II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 910 

To reauthorize and amend the National Sea Grant College Program Act, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 27, 2019 

Mr. WICKER (for himself and Mr. SCHATZ) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

A BILL 

To reauthorize and amend the National Sea Grant College 

Program Act, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Sea Grant 

5 College Program Amendments Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO THE NATIONAL SEA GRANT COL7 LEGE PROGRAM ACT. 

8 Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in 

9 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

10 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other proviVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:54 Apr 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S910.IS S910

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1 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

2 section or other provision of the National Sea Grant Col3 lege Program Act (33 U.S.C. 1121 et seq.). 

4 SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF DEAN JOHN A. KNAUSS MARINE 

5 POLICY FELLOWSHIP. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 208(b) (33 U.S.C. 

7 1127(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘shall’’. 

9 (b) PLACEMENTS IN CONGRESS.—Such section is 

10 further amended— 

11 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘The Sec12 retary’’ and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

14 (2) in paragraph (1), as designated by para15 graph (1), in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘A fel16 lowship’’ and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(2) PLACEMENT PRIORITIES.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In each year in which 

19 the Secretary awards a legislative fellowship 

20 under this subsection, when considering the 

21 placement of fellows, the Secretary shall 

22 prioritize placement of fellows in the following: 

23 ‘‘(i) Positions in offices of, or with 

24 Members on, committees of Congress that 


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1 have jurisdiction over the National Oceanic 

2 and Atmospheric Administration. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Positions in offices of Members 

4 of Congress that have a demonstrated in5 terest in ocean, coastal, or Great Lakes re6 sources. 

7 ‘‘(B) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.—In plac8 ing fellows in offices described in subparagraph 

9 (A), the Secretary shall ensure that placements 

10 are equitably distributed among the political 

11 parties. 

12 ‘‘(3) DURATION.—A fellowship’’. 

13 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Section 208(c) (33 

14 U.S.C. 1127(c)) is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(c) RESTRICTION ON USE OF FUNDS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts available for fel17 lowships under this section, including amounts ac18 cepted under section 204(c)(4)(F) or appropriated 

19 under section 212 to implement this section, shall be 

20 used only for award of such fellowships and adminis21 trative costs of implementing this section. 

22 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 

23 Not more than 3 percent of amounts made available 

24 for fellowships under subsection (b) may be used by 

25 a sea grant college or sea grant institute for fringe 


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1 or other necessary costs of administering the fellow2 ships. 

3 ‘‘(3) ALLOWABLE USES.—Amounts provided to 

4 a fellow under subsection (b) may be used by the fel5 low for the costs of academic travel, including travel 

6 costs relating to returning to the home institution of 

7 higher education of the fellow to complete degree re8 quirements.’’. 

9 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

10 this section shall apply with respect to the first calendar 

11 year beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

12 (e) SENSE OF CONGRESS CONCERNING FEDERAL

13 HIRING OF FORMER FELLOWS.—It is the sense of Con14 gress that in recognition of the competitive nature of the 

15 fellowship under section 208(b) of the National Sea Grant 

16 College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 1127(b)), and of the ex17 ceptional qualifications of fellowship awardees, the Sec18 retary of Commerce, acting through the Under Secretary 

19 of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, should encour20 age participating Federal agencies to consider opportuni21 ties for fellowship awardees at the conclusion of their fel22 lowships for workforce positions appropriate for their edu23 cation and experience. 


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1 SEC. 4. MODIFICATION OF AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF 

2 COMMERCE TO ACCEPT DONATIONS FOR NA3 TIONAL SEA GRANT COLLEGE PROGRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 204(c)(4)(E) (33 U.S.C. 

5 1123(c)(4)(E)) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(E) accept donations of money and, not7 withstanding section 1342 of title 31, United 

8 States Code, of voluntary and uncompensated 

9 services;’’. 

10 (b) PRIORITIES.—The Secretary of Commerce, acting 

11 through the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and 

12 Atmosphere, shall establish priorities for the use of dona13 tions accepted under section 204(c)(4)(E) of the National 

14 Sea Grant College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 

15 1123(c)(4)(E)), and shall consider among those priorities 

16 the possibility of expanding the Dean John A. Knauss Ma17 rine Policy Fellowship’s placement of additional fellows in 

18 relevant legislative offices under section 208(b) of that Act 

19 (33 U.S.C. 1127(b)), in accordance with the recommenda20 tions under subsection (c) of this section. 

21 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

22 of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the National 

23 Sea Grant College Program, in consultation with the Na24 tional Sea Grant Advisory Board and the Sea Grant Asso25 ciation, shall— 


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1 (1) develop recommendations for the optimal 

2 use of any donations accepted under section 

3 204(c)(4)(E) of the National Sea Grant College Pro4 gram Act (33 U.S.C. 1123(c)(4)(E)); and 

5 (2) submit to Congress a report on the rec6 ommendations developed under paragraph (1). 

7 (d) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be 

8 construed to limit or otherwise affect any other amounts 

9 available for marine policy fellowships under section 

10 208(b) of the National Sea Grant College Program Act 

11 (33 U.S.C. 1127(b)), including amounts— 

12 (1) accepted under section 204(c)(4)(F) of that 

13 Act (33 U.S.C. 1123(c)(4)(F)); or 

14 (2) appropriated pursuant to the authorization 

15 of appropriations under section 212 of that Act (33 

16 U.S.C. 1131). 

17 SEC. 5. REDUCTION IN FREQUENCY REQUIRED FOR NA18 TIONAL SEA GRANT ADVISORY BOARD RE19 PORT. 

20 Section 209(b)(2) (33 U.S.C. 1128(b)(2)) is amend21 ed— 

22 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘BI23 ENNIAL’’ and inserting ‘‘PERIODIC’’; 

24 (2) by striking the first sentence and inserting 

25 the following: ‘‘The Board shall report to Congress 


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1 at least once every four years on the state of the na2 tional sea grant college program and shall notify 

3 Congress of any significant changes to the state of 

4 the program not later than two years after the sub5 mission of such a report.’’; and 

6 (3) in the second sentence, by adding before the 

7 end period the following: ‘‘and provide a summary of 

8 research conducted under the program’’. 

9 SEC. 6. MODIFICATION OF ELEMENTS OF NATIONAL SEA 

10 GRANT COLLEGE PROGRAM. 

11 Section 204(b) (33 U.S.C. 1123(b)) is amended, in 

12 the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘for re13 search, education, extension, training, technology transfer, 

14 and public service’’ after ‘‘financial assistance’’. 

15 SEC. 7. DESIGNATION OF NEW NATIONAL SEA GRANT COL16 LEGES AND SEA GRANT INSTITUTES. 

17 Section 207(b) (33 U.S.C. 1126(b)) is amended— 

18 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ‘‘EX19 ISTING DESIGNEES’’ and inserting ‘‘ADDITIONAL

20 DESIGNATIONS’’; and 

21 (2) by striking ‘‘Any institution’’ and inserting 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS OF DESIGNA24 TIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not less than 30 days 

2 before designating an institution, or an associa3 tion or alliance of two or more such institu4 tions, as a sea grant college or sea grant insti5 tute under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 

6 notify Congress in writing of the proposed des7 ignation. The notification shall include an eval8 uation and justification for the designation. 

9 ‘‘(B) EFFECT OF JOINT RESOLUTION OF

10 DISAPPROVAL.—The Secretary may not des11 ignate an institution, or an association or alli12 ance of two or more such institutions, as a sea 

13 grant college or sea grant institute under sub14 section (a) if, before the end of the 30-day pe15 riod described in subparagraph (A), a joint res16 olution disapproving the designation is enacted. 

17 ‘‘(2) EXISTING DESIGNEES.—Any institution’’. 

18 SEC. 8. DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY; DEAN JOHN A. KNAUSS 

19 MARINE POLICY FELLOWSHIP. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—During fiscal year 2019 and any 

21 fiscal year thereafter, the head of any Federal agency may 

22 appoint, without regard to the provisions of subchapter I 

23 of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, other than 

24 sections 3303 and 3328 of that title, a qualified candidate 

25 described in subsection (b) directly to a position with the 


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1 Federal agency for which the candidate meets Office of 

2 Personnel Management qualification standards. 

3 (b) DEAN JOHN A. KNAUSS MARINE POLICY FEL4 LOWSHIP.—Subsection (a) applies with respect to a 

5 former recipient of a Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy 

6 Fellowship under section 208(b) of the National Sea 

7 Grant College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 1127(b)) who— 

8 (1) earned a graduate or post-graduate degree 

9 in a field related to ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes 

10 resources or policy from an accredited institution of 

11 higher education; and 

12 (2) successfully fulfilled the requirements of the 

13 fellowship within the executive or legislative branch 

14 of the United States Government. 

15 (c) LIMITATION.—The direct hire authority under 

16 this section shall be exercised with respect to a specific 

17 qualified candidate not later than 2 years after the date 

18 that the candidate completed the fellowship described in 

19 subsection (b). 

20 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR NA21 TIONAL SEA GRANT COLLEGE PROGRAM. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 212(a) (33 U.S.C. 

23 1131(a)) is amended— 

24 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol25 lows: 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

2 appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this 

3 title— 

4 ‘‘(A) $87,520,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

5 ‘‘(B) $91,900,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

6 ‘‘(C) $96,500,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

7 ‘‘(D) $101,325,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

8 ‘‘(E) $111,710,813 for fiscal year 2024; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(F) $117,296,353 for fiscal year 2025.’’; 

11 and 

12 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol13 lows: 

14 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY ACTIVITIES FOR FISCAL YEARS

15 2020 THROUGH 2025.—In addition to the amounts 

16 authorized to be appropriated under paragraph (1), 

17 there are authorized to be appropriated $6,000,000 

18 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2025 for com19 petitive grants for the following: 

20 ‘‘(A) University research on the biology, 

21 prevention, and control of aquatic nonnative 

22 species. 

23 ‘‘(B) University research on oyster dis24 eases, oyster restoration, and oyster-related 

25 human health risks. 


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1 ‘‘(C) University research on the biology, 

2 prevention, and forecasting of harmful algal 

3 blooms. 

4 ‘‘(D) University research, education, train5 ing, and extension services and activities fo6 cused on coastal resilience and United States 

7 working waterfronts and other regional or na8 tional priority issues identified in the strategic 

9 plan under section 204(c)(1). 

10 ‘‘(E) University research and extension on 

11 sustainable aquaculture techniques and tech12 nologies. 

13 ‘‘(F) Fishery research and extension activi14 ties conducted by sea grant colleges or sea 

15 grant institutes to enhance, and not supplant, 

16 existing core program funding.’’. 

17 (b) MODIFICATION OF LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNTS

18 FOR ADMINISTRATION.—Paragraph (1) of section 212(b) 

19 (33 U.S.C. 1131(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There may not be 

22 used for administration of programs under this 

23 title in a fiscal year more than 5.5 percent of 

24 the lesser of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the amount authorized to be ap2 propriated under this title for the fiscal 

3 year; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) the amount appropriated under 

5 this title for the fiscal year. 

6 ‘‘(B) CRITICAL STAFFING REQUIRE7 MENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall 

9 use the authority under subchapter VI of 

10 chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, 

11 and under section 210 of this title, to meet 

12 any critical staffing requirement while car13 rying out the activities authorized under 

14 this title. 

15 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION FROM CAP.—For 

16 purposes of subparagraph (A), any costs 

17 incurred as a result of an exercise of au18 thority as described in clause (i) shall not 

19 be considered an amount used for adminis20 tration of programs under this title in a 

21 fiscal year.’’. 

22 (c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 204(d)(3) (33 

24 U.S.C. 1123(d)(3)) is amended— 


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1 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

2 (A), by striking ‘‘With respect to sea grant col3 leges and sea grant institutes’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘With respect to sea grant colleges, sea grant 

5 institutes, sea grant programs, and sea grant 

6 projects’’; and 

7 (B) in subparagraph (B), in the matter 

8 preceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘funding 

9 among sea grant colleges and sea grant insti10 tutes’’ and inserting ‘‘funding among sea grant 

11 colleges, sea grant institutes, sea grant pro12 grams, and sea grant projects’’. 

13 (2) REPEAL OF REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING

14 DISTRIBUTION OF EXCESS AMOUNTS.—Section 212 

15 (33 U.S.C. 1131) is amended— 

16 (A) by striking subsection (c); and 

17 (B) by redesignating subsections (d) and 

18 (e) as subsections (c) and (d), respectively. 

19 SEC. 10. REPEAL OF REQUIREMENT FOR REPORT ON CO20 ORDINATION OF OCEANS AND COASTAL RE21 SEARCH ACTIVITIES. 

22 Section 9 of the National Sea Grant College Program 

23 Act Amendments of 2002 (33 U.S.C. 857–20) is repealed. 


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1 SEC. 11. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 

2 The National Sea Grant College Program Act (33 

3 U.S.C. 1121 et seq.) is amended— 

4 (1) in section 204(d)(3)(B) (33 U.S.C. 

5 1123(d)(3)(B)), by moving clause (vi) 2 ems to the 

6 right; and 

7 (2) in section 209(b)(2) (33 U.S.C. 

8 1128(b)(2)), as amended by section 5, in the third 

9 sentence, by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall’’ and in10 serting the following: 

11 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES OF DEPART12 MENT OF COMMERCE.—The Secretary shall’’. 

Æ 


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