[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 120 (Tuesday, July 29, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H6995-H6997]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1345
  LONGSHORE AND HARBOR WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLARIFICATION ACT OF 2014

  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3896) to amend the Longshore and Harbor Workers' 
Compensation Act to provide a definition of recreational vessel for 
purposes of such Act, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3896

       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 ``Longshore and Harbor 
     Workers' Compensation Clarification Act of 2014''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF RECREATIONAL VESSEL.

       (a) Definition.--Section 2 of the Longshore and Harbor 
     Workers' Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. 902) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraph (22) as paragraph (23); and
       (2) by inserting after paragraph (21) the following:
       ``(22)(A) The term `recreational vessel' means a vessel--
       ``(i) being manufactured or operated primarily for 
     pleasure; or
       ``(ii) leased, rented, or chartered to another for the 
     latter's pleasure.
       ``(B) In applying the definition in subparagraph (A), the 
     following rules apply:
       ``(i) A vessel being manufactured or built, or being 
     repaired under warranty by its manufacturer or builder, is a 
     recreational vessel if the vessel appears intended, based on 
     its design and construction, to be for ultimate recreational 
     uses. The manufacturer or builder bears the burden of 
     establishing that a vessel is recreational under this 
     standard.
       ``(ii) A vessel being repaired, dismantled for repair, or 
     dismantled at the end of its life will be treated as 
     recreational at the time of

[[Page H6996]]

     repair, dismantling for repair, or dismantling, provided that 
     such vessel shares elements of design and construction of 
     traditional recreational vessels and is not normally engaged 
     in a military, commercial, or traditionally commercial 
     undertaking.
       ``(iii) A vessel will be treated as a recreational vessel 
     if it is a public vessel, such as a vessel owned or chartered 
     and operated by the United States, or by a State or political 
     subdivision thereof, at the time of repair, dismantling for 
     repair, or dismantling, provided that such vessel shares 
     elements of design and construction with traditional 
     recreational vessels and is not normally engaged in a 
     military, commercial, or traditionally commercial 
     undertaking.''.
       (b) Regulations.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall--
       (1) amend the regulations in section 701.501 of title 20, 
     Code of Federal Regulations, by deleting the text of 
     subsections (a) and (b) of such section and replacing it with 
     only the text of the definition of recreational vessel in 
     section 2(22) of the Longshore and Harbor Workers' 
     Compensation Act, as added by subsection (a); and
       (2) make no further modification to such definition in 
     another regulation or any administrative directive.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Walberg) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman 
Schultz) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.


                             General Leave

  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on H.R. 3896.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3896, the 
Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act of 2014, and yield 
myself as much time as I may consume.
  The bill before us today provides an opportunity to correct a 
bureaucratic mistake by the Obama administration that is creating a 
great deal of confusion and anxiety among certain maritime employers, 
including a lot of small business owners.
  For more than 85 years, the Longshore and Harbor Workers' 
Compensation Act has provided relief to maritime workers who sustain an 
injury or illness through work-related activity. Under current law, 
individuals who repair or dismantle recreational vessels, as well as 
those who build recreational vessels less than 65 feet long, are 
covered by an available State workers' compensation program, not the 
Federal Longshore Act.
  It is a bit confusing, especially for maritime employers. In 2009, 
Congress tried to simplify the law by stipulating any maritime worker 
providing maintenance of recreational vessels is covered by a State 
workers' compensation program, regardless of the size of the vessel. 
Unfortunately, no good deed goes unpunished. The Obama administration 
issued regulations that further muddied the waters.
  Now, employers are forced to engage in a complicated analysis to 
determine which employees are covered by which workers' comp program, 
Federal or State coverage. It is a mess that is forcing employers to 
spend even more time and money managing their workers' comp programs.
  As the National Marine Manufacturers Association warns in a letter to 
Congress, the administration's regulatory approach has led to higher 
rates that could ``cause businesses to lay off employees or to decide 
to buy no insurance coverage for their employees at all.''
  Members of Congress have raised concerns with the administration's 
implementation of the 2009 law and to no avail. So we are here once 
again, Mr. Speaker, clarifying what was already made clear in the hopes 
the Department of Labor will finally get it right.
  H.R. 3896 amends the Longshore Act to define what a ``recreational 
vessel'' is in order to convey the true intent of the 2009 law. The 
bill cleans up any regulatory ambiguity and helps ensure maritime 
employers have access to affordable workers' compensation coverage for 
their employees.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3896, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, first, as the prime sponsor of 
this legislation, let me thank Chairman Kline, Ranking Member Miller, 
and the talented staff on the Education and the Workforce Committee for 
their leadership and guidance in bringing forth this bipartisan piece 
of legislation.
  This is a project that has been bipartisan from the start, and I 
think it is unfortunate that my colleague, although speaking in favor 
of the bill, has chosen to stray from the bipartisan commentary that we 
should be working together on this legislation.
  The bill before us, the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation 
Act, would reinstate the intent of Congress to ensure that workers in 
the recreational marine repair industry have adequate workers' 
compensation coverage. That is the crux of the matter that is before 
us.
  In 2009, Congress passed section 803 of the American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act, which expanded an existing exception that allowed 
more recreational marine repair workers to receive workers' 
compensation coverage under State law, rather than under the Longshore 
and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act. This was necessary because repair 
workers were simply not buying the more expensive policies and, thus, 
they were left undercovered. Businesses found that it was difficult for 
marine underwriters to determine what law their employees fell under. 
Therefore, section 803 expanded the exception for the recreational 
marine repair industry from the requirement to purchase higher cost 
workers' compensation insurance under the Longshore Act. And as part of 
this provision, a repair worker was required to be covered by the 
lower-cost State compensation insurance in order to take full advantage 
of the exception. As a result, more workers would be covered--a good 
thing.
  The Recovery Act, signed into law in 2009, provided the clarity for 
workers to get the coverage they needed under State workers' 
compensation laws. And marine insurance underwriters began to write 
State policies because of this clarity.
  Unfortunately, new regulations were issued in 2011 that adopted a 
definition of recreational vessel which was far more complicated and 
onerous than the existing law. In so doing, this new regulatory 
definition ran counter to what Congress intended. It contracted the 
exception, rather than expanding it to ensure that we could get more 
employees covered. It muddied the waters of when longshore coverage was 
required and when the new congressionally mandated exception to use 
State law applied. And as a consequence, these new regulations caused 
the underwriters to simply stop writing policies under State law, 
leaving many recreational workers in the same predicament that they 
were in before passage of section 803.
  The bill that we are considering today establishes a workable 
definition for a recreational vessel. In doing so, it restores the 
intent of Congress in the original 2009 enactments to get coverage for 
these workers under less expensive State workers' compensation 
insurance. Put simply, this bill is about protecting jobs and keeping 
workers covered.

  In Broward County, Florida, alone, there are over 90,000 jobs in the 
recreational marine industry. We are the yachting capital of the entire 
world in Broward capital, particularly in Fort Lauderdale.
  These jobs allow workers to buy homes, provide for their families, 
and contribute significantly to local economies. And 95 percent of 
these marine businesses have fewer than 10 employees, Mr. Speaker. 
Congress intended in 1984 and in 2009 to make sure these workers and 
their families were covered. And this bill keeps that promise. It does 
so in a bipartisan way. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  At this time, I have no further requests for time. So in closing, I 
will, again, simply say that I appreciate Chairman Kline and Ranking 
Member Miller's support and the work of all of the Members who have 
significant marine industries in their congressional districts. I am 
really pleased that we are going to be able to finally make sure that 
the intent of Congress is carried out and that these marine workers, 
who are vital and a part of the backbone of so many economies, will 
have the coverage that they need, rather than forgoing that coverage, 
and

[[Page H6997]]

that we will be able to make sure that the employers who employ them 
will be able to provide less expensive coverage. It is a win-win, and I 
look forward to seeing it become law.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the remainder of my time.
  I couldn't have said it better than my colleague from Florida. Having 
a district that borders the Great Lakes, having marinas and harbors in 
my district, having the opportunity to use the resources and to make 
sure that the intent of Congress is followed and that we have employees 
and employers who are treated fairly under workers' comp laws, that 
they are cared for completely at the lowest cost that we intended, with 
the original intent of Congress, this bill does that.
  So I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 3896 and yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support for H.R. 
3896, a bill that would provide an important technical fix to the 
Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act to ensure that workers 
in the recreational repair industry have access to affordable workers' 
compensation insurance.
  In 2009, Congress expanded an exception for the recreational repair 
industry that allowed workers in that industry to purchase less 
expensive state workers compensation insurance. However, in issuing 
regulations for this expanded exception, the Department of Labor 
modified the definition of a recreational vessel in a way that actually 
narrowed the exception's scope. The complexity of this new definition 
has led insurance underwriters to stop issuing workers compensation 
policies for repair workers, leading many workers to go without 
coverage entirely.
  H.R. 3896 would enact a definition of recreational vessel that more 
accurately reflects the intent of Congress. The bill is supported by 
the recreational marine and marine insurance industries and has the 
support of both the Chairman and the Ranking Member of the House 
Education and Workforce Committee.
  I want to thank Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Chairman Kline, and Chairman 
Walberg for their support and work on this bill, as well as the 
committee staff who worked diligently to see it through the process.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3896, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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