PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.
H.R.2651 / 111th Congress

Maritime Workforce Development Act

Provisions of measure incorporated in to Title VI of H.R. 3619.

Official summary

Version 36 · Passed House amended · Oct 14, 2009

Maritime Workforce Development Act - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish a maritime career training loan program.

Requires the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Maritime Administration, to make maritime career training loans available to eligible students at federal, state, and commercial maritime training institutions, including state maritime academies, and nonprofit training organizations. Makes undergraduate students at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy ineligible for such loans.

Allows loans to a student of up to $15,000 in a calendar year or $60,000 in the aggregate.

Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.

Read full official summaryShow less

Establishes certain student eligibility and loan requirements.

Requires the Secretary to establish a revolving loan fund consisting of receipts from the repayment of loans to cover the administrative costs of the program.

Authorizes appropriations for this loan program for FY2010-FY2015.

Directs the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, to publish in the Federal Register, a plan that describes the demonstration, research, and multistate project priorities of the Department of Transportation (DOT) regarding merchant mariner recruitment, training, and retention for the three-year period following the publication of the plan. Requires the Secretary to submit copies of the plan to Congress.

Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants to maritime training institutions to carry out demonstration projects and other eligible projects that implement DOT priorities in a way to address merchant mariner recruitment, training, and retention issues.

Establishes certain grant and project eligibility requirements.

Authorizes appropriations for this grant program for FY2010-FY2015.

Read the summary on Congress.gov
PlainBill analysis is coming later. This page presents official source data. We have not yet published a PlainBill explanation for this bill.

Who introduced it

Rep. Cummings, Elijah E. [D-MD-7] · D–MD

Committees

  • Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
  • Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
4 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

Actions

A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.

  1. Provisions of measure incorporated in to Title VI of H.R. 3619.

  2. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

  3. Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

  4. On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H11341-11343)

  5. Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.(text: CR H11341-11343)

  6. DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 2651.

  7. Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H11341-11347)

  8. Mr. Cummings moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.

  9. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 134.

  10. Reported by the Committee on Transportation. H. Rept. 111-243.

  11. Reported by the Committee on Transportation. H. Rept. 111-243.

  12. Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.

  13. Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.

  14. Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Discharged.

  15. Referred to the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.

  16. Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

  17. Introduced in House

  18. Introduced in House

Bill text & related measures

Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.

Related bills identified by Congress.gov

Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

Explore the bill from different angles

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.

Neutral evidence review

Objective

Analyze H.R.2651 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.

View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact

Progressive lens

Examine H.R.2651 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.

View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope

Conservative lens

Examine H.R.2651 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.

View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power

Liberty lens

Examine H.R.2651 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.

View full prompt & sources