[House Report 108-537]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



108th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     108-537

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                   CONVEYANCE OF NOAA VESSEL WHITING

                                _______
                                

  June 9, 2004.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 4158]

      [Including cost estimate to the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 4158) to provide for the conveyance to the Government of 
Mexico of a decommissioned National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration ship, and for other purposes, having considered 
the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommend that the bill do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 4158 is to provide for the conveyance 
to the Government of Mexico of a decommissioned National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship, and for other 
purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Operating under the International Hydrographic 
Organization, the United States chairs the MesoAmerican-
Caribbean Sea Hydrographic Commission (MACHC). The objective of 
this commission is to coordinate the hydrographic surveys and 
charting activities of member nations. The National 
Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and U.S. 
Navy are the main U.S. representatives in these efforts. In 
March 2002 the U.S.-Mexico Charting Advisors Committee 
(Committee) was established as a part of MACHC to address 
common regional issues on charting, research, and data 
collection of the two countries. The Committee coordinates 
activities such as joint surveys, cartographer and hydrographer 
exchanges, joint international chart production for border 
waters, and data exchange. As part of the cooperative 
activities of the Committee, the government of Mexico contacted 
NOAA in June 2003 indicating an interest in obtaining the 
recently decommissioned vessel Whiting from the United States.
    The survey vessel Whiting is 163 feet in length, has a 
draft of 12 feet, a displacement of 907 tons, a cruising range 
of 5,700 nautical miles, and a cruising speed of 12 knots. In 
2002 NOAA removed the Whiting from service and the vessel was 
decommissioned in May 2003. Since 1963 the Whiting had been in 
service conducting hydrographic surveys along the east and Gulf 
coasts of the United States and the Great Lakes. In March 2003, 
NOAA took possession of the former U.S. Navy hydrographic 
survey vessel Littlehales. This vessel was commissioned into 
service in July 2003 as a replacement for the Whiting.
    As of August 2003, Mexico did not yet have a vessel 
dedicated to hydrographic surveys and the Whiting would be the 
first ship to fill that role. Conveyance of the Whiting to the 
Government of Mexico would have several benefits. First it 
would result in less reliance by Mexico on NOAA and U.S. Navy 
assets for hydrographic surveys, and would assist in regional 
capacity building. In addition, it would likely result in 
updated charts, provide a platform for information exchange, 
and improve navigational safety for all vessels that sail in 
the Gulf of Mexico.
    This legislation is necessary because NOAA does not have 
authority to transfer ships directly to foreign governments. 
The bill stipulates that the Secretary of Commerce shall convey 
at no cost to the Government of Mexico all rights, title, and 
interests to the decommissioned survey vessel Whiting. In 
addition, the legislation requires the Whiting be used as a 
hydrographic survey platform in support of activities of the 
U.S.-Mexico Charting Advisors Committee. Furthermore, the 
Whiting shall be delivered to the Mexican government at the 
vessel's current home port of Norfolk, Virginia, and the United 
States will not be responsible for any remediation, 
maintenance, or operation of the Whiting after delivery.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 4158 was introduced on April 2, 2004, by Congressman 
Solomon Ortiz (D-TX). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans. On May 13, 2004, 
the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On May 19, 2004, 
the Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The 
Subcommittee was discharged from further consideration of the 
bill by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered and the 
bill was then ordered favorably reported to the House of 
Representatives by unanimous consent.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations 
are reflected in the body of this report.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Article 1, section 8 of the constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in tax 
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the 
sale of the ship transferred to the Government of Mexico might 
have generated offsetting receipts to the government, but these 
would amount to less than $500,000.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does 
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not 
apply.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate 
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                      Washington, DC, June 4, 2004.
Hon. Richard W. Pombo,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4158, a bill to 
provide for the conveyance to the government of Mexico of a 
decommissioned National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
ship.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                      Elizabeth M. Robinson
                               (For Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 4158--To provide for the conveyance to the government of Mexico of 
        a decommissioned National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration ship

    H.R. 4158 would direct the Secretary of Commerce to convey 
without consideration the Whiting, a decommissioned survey 
vessel, to the government of Mexico. Based on information 
provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, CBO estimates that conveying the Whiting would 
not result in any significant cost to the federal government. 
Because the decommissioned ship might have been sold in the 
absence of this legislation, the conveyance to Mexico could 
cause the government to forgo offsetting receipts, but CBO 
expects that any loss would be less than $500,000.
    The legislation would impose no intergovernmental or 
private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates 
Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or 
tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                                  
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