Pay Back America Act of 2004

Bill: 108-hr-4975
Sponsor: Rep. Meeks, Gregory W. [D-NY-6]
Introduced: 2004-07-22 in the House
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Anguilla
Animals
Antigua and Barbuda
Armed Forces and National Security
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Bermuda
British West Indies
Business records
Caribbean area
Coast guard
Commerce
Crime and Law Enforcement
Department of Defense
Department of Homeland Security
Dominica
Economics and Public Finance
Environmental Protection
Environmental law enforcement
Environmental technology
Equipment and supplies
Excise tax
Federal aid to water pollution control
Fines (Penalties)
Fraud
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Government trust funds
Governmental investigations
Grenada
Guyana
Haiti
Haiti compilation
Harbors
Informers
Infrastructure
International Affairs
Jamaica
Latin America
Law
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Marine pollution
Marine resources conservation
Marine terminals
Montserrat
Passenger ships
Pollution control
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Science, Technology, Communications
Signs and signboards
Suriname
Taxation
Telephone
Transportation and Public Works
Trinidad and Tobago
Virgin Islands
Waste disposal in the ocean
Wildlife conservation

Summary:
action_date: 2004-07-22
text: 
Pay Back America Act of 2004 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a per passenger tax on covered international voyages of commercial passenger vessels. 
 
Establishes the Caribbean Ports and Infrastructure Protection Trust Fund (Caribbean Fund) and the Water and Marine Wildlife Protection Trust Fund (Wildlife Fund) in the Treasury. Appropriates to those funds a percentage of the above-referenced taxes. 
 
Authorizes the Secretary of of the Treasury to make specified payments from the Caribbean Fund to the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Barbados, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Guyana, Haiti, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Anguilla, Bermuda, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
 
Requires amounts in the Wildlife Fund to be used for ocean waste cleanup or enforcement of restrictions on ocean dumping.
 
Directs the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to issue regulations requiring cruise vessels entering U.S. ports or places to have: (1) posted notice that passengers may report illegal dumping from the vessel by calling a toll-free number; and (2) included such notice on each ticket sold. 
 
Prohibits: (1) vessels from entering U.S. ports or places absent properly functioning pollution prevention equipment or compliance with notice requirements; (2) false entries in a vessel's oil record book or record of shore-side disposal; (3) operation of cruise vessels in U.S. foreign or domestic commerce that fail to comply with notice requirements.
 
Requires biannual inspections of vessels.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-07-23
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.
action_date: 2004-07-22
text: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-07-22
text: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-07-22
text: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-07-22
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2004-07-22
text: Introduced in House