Union Calendar No. 468

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4236

[Report No. 103–850]

A BILL

To establish a National Undersea Research Propheric Administration. gram within the National Oceanic and AtmosOCTOBER 7, 1994

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. 468

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4236

[Report No. 103–850]

To establish a National Undersea Research Program within the National

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 18, 1994

Mr. ORTIZ (for himself, Mr. WELDON, Mr. FIELDS of Texas, Mr. GENE

GREEN of Texas, Mr. LAUGHLIN, Mr. ANDREWS of Texas, Mr. WASHINGTON, Mr. ROSE, and Mr. GEJDENSON) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries

OCTOBER 7, 1994

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]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 18, 1994]

A BILL

To establish a 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Undersea

3 Research Program Act of 1994’’.

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

5 For the purposes of this Act, the term—

6 (1) ‘‘Administration’’ means the National Oce7 anic and Atmospheric Administration;

8 (2) ‘‘Center’’ means any National Undersea Re9 search Center in existence on the day before the date

10 of enactment of this Act or established under section

11 5;

12 (3) ‘‘Center Director’’ means the Director of any

13 National Undersea Research Center;

14 (4) ‘‘Committee’’ means the National Undersea

15 Research Advisory Committee established under sec16 tion 4;

17 (5) ‘‘Office’’ means the Office of Undersea Re18 search established by section 3(d)(1);

19 (6) ‘‘priority research area’’ means any of the

20 priority research areas set forth in section 3(f)(1), as

21 those areas may be revised by the Under Secretary

22 under section 3(f)(2);

23 (7) ‘‘Program’’ means the National Undersea Re24 search Program established under section 3;
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1 (8) ‘‘Program Director’’ means the Director of

2 the National Undersea Research Program appointed

3 pursuant to section 3(d)(2);

4 (9) ‘‘undersea region’’ means each of—

5 (A) the United States Northern Atlantic re6 gion, comprised of the coastal and oceanic waters

7 and seabed north of Montauk, New York, and off

8 Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode

9 Island, and Connecticut;

10 (B) the Mid-Atlantic Bight region, com11 prised of the coastal and oceanic waters and sea12 bed south of Montauk, New York, and off New

13 York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,

14 Maryland, and Virginia;

15 (C) the United States Southern Atlantic re16 gion, comprised of the coastal and oceanic waters

17 and seabed off North Carolina, South Carolina,

18 Georgia, and the Atlantic coast of Florida (in19 cluding the Florida Keys);

20 (D) the Gulf of Mexico region, comprised of

21 the coastal and oceanic waters and seabed of the

22 Gulf of Mexico off Florida, Alabama, Mis23 sissippi, Louisiana, and Texas;

24 (E) the Great Lakes region, comprised of

25 the waters and lake beds of the Great Lakes;
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1 (F) the California region, comprised of the

2 coastal and oceanic waters and seabed off Cali3 fornia;

4 (G) the United States Northeast Pacific re5 gion, comprised of the coastal and oceanic waters

6 and seabed off Oregon, Washington, and Alaska;

7 (H) the Western Pacific region, comprised

8 of the coastal and oceanic waters and seabed off

9 Hawaii, Johnston Island, Guam, American

10 Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and

11 other Western Pacific waters and seabed relevant

12 to the purpose of the Program;

13 (I) the Caribbean region, comprised of the

14 coastal and oceanic waters and seabed off Puerto

15 Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and other

16 tropical and subtropical waters and seabed rel17 evant to the purposes of the Program; and

18 (J) any other undersea region resulting

19 from a modification under section 3(e)(5);

20 (10) ‘‘undersea research’’ means scientific re21 search carried out in the oceans or large lakes of the

22 world, using advanced underwater technology includ23 ing diving, underwater observatories and laboratories,

24 research submersibles, remotely operated vehicles, au-
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1 tonomous vehicles, and any other research techniques

2 necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act; and

3 (11) ‘‘Under Secretary’’ means the Under Sec4 retary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.

5 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF NA6 TIONAL UNDERSEA RESEARCH PROGRAM.

7 (a) PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE.—

8 The Under Secretary shall establish and maintain in the

9 Administration a program to be known as the ‘‘National

10 Undersea Research Program’’.

11 (b) PROGRAM PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Program

12 shall be to enhance scientific understanding of processes in

13 the oceans and large lakes of the world, by—

14 (1) developing, maintaining, and carrying out

15 undersea research programs;

16 (2) investigating, developing, and applying tech17 nology for undersea research; and

18 (3) developing new approaches to undersea tech19 nology transfer and marine science education.

20 (c) NATIONAL UNDERSEA RESEARCH CENTERS.—The

21 Program shall be conducted by the National Undersea Re22 search Centers established pursuant to section 5(a).

23 (d) OFFICE OF UNDERSEA RESEARCH.—

24 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in

25 the Administration the Office of Undersea Research.
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1 (2) PROGRAM DIRECTOR.—The head of the Office

2 and Program Officer of the National Undersea Re3 search Program is the Director of the National Un4 dersea Research Program, who shall be appointed by

5 the Under Secretary from among individuals with ex6 tensive knowledge and expertise in undersea research

7 and having appropriate administrative experience.

8 (e) DUTIES OF PROGRAM DIRECTOR.—Subject to the

9 supervision of the Under Secretary, the Program Director

10 shall carry out only the following duties:

11 (1) Facilitating and supporting the activities of

12 Centers.

13 (2) Establishing guidelines for the submission

14 and review of proposals from the Centers and propos15 als from individual researchers that are submitted to

16 the Centers for research under the Program.

17 (3) Making grants and entering into contracts

18 and cooperative agreements under section 8 to ad19 vance knowledge in the priority research areas

20 through the Centers.

21 (4) Supporting the Memorandum of Agreement

22 Concerning Support of a National Academic Deep

23 Submergence Facility for Scientific Use.

24 (5) Modifying undersea regions as necessary and

25 appropriate.
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1 (6) Any other duty specifically assigned to the

2 Program Director by this Act.

3 (f) PRIORITY RESEARCH AREAS.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary may use

5 amounts appropriated for the Program to fund re6 search, including long-term studies, within the follow7 ing priority research areas:

8 (A) Oceanic, coastal, estuarine, and

9 limnological processes.

10 (B) Pathways and fates of materials in the

11 oceans and large lakes.

12 (C) Diversity, distribution, productivity,

13 and recruitment of organisms, including com14 mercially valuable species, with respect to habi15 tat characteristics in the oceans and large lakes.

16 (D) Global change processes.

17 (E) Ocean lithosphere processes and mineral

18 resources.

19 (F) Undersea research platform and instru20 ment technology.

21 (G) Diving safety, physiology, and tech22 nology.

23 (H) Studies under section 21(e) of the Outer

24 Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C.

25 1347(e)).
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1 (2) REVISION OF PRIORITY AREAS.—Upon the

2 recommendation of the Committee, the Under Sec3 retary may, after public comment, revise the priority

4 research areas under paragraph (1).

5 SEC. 4. ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEE.—The Under

7 Secretary shall establish an independent advisory commit8 tee to be known as the ‘‘National Undersea Research Advi9 sory Committee’’.

10 (b) COMPOSITION.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall consist

12 of 9 members appointed by the Under Secretary from

13 individuals who are eminent professional scientists or

14 engineers and active in at least one priority research

15 area, of whom 2 members shall be appointed from in16 dividuals nominated by Center Directors. The Under

17 Secretary shall complete appointments under this

18 paragraph by not later than 6 months after the date

19 of the enactment of this Act.

20 (2) BALANCE.—In appointing members of the

21 Committee, the Under Secretary shall seek to ensure

22 balanced representation of—

23 (A) priority research areas,

24 (B) disciplines related to priority research

25 areas, and
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1 (C) geographic regions of the United States.

2 (3) PROHIBITION ON APPOINTMENTS.—Except as

3 provided in paragraph (4), no member of the Com4 mittee may be an employee of a Center or of the Ad5 ministration.

6 (4) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS OF THE COMMIT7 TEE.—The Chief Scientist of the Administration shall

8 be a nonvoting ex officio member of the Committee.

9 (c) DUTIES.—The Committee shall—

10 (1) advise the Under Secretary and the Program

11 Director concerning—

12 (A) the quality of research performed with

13 grants awarded under this Act, including the ap14 plicability of such research to the priority re15 search areas;

16 (B) the designation, establishment, and op17 eration of Centers;

18 (C) the modification of undersea regions;

19 (D) the need to revise the priority research

20 areas; and

21 (E) any other matter that the Under Sec22 retary refers to the Committee for review and ad23 vice, or that the Committee considers appro24 priate; and
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1 (2) carry out any other duty specifically as2 signed to the Committee by this Act.

3 (d) TERM OF MEMBERSHIP.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), the

5 term of membership on the Committee shall be 3

6 years.

7 (2) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—Of the members

8 first appointed to the Committee—

9 (A) 3 members shall serve a term of 1 year;

10 (B) 3 members shall serve a term of 2 years;

11 and

12 (C) 3 members shall serve a term of 3 years;

13 as specified by the Under Secretary at the time of ap14 pointment.

15 (3) TERM LIMITATION.—No individual may

16 serve consecutive terms as a member of the Commit17 tee.

18 (e) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Committee, while

19 performing official duties as members of the Committee, are

20 entitled to receive compensation for travel and transpor21 tation expenses under section 5703 of title 5, United States

22 Code.

23 (f) CHAIRPERSON.—The members of the Committee

24 shall select annually from among the voting members of the

25 Committee an individual who shall serve as Chairperson
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1 of the Committee. No member of the Committee may serve

2 more than 2 annual terms as Chairperson.

3 (g) CONDUCT OF BUSINESS.—The Committee shall

4 conduct its business according to the majority vote of those

5 members present at a meeting of the Committee.

6 (h) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The following guidelines

7 apply to the conduct of business by the Committee:

8 (1) Each meeting shall be open to the public, and

9 interested persons shall be permitted an opportunity

10 to present oral or written statements on items on the

11 agenda.

12 (2) Timely notice of each meeting, including the

13 time, place, and agenda, shall be published in the

14 Federal Register and copies sent to all Center Direc15 tors.

16 (i) EXEMPTION.—The Federal Advisory Committee

17 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Committee.

18 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL UNDERSEA RE19 SEARCH CENTERS.

20 (a) ASSIGNMENT OF EXISTING REGIONS AND ESTAB21 LISHMENT OF NEW CENTERS.—

22 (1) ASSIGNMENT OF REGIONS TO EXISTING CEN23 TERS.—There are assigned to the Centers in existence

24 on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act

25 undersea regions, as follows:
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1 (A) The Western Pacific region is assigned

2 to the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory.

3 (B) The United States Northeast Pacific

4 and California regions are assigned to the West

5 Coast National Undersea Research Center at the

6 University of Alaska-Fairbanks.

7 (C) The United States Northern Atlantic

8 and Great Lakes regions are assigned to the Na9 tional Undersea Research Center at the Univer10 sity of Connecticut at Avery Point.

11 (D) The Mid-Atlantic Bight region is as12 signed to the New York Bight National Undersea

13 Research Center.

14 (E) The United States Southern Atlantic

15 region is assigned to the National Undersea Re16 search Center at the University of North Caro17 lina at Wilmington.

18 (F) The Caribbean region is assigned to the

19 National Undersea Research Center at the Carib20 bean Marine Research Center.

21 (G) The Gulf of Mexico region is assigned

22 to a new center to be established pursuant to sub23 section (f).

24 (2) ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW CENTERS.—The

25 Under Secretary may establish a new Center to im-
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1 plement the Program for any undersea region at an

2 institution of higher education or oceanographic re3 search located in a State bordering the region—

4 (A) if there is a clearly demonstrated, sci5 entific need for such a Center;

6 (B) if there are adequate funds available for

7 the establishment of the Center;

8 (C) after reviewing each proposal submitted

9 under subsection (b) with respect to that region;

10 and

11 (D) if the Committee concurs in the selec12 tion of that institution.

13 (3) LIMITATION.—The Under Secretary may not

14 establish a new Center for an undersea region if the

15 expenditure of amounts for that Center would result

16 in any reduction of amounts available for expenditure

17 for any other undersea region.

18 (b) SOLICITATION OF PROPOSALS FOR NEW CEN19 TERS.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary may so21 licit proposals for the establishment of a new Center

22 under subsection (a)(2) from institutions of higher

23 education or oceanographic research.

24 (2) PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS.—A proposal

25 under this subsection shall consist of—
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1 (A) a proposed science program;

2 (B) a program management plan;

3 (C) a description of the facilities of the in4 stitution at which the new Center is proposed to

5 be established;

6 (D) a description of relevant capabilities of

7 that institution;

8 (E) an operational safety plan;

9 (F) mechanisms for information transfer;

10 (G) a budget for the proposed Center; and

11 (H) any other information the Under Sec12 retary considers necessary.

13 (c) REVIEW OF PROPOSALS.—The Under Secretary

14 and the Committee shall review each proposal submitted

15 under subsection (b) on the basis of—

16 (1) relevance of the proposal to priority research

17 areas; and

18 (2) the capability of the applicant institution to

19 administer and direct research in those areas.

20 (d) CENTER DIRECTOR.—Each institution at which a

21 Center is established under this section may select, in con22 sultation with the Office, an individual who shall be the

23 Center Director of that Center.

24 (e) 6-YEAR REVIEW OF CENTERS AND REGIONS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Every 6 years the Under Sec2 retary and the Committee shall jointly review—

3 (A) the operation of each Center, except that

4 in the case of a Center in existence on the day

5 before the date of the enactment of this Act, the

6 first review of the Center shall be completed by

7 not later than the date which is 5 years after

8 that date of enactment; and

9 (B) the configuration of undersea regions to

10 determine whether those regions meet scientific

11 needs for research in priority research areas.

12 (2) CONTENT OF REVIEW.—A review under this

13 subsection shall consist of—

14 (A) an evaluation of the quality of the re15 search conducted at the Center under the Pro16 gram and the applicability of the research to the

17 priority research areas, including consideration

18 of the reviews conducted under section 6(c);

19 (B) recommendations for changes in the sci20 entific research program and the operation of the

21 Center, that are considered beneficial by the

22 Committee and the Under Secretary;

23 (C) a determination of whether the contin24 ued operation of the Center will increase knowl25 edge in the priority research areas; and
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1 (D) recommendations for the modification

2 of the undersea regions of the Center.

3 (3) ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW CENTER AT DIF4 FERENT INSTITUTION.—If the Under Secretary and

5 the Committee determine as a result of a review

6 under this subsection that continued operation of a

7 Center is not warranted, the Under Secretary—

8 (A) shall provide notification of that deter9 mination to the Center, including a description

10 of any changes in the operations of the Center

11 the Under Secretary considers necessary for con12 tinued operation of the Center;

13 (B) shall after 18 months after providing

14 that notice, and not later than 2 years after pro15 viding that notice, review the implementation of

16 those changes by the Center; and

17 (C) may establish, at a different institution

18 of higher education or oceanographic research, a

19 new Center for the same undersea region in ac20 cordance with this section, if the Under Sec21 retary determines as a result of the review under

22 subparagraph (B) that those changes are not im23 plemented.

24 (f) NEW CENTER.—

25 (1) GULF OF MEXICO.—
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1 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—Notwithstanding

2 subsection (a)(2) and (a)(3), the Under Secretary

3 shall establish at a qualified public institution a

4 Center to conduct the Program for the Gulf of

5 Mexico undersea region, which shall be known as

6 the ‘‘Gulf of Mexico National Undersea Research

7 Center’’. The Under Secretary shall establish that

8 Center no later than 180 days after the date of

9 enactment of this Act.

10 (B) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this

11 paragraph, the term ‘‘qualified public institu12 tion’’ means a public institution or consortium

13 of public institutions of higher education—

14 (i) located directly on the coastline of,

15 or having direct access to, the Gulf of Mex16 ico, and proximate to the Flower Garden

17 Banks National Marine Sanctuary;

18 (ii) with strong undergraduate and

19 graduate programs in engineering, science,

20 and technology as they may apply to under21 sea research;

22 (iii) with nationally recognized pro23 grams in marine science and maritime

24 studies, including the presence of a degree

25 granting maritime academy;
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1 (iv) with facilities for maintaining

2 and operating research and other vessels ap3 propriate for deployment of equipment nec4 essary to conduct undersea research;

5 (v) with faculty and other personnel

6 with expertise in undersea research;

7 (vi) which maintains cooperative insti8 tutional relationships with Federal agencies

9 responsible for research work in the Gulf of

10 Mexico and along the Gulf of Mexico coast;

11 (vii) which participates in cooperative

12 undersea research programs with Mexico;

13 and

14 (viii) which has received funding for

15 undersea research from the Under Secretary

16 in the past.

17 (2) LIMITATION.—In carrying out this sub18 section, the Under Secretary shall not reduce amounts

19 available for carrying out the Memorandum of Agree20 ment Concerning Support of a National Academic

21 Deep Submergence Facility for Scientific Use.

22 SEC. 6. NATIONAL UNDERSEA RESEARCH CENTER RE23 SEARCH PROGRAMS.

24 (a) INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH PROPOSALS.—
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1 (1) SOLICITATION.—Each Center Director shall

2 annually solicit individual proposals from the sci3 entific community for research to advance the prior4 ity research areas of the Program. Research under

5 each proposal shall be primarily conducted within the

6 undersea region of the Center, but may be conducted

7 in another undersea region in cooperation with the

8 Center for that region, or other geographic areas with

9 the approval of the Program Director. Individual pro10 posals shall adhere to guidelines established by the

11 Program Director pursuant to section 3(e)(2). Propos12 als under this paragraph may be for multiyear re13 search.

14 (2) INDIVIDUAL PROPOSAL REVIEW PROCESS.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each individual pro16 posal shall be reviewed by an independent review

17 panel and by not less than 3 anonymous mail

18 reviewers. Each independent review panel shall

19 be composed of not less than 4 individuals with

20 experience in undersea research appointed by the

21 Program Director, at least one of whom shall be

22 a member of the Committee.

23 (B) PANEL REVIEW.—Each review by an

24 independent review panel shall—
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1 (i) assess the scientific merit of the in2 dividual research proposal;

3 (ii) assess the ability of the Center to

4 carry out the proposed research; and

5 (iii) the applicability of the proposal

6 to the priority research areas.

7 (C) MAIL REVIEWS.—Each mail review

8 shall consider—

9 (i) the scientific merit of the proposal;

10 and

11 (ii) the capability of the principal in12 vestigator to carry out or support the pro13 posed research.

14 (3) ALLOWANCE FOR RESPONSE.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to any regula16 tion that is issued by the Program Director, a

17 Center Director shall—

18 (i) provide to each person who submits

19 to the Center a proposal under this section

20 blinded copies of all mail reviews of the pro21 posal conducted under paragraph (2), and

22 (ii) give the person not more than 14

23 days to respond to those reviews before ren24 dering any final decision regarding funding

25 for the proposal.
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1 (B) REVIEW OF PROCESS BY COMMITTEE.—

2 Not later than 3 years after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, the Committee shall—

4 (i) determine whether all Centers are

5 implementing subparagraph (A);

6 (ii) determine whether the opportunity

7 of persons who submit proposals to respond

8 to reviews pursuant to subparagraph (A)

9 has been utilized by those persons;

10 (iii) determine whether those responses

11 have been effective in ensuring full and fair

12 consideration of those proposals; and

13 (iv) recommend to the Program Direc14 tor that the procedures established by sub15 paragraph (A) be continued, terminated, or

16 modified (including the specific modifica17 tions which should be made).

18 (C) REGULATIONS IMPLEMENTING REC19 OMMENDATIONS.—The Program Director may

20 issue regulations implementing any rec21 ommendation made by the Committee under sub22 paragraph (B)(iv).

23 (b) PROPOSED CENTER PROGRAM.—Each fiscal year

24 each Center Director shall submit to the Program Direc25 tor—
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1 (1) a proposed program for the Center for the

2 upcoming fiscal year, which shall adhere to guidelines

3 established by the Program Director pursuant to sec4 tion 3(e)(2) and shall include—

5 (A) a description of the activities performed

6 and research funded by the Center in the pre7 vious fiscal year;

8 (B) those individual research proposals sub9 mitted under subsection (a) that the Center Di10 rector determines to be meritorious based on re11 views conducted under that subsection;

12 (C) a proposed budget for the operation of

13 the Center for the current fiscal year;

14 (D) any other materials requested by the

15 Program Director to clarify the proposed pro16 gram; and

17 (E) an annually revised long-range research

18 and operations plan; and

19 (2) reviews, and responses thereto, of all individ20 ual research proposals submitted to the Center Direc21 tor for the upcoming fiscal year.

22 (c) REVIEW OF PROPOSED CENTER PROGRAMS.—The

23 Program Director shall review the proposed programs sub24 mitted by each Center Director under subsection (b) and
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1 make recommendations to the Under Secretary for funding

2 allocations under section 8(b).

3 (d) GIFTS, DEVISES, AND BEQUESTS.—Each Center

4 may accept, solicit, and use the services of volunteers, and

5 may accept, receive, hold, administer, and use gifts, devises,

6 and bequests, to carry out the research program of the Cen7 ter.

8 SEC. 7. PROCEDURES FOR JOINT REVIEW OF RESEARCH

9 PROPOSALS.

10 The Under Secretary, in consultation with the Pro11 gram Director and the Committee and jointly with the Di12 rector of the National Science Foundation and the Sec13 retary of the Navy, shall—

14 (1) develop procedures for the submittal and

15 joint review of proposals for research in priority re16 search areas to be carried out with assistance from 2

17 or more agencies within the Department of Com18 merce, the National Science Foundation, or the De19 partment of Defense; and

20 (2) issue final rules establishing those procedures

21 by not later than 1 year after the date of the enact22 ment of this Act.
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1 SEC. 8. GRANTS AND CONTRACTS FOR NATIONAL UNDER2 SEA RESEARCH CENTERS.

3 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Under Secretary may

4 make grants and enter into contracts and cooperative agree5 ments under this section to fund any Center program if

6 the Under Secretary finds that the program will advance

7 knowledge in the priority research areas.

8 (b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Based on the reviews under

10 section 6(c) of proposed Center programs, the Under

11 Secretary shall—

12 (A) allocate among the Centers, in such

13 manner as will best advance knowledge in the

14 priority research areas, all amounts available for

15 the current fiscal year for research to be con16 ducted by the Centers and administration of the

17 Centers, consistent with each Center’s long-term

18 responsibilities to conduct priority research; and

19 (B) notify each Center Director of the

20 amount allocated to that Center under subpara21 graph (A).

22 (c) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any grant made or contract

24 entered into under this section shall be subject to

25 paragraphs (2) and (3) and to any other terms, con-
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1 ditions, and requirements the Under Secretary con2 siders necessary.

3 (2) LIMITATIONS ON USE FOR LAND AND BUILD4 INGS.—Amounts provided under any grant or con5 tract under this section may not be used for—

6 (A) the purchase of any land; or

7 (B) the purchase or construction of any

8 building.

9 (3) MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS.—Any person

10 who receives or utilizes any proceeds of any grant of

11 contract under this section shall keep any records the

12 Under Secretary prescribes as necessary to facilitate

13 effective audit and evaluation, including reports

14 which fully disclose the amount and disposition of

15 funds received under this Act, the total cost of activi16 ties for which those funds were used, and the amount,

17 if any, of costs which were provided through other

18 sources. The records shall be maintained for 6 years

19 after the completion of the activity. The Under Sec20 retary and the Comptroller General of the United

21 States, or any of their duly authorized representa22 tives, shall have access, for the purpose of audit and

23 evaluation, to any books, documents, papers, and

24 records of receipts, which in the opinion of the Under
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1 Secretary or of the Comptroller General may be relat2 ed or pertinent to the grants and contracts.

3 SEC. 9. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE REVIEW BOARD.

4 After the date of the enactment of this Act, grants and

5 contracts under the Program shall not be subject to review

6 by the board in the Department of Commerce known as the

7 Financial Assistance Review Board.

8 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

9 (a) CENTER PROGRAM FUNDING.—There is authorized

10 to be appropriated to the Under Secretary for use for grants

11 and contracts under section 8, to remain available until

12 expended, $20,000,000 for fiscal year 1995, $22,000,000 for

13 fiscal year 1996, $24,000,000 for fiscal year 1997,

14 $26,000,000 for fiscal year 1998, and $28,000,000 for fiscal

15 year 1999.

16 (b) OFFICE OF UNDERSEA RESEARCH.—There is au17 thorized to be appropriated to the Under Secretary for the

18 administration of the Office of Undersea Research and sup19 port of the Memorandum of Agreement Concerning Support

20 of a National Academic Deep Submergence Facility for Sci21 entific Use, to remain available until expended, $2,100,000

22 for fiscal year 1995, $2,200,000 for fiscal year 1996,

23 $2,300,000 for fiscal year 1997, $2,400,000 for fiscal year

24 1998, and $2,500,000 for fiscal year 1999.
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1 (c) REVERSION OF UNOBLIGATED AMOUNTS.—The

2 amount of any grant, contract, or portion of a grant or

3 contract, made under section 3 or 8 that is not obligated

4 before the end of the third fiscal year in which it is author5 ized to be obligated—

6 (1) shall revert to the Under Secretary; and

7 (2) shall remain available for grants or contracts

8 under that section.

9 (d) LIMITATIONS ON USE.—Amounts appropriated

10 under the authority of subsection (a) shall not be available

11 for administration of this Act by the Office, or for program

12 or administrative expenses of the Administration or the De13 partment of Commerce.

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