S.Amdt. 3896

SA 3896. Mr. RUBIO submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2410, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2015 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle C of title X, add the following:

SEC. 1025. TRANSFER OF NAVAL VESSELS TO CERTAIN FOREIGN RECIPIENTS.

(a) Transfers by Grant.--The President is authorized to transfer vessels to foreign countries on a grant basis under section 516 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321j), as follows:

(1) Mexico.--To the Government of Mexico, the OLIVER HAZARD PERRY class guided missile frigates USS CURTS (FFG-38) and USS MCCLUSKY (FFG-41).

(2) Thailand.--To the Government of Thailand, the OLIVER HAZARD PERRY class guided missile frigates USS RENTZ (FFG-46) and USS VANDEGRIFT (FFG-48).

(b) Transfer by Sale.--The President is authorized to transfer the OLIVER HAZARD PERRY class guided missile frigates USS TAYLOR (FFG-50), USS GARY (FFG-51), USS CARR (FFG-52), and USS ELROD (FFG-55) to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office of the United States (which is the Taiwan instrumentality designated pursuant to section 10(a) of the Taiwan Relations Act (22 U.S.C. 3309(a))) on a sale basis under section 21 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2761).

(c) Alternative Transfer Authority.--Notwithstanding the authority provided in subsections (a) and (b) to transfer specific vessels to specific countries, the President is authorized, subject to the same conditions that would apply for such country under this Act, to transfer any vessel named in this Act to any country named in this Act such that the total number of vessels transferred to such country does not exceed the total number of vessels authorized for transfer to such country by this Act.

(d) Grants Not Counted in Annual Total of Transferred Excess Defense Articles.--The value of a vessel transferred to another country on a grant basis pursuant to authority provided by subsection (a) or (c) shall not be counted against the aggregate value of excess defense articles transferred in any fiscal year under section 516 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321j).

(e) Costs of Transfers.--Any expense incurred by the United States in connection with a transfer authorized by this section shall be charged to the recipient notwithstanding section 516(e) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321j(e)).

(f) Repair and Refurbishment in United States Shipyards.--To the maximum extent practicable, the President shall require, as a condition of the transfer of a vessel under this section, that the recipient to which the vessel is transferred have such repair or refurbishment of the vessel as is needed, before the vessel joins the naval forces of that recipient, performed at a shipyard located in the United States, including a United States Navy shipyard.

(g) Expiration of Authority.--The authority to transfer a vessel under this section shall expire at the end of the 3-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.