I
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3887
To authorize the Secretary of Transportation to convey the vessel USS
SPHINX to the Rio Grande Military Museum for use as a military museum.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 23, 1994
Mr. ORTIZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Merchant Marine and Fisheries
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Transportation to convey the
vessel USS SPHINX to the Rio Grande Military Mu-
seum for use as a military museum.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. AUTHORITY TO CONVEY VESSEL.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other law,
the Secretary of Transportation may convey the right,
title, and interest of the United States Government in and
to the vessel USS SPHINX (ARL–24), to the Rio Grande
Military Museum (a not-for-profit corporation, hereinafter
in this Act referred to as the ‘‘recipient’’) for use as a
military museum, if—
(1) the recipient agrees to use the vessel as a
nonprofit military museum;
(2) the vessel is not used for commercial trans-
portation purposes;
(3) the recipient agrees to make the vessel
available to the Government when the Secretary re-
quires use of the vessel by the Government;
(4) the recipient agrees that when the recipient
no longer requires the vessel for use as a military
museum—
(A) the recipient will at the discretion of
the Secretary, reconvey the vessel to the Gov-
ernment in good condition except for ordinary
wear and tear; or
(B) if the Board of Directors of the recipi-
ent has decided to dissolve the recipient accord-
ing to the laws of the State of Texas, then—
(i) the recipient shall distribute the
vessel, as an asset of the recipient, to a
person that has been determined exempt
from taxation under the provisions of sec-
tion 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
Code, or to the Federal Government or a
State or local government for a public pur-
pose; and
(ii) the vessel shall be disposed of by
a court of competent jurisdiction of the
county in which the principal office of the
recipient is located, for such purposes as
the court shall determine, or to such orga-
nizations as the court shall determine are
organized exclusively for public purposes;
(5) the recipient agrees to hold the Government
harmless for any claims arising from exposure to as-
bestos after conveyance of the vessel, except for
claims arising from use by the Government under
paragraph (3) or (4); and
(6) the recipient has available, for use to re-
store the vessel, in the form of cash, liquid assets,
or a written loan commitment, financial resources of
at least $100,000.
(b) DELIVERY OF VESSEL.—If a conveyance is made
under this Act, the Secretary shall deliver the vessel at
the place where the vessel is located on the date of enact-
ment of this Act, in its present condition, without cost to
the Government.
(c) OTHER UNNEEDED EQUIPMENT.—The Secretary
may also convey any unneeded equipment from other ves-
sels in the National Defense Reserve Fleet in order to re-
store the USS SPHINX (ARL–24) to museum quality.
(d) RETENTION OF VESSEL IN NDRF.—The Sec-
retary shall retain in the National Defense Reserve Fleet
the vessel authorized to be conveyed under subsection (a),
until the earlier of—
(1) 2 years after the date of the enactment of
this Act; or
(2) the date of conveyance of the vessel under
subsection (a).
Æ