Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB2429 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	I
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. R. 2429
5	5	To direct the Secretary of Transportation to develop and implement a com-
6	6	prehensive Campus Modernization Plan for the United States Merchant
7	7	Marine Academy, and for other purposes.
8	8	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
9	9	MARCH27, 2025
10	10	Mr. G
11	11	ARBARINO(for himself, Ms. GILLEN, Mrs. KIGGANSof Virginia, Mr.
12	12	S
13	13	UOZZI, and Mr. LALOTA) introduced the following bill; which was re-
14	14	ferred to the Committee on Armed Services
15	15	A BILL
16	16	To direct the Secretary of Transportation to develop and
17	17	implement a comprehensive Campus Modernization Plan
18	18	for the United States Merchant Marine Academy, and
19	19	for other purposes.
20	20	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
21	21	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
22	22	SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR 3
23	23	UNITED STATES MERCHANT MARINE ACAD-4
24	24	EMY INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITIES 5
25	25	MODERNIZATION. 6
26	26	(a) F
27	27	INDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 7
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31	31	(1) The United States Merchant Marine Acad-1
32	32	emy plays a critical role in training service-obligated 2
33	33	licensed merchant mariners to operate commercial 3
34	34	vessels, in peacetime and during times of conflict. 4
35	35	(2) The United States Merchant Marine Acad-5
36	36	emy is 1 of the 5 Federal service academies and 6
37	37	plays a critical role in maintaining a domestic, com-7
38	38	mercial maritime industry, with each graduate hav-8
39	39	ing a commitment to serve not less than 8 years in 9
40	40	the foreign and domestic commerce and the national 10
41	41	defense of the United States, which may include 11
42	42	service on a merchant vessel documented under 12
43	43	chapter 121 of title 46, and graduates make up 13
44	44	more than 80 percent of the United States Navy’s 14
45	45	Strategic Sealift Officer Program. 15
46	46	(3) The United States defense readiness relies 16
47	47	on a strong investment in educating and training 17
48	48	militarily obligated United States Merchant Marine 18
49	49	officers at the United States Merchant Marine Acad-19
50	50	emy. 20
51	51	(4) Most of the facilities at the United States 21
52	52	Merchant Marine Academy date back to the Acad-22
53	53	emy’s founding, have not been modernized since, and 23
54	54	are not conducive to the immersive training and de-24
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58	58	manding coursework today’s Midshipmen are re-1
59	59	quired to complete. 2
60	60	(5) Rehabilitating and modernizing the campus 3
61	61	infrastructure at the United States Merchant Ma-4
62	62	rine Academy is necessary to ensuring current and 5
63	63	future generations of Midshipmen receive a first- 6
64	64	class education. 7
65	65	(b) S
66	66	ENSE OF THEHOUSE OFREPRESENTATIVES.— 8
67	67	It is the sense of the House of Representatives— 9
68	68	(1) to ensure that the United States continues 10
69	69	to have a sufficient number of service-obligated li-11
70	70	censed merchant mariners to meet current and fu-12
71	71	ture national security needs, the Maritime Adminis-13
72	72	tration and the Department of Transportation have 14
73	73	a responsibility to provide suitable academic, train-15
74	74	ing, and dormitory facilities at the United States 16
75	75	Merchant Marine Academy by rapidly implementing 17
76	76	a comprehensive plan for campus-wide moderniza-18
77	77	tion in accordance with section 51329 of title 46, 19
78	78	United States Code, (referred to in this section as 20
79	79	the ‘‘Campus Modernization Plan’’) and providing 21
80	80	sufficient accountability and oversight to ensure that 22
81	81	milestones in such plan are met; 23
82	82	(2) in developing the comprehensive Campus 24
83	83	Modernization Plan for the United States Merchant 25
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87	87	Marine Academy, the Maritime Administration, and 1
88	88	the Department of Transportation should utilize, to 2
89	89	the maximum extent practicable, the ‘‘Merchant Ma-3
90	90	rine Academy Full Speed Ahead Plan’’ developed by 4
91	91	the Maritime Security Infrastructure Council as 5
92	92	summarized in the Congressional Record, dated Feb-6
93	93	ruary 28, 2024; 7
94	94	(3) given the conditions of the United States 8
95	95	Merchant Marine Academy as of the date of enact-9
96	96	ment of this section, a comprehensive, campus-wide 10
97	97	modernization is needed to significantly upgrade or 11
98	98	replace facilities throughout the campus; and 12
99	99	(4) the Maritime Administration and the De-13
100	100	partment of Transportation should identify opportu-14
101	101	nities to utilize design-build contracts to increase de-15
102	102	livery times and reduce costs. 16
103	103	(c) C
104	104	AMPUSMODERNIZATIONPLAN.—Chapter 513 17
105	105	of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at 18
106	106	the end the following: 19
107	107	‘‘§ 51329. 10-year campus modernization plan 20
108	108	‘‘(a) I
109	109	NGENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 21
110	110	the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 22
111	111	develop and begin to implement a comprehensive Campus 23
112	112	Modernization Plan (referred to in this section as the 24
113	113	‘Campus Modernization Plan’), informed by the ‘United 25
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117	117	States Merchant Marine Academy Full Speed Ahead Plan’ 1
118	118	developed by the Maritime Security Infrastructure Council 2
119	119	as summarized in the Congressional Record, dated Feb-3
120	120	ruary 28, 2024, to carry out a campus-wide modernization 4
121	121	at the United States Merchant Marine Academy. 5
122	122	‘‘(b) O
123	123	BJECTIVES.—In carrying out the Campus 6
124	124	Modernization Plan, the Administrator shall prioritize the 7
125	125	following objectives: 8
126	126	‘‘(1) Promoting modern education best prac-9
127	127	tices by constructing learning facilities that leverage 10
128	128	state-of-the art technologies and learning best prac-11
129	129	tices. 12
130	130	‘‘(2) Providing Midshipmen with access to fa-13
131	131	cilities needed to pass the United States Coast 14
132	132	Guard License Exam for Third Mate or Third As-15
133	133	sistant Engineer Unlimited. 16
134	134	‘‘(3) Ensuring Midshipmen have access to fa-17
135	135	cilities sufficient to enable Midshipmen to maintain 18
136	136	physical readiness standards required of United 19
137	137	States Navy officers. 20
138	138	‘‘(4) Developing campus infrastructure to en-21
139	139	sure the Academy attracts a diverse pool of appli-22
140	140	cants. 23
141	141	‘‘(5) Providing facilities that enable industry 24
142	142	engagement and continuing education opportunities. 25
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146	146	‘‘(6) Maintaining a safe and secure campus en-1
147	147	vironment for all Midshipmen, which shall include 2
148	148	any facilities or infrastructure needed to meet the 3
149	149	requirements of sections 51326, 51327, or 51328. 4
150	150	‘‘(7) Implementing, to the extent practicable, 5
151	151	the facilities and infrastructure recommendations in 6
152	152	chapter 4 of the report titled ‘Organizational Assess-7
153	153	ment of the United States Merchant Marine Acad-8
154	154	emy: A Path Forward’ issued by the National Acad-9
155	155	emy of Public Administration in November 2021. 10
156	156	‘‘(c) I
157	157	NCLUSIONS.—In meeting the objectives de-11
158	158	scribed in subsection (b), the Campus Modernization Plan 12
159	159	shall include— 13
160	160	‘‘(1) construction of new facilities or significant 14
161	161	renovation of existing facilities to provide— 15
162	162	‘‘(A) Standards of Training, Certification, 16
163	163	and Watchkeeping applications laboratories; 17
164	164	‘‘(B) a Safety Of Life At Sea training 18
165	165	pool; 19
166	166	‘‘(C) engineering powerplant laboratories; 20
167	167	‘‘(D) athletic facilities that meet the needs 21
168	168	of both male and female students; 22
169	169	‘‘(E) enhanced waterfront facilities, to in-23
170	170	clude a new pier; 24
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174	174	‘‘(F) a visitor welcome center and main 1
175	175	campus security office building; 2
176	176	‘‘(G) housing facilities for senior staff and 3
177	177	faculty; and 4
178	178	‘‘(H) sufficient parking facilities for fac-5
179	179	ulty, staff, and campus visitors; 6
180	180	‘‘(2) upgrades to all classrooms and laboratories 7
181	181	with modern information technology infrastructure; 8
182	182	‘‘(3) a campus-wide upgrade and retrofit of— 9
183	183	‘‘(A) the electric distribution power grid; 10
184	184	‘‘(B) the sanitary sewer system piping; 11
185	185	‘‘(C) the storm drainage system; and 12
186	186	‘‘(D) the drinking water system, including 13
187	187	development of a separate and redundant fire 14
188	188	suppression system; and 15
189	189	‘‘(4) renovations of existing campus facilities to 16
190	190	ensure all campus facilities— 17
191	191	‘‘(A) are structurally sound; 18
192	192	‘‘(B) have reliable heating and air condi-19
193	193	tioning systems; 20
194	194	‘‘(C) have functioning plumbing and elec-21
195	195	trical systems; 22
196	196	‘‘(D) are protected from the elements, in-23
197	197	cluding through roof replacements and window 24
198	198	repairs or replacements, as needed; 25
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202	202	‘‘(E) are accessible in accordance with the 1
203	203	Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; and 2
204	204	‘‘(F) have working fire alarm and fire sup-3
205	205	pression systems. 4
206	206	‘‘(d) R
207	207	EQUIREMENTS.—For the duration of the Cam-5
208	208	pus Modernization Plan, the Administrator shall ensure 6
209	209	that the Academy remains fully operational. 7
210	210	‘‘(e) U
211	211	SE OF AFEDERALCONSTRUCTIONAGENT.— 8
212	212	Consistent with the requirements of section 3515(d)(3) of 9
213	213	the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act 10
214	214	for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 117–263), the Adminis-11
215	215	trator shall seek to enter into an agreement with a Federal 12
216	216	construction agent to carry out the Campus Modernization 13
217	217	Plan authorized under subsection (a). 14
218	218	‘‘(f) A
219	219	UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 15
220	220	are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 16
221	221	Transportation, out of the Maritime Security Trust Fund 17
222	222	established under section 9512 of the Internal Revenue 18
223	223	Code of 1986, for fiscal years 2026 through 2035, for the 19
224	224	phased rehabilitation, modernization, and construction of 20
225	225	facilities and infrastructure at the United States Merchant 21
226	226	Marine Academy, in accordance with this section, includ-22
227	227	ing the Campus Modernization Plan authorized in sub-23
228	228	section (a), $1,020,000,000 of which— 24
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232	232	‘‘(1) $54,000,000 is authorized to be appro-1
233	233	priated for fiscal year 2026 for design and planning 2
234	234	purposes, which shall be used for the development of 3
235	235	a design-build plan for the phased rehabilitation, 4
236	236	modernization, and construction of facilities and in-5
237	237	frastructure at the United States Merchant Marine 6
238	238	Academy in accordance with the Campus Moderniza-7
239	239	tion Plan; and 8
240	240	‘‘(2) for fiscal years 2026 through 2035, 9
241	241	$107,333,333 is authorized to be appropriated for 10
242	242	each fiscal year for construction and contingency 11
243	243	purchases necessary to execute the Campus Mod-12
244	244	ernization Plan.’’. 13
245	245	(d) C
246	246	LERICALAMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap-14
247	247	ter 513 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by 15
248	248	adding at the end the following: 16
249	249	‘‘51329. 10-Year Campus Modernization Plan.’’.
250	250	Æ
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