Title I — S. 2131 (Introduced in Senate)

Sec. 101 Clarification of Coast Guard ice operations mission

(a)

Coast Guard provision of Federal icebreaking services— Chapter 5 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 86 the following:

“87. Provision of icebreaking services

“(a) In general—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, except as provided in subsection (b), the Coast Guard shall be the sole supplier of icebreaking services, on an advance payment or reimbursable basis, to each Federal agency that requires icebreaking services.

“(b) Exception—In the event that a Federal agency requires icebreaking services and the Coast Guard is unable to provide the services, the Federal agency may acquire icebreaking services from another entity.”

(b)

Priority of Coast Guard missions in polar regions—

(1)

Section 110— Section 110(b)(2) of the Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 4109(b)(2)) is amended—

(A)

by inserting “to execute the statutory missions of the Coast Guard and” after “needed”; and

(B)

by inserting “and all budget authority related to such operations” after “projects,”.

(2)

Section 312— Section 312(c) of the Antarctic Marine Living Resources Convention Act of 1984 (16 U.S.C. 2441(c)) is amended by inserting “to execute the statutory missions of the Coast Guard and” after “needed”.

(c)

Conforming amendment— The table of contents for chapter 5 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 86 the following:

Sec. 102 Reactivation of Polar Sea

(a)

In general— Section 222 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2012 (126 Stat. 1560), is amended—

(1)

by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:

“(d) Reactivation of Polar Sea

“(1) In general—The Secretary shall—

“(A) develop a service life extension plan for the reactivation of the Polar Sea, including a timetable for that reactivation; and

“(B) initiate reactivating and extending the service life of the Polar Sea for 7 to 10 years, in accordance with the service life extension plan under subparagraph (A).

“(2) Utilization of existing resources—In the development of the service life extension plan under paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall utilize to the greatest extent practicable recent plans, studies, assessments, and analyses regarding the Coast Guard’s icebreakers and high latitude mission needs and operating requirements.

“(3) Submission—The Secretary shall submit the service life extension plan under paragraph (1)(A) to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives not later than 30 days after the date of its completion.”

(2)

in subsection (e)—

(A)

by striking “Except as provided in subsection (d), the” and inserting “The”; and

(B)

in paragraph (1), by inserting “unless it is necessary for purposes of the service life extension plan under subsection (d),” before “transfer”.

(b)

Authorization of appropriations— There is authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2015 to the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating such sums as may be necessary to reactivate and extend the service life of the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Sea (WAGB 11) for 7 to 10 years.

Sec. 103 Competitive bidding in heavy polar icebreaker design and construction

Notwithstanding the requirement of section 3316(a) of title 46, United States Code regarding classification services for vessels owned by the United States Government, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, consistent with the requirements of chapter 15 of title 14, United States Code, and other applicable Federal law, as a part of any project or program established for the acquisition of 1 or more new heavy polar icebreakers for the Coast Guard, may solicit bids and proposals and enter into contracts that include the provision of classification services by any classification society to which the Secretary has delegated the authority to provide those services for vessels not owned by the United States Government.

Sec. 104 Vessel requirements for notices of arrival and departure and automatic identification system

(a)

In general— Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish a final rule implementing the proposed rule “Vessel Requirements for Notices of Arrival and Departure, and Automatic Identification System” (73 Fed. Reg. 76295).

(b)

Rule of construction— The Secretary shall ensure, with respect to a final rule issued under subsection (a), that any notice of arrival or notice of departure requirement in the final rule applies to vessels in a manner consistent with the regulations promulgated under section 109(a) of the Security and Accountability for Every Port Act of 2006 (33 U.S.C. 1223 note) and with section 704 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2012 (126 Stat. 1580).

Sec. 105 Improved safety information for vessels

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a permitting process by which an operator of a marine exchange or other non-Federal vessel traffic information service may apply for permission to use the automatic identification system to transmit weather, ice, and other important navigation safety information to vessels.

Sec. 106 Recovery of travel and subsistence costs for prevention services

(a)

Title 46, United States Code— Section 2110 of title 46, United States Code, is amended—

(1)

in subsection (c), by inserting “appropriate travel and subsistence costs incurred providing a service or thing of value under this subtitle and” after “recover”; and

(2)

in subsection (d), by inserting at the end the following:

“(3) Amounts received as reimbursement for appropriate travel and subsistence costs incurred providing a service or thing of value under this section may be credited to the account from which expended.

“(4) Reimbursement for services provided under this section may include in kind reimbursement for transportation, travel, and subsistence.”

(b)

Title 14, United States Code— Section 664 of title 14, United States Code, is amended—

(1)

in subsection (c), by inserting “appropriate travel and subsistence costs incurred by the Coast Guard in providing a service or thing of value,” after “for the fee or charge the”;

(2)

in subsection (e), by inserting “and, as appropriate, for travel and subsistence costs incurred when providing a service or thing of value” after “charge”; and

(3)

by adding at the end the following:

“(h) Reimbursement for services provided by the Coast Guard may include in-kind reimbursement for transportation, travel, and subsistence.”

Title I — Prevention

I Prevention