)) is amended by striking
the language preceding the proviso and inserting in its
place the following:
‘‘(a) CREATION.—If the proceeds of an obligation
guaranteed under this title are to be used to finance the
construction, reconstruction, or reconditioning of a vessel
or vessels which will serve as security for the guarantee
of the Secretary, the Secretary is authorized to accept and
hold, in escrow under an escrow agreement with the obli-
gor, proceeds of that obligation (together with such inter-
est as may be earned thereon and, if required by the Sec-
retary, an amount equal to 6 month’s interest on the obli-
gation). The Secretary may not release funds from the es-
crow until the Secretary first determines that the obligor
has paid its portion of the actual cost of constructing, re-
constructing, or reconditioning the vessel or vessels and,
second, determines that the funds to be released are need-
ed to pay, or make reimbursements in connection with
payments previously made to the shipyard or other con-
tractors for work performed, or to pay for other approved
costs, with respect to the vessel or vessels.’’.
(b) Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, is
amended by inserting immediately after section 1108, the
following new section:
‘‘SEC. 1109. RESERVE FUNDS AND COLLATERAL ACCOUNTS.
‘‘(a) CREATION OF FUNDS AND ACCOUNTS.—There
is hereby established in the Treasury a deposit fund into
which the Secretary is authorized to deposit cash belong-
ing to an obligor so long as the Secretary has a security
interest in such cash. The account shall be governed by
the terms of an agreement, as described hereunder, to be
entered into by the Secretary and an obligor.
‘‘(b) TERMS OF AGREEMENT.—The Secretary and an
obligor shall enter into a reserve fund or other collateral
account agreement to govern the making of deposits and
withdrawals and the retention, use, and reinvestment of
the cash deposited under subsection (a) above. The agree-
ment shall contain such terms and conditions as are fur-
ther required hereunder and as are considered by the Sec-
retary to be necessary to protect fully the interests of the
United States.
‘‘(c) INVESTMENT.—The Secretary is authorized to
invest and reinvest any part of the cash of a reserve fund
or collateral account in obligations of the United States
with such maturities that these funds and accounts will
be available as required for purposes of the agreement.
Cash balances of the deposit fund in excess of current re-
quirements shall be maintained in a form of uninvested
funds and the Secretary of the Treasury shall pay interest
on these funds.
‘‘(d) INCOME.—The cash deposited in a reserve fund
or collateral account may not be withdrawn without the
consent of the Secretary. The Secretary may retain and
offset any or all of the cash on deposit in a reserve fund
or collateral account, and any income realized thereon, as
part of the Secretary’s recovery against an obligor that
has defaulted on an obligation. In the absence of a default
on an obligation, the Secretary may pay any income real-
ized on a reserve fund or collateral account in accordance
with the terms of the agreement.’’.
SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE IX OF THE MERCHANT MA-
RINE ACT, 1936.
(a) Title IX of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as
amended (46 App. U.S.C. 101 et seq.) is amended by add-
ing immediately after section 902 the following new sec-
tion:
‘‘SEC. 903. DOCUMENTATION OF CERTAIN DRY CARGO VES-
SELS.
‘‘The restrictions of section 901(b)(1) of this Act con-
cerning the building, rebuilding, or documentation of a
vessel in a foreign country shall not apply to dry bulk ves-
sels and breakbulk vessels over 5,000 deadweight tons and
constructed, reconstructed, or acquired in a foreign ship-
yard within one year of the date of enactment of this sec-
tion and prior to enactment of the OECD Shipbuilding
Trade Agreement Act, whichever occurs earlier, and have
transferred to United States flag registry under section
12105 of title 46, United States Code, except that (1)
such vessels have nonemergency shipyard repairs, and
other shipyard work necessary to conform the vessel to
United States flag standards, performed in a shipyard of
the United States, (2) such vessels comply with the stand-
ards set forth in section 1137 of the Coast Guard Author-
ization Act of 1996 (46 App. U.S.C. 1187 note), (3) such
vessels shall not be granted approval under section 9(e)
of the Shipping Act, 1916, as amended on October 19,
1996, and (4) the provisions of section 607 of this Act
shall not apply to vessels constructed, reconstructed, modi-
fied, or acquired pursuant to this section.’’.
(b) Section 901b(c)(2) of the Merchant Marine Act,
1936, as amended (46 U.S.C. App. 1241f(c)(2)) is amend-
ed by striking ‘‘1986.’’ and inserting ‘‘1986, the 18-month
period commencing April 1, 1999, and the 12-month pe-
riod beginning on the first day of October in the year 2000
and each year thereafter.’’.
SEC. 5. EXTENSION OF WAR RISK INSURANCE AUTHORITY.
Section 1214 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as
amended (46 App. U.S.C. 1294) is amended by striking
‘‘June 30, 2000’’ and inserting ‘‘June 30, 2005’’.
SEC. 6. TRANSPORTATION REPORT ON MARITIME ACTIVI-
TIES.
Section 208 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as
amended (46 App. U.S.C. 1118) is amended by—
(1) striking ‘‘and the Secretary of Transpor-
tation shall’’; and
(2) inserting ‘‘and the Secretary of Transpor-
tation, by April 1 of each odd-numbered year, shall’’
before ‘‘make’’.
SEC. 7. OWNERSHIP OF THE JEREMIAH O’BRIEN.
Section 3302 of title 46, United States Code, is
amended by striking ‘‘owned by the United States Mari-
time Administration’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘owned
by the National Liberty Ship Memorial, Inc.’’.
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