§51707 Merchant Mariner Recruitment, Training, and Retention Strategic Plan

Summary

The Secretary of Transportation must publish a plan in the Federal Register, through the Maritime Administration Administrator, within one year after this becomes law and at least once every five years after that until the rule ends. Each plan must cover the next five years. It must explain how to recruit, train, and keep merchant mariners and list priorities for demonstrations and research about those topics. When making the plan, the Secretary must use existing research and aim for results that apply across the U.S. merchant marine workforce. The Secretary must consult the maritime industry, labor groups (including the Commander of the Transportation Command and the Commander of the Military Sealift Command), other government bodies, and stakeholders. Copies of each plan must go to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. The requirement ends when the Maritime Administration Administrator says there are enough U.S. mariners for sustained strategic sealift.