IMPROVING PROFESSIONAL MARINER STAFFING.

SEC. 11706. IMPROVING PROFESSIONAL MARINER STAFFING. (a) In General.—Subtitle E of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 2002 (33 U.S.C. 3071 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: “SEC. 269B. [33 U.S.C. 3079b] SHORE LEAVE FOR PROFESSIONAL MARINERS “(a) In General.—The Under Secretary may prescribe regulations relating to shore leave for professional mariners without regard to the requirements of section 6305 of title 5, United States Code. “(b) Requirements.—The regulations prescribed under subsection (a) shall— “(1) require that a professional mariner serving aboard an ocean-going vessel be granted a leave of absence of 4 days per pay period; and “(2) provide that a professional mariner serving in a temporary promotion position aboard a vessel may be paid the difference between such mariner’s temporary and permanent rates of pay for leave accrued while serving in the temporary promotion position. “(c) Professional Mariner Defined.—In this section, the term ‘professional mariner’ means an individual employed on a vessel of the Administration who has the necessary expertise to serve in the engineering, deck, steward, electronic technician, or survey department.” . (b) Clerical Amendment.—The table of contents in section 1 of the Act entitled “An Act to reauthorize the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998, and for other purposes” (Public Law 107-372) is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 269A the following: “Sec. 269B. Shore leave for professional mariners.” .