Legislation led by U.S. Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) would address recreational vessel operator training by requiring a federal study and report to Congress.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), boat operators who did not receive boating safety instruction were involved in 75 percent of fatal recreational boating accidents in 2023.
Rep. Garbarino on April 9 sponsored the Brianna Lieneck Boating Safety Act of 2025, H.R. 2772, to direct the USCG to study and submit to Congress a report on recreational vessel operator education and training toward improving boating safety and reducing the number of boating accidents that occur due to untrained boat operators.
“Many Long Islanders spend their summers enjoying boating and other water activities, but if we don’t proactively prioritize safety, that’s when tragedies, like the one that befell the Lieneck family, happen,” said Rep. Garbarino. “This legislation would help eliminate these incidents and keep boaters on Long Island and around the country safe through education and training programs.”
H.R. 2772 is named in honor of an 11-year-old girl from Long Island, N.Y., who was killed in a boating accident in August 2005 when a 25-foot boat collided with the boat she and her family were in off the coast of Bay Shore. Her parents suffered severe head and facial injuries, and her sister’s arm was nearly severed. Criminal charges of boating while intoxicated were dismissed.
Because the driver did not have a boating license, Brianna’s mother, Gina Lieneck, has advocated for mandatory licenses for all boaters, according to a bill summary provided by the congressman’s staff.
If enacted, H.R. 2772 would require the U.S. Secretary of the department in which the USCG is operating to study and report to the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on recreational vessel operator training.
The study and report would be required to include a review of Coast Guard Auxiliary and Power Squadron training programs, existing state boating education programs, and other hands-on training programs available to recreational vessel operators, according to the bill summary.
Additionally, the report would have to include a section laying out steps the USCG and National Association of State Boating Law Administrators have taken to encourage states to adopt mandatory recreational vessel operator training; a section outlining the minimum standards for education of recreational vessel operators; and a section analyzing how the USCG would administer a federal boating education, training, and testing program, among others.
The bill has been referred for consideration to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.