Coast Guard Arctic Preparedness Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Coast Guard Arctic Preparedness Act - Requires the Coast Guard to be the sole supplier of icebreaking services to federal agencies. Permits agencies to acquire icebreaking services from another entity if the Coast Guard is unable to provide such services.
Amends the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2012 to direct the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to initiate a reactivation and an extention of the service life of the icebreaker Polar Sea for 7 to 10 years.
Authorizes the Commandant of the Coast Guard, as part of any project for the acquisition of one or more new heavy polar icebreakers, to solicit bids and enter into contracts that include the provision of classification services by any classification society to which the Secretary has delegated such authority for vessels not owned by the U.S. government.
Sets forth vessel requirements to be included in a final rule concerning notices of arrival and departure and the automatic identification system (AIS).
Directs the Secretary to 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 AIS to transmit weather, ice, and other navigation safety information to vessels.
Permits the Secretary to recover appropriate travel and subsistence costs incurred in providing a service or thing of value to vessels, seamen, or other persons liable for certain fees or charges.
Authorizes the Secretary to order to active duty an organized training unit or member of the Coast Guard Ready Reserve (without consent of the members, for a continuous period of up to 120 days) as an emergency augmentation of regular Coast Guard forces in response to: (1) a major disaster or emergency under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, or (2) a spill of national significance under the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan.
Extends through September 30, 2017, the Commandant's acquisition workforce expedited hiring authority under which acquisition positions may be designated as positions for which there is a shortage of candidates or a critical hiring need.
The summary continues for 15 more paragraphs. 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 "Introduced in Senate" stage on March 13, 2014. 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 March 13, 2014: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 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?
Mark Begich (D-AK) introduced it on March 13, 2014, 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 March 13, 2014, 4564 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4564 days ago, on March 13, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers