USA: Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022 passed by House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives passed the Don Young Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022 to authorize appropriations for the Coast Guard, and for other purposes. Inter alia, this amendment provides the following amendments on “Manning and Crewing Requirements for Certain Vessels, Vehicles and Structures” (see Sec. 419):

The Secretary may provide an exemption (…) to the owner or operator of a covered facility if each individual who is manning or crewing the covered facility is – (1) a citizen of the United States; (2) an alien lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence; or (3) a citizen of the nation under the laws of which the vessel is documented.
(…)
An exemption under this subsection is an exemption from the regulations established pursuant to section 30(a)(3) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1356(a)(3)).
(…)
An exemption under this section – (1) shall provide that the number of individuals manning or crewing the covered facility (…) (a) may not exceed two and one- half times the number of individuals required to man or crew the covered facility under the laws of the nation under the laws of which the covered facility is documented; and (2) shall be effective for not more than 12 months, but may be renewed by application to and approval by the Secretary.
(…)
The term ‘covered facility’ means any vessel, rig, platform, or other vehicle or structure, over 50 percent of which is owned by citizens of a foreign nation or with respect to which the citizens of a foreign nation have the right effectively to control, except to the extent and to the degree that the President determines that the government of such foreign nation or any of its political subdivisions has implemented, by statute, regulation, policy, or practice, a national manning requirement for equipment engaged in the exploring for, developing, or producing resources, including non-mineral energy resources in its offshore areas.

This Bill also imposes the purchase of automatic identification systems for fishing vessels, fish processing vessels, fish tender vessels more than 50 feet in length (see Sec. 307). The Bill was received in the United States Senate on 30 March 2022 and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. A full version of Bill H.R. 6865 may be found here.