[Senate Report 117-67]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                  Calendar No. 219

117th Congress}                                           { Report
                                 SENATE
  2d Session  }                                           { 117-67

======================================================================
 
                CHANGING AGE-DETERMINED ELIGIBILITY 
                 TO STUDENT INCENTIVE PAYMENTS ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 OF THE

           COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION

                                   ON

                                S. 2299

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


                February 3, 2022.--Ordered to be printed
                
                              __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
                          WASHINGTON : 2022                     
                         
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
       SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
                    one hundred seventeenth congress
                             second session

                   MARIA CANTWELL, Washington, Chair
AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota             ROGER WICKER, Mississippi
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut      JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii                 ROY BLUNT, Missouri
EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts         TED CRUZ, Texas
GARY PETERS, Michigan                DEB FISCHER, Nebraska
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin             JERRY MORAN, Kansas
TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois            DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska
JON TESTER, Montana                  MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              TODD YOUNG, Indiana
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  MIKE LEE, Utah
BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico            RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Colorado          SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia

RAPHAEL WARNOCK, Georgia             RICK SCOTT, Florida
                                     CYNTHIA LUMMIS, Wyoming
                 Melissa Porter, Acting Staff Director
                  John Keast, Minority Staff Director
                  
                  

                                                  Calendar No. 219

117th Congress}                                           { Report
                                 SENATE
  2d Session  }                                           { 117-67

======================================================================
                  CHANGING AGE-DETERMINED ELIGIBILITY 
                     TO STUDENT INCENTIVE PAYMENTS ACT

                                _______
                                

                February 3, 2022.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

      Ms. Cantwell, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 2299]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to 
which was referred the bill (S. 2299) to modify the age 
requirement for the Student Incentive Payment Program of the 
State maritime academies, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the 
bill do pass.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of S. 2299, the Changing Age-Determined 
Eligibility to Student Incentive Payment Act, as reported, is 
to update the age eligibility of the Maritime Administration's 
Student Incentive Payment Program.

                          Background and Needs

    S. 2299, the Changing Age-Determined Eligibility to Student 
Incentive Payments Act (CADETS Act), would update the Maritime 
Administration's (MARAD) Student Incentive Payment (SIP) 
Program's age eligibility. Currently, students must be between 
the ages of 17 to 25 to qualify for the SIP Program. Students 
are also required to obtain a commission in the U.S. Navy 
Reserve, which accepts members between the ages of 17 and 42 
depending on their prior military service.
    SIP is a federally funded program that provides financial 
assistance to cadets seeking to become licensed officers in the 
U.S. Merchant Marine who are enrolled in the Strategic Sealift 
Officer Program (SSOP) at one of six State maritime 
academies.\1\ The program provides financial assistance of up 
to $8,000 per school year, not to exceed 4 years or $32,000.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, 
``The Student Incentive Payment (SIP) Program,'' updated November 23, 
2020 (https://www.maritime.dot.gov/education/
maritime-academies/student-incentive-payment-sip-program).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Programs like SIP enable the recruitment of a wider pool of 
candidates to become officers, especially prior service 
military veterans. However, the merchant mariner force is at 
least 1,800 officers short of wartime needs. The average age of 
a merchant mariner is 47.\2\ The recruitment and training of 
qualified officers to replace and expand the aging workforce is 
vital to national security.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\Geoffrey Brown, ``U.S. Strategic Sealift's Merchant Mariner 
Problem,'' The Maritime Executive, July 2, 2021 (https://www.maritime-
executive.com/editorials/u-s-strategic-sealift-s-merchant-mariner-
problem), originally published as ``Strategic Sealift's Merchant 
Mariner Problem,'' Center for International Maritime Security, July 1, 
2021 (https://cimsec.org/strategic-sealifts-
merchant-mariner-problem/).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    SSOP is the primary capability to supply the U.S. armed 
forces globally. Having an adequate supply of officers in the 
SSOP to run sealift ships is an essential component of national 
defense. SSOP is composed of naval reserve officers who are 
licensed U.S. Merchant Marine officers with experience in 
sealift, maritime operations, and logistics. These officers are 
eligible to be called up to crew the ships of the Ready Reserve 
Fleet and Military Sealift Command in the event of war or 
national emergencies.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\U.S. Navy, Naval Service Training Command, Naval Reserve 
Officers Training Corps, ``Strategic Sealift Midshipman Program 
(SSMP)'' (https://www.netc.navy.mil/Commands/Naval-
Service-Training-Command/NROTC/SSMP/).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    SIP requires the following post-graduation service 
obligations: 3 years of service in the maritime industry, 
maintenance of U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner credentials 
for 6 years, and service in a Naval Reserve commission as a 
strategic sealift officer for 8 years. Students enrolled in the 
SIP Program must apply for and be accepted as a midshipman in 
the Naval or Merchant Marine Reserve and be accepted for 
enlisted reserve status.\4\ Current SIP age requirements 
prohibit cadets older than 25 from enrolling in the program. 
State maritime academies have a number of older cadets--many of 
them veterans--who currently are not eligible for the SIP 
Program due to this age requirement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, 
``The Student Incentive Payment (SIP) Program,'' updated November 23, 
2020 (https://www.maritime.dot.gov/education/
maritime-academies/student-incentive-payment-sip-program).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                         Summary of Provisions

    S. 2299, the CADETS Act, as reported, would allow the 
Secretary of Transportation to make an agreement with qualified 
students who meet the age requirement for enlistment in the 
Navy Reserve at the time of graduation.

                          Legislative History

    S. 2299 was introduced on June 24, 2021, by Senator Peters 
(for himself and Senators Young, Cruz, Baldwin, Braun, and 
Markey) and was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate. Senator Klobuchar is an 
additional cosponsor. On August 4, 2021, the Committee met in 
open Executive Session and, by voice vote, ordered S. 2299 
reported favorably without amendment.

                            Estimated Costs

    In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the 
following cost estimate, prepared by the Congressional Budget 
Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                  Washington, DC, October 28, 2021.
Hon. Maria Cantwell,
Chair, Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Madam Chair: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 2299, the CADETS 
Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Aaron 
Krupkin.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    

    S. 2299 would modify the age requirement for the Maritime 
Administration's (MARAD's) Student Incentive Payment (SIP) 
program, which provides financial support up to $8,000 per year 
to cadets enrolled in the Strategic Sealift Officer Program at 
state maritime academies. Under current law, a student must be 
between the ages of 17 and 25 at the time of enrollment to be 
eligible for SIP assistance. S. 2299 would extend eligibility 
to students that meet the age requirement for enlistment in the 
Navy Reserve, which is generally between the ages of 17 and 39, 
at graduation.
    Using information from MARAD, CBO estimates that only a 
small number of people would qualify and apply for SIP 
assistance under the expanded eligibility rules and that the 
costs to fund those applicants would total less than $500,000 
over the 2022-2026 period. In addition, CBO estimates that it 
would cost the agency less than $500,000 to amend the SIP 
program's guidelines, forms, and regulations. In total, CBO 
estimates that implementing S. 2299 would cost $1 million over 
the 2022-2026 period; such spending would be subject to the 
availability of appropriated funds.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Aaron Krupkin. 
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Director of Budget Analysis.

                      Regulatory Impact Statement

    In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the 
following evaluation of the regulatory impact of the 
legislation, as reported:

                       number of persons covered

    S. 2299 would expand the age eligibility for an already 
existing student financial aid program for maritime academies 
and therefore will not subject any individuals or businesses to 
new regulations.

                            economic impact

    S. 2299 is anticipated to have a positive economic impact 
by expanding the recruitment and training potential for the 
U.S. Merchant Marine, a workforce that is currently aging and 
in need of growth to keep up with economic and national 
security demands.

                                privacy

    S. 2299 would not have any adverse impact on the personal 
privacy of the individuals.

                               paperwork

    S. 2299 would expand age eligibility for an existing 
educational financial assistance program and would not generate 
additional paperwork.

                   Congressionally Directed Spending

    In compliance with paragraph 4(b) of rule XLIV of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides that no 
provisions contained in the bill, as reported, meet the 
definition of congressionally directed spending items under the 
rule.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short title.

    This section would provide that the bill may be cited as 
the ``Changing Age-Determined Eligibility To Student Incentive 
Payments Act'' or the ``CADETS Act''.

Section 2. Age requirement for the Student Incentive Payment Program of 
        the State maritime academies.

    This section would amend section 51509 of title 46, United 
States Code, to allow the Secretary of Transportation to enter 
into financial assistance agreements for the SIP Program with 
students who meet the age requirement for enlistment in the 
U.S. Navy Reserve at the time of graduation from their State 
maritime academy.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
material is printed in italic, existing law in which no change 
is proposed is shown in roman):

UNITED STATES CODE

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


TITLE 46--SHIPPING

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Subtitle V--Merchant Marine

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Part B--Merchant Marine Service

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


CHAPTER 515--STATE MARITIME ACADEMY SUPPORT PROGRAM

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



Sec. 51509. Student incentive payment agreements

    (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (i) Age Requirement.--The Secretary may make an agreement 
under this section only with a qualified student who will meet 
the age requirement for enlistment in the Navy Reserve at the 
time of graduation from the academy.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


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