A bill to amend the Merchant Marine Act, 1920, in order to permit cargo vessels to carry more than 16 passengers when emergency situations arise.
Public Law 94-85 · H.R. 5405 · 94th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Gerald Ford (R) on Aug 9, 1975 · Transportation and Public Works
Sponsor: Rep. Thomas Downing (D-VA-1)
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.
Revises the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 to authorize vessels documented under the laws of the United States and not engaged in an international voyage to carry more than 16 persons in addition to crew where an emergency situation has been determined to exist.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee · House · referred to, reported by
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. 13 actions.
- Aug 9, 1975Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public law 94-85.
- Aug 2, 1975PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in Senate.
- PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in House.
- Aug 1, 1975FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate.
- Jul 30, 1975CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
- May 6, 1975CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
- May 5, 1975FloorFloor · Measure passed House, amended.
- FloorFloor · Measure called up under motion to suspend rules and pass in House.
- Apr 30, 1975CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee
- Mar 24, 1975CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
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.