Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1696590615862.pdf (United States)
I 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6654 To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a National Climate Adapta- tion Science Center and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers to respond to the effects of extreme weather events and climate trends, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 9, 2022 Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. CASTEN, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. CASE, Ms. CAS- TOR of Florida, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. SCANLON, and Ms. MATSUI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Natural Resources A BILL To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a National Climate Adaptation Science Center and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers to respond to the effects of extreme weather events and climate trends, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1.

SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Climate Adaptation Science Centers Act’’ or the ‘‘CASC Act’’.

 26 2 SEC.

2.

DEFINITIONS.
In this Act: (1) ADAPTATION.—The term ‘‘adaptation’’ means— (A) the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and the effects of extreme weather, climate trends, and climate variability; and (B) protection, management, and conserva- tion efforts designed to maintain or enhance the ability of people, fish, wildlife, plants, land, eco- systems, and water of the United States to withstand, adjust to, or recover from the effects of extreme weather, climate trends, and climate variability.
(2) CULTURAL RESOURCES.—The term ‘‘cul- tural resources’’— (A) means those features and values re- lated to cultural heritage; and (B) includes biological species with cultural heritage or ceremonial importance, and historic and prehistoric sites, trails, structures, inscrip- tions, art, and artifacts on Federal lands or representative of the culture of Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiians, and Native American Pacific Islanders.
•HR 6654 IH (3) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Committee’’ means the Advisory Committee on Climate and Nat- ural Resource Sciences established under section 6.
(4) CONSORTIUM INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘consortium institution’’ means college, university, State cooperative institution, State agency, Indian Tribe, Tribal College or University, Historically Black College or University, Tribal organization, Native Hawaiian organization, minority-serving in- stitution, or other educational institution or organi- zation, Federal agency, public or private organiza- tion, individual, or any other party within each Re- gional Center other than the United States Geologi- cal Survey and the host institution.
(5) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ means the Department of the Interior.

(6) ECOSYSTEM SERVICES.—The term ‘‘eco- system services’’ means those benefits that eco- systems provide humans and human society, includ- ing clean air, clean water, and other economically important services.
(7) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNI- VERSITIES.—The term ‘‘Historically Black Colleges and Universities’’ has the same meaning given to the •HR 6654 IH term ‘‘part B institutions’’ in section 322 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

1061).
1061).

(8) HOST INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘host insti- tution’’ means the non-Federal lead organization within each Regional Center.

(9) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C.

5304(e)).
5304(e)).

(10) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means a His- panic-serving institution, an Alaska Native-serving institution, a Native Hawaiian-serving institution, a Predominantly Black Institution, an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving insti- tution, or a Native American-serving nontribal insti- tution as described in section 371 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

1067q(a)).
1067q(a)).

(11) NATIONAL CENTER.—The term ‘‘National Center’’ means the National Climate Adaptation Science Center established under section 3(a).
(12) NATIVE AMERICAN PACIFIC ISLANDERS.— The term ‘‘Native American Pacific Islanders’’ means any descendent of the aboriginal people of •HR 6654 IH any island in the Pacific Ocean that is a territory of the United States.
(13) NATIVE HAWAIIAN.—The term ‘‘Native Hawaiian’’ means any individual who is a descend- ant of the aboriginal people who, prior to 1778, oc- cupied and exercised sovereignty in the area that now constitutes the State of Hawaii.
(14) NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Native Hawaiian organization’’ means any or- ganization which— (A) serves and represents the interests of Native Hawaiians; (B) has as a primary and stated purpose the provision of services to Native Hawaiians; and (C) has expertise in Native Hawaiian Af- fairs, and shall include the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Ha- wai’i Nei.
(15) NATURAL RESOURCES.—The term ‘‘nat- ural resources’’ has the meaning given the term in section 11.14 of title 43, Code of Federal Regula- tions.
(16) REGIONAL CENTER.—The term ‘‘Regional Center’’ means one of the Regional Climate Adapta- •HR 6654 IH tion Science Centers established under section 3(a) that provide support for specific geographic locations in the United States.
(17) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Interior.

(18) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— (A) a State of the United States; (B) the District of Columbia; (C) American Samoa; (D) Guam; (E) the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; (F) Puerto Rico; and (G) the Virgin Islands of the United States.
(19) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.—The term ‘‘Tribal College or University’’ means an insti- tution that— (A) qualifies for funding under the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities Assistance Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C.

1801 et seq.)

or the Navajo Community College Act (25 U.S.C.


640a note); or •HR 6654 IH 7 (B) is cited in section 532 of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C.

301 note).
301 note).

(20) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Trib- al organization’’ means— (A) the recognized governing body of any Indian Tribe; or (B) any legally established organization of Indians that is— (i) controlled, sanctioned, or chartered by the recognized governing body of an In- dian Tribe; or (ii)(I) democratically elected by the adult members of the Indian community to be served by such organization; and (II) includes the maximum participa- tion of Indians in all phases of its activi- ties.
(21) UNIVERSITY.—The term ‘‘university’’ has the meaning given to ‘‘institution of higher edu- cation’’ as that term is defined by section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

1001(a)).

SEC.

3.

ESTABLISHMENT AND DUTIES.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— •HR 6654 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in collabora- tion with States, Indian Tribes, and other partner organizations, shall establish a program to be known as the ‘‘National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers’’ to provide scientific expertise to managers of natural resources, cultural resources, and ecosystem services for the purpose of informing decisions that aid adaptation to a changing climate and extreme weather events.
The program shall in- clude a National Climate Adaptation Science Center and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers, which shall be administered by the United States Geological Survey.

(2) CHIEF; DIRECTORS.—The Chief of the Na- tional Center shall be a United States Geological Survey employee.

Each Regional Center shall have a Federal Director and a Host Institution Director who shall work cooperatively to further the mission of the Regional Center.
Federal Directors of the Re- gional Centers shall be United States Geological Survey employees who report directly to the Chief of the National Center.
(b) DUTIES OF THE NATIONAL CENTER.—In collabo- ration with Federal agencies, States, Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, Native Hawaiians, Native Hawaiian organi- •HR 6654 IH zations, Native American Pacific Islanders, and other partner organizations, the National Center shall— (1) serve as the national office for the Regional Centers; (2) provide leadership and guidance on adminis- tration, partnerships, information management, and communications; (3) develop and facilitate coordination among the Regional Centers; (4) coordinate with other Federal agencies working on similar research and activities; (5) conduct research on cross-regional and na- tional science priorities; (6) support Regional Centers that— (A) are hosted at a university, or a consor- tium of universities or other research institu- tions, within the region of each Regional Cen- ter; (B) are collaborations between the Federal Director and the Host Institution Director and their staffs to address the broad scientific mis- sion and goals as defined by the National Cen- ter in a manner that is relevant to its specific geographic region and in cooperation with State and local governments, Indian Tribes, Tribal •HR 6654 IH 10 organizations, Native Hawaiians, Native Hawai- ian organizations, Native American Pacific Is- landers, and other entities within that region; (C) promote research, education, training, and advisory service activities and broad and prompt dissemination of knowledge and tech- niques; and (D) receive funding at the host institution through cooperative
 agreements, contracts, and grants under section 4; and (7) acting through the Chief of the National Center, with respect to the Regional Centers— (A) evaluate and assess the performance of the programs of Regional Centers every five years, using the priorities, guidelines, and quali- fications established by the Secretary under this section, and determine if the programs are well managed and carry out high-quality research, education, training, and advisory service activi- ties; and (B) subject to the availability of appropria- tions, allocate funding among Regional Centers so as to— •HR 6654 IH 11 (i) conduct regionally relevant re- search, education, training, and advisory service activities in each of the regions; (ii) encourage collaborations among Regional Centers to address regional and national priorities established under this section; (iii) ensure successful implementation and operation of Regional Centers; (iv) to the maximum extent consistent with other provisions of this Act, provide a stable base of funding in support of the Regional Centers; and (v) encourage and promote coordina- tion and cooperation between the research, education, training, and advisory service activities of the Department and those of the host and consortium institutions.
(c) AUTHORITIES OF THE NATIONAL CENTER.—The National Center may— (1) procure the services of appropriate public and private agencies and institutions and other qualified persons to conduct its work; and (2) operate and fund a network of not fewer than nine Regional Centers that shall address the •HR 6654 IH 12 impacts of climate trends and variability, including extreme weather events, on natural and cultural re- sources and ecosystem services.
(d) DESIGNATION OF THE REGIONAL CENTERS.— (1) EXISTING REGIONAL CENTER DESIGNA- TIONS.—Any institution or consortium of institu- tions designated as the host institution of a Regional Center before the date of the enactment of this Act, shall not have to reapply for designation as a Re- gional Center if the Chief of the National Center de- termines that the institution or consortium of insti- tutions meets the guidelines established in para- graph (2).
(2) REVIEWS OF THE REGIONAL CENTERS.— The Chief of the National Center, in consultation with the Committee, shall establish guidelines re- lated to the activities and responsibilities of the Re- gional Centers.
Such guidelines shall include— (A) requirements for the merit review of the Regional Centers; (B) the circumstances by which a host in- stitution may not be continued as a host insti- tution; (C) the schedule for reviews according to the criteria in the schedule for reviews; and •HR 6654 IH 13 (D) the process to select a new host insti- tution.
(3) CHANGES TO CONSORTIUM INSTITUTIONS.— The Chief of the National Center, in consultation with the Federal Director and Host Institution Di- rector of a Regional Center, may add or remove con- sortium institutions at any time to address regional and national priorities established under this section.
(4) FACA.—Committees, subcommittees, and working groups appointed by Federal Directors of the Regional Centers pursuant to this subsection shall not be subject to the Federal Advisory Com- mittee Act (5 U.S.C.

App.).
(e) DUTIES OF THE REGIONAL CENTERS.—In col- laboration with Federal and State natural resources agen- cies and departments, Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, Native Hawaiians, Native Hawaiian organizations, Native American Pacific Islanders, Tribal Colleges or Univer- sities, Historically Black Colleges or Universities, minor- ity-serving institutions, universities, other research or edu- cational institutions, and other partner organizations, Re- gional Centers shall develop research, education, training, and advisory service priorities regarding the impacts of cli- mate trends and variability on natural and cultural re- •HR 6654 IH 14 source management in their regions for the purpose of cli- mate adaptation.
SEC.

4.

GENERAL AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO CONTRACTS, GRANTS, COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS, AND INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS.

(a) AUTHORITY.—The Director of the United States Geological Survey is authorized to enter into contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, and interagency agree- ments with a host institution or consortium institution to further the research, education, training, and advisory service activities of the Department or its partners relat- ing to impacts of climate trends and variability.
This au- thority supplements all other laws relating to the Depart- ment and is not to be construed as limiting or repealing 15 any existing authorities.
(b) LEGAL INSTRUMENTS.—The Director of the United States Geological Survey may use a contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or interagency agreement as the legal instrument reflecting a relationship between the Secretary and a host institution or consortium institution, to further the duties under section 3 without regard to— (1) any requirements for competition; (2) section 6101 of title 41, United States Code; or •HR 6654 IH 15 (3) subsections (a) and (b) of section 3324 of title 31, United States Code.
(c) PARTICIPATION OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Not- withstanding any other provision of law, any Federal agency may participate in any such cooperative agreement under this section by contributing funds through the Na- tional Center or otherwise if it is mutually agreed that the objectives of the agreement shall further the author- ized programs of the contributing agency.
(d) TITLE TO ASSETS.—The Secretary, acting through the Director of the United States Geological Sur- vey, may vest title to expendable and nonexpendable as- sets, including equipment, supplies, and other tangible personal property in the contractor or recipient when the contractor or recipient purchases such assets with con- tract, grant, cooperative agreement, or interagency agree- ment funds and the Secretary deems such vesting of title a furtherance of the research, education, training, and ad- visory service objectives of the Department.
(e) APPROVAL REQUIRED.—In any case where a con- tract is let or grant made to an organization to perform services benefitting more than one Indian Tribe, the ap- proval of each such Indian Tribe shall be a prerequisite to the letting or making of such contract or grant.

 •HR 6654 IH SEC.

5.

INTERAGENCY COOPERATION.
16 Each department, agency, or other instrumentality of the Federal Government, that is engaged in or concerned with, or that has authority over, matters relating to nat- ural and cultural resources, ecosystem services, or climate variability or change, including all member agencies of the United States Global Change Research Program— (1) may make available, on a reimbursable basis or otherwise, any personnel (with their consent and without prejudice to their position and rating), service, or facility which the Chief of the National Center deems necessary to carry out any provision of section 3; (2) shall, upon a written request from the Sec- retary, furnish any available data or other informa- tion that the Secretary deems necessary to carry out any provision of section 3; (3) shall cooperate with the National Center, Regional Centers, and duly authorized officials thereof; and (4) may transfer budgetary resources or other- wise enter into interagency agreements, including funding, facilities, computational resources, data, or other tangible or intangible resources, between the National Center or Regional Centers to aid collabo- rative work among Federal agencies, when approved 26 •HR 6654 IH 17 by the Chief of the National Center and their coun- terpart in the other Federal agency.
SEC.

6.

COMMITTEES.

(a) AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH COMMITTEES.—The Chief of the National Center may establish committees or working groups and procedures to facilitate public partici- pation in the advisory process, such as a national advisory committee for the National Center, stakeholder advisory committees and science implementation panels for the Re- gional Centers, and working groups for review of competi- tive or noncompetitive proposals.
(b) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and pur- suant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.

App.

), the Secretary shall establish an Advi- sory Committee on Climate and Natural Resource Sciences.
(2) MEMBERS.—The Committee shall have not fewer than 15 members, each of whom is an em- ployee of— (A) an Indian Tribe; (B) a Tribal organization; (C) a Native Hawaiian organization; (D) a State or local government; •HR 6654 IH 18 (E) a host institution of a Regional Center; (F) a nongovernmental organization; (G) an academic institution; or (H) an organization of the private sector.
(3) CHAIR.—The Director of the United States Geological Survey shall appoint a Committee Chair from among the members of the Committee.

(4) DUTIES.—The Committee shall identify and recommend priorities for ongoing research needs on the issues described in section 3(e) to inform the re- search priorities of the National Center.

(5) TERM OF OFFICE.—(A) The term of office of a voting member of the Committee shall be not more than 3 years.
(B) No person may serve more than two con- secutive terms as a voting member of the Com- mittee.

(C) The Chair may extend the term of office of a voting member of the Committee by up to 1 year.

(D) Any individual appointed to a partial or full term may be reappointed for one additional full term.

(E) Not less than once each year, the Secretary shall publish a notice in the Federal Register solic- iting nominations for membership on the Board.
•HR 6654 IH 19 (F) The Committee shall select one voting member to serve as the Vice Chair, who shall act as Chair in the absence or incapacity of the Chair.
(c) COMMITTEES; WORKING GROUPS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—At the direction of the Sec- retary, the Chief of the National Center may estab- lish committees or working groups to provide input on the science priorities, implementation of science programs, review of competitive and noncompetitive proposals, and evaluation of processes, procedures, and outcomes of the National Center and the Re- gional Centers.
(2) MEMBERS.—The committees or working groups shall, to the extent practicable, include mem- bers from Federal and State government, univer- sities, private sector, nongovernmental organizations, Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and Native Ha- waiian organizations.
(3) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary may establish procedures to facilitate public partici- pation in the advisory process, including providing advance notice of meetings, providing adequate op- portunity for public input and comment, maintaining appropriate records, and making a record of the pro- ceedings of meetings available for public inspection.
•HR 6654 IH (4) IMPLEMENTATION; AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS.—The Secretary shall ensure that the pro- cedures described in paragraph (3) are adopted and implemented and that the records described in para- graph (3) are accurately maintained and available for public inspection.
(5) FACA.—(A) The committees or working groups shall not be considered advisory committees under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.

App.).

(B) Seeking advice and input under subpara- graph (A) shall not be subject to the Federal Advi- sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.

App.).

SEC.

7.

AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.


There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec- retary to carry out this Act not less than— (1) $97,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; (2) $109,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; (3) $121,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; (4) $133,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; and (5) $145,000,000 for fiscal year 2027.
•HR 6654 IH