I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 987 
To establish a grant program for domestic maritime workforce training and 
education, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 11, 2021 
Ms. GARCIA
of Texas (for herself, Mr. YOUNG, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. 
LOWENTHAL, and Mr. CASE) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To establish a grant program for domestic maritime 
workforce training and education, 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. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE FOR DOMESTIC 
MARITIME WORKFORCE TRAINING AND EDU-
CATION. 
Section 54102 of title 46, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘of Transpor-
tation’’; 
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(2) in subsection (b), in the subsection heading, 
by striking ‘‘ASSISTANCE’’ and inserting ‘‘COOPERA-
TIVE AGREEMENTS’’; 
(3) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub-
section (d); 
(4) in subsection (d), as redesignated by para-
graph (2), by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 
the Secretary of Transportation.’’; and 
(5) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(c) GRANT PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.— 
In this subsection, the term ‘eligible institution’ 
means an institution of higher education (as defined 
in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1002)) that offers a 2-year program of 
study, a 1-year program of training, or is a postsec-
ondary vocational institution. 
‘‘(2) GRANT AUTHORIZATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of the Maritime Ad-
ministration Authorization and Improvement 
Act, the Secretary may award maritime career 
training grants to eligible institutions for the 
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purpose of developing, offering, or improving 
educational or career training programs for 
American workers related to the maritime work-
force. 
‘‘(B) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of the Maritime Ad-
ministration Authorization and Improvement 
Act, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(i) promulgate guidelines for the 
submission of grant proposals under this 
subsection; and 
‘‘(ii) publish and maintain such guide-
lines on the website of the Department of 
Transportation. 
‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary may not 
award a grant under this subsection in an amount 
that is more than $20,000,000. 
‘‘(4) REQUIRED INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible institution 
that desires to receive a grant under this sub-
section shall submit to the Secretary a grant 
proposal that includes a detailed description 
of— 
‘‘(i) the specific project for which the 
grant proposal is submitted, including the 
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manner in which the grant will be used to 
develop, offer, or improve an educational 
or career training program that is suited 
to maritime industry workers; 
‘‘(ii) the extent to which the project 
for which the grant proposal is submitted 
will meet the educational or career training 
needs of maritime workers in the commu-
nity served by the eligible institution; 
‘‘(iii) the extent to which the project 
for which the grant proposal is submitted 
fits within any overall strategic plan devel-
oped by an eligible community; and 
‘‘(iv) any previous experience of the 
eligible institution in providing maritime 
educational or career training programs. 
‘‘(B) COMMUNITY OUTREACH REQUIRED.— 
In order to be considered by the Secretary, a 
grant proposal submitted by an eligible institu-
tion under this subsection shall— 
‘‘(i) demonstrate that the eligible in-
stitution— 
‘‘(I) reached out to employers to 
identify— 
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‘‘(II) the extent to which the 
project for which the grant proposal is 
submitted will contribute to meeting 
any shortcomings identified under 
clause (i)(I)(aa) or any maritime edu-
cational or career training needs iden-
tified under clause (i)(I)(bb); and 
‘‘(III) the extent to which em-
ployers, including small- and medium- 
sized firms within the community, 
have demonstrated a commitment to 
employing workers who would benefit 
from the project for which the grant 
proposal is submitted. 
‘‘(5) CRITERIA FOR AWARD OF GRANTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the appro-
priation of funds, the Secretary shall award a 
grant under this subsection based on— 
‘‘(i) a determination of the merits of 
the grant proposal submitted by the eligi-
ble institution to develop, offer, or improve 
maritime educational or career training 
programs to be made available to workers; 
‘‘(ii) an evaluation of the likely em-
ployment opportunities available to workers 
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who complete a maritime educational or 
career training program that the eligible 
institution proposes to develop, offer, or 
improve; 
‘‘(iii) an evaluation of prior demand 
for training programs by workers in the 
community served by the eligible institu-
tion, as well as the availability and capac-
ity of existing maritime training programs 
to meet future demand for training pro-
grams; and 
‘‘(iv) any prior designation of an insti-
tution as a Center of Excellence for Do-
mestic Maritime Workforce Training and 
Education. 
‘‘(B) 
MATCHING
REQUIREMENTS.—A 
grant awarded under this subsection may not 
be used to satisfy any private matching require-
ment under any other provision of law. 
‘‘(6) PUBLIC REPORT.—Not later than Decem-
ber 15 in each of the calendar years 2021 through 
2023, the Secretary shall make available on a pub-
lically available website a report and provide a brief-
ing to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 
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Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives— 
‘‘(A) describing each grant awarded under 
this subsection during the preceding fiscal year; 
and 
‘‘(B) assessing the impact of each award of 
a grant under this subsection in a fiscal year 
preceding the fiscal year referred to in subpara-
graph (A) on workers receiving training. 
‘‘(7) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this subsection $200,000,000.’’. 
Æ 
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