Coast Guard Modernization Act of 2009
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 203.
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)
Coast Guard Modernization Act of 2009 - Title I: Coast Guard Leadership - (Sec. 101) Revises provisions concerning the leadership of the Coast Guard, including: (1) allowing more than one admiral; (2) requiring that the Coast Guard Vice Commandant, while so serving, have the rank of admiral; and (3) replacing the current area commanders with vice admirals and revising their responsibilities.
Title II: Marine Safety Administration - (Sec. 201) Requires the Commandant to promote maritime safety according to specified priorities.
(Sec. 202) Requires the Commandant to: (1) designate Coast Guard positions constituting the marine safety workforce; (2) report annually on the adequacy of the current marine safety workforce to meet the anticipated workload; and (3) establish a management information system for that workforce.
Requires there to be a chief of marine safety in each Coast Guard sector.
Authorizes the Commandant to establish and operate one or more Centers of Expertise for Marine Safety.
Requires the Commandant, by policy, to establish a program under which a Coast Guard officer, member, or employee may be assigned to a private entity to further Coast Guard interests regarding marine safety, including to train the person. Requires a related annual report.
(Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to develop a long-term strategy for improving vessel safety and the safety of individuals on vessels, including annual issuance of a plan and schedule for achieving specified goals.
(Sec. 204) Provides for a principal advisor to the Commandant regarding marine safety.
(Sec. 205) Requires, except for the Commandant, that any individual adjudicating an appeal or waiver of a marine safety decision either have certain training, experience, and qualifications or be advised by a senior staff member who meets those requirements and concurs in the decision on appeal.
(Sec. 206) Requires a marine safety curriculum at the Coast Guard Academy and during other officer accession programs.
The summary continues for 1 more paragraph. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House without amendment" stage on December 3, 2009. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 3, 2009: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 203.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 111th Congress (2009-10), 383 of the 10,778 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.6 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JAMES OBERSTAR (D-MN) introduced it on June 2, 2009, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 2, 2009, 6309 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 6125 days ago, on December 3, 2009.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 111th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2011 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers