Prohibits any person from impeding the Secretary (including the director of family support services), or a designated organization, in carrying out specified responsibilities or the ability of the families to have contact with one another.
Prohibits unsolicited communications concerning a potential action for personal injury or wrongful death by an attorney or any potential party to the litigation to an individual (other than a vessel operator employee) injured in the maritime disaster, or to a relative, before the 45th day following the disaster.
Prohibits a State from preventing a designated organizations' employees, agents, or volunteers from providing mental health and counseling services to the victims' families in the 30-day period beginning on the date of the disaster.
[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2228 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2228
To establish a program of assistance to families of passengers and crew
members involved in maritime disasters.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 19, 2001
Mr. Green of Wisconsin introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a program of assistance to families of passengers and crew
members involved in maritime disasters.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Maritime Disaster Family Assistance
Act of 2001''.
SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE TO FAMILIES OF PASSENGERS INVOLVED IN MARITIME
DISASTERS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 63 of title 46, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 6309. Assistance to families of passengers involved in maritime
disasters
``(a) In General.--As soon as practicable after being notified of a
maritime disaster within the United States involving a covered vessel
operator that results in the death or disappearance of 2 or more
individuals, the Secretary shall--
``(1) designate and publicize the name and phone number of
an employee of the Coast Guard as a director of family support
services, who shall be responsible for acting as a point of
contact within the Federal Government for the families of
passengers involved in the disaster and as a liaison between
the covered vessel operator and the families; and
``(2) designate an independent nonprofit organization, with
experience in disasters and post-trauma communication with
families, that shall have primary responsibility for
coordinating the emotional care and support of the families of
passengers involved in the disaster.
``(b) Responsibilities of the Secretary.--The Secretary shall have
primary Federal responsibility for--
``(1) investigating the circumstances surrounding a
maritime disaster and, in the case of a disappearance of a
covered vessel, searching for such vessel until it is located
or until the Secretary determines that the search is no longer
appropriate;
``(2) facilitating the recovery and identification of
fatally injured passengers involved in a maritime disaster
described in subsection (a);
``(3) communicating with the families of passengers
involved in the disaster regarding the roles of--
``(A) the organization designated for the disaster
under subsection (a)(2);
``(B) Government agencies; and
``(C) the covered vessel operator involved,
with respect to the disaster and the post-disaster activities;
and
``(4) working with other governmental agencies and other
resources, where appropriate, to assist in facilitating the
search for and recovery of any missing vessel.
``(c) Responsibilities of Designated Organization.--The
organization designated for a maritime disaster under subsection (a)(2)
shall have the following responsibilities with respect to the families
of passengers involved in the disaster:
``(1) To provide mental health and counseling services, in
coordination with the disaster response team of the covered
vessel operator involved.
``(2) To take such actions as may be necessary to provide
an environment in which the families may grieve in private.
``(3) To meet with the families who have traveled to the
location of the disaster, to contact the families unable to
travel to such location, and to contact all affected families
regularly thereafter until such time as the organization, in
consultation with the director of family support services
designated for the accident under subsection (a)(1), determines
that further assistance is no longer needed.
``(4) To arrange a suitable memorial service, in
consultation with the families.
``(d) Passenger Lists.--
``(1) Requests for passenger lists.--
``(A) Requests by director of family support
services.--The director of family support services
designated for a maritime disaster under subsection
(a)(1) shall request, as soon as practicable, from the
covered vessel operator involved in the disaster a
list, based on the best available information at the
time of the request, of the names of the passengers
that were aboard the vessel involved in the disaster.
``(B) Requests by designated organization.--The
organization designated under subsection (a)(2) for a
disaster may request from the covered vessel operator
involved in the disaster a list described in
subparagraph (A).
``(2) Use of information.--The director of family support
services and the organization may not release to any person
information on a list obtained under paragraph (1), except that
the director may provide information on the list about a
passenger to the family of the passenger to the extent that the
director of family support services or the organization
considers appropriate.
``(e) Continuing Responsibilities of the Secretary.--In the course
of its investigation of a maritime disaster described in subsection
(a), the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure
that the families of passengers involved in the disaster--
``(1) are briefed, prior to any public briefing, about the
disaster and any other findings from the investigation; and
``(2) are individually informed of and allowed to attend
any public hearings and meetings of the Secretary about the
disaster.
``(f) Use of Covered Vessel Operator Resources.--To the extent
practicable, the organization designated for a maritime disaster under
subsection (a)(2) shall coordinate its activities with the covered
vessel operator involved in the disaster to facilitate the reasonable
use of the resources of the operator.
``(g) Prohibited Actions.--
``(1) Actions to impede the secretary.--No person
(including a State or political subdivision) may impede the
ability of the Secretary (including the director of family
support services designated for a maritime disaster under
subsection (a)(1)), or an organization designated for a
maritime disaster under subsection (a)(2), to carry out its
responsibilities under this section or the ability of the
families of passengers involved in the disaster to have contact
with one another.
``(2) Unsolicited communications.--No unsolicited
communication concerning a potential action for personal injury
or wrongful death may be made by an attorney (including any
associate, agent, employee, or other representative of an
attorney) or any potential party to the litigation to an
individual (other than an employee of the covered vessel
operator) injured in the maritime disaster, or to a relative of
an individual involved in the disaster, before the 45th day
following the date of the disaster.
``(3) Prohibition on actions to prevent mental health and
counseling services.--No State or political subdivision may
prevent the employees, agents, or volunteers of an organization
designated for a maritime disaster under subsection (a)(2) from
providing mental health and counseling services under
subsection (c)(1) in the 30-day period beginning on the date of
the disaster. The director of family support services
designated for the disaster under subsection (a)(1) may extend
such period for not to exceed an additional 30 days if the
director determines that the extension is necessary to meet the
needs of the families and if State and local authorities are
notified of the determination.
``(h) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Maritime disaster.--The term `maritime disaster'
means any loss of, or collision involving--
``(A) a passenger vessel or small passenger vessel
providing interstate transportation of 2 or more
passengers, regardless of its cause or suspected cause;
or
``(B) a fishing vessel carrying 2 or more
individuals.
``(2) Covered vessel operator.--The term `covered vessel
operator' means the operator of--
``(A) a passenger vessel or small passenger vessel
providing interstate transportation of passengers on
such vessel; or
``(B) a fishing vessel.
``(3) Passenger.--Notwithstanding section 2101(21) of this
title, the term `passenger' includes--
``(A) an employee of a person who is a covered
vessel operator aboard a vessel operated by such
person, including a crew member on a fishing vessel;
``(B) any other person aboard the vessel, without
regard to whether the person paid for the
transportation, occupied a seat, or held a reservation
for transportation on the vessel; and
``(C) any other person injured or killed in the
maritime disaster.
``(4) Secretary.--Notwithstanding section 2101(34) of this
title, the term `Secretary' means--
``(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), the
head of the department in which the Coast Guard is
operating, acting through the Coast Guard; or
``(B) the National Transportation Safety Board, in
the case of a maritime disaster in which primary
responsibility for investigation of the disaster is
vested in such board.
``(i) Limitation on Statutory Construction.--Nothing in this
section may be construed as limiting the actions that a covered vessel
operator may take, or the obligations that a covered vessel operator
may have, in providing assistance to the families of passengers
involved in a maritime disaster.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) The heading for such chapter is amended by inserting
``and responding to'' after ``investigating''.
(2) The table of sections for such chapter is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``6309. Assistance to families of passengers involved in maritime
disasters.''.
(3) The analysis for subtitle II of title 46, United States
Code, is amended in the item relating to chapter 63 by
inserting ``and responding to'' after ``Investigating''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
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