II 112th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1783 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES November 2, 2011 Ms. Landrieu (for herself and Mr. Vitter) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To amend title 46, United States Code, to require the Maritime Administrator, in making determinations regarding the non-availability of qualified United States flag capacity to meet national defense requirements, to identify any actions that could be taken to enable such capacity to meet some or all of those requirements, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the American Mariners Job Protection Act.

2.

Identification of actions to enable qualified United States flag capacity to meet national defense requirements

(a)

Identification of actions

Section 501(b) of title 46, United States Code, is amended— (1)by inserting (1) before When the head; and (2)by adding at the end the following: (2)The Administrator of the Maritime Administration shall— (A)in each determination referred to in paragraph (1), identify any actions that could be taken to enable qualified United States flag capacity to meet national defense requirements; (B)provide each such determination to the Secretary of Transportation and the head of the agency referred to in paragraph (1) for which the determination is made; and (C)publish each such determination on the Internet site of the Department of Transportation within 48 hours after it is provided to the Secretary of Transportation. (3)(A)The Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall notify the Committees on Appropriations, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committees on Appropriations and Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate— (i)of any request for a waiver of the navigation or vessel-inspection laws under this section not later than 48 hours after receiving the request; and (ii)of the issuance of any waiver of compliance of such a law not later than 48 hours after such issuance. (B)The Secretary shall include in each notification under subparagraph (A)(ii) an explanation of— (i)the reasons the waiver is necessary; and (ii)the reasons actions referred to in subparagraph (A) are not feasible. .