[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2082 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2082

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to dispose of certain vessels 
                 in the National Defense Reserve Fleet.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 11, 1993

Mr. Wyden (for himself and Mr. Lipinski) introduced the following bill; 
  which was referred to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of Transportation to dispose of certain vessels 
                 in the National Defense Reserve Fleet.

    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 ``NDRF Ship Disposal Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. DISPOSAL OF NATIONAL DEFENSE RESERVE FLEET VESSELS.

    (a) Disposal Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law 
        (other than paragraph (3)) and before January 1, 1999, the 
        Secretary of Transportation shall dispose of all vessels that 
        are in the National Defense Reserve Fleet on the date of the 
        enactment of this Act and that--
                    (A) are not assigned to the Ready Reserve Force 
                component of that fleet; and
                    (B) are not specifically authorized or required by 
                statute to be used for a particular purpose.
            (2) Notification of secretary of the navy.--The Secretary 
        shall notify the Secretary of the Navy of the intent of the 
        Secretary to dispose of a vessel under this section, by not 
        later than 90 days before the date of that disposal.
            (3) Limitations on disposal requirement.--
                    (A) Retention for national defense purposes.--The 
                Secretary shall not dispose of a vessel under this 
                section if the Secretary of the Navy certifies to the 
                Secretary within 30 days after receiving notification 
                of the intent of the Secretary to dispose of the 
                vessel, that--
                            (i) the vessel is militarily useful, and
                            (ii) retention of the vessel in the 
                        National Defense Reserve Fleet is necessary for 
                        national defense purposes.
                    (B) Use by state or federal agency.--The Secretary 
                is authorized to not dispose of a vessel otherwise 
                required to be disposed of under this section if the 
                Secretary certifies to the Congress that the vessel is 
                needed for use by a State or Federal governmental 
                agency.
                    (C) Recertification required after one year.--
                Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) and (B), the 
                Secretary--
                            (i) may dispose of a vessel after the one-
                        year period beginning on the date on which the 
                        Secretary of the Navy makes a certification 
                        described in subparagraph (A) with respect to 
                        the vessel, unless the Secretary of the Navy 
                        makes a subsequent certification under that 
                        subparagraph with respect to the vessel; and
                            (ii) shall dispose of a vessel after the 
                        one-year period beginning on the date the 
                        Secretary makes a certification described in 
                        subparagraph (B) with respect to the vessel, 
                        unless the Secretary makes a subsequent 
                        certification under that subparagraph with 
                        respect to the vessel.
                    (D) Endangered species act.--This section shall not 
                be construed as superseding, or authorizing any 
                activity prohibited by, the Endangered Species Act of 
                1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
            (4) Method of disposal.--Except as provided in subsection 
        (c), the Secretary shall dispose of vessels pursuant to this 
        section--
                    (A) in accordance with section 508 or 510(i) of the 
                Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 App. U.S.C. 1158, 
                1160(i)); and
                    (B) in the case of vessels disposed of after 3 
                months after the effective date of this section, in 
                accordance with the plan submitted by the Secretary 
                under subsection (b).
    (b) Vessel Disposal Plan.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall submit to the Congress 
        a plan for disposing of vessels pursuant to this section, by 
        not later than 3 months after the effective date of this 
        section.
            (2) Contents.--The plan submitted under this subsection 
        shall include--
                    (A) procedures to be followed in disposing of 
                vessels, including procedures for notifying the 
                Secretary of the Navy pursuant to subsection (a)(2);
                    (B) standards developed by the Secretary for--
                            (i) identifying vessels to be disposed of,
                            (ii) establishing the priority for 
                        disposing of each vessel so identified, and
                            (iii) making certifications under 
                        subsection (a)(3)(B);
                    (C) standards developed by the Secretary of the 
                Navy for making certifications under subsection 
                (a)(3)(A); and
                    (D) a preliminary schedule for vessel disposals 
                which indicates the number of vessels, or percentage of 
                the total number of vessels required to be disposed of, 
                that will be disposed of each year.
    (c) Use of Vessels for Artificial Reef Program.--
            (1) Identification and application by state.--The Secretary 
        may select not more than 15 of the vessels required to be 
        disposed of under this section, for which any State may apply 
        for use as an offshore artificial reef in accordance with the 
        Act entitled ``An Act to authorize appropriations for fiscal 
        year 1973 for certain programs of the Department of Commerce 
        and for other purposes'', approved August 22, 1972 (16 U.S.C. 
        1220 et seq.).
            (2) Requirement to transfer.--The Secretary shall transfer, 
        in accordance with the Act referred to in paragraph (1), a 
        vessel identified under paragraph (1) to a State which fulfills 
        the requirements for that transfer under that Act.
    (d) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            (1) National defense reserve fleet.--The term ``National 
        Defense Reserve Fleet'' means that fleet maintained under 
        section 11 of the Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946 (50 App. 
        U.S.C. 1744).
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Transportation.
    (e) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect on January 1, 
1994.

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