II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5469 

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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 10, 2024 

Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. SMITH, Mr. HEINRICH, Ms. WARREN, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, 

Mr. SCHATZ, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public 

Works 

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. 

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 ‘‘Climate Adaptation 

5 Science Centers Act’’ or the ‘‘CASC Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ADAPTATION.—The term ‘‘adaptation’’ 

4 means— 

5 (A) the process of adjustment to actual or 

6 expected climate and the effects of extreme 

7 weather, climate trends, and climate variability; 

8 and 

9 (B) protection, management, and conserva10 tion efforts designed to maintain or enhance the 

11 ability of people, fish, wildlife, plants, land, eco12 systems, and water of the United States to 

13 withstand, adjust to, or recover from the effects 

14 of extreme weather, climate trends, and climate 

15 variability. 

16 (2) ADVISORY SERVICE ACTIVITIES.—The term 

17 ‘‘advisory service activities’’ means activities includ18 ing— 

19 (A) sharing climate science and climate ad20 aptation knowledge between National and Re21 gional Climate Adaptation Science Center re22 searchers, stakeholders, and other partners; 

23 (B) building collaborations between Na24 tional and Regional Climate Adaptation Science 

25 Center researchers, stakeholders, and other 

26 partners; and 


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1 (C) integrating climate adaptation science 

2 into natural and cultural resource management, 

3 decision-making and planning. 

4 (3) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Committee’’ 

5 means the Advisory Committee on Climate and Nat6 ural Resource Sciences established under section 6. 

7 (4) CONSORTIUM INSTITUTION.—The term 

8 ‘‘consortium institution’’ means college, university, 

9 State cooperative institution, State agency, Indian 

10 Tribe, Tribal College or University, Historically 

11 Black College or University, Tribal organization, 

12 Native Hawaiian organization, minority-serving in13 stitution, or other educational institution or organi14 zation, Federal agency, public or private organiza15 tion, or any other party within each regional center 

16 other than the United States Geological Survey and 

17 the host institution. 

18 (5) CULTURAL RESOURCES.—The term ‘‘cul19 tural resources’’— 

20 (A) means those features and values re21 lated to cultural heritage; and 

22 (B) includes— 

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1 scapes, trails, structures, inscriptions, art, 

2 and artifacts on Federal lands or rep3 resentative of the culture of Indian Tribes, 

4 Native Hawaiians, and Native American 

5 Pacific Islanders; and 

6 (ii) resources considered to be cultural 

7 resources according to the traditional 

8 knowledge of Indian Tribes, Native Hawai9 ians, and Native American Pacific Island10 ers. 

11 (6) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

12 means the Department of the Interior. 

13 (7) ECOSYSTEM SERVICES.—The term ‘‘eco14 system services’’ means those benefits that eco15 systems provide humans and human society, includ16 ing clean air, clean water, and other economically 

17 important services. 

18 (8) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNI19 VERSITIES.—The term ‘‘Historically Black Colleges 

20 and Universities’’ has the same meaning given the 

21 term ‘‘part B institutions’’ in section 322 of the 

22 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061). 

23 (9) HOST INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘host insti24 tution’’ means the non-Federal lead organization 

25 within each regional center. 


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1 (10) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

2 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

3 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

4 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304(e)). 

5 (11) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 

6 term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means a His7 panic-serving institution, an Alaska Native-serving 

8 institution, a Native Hawaiian-serving institution, a 

9 Predominantly Black Institution, an Asian American 

10 and Native American Pacific Islander-serving insti11 tution, or a Native American-serving nontribal insti12 tution (as described in section 371 of the Higher 

13 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a))). 

14 (12) NATIONAL CENTER.—The term ‘‘National 

15 Center’’ means the National Climate Adaptation 

16 Science Center established under section 3(a). 

17 (13) NATIVE AMERICAN PACIFIC ISLANDERS.— 

18 The term ‘‘Native American Pacific Islanders’’ 

19 means any descendent of the aboriginal people of 

20 any island in the Pacific Ocean that is a territory 

21 of the United States. 

22 (14) NATIVE HAWAIIAN.—The term ‘‘Native 

23 Hawaiian’’ means any individual who is a descend24 ant of the aboriginal people who, prior to 1778, ocVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:16 Jan 14, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5469.IS S5469

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1 cupied and exercised sovereignty in the area that 

2 now constitutes the State of Hawaii. 

3 (15) NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGANIZATION.—The 

4 term ‘‘Native Hawaiian organization’’ means— 

5 (A) the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; 

6 (B) Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai’i 

7 Nei; and 

8 (C) any other organization that— 

9 (i) serves and represents the interests 

10 of Native Hawaiians; 

11 (ii) has as a primary and stated pur12 pose the provision of services to Native 

13 Hawaiians; and 

14 (iii) has expertise in Native Hawaiian 

15 Affairs. 

16 (16) NATURAL RESOURCES.—The term ‘‘nat17 ural resources’’ has the meaning given that term in 

18 section 11.14 of title 43, Code of Federal Regula19 tions. 

20 (17) REGIONAL CENTER.—The term ‘‘regional 

21 center’’ means one of the Regional Climate Adapta22 tion Science Centers established under section 3(a) 

23 that provide support for specific geographic locations 

24 in the United States. 


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1 (18) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

2 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

3 (19) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

4 (A) a State of the United States; 

5 (B) the District of Columbia; 

6 (C) American Samoa; 

7 (D) Guam; 

8 (E) the Commonwealth of the Northern 

9 Mariana Islands; 

10 (F) Puerto Rico; and 

11 (G) the Virgin Islands of the United 

12 States. 

13 (20) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.—The 

14 term ‘‘Tribal College or University’’ means an insti15 tution that— 

16 (A) qualifies for funding under the Tribally 

17 Controlled Colleges and Universities Assistance 

18 Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) or the 

19 Navajo Community College Act (25 U.S.C. 

20 640a note); or 

21 (B) is cited in section 532 of the Equity in 

22 Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 

23 U.S.C. 301 note). 

24 (21) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Trib25 al organization’’ means— 


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1 (A) the recognized governing body of any 

2 Indian Tribe; or 

3 (B) any legally established organization of 

4 Indians that is— 

5 (i) controlled, sanctioned, or chartered 

6 by the recognized governing body of an In7 dian Tribe; or 

8 (ii)(I) democratically elected by the 

9 adult members of the Indian community to 

10 be served by such organization; and 

11 (II) includes the maximum participa12 tion of Indians in all phases of its activi13 ties. 

14 (22) UNIVERSITY.—The term ‘‘university’’ has 

15 the meaning given to the term ‘‘institution of higher 

16 education’’ in section 101(a) of the Higher Edu17 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

18 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND DUTIES. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in collabora21 tion with States, Indian Tribes, and other partner 

22 organizations, shall establish a program to be known 

23 as the ‘‘National and Regional Climate Adaptation 

24 Science Centers’’, which shall— 


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1 (A) provide scientific expertise to agencies, 

2 organizations, individuals, Indian Tribes, tribal 

3 organizations, and Native Hawaiian organiza4 tions engaged in the management of natural re5 sources, cultural resources, and ecosystem serv6 ices for the purpose of informing decisions that 

7 aid adaptation to a changing climate and ex8 treme weather events; and 

9 (B) include a National Climate Adaptation 

10 Science Center and Regional Climate Adapta11 tion Science Centers. 

12 (2) CHIEF; DIRECTORS.— 

13 (A) CHIEF.—The Chief of the National 

14 Center shall be a United States Geological Sur15 vey employee and shall be responsible for na16 tional-scale and network-wide strategic initia17 tives, science direction, and partnerships. 

18 (B) DIRECTORS.—Each regional center 

19 shall have— 

20 (i) a Federal Director who shall— 

21 (I) be a United States Geological 

22 Survey employee; 

23 (II) report directly to the Chief 

24 of the National Center; and 


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1 (III) be responsible for region2 specific and cross-regional strategic 

3 initiatives and implementation of cli4 mate science research agendas; and 

5 (ii) a Host Institution Director who 

6 shall— 

7 (I) carry out the terms and con8 ditions of the financial assistance 

9 award; 

10 (II) lead the institutional consor11 tium in each region; and 

12 (III) oversee training and capac13 ity building at the host and consor14 tium institutions. 

15 (C) COOPERATIVE WORK.—Each Regional 

16 Federal Director and each Host Institution Di17 rector shall work cooperatively to further the 

18 mission of the relevant regional center. 

19 (D) ADMINISTRATION.—The National Cen20 ter and all regional centers shall be adminis21 tered by the United States Geological Survey. 

22 (b) DUTIES OF THE NATIONAL CENTER.—In collabo23 ration with Federal agencies, States, Indian Tribes, Tribal 

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1 zations, Native American Pacific Islanders, and other 

2 partner organizations, the National Center shall— 

3 (1) serve as the national office for the regional 

4 centers; 

5 (2) provide leadership and guidance on adminis6 tration, partnerships, information management, and 

7 communications; 

8 (3) develop and facilitate coordination among 

9 the regional centers; 

10 (4) coordinate and collaborate with other Fed11 eral agencies working on similar research and activi12 ties to— 

13 (A) minimize, as much as possible, the du14 plication of research and effort; and 

15 (B) use, as much as possible, existing data 

16 in the development of new or ongoing research; 

17 (5) conduct research on cross-regional and na18 tional science priorities; 

19 (6) support regional centers that— 

20 (A) are hosted at a university, or a consor21 tium of universities or other research institu22 tions, within the region of each regional center; 

23 (B) are collaborations between the Federal 

24 Director and the Host Institution Director and 

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1 sion and goals as defined by the National Cen2 ter in a manner that is relevant to its specific 

3 geographic region and in cooperation with State 

4 and local governments, Indian Tribes, Tribal 

5 organizations, Native Hawaiians, Native Hawai6 ian organizations, Native American Pacific Is7 landers, and other entities within that region; 

8 (C) promote research, education, training, 

9 and advisory service activities to stakeholders, 

10 Tribal governments, and the public via informa11 tional publications, trainings, and other out12 reach methods; and 

13 (D) receive funding at the host institution 

14 through cooperative agreements, contracts, and 

15 grants under section 4; and 

16 (7) acting through the Chief of the National 

17 Center, with respect to the regional centers— 

18 (A) evaluate and assess the performance of 

19 the programs of regional centers every five 

20 years, using the priorities, guidelines, and quali21 fications established by the Secretary under this 

22 section, and determine if the programs are well 

23 managed and carry out high-quality research, 

24 education, training, and advisory service activi25 ties; and 


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1 (B) subject to the availability of appropria2 tions, allocate funding among regional centers 

3 so as to— 

4 (i) conduct regionally relevant re5 search, education, training, and advisory 

6 service activities in each of the regions; 

7 (ii) encourage collaborations among 

8 regional centers to address regional and 

9 national priorities established under this 

10 section; 

11 (iii) ensure successful implementation 

12 and operation of regional centers; 

13 (iv) to the maximum extent consistent 

14 with other provisions of this Act, provide a 

15 stable base of funding in support of the re16 gional centers on 5-year terms, with addi17 tional funds available annually subject to 

18 the availability of appropriations; 

19 (v) encourage and promote coordina20 tion and cooperation between the research, 

21 education, training, and advisory service 

22 activities of the Department and those of 

23 the host and consortium institutions; and 

24 (vi) pay the official Federal Govern25 ment negotiated overhead rate to the host 


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1 institution and partners on the basic 

2 agreement establishing the location of the 

3 regional center. 

4 (c) AUTHORITIES OF THE NATIONAL CENTER.—The 

5 National Center may— 

6 (1) procure the services of appropriate public 

7 and private agencies and institutions and other 

8 qualified persons to conduct its work; and 

9 (2) operate and fund a network of not fewer 

10 than nine regional centers that shall address the im11 pacts of climate trends and variability, including ex12 treme weather events, on natural and cultural re13 sources and ecosystem services. 

14 (d) DESIGNATION OF THE REGIONAL CENTERS.— 

15 (1) EXISTING REGIONAL CENTER DESIGNA16 TIONS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any institution or con18 sortium of institutions designated as a regional 

19 center before the date of enactment of this Act 

20 shall participate in one final competition for its 

21 status as a regional center upon the conclusion 

22 of its existing 5-year term to assure that the 

23 host institutions and association consortium in24 stitutions update proposals recognizing the 

25 long-term commitment as a host. 


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1 (B) RECOMPETES.—After the next com2 petition for regional center after the date of en3 actment of this Act, a designated regional cen4 ter shall not have to recompete on 5-year terms, 

5 but shall be subject to review on 5-year terms 

6 as described in paragraph (2). After competed, 

7 the final agreements shall only be recompeted 

8 in the event of a failed review. 

9 (2) REVIEWS OF THE REGIONAL CENTERS.— 

10 (A) The Chief of the National Center, in 

11 consultation with the Committee, shall establish 

12 guidelines for 5-year merit reviews of each re13 gional center, which shall include guidelines 

14 for— 

15 (i) the establishment of a statement of 

16 objectives, agreed upon by the National 

17 Center and regional host institutions at the 

18 beginning of the 5-year term, that outline 

19 the expectations of activities or measures 

20 of success to be completed during the 

21 agreed upon period; and 

22 (ii) an independent merit review, con23 ducted by the National Center, of the host 

24 institution’s activities as related to the 

25 statement of objectives. 


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1 (B) If a regional center does not meet the 

2 requirements included in the statement of ob3 jective as determined by the independent merit 

4 review referred to in subparagraph (A)(ii), the 

5 host institution or consortium of institutions 

6 may not continue as a host of a regional center. 

7 (C) If a host institution or consortium of 

8 institution fails a merit review referred to in 

9 subparagraph (A)(ii), the Chief of the National 

10 Center may give the host institution or consor11 tium of institutions a probationary period of 

12 one year. After the one-year probationary pe13 riod, the Chief of the National Center shall un14 dertake an additional review referred to in sub15 paragraph (A)(ii) to determine if the host insti16 tution or consortium of institutions shall— 

17 (i) continue as a host of a regional 

18 center; or 

19 (ii) not continue as a host of a re20 gional center, in which case the Chief of 

21 the National Center shall initiate a com22 petitive process to select a new host insti23 tution. 


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1 (D) The Chief of the National Center shall 

2 ensure that reviews completed pursuant to this 

3 paragraph are publicly available. 

4 (3) CHANGES TO CONSORTIUM INSTITUTIONS.— 

5 The Chief of the National Center, in consultation 

6 with the Federal Director and Host Institution Di7 rector of a regional center, may add or remove con8 sortium institutions at any time to address regional 

9 and national priorities established under this section. 

10 (4) FACA.—Committees, subcommittees, and 

11 working groups appointed by Federal Directors of 

12 the regional centers pursuant to this subsection shall 

13 not be subject to chapter 10 of title 5, United States 

14 Code (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Federal Advi15 sory Committee Act’’). 

16 (e) DUTIES OF THE REGIONAL CENTERS.—In col17 laboration with Federal and State natural resources agen18 cies and departments, Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, 

19 Native Hawaiians, Native Hawaiian organizations, Native 

20 American Pacific Islanders, Tribal Colleges or Univer21 sities, Historically Black Colleges or Universities, minor22 ity-serving institutions, universities, other research or edu23 cational institutions, and other partner organizations, re24 gional centers shall develop research, education, training, 

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1 mate trends and variability on natural and cultural re2 source management in their regions for the purpose of cli3 mate adaptation. 

4 (f) PROJECT SOLICITATION.—Subject to the avail5 ability of appropriations, each regional center shall under6 go a project solicitation process annually that shall— 

7 (1) include regionally identified science priority 

8 topics; 

9 (2) work with science partners in the region to 

10 develop a scientific review process to assure the 

11 highest quality of proposals are selected; and 

12 (3) final decisions on annual project selections 

13 shall be made by the Federal Directors of the re14 gional centers. 

15 SEC. 4. GENERAL AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO CONTRACTS, 

16 GRANTS, COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS, AND 

17 INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS. 

18 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Director of the United States 

19 Geological Survey is authorized to enter into contracts, 

20 grants, and cooperative agreements with a host institution 

21 or consortium institution to further the research, edu22 cation, training, and advisory service activities of the De23 partment or its partners relating to impacts of climate 

24 trends and variability. This authority supplements all 


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1 other laws relating to the Department and is not to be 

2 construed as limiting or repealing any existing authorities. 

3 (b) LEGAL INSTRUMENTS.—The Director of the 

4 United States Geological Survey may use a contract, 

5 grant, cooperative agreement, or interagency agreement as 

6 the legal instrument reflecting a relationship between the 

7 Secretary and a host institution or consortium institution, 

8 to further the duties under section 3 without regard to— 

9 (1) any requirements for competition; 

10 (2) section 6101 of title 41, United States 

11 Code; or 

12 (3) subsections (a) and (b) of section 3324 of 

13 title 31, United States Code. 

14 (c) PARTICIPATION OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Not15 withstanding any other provision of law, any Federal 

16 agency may participate in any such cooperative agreement 

17 under this section by contributing funds through the Na18 tional Center or otherwise if it is mutually agreed that 

19 the objectives of the agreement shall further the author20 ized programs of the contributing agency. 

21 (d) APPROVAL REQUIRED.—In any case where a con22 tract is let or grant made to an organization to perform 

23 services benefitting more than one Indian Tribe, the ap24 proval of each such Indian Tribe shall be a prerequisite 

25 to the letting or making of such contract or grant. 


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1 SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION. 

2 Each department, agency, or other instrumentality of 

3 the Federal Government, that is engaged in or concerned 

4 with, or that has authority over, matters relating to nat5 ural and cultural resources, ecosystem services, or climate 

6 variability or change, including all member agencies of the 

7 United States Global Change Research Program— 

8 (1) shall, upon a written request from the Sec9 retary, furnish any available data or other informa10 tion that the Secretary deems necessary to carry out 

11 any provision of section 3; 

12 (2) shall cooperate with the National Center, 

13 regional centers, and duly authorized officials there14 of; 

15 (3) may make available, on a reimbursable 

16 basis or otherwise, any personnel (with their consent 

17 and without prejudice to their position and rating), 

18 service, or facility which the Chief of the National 

19 Center deems necessary to carry out any provision 

20 of section 3; and 

21 (4) may transfer budgetary resources or other22 wise enter into interagency agreements, including 

23 funding, facilities, computational resources, data, or 

24 other tangible or intangible resources, between the 

25 National Center or regional centers to aid collabo26 rative work among Federal agencies, when approved 


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1 by the Chief of the National Center and their coun2 terpart in the other Federal agency. 

3 SEC. 6. COMMITTEES. 

4 (a) AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH COMMITTEES.—The 

5 Chief of the National Center may establish committees or 

6 working groups and procedures to facilitate public partici7 pation in the advisory process, such as a national advisory 

8 committee for the National Center, stakeholder advisory 

9 committees and science implementation panels for the re10 gional centers, and working groups for review of competi11 tive. 

12 (b) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

13 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days 

14 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and pur15 suant to chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code 

16 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Federal Advisory 

17 Committee Act’’), the Secretary shall establish an 

18 Advisory Committee on Climate and Natural Re19 source Sciences to advise the National and Regional 

20 Climate Adaptation Science Centers on the fol21 lowing: 

22 (A) The contents of a national strategy 

23 identifying key climate adaptation science prior24 ities to advance the management of natural and 

25 cultural resources in the face of climate change. 


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1 (B) The nature, extent, and quality of re2 lations with and facilitating engagement of key 

3 partners at the regional center level. 

4 (C) The nature and effectiveness of mecha5 nisms to effectively deliver science information 

6 and tools, and build capacity, to aid the natural 

7 and cultural resource management community 

8 and decision-makers in adapting to a changing 

9 climate. 

10 (D) Mechanisms that may be employed by 

11 the National Center to ensure high standards of 

12 scientific quality and integrity in its products. 

13 (E) The integration of equity, particularly 

14 for historically underserved communities, in the 

15 operation of the National Center and regional 

16 centers. 

17 (2) VOTING MEMBERS.—The Committee shall 

18 have not fewer than 15 voting members who shall be 

19 appointed by the Secretary. Each voting member 

20 shall be an employee of— 

21 (A) an Indian Tribe; 

22 (B) a Tribal organization; 

23 (C) a Native Hawaiian organization; 

24 (D) a State or local government; 


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1 (E) a nongovernmental organization whose 

2 primary mission is conservation and related sci3 entific and advocacy activities; 

4 (F) an academic institution; or 

5 (G) other sectors, environmental justice or6 ganizations, or private industry. 

7 (3) NON-VOTING MEMBERS.—A Host Institu8 tion Director who is elected by the various Host In9 stitution Directors shall serve as a non-voting mem10 ber of the Committee. No individual is eligible to be 

11 a voting member of the Committee if the individual 

12 is— 

13 (A) a Host Institution Director; 

14 (B) a full-time officer or employee of the 

15 United States; or 

16 (C) a voting member of the Committee 

17 who is an applicant for or beneficiary of any 

18 grant or contract under this Act shall abstain 

19 from voting when there is a conflict of interest. 

20 (4) CHAIR.—The Director of the United States 

21 Geological Survey shall appoint a Committee Chair 

22 from among the members of the Committee. 

23 (5) VICE CHAIR.—The Committee shall select 

24 one voting member to serve as the Vice Chair, who 


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1 shall act as Chair in the absence or incapacity of the 

2 Chair. 

3 (6) NOMINATIONS.—Not less than once each 

4 year, the Secretary shall publish a notice in the Fed5 eral Register soliciting nominations for membership 

6 on the Committee. 

7 (7) TERM OF OFFICE.—(A) The term of office 

8 of a voting member of the Committee shall be not 

9 more than 3 years. 

10 (B) No individual may serve more than two 

11 consecutive terms as a voting member of the Com12 mittee. 

13 (C) The Chair may extend the term of office of 

14 a voting member of the Committee by up to 1 year. 

15 (D) Any individual appointed to a partial or full 

16 term may be reappointed for one additional full 

17 term. 

18 (8) DUTIES.—The Committee shall identify and 

19 recommend priorities for ongoing research needs on 

20 the issues described in section 3(e) to inform the re21 search priorities of the National Center. 

22 (9) ESTIMATED NUMBER AND FREQUENCY OF

23 MEETINGS.—The Committee shall meet approxi24 mately one to two times annually, and at such other 


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1 times as designated by the Director of the United 

2 States Geological Survey. 

3 (c) COMMITTEES; WORKING GROUPS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—At the direction of the Sec5 retary, the Chief of the National Center may estab6 lish committees or working groups to provide input 

7 on the science priorities, implementation of science 

8 programs, review of competitive proposals, and eval9 uation of the National Center and the regional cen10 ters. 

11 (2) MEMBERS.—The committees or working 

12 groups shall, to the extent practicable, include mem13 bers from Federal and State government, univer14 sities, private sector, nongovernmental organizations, 

15 Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and Native Ha16 waiian organizations. 

17 (3) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary 

18 may establish procedures to facilitate public partici19 pation in the advisory process, including providing 

20 advance notice of meetings, providing adequate op21 portunity for public input and comment, maintaining 

22 appropriate records, and making a record of the pro23 ceedings of meetings available for public inspection. 

24 (4) IMPLEMENTATION; AVAILABILITY OF

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1 cedures described in paragraph (3) are adopted and 

2 implemented and that the records described in para3 graph (3) are accurately maintained and available 

4 for public inspection. 

5 (5) FACA.—(A) The committees or working 

6 groups shall not be considered advisory committees 

7 under chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code 

8 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Federal Advisory 

9 Committee Act’’). 

10 (B) Seeking advice and input under paragraph 

11 (1) shall not be subject to chapter 10 of title 5, 

12 United States Code (commonly referred to as the 

13 ‘‘Federal Advisory Committee Act’’). 

Æ 


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