PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Received in the Senate.
Congressional Research Service
Version 36 · Passed House amended · Jul 29, 2014
Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Clarification Act of 2014 - Amends the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act to define "recreational vessel" as a vessel:
being manufactured or operated primarily for pleasure; or
leased, rented, or chartered to another for the latter's pleasure.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Prescribes the following rules in applying the definition:
a vessel being manufactured or built, or being repaired under warranty by its manufacturer or builder, is a recreational vessel if the vessel appears intended, based on its design and construction, to be for ultimate recreational uses. Requires the manufacturer or builder to bear the burden of establishing that a vessel is recreational under this standard;
a vessel being repaired, dismantled for repair, or dismantled at the end of its life will be treated as recreational at the time of repair, dismantling for repair, or dismantling, provided that such vessel shares elements of design and construction of traditional recreational vessels and is not normally engaged in a military, commercial or traditionally commercial undertaking; and
a vessel will be treated as a recreational vessel if it is a public vessel, such as a vessel owned or chartered and operated by the United States, or by a state or local government, at the time of repair, dismantling for repair, or dismantling, provided that such vessel shares elements of design and construction with traditional recreational vessels and is not normally engaged in a military, commercial, or traditionally commercial undertaking.
Requires the Secretary of Labor to amend a certain federal regulation to replace its definition of "recreational vessel" with the definition specified in this Act.
People & committees
Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-23] · D–FL
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Received in the Senate.
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H6995-6996)
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.(text: CR H6995-6996)
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 3896.
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H6995-6997)
Mr. Walberg moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.
Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Mar 23, 2026. 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.3896 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.3896 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.3896 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.3896 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.