An original bill to approve the sale of certain naval vessels, and for other purposes.
Public Law 94-457 · S. 3734 · 94th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Gerald Ford (R) on Oct 5, 1976 · Transportation and Public Works
Sponsor: Sen. Harry Byrd (D-VA)
Cosponsors: None
Passage votes
- HouseMethod not stated
- SenateMethod not stated
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Authorizes the President to sell certain naval vessels to Argentina, the Republic of China, Columbia, the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Iran, the Republic of Korea, Pakistan, the Philippines, Spain, and Venezuela.
Increases the tonnage specifications for naval ships requiring legislative approval for their disposal to another nation.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 12 actions.
- Oct 5, 1976Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public law 94-457.
- Sep 29, 1976PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in Senate.
- Sep 28, 1976PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in House.
- Sep 27, 1976FloorFloor · Measure passed House.
- FloorFloor · Measure called up by unanimous consent in House.
- Sep 22, 1976CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Armed Services Committee
- Aug 26, 1976CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Armed Services Committee
- Aug 25, 1976FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate.
- Aug 5, 1976CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Armed Services Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.