[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1109 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H.R. 1109


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

               March 18 (legislative day, March 3), 1993

    Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To amend the Merchant Marine Act 1936, to establish reemployment rights 
                      for certain merchant seamen.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Merchant Seamen Reemployment Rights 
Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS FOR CERTAIN MERCHANT SEAMEN.

    (a) In General.--Title III of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 
App. U.S.C. 1131) is amended by inserting after section 301 the 
following new section:
    ``Sec. 302. (a) An individual who is certified by the Secretary of 
Transportation under subsection (c) shall be entitled to reemployment 
rights and other benefits substantially equivalent to the rights and 
benefits provided for by chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code, 
for any member of a Reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United 
States who is ordered to active duty.
    ``(b) An individual may submit an application for certification 
under subsection (c) to the Secretary of Transportation not later than 
45 days after the date the individual completes a period of employment 
described in subsection (c)(1)(A) with respect to which the application 
is submitted.
    ``(c) Not later than 20 days after the date the Secretary of 
Transportation receives from an individual an application for 
certification under this subsection, the Secretary shall--
            ``(1) determine whether or not the individual--
                    ``(A) was employed in the activation or operation 
                of a vessel--
                            ``(i) in the National Defense Reserve Fleet 
                        maintained under section 11 of the Merchant 
                        Ship Sales Act of 1946, in a period in which 
                        that vessel was in use or being activated for 
                        use under subsection (b) of that section;
                            ``(ii) that is requisitioned or purchased 
                        under section 902 of this Act; or
                            ``(iii) that is owned, chartered, or 
                        controlled by the United States and used by the 
                        United States for a war, armed conflict, 
                        national emergency, or maritime mobilization 
                        need (including for training purposes or 
                        testing for readiness and suitability for 
                        mission performance); and
                    ``(B) during the period of that employment, 
                possessed a valid license, certificate of registry, or 
                merchant mariner's document issued under chapter 71 or 
                chapter 73 (as applicable) of title 46, United States 
                Code; and
            ``(2) if the Secretary makes affirmative determinations 
        under paragraph (1) (A) and (B), certify that individual under 
        this subsection.
    ``(d) For purposes of reemployment rights and benefits provided by 
this section, a certification under subsection (c) shall be considered 
to be the equivalent of a certificate referred to in clause (1) of 
section 4301(a) of title 38, United States Code.''.
    (b) Application.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply 
to employment described in section 302(c)(1)(A) of the Merchant Marine 
Act, 1936, as amended by subsection (a), occurring after August 2, 
1990.
    (c) Employment Ending Before Enactment.--Notwithstanding subsection 
(b) of section 302 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended by this 
Act, an individual who, in the period beginning August 2, 1990, and 
ending on the date of the enactment of this Act, completed a period of 
employment described in subsection (c)(1)(A) of that section may submit 
an application for certification under subsection (c) of that section 
with respect to that employment not later than 45 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act.
    (d) Regulations.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall issue 
regulations implementing this section.

            Passed the House of Representatives March 16, 1993.

            Attest:

                                           DONNALD K. ANDERSON,

                                                                 Clerk.