Union Calendar No. 55

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1175

[Report No. 104–124]

A BILL

To amend Public Law 89–454 to provide for the

reauthorization of appropriations.

MAY 16, 1995

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commitordered to be printed tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
IB

Union Calendar No. 55

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1175

[Report No. 104–124]

To amend Public Law 89–454 to provide for the reauthorization of

appropriations.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 8, 1995

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

MAY 16, 1995

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To amend Public Law 89–454 to provide for the

reauthorization of appropriations.

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 ‘‘Marine Resources Re5 vitalization Act of 1995’’.
2

•HR 1175 RH

1 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 Section 212(a) of Public Law 89–454 is amended to

3 read as follows:

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro5 priated to carry out sections 205 and 208 of this title such

6 sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 1996

7 through 2000.’’.

8 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

9 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Marine Resources Revi10 talization Act of 1995’’.

11 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF NATIONAL SEA GRANT COLLEGE

12 PROGRAM ACT.

13 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in

14 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of

15 an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision,

16 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or

17 other provision of the National Sea Grant College Program

18 Act (33 U.S.C. 1121 et seq.).

19 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO DEFINITIONS.

20 (a) FIELD RELATED TO OCEAN, COASTAL, AND GREAT

21 LAKES RESOURCES.—Section 203(4) (33 U.S.C. 1122(4))

22 is amended—

23 (1) by inserting ‘‘marine biotechnology,’’ after

24 ‘‘marine technology,’’; and

25 (2) by inserting ‘‘shellfish disease studies,’’ after

26 ‘‘marine affairs and resource management,’’.
3

•HR 1175 RH

1 (b) SEA GRANT INSTITUTION.—Section 203 (33 U.S.C.

2 1122) is amended by adding at the end the following new

3 paragraph:

4 ‘‘(16) The term ‘sea grant institution’ means a

5 sea grant college or a sea grant regional consortium.’’.

6 SEC. 4. CONSULTATIONS REGARDING LONG-RANGE PLAN7 NING GUIDELINES AND PRIORITIES AND

8 EVALUATION.

9 Section 204(a) (33 U.S.C. 1123(a)) is amended in the

10 last sentence by inserting after ‘‘The Secretary’’ the follow11 ing: ‘‘, in consultation with the sea grant institutions and

12 the panel established under section 209,’’.

13 SEC. 5. DUTIES OF DIRECTOR.

14 Section 204(c) (33 U.S.C. 1123(c)) is amended to read

15 as follows:

16 ‘‘(c) DUTIES OF DIRECTOR.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall admin18 ister the National Sea Grant College Program subject

19 to the supervision of the Secretary and the Under Sec20 retary. In addition to any other duty prescribed by

21 law or assigned by the Secretary, the Director shall—

22 ‘‘(A) advise the Under Secretary with re23 spect to the expertise and capabilities which are

24 available within or through the National Sea

25 Grant College Program, and provide (as directed
4

•HR 1175 RH

1 by the Under Secretary) those which are or could

2 be of use to other offices and activities within the

3 Administration;

4 ‘‘(B) encourage other Federal departments,

5 agencies, and instrumentalities to use and take

6 advantage of the expertise and capabilities which

7 are available through the National Sea Grant

8 College Program, on a cooperative or other basis;

9 ‘‘(C) encourage cooperation and coordina10 tion with other Federal programs concerned with

11 ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources con12 servation and usage;

13 ‘‘(D) advise the Secretary on the designa14 tion of sea grant institutions and, in appro15 priate cases, if any, on the termination or sus16 pension of any such designation;

17 ‘‘(E) encourage the formation and growth of

18 sea grant programs; and

19 ‘‘(F) oversee the operation of the National

20 Sea Grant Office established under subsection

21 (a).

22 ‘‘(2) DUTIES WITH RESPECT TO SEA GRANT IN23 STITUTIONS.—With respect to the sea grant institu24 tions, the Director shall—
5

•HR 1175 RH

1 ‘‘(A) evaluate the programs of the institu2 tions, using the guidelines and priorities estab3 lished by the Secretary under subsection (a), to

4 ensure that the objective set forth in section

5 202(b) is achieved;

6 ‘‘(B) subject to the availability of appro7 priations, allocate funding among the sea grant

8 institutions so as to—

9 ‘‘(i) promote healthy competition

10 among those institutions,

11 ‘‘(ii) promote achievement of the goals

12 established by the institutions under sub13 section (e), and

14 ‘‘(iii) to the maximum extent consist15 ent with the other provisions of this sub16 paragraph, provide a stable base of funding

17 for the institutions; and

18 ‘‘(C) ensure compliance by the institutions

19 with the guidelines for merit review published

20 pursuant to section 207(b)(2).’’.

21 SEC. 6. DUTIES OF SEA GRANT INSTITUTIONS.

22 Section 204 (33 U.S.C. 1123) is amended by adding

23 at the end the following new subsection:

24 ‘‘(e) DUTIES OF THE SEA GRANT INSTITUTIONS.—

25 Subject to any regulations or guidelines promulgated by the
6

•HR 1175 RH

1 Secretary, it shall be the responsibility of each sea grant

2 institution to—

3 ‘‘(1) develop, in consultation with the Secretary

4 and the panel established under section 209, goals for

5 its program that are consistent with the guidelines

6 and priorities developed under section 204(a);

7 ‘‘(2) conduct merit review of all applications for

8 project grants or contracts to be awarded under sec9 tion 205; and

10 ‘‘(3) demonstrate significant progress toward the

11 goals established under this section.’’.

12 SEC. 7. REPEAL OF SEA GRANT INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM.

13 (a) REPEAL.—Section 3 of the Sea Grant Program

14 Improvement Act of 1976 (33 U.S.C. 1124a) is repealed.

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 209(b)(1) (33

16 U.S.C. 1128(b)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘and section 3

17 of the Sea Grant Program Improvement Act of 1976’’.

18 SEC. 8. DESIGNATION OF SEA GRANT INSTITUTIONS.

19 Section 207 (33 U.S.C. 1126) is amended to read as

20 follows:

21 ‘‘SEC. 207. SEA GRANT COLLEGES AND SEA GRANT RE22 GIONAL CONSORTIA.

23 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary may designate an

24 institution of higher learning as a sea grant college, and

25 an association or alliance of two or more persons as a sea
7

•HR 1175 RH

1 grant regional consortium, if the institution, association,

2 or alliance—

3 ‘‘(1) is maintaining a balanced program of re4 search, education, training, and advisory services in

5 fields related to ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes re6 sources and has received financial assistance under

7 section 205 of this Act or under section 204(c) of the

8 National Sea Grant College and Program Act of

9 1966;

10 ‘‘(2) will encourage and follow a regional ap11 proach to solving problems or meeting needs relating

12 to ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources, in co13 operation with appropriate sea grant colleges, sea

14 grant programs, and other persons in the region;

15 ‘‘(3) will act in accordance with such guidelines

16 as are prescribed under subsection (b)(2); and

17 ‘‘(4) meets such other qualifications as the Sec18 retary considers necessary or appropriate.

19 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS AND GUIDELINES.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall by regu21 lation prescribe the qualifications required to be met

22 under subsection (a)(4).

23 ‘‘(2) MERIT REVIEW.—Within 6 months of the

24 date of enactment of the Marine Resources Revitaliza25 tion Act of 1995, the Secretary, after consultation
8

•HR 1175 RH

1 with the sea grant institutions, shall publish in the

2 Federal Register guidelines for the conduct of merit

3 review by the sea grant institutions of applications

4 for project grants and contracts to be awarded under

5 section 205. The guidelines shall, at a minimum, pro6 vide for mail review of all applications for grants or

7 contracts and require standardized documentation of

8 all peer review.’’.

9 SEC. 9. REPEAL OF POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PRO10 GRAM.

11 Section 208(c) (33 U.S.C. 1127(c)) is repealed.

12 SEC. 10. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO SEA GRANT REVIEW

13 PANEL.

14 Section 209 (33 U.S.C. 1128) is amended—

15 (1) in subsection (a) by striking the second sen16 tence; and

17 (2) in subsection (c)(6) by striking ‘‘a biannual’’

18 and inserting ‘‘an annual’’.

19 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS.

20 (a) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND FELLOWSHIPS.—Sec21 tion 212(a) (33 U.S.C. 1131(a)) is amended to read as fol22 lows:

23 ‘‘(a) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND FELLOWSHIPS.—There

24 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out sections 205

25 and 208—
9

•HR 1175 RH

1 ‘‘(1) $50,600,000 for fiscal year 1996;

2 ‘‘(2) $52,500,000 for fiscal year 1997; and

3 ‘‘(3) $54,500,000 for fiscal year 1998.’’.

4 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—Section 212(b) (33 U.S.C.

5 1131(b)) is amended—

6 (1) by striking so much as precedes paragraph

7 (2) and inserting the following:

8 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATION.—

9 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to be

10 appropriated for administration of this Act, includ11 ing section 209, by the National Sea Grant Office and

12 the Administration—

13 ‘‘(A) $2,700,000 for fiscal year 1996;

14 ‘‘(B) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1997; and

15 ‘‘(C) $1,500,000 for fiscal year 1998.’’;

16 (2) in paragraph (2)—

17 (A) by striking ‘‘subsections (a) and (c)’’

18 and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)’’; and

19 (B) by striking ‘‘(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘(2)

20 LIMITATION ON USE OF OTHER AMOUNTS.—’’;

21 and

22 (3) by moving paragraph (2) 2 ems to the right,

23 so that the left margin of paragraph (2) is aligned

24 with the left margin of paragraph (1), as amended by

25 paragraph (1) of this subsection.
10

•HR 1175 RH

1 (c) REPEAL.—Section 212 (33 U.S.C. 1131) is amend2 ed by repealing subsection (c) and redesignating subsections

3 (d) and (e) in order as subsections (c) and (d).

4 SEC. 12. CLERICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

5 (a) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 209, as amended

6 by section 10(1) of this Act, (33 U.S.C. 1128(b)) is amended

7 by striking all of the matter that follows the first full sen8 tence through ‘‘shall advise’’, and inserting ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—

9 The panel shall advise’’.

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

11 (1) Section 204(b)(2) (33 U.S.C. 1123(b)(2)) is

12 amended by striking ‘‘maximum rate for GS–18’’ and

13 all that follows through the end of the sentence and

14 inserting ‘‘maximum rate payable under section 5376

15 of title 5, United States Code.’’.

16 (2) Section 209(c)(5)(A) (33 U.S.C.

17 1128(c)(5)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘the daily rate

18 for GS–18 of the General Schedule under section 5332

19 of title 5, United States Code’’ and inserting ‘‘the

20 maximum daily rate payable under section 5376 of

21 title 5, United States Code’’.

22 (3) Section 209 (33 U.S.C. 1128) is amended—

23 (A) in subsection (b)(3) by striking ‘‘colleges

24 and sea grant regional consortia’’ and inserting

25 ‘‘institutions’’; and
11

•HR 1175 RH

1 (B) in subsection (c)(1) in the last sentence

2 in clause (A) by striking ‘‘college, sea grant re3 gional consortium,’’ and inserting ‘‘institution’’.