icebreaking services are available and adequate for 
the ice conditions. 
(4) OPEN TO NAVIGATION.—The term ‘‘open to 
navigation’’ means navigable to the extent necessary 
to— 
(A) meet the reasonable demands of ship-
ping; 
(B) minimize delays to passenger ferries; 
(C) extricate vessels and persons from dan-
ger; 
(D) prevent damage due to flooding; and 
(E) conduct other Coast Guard missions, 
as required. 
(5) REASONABLE DEMANDS OF SHIPPING.—The 
term ‘‘reasonable demands of shipping’’ means the 
safe movement of vessels engaged in commercial 
service and ferries transiting ice-covered waterways 
in the Great Lakes to their intended destination, re-
gardless of type of cargo. 
SEC. 211. CENTER OF EXPERTISE FOR GREAT LAKES OIL 
SPILL SEARCH AND RESPONSE. 
Section 807(d) of the Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard 
Authorization Act of 2018 (14 U.S.C. 313 note) is amend-
ed to read as follows:
‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘Great 
Lakes’ means— 
‘‘(1) Lake Ontario; 
‘‘(2) Lake Erie; 
‘‘(3) Lake Huron (including Lake St. Clair); 
‘‘(4) Lake Michigan; 
‘‘(5) Lake Superior; and 
‘‘(6) the connecting channels (including the fol-
lowing rivers and tributaries of such rivers: Saint 
Mary’s River, Saint Clair River, Detroit River, Niag-
ara River, Illinois River, Chicago River, Fox River, 
Grand River, St. Joseph River, St. Louis River, Me-
nominee River, Muskegon River, Kalamazoo River, 
and Saint Lawrence River to the Canadian bor-
der).’’. 
SEC. 212. STUDY ON LAYDOWN OF COAST GUARD CUTTERS. 
Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in con-
sultation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall con-
duct a study on the laydown of Coast Guard Fast Re-
sponse Cutters to assess Coast Guard mission readiness 
and to identify areas of need for asset coverage.
Subtitle C—Other Matters 
SEC. 213. RESPONSES OF COMMANDANT OF THE COAST 
GUARD TO SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 7 of title 14, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 721. Responses to safety recommendations 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 
submission to the Commandant of the Coast Guard of a 
recommendation by the National Transportation Safety 
Board relating to transportation safety, the Commandant 
shall submit to the Board a written response to each rec-
ommendation, which shall include whether the Com-
mandant— 
‘‘(1) concurs with the recommendation; 
‘‘(2) partially concurs with the recommendation; 
or 
‘‘(3) does not concur with the recommendation. 
‘‘(b) EXPLANATION OF CONCURRENCE.—A response 
under subsection (a) shall include— 
‘‘(1) with respect to a recommendation to which 
the Commandant concurs, an explanation of the ac-
tions the Commandant intends to take to implement 
such recommendation;
‘‘(2) with respect to a recommendation to which 
the Commandant partially concurs, an explanation 
of the actions the Commandant intends to take to 
implement the portion of such recommendation with 
which the Commandant partially concurs; and 
‘‘(3) with respect to a recommendation to which 
the Commandant does not concur, the reasons why 
the Commandant does not concur with such rec-
ommendation. 
‘‘(c) FAILURE TO RESPOND.—If the Board has not 
received the written response required under subsection 
(a) by the end of the time period described in such sub-
section, the Board shall notify the Committee on Trans-
portation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate that such response has not 
been received.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap-
ter 7 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by insert-
ing after the item relating to section 720 the following: 
‘‘721. Responses to safety recommendations.’’. 
SEC. 214. CONVEYANCE OF COAST GUARD VESSELS FOR 
PUBLIC PURPOSES. 
(a) REDESIGNATION AND TRANSFER.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 914 of the Coast 
Guard Authorization Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–