Sec. 3506. IMPROVEMENTS TO THE MARITIME GUARANTEED LOAN PROGRAM
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## SEC. 3506 IMPROVEMENTS TO THE MARITIME GUARANTEED LOAN PROGRAM ###
(a)Definitions Section 53701 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— ####
(1)by striking paragraph (5); ####
(2)by redesignating paragraphs
(6)through
(15)as paragraphs
(5)through (14), respectively; and ####
(3)by adding at the end the following: > > #### “(15) Vessel of national interest > > The term ‘Vessel of National Interest’ means a vessel deemed to be of national interest that meets characteristics determined by the Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating when it is not operating as a service in the Department of the Navy, or the heads of other Federal agencies, as described in section 53703(d).” > . ###
(b)Preferred Lender Subsection
(a)of section 53702 of title 46, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: > > ### “(a) In General > > > #### “(1) Guarantee of payments > > The Secretary or Administrator, on terms the Secretary or Administrator may prescribe, may guarantee or make a commitment to guarantee the payment of the principal of and interest on an obligation eligible to be guaranteed under this chapter. A guarantee or commitment to guarantee shall cover 100 percent of the principal and interest. > > > #### “(2) Preferred eligible lender > > The Federal Financing Bank shall be the preferred eligible lender of the principal and interest of the guaranteed obligations issued under this chapter.” > . ###
(c)Application and Administration Section 53703 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— ####
(1)in the section heading, by striking “procedures” and inserting “and administration”; and ####
(2)by adding at the end the following: > > ### “(c) Independent Analysis > > > #### “(1) In general > > To assess and mitigate the risks due to factors associated with markets, technology, financial, or legal structures related to an application or guarantee under this chapter, the Secretary or Administrator may utilize third party experts, including legal counsel, to— > > > ##### “(A) > > process and review applications under this chapter, including conducting independent analysis and review of aspects of an application; > > > ##### “(B) > > represent the Secretary or Administrator in structuring and documenting the obligation guarantee; > > > ##### “(C) > > analyze and review aspects of, structure, and document the obligation guarantee during the term of the guarantee; > > > ##### “(D) > > recommend financial covenants or financial ratios to be met by the applicant during the time a guarantee under this chapter is outstanding that are— > > > ###### “(i) > > based on the financial covenants or financial ratios, if any, that are then applicable to the obligor under private sector credit agreements; and > > > ###### “(ii) > > in lieu of other financial covenants applicable to the obligor under this chapter with respect to requirements regarding long-term debt-to-equity, minimum working capital, or minimum amount of equity; and > > > ##### “(E) > > represent the Secretary or Administrator to protect the security interests of the Government relating to an obligation guarantee. > > > #### “(2) Private sector expert > > Independent analysis, review, and representation conducted under this subsection shall be performed by a private sector expert in the applicable field who is selected by the Secretary or Administrator. > > > ### “(d) Vessels of National Interest > > > #### “(1) Notice of funding > > The Secretary or Administrator may post a notice in the Federal Register regarding the availability of funding for obligation guarantees under this chapter for the construction, reconstruction, or reconditioning of a Vessel of National Interest and include a timeline for the submission of applications for such vessels. > > > #### “(2) Vessel characteristics > > > ##### “(A) In general > > The Secretary or Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating when it is not operating as service in the Department of the Navy, or the heads of other Federal agencies, shall develop and publish a list of vessel types that would be considered Vessels of National Interest. > > > ##### “(B) Review > > Such list shall be reviewed and revised every four years or as necessary, as determined by the Administrator.” > . ###
(d)Funding Limits Section 53704 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— ####
(1)in subsection (a)— #####
(A)by striking “that amount” and all the follows through “$850,000,000” and inserting “that amount, $850,000,000”; and #####
(B)by striking “facilities” and all that follows through the end of the subsection and inserting “facilities.”; and ####
(2)in subsection (c)(4)— #####
(A)by striking subparagraph (A); and #####
(B)by redesignating subparagraphs
(B)through (K), as subparagraphs
(A)through (J), respectively. ###
(e)Eligible Purposes of Obligations Section 53706 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— ####
(1)in subsection (a)(1)(A)— #####
(A)in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking “(including an eligible export vessel)”; #####
(B)in clause
(iv)by inserting “or” after the semicolon; #####
(C)in clause (v), by striking “; or” and inserting a period; and #####
(D)by striking clause (vi); and ####
(2)in subsection (c)(1)— #####
(A)in subparagraph (A), by striking “and” after the semicolon; #####
(B)in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and #####
(C)by adding at the end the following: > > ##### “(C) > > after applying subparagraphs
(A)and (B), Vessels of National Interest.” > . ###
(f)Amount of Obligations Section 53709(b) of title 46, United States Code, is amended— ####
(1)by striking paragraphs
(3)and (6); and ####
(2)by redesignating paragraphs
(4)and
(5)as paragraphs
(3)and (4), respectively. ###
(g)Contents of Obligations Section 53710 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— ####
(1)in subsection (a)(4)— #####
(A)in subparagraph (A)— ######
(i)by striking “or, in the case of” and all that follows through “party”; and ######
(ii)by striking “and” after the semicolon; and #####
(B)in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and #####
(C)by adding at the end the following: > > ##### “(C) > > documented under the laws of the United States for the term of the guarantee of the obligation or until the obligation is paid in full, whichever is sooner.” > ; and ####
(2)in subsection (c)— #####
(A)in the subsection heading, by inserting “and Provide for the Financial Stability of the Obligor” after “Interests”; #####
(B)by striking “ provisions for the protection of ” and inserting > “provisions, which shall include— > > > #### “(1) > > provisions for the protection of” > ; #####
(C)by striking “, and other matters that the Secretary or Administrator may prescribe.” and inserting, “; and”; and #####
(D)by adding at the end the following: > > #### “(2) > > any other provisions that the Secretary or Administrator may prescribe.” > . ###
(h)Administrative Fees Section 53713 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— ####
(1)in subsection (a)— #####
(A)in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “reasonable for—” and inserting “ reasonable for processing the application and monitoring the loan guarantee, including for—”; #####
(B)in paragraph (4), by striking “; and” and inserting “or a deposit fund under section 53716 of this title;”; #####
(C)in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and #####
(D)by adding at the end the following: > > #### “(6) > > monitoring and providing services related to the obligor’s compliance with any terms related to the obligations, the guarantee, or maintenance of the Secretary or Administrator’s security interests under this chapter.” > ; and ####
(2)in subsection (c)— #####
(A)in paragraph (1), by striking “under section 53708(d) of this title” and inserting “under section 53703(c) of this title”; #####
(B)by redesignating paragraphs
(1)through
(3)as subparagraphs
(A)through (C), respectively, and adjusting the margins accordingly; #####
(C)by striking “ The Secretary ” and inserting the following: > > #### “(1) In general > > The Secretary” > ; and #####
(D)by adding at the end the following: > > #### “(2) Fee limitation inapplicable > > Fees collected under this subsection are not subject to the limitation of subsection (b).” > . ###
(i)Best Practices; Eligible Export Vessels Chapter 537 of title 46, United States Code, is further amended— ####
(1)in subchapter I, by adding at the end the following new section: > > ## “SEC. 53719 Best practices > > **[**[46 U.S.C. 53719](/us/usc/t46/s53719)**]** > > The Secretary or Administrator shall ensure that all standard documents and agreements that relate to loan guarantees made pursuant to this chapter are reviewed and updated every four years to ensure that such documents and agreements meet the current commercial best practices to the extent permitted by law.” > ; and ####
(2)in subchapter III, by striking section 53732. ###
(j)Expedited Consideration of Low-risk Applications ####
(1)In general In accordance with the requirements of this subsection, the Administrator shall establish an administrative process and issue guidance for the expedited consideration of low-risk applications submitted under chapter 537 of title 46, United States Code. ####
(2)Stakeholder comment **[**[46 U.S.C. 53703 note](/us/usc/t46/s53703)**]** Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator of the Maritime Administration shall publish in the Federal Register a notice of a 45-day public comment period to request stakeholder input and recommendations to establish the administrative process required under this subsection, including proposals to assist applicants— #####
(A)in the development and submission of initial applications; #####
(B)in meeting requests for supplemental information made by the Administrator; and #####
(C)to comply with other requirements made by the Administrator to ensure the expedited consideration of applications. ####
(3)Industry best practices The administrative process established under this subsection shall utilize, to the extent practicable, relevant Federal and industry best practices found in the maritime and shipbuilding industries. ####
(4)Final guidance Not later than 90 days after the conclusion of the public comment period required under paragraph (2), the Administrator shall publish in the Federal Register final guidance to assist applicants in the preparation and filing of applications under this subsection. ###
(k)Congressional Notification ####
(1)Notification Not less than 60 days before reorganizing or consolidating the activities or personnel covered under chapter 537 of title 46, United States Code, the Secretary of Transportation shall notify, in writing, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives of the proposed reorganization or consolidation. ####
(2)Contents Each notification under paragraph
(1)shall include an evaluation of, and justification for, the reorganization or consolidation. ###
(l)Clerical Amendments **[**[46 U.S.C. 53701](/us/usc/t46/s53701)**]** The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 537 of title 46, United States Code,is amended— ####
(1)by inserting after the item relating to section 53718 the following new item:" “53719. Best practices.” "; and ####
(2)by striking the item relating to section 53732.
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Sec. 3506
IMPROVEMENTS TO THE MARITIME GUARANTEED LOAN PROGRAM
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