for the payment of assistance under the agreement,
that is based on the construction schedule for vessels
for which the assistance is paid.
‘‘(3) 
TERMINATION
OF
AGREEMENT.—An
agreement under this subsection shall authorize the
Secretary to terminate the agreement if—
‘‘(A) a contract required under section
1402(b)(3)(B) is terminated by the purchaser
of the vessel under the contract, and the owner
of the shipyard does not enter into a new con-
tract for construction of the vessel within a pe-
riod which shall be specified in the agreement;
or
‘‘(B) the owner of the shipyard fails to
enter into contracts for construction of all ves-
sels in the series of vessels to which the agree-
ment applies, within a period which shall be
specified in the agreement.
‘‘(4) CONTINUING
EFFECT
OF
AGREEMENT
WITH
RESPECT
TO
VESSELS
COVERED
BY
CON-
TRACTS.—The termination of a series construction
agreement under paragraph (3) shall not affect the
effectiveness of the agreement with respect to vessels
for which a construction contract is in effect on the
date of termination.
‘‘(b) BINDING
OBLIGATION
OF
THE
UNITED
STATES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), a requirement that the Secretary make
payments under a series construction agreement
under subsection (a) shall constitute a binding obli-
gation of the United States.
‘‘(2) TERMINATION
OF
OBLIGATION.—If the
Secretary terminates a series construction agreement
pursuant to subsection (a)(3), the obligation of the
United States under paragraph (1) to make pay-
ments under the agreement shall terminate with re-
spect to vessels for which no construction contract is
in effect on the date of termination of the agree-
ment.
‘‘(3) 
CONTINUING
AVAILABILITY
OF
AMOUNTS.—Amounts to be used to liquidate an obli-
gation under paragraph (1) that terminates under
paragraph (2) shall remain available to the Sec-
retary for the payment of assistance under this title.
‘‘SEC. 1405. APPLICATIONS FOR ASSISTANCE.
‘‘(a) SUBMITTAL.—A person desiring assistance
under this title shall, in accordance with this section, sub-
mit an application to the Secretary.
‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—An application
for assistance under this title with respect to a series of
vessels shall include the following:
‘‘(1) A detailed description of the type of ves-
sels included in the series, including plans and speci-
fications for the vessels.
‘‘(2) Detailed estimates of the cost of complet-
ing construction of each of the vessels in the series,
including such estimates from subcontractors for the
construction as may be required by the Secretary.
‘‘(3) Copies of the contracts required under sec-
tion 1402(b)(3)(B).
‘‘(4) Other information required by the Sec-
retary to fulfill the requirements of this title.
‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue regu-
lations setting forth the procedures for submitting an ap-
plication for assistance under this title.
‘‘SEC. 1406. RESTRICTION ON VESSEL OPERATIONS.
‘‘A vessel for which assistance is paid under this
title—
‘‘(1) may be operated only in foreign trade or
domestic trade authorized under a registry endorse-
ment for the vessel issued under section 12105 of
title 46, United States Code; and
‘‘(2) may not be operated in the coastwise trade
of the United States (including mixed coastwise and
foreign trade), except coastwise trade authorized
under a registry endorsement for the vessel issued
under section 12105 of title 46, United States Code.
‘‘SEC. 1407. VESSEL DESIGN AWARDS.
‘‘The Secretary, subject to the availability of appro-
priations, may make an award to a United States shipyard
on an equal matching basis for the cost of vessel designs
and document and bid preparation for vessels described
in section 403(b)(4).’’.
SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act are effective on
the date which is 120 days after the date of enactment
of this Act.
SEC. 12. REGULATIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation
shall prescribe regulations as necessary to carry out this
Act.
(b) INTERIM
REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of
Transportation may prescribe interim regulations nec-
essary to carry out this Act and for accepting eligibility
decision applications under section 403 of the Merchant
Marine Act, 1936, as amended by this Act. For this pur-
pose, the Secretary of Transportation is excepted from
compliance with the notice and comment requirements of
section 553 of title 5, United States Code. All regulations
prescribed under the authority of this subsection that are
not earlier superseded by final rules shall expire 270 days
after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 13. EXPANSION OF STANDING FOR MARITIME UNIONS.
Section 301 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46
App. U.S.C. 1131) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(c) STANDING FOR MARITIME UNION REPRESENTA-
TIVES.—The duly-elected representative of any organiza-
tion that is certified by the Secretary of Labor as the prop-
er collective bargaining agency for officers or crew em-
ployed on any type of United States documented vessel
is an interested party in, and has standing to challenge,
any proposed or final order, action, or rule of the Sec-
retary of Transportation under this Act or section 9(c)(2)
of the Shipping Act, 1916.’’.
SEC. 14. STUDY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—After providing public notice and
opportunity for comment, the Secretary of Transportation
shall conduct a study of—
(1) the impact of this Act on the international
competitiveness of United States documented vessels
and whether this Act has had a favorable or unfa-