PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 203.
Congressional Research Service
Version 79 · Reported to House without amendment · Dec 3, 2009
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)
Coast Guard Modernization Act of 2009 - Title I: Coast Guard Leadership - (Sec. 101) Revises provisions concerning the leadership of the Coast Guard, including: (1) allowing more than one admiral; (2) requiring that the Coast Guard Vice Commandant, while so serving, have the rank of admiral; and (3) replacing the current area commanders with vice admirals and revising their responsibilities.
Title II: Marine Safety Administration - (Sec. 201) Requires the Commandant to promote maritime safety according to specified priorities.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
(Sec. 202) Requires the Commandant to: (1) designate Coast Guard positions constituting the marine safety workforce; (2) report annually on the adequacy of the current marine safety workforce to meet the anticipated workload; and (3) establish a management information system for that workforce.
Requires there to be a chief of marine safety in each Coast Guard sector.
Authorizes the Commandant to establish and operate one or more Centers of Expertise for Marine Safety.
Requires the Commandant, by policy, to establish a program under which a Coast Guard officer, member, or employee may be assigned to a private entity to further Coast Guard interests regarding marine safety, including to train the person. Requires a related annual report.
(Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to develop a long-term strategy for improving vessel safety and the safety of individuals on vessels, including annual issuance of a plan and schedule for achieving specified goals.
(Sec. 204) Provides for a principal advisor to the Commandant regarding marine safety.
(Sec. 205) Requires, except for the Commandant, that any individual adjudicating an appeal or waiver of a marine safety decision either have certain training, experience, and qualifications or be advised by a senior staff member who meets those requirements and concurs in the decision on appeal.
(Sec. 206) Requires a marine safety curriculum at the Coast Guard Academy and during other officer accession programs.
(Sec. 207) Requires the Commandant to report on the Coast Guard's efforts to recruit and retain civilian marine inspectors and investigators and the impact of such recruitment and retention efforts on Coast Guard organizational performance.
People & committees
Rep. Oberstar, James L. [D-MN-8] · D–MN
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 203.
Reported by the Committee on Transportation. H. Rept. 111-352.
Reported by the Committee on Transportation. H. Rept. 111-352.
Provisions of measure incorporated in to Title VII of H.R. 3619.
Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Discharged.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Apr 7, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.2650 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.2650 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.2650 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.2650 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.