[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 167 (Thursday, November 3, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H7333-H7334]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               AMENDMENTS

  Under clause 8 of rule XVIII, proposed amendments were submitted as 
follows:

                               H.R. 2838

                        Offered By: Mr. LoBiondo

       Amendment No. 1: Page 18, line 13, strike ``section 569a'' 
     and insert ``section 569a(a) for the sixth national security 
     cutter and section 569a for the seventh national security 
     cutter''.
       Page 40, before line 7, insert the following:

     SEC. 409. AUTHORITY TO EXTEND THE DURATION OF MEDICAL 
                   CERTIFICATES.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 75 of title 46, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 7508. Authority to extend the duration of medical 
       certificates

       ``(a) Granting of Extensions.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, the Secretary may extend for not more than 
     one year a medical certificate issued to an individual 
     holding a license, merchant mariner's document, or 
     certificate of registry if the Secretary determines that the 
     extension is required to enable the Coast Guard to eliminate 
     a backlog in processing applications for medical certificates 
     or in response to a national emergency or natural disaster.
       ``(b) Manner of Extension.--An extension under this section 
     may be granted to individual seamen or a specifically 
     identified group of seamen.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis at the beginning of 
     such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following:

``7508. Authority to extend the duration of medical certificates.''.

       Page 56, after line 3, insert the following:

     SEC. 612. REPORT ON SURVIVAL CRAFT.

       (a) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast Guard 
     shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the 
     Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
     Senate a report on the carriage of survival craft that 
     ensures no part of an individual is immersed in water.
       (b) Content.--The report shall include information on--
       (1) the number of casualties as the result of immersion in 
     water by vessel type and area of operation reported to the 
     Coast Guard for each of fiscal years 1991 through 2011;
       (2) the effect the carriage of such survival craft has on 
     vessel safety, including stability and safe navigation;
       (3) the efficacy of alternative safety systems, devices, or 
     measures; and
       (4) the cost and cost-effectiveness of requiring the 
     carriage of such survival craft on vessels.
       Page 58, line 15, after ``technology'' insert ``to reduce 
     or eliminate aquatic invasive species''.

[[Page H7334]]

       Page 62, line 2, strike ``or'' at the end.
       Page 62, line 7, strike the period at the end and insert 
     ``; or''.
       Page 62, after line 7, insert the following:
       ``(iii) a discharge into navigable waters from a commercial 
     vessel when the commercial vessel is operating in a capacity 
     other than as a means of transportation on water.
       Page 64, line 3, strike ``December 19, 2008,'' and all that 
     follows through the period at the end of line 5 and insert 
     ``February 6, 2009.''.
       Page 65, line 12, strike ``point'' and insert ``port or 
     place''.
       Page 65, line 22, insert ``, if such system does not 
     introduce aquatic nuisance species into navigable waters, as 
     determined by the Secretary in consultation with the 
     Administrator'' before the semicolon at the end.
       Page 71, line 11, strike ``this subparagraph'' and insert 
     ``clause (ii)(II)''.
       Page 86, line 8, strike ``guidelines specifying'' and 
     insert ``requirements for''.
       Page 87, beginning on line 6, strike ``this section for'' 
     and all that follows through the period at the end of line 8 
     and insert the following: ``this section for--
       ``(A) a commercial vessel having a maximum ballast water 
     capacity of less than 8 cubic meters; and
       ``(B) a commercial vessel that is 3 years or fewer from the 
     end of its useful life, as determined by the Secretary 
     pursuant to subsection (b)(2)(B)(v).
       Page 87, line 24, strike ``Subsections (c), (e), and (i)'' 
     and insert ``Subsection (c)''.
       Page 88, beginning on line 2, strike ``, as determined by 
     the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator''.
       Page 88, line 7, insert ``, or an equivalent restriction, 
     as determined by the Secretary, issued by the country of 
     registration of the commercial vessel'' before the period.
       Page 107, line 10, insert ``, in consultation with the 
     Administrator,'' before ``shall promulgate''.
       Page 110, after line 18, add the following:

                           TITLE VIII--PIRACY

     SEC. 801. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Piracy Suppression Act of 
     2011''.

     SEC. 802. REPORT ON ACTIONS TAKEN TO PROTECT FOREIGN-FLAGGED 
                   VESSELS FROM PIRACY.

       Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the 
     Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is 
     operating, shall provide to the Committee on Armed Services 
     and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 
     House of Representatives and the Committee on Armed Service 
     and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 
     the Senate a report on actions taken by the Secretary of 
     Defense to protect foreign-flagged vessels from acts of 
     piracy on the high seas. The report shall include--
       (1) the total number of incidents for each of the fiscal 
     years 2008 through 2011 in which a member of the armed 
     services or an asset under the control of the Secretary of 
     Defense was used to interdict or defend against an act of 
     piracy directed against any vessel not documented under the 
     laws of the United States; and
       (2) the total cost for each of the fiscal years 2008 
     through 2011 for such incidents.

     SEC. 803. TRAINING PROGRAM FOR USE OF FORCE AGAINST PIRACY.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 517 of title 46, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     section:

     ``Sec. 51705. Training program for use of force against 
       piracy

       ``The Secretary of Transportation shall establish a 
     training program for United States mariners on the use of 
     force against pirates. The program shall include--
       ``(1) information on waters designated as high-risk waters 
     by the Commandant of the Coast Guard;
       ``(2) information on current threats and patterns of attack 
     by pirates;
       ``(3) tactics for defense of a vessel, including 
     instruction on the types, use, and limitations of security 
     equipment;
       ``(4) standard rules for the use of force for self defense 
     as developed by the Secretary of the department in which the 
     Coast Guard is operating under section 912(c) of the Coast 
     Guard Authorization Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-281; 46 
     U.S.C. 8107 note), including instruction on firearm safety 
     for crewmembers of vessels carrying cargo under section 55305 
     of this title; and
       ``(5) procedures to follow to improve crewmember 
     survivability if captured and taken hostage by pirates.''.
       (b) Deadline.--The Secretary of Transportation shall 
     establish the program required under the amendment made by 
     subsection (a) by no later than 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act.
       (c) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis at the beginning of 
     such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following 
     new item:

``51705. Training program for use of force against piracy.''.

     SEC. 804. SECURITY OF GOVERNMENT IMPELLED CARGO.

       Section 55305 of title 46, United States Code, is amended 
     by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(e) Security of Government Impelled Cargo.--
       ``(1) In order to assure the safety of vessels and 
     crewmembers transporting equipment, materials, or commodities 
     under this section, the Secretary of Transportation shall 
     direct each department or agency (except the Department of 
     Defense) responsible for the carriage of such equipment, 
     materials, or commodities to provide armed personnel aboard 
     vessels of the United States carrying such equipment, 
     materials, or commodities while transiting high-risk waters.
       ``(2) The Secretary of Transportation shall direct each 
     such department or agency to reimburse, subject to the 
     availability or appropriations, the owners or operators of 
     such vessels for the cost of providing armed personnel.
       ``(3) For the purposes of this subsection, the term `high-
     risk waters' means waters so designated by the Commandant of 
     the Coast Guard in the Port Security Advisory in effect on 
     the date on which the voyage begins.''.

     SEC. 805. GAO STUDY.

       Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
     report to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
     of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
     Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate on 
     efforts to track ransom payments paid to pirates operating in 
     the waters off Somalia and improve the prosecution of such 
     pirates. The report shall include--
       (1) the status of Working Group 5 of the Contact Group on 
     Piracy Off the Somali Coast, any efforts undertaken by the 
     Working Group, and recommendations for improving the Working 
     Group's effectiveness;
       (2) efforts undertaken by the United States Government to 
     implement and enforce Executive Order 13536, including 
     recommendations on how to better implement that order to 
     suppress piracy;
       (3) efforts undertaken by the United States Government to 
     track ransom payments made to pirates operating off the coast 
     of Somalia, the effectiveness of those efforts, any 
     operational actions taken based off those efforts, and 
     recommendations on how to improve such tracking;
       (4) actions taken by the United States Government to 
     improve the international prosecution of pirates captured off 
     the coast of Somalia; and
       (5) an update on the United States Government's efforts to 
     implement the recommendation contained in General 
     Accountability Office report GAO-10-856, entitled ``Maritime 
     Security: Actions Needed to Assess and Update Plan and 
     Enhance Collaboration among Partners Involved in Countering 
     Piracy off the Horn of Africa'', that metrics should be 
     established for measuring the effectiveness of counter piracy 
     efforts.