[House Report 108-537]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
108th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 108-537
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CONVEYANCE OF NOAA VESSEL WHITING
_______
June 9, 2004.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
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Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 4158]
[Including cost estimate to the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 4158) to provide for the conveyance to the Government of
Mexico of a decommissioned National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration ship, and for other purposes, having considered
the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and
recommend that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 4158 is to provide for the conveyance
to the Government of Mexico of a decommissioned National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship, and for other
purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Operating under the International Hydrographic
Organization, the United States chairs the MesoAmerican-
Caribbean Sea Hydrographic Commission (MACHC). The objective of
this commission is to coordinate the hydrographic surveys and
charting activities of member nations. The National
Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and U.S.
Navy are the main U.S. representatives in these efforts. In
March 2002 the U.S.-Mexico Charting Advisors Committee
(Committee) was established as a part of MACHC to address
common regional issues on charting, research, and data
collection of the two countries. The Committee coordinates
activities such as joint surveys, cartographer and hydrographer
exchanges, joint international chart production for border
waters, and data exchange. As part of the cooperative
activities of the Committee, the government of Mexico contacted
NOAA in June 2003 indicating an interest in obtaining the
recently decommissioned vessel Whiting from the United States.
The survey vessel Whiting is 163 feet in length, has a
draft of 12 feet, a displacement of 907 tons, a cruising range
of 5,700 nautical miles, and a cruising speed of 12 knots. In
2002 NOAA removed the Whiting from service and the vessel was
decommissioned in May 2003. Since 1963 the Whiting had been in
service conducting hydrographic surveys along the east and Gulf
coasts of the United States and the Great Lakes. In March 2003,
NOAA took possession of the former U.S. Navy hydrographic
survey vessel Littlehales. This vessel was commissioned into
service in July 2003 as a replacement for the Whiting.
As of August 2003, Mexico did not yet have a vessel
dedicated to hydrographic surveys and the Whiting would be the
first ship to fill that role. Conveyance of the Whiting to the
Government of Mexico would have several benefits. First it
would result in less reliance by Mexico on NOAA and U.S. Navy
assets for hydrographic surveys, and would assist in regional
capacity building. In addition, it would likely result in
updated charts, provide a platform for information exchange,
and improve navigational safety for all vessels that sail in
the Gulf of Mexico.
This legislation is necessary because NOAA does not have
authority to transfer ships directly to foreign governments.
The bill stipulates that the Secretary of Commerce shall convey
at no cost to the Government of Mexico all rights, title, and
interests to the decommissioned survey vessel Whiting. In
addition, the legislation requires the Whiting be used as a
hydrographic survey platform in support of activities of the
U.S.-Mexico Charting Advisors Committee. Furthermore, the
Whiting shall be delivered to the Mexican government at the
vessel's current home port of Norfolk, Virginia, and the United
States will not be responsible for any remediation,
maintenance, or operation of the Whiting after delivery.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 4158 was introduced on April 2, 2004, by Congressman
Solomon Ortiz (D-TX). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans. On May 13, 2004,
the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On May 19, 2004,
the Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The
Subcommittee was discharged from further consideration of the
bill by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered and the
bill was then ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by unanimous consent.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Article 1, section 8 of the constitution of the United
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in tax
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the
sale of the ship transferred to the Government of Mexico might
have generated offsetting receipts to the government, but these
would amount to less than $500,000.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not
apply.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, June 4, 2004.
Hon. Richard W. Pombo,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4158, a bill to
provide for the conveyance to the government of Mexico of a
decommissioned National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
ship.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth M. Robinson
(For Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 4158--To provide for the conveyance to the government of Mexico of
a decommissioned National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration ship
H.R. 4158 would direct the Secretary of Commerce to convey
without consideration the Whiting, a decommissioned survey
vessel, to the government of Mexico. Based on information
provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, CBO estimates that conveying the Whiting would
not result in any significant cost to the federal government.
Because the decommissioned ship might have been sold in the
absence of this legislation, the conveyance to Mexico could
cause the government to forgo offsetting receipts, but CBO
expects that any loss would be less than $500,000.
The legislation would impose no intergovernmental or
private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or
tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis.
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.