[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 744 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 744

        To establish a Caribbean Basin Port Assistance Program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 11, 2005

  Mr. Nelson of Florida introduced the following bill; which was read 
        twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
        To establish a Caribbean Basin Port Assistance Program.

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

SECTION 1. ASSISTANCE TO FOREIGN PORTS.

    Section 70109 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(c) Caribbean Basin Port Assistance Program.--
            ``(1) The Administrator of the Maritime Administration, in 
        coordination with the Secretary of State, shall identify 
        foreign assistance programs that could facilitate 
        implementation of port security antiterrorism measures at ports 
        in a country in the Caribbean Basin. The Administrator and the 
        Secretary, in consultation with the Organization of American 
        States, shall establish a program to utilize those programs 
        that are capable of implementing port security antiterrorism 
        measures at ports in a country in the Caribbean Basin that the 
        Secretary finds, under section 70108, to lack effective 
        antiterrorism measures.
            ``(2) In this subsection, the term `country in the 
        Caribbean Basin' means a country listed in section 212(b) of 
        the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (19 U.S.C. 
        2702(b)).''.

SEC. 2. REPORT ON SECURITY AT PORTS IN THE CARIBBEAN BASIN.

    (a) Requirement.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit 
to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 
and Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives a report on the security of ports in a country in the 
Caribbean Basin.
    (b) Content.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall include 
the following:
            (1) An assessment of the vulnerability of ports in a 
        country in the Caribbean Basin.
            (2) An assessment of the willingness of officials at ports 
        in a country in the Caribbean Basin to utilize screening 
        equipment to screen cargo at such ports and of the 
        effectiveness of the use of such equipment, including the 
        number of cargo containers that have been screened at each such 
        port.
            (3) An analysis of which countries in the Caribbean Basin 
        utilize screening equipment to screen cargo at ports in such 
        countries that will be imported into the United States and the 
        recommendation of the Secretary as to whether, and to what 
        extent, such equipment from the United States should be 
        stationed at such ports.
            (4) An estimate of the number of ports in a country in the 
        Caribbean Basin that will not be secured by July, 2005, and an 
        estimate of the financial impact in the United States of any 
        action taken pursuant to section 70110 of title 46, United 
        States Code, that affects trade between such ports and the 
        United States.
            (5) An assessment of the additional resources and program 
        changes that are necessary to maximize screening of cargo at 
        ports in a country in the Caribbean Basin.
    (c) Country in the Caribbean Basin Defined.--In this section, the 
term ``country in the Caribbean Basin'' means a country listed in 
section 212(b) of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (19 U.S.C. 
2702(b)).
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