46 U.S.C. § 54101 Assistance for small shipyards
(a) Establishment of Program.—Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Administrator of the Maritime Administration shall execute agreements with shipyards to provide assistance—(1) in the form of grants, loans, and loan guarantees to small shipyards for capital improvements; and (2) for maritime training programs to foster technical skills and operational productivity relating to shipbuilding, ship repair, and associated industries.
(b) Awards.—(1) In general.—In providing assistance under the program, the Administrator shall consider projects that foster—(A) efficiency, competitive operations, and quality ship construction, repair, and reconfiguration; and (B) employee skills and enhanced productivity related to shipbuilding, ship repair, and associated industries. (2) Timing of grant notice.—The Administrator shall post a Notice of Funding Opportunity regarding grants awarded under this section not more than 15 days after the date of enactment of the appropriations Act for the fiscal year concerned. (3) Timing of grants.—The Administrator shall award grants under this section not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of the appropriations Act for the fiscal year concerned. (4) Reuse of unexpended grant funds.—Notwithstanding paragraph (3), amounts awarded as a grant under this section that are not expended by the grantee shall remain available to the Administrator for use for grants under this section.
(c) Use of Funds.—(1) In general.—Assistance provided under this section may be used to—(A) make capital and related improvements in small shipyards; and (B) provide training for workers in shipbuilding, ship repair, and associated industries. (2) Administrative costs.—Not more than 2 percent of amounts made available to carry out the program may be used for the necessary costs of grant administration.
(d) Prohibited Uses.—(1) In general.—Grants awarded under this section may not be used to construct buildings or other physical facilities or to acquire land. (2) Buy america.—(A) In general.—Subject to subparagraph (B), no funds may be obligated by the Administrator of the Maritime Administration under this section, unless each product and material purchased with those funds (including products and materials purchased by a grantee), and including any commercially available off-the-shelf item, is—(i) an unmanufactured article, material, or supply that has been mined or produced in the United States; or (ii) a manufactured article, material, or supply that has been manufactured in the United States substantially all from articles, materials, or supplies mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States. (B) Exceptions.—(i) In general.—Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the requirements of that subparagraph shall not apply with respect to a particular product or material if the Administrator determines—(I) that the application of those requirements would be inconsistent with the public interest; (II) that such product or material is not available in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities, of a satisfactory quality, or on a timely basis; or (III) that inclusion of a domestic product or material will increase the cost of that product or material by more than 25 percent, with respect to a certain contract between a grantee and that grantee’s supplier. (ii) Federal register.—A determination made by the Administrator under this subparagraph shall be published in the Federal Register. (C) Definitions.—ln this paragraph:(i) The term “commercially available off-the-shelf item” means—(I) any item of supply (including construction material) that is—(aa) a commercial item, as defined by section 2.101 of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020); and (bb) sold in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace; and (II) does not include bulk cargo, as defined in section 40102(4) of this title, such as agricultural products and petroleum products. (ii) The term “product or material” means an article, material, or supply brought to the site by the recipient for incorporation into the building, work, or project. The term also includes an item brought to the site preassembled from articles, materials, or supplies. However, emergency life safety systems, such as emergency lighting, fire alarm, and audio evacuation systems, that are discrete systems incorporated into a public building or work and that are produced as complete systems, are evaluated as a single and distinct construction material regardless of when or how the individual parts or components of those systems are delivered to the construction site. (iii) The term “United States” includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands.
(e) Matching Requirements; Allocation.—(1) Federal funding.—Federal funds for any eligible project under this section shall not exceed 75 percent of the total cost of such project. (2) Allocation of funds.—(A) In general.—The Administrator may not award more than 25 percent of the funds made available to carry out this section for any fiscal year to any small shipyard in one geographic location that has more than 600 employees. (B) Ineligibility.—A maritime training center that has received funds awarded under section 51706 of title 46, United States Code, shall not be eligible for grants under this subsection for training purposes in the same fiscal year.
(f) Applications.—(1) In general.—To be eligible for assistance under this section, an applicant shall submit an application, in such form, and containing such information and assurances as the Administrator may require, within 60 days after the date of enactment of the appropriations Act for the fiscal year concerned. (2) Minimum standards for payment or reimbursement.—Each application submitted under paragraph (1) shall include a comprehensive description of—(A) the need for the project; (B) the methodology for implementing the project; and (C) any existing programs or arrangements that can be used to supplement or leverage assistance under the program. (3) Procedural safeguards.—The Administrator, in consultation with the Office of the Inspector General, shall issue guidelines to establish appropriate accounting, reporting, and review procedures to ensure that—(A) grant funds are used for the purposes for which they were made available; (B) grantees have properly accounted for all expenditures of grant funds; and (C) grant funds not used for such purposes and amounts not obligated or expended are returned. (4) Project approval required.—The Administrator may not award a grant under this section unless the Administrator determines that—(A) sufficient funding is available to meet the matching requirements of subsection (e); (B) the project will be completed without unreasonable delay; and (C) the recipient has authority to carry out the proposed project.
(g) Audits and Examinations.—All grantees under this section shall maintain such records as the Administrator may require and make such records available for review and audit by the Administrator.
(h) Small Shipyard Defined.—In this section, the term “small shipyard” means a shipyard facility in one geographic location that does not have more than 1,200 employees.