12 2 STA T .59 5 PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 1 8 1 —J A N .28 , 2008 SEC.351 5. V ESSE LTRAN S F ERA U T HO R I T Y . Section503 0 4 o f tit l e4 6,U nite d St a te sC ode, is a m ended by addin g att h e end the r eof the follo w ing
- ‘
‘ ( d )VES SE L C HART ERS T OO THER D E P ART M E N TS .— Ona reimb u rsable or nonreimbursable basis, as determined by the Sec - retary of T rans p ortation, the Secretary may charter or otherwise ma k ea v ailable a vessel under the j urisdiction of the Secretary to any other department, upon the re q uest by the Secretary of the Department that receives the vessel. The prior consent of the Secretary of Defense for such use shall be required with respect to any vessel in the R eady Reserve F orce or in the N ational Defense Reserve Fleet which is maintained in a retention status for the Department of Defense. ’ ’. SEC. 351 6 . SEA TRIALS FOR REA D Y RESERVE FORCE. Section 1 1(c)(1)( B ) of the M erchant Ship Sales A ctof1 9 46 (50 U.S.C. App. 1 7 44(c)(1)(B)) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘(B) activate and conduct sea trials on each vessel at least once every 30 months
’’. SEC. 351 7 . REVIE W OFA P PLICATIONS FOR LOANS AND G UARANTEES. (a) F I N D IN G S.—The Congress makes the following findings: (1) The maritime loan guarantee program was established by the Congress through the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to encourage domestic shipbuilding by making available federally backed loan guarantees for new construction to ship owners and operators. ( 2 ) The maritime loan guarantee program has a long and successful history of ship construction with a low historical default rate. (3) The current process for review of applications for mari- time loans in the Department of Transportation has effectively discontinued the program as envisioned by the Congress. (4) The P resident has requested no funding for the loan guarantee program despite the stated national policy to foster the development and encourage the maintenance of a merchant marine in section 50101 of title 46, United States Code. (5) United States commercial shipyards were placed at a competitive disadvantage in the world shipbuilding market by government subsidi z ed foreign commercial shipyards. (6) The maritime loan guarantee program has the potential to modernize shipyards and the ships of the United States coastwise trade and restore a competitive position in the world shipbuilding market for United States shipyards. (7) The maritime loan guarantee program is a useful tool to encourage domestic shipbuilding, preserving a vital indus- trial capacity critical to the security of the United States. (b) RE QU IREMENTS.— (1) I N GENERAL.— W ithin 1 8 0 days after the date of enact- ment of this Act, the Administrator of the Maritime Administra- tion shall develop and implement a comprehensive plan for the review of applications for loan guarantees under chapter 537 of title 46, United States Code. (2) DEADLINE F ORA C TION ON APPLICATION.— (A) TRADITIONAL APPLICATIONS.—In the comprehensive plan the Administrator will ensure that within the 90- day period following receipt of all pertinent documentation Deadlin e .P lan. 46USC5370 3 n ot e. Deadline.
�
