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PUBLIC LAW 98-89,UNITED STATES SENATE BILL 46 (PACKWOOD – 1983)

ENACTED AUGUST 26, 1983, 97 UNITED STATES STATUTES 566, SB 46

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United States Senate Bill 46 (hereafter "S.46") was introduced by Senator Robert Packwood on January 26, 1983.  (See Exhibit A, #2a)  The bill was a measure to "consolidate and reenact certain of the marine safety and seaman's welfare laws of the United States." (Id.)

In the Senate, S. 46 was heard and reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, with amendments. (See Exhibit A, #3a, page 37, #2a and #4)  In the House it was heard before the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, who also reported the bill, with amendments.  (See Exhibit A, #3a, page 37, #2b, #2c, and #5)   The bill passed both houses by August 17, 1983 and was signed by the President on August 26, 1983.  (See Exhibit A, #3a, page 37)  The President's statement on signing the bill is provided.  (See Exhibit A, #8)

The House report provided this statement of purpose for S. 46:

The maritime laws of the United States have long been in need of major revision and recodification.  They are a confusing collection of individual statutes enacted over a period of nearly two centuries. . .Viewed now, as a whole, they are poorly organized, duplicative, often obsolete and difficult to understand and apply.

. . .

The purpose of S. 46 is to revise, consolidate, and enact into positive law as a subtitle of title 46 of the United States Code (Shipping) the maritime safety laws administered by the United States Coast Guard.  The ultimate aim of this legislation is three-fold: to make maritime safety and seamen protection law easier for the Coast Guard to administer, to make it less cumbersome for the maritime community to use, and to make it more understandable for everyone involved.
(See Exhibit A, #5, page 113)