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Title 46 — ShippingRelease 119-73not60

§53723 Payments by Secretary or Administrator and Issuance of Obligations

Title 46 › Subtitle Subtitle V— Merchant Marine › Part C— Financial Assistance Programs › Chapter 537— LOANS AND GUARANTEES › Subchapter II— DEFAULT PROVISIONS › § 53723

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Payments required under sections 53721 or 53722 must be made in cash. If the money in the account under section 53717 is not enough, the Secretary or the Administrator can give IOUs to the Treasury Secretary to cover the shortfall. The Secretary or Administrator, with the Treasury Secretary’s OK, decides the IOU’s shape, size, and length, while the Treasury Secretary sets the interest rate based on similar government securities from the month before the IOUs are issued. The Treasury Secretary must buy those IOUs and can use money from selling other government securities to do so. The Treasury may later sell or redeem those IOUs. The borrowed money must go into the proper account under section 53717, and repayments are made from that account.

Full Legal Text

Title 46, §53723

Shipping — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Amounts required to be paid by the Secretary or Administrator under section 53721 or 53722 of this title shall be paid in cash.
(b)If amounts in the appropriate account under section 53717 of this title are not sufficient to make a payment required under section 53721 or 53722 of this title, the Secretary or Administrator may issue obligations to the Secretary of the Treasury. The Secretary or Administrator, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, shall prescribe the form, denomination, maturity, and other terms (except the interest rate) of the obligations. The Secretary of the Treasury shall set the interest rate for the obligations, considering the current average market yield on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States Government of comparable maturities during the month before the obligations are issued.
(c)The Secretary of the Treasury shall purchase the obligations issued under this section. To purchase the obligations, the Secretary of the Treasury may use as a public debt transaction the proceeds from the sale of securities issued under chapter 31 of title 31. The purposes for which securities may be issued under that chapter are extended to include the purchase of obligations under this subsection. The Secretary of the Treasury may sell obligations purchased under this section. A redemption, purchase, or sale of the obligations by the Secretary of the Treasury is a public debt transaction of the Government.
(d)The Secretary or Administrator shall deposit amounts borrowed under this section in the appropriate account under section 53717 of this title and make redemptions of the obligations from that account.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 5372346 App.:1275(d).June 29, 1936, ch. 858, title XI, § 1105(d), as added June 23, 1938, ch. 600, § 46, 52 Stat. 972; Aug. 15, 1953, ch. 513, § 3, 67 Stat. 626; Sept. 3, 1954, ch. 1265, § 5, 68 Stat. 1272; Aug. 7, 1956, ch. 1026, § 1(e)–(g), 70 Stat. 1087; Pub. L. 85–520, July 15, 1958, 72 Stat. 358; Pub. L. 91–469, § 33, Oct. 21, 1970, 84 Stat. 1035; restated Pub. L. 92–507, § 3, Oct. 19, 1972, 86 Stat. 914; Pub. L. 96–561, title II, § 220(4), Dec. 22, 1980, 94 Stat. 3294; Pub. L. 97–31, § 12(136), Aug. 6, 1981, 95 Stat. 166; Pub. L. 97–35, title XVI, § 1606(e), Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 752. In subsections (b) and (d), the words “appropriate account under section 53717 of this title” are substituted for “Federal Ship Financing Fund” because the accounts under section 53717 replace the Federal Ship Financing Fund. See the explanation for section 53717.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2008—Pub. L. 110–181, § 3522(b), repealed Pub. L. 109–163, § 3507(a)(1)(G). See 2006 Amendment note below. Subsecs. (a), (b), (d). Pub. L. 110–181, § 3522(a)(10)(B), incorporated the substance of the amendment by Pub. L. 109–163, § 3507(a)(1)(G), into this section by inserting “or Administrator” after “Secretary” in section catchline and wherever appearing in text, except when followed by “of the Treasury”. See 2006 Amendment note below and section 18(a) of Pub. L. 109–304, set out as a Legislative Purpose and

Construction

note preceding section 101 of this title. 2006—Pub. L. 109–163, § 3507(a)(1)(G), which directed the amendment of section 1275(d) of the former Appendix to this title from which this section was derived, was repealed by Pub. L. 110–181, § 3522(b). See 2008 Amendment note for subsecs. (a), (b), (d) and

Historical and Revision Notes

above.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

46 U.S.C. § 53723

Title 46 — Shipping

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60