110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1834 

AN ACT 

To authorize the national ocean exploration program and 

the national undersea research program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 TITLE I—NATIONAL OCEAN 

2 EXPLORATION PROGRAM 

3 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘National Ocean Explo5 ration Program Act’’. 

6 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZATION. 

7 The Administrator of the National Oceanic and At8 mospheric Administration shall, in consultation with the 

9 National Science Foundation and other appropriate Fed10 eral agencies, conduct a coordinated national ocean explo11 ration program within the National Oceanic and Atmos12 pheric Administration that promotes collaboration with 

13 other Federal ocean and undersea research and explo14 ration programs. To the extent appropriate, the Adminis15 trator shall seek to facilitate coordination of data and in16 formation management systems, outreach and education 

17 programs to improve public understanding of ocean and 

18 coastal resources, and development and transfer of tech19 nologies to facilitate ocean and undersea research and ex20 ploration. 

21 SEC. 103. AUTHORITIES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program au23 thorized under section 102, the Administrator of the Na24 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (in this 

25 title referred to as the ‘‘Administrator’’) shall— 
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1 (1) conduct interdisciplinary voyages or other 

2 scientific activities of discovery in conjunction with 

3 other Federal agencies or academic or educational 

4 institutions, to explore and survey little known areas 

5 of the marine environment, inventory, observe, and 

6 assess living and nonliving marine resources, and re7 port such findings; 

8 (2) give priority attention to deep ocean re9 gions, with a focus on deep water marine systems 

10 that hold potential for important scientific discov11 eries, such as hydrothermal vent communities and 

12 seamounts; 

13 (3) conduct scientific voyages to locate, define, 

14 and document historic shipwrecks, submerged sites, 

15 and other ocean exploration activities that combine 

16 archaeology and oceanographic sciences; 

17 (4) develop and implement, in consultation with 

18 the National Science Foundation, a transparent, 

19 competitive process for merit-based peer-review and 

20 approval of proposals for activities to be conducted 

21 under this program, taking into consideration advice 

22 of the Board established under section 104; 

23 (5) enhance the technical capability of the 

24 United States marine science community by pro25 moting the development of improved oceanographic 
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1 research, communication, navigation, and data col2 lection systems, as well as underwater platforms and 

3 sensors and autonomous vehicles; and 

4 (6) establish an ocean exploration forum to en5 courage partnerships and promote communication 

6 among experts and other stakeholders in order to 

7 enhance the scientific and technical expertise and 

8 relevance of the national program. 

9 (b) DONATIONS.—In carrying out the program au10 thorized under section 102, the Administrator may accept 

11 donations of property, data, and equipment to be applied 

12 for the purpose of exploring the oceans or increasing 

13 knowledge of the oceans. 

14 SEC. 104. OCEAN EXPLORATION ADVISORY BOARD. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall ap16 point an Ocean Exploration Advisory Board composed of 

17 experts in relevant fields to— 

18 (1) advise the Administrator on priority areas 

19 for survey and discovery; 

20 (2) assist the program in the development of a 

21 five-year strategic plan for the fields of ocean, ma22 rine, and Great Lakes science, exploration, and dis23 covery; 
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1 (3) annually review the quality and effectiveness 

2 of the proposal review process established under sec3 tion 103(4); and 

4 (4) provide other assistance and advice as re5 quested by the Administrator. 

6 (b) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—Section 

7 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

8 App.) shall not apply to the Board appointed under sub9 section (a). 

10 SEC. 105. APPLICATION WITH OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 

11 LANDS ACT. 

12 Nothing in this Act supersedes, or limits the author13 ity of the Secretary of the Interior under the Outer Conti14 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.). 

15 SEC. 106. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na17 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry 

18 out this title— 

19 (1) $30,500,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

20 (2) $33,550,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

21 (3) $36,905,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

22 (4) $40,596,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

23 (5) $44,655,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

24 (6) $49,121,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

25 (7) $54,033,000 for fiscal year 2014. 
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1 TITLE II—UNDERSEA RESEARCH 

2 PROGRAM 

3 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘National Undersea 

5 Research Program Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 202. AUTHORIZATION. 

7 The Administrator of the National Oceanic and At8 mospheric Administration shall conduct an undersea re9 search, exploration, education, and technology develop10 ment program and shall designate a Director of that pro11 gram. 

12 SEC. 203. PURPOSE. 

13 The purpose of the program authorized under section 

14 202 is to increase scientific knowledge essential for the 

15 informed management, use, and preservation of oceanic, 

16 marine, coastal, and Great Lakes resources. The Director, 

17 in carrying out the program authorized in section 202, 

18 shall cooperate with institutions of higher education and 

19 other educational marine and ocean science organizations, 

20 and shall make available undersea research facilities, 

21 equipment, technologies, information, and expertise to 

22 support undersea research efforts by these organizations. 

23 The Director may also enter into partnerships, using exist24 ing authorities, with the private sector to achieve the goals 
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1 of the program and to promote technological advancement 

2 of the marine industry. 

3 SEC. 204. PROGRAM. 

4 The program authorized under section 202 shall be 

5 conducted through a national headquarters, a network of 

6 extramural regional undersea research centers that rep7 resent all relevant National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad8 ministration regions, and the National Institute for Un9 dersea Science and Technology. Overall direction of the 

10 program will be developed by the program director with 

11 a Council of Center Directors comprised of the directors 

12 of the extramural regional centers and the National Insti13 tute for Undersea Science and Technology. Draft program 

14 direction shall be published not later than 1 year after 

15 the date of enactment of this Act. The draft program di16 rection shall be published in the Federal Register for a 

17 public comment period of not less than 120 days. Final 

18 program direction with Agency responses to the comments 

19 received shall be published in the Federal Register within 

20 90 days after the close of the comment period. The pro21 gram director shall update the program direction, with op22 portunity for public comment, at least every five years. 

23 SEC. 205. REGIONAL CENTERS AND INSTITUTE. 

24 (a) PROGRAMS.—The following research, exploration, 

25 education, and technology programs shall be conducted 
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1 through the network of extramural regional centers and 

2 the National Institute for Undersea Science and Tech3 nology: 

4 (1) Core research and exploration based on na5 tional and regional undersea research priorities. 

6 (2) Advanced undersea technology development 

7 to support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

8 Administration’s research mission and programs. 

9 (3) Development, testing, and transition of ad10 vanced undersea technology associated with ocean 

11 observatories, submersibles, advanced diving tech12 nologies, remotely operated vehicles, autonomous un13 derwater vehicles, and new sampling and sensing 

14 technologies. 

15 (4) Undersea science-based education and out16 reach programs to enrich ocean science education 

17 and public awareness of the oceans and Great 

18 Lakes. 

19 (5) Discovery, study, and development of nat20 ural products from ocean and aquatic systems. 

21 (b) OPERATIONS.—Operation of the extramural re22 gional centers and the National Institute for Undersea 

23 Science and Technology shall leverage partnerships and 

24 cooperative research with academia and private industry. 
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1 SEC. 206. COMPETITION. 

2 (a) DISCRETIONARY FUND.—The program shall allo3 cate no more than 10 percent of its annual budget to a 

4 discretionary fund that may be used only for program ad5 ministration and priority undersea research projects iden6 tified by the Director but not covered by funding available 

7 from centers. 

8 (b) COMPETITIVE SELECTION.—The Administrator 

9 shall conduct an initial competition to select the regional 

10 centers that will participate in the program 90 days after 

11 the publication of the final program direction required in 

12 section 204 and every five years thereafter. Funding for 

13 projects conducted through the regional centers shall be 

14 awarded through a competitive, merit-reviewed process on 

15 the basis of their relevance to the goals of the program 

16 and their technical feasibility. 

17 SEC. 207. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na19 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry 

20 out this title— 

21 (1) $17,500,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

22 (2) $19,500,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

23 (3) $21,500,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

24 (4) $23,500,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

25 (5) $25,500,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

26 (6) $27,500,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 
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1 (7) $29,500,000 for fiscal year 2014. 

2 TITLE III—INTERAGENCY 

3 PLANNING AND COORDINATION 

4 SEC. 301. OCEAN EXPLORATION AND UNDERSEA RESEARCH 

5 TECHNOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE TASK 

6 FORCE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Na8 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in coordi9 nation with the National Science Foundation, the National 

10 Aeronautics and Space Administration, the United States 

11 Geological Survey, the Department of the Navy, the Min12 eral Management Service, and relevant governmental, 

13 non-governmental, academic, industry, and other experts, 

14 shall convene an ocean exploration and undersea research 

15 technology and infrastructure task force to develop and 

16 implement a strategy— 

17 (1) to facilitate transfer of new exploration and 

18 undersea research technology to the programs au19 thorized under titles I and II of this Act; 

20 (2) to improve availability of communications 

21 infrastructure, including satellite capabilities, to 

22 such programs; 

23 (3) to develop an integrated, workable, and 

24 comprehensive data management information proc25 essing system that will make information on unique 
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1 and significant features obtained by such programs 

2 available for research and management purposes; 

3 (4) to conduct public outreach activities that 

4 improve the public understanding of ocean science, 

5 resources, and processes, in conjunction with rel6 evant programs of the National Oceanic and Atmos7 pheric Administration, the National Science Founda8 tion, and other agencies; and 

9 (5) to encourage cost-sharing partnerships with 

10 governmental and nongovernmental entities that will 

11 assist in transferring exploration and undersea re12 search technology and technical expertise to the pro13 grams. 

14 (b) BUDGET COORDINATION.—The task force shall 

15 coordinate the development of agency budgets and identify 

16 the items in their annual budget that support the activities 

17 identified in the strategy developed under subsection (a). 

Passed the House of Representatives February 14, 

2008. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 
110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1834 

AN ACT 

To authorize the national ocean exploration propheric Administration. gram within the National Oceanic and Atmos- gram and the national undersea research pro-