§ 504 — Commandant; General Powers

(a) For the purpose of executing the duties and functions of the Coast Guard the Commandant may: (1) maintain water, land, and air patrols, and ice-breaking facilities; (2) establish and prescribe the purpose of, change the location of, consolidate, discontinue, re-establish, maintain, operate, and repair Coast Guard shore establishments; (3) assign vessels, aircraft, vehicles, aids to navigation, equipment, appliances, and supplies to Coast Guard districts and shore establishments, and transfer any of the foregoing from one district or shore establishment to another; (4) conduct experiments and investigate, or cause to be investigated, plans, devices, and inventions relating to the performance of any Coast Guard function, including research, development, test, or evaluation related to intelligence systems and capabilities; (5) conduct any investigations or studies that may be of assistance to the Coast Guard in the performance of any of its powers, duties, or functions; (6) collect, publish, and distribute information concerning Coast Guard operations; (7) conduct or make available to personnel of the Coast Guard, and to eligible spouses as defined under section 2904, such specialized training and courses of instruction, including correspondence courses and the textbooks, manuals, and other materials required as part of such training or course of instruction, as may be necessary or desirable for the good of the service; (8) design or cause to be designed, cause to be constructed, accept as gift, or otherwise acquire patrol boats and other small craft, equip, operate, maintain, supply, and repair such patrol boats, other small craft, aircraft, and vehicles, and subject to applicable regulations under subtitle I of title 40 and division C (except sections 3302, 3501(b), 3509, 3906, 4710, and 4711) of subtitle I of title 41 dispose of them; (9) acquire, accept as gift, maintain, repair, and discontinue aids to navigation, appliances, equipment, and supplies; (10) equip, operate, maintain, supply, and repair Coast Guard districts and shore establishments; (11) establish, equip, operate, and maintain shops, depots, and yards for the manufacture and construction of aids to navigation, equipment, apparatus, vessels, vehicles, and aircraft not normally or economically obtainable from private contractors, and for the maintenance and repair of any property used by the Coast Guard; (12) accept and utilize, in times of emergency in order to save life or protect property, such voluntary services as may be offered to the Coast Guard; (13) rent or lease, under such terms and conditions as are deemed advisable, for a period not exceeding five years, such real property under the control of the Coast Guard as may not be required for immediate use by the Coast Guard, the monies received from any such rental or lease, less amount of expenses incurred (exclusive of governmental personal services), to be deposited in the fund established under section 2946; (14) grant, under such terms and conditions as are deemed advisable, permits, licenses, easements, and rights-of-way over, across, in, and upon lands under the control of the Coast Guard when in the public interest and without substantially injuring the interests of the United States in the property thereby affected; (15) establish, install, abandon, re-establish, reroute, operate, maintain, repair, purchase, or lease such telephone and telegraph lines and cables, together with all facilities, apparatus, equipment, structures, appurtenances, accessories, and supplies used or useful in connection with the installation, operation, maintenance, or repair of such lines and cables, including telephones in residences leased or owned by the Government of the United States when appropriate to assure efficient response to extraordinary operational contingencies of a limited duration, and acquire such real property rights of way, easements, or attachment privileges as may be required for the installation, operation, and maintenance of such lines, cables, and equipment; (16) establish, install, abandon, reestablish, change the location of, operate, maintain, and repair radio transmitting and receiving stations; (17) provide medical and dental care for personnel entitled thereto by law or regulation, including care in private facilities; (18) accept, under terms and conditions the Commandant establishes, the service of an individual ordered to perform community service under the order of a Federal, State, or municipal court; (19) notwithstanding any other law, enter into cooperative agreements with States, local governments, non-governmental organizations, and individuals, to accept and utilize voluntary services for the maintenance and improvement of natural and historic resources on, or to benefit natural and historic research on, Coast Guard facilities, subject to the requirement that— (A) the cooperative agreements shall each provide for the parties to contribute funds or services on a matching basis to defray the costs of such programs, projects, and activities under the agreement; and (B) an individual providing voluntary services under this subsection shall not be considered a Federal employee except for purposes of chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, with respect to compensation for work-related injuries, and chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code, with respect to tort claims; (20) enter into cooperative agreements with other Government agencies and the National Academy of Sciences; (21) require that any member of the Coast Guard or Coast Guard Reserve (including a cadet or an applicant for appointment or enlistment to any of the foregoing and any member of a uniformed service who is assigned to the Coast Guard) request that all information contained in the National Driver Register pertaining to the individual, as described in section 30304(a) of title 49, be made available to the Commandant under section 30305(b)(7) of title 49, may receive that information, and upon receipt, shall make the information available to the individual; (22) provide for the honorary recognition of individuals and organizations that significantly contribute to Coast Guard programs, missions, or operations, including State and local governments and commercial and nonprofit organizations, and pay for, using any appropriations or funds available to the Coast Guard, plaques, medals, trophies, badges, and similar items to acknowledge such contribution (including reasonable expenses of ceremony and presentation); (23) rent or lease, under such terms and conditions as are considered by the Secretary to be advisable, commercial vehicles to transport the next of kin of eligible retired Coast Guard military personnel to attend funeral services of the service member at a national cemetery; (24) after informing the Secretary, make such recommendations to the Congress relating to the Coast Guard as the Commandant considers appropriate; (25) enter into cooperative agreements, contracts, and other agreements with Federal entities and other public or private entities, including academic entities, to develop a positioning, navigation, and timing system to provide redundant capability in the event Global Positioning System signals are disrupted, which may consist of an enhanced LORAN system; and (26) develop data workflows and processes for the leveraging of mission-relevant data by the Coast Guard to enhance operational effectiveness and efficiency. (1) Notwithstanding subsection (a)(13), a lease described in paragraph (2) of this subsection may be for a term of up to 20 years. (2) A lease referred to in paragraph (1) is a lease— (A) to the United States Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association for the construction of an Alumni Center on the grounds of the United States Coast Guard Academy; or (B) of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act, and for which a term longer than 5 years is necessary to carry out the agreement. (c) In exercising the Commandant’s duties and responsibilities with regard to marine safety, the individual with the highest rank who meets the experience qualifications set forth in section 305(a)(3) shall serve as the principal advisor to the Commandant regarding— (1) the operation, regulation, inspection, identification, manning, and measurement of vessels, including plan approval and the application of load lines; (2) approval of materials, equipment, appliances, and associated equipment; (3) the reporting and investigation of marine casualties and accidents; (4) the licensing, certification, documentation, protection and relief of merchant mariners; (5) suspension and revocation of licenses and certificates; (6) enforcement of manning requirements, citizenship requirements, control of log books; (7) documentation and numbering of vessels; (8) State boating safety programs; (9) commercial instruments and maritime liens; (10) the administration of bridge safety; (11) administration of the navigation rules; (12) the prevention of pollution from vessels; (13) ports and waterways safety; (14) waterways management; including regulation for regattas and marine parades; (15) aids to navigation; and (16) other duties and powers of the Secretary related to marine safety and stewardship. (d) Nothing in subsection (c) affects— (1) the authority of Coast Guard officers and members to enforce marine safety regulations using authority under section 522 of this title; or (2) the exercise of authority under section 527 of this title and the provisions of law codified at sections 191 through 195 of title 50 on the date of enactment of this paragraph. (e) All authority, including programmatic budget authority, for the operation and maintenance of Coast Guard vessels, aircraft, systems, aids to navigation, infrastructure, and other assets or facilities shall be allocated to and vested in the Coast Guard and the department in which the Coast Guard is operating. (1) The Commandant may lease under subsection (a)(13) submerged lands and tidelands under the control of the Coast Guard without regard to the limitation under that subsection with respect to lease duration. (2) The Commandant may lease submerged lands and tidelands under paragraph (1) only if— (A) the lease is for cash exclusively; (B) the lease amount is equal to the fair market value of the use of the leased submerged lands or tidelands for the period during which such lands are leased, as determined by the Commandant; (C) the lease does not provide authority to or commit the Coast Guard to use or support any improvements to such submerged lands and tidelands, or obtain goods and services from the lessee; and (D) proceeds from the lease are deposited in the Coast Guard Housing Fund established under section 2946.