S. 2997: Maritime Administration Act for Fiscal Year 2009

110th Congress · introduced 2008-05-08 · Transportation and Public Works · Latest: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 955.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2008-05-08 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Lautenberg, Frank R. [D-NJ] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 955. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Maritime Administration Act for Fiscal Year 2009

Plain summary

Maritime Administration Act for Fiscal Year 2009 - (Sec. 2) Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation, subject to limitation and sunset, to execute personal service contracts with adjunct professors to meet a United States Merchant Marine Academy temporary need. Requires the Secretary, if the Secretary executes one or more such contracts, to report to specified congressional committees, explaining the need for each contract and the duties to be performed. (Sec. 3) Requires the Academy's superintendent to prescribe a sexual harassment and sexual violence policy applicable to Academy cadets and other personnel. (Sec. 4) Amends the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 to revise provisions concerning riding gang member requirements on vessels under Department of Defense (DOD) contracts. (Sec. 5) Requires, subject to appropriations, grants, loans, and loan guarantees to small shipyards for capital improvements and assistance for training programs to foster technical skills and operational productivity in communities with economies related to or dependent on the maritime industry. (Sec. 6) Allows state maritime academy student incentive payments to be made to the academy or the student. Doubles the level of payments, removes a requirement that the student be attending the academy when payments are made, allows the payments to be used for tuition, and requires recipients to accept midshipman and enlisted reserve (currently, enlisted reserve) status in the U.S. Navy Reserve (including the Merchant Marine Reserve). (Sec. 7) Extends to December 31, 2015, the expiration of the authority of the Secretary to provide war risk insurance and reinsurance. (Sec. 8) Conditions the waiver of navigation and inspection laws in the interest of national defense on a determination by the Maritime Administrator that qualified U.S. flag capacity is unavailable to meet national defense requirements. (Sec. 9) Requires the Coast Guard commandant, acting through the appropriate Area Committee established under certain provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, to submit to specified congressional committees a vessel traffic risk assessment and related recommendations for Cook Inlet, Alaska, and for the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 10) Amends provisions relating to vessels and seamen to exclude from the definition of "fish processing vessel" a fishing vessel operating in Alaskan waters under an Alaskan permit or license that fillets: (1) only salmon taken by that vessel; and (2) less than 5 metric tons of such salmon during any 7-day period. (Sec. 11) Modifies the circumstances in which at least 50% of the gross tonnage of cargoes transported on ocean vessels and procured, furnished, or financed by the U.S. government must be transported on privately-owned commercial vessels of the United States. (Sec. 12) Amends the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act to modify the definition of "employee" to make it applicable to individuals who are employed to manufacture any recreational vessel under 165 feet in length or are employed to repair any recreational vessel, or to dismantle any part of any recreational vessel in connection with repair of the vessel. (Sec. 13) Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Transportation, for the Maritime Administration, for: (1) operations and training; (2) expenses to maintain and preserve a U.S. flag merchant fleet to serve national security needs; (3) paying reimbursement under specified provisions of the Maritime Security Act of 2003 relating to a maintenance and repair reimbursement pilot program; (4) disposal of obsolete vessels in the National Defense Reserve Fleet; (5) the cost of loan guarantees under provisions relating to direct loans for fisheries; and (6) administrative expenses related to specified programs.

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate with amendment(s)), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Maritime Administration Act for Fiscal Year 2009

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate with amendment(s))

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The strongest published arguments

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Lautenberg, Frank R. [D-NJ] · 3 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: S. 2997, Maritime Administration Act for Fiscal Year 2009 (2008-06-05); CBO cost estimate: S. 2997, Maritime Administration Act for Fiscal Year 2009 (2008-06-05)

Cosponsors on this site

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (4)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Fiscal year: The 12-month period a government uses for its budget. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 and is named for the calendar year in which it ends. Most states use July 1 to June 30.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate with amendment(s))
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-110s2997.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/110/s>

Record fed-us-cong110-s2997 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong110 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong110