A bill to amend title XI of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, to permit the guarantee of obligations for financing Great Lakes vessels in an amount not exceeding 87 1/2 per centum of the actual or depreciated actual cost of each vessel.
Public Law 95-505 · H.R. 11658 · 95th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Jimmy Carter (D) on Oct 24, 1978 · Transportation and Public Works
Sponsor: Rep. John Murphy (D-NY-17)
Cosponsors (9): Rep. Thomas Ashley, Rep. John Dingell,
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.
Amends the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 to reduce the speed requirements of Great Lakes vessels from 14 to ten knots, in order to qualify them for Federal guarantees on mortgages in an amount not exceeding 87 1/2 percent of the actual or depreciated actual cost of such vessels.
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. 12 actions.
- Oct 24, 1978Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public Law 95-505.
- Oct 14, 1978PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- Oct 12, 1978PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in Senate.
- PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in House.
- Oct 6, 1978FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate.
- FloorFloor · Measure called up by unanimous consent in Senate.
- Oct 3, 1978FloorFloor · Measure passed House, amended.
- FloorFloor · Measure called up under motion to suspend rules and pass in House.
- Aug 25, 1978CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee
- Mar 20, 1978CommitteeCommittee · 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.