PUBLIC LAW 105-383—NOV. 13, 1998 112 STAT. 3445 (2) the enactment of this Act. (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— Section 306 of the Hydrographic Services improvement Act of 1998 is amended to 33 USC 892d. read as follows: "SEC. 306. AUTHORIZATION OP APPROPRIATIONS. "There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator the following: "(1) To carry out nautical mapping and charting functions under the Act of 1947 and sections 303 and 304, except for conducting hydrographic surveys, $33,000,000 for fiscal year 1999, $34,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, and $35,000,000 for fiscal year 2001. "(2) To conduct hydrographic surveys under section 303(a)(1), including the leasing of ships, $33,000,000 for fiscal year 1999, $35,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, and $37,000,000 for fiscal year 2001. Of these amounts, no more than $16,000,000 is authorized for any one fiscal year to operate hydrographic survey vessels owned and operated by the Administration. "(3) To carry out geodetic functions under the Act of 1947, $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1999, $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, and $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2001. "(4) To carry out tide and current measurement functions under the Act of 1947, $22,500,000 for each of fiscal years 1999 through 2001. Of these amounts $4,500,000 is authorized for each fiscal year to implement and operate a national quality control system for real-time tide and current and maintain the national tide network, and $7,000,000 is authorized for each fiscal year to design and install real-time tide and current data measurement systems under section 303(b)(4).". (c) REPEAL OF REPORT REQUIREMENTS.—Section 305 of the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998 is amended by 33 USC 892c. striking subsections (a) and (d). TITLE V—ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS FOR JONES ACT WAIVERS SEC. 501. FINDINGS. The Congress finds that— (1) current coastwise trade laws provide no administrative authority to waive the United-States-built requirement of those laws for the limited carriage of passengers for hire on vessels built or rebuilt outside the United States; (2) requests for such waivers require the enactment of legislation by the Congress; (3) each Congress routinely approves numerous such requests for waiver and rarely rejects any such request; and (4) the review and approval of such waiver requests is a ministerial function which properly should be executed by an administrative agency with appropriate expertise. SEC. 502. ADMINISTRATIVE WAIVER OF COASTWISE TRADE LAWS. Notwithstanding sections 12106 and 12108 of title 46, United States Code, section 8 of the Act of June 19, 1886 (46 U.S.C. App. 289), and section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1920 (46 46 USC 12106 note. 46 USC 12106 note.
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