[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1632 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

  1st Session
                                S. 1632

   To ensure that vessels of the United States conveyed to eligible 
     recipients for educational, cultural, historical, charitable, 
recreational, or other public purposes are maintained and utilized for 
               the purposes for which they were conveyed.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 14, 2007

   Ms. Snowe introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To ensure that vessels of the United States conveyed to eligible 
     recipients for educational, cultural, historical, charitable, 
recreational, or other public purposes are maintained and utilized for 
               the purposes for which they were conveyed.

    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 ``Vessel Conveyance Act''.

SEC. 2. CONVEYANCE OF UNITED STATES VESSELS FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES.

    (a) In General.--The conveyance of a United States Government 
vessel to an eligible entity for use as an educational, cultural, 
historical, charitable, or recreational or other public purpose shall 
be made subject to any conditions, including the reservation of such 
rights on behalf of the United States, as the Secretary considers 
necessary to ensure that the vessel will be maintained and used in 
accordance with the purposes for which it was conveyed, including 
conditions necessary to ensure that unless approved by the Secretary--
            (1) the eligible entity to which the vessel is conveyed may 
        not sell, convey, assign, exchange, or encumber the vessel, any 
        part thereof, or any associated historic artifact conveyed to 
        the eligible entity in conjunction with the vessel; and
            (2) the eligible entity to which the vessel is conveyed may 
        not conduct any commercial activities at the vessel, any part 
        thereof, or in connection with any associated historic artifact 
        conveyed to the eligible entity in conjunction with the vessel, 
        in any manner.
    (b) Reversion.--In addition to any term or condition established 
pursuant to this section, the conveyance of a United States Government 
vessel shall include a condition that the vessel, or any associated 
historic artifact conveyed to the eligible entity in conjunction with 
the vessel, at the option of the Secretary, shall revert to the United 
States and be placed under the administrative control of the 
Administrator if, without approval of the Secretary--
            (1) the vessel, any part thereof, or any associated 
        historic artifact ceases to be available for the educational, 
        cultural, historical, charitable, or recreational or other 
        public purpose for which it was conveyed under reasonable 
        conditions which shall be set forth in the eligible entity's 
        application;
            (2) the vessel or any part thereof ceases to be maintained 
        in a manner consistent with the commitments made by the 
        eligible entity to which it was conveyed;
            (3) the eligible entity to which the vessel is conveyed, 
        sells, conveys, assigns, exchanges, or encumbers the vessel, 
        any part thereof, or any associated historic artifact; or
            (4) the eligible entity to which the vessel is conveyed, 
        conducts any commercial activities at the vessel, any part 
        thereof, or in conjunction with any associated historic 
        artifact.
    (c) Agreement Required.--Except as may be otherwise explicitly 
provided by statute, a United States Government vessel may not be 
conveyed to an entity unless that entity agrees to comply with any 
terms or conditions imposed on the conveyance under this section.
    (d) Records and Monitoring.--
            (1) Compilation and transfer.--The Secretary shall provide 
        a written or electronic record for each vessel conveyed 
        pursuant to the Secretary's authority, including the vessel 
        registration, the application for conveyance, the terms and 
        conditions of conveyance, and any other documents associated 
        with the conveyance, and any post-conveyance correspondence or 
        other documentation, to the Administrator.
            (2) Monitoring.--For a period not less than 5 years after 
        the date of conveyance the Administrator shall monitor the 
        eligible entity's use of the vessel conveyed to ensure that the 
        vessel is being used in accordance with the purpose for which 
        it was conveyed. The Administrator shall create a written or 
        electronic record of such monitoring activities and their 
        findings.
            (3) Maintenance.--The Administrator shall maintain vessel 
        conveyance records provided under paragraph (1), and monitoring 
        records created under paragraph (2), on each vessel conveyed 
        until such time as the vessel is destroyed, scuttled, recycled, 
        or otherwise disposed of. The Administrator may make the 
        records available to the public.
    (e) Cost Estimates.--The Secretary may provide an estimate to an 
eligible entity of the cost of maintaining and operating any vessel to 
be conveyed to that entity.
    (f) Guidance.--The Secretary may issue guidance concerning the 
types and extent of commercial activities, including the sale of goods 
or services incidental to, and consistent with, the purposes for which 
a vessel was conveyed, that are approved by the Secretary for purposes 
of subsections (a)(2) and (b)(4) of this section.

SEC. 3. WORKING GROUP ON CONVEYANCE OF UNITED STATES VESSELS.

    Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Transportation shall convene a working group, composed of 
representatives from the Maritime Administration, the Coast Guard, and 
the United States Navy to review and to make recommendations on a 
common set of conditions for the conveyance of vessels of the United 
States to eligible entities (as defined in section 2(d)(2)). The 
Secretary may request the participation of senior representatives of 
any other Federal department or agency, as appropriate.

SEC. 4. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT OF CONVEYANCE CONDITIONS.

    (a) Civil Administrative Penalties.--
            (1) Any eligible entity found by the Secretary, after 
        notice and opportunity for a hearing in accordance with section 
        554 of title 5, United States Code, to have failed to comply 
        with the terms and conditions under which a vessel was conveyed 
        to it shall be liable to the United States for a civil penalty. 
        The amount of the civil penalty under this paragraph shall not 
        exceed $10,000 for each violation. Each day of a continuing 
        violation shall constitute a separate violation.
            (2) Compromise or other action by the secretary.--The 
        Secretary may compromise, modify, or remit, with or without 
        conditions, any civil administrative penalty imposed under this 
        section that has not been referred to the Attorney General for 
        further enforcement action.
    (b) Hearing.--For the purposes of conducting any investigation or 
hearing under this section, the Secretary may issue subpoenas for the 
attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of relevant 
papers, books, and documents, and may administer oaths. Witnesses 
summoned shall be paid the same fees and mileage that are paid to 
witnesses in the courts of the United States. In case of contempt or 
refusal to obey a subpoena served upon any person pursuant to this 
subsection, the district court of the United States for any district in 
which such person is found, resides, or transacts business, upon 
application by the United States and after notice to such person, shall 
have jurisdiction to issue an order requiring such person to appear and 
give testimony before the Secretary or to appear and produce documents 
before the Secretary, or both, and any failure to obey such order of 
the court may be punished by such court as a contempt thereof. Nothing 
in this Act shall be construed to grant jurisdiction to a district 
court to entertain an application for an order to enforce a subpoena 
issued by the Secretary of Commerce to the Federal Government or any 
entity thereof.
    (c) Jurisdiction.--The United States district courts shall have 
original jurisdiction of any action under this section arising out of 
or in connection with the operation, maintenance, or disposition of a 
conveyed vessel, and proceedings with respect to any such action may be 
instituted in the judicial district in which any defendant resides or 
may be found. For the purpose of this section, American Samoa shall be 
included within the judicial district of the District Court of the 
United States for the District of Hawaii.
    (d) Collection.--If an eligible entity fails to pay an assessment 
of a civil penalty after it has become a final and unappealable order, 
or after the appropriate court has entered final judgment in favor of 
the Secretary, the matter may be referred to the Attorney General, who 
may recover the amount (plus interest at currently prevailing rates 
from the date of the final order). In such action the validity, amount, 
and appropriateness of the final order imposing the civil penalty shall 
not be subject to review. Any eligible entity that fails to pay, on a 
timely basis, the amount of an assessment of a civil penalty shall be 
required to pay, in addition to such amount and interest, attorney's 
fees and costs for collection proceedings and a quarterly nonpayment 
penalty for each quarter during which such failure to pay persists. 
Such nonpayment penalty shall be in an amount equal to 20 percent of 
the aggregate amount of such the entity's penalties and nonpayment 
penalties which are unpaid as of the beginning of such quarter.
    (e) Nationwide Service of Process.--In any action by the United 
States under this Act, process may be served in any district where the 
defendant is found, resides, transacts business or has appointed an 
agent for the service of process, and for civil cases may also be 
served in a place not within the United States in accordance with Rule 
4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of General Services.
            (2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a 
        State or local government, nonprofit corporation, educational 
        agency, community development organization, or other entity 
        that agrees to comply with the conditions established under 
        this section.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the department or agency on whose authority a vessel is 
        conveyed to an eligible entity.
            (4) United states government vessel.--The term ``United 
        States government vessel'' means a vessel owned by the United 
        States Government.
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