I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2228
To establish a program of assistance to families of passengers and crew
members involved in maritime disasters.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 19, 2001
Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
A BILL
To establish a program of assistance to families of
passengers and crew members involved in maritime disasters.
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 Disaster
Family Assistance Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE TO FAMILIES OF PASSENGERS IN-
VOLVED IN MARITIME DISASTERS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 63 of title 46, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
vessel until it is located or until the Secretary deter-
mines that the search is no longer appropriate;
‘‘(2) facilitating the recovery and identification
of fatally injured passengers involved in a maritime
disaster described in subsection (a);
‘‘(3) communicating with the families of pas-
sengers involved in the disaster regarding the roles
of—
‘‘(A) the organization designated for the
disaster under subsection (a)(2);
‘‘(B) Government agencies; and
‘‘(C) the covered vessel operator involved,
with respect to the disaster and the post-disaster ac-
tivities; and
‘‘(4) working with other governmental agencies
and other resources, where appropriate, to assist in
facilitating the search for and recovery of any miss-
ing vessel.
‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF DESIGNATED ORGANIZA-
TION.—The organization designated for a maritime dis-
aster under subsection (a)(2) shall have the following re-
sponsibilities with respect to the families of passengers in-
volved in the disaster:
‘‘(1) To provide mental health and counseling
services, in coordination with the disaster response
team of the covered vessel operator involved.
‘‘(2) To take such actions as may be necessary
to provide an environment in which the families may
grieve in private.
‘‘(3) To meet with the families who have trav-
eled to the location of the disaster, to contact the
families unable to travel to such location, and to
contact all affected families regularly thereafter until
such time as the organization, in consultation with
the director of family support services designated for
the accident under subsection (a)(1), determines
that further assistance is no longer needed.
‘‘(4) To arrange a suitable memorial service, in
consultation with the families.
‘‘(d) PASSENGER LISTS.—
‘‘(1) REQUESTS FOR PASSENGER LISTS.—
‘‘(A) REQUESTS BY DIRECTOR OF FAMILY
SUPPORT
SERVICES.—The director of family
support services designated for a maritime dis-
aster under subsection (a)(1) shall request, as
soon as practicable, from the covered vessel op-
erator involved in the disaster a list, based on
the best available information at the time of the
request, of the names of the passengers that
were aboard the vessel involved in the disaster.
‘‘(B) REQUESTS BY DESIGNATED ORGANI-
ZATION.—The organization designated under
subsection (a)(2) for a disaster may request
from the covered vessel operator involved in the
disaster a list described in subparagraph (A).
‘‘(2) USE OF INFORMATION.—The director of
family support services and the organization may
not release to any person information on a list ob-
tained under paragraph (1), except that the director
may provide information on the list about a pas-
senger to the family of the passenger to the extent
that the director of family support services or the or-
ganization considers appropriate.
‘‘(e) CONTINUING RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SEC-
RETARY.—In the course of its investigation of a maritime
disaster described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall,
to the maximum extent practicable, ensure that the fami-
lies of passengers involved in the disaster—
‘‘(1) are briefed, prior to any public briefing,
about the disaster and any other findings from the
investigation; and
‘‘(2) are individually informed of and allowed to
attend any public hearings and meetings of the Sec-
retary about the disaster.
‘‘(f) USE
OF COVERED VESSEL OPERATOR RE-
SOURCES.—To the extent practicable, the organization
designated for a maritime disaster under subsection (a)(2)
shall coordinate its activities with the covered vessel oper-
ator involved in the disaster to facilitate the reasonable
use of the resources of the operator.
‘‘(g) PROHIBITED ACTIONS.—
‘‘(1) ACTIONS TO IMPEDE THE SECRETARY.—
No person (including a State or political subdivision)
may impede the ability of the Secretary (including
the director of family support services designated for
a maritime disaster under subsection (a)(1)), or an
organization designated for a maritime disaster
under subsection (a)(2), to carry out its responsibil-
ities under this section or the ability of the families
of passengers involved in the disaster to have con-
tact with one another.
‘‘(2) UNSOLICITED COMMUNICATIONS.—No un-
solicited communication concerning a potential ac-
tion for personal injury or wrongful death may be
made by an attorney (including any associate, agent,
employee, or other representative of an attorney) or
any potential party to the litigation to an individual
(other than an employee of the covered vessel oper-
ator) injured in the maritime disaster, or to a rel-
ative of an individual involved in the disaster, before
the 45th day following the date of the disaster.
‘‘(3) PROHIBITION
ON
ACTIONS
TO
PREVENT
MENTAL HEALTH AND COUNSELING SERVICES.—No
State or political subdivision may prevent the em-
ployees, agents, or volunteers of an organization des-
ignated for a maritime disaster under subsection
(a)(2) from providing mental health and counseling
services under subsection (c)(1) in the 30-day period
beginning on the date of the disaster. The director
of family support services designated for the disaster
under subsection (a)(1) may extend such period for
not to exceed an additional 30 days if the director
determines that the extension is necessary to meet
the needs of the families and if State and local au-
thorities are notified of the determination.
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) MARITIME
DISASTER.—The term ‘mari-
time disaster’ means any loss of, or collision
involving—
‘‘(A) a passenger vessel or small passenger
vessel providing interstate transportation of 2