Great Lakes Maritime Act of 1980
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries.
Great Lakes Maritime Act of 1980 - Title I: Water Resources Project Authorization - Authorizes the Secretary of the Army, through the Chief of Engineers, to extend the navigation season on Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, and Erie and their interconnecting navigation channels in accordance with specified recommendations of the Corps of Engineers. Authorizes appropriations for such purpose. Directs the Secretary, in cooperation with other departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States, and with State and local governments, to determine the extent of shoreline damage in the United States causally related to the regulation of the waters of Lake Superior by the International Joint Commission - United States and Canada. Requires that a report on such findings be made to Congress before September 30, 1982. Title II: Equitable Service for Foreign Trade of Great Lakes Ports - Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, to direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish trade routes, services, or lines that take into account the seasonal closure of the Saint Lawrence Seaway and that provide for alternate shipping routes via a different range of ports during such closure. Title III: Debt Extension for Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation - Amends the provisions of law which created the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation to extend from 50 years to 80 years the period for repayment of revenue bonds issued by the Corporation to the Secretary of the Treasury. Directs the Corporation and the Secretary to make all revenue bonds outstanding on the effective date of this Act payable in equal annual amounts over the remainder of the 80 year period established by this Act. Title IV: Regulation of Common Carrriers by Water - Amends the Shipping Act, 1916, to redefine the term "common carrier by water in foreign commerce" to include persons engaged as common carriers in specified ocean transportation of property who: (1) advertise, solicit, or arrange, within the United States, for such transportation; or (2) issue or deliver ocean or through intermodal bills of lading or other contracts of afreightment for such transportation. Directs that specified contracts or agreements be filed with the Federal Maritime Commission within 30 days of the date of enactment of this Act. Directs such common carriers by water to file their tariffs with the Commission within 30 days of the date of enactment of this Act. Sets forth the effective dates of such tariffs.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on September 10, 1980. 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 September 10, 1980: Referred to House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries.
- 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 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 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?
THOMAS ASHLEY (D-OH) introduced it on September 10, 1980. No cosponsors are recorded.
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 September 10, 1980, 16801 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16801 days ago, on September 10, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 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