Maritime Administration Authorization and Improvement Act 2020-06-10 Introduced in Senate Maritime Administration Authorization and Improvement Act

This bill revises provisions related to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps.

The bill addresses several aspects of MARAD, including

  • reauthorizing MARAD programs, including programs associated with maintaining the U.S. Merchant Marine;
  • establishing a tanker security fleet of active, commercially viable, militarily useful, privately owned product tank vessels to meet national defense and other security requirements and maintain a United States presence in international commercial shipping;
  • authorizing a grant program to award maritime career training grants to community and technical colleges for the purpose of developing, offering, or improving educational or career training programs for American workers related to the maritime workforce;
  • assessing foreign subsidies to international shipping; and
  • establishing a standing committee of experts to explore and advise on supply chain transportation system vulnerabilities and disruptions and how to minimize them in the event of emergencies and disasters such as the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic.

Additionally, among other provisions, the bill sets forth new requirements for the corps concerning

  • commissioned grades and operational strength numbers,
  • obligated service requirements,
  • training and physical fitness,
  • education loan assistance,
  • recruitment,
  • hiring and promotions,
  • separation and retirement, and
  • other workforce issues.
]]> text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.