[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 108 (Wednesday, July 21, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1392]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




COST ESTIMATE OF THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE FOR THE BILL H.R. 5503

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 21, 2010

  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I submit the following.

     Hon. Nancy Pelosi,
     Speaker of the House, House of Representatives, Washington, 
         DC.
       Dear Madam Speaker: Please find enclosed the cost estimate 
     of the Congressional Budget Office for the bill H.R. 5503, 
     the ``Securing Protections for the Injured from Limitations 
     on Liability Act.'' This cost estimate was not made available 
     at the time the Committee Report (111-521, Part 1) was filed 
     on June 30, 2010. The Committee respectively requests that 
     this cost estimate be printed in the Congressional Record.
       Thank you for your assistance with this request.
           Sincerely,
                                                John Conyers, Jr.,
                                                         Chairman.
       Enclosure.
     H.R. 5503--Securing Protections for the Injured from 
         Limitations on Liability Act
       H.R. 5503 would amend several laws related to private 
     liability that apply to injury or death incurred by workers 
     on ocean-going vessels or on certain other facilities located 
     in the ocean. The act also would amend the bankruptcy code to 
     require any purchaser of a bankrupt company to pay any 
     obligations of the firm that stem from damages caused by an 
     oil spill. CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would 
     have no significant impact on the federal budget.
       Enacting H.R. 5503 would not affect direct spending or 
     revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not 
     apply.
       The act would expand both the Death on the High Seas Act 
     (DOHSA) and the Jones Act to enable the surviving family 
     members of a deceased worker to receive monetary compensation 
     for nonmonetary damages as a result of the death of a 
     relative on an ocean-going vessel or certain other facilities 
     located in the ocean (such as oil-drilling rigs). H.R. 5503 
     also would extend the distance from shore that would make 
     ships subject to the provisions of DOHSA, and it would repeal 
     the Limitation of Liability Act, a law that limits the value 
     of certain damages that can be charged to vessel owners. H.R. 
     5503 also would allow state attorneys general to bring suit 
     for remedial action under the Class Action Fairness Act. 
     Because those provisions would affect the liability of 
     private firms, CBO estimates that enacting them would have no 
     significant impact on the federal budget.
       H.R. 5503 would amend the bankruptcy code to require any 
     purchaser of a bankrupt company with obligations related to 
     an oil spill to pay those obligations that are owed to 
     victims of the oil spill. Based on information from the 
     Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AOUSC), CBO 
     estimates that this provision would have no significant 
     impact on the federal budget.
       HR. 5503 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined 
     in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose 
     no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
       By making unenforceable agreements that restrict 
     individuals from disseminating information regarding the 
     discharge of oil or other contaminants into waters off the 
     shore of the United States, the act would impose a private-
     sector mandate as defined in UMRA. The legislation would 
     limit the ability of parties connected with such spills to 
     prevent their employees, or others with whom they have 
     agreements, from providing information about matters related 
     to a spill. CBO estimates that the aggregate direct cost of 
     the mandate would fall below the annual threshold established 
     in UMRA for the private sector ($141 million, in 2010, 
     adjusted annually for inflation).
       The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Sarah Puro 
     (for maritime issues), Martin von Gnechten (for bankruptcy), 
     and Marin Randall (for the private-sector impact). The 
     estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Assistant 
     Director for Budget Analysis.

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