II 

Calendar No. 292 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1068 

[Report No. 113–133] 

To reauthorize and amend the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 2002, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 23, 2013 

Mr. BEGICH (for himself, Mr. WICKER, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. 

MERKLEY, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. NELSON, and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

JANUARY 8, 2014 

Reported by Mr. ROCKEFELLER, with an amendment 

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

A BILL 

To reauthorize and amend the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Act 

of 2002, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Com4 missioned Officer Corps Amendments Act of 2013’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. References to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 2002. 

TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Sec. 101. Strength and distribution in grade. 

Sec. 102. Exclusion of officers recalled from retired status and positions of importance and responsibility from number of authorized commissioned officers. 

Sec. 103. Obligated service requirement. 

Sec. 104. Training and physical fitness. 

TITLE II—APPOINTMENTS AND PROMOTION OF OFFICERS 

Sec. 201. Appointments. 

Sec. 202. Personnel boards. 

Sec. 203. Delegation of authority for appointments and promotions to permanent grades. 

Sec. 204. Temporary appointments. 

Sec. 205. Officer candidates. 

Sec. 206. Procurement of personnel. 

TITLE III—SEPARATION AND RETIREMENT OF OFFICERS 

Sec. 301. Involuntary retirement or separation. 

Sec. 302. Separation pay. 

TITLE IV—RIGHTS AND BENEFITS 

Sec. 401. Education loan repayment program. 

Sec. 402. Interest payment program. 

Sec. 403. Student pre-commissioning education assistance program. 

Sec. 404. Limitation on educational assistance. 

Sec. 405. Applicability of certain provisions of title 10, United States Code. 

Sec. 406. Applicability of certain provisions of title 37, United States Code. 

Sec. 407. Application of certain provisions of competitive service law. 

Sec. 408. Eligibility of all members of uniformed services for Legion of Merit 

award. 

Sec. 409. Application of Employment and Reemployment Rights of Members of 

the Uniformed Services to members of commissioned officer 

corps. 

Sec. 410. Protected communications for commissioned officer corps and prohibition of retaliatory personnel actions. 


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Sec. 411. Criminal penalties for wearing uniform without authority. 

TITLE V—OTHER MATTERS 

Sec. 501. Technical correction. 

Sec. 502. Report. 

Sec. 503. Effective date. 

1 SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOS2 PHERIC ADMINISTRATION COMMISSIONED 

3 OFFICER CORPS ACT OF 2002. 

4 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

5 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

6 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi7 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

8 section or other provision of the National Oceanic and At9 mospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps 

10 Act of 2002 (33 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.). 

11 TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

12 SEC. 101. STRENGTH AND DISTRIBUTION IN GRADE. 

13 Section 214 (33 U.S.C. 3004) is amended to read as 

14 follows: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 214. STRENGTH AND DISTRIBUTION IN GRADE. 

16 ‘‘(a) GRADES.—The commissioned grades in the com17 missioned officer corps of the Administration are the fol18 lowing, in relative rank with officers of the Navy: 

19 ‘‘(1) Vice admiral. 

20 ‘‘(2) Rear admiral. 

21 ‘‘(3) Rear admiral (lower half). 

22 ‘‘(4) Captain. 


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1 ‘‘(5) Commander. 

2 ‘‘(6) Lieutenant commander. 

3 ‘‘(7) Lieutenant. 

4 ‘‘(8) Lieutenant (junior grade). 

5 ‘‘(9) Ensign. 

6 ‘‘(b) PROPORTION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The officers on the lineal 

8 list shall be distributed in grade in the following per9 centages: 

10 ‘‘(A) 8 in the grade of captain. 

11 ‘‘(B) 14 in the grade of commander. 

12 ‘‘(C) 19 in the grade of lieutenant com13 mander. 

14 ‘‘(2) GRADES BELOW LIEUTENANT COM15 MANDER.—The Secretary shall prescribe, with re16 spect to the distribution on the lineal list in grade, 

17 the percentages applicable to the grades of lieuten18 ant, lieutenant (junior grade), and ensign. 

19 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL COMPUTATION OF NUMBER IN

20 GRADE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than 

22 once each year, the Secretary shall make a computa23 tion to determine the number of officers on the lin24 eal list authorized to be serving in each grade. 


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1 ‘‘(2) METHOD OF COMPUTATION.—The number 

2 in each grade shall be computed by applying the ap3 plicable percentage to the total number of such offi4 cers serving on active duty on the date the computa5 tion is made. 

6 ‘‘(3) FRACTIONS.—If a final fraction occurs in 

7 computing the authorized number of officers in a 

8 grade, the nearest whole number shall be taken. If 

the fraction is 1 9 ⁄2, the next higher whole number 

10 shall be taken. 

11 ‘‘(d) TEMPORARY INCREASE IN NUMBERS.—The 

12 total number of officers authorized by law to be on the 

13 lineal list during a fiscal year may be temporarily exceeded 

14 if the average number on that list during that fiscal year 

15 does not exceed the authorized number. 

16 ‘‘(e) POSITIONS OF IMPORTANCE AND RESPONSI17 BILITY.—Officers serving in positions designated under 

18 section 228(a) and officers recalled from retired status 

19 shall not be counted when computing authorized strengths 

20 under subsection (c) and shall not count against those 

21 strengths. 

22 ‘‘(f) PRESERVATION OF GRADE AND PAY.—No offi23 cer may be reduced in grade or pay or separated from 

24 the commissioned officer corps of the Administration as 


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1 the result of a computation made to determine the author2 ized number of officers in the various grades.’’. 

3 SEC. 102. EXCLUSION OF OFFICERS RECALLED FROM RE4 TIRED STATUS AND POSITIONS OF IMPOR5 TANCE AND RESPONSIBILITY FROM NUMBER 

6 OF AUTHORIZED COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. 

7 Section 215 (33 U.S.C. 3005) is amended— 

8 (1) in the matter before paragraph (1), by 

9 striking ‘‘Effective’’ and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Effective’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub12 section: 

13 ‘‘(b) POSITIONS OF IMPORTANCE AND RESPONSI14 BILITY.—Officers serving in positions designated under 

15 section 228 and officers recalled from retired status— 

16 ‘‘(1) may not be counted in determining the 

17 total number of authorized officers on the lineal list 

18 under this section; and 

19 ‘‘(2) may not count against such number.’’. 

20 SEC. 103. OBLIGATED SERVICE REQUIREMENT. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A (33 U.S.C. 3001 et 

22 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 216. OBLIGATED SERVICE REQUIREMENT. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary shall pre2 scribe the obligated service requirements for appoint3 ments, training, promotions, separations, continu4 ations, and retirement of officers not otherwise cov5 ered by law. 

6 ‘‘(2) WRITTEN AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 

7 and officers shall enter into written agreements that 

8 describe the officers’ obligated service requirements 

9 prescribed under paragraph (1) in return for such 

10 appointments, training, promotions, separations, and 

11 retirements as the Secretary considers appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(b) REPAYMENT FOR FAILURE TO SATISFY RE13 QUIREMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may require 

15 an officer who fails to meet the service requirements 

16 prescribed under subsection (a)(1) to reimburse the 

17 Secretary in an amount that bears the same ratio to 

18 the total costs of the training provided to that offi19 cer by the Secretary as the unserved portion of ac20 tive duty bears to the total period of active duty the 

21 officer agreed to serve. 

22 ‘‘(2) OBLIGATION AS DEBT TO UNITED

23 STATES.—An obligation to reimburse the Secretary 

24 under paragraph (1) shall be considered for all pur25 poses as a debt owed to the United States. 


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1 ‘‘(3) DISCHARGE IN BANKRUPTCY.—A dis2 charge in bankruptcy under title 11 that is entered 

3 less than 5 years after the termination of a written 

4 agreement entered into under subsection (a)(2) does 

5 not discharge the individual signing the agreement 

6 from a debt arising under such agreement. 

7 ‘‘(c) WAIVER OR SUSPENSION OF COMPLIANCE.— 

8 The Secretary may waive the service obligation of an offi9 cer who— 

10 ‘‘(1) becomes unqualified to serve on active 

11 duty in the commissioned officer corps of the Ad12 ministration because of a circumstance not within 

13 the control of that officer; or 

14 ‘‘(2) is— 

15 ‘‘(A) not physically qualified for appoint16 ment; and 

17 ‘‘(B) determined to be unqualified for serv18 ice in the commissioned officer corps of the Ad19 ministration because of a physical or medical 

20 condition that was not the result of the officer’s 

21 own misconduct or grossly negligent conduct.’’. 

22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

23 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

24 Hydrographic Service Improvement Act of 1998, and for 


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1 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372) is amended by in2 serting after the item relating to section 215 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 216. Obligated service requirement.’’. 

3 SEC. 104. TRAINING AND PHYSICAL FITNESS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A (33 U.S.C. 3001 et 

5 seq.), as amended by section 103(a), is further amended 

6 by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 217. TRAINING AND PHYSICAL FITNESS. 

8 ‘‘(a) TRAINING.—The Secretary may take such meas9 ures as may be necessary to ensure that officers are pre10 pared to carry out their duties in the commissioned officer 

11 corps of the Administration and proficient in the skills 

12 necessary to carry out such duties. Such measures may 

13 include the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) Carrying out training programs and cor15 respondence courses, including establishing and op16 erating a basic officer training program to provide 

17 initial indoctrination and maritime vocational train18 ing for officer candidates as well as refresher train19 ing, mid-career training, aviation training, and such 

20 other training as the Secretary considers necessary 

21 for officer development and proficiency. 

22 ‘‘(2) Providing officers and officer candidates 

23 with books and school supplies. 

24 ‘‘(3) Acquiring such equipment as may be nec25 essary for training and instructional purposes. 


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1 ‘‘(b) PHYSICAL FITNESS.—The Secretary shall en2 sure that officers maintain a high physical state of readi3 ness by establishing standards of physical fitness for offi4 cers that are substantially equivalent to those prescribed 

5 for officers in the Coast Guard.’’. 

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

7 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

8 Hydrographic Service Improvement Act of 1998, and for 

9 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372), as amended by 

10 section 103(b), is further amended by inserting after the 

11 item relating to section 216 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 217. Training and physical fitness.’’. 

12 TITLE II—APPOINTMENTS AND 

13 PROMOTION OF OFFICERS 

14 SEC. 201. APPOINTMENTS. 

15 (a) ORIGINAL APPOINTMENTS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 221 (33 U.S.C. 

17 3021) is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 221. ORIGINAL APPOINTMENTS AND REAPPOINT19 MENTS. 

20 ‘‘(a) ORIGINAL APPOINTMENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) GRADES.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

23 subparagraph (B), an original appointment of 

24 an officer may be made in such grades as may 

25 be appropriate for— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the qualification, experience, and 

2 length of service of the appointee; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the commissioned officer corps of 

4 the Administration. 

5 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENT OF OFFICER CAN6 DIDATES.— 

7 ‘‘(i) LIMITATION ON GRADE.—An 

8 original appointment of an officer can9 didate, upon graduation from the basic of10 ficer training program of the commissioned 

11 officer corps of the Administration, may 

12 not be made in any other grade than en13 sign. 

14 ‘‘(ii) RANK.—Officer candidates re15 ceiving appointments as ensigns upon 

16 graduation from basic officer training pro17 gram shall take rank according to their 

18 proficiency as shown by the order of their 

19 merit at date of graduation. 

20 ‘‘(2) SOURCE OF APPOINTMENTS.—An original 

21 appointment may be made from among the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(A) Graduates of the basic officer train24 ing program of the commissioned officer corps 

25 of the Administration. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Graduates of the military service 

2 academies of the United States who otherwise 

3 meet the academic standards for enrollment in 

4 the training program described in subparagraph 

5 (A). 

6 ‘‘(C) Licensed officers of the United States 

7 merchant marine who have served 2 or more 

8 years aboard a vessel of the United States in 

9 the capacity of a licensed officer, who otherwise 

10 meet the academic standards for enrollment in 

11 the training program described in subparagraph 

12 (A). 

13 ‘‘(3) MILITARY SERVICE ACADEMIES OF THE

14 UNITED STATES DEFINED.—In this subsection, the 

15 term ‘military service academies of the United 

16 States’ means the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) The United States Military Academy, 

18 West Point, New York. 

19 ‘‘(B) The United States Naval Academy, 

20 Annapolis, Maryland. 

21 ‘‘(C) The United States Air Force Acad22 emy, Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

23 ‘‘(D) The United States Coast Guard 

24 Academy, New London, Connecticut. 


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1 ‘‘(E) The United States Merchant Marine 

2 Academy, Kings Point, New York. 

3 ‘‘(b) REAPPOINTMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para5 graph (2), an individual who previously served in the 

6 commissioned officer corps of the Administration 

7 may be appointed by the Secretary to the grade the 

8 individual held prior to separation. 

9 ‘‘(2) REAPPOINTMENTS TO HIGHER GRADES.— 

10 An appointment under paragraph (1) to a position 

11 of importance and responsibility designated under 

12 section 228 may only be made by the President. 

13 ‘‘(c) QUALIFICATIONS.—An appointment under sub14 section (a) or (b) may not be given to an individual until 

15 the individual’s mental, moral, physical, and professional 

16 fitness to perform the duties of an officer has been estab17 lished under such regulations as the Secretary shall pre18 scribe. 

19 ‘‘(d) PRECEDENCE OF APPOINTEES.—Appointees 

20 under this section shall take precedence in the grade to 

21 which appointed in accordance with the dates of their com22 missions as commissioned officers in such grade. Ap23 pointees whose dates of commission are the same shall 

24 take precedence with each other as the Secretary shall de25 termine. 


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1 ‘‘(e) INTER-SERVICE TRANSFERS.—For inter-service 

2 transfers (as described in the Department of Defense Di3 rective 1300.4 (dated December 27, 2006)) the Secretary 

4 shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) coordinate with the Secretary of Defense 

6 and the Secretary of the Department in which the 

7 Coast Guard is operating to promote and streamline 

8 inter-service transfers; 

9 ‘‘(2) give preference to such inter-service trans10 fers for recruitment purposes as determined appro11 priate by the Secretary; and 

12 ‘‘(3) reappoint such inter-service transfers to 

13 the equivalent grade in the commissioned officer 

14 corps.’’. 

15 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec16 tions in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to au17 thorize the Hydrographic Service Improvement Act 

18 of 1998, and for other purposes’’ (Public Law 107– 

19 372) is amended by striking the item relating to sec20 tion 221 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 221. Original appointments and reappointments.’’. 

21 SEC. 202. PERSONNEL BOARDS. 

22 Section 222 (33 U.S.C. 3022) is amended to read as 

23 follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 222. PERSONNEL BOARDS. 

2 ‘‘(a) CONVENING.—Not less frequently than once 

3 each year and at such other times as the Secretary deter4 mines necessary, the Secretary shall convene a personnel 

5 board. 

6 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A board convened under 

8 subsection (a) shall consist of 5 or more officers who 

9 are serving in or above the permanent grade of the 

10 officers under consideration by the board. 

11 ‘‘(2) RETIRED OFFICERS.—Officers on the re12 tired list may be recalled to serve on such personnel 

13 boards as the Secretary considers necessary. 

14 ‘‘(3) NO MEMBERSHIP ON 2 SUCCESSIVE

15 BOARDS.—No officer may be a member of 2 succes16 sive personnel boards convened to consider officers 

17 of the same grade for promotion or separation. 

18 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—Each personnel board shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) recommend to the Secretary such changes 

20 as may be necessary to correct any erroneous posi21 tion on the lineal list that was caused by administra22 tive error; and 

23 ‘‘(2) make selections and recommendations to 

24 the Secretary and the President for the appoint25 ment, promotion, involuntary separation, continu26 ation, and involuntary retirement of officers in the 


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1 commissioned officer corps of the Administration as 

2 prescribed in this title. 

3 ‘‘(d) ACTION ON RECOMMENDATIONS NOT ACCEPT4 ABLE.—If any recommendation by a board convened 

5 under subsection (a) is not accepted by the Secretary or 

6 the President, the board shall make such further rec7 ommendations as the Secretary or the President consider 

8 appropriate.’’. 

9 SEC. 203. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY FOR APPOINT10 MENTS AND PROMOTIONS TO PERMANENT 

11 GRADES. 

12 Section 226 (33 U.S.C. 3026) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘Appointments’’ and inserting 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Appointments’’; and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(b) DELEGATION OF APPOINTMENT AUTHORITY.— 

18 If the President delegates authority to the Secretary to 

19 make appointments under this section, the President shall, 

20 during a period in which the position of the Secretary is 

21 vacant, delegate such authority to the Deputy Secretary 

22 of Commerce or the Under Secretary for Oceans and At23 mosphere during such period.’’. 


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1 SEC. 204. TEMPORARY APPOINTMENTS. 

2 Section 229 (33 U.S.C. 3029) is amended to read as 

3 follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 229. TEMPORARY APPOINTMENTS. 

5 ‘‘(a) APPOINTMENTS BY PRESIDENT.—Temporary 

6 appointments in the grade of ensign, lieutenant junior 

7 grade, or lieutenant may be made by the President. 

8 ‘‘(b) TERMINATION.—A temporary appointment to a 

9 position under subsection (a) shall terminate upon ap10 proval of a permanent appointment for such position made 

11 by the President. 

12 ‘‘(c) ORDER OF PRECEDENCE.—Appointees under 

13 subsection (a) shall take precedence in the grade to which 

14 appointed in accordance with the dates of their appoint15 ments as officers in such grade. The order of precedence 

16 of appointees who are appointed on the same date shall 

17 be determined by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(d) ANY ONE GRADE.—When determined by the 

19 Secretary to be in the best interest of the commissioned 

20 officer corps, officers in any permanent grade may be tem21 porarily promoted one grade by the President. Any such 

22 temporary promotion terminates upon the transfer of the 

23 officer to a new assignment. 

24 ‘‘(e) DELEGATION OF APPOINTMENT AUTHORITY.— 

25 If the President delegates authority to the Secretary to 

26 make appointments under this section, the President shall, 


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1 during a period in which the position of the Secretary is 

2 vacant, delegate such authority to the Deputy Secretary 

3 of Commerce or the Under Secretary for Oceans and At4 mosphere during such period.’’. 

5 SEC. 205. OFFICER CANDIDATES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B (33 U.S.C. 3021 et 

7 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 234. OFFICER CANDIDATES. 

9 ‘‘(a) DETERMINATION OF NUMBER.—The Secretary 

10 shall determine the number of appointments of officer can11 didates. 

12 ‘‘(b) APPOINTMENT.—Appointment of officer can13 didates shall be made under regulations which the Sec14 retary shall prescribe, including regulations with respect 

15 to determining age limits, methods of selection of officer 

16 candidates, term of service as an officer candidate before 

17 graduation from the program, and all other matters af18 fecting such appointment. 

19 ‘‘(c) DISMISSAL.—The Secretary may dismiss from 

20 the basic officer training program of the Administration 

21 any officer candidate who, during the officer candidate’s 

22 term as an officer candidate, the Secretary considers un23 satisfactory in either academics or conduct, or not adapted 

24 for a career in the commissioned officer corps of the Ad25 ministration. Officer candidates shall be subject to rules 


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1 governing discipline prescribed by the Director of the Na2 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commis3 sioned Officer Corps. 

4 ‘‘(d) AGREEMENT.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each officer candidate 

6 shall sign an agreement with the Secretary in ac7 cordance with section 216(a)(2) regarding the officer 

8 candidate’s term of service in the commissioned offi9 cer corps of the Administration. 

10 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—An agreement signed by an 

11 officer candidate under paragraph (1) shall provide 

12 that the officer candidate agrees to the following: 

13 ‘‘(A) That the officer candidate will com14 plete the course of instruction at the basic offi15 cer training program of the Administration. 

16 ‘‘(B) That upon graduation from the such 

17 program, the officer candidate— 

18 ‘‘(i) will accept an appointment, if 

19 tendered, as an officer; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) will serve on active duty for at 

21 least 4 years immediately after such ap22 pointment. 

23 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

24 regulations to carry out this section. Such regulations 

25 shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(1) standards for determining what constitutes 

2 a breach of an agreement signed under such sub3 section (d)(1); and 

4 ‘‘(2) procedures for determining whether such a 

5 breach has occurred. 

6 ‘‘(f) REPAYMENT.—An officer candidate or former 

7 officer candidate who does not fulfill the terms of the obli8 gation to serve as specified under section (d) shall be sub9 ject to the repayment provisions of section 216(b).’’. 

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

11 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

12 Hydrographic Service Improvement Act of 1998, and for 

13 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372) is amended by in14 serting after the item relating to section 233 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 234. Officer candidates.’’. 

15 (c) OFFICER CANDIDATE DEFINED.—Section 212 

16 (33 U.S.C. 3002) is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

18 (6) as paragraphs (5) through (7), respectively; and 

19 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(4) OFFICER CANDIDATE.—The term ‘officer 

22 candidate’ means an individual who is enrolled in the 

23 basic officer training program of the Administration 

24 and is under consideration for appointment as an of25 ficer under section 221(a)(2)(A).’’. 


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1 (d) PAY FOR OFFICER CANDIDATES.—Section 203 of 

2 title 37, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

3 end the following: 

4 ‘‘(f)(1) An officer candidate enrolled in the basic offi5 cer training program of the commissioned officer corps of 

6 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is 

7 entitled, while participating in such program, to monthly 

8 officer candidate pay at monthly rate equal to the basic 

9 pay of an enlisted member in the pay grade E–5 with less 

10 than 2 years service. 

11 ‘‘(2) An individual who graduates from such program 

12 shall receive credit for the time spent participating in such 

13 program as if such time were time served while on active 

14 duty as a commissioned officer. If the individual does not 

15 graduate from such program, such time shall not be con16 sidered creditable for active duty or pay.’’. 

17 SEC. 206. PROCUREMENT OF PERSONNEL. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B (33 U.S.C. 3021 et 

19 seq.), as amended by section 205(a), is further amended 

20 by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 235. PROCUREMENT OF PERSONNEL. 

22 ‘‘The Secretary may make such expenditures as the 

23 Secretary considers necessary in order to obtain recruits 

24 for the commissioned officer corps of the Administration, 

25 including advertising.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

2 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

3 Hydrographic Service Improvement Act of 1998, and for 

4 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372), as amended by 

5 section 205(b), is further amended by inserting after the 

6 item relating to section 234 the following: 

‘‘235. Procurement of personnel.’’. 

7 TITLE III—SEPARATION AND 

8 RETIREMENT OF OFFICERS 

9 SEC. 301. INVOLUNTARY RETIREMENT OR SEPARATION. 

10 Section 241 (33 U.S.C. 3041) is amended by adding 

11 at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(d) DEFERMENT OF RETIREMENT OR SEPARATION

13 FOR MEDICAL REASONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary determines 

15 that the evaluation of the medical condition of an of16 ficer requires hospitalization or medical observation 

17 that cannot be completed with confidence in a man18 ner consistent with the officer’s well being before the 

19 date on which the officer would otherwise be re20 quired to retire or be separated under this section, 

21 the Secretary may defer the retirement or separation 

22 of the officer. 

23 ‘‘(2) CONSENT REQUIRED.—A deferment may 

24 only be made with the written consent of the officer 

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1 sent to the deferment, the officer shall be retired or 

2 separated as scheduled. 

3 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—A deferral of retirement or 

4 separation under this subsection may not extend for 

5 more than 30 days after completion of the evalua6 tion requiring hospitalization or medical observa7 tion.’’. 

8 SEC. 302. SEPARATION PAY. 

9 Section 242 (33 U.S.C. 3042) is amended by adding 

10 at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTION.—An officer discharged for twice 

12 failing selection for promotion to the next higher grade 

13 is not entitled to separation pay under this section if the 

14 officer— 

15 ‘‘(1) expresses a desire not to be selected for 

16 promotion; or 

17 ‘‘(2) requests removal from the list of select18 ees.’’. 

19 TITLE IV—RIGHTS AND 

20 BENEFITS 

21 SEC. 401. EDUCATION LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E (33 U.S.C. 3071 et 

23 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 267. EDUCATION LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM. 

2 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO REPAY EDUCATION LOANS.— 

3 For the purpose of maintaining adequate numbers of offi4 cers of the commissioned officer corps of the Administra5 tion on active duty who have skills required by the com6 missioned officer corps, the Secretary may repay, in the 

7 case of a person described in subsection (b), a loan that— 

8 ‘‘(1) was used by the person to finance edu9 cation; and 

10 ‘‘(2) was obtained from a governmental entity, 

11 private financial institution, educational institution, 

12 or other authorized entity. 

13 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PERSONS.—To be eligible to obtain 

14 a loan repayment under this section, a person must— 

15 ‘‘(1) satisfy 1 of the requirements specified in 

16 subsection (c); 

17 ‘‘(2) be fully qualified for, or hold, an appoint18 ment as a commissioned officer in the commissioned 

19 officer corps of the Administration; and 

20 ‘‘(3) sign a written agreement to serve on active 

21 duty, or, if on active duty, to remain on active duty 

22 for a period in addition to any other incurred active 

23 duty obligation. 

24 ‘‘(c) ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL REQUIRE25 MENTS.—One of the following academic requirements 

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1 bility of an individual for a loan repayment under this sec2 tion: 

3 ‘‘(1) The person is fully qualified in a profes4 sion that the Secretary has determined to be nec5 essary to meet identified skill shortages in the com6 missioned officer corps. 

7 ‘‘(2) The person is enrolled as a full-time stu8 dent in the final year of a course of study at an ac9 credited educational institution (as determined by 

10 the Secretary of Education) leading to a degree in 

11 a profession that will meet identified skill shortages 

12 in the commissioned officer corps. 

13 ‘‘(d) LOAN REPAYMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the limits estab15 lished under paragraph (2), a loan repayment under 

16 this section may consist of the payment of the prin17 cipal, interest, and related expenses of a loan ob18 tained by a person described in subsection (b). 

19 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT.—For each year 

20 of obligated service that a person agrees to serve in 

21 an agreement described in subsection (b)(3), the 

22 Secretary may pay not more than the amount speci23 fied in section 2173(e)(2) of title 10, United States 

24 Code. 

25 ‘‘(e) ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE OBLIGATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person entering into an 

2 agreement described in subsection (b)(3) incurs an 

3 active duty service obligation. 

4 ‘‘(2) LENGTH OF OBLIGATION DETERMINED

5 UNDER REGULATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

7 subparagraph (B), the length of the obligation 

8 under paragraph (1) shall be determined under 

9 regulations prescribed by the Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM OBLIGATION.—The regula11 tions prescribed under subparagraph (A) may 

12 not provide for a period of obligation of less 

13 than 1 year for each maximum annual amount, 

14 or portion thereof, paid on behalf of the person 

15 for qualified loans. 

16 ‘‘(3) PERSONS ON ACTIVE DUTY BEFORE EN17 TERING INTO AGREEMENT.—The active duty service 

18 obligation of persons on active duty before entering 

19 into the agreement shall be served after the conclu20 sion of any other obligation incurred under the 

21 agreement. 

22 ‘‘(f) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO COMPLETE OBLIGA23 TION.— 

24 ‘‘(1) ALTERNATIVE OBLIGATIONS.—An officer 

25 who is relieved of the officer’s active duty obligation 


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1 under this section before the completion of that obli2 gation may be given any alternative obligation, at 

3 the discretion of the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(2) REPAYMENT.—An officer who does not 

5 complete the period of active duty specified in the 

6 agreement entered into under subsection (b)(3), or 

7 the alternative obligation imposed under paragraph 

8 (1), shall be subject to the repayment provisions 

9 under section 216. 

10 ‘‘(g) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

11 regulations to carry out this section, including— 

12 ‘‘(1) standards for qualified loans and author13 ized payees; and 

14 ‘‘(2) other terms and conditions for the making 

15 of loan repayments.’’. 

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

17 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

18 Hydrographic Service Improvement Act of 1998, and for 

19 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372) is amended by in20 serting after the item relating to section 266 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 267. Education loan repayment program.’’. 

21 SEC. 402. INTEREST PAYMENT PROGRAM. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E (33 U.S.C. 3071 et 

23 seq.), as amended by section 401(a), is further amended 

24 by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 268. INTEREST PAYMENT PROGRAM. 

2 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may pay the inter3 est and any special allowances that accrue on 1 or more 

4 student loans of an eligible officer, in accordance with this 

5 section. 

6 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE OFFICERS.—An officer is eligible for 

7 the benefit described in subsection (a) while the officer— 

8 ‘‘(1) is serving on active duty; 

9 ‘‘(2) has not completed more than 3 years of 

10 service on active duty; 

11 ‘‘(3) is the debtor on 1 or more unpaid loans 

12 described in subsection (c); and 

13 ‘‘(4) is not in default on any such loan. 

14 ‘‘(c) STUDENT LOANS.—The authority to make pay15 ments under subsection (a) may be exercised with respect 

16 to the following loans: 

17 ‘‘(1) A loan made, insured, or guaranteed under 

18 part B of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 

19 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.). 

20 ‘‘(2) A loan made under part D of such title 

21 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.). 

22 ‘‘(3) A loan made under part E of such title 

23 (20 U.S.C. 1087aa et seq.). 

24 ‘‘(d) MAXIMUM BENEFIT.—Interest and any special 

25 allowance may be paid on behalf of an officer under this 


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1 section for any of the 36 consecutive months during which 

2 the officer is eligible under subsection (b). 

3 ‘‘(e) FUNDS FOR PAYMENTS.—The Secretary may 

4 use amounts appropriated for the pay and allowances of 

5 personnel of the commissioned officer corps of the Admin6 istration for payments under this section. 

7 ‘‘(f) COORDINATION WITH SECRETARY OF EDU8 CATION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall consult 

10 with the Secretary of Education regarding the ad11 ministration of this section. 

12 ‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—The Secretary 

13 shall transfer to the Secretary of Education the 

14 funds necessary— 

15 ‘‘(A) to pay interest and special allowances 

16 on student loans under this section (in accord17 ance with sections 428(o), 455(l), and 464(j) of 

18 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

19 1078(o), 1087e(l), and 1087dd(j)); and 

20 ‘‘(B) to reimburse the Secretary of Edu21 cation for any reasonable administrative costs 

22 incurred by the Secretary in coordinating the 

23 program under this section with the administra24 tion of the student loan programs under parts 

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1 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq., 

2 1087a et seq., 1087aa et seq.). 

3 ‘‘(g) SPECIAL ALLOWANCE DEFINED.—In this sec4 tion, the term ‘special allowance’ means a special allow5 ance that is payable under section 438 of the Higher Edu6 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087–1).’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

8 (1) Section 428(o) of the Higher Education Act 

9 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078(o)) is amended— 

10 (A) by striking the subsection heading and 

11 inserting ‘‘ARMED FORCES AND NOAA COM12 MISSIONED OFFICER CORPS STUDENT LOAN

13 INTEREST PAYMENT PROGRAMS’’; and 

14 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

15 (i) by inserting ‘‘or section 264 of the 

16 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin17 istration Commissioned Officer Corps Act 

18 of 2002’’ after ‘‘Code,’’; and 

19 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or an officer in the 

20 commissioned officer corps of the National 

21 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

22 respectively,’’ after ‘‘Armed Forces’’. 

23 (2) Sections 455(l) and 464(j) of the Higher 

24 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(l) and 

25 1087dd(j)) are each amended— 


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1 (A) by striking the subsection heading and 

2 inserting ‘‘ARMED FORCES AND NOAA COM3 MISSIONED OFFICER CORPS STUDENT LOAN

4 INTEREST PAYMENT PROGRAMS’’; and 

5 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

6 (i) by inserting ‘‘or section 264 of the 

7 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin8 istration Commissioned Officer Corps Act 

9 of 2002’’ after ‘‘Code,’’; and 

10 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or an officer in the 

11 commissioned officer corps of the National 

12 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

13 respectively’’ after ‘‘Armed Forces’’. 

14 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

15 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

16 Hydrographic Service Improvement Act of 1998, and for 

17 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372), as amended by 

18 section 401(b), is further amended by inserting after the 

19 item relating to section 267 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 268. Interest payment program.’’. 

20 SEC. 403. STUDENT PRE-COMMISSIONING EDUCATION AS21 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E (33 U.S.C. 3071 et 

23 seq.), as amended by sections 401(a) and 402(a), is fur24 ther amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 269. STUDENT PRE-COMMISSIONING EDUCATION AS2 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

3 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL ASSIST4 ANCE.—For the purpose of maintaining adequate numbers 

5 of officers of the commissioned officer corps of the Admin6 istration on active duty, the Secretary may provide finan7 cial assistance to a person described in subsection (b) for 

8 expenses of the person while the person is pursuing on 

9 a full-time basis at an accredited educational institution 

10 (as determined by the Secretary of Education) a program 

11 of education approved by the Secretary that leads to— 

12 ‘‘(1) a baccalaureate degree in not more than 5 

13 academic years; or 

14 ‘‘(2) a postbaccalaureate degree. 

15 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PERSONS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person is eligible to ob17 tain financial assistance under subsection (a) if the 

18 person— 

19 ‘‘(A) is enrolled on a full-time basis in a 

20 program of education referred to in subsection 

21 (a) at any educational institution described in 

22 such subsection; 

23 ‘‘(B) meets all of the requirements for ac24 ceptance into the commissioned officer corps of 

25 the Administration except for the completion of 

26 a baccalaureate degree; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) enters into a written agreement with 

2 the Secretary described in paragraph (2). 

3 ‘‘(2) AGREEMENT.—A written agreement re4 ferred to in paragraph (1)(C) is an agreement be5 tween the person and the Secretary in which the 

6 person agrees— 

7 ‘‘(A) to accept an appointment as an offi8 cer, if tendered; and 

9 ‘‘(B) upon completion of the person’s edu10 cational program, agrees to serve on active 

11 duty, immediately after appointment, for— 

12 ‘‘(i) up to 3 years if the person re13 ceived less than 3 years of assistance; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) up to 5 years if the person re15 ceived at least 3 years of assistance. 

16 ‘‘(c) QUALIFYING EXPENSES.—Expenses for which 

17 financial assistance may be provided under subsection (a) 

18 are the following: 

19 ‘‘(1) Tuition and fees charged by the edu20 cational institution involved. 

21 ‘‘(2) The cost of books. 

22 ‘‘(3) In the case of a program of education 

23 leading to a baccalaureate degree, laboratory ex24 penses. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Such other expenses as the Secretary con2 siders appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall 

4 prescribe the amount of financial assistance provided to 

5 a person under subsection (a), which may not exceed the 

6 amount specified in section 2173(e)(2) of title 10, United 

7 States Code, for each year of obligated service that a per8 son agrees to serve in an agreement described in sub9 section (b)(2). 

10 ‘‘(e) DURATION OF ASSISTANCE.—Financial assist11 ance may be provided to a person under subsection (a) 

12 for not more than 5 consecutive academic years. 

13 ‘‘(f) SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person who receives fi15 nancial assistance under subsection (a) shall be enti16 tled to a monthly subsistence allowance at a rate 

17 prescribed under paragraph (2) for the duration of 

18 the period for which the person receives such finan19 cial assistance. 

20 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT.—The Sec21 retary shall prescribe monthly rates for subsistence 

22 allowance provided under paragraph (1), which shall 

23 be equal to the amount specified in section 2144(a) 

24 of title 10, United States Code. 

25 ‘‘(g) INITIAL CLOTHING ALLOWANCE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) TRAINING.—The Secretary may prescribe 

2 a sum which shall be credited to each person who re3 ceives financial assistance under subsection (a) to 

4 cover the cost of the person’s initial clothing and 

5 equipment issue. 

6 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT.—Upon completion of the 

7 program of education for which a person receives fi8 nancial assistance under subsection (a) and accept9 ance of appointment in the commissioned officer 

10 corps of the Administration, the person may be 

11 issued a subsequent clothing allowance equivalent to 

12 that normally provided to a newly appointed officer. 

13 ‘‘(h) TERMINATION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall termi15 nate the assistance provided to a person under this 

16 section if— 

17 ‘‘(A) the Secretary accepts a request by 

18 the person to be released from an agreement 

19 described in subsection (b)(2); 

20 ‘‘(B) the misconduct of the person results 

21 in a failure to complete the period of active 

22 duty required under the agreement; or 

23 ‘‘(C) the person fails to fulfill any term or 

24 condition of the agreement. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REIMBURSEMENT.—The Secretary may re2 quire a person who receives assistance described in 

3 subsection (c), (f), or (g) under an agreement en4 tered into under subsection (b)(1)(C) to reimburse 

5 the Secretary in an amount that bears the same 

6 ratio to the total costs of the assistance provided to 

7 that person as the unserved portion of active duty 

8 bears to the total period of active duty the officer 

9 agreed to serve under the agreement. 

10 ‘‘(3) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the 

11 service obligation of a person through an agreement 

12 entered into under subsection (b)(1)(C) if the per13 son— 

14 ‘‘(A) becomes unqualified to serve on active 

15 duty in the commissioned officer corps of the 

16 Administration because of a circumstance not 

17 within the control of that person; or 

18 ‘‘(B) is— 

19 ‘‘(i) not physically qualified for ap20 pointment; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) determined to be unqualified for 

22 service in the commissioned officer corps of 

23 the Administration because of a physical or 

24 medical condition that was not the result 


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1 of the person’s own misconduct or grossly 

2 negligent conduct. 

3 ‘‘(4) OBLIGATION AS DEBT TO UNITED

4 STATES.—An obligation to reimburse the Secretary 

5 imposed under paragraph (2) is, for all purposes, a 

6 debt owed to the United States. 

7 ‘‘(5) DISCHARGE IN BANKRUPTCY.—A dis8 charge in bankruptcy under title 11, United States 

9 Code, that is entered less than 5 years after the ter10 mination of a written agreement entered into under 

11 subsection (b)(1)(C) does not discharge the person 

12 signing the agreement from a debt arising under 

13 such agreement or under paragraph (2). 

14 ‘‘(i) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may promulgate 

15 such regulations and orders as the Secretary considers ap16 propriate to carry out this section.’’. 

17 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

18 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

19 Hydrographic Service Improvement Act of 1998, and for 

20 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372), as amended by 

21 section 402(c), is further amended by inserting after the 

22 item relating to section 268 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 269. Student pre-commissioning education assistance program.’’. 

23 SEC. 404. LIMITATION ON EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each fiscal year, beginning with 

25 fiscal year 2013, the Secretary of Commerce shall ensure 


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1 that the total amount expended by the Secretary under 

2 section 267 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad3 ministration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 2002 (as 

4 added by section 401(a)), section 268 of such Act (as 

5 added by section 402(a)), and section 269 of such Act (as 

6 added by section 403(a)) does not exceed the amount by 

7 which— 

8 (1) the total amount the Secretary would pay in 

9 that fiscal year to officer candidates under section 

10 203(f)(1) of title 37, United States Code (as added 

11 by section 205(d)), if such section entitled officers 

12 candidates to pay at monthly rates equal to the 

13 basic pay of a commissioned officer in the pay grade 

14 O–1 with less than 2 years of service; exceeds 

15 (2) the total amount the Secretary actually 

16 pays in that fiscal year to officer candidates under 

17 section 203(f)(1) of such title (as so added). 

18 (b) OFFICER CANDIDATE DEFINED.—In this section, 

19 the term ‘‘officer candidate’’ has the meaning given the 

20 term in section 212 of the National Oceanic and Atmos21 pheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 

22 2002 (33 U.S.C. 3002), as added by section 205(c). 

23 SEC. 405. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF 

24 TITLE 10, UNITED STATES CODE. 

25 Section 261(a) (33 U.S.C. 3071(a)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (13) through 

2 (16) as paragraphs (20) through (23), respectively; 

3 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through 

4 (12) as paragraphs (12) through (17), respectively; 

5 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

6 (6) as paragraphs (8) through (10), respectively; 

7 (4) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(4) Section 771, relating to unauthorized 

10 wearing of uniforms. 

11 ‘‘(5) Section 774, relating to wearing religious 

12 apparel while in uniform. 

13 ‘‘(6) Section 982, relating to service on State 

14 and local juries. 

15 ‘‘(7) Section 1031, relating to administration of 

16 oaths.’’; 

17 (5) by inserting after paragraph (10), as redes18 ignated, the following: 

19 ‘‘(11) Chapter 58, relating to the Benefits and 

20 Services for members being separated or recently 

21 separated.’’; and 

22 (6) by inserting after paragraph (17), as redes23 ignated, the following: 

24 ‘‘(18) Subchapter I of chapter 88, relating to 

25 Military Family Programs. 


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1 ‘‘(19) Section 2005, relating to advanced edu2 cation assistance, active duty agreements, and reim3 bursement requirements.’’. 

4 SEC. 406. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF 

5 TITLE 37, UNITED STATES CODE. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E (33 U.S.C. 3071 et 

7 seq.) is amended by inserting after section 261 the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 261A. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF 

10 TITLE 37, UNITED STATES CODE. 

11 ‘‘(a) PROVISIONS MADE APPLICABLE TO COMMIS12 SIONED OFFICER CORPS.—The provisions of law applica13 ble to the Armed Forces under the following provisions 

14 of title 37, United States Code, shall apply to the commis15 sioned officer corps of the Administration: 

16 ‘‘(1) Section 324, relating to accession bonuses 

17 for new officers in critical skills. 

18 ‘‘(2) Section 403(f)(3), relating to prescribing 

19 regulations defining the terms ‘field duty’ and ‘sea 

20 duty’. 

21 ‘‘(3) Section 403(l), relating to temporary con22 tinuation of housing allowance for dependents of 

23 members dying on active duty. 

24 ‘‘(4) Section 414(a)(2), relating to personal 

25 money allowance while serving as Director of the 


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1 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

2 Commissioned Officer Corps. 

3 ‘‘(5) Section 428, relating to allowances for re4 cruiting expenses. 

5 ‘‘(6) Section 435, relating to allowances for fu6 neral honors duty. 

7 ‘‘(b) REFERENCES.—The authority vested by title 37, 

8 United States Code, in the ‘military departments’, ‘the 

9 Secretary concerned’, or ‘the Secretary of Defense’ with 

10 respect to the provisions of law referred to in subsection 

11 (a) shall be exercised, with respect to the commissioned 

12 officer corps of the Administration, by the Secretary of 

13 Commerce or the Secretary’s designee.’’. 

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

15 in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

16 Hydrographic Service Improvement Act of 1998, and for 

17 other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372), as amended by 

18 section 404(b), is further amended by inserting after the 

19 item relating to section 269 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 261A. Applicability of certain provisions of title 37, United States 

Code.’’. 

20 SEC. 407. APPLICATION OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF COM21 PETITIVE SERVICE LAW. 

22 Section 3304(f) of title 5, United States Code, is 

23 amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and mem2 bers of the commissioned officer corps of the Na3 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or 

4 its predecessor organization the Coast and Geodetic 

5 Survey) separated from such uniformed service’’ 

6 after ‘‘separated from the armed forces’’; 

7 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘or veteran’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘, veteran, or member’’; and 

9 (3) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘and mem10 bers of the commissioned officer corps of the Na11 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or 

12 its predecessor organization the Coast and Geodetic 

13 Survey) separated from such uniformed service’’ 

14 after ‘‘separated from the armed forces’’. 

15 SEC. 408. ELIGIBILITY OF ALL MEMBERS OF UNIFORMED 

16 SERVICES FOR LEGION OF MERIT AWARD. 

17 Section 1121 of title 10, United States Code, is 

18 amended by striking ‘‘armed forces’’ and inserting ‘‘uni19 formed services’’. 

20 SEC. 409. APPLICATION OF EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOY21 MENT RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF THE UNI22 FORMED SERVICES TO MEMBERS OF COM23 MISSIONED OFFICER CORPS. 

24 Section 4303(16) of title 38, United States Code, is 

25 amended by inserting ‘‘the commissioned officer corps of 


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1 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,’’ 

2 after ‘‘Public Health Service,’’. 

3 SEC. 410. PROTECTED COMMUNICATIONS FOR COMMIS4 SIONED OFFICER CORPS AND PROHIBITION 

5 OF RETALIATORY PERSONNEL ACTIONS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 261 (33 

7 U.S.C. 3071), as amended by section 405, is further 

8 amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through 

10 (23) as paragraphs (9) through (24), respectively; 

11 and 

12 (2) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(8) Section 1034, relating to protected com15 munications and prohibition of retaliatory personnel 

16 actions.’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (b) of 

18 such section is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: ‘‘For purposes of paragraph (8) of subsection (a), 

20 the term ‘Inspector General’ in section 1034 of such title 

21 10 shall mean the Inspector General of the Department 

22 of Commerce.’’. 


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1 SEC. 411. CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR WEARING UNIFORM 

2 WITHOUT AUTHORITY. 

3 Section 702 of title 18, United States Code, is 

4 amended by striking ‘‘Service or any’’ and inserting ‘‘Serv5 ice, the commissioned officer corps of the National Oce6 anic and Atmospheric Administration, or any’’. 

7 TITLE V—OTHER MATTERS 

8 SEC. 501. TECHNICAL CORRECTION. 

9 Section 101(21)(C) of title 38, United States Code, 

10 is amended by inserting ‘‘in the commissioned officer 

11 corps’’ before ‘‘of the National’’. 

12 SEC. 502. REPORT. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Com15 merce shall submit to Congress a report evaluating the 

16 current status and projected needs of the commissioned 

17 officer corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad18 ministration to operate sufficiently through fiscal year 

19 2017. 

20 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required by subsection 

21 (a) shall include the following: 

22 (1) The average annual attrition rate of officers 

23 in the commissioned officer corps of the National 

24 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

25 (2) An estimate of the number of annual re26 cruits that would reasonably be required to operate 


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1 the commissioned officer corps sufficiently through 

2 fiscal year 2017. 

3 (3) The projected impact of this Act on annual 

4 recruitment numbers through fiscal year 2017. 

5 (4) Identification of areas of duplication or un6 necessary redundancy in current activities of the 

7 commissioned officer corps that could otherwise be 

8 streamlined or eliminated to save costs. 

9 (5) Such other matters as the Secretary con10 siders appropriate regarding the provisions of this 

11 Act and the amendments made by this Act. 

12 SEC. 503. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

13 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, sec14 tions 101 through 411 shall take effect on the date that 

15 is 90 days after the date on which the Secretary of Com16 merce submits to Congress the report required by section 

17 502(a). 

18 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

19 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Na20 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commis21 sioned Officer Corps Amendments Act of 2013’’. 

22 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

23 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. References to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 2002. 


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TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Sec. 101. Strength and distribution in grade. 

Sec. 102. Exclusion of officers recalled from retired status and positions of importance and responsibility from number of authorized commissioned officers. 

Sec. 103. Obligated service requirement. 

Sec. 104. Training and physical fitness. 

TITLE II—APPOINTMENTS AND PROMOTION OF OFFICERS 

Sec. 201. Appointments. 

Sec. 202. Personnel boards. 

Sec. 203. Delegation of authority for appointments and promotions to permanent 

grades. 

Sec. 204. Temporary appointments. 

Sec. 205. Officer candidates. 

Sec. 206. Procurement of personnel. 

TITLE III—SEPARATION AND RETIREMENT OF OFFICERS 

Sec. 301. Involuntary retirement or separation. 

Sec. 302. Separation pay. 

TITLE IV—RIGHTS AND BENEFITS 

Sec. 401. Education loan repayment program. 

Sec. 402. Interest payment program. 

Sec. 403. Student pre-commissioning education assistance program. 

Sec. 404. Limitation on educational assistance. 

Sec. 405. Applicability of certain provisions of title 10, United States Code. 

Sec. 406. Applicability of certain provisions of title 37, United States Code. 

Sec. 407. Application of certain provisions of competitive service law. 

Sec. 408. Eligibility of all members of uniformed services for Legion of Merit 

award. 

Sec. 409. Application of Employment and Reemployment Rights of Members of 

the Uniformed Services to members of commissioned officer 

corps. 

Sec. 410. Protected communications for commissioned officer corps and prohibition of retaliatory personnel actions. 

Sec. 411. Criminal penalties for wearing uniform without authority. 

TITLE V—OTHER MATTERS 

Sec. 501. Technical correction. 

Sec. 502. Report. 

Sec. 503. Effective date. 


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1 SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOS2 PHERIC ADMINISTRATION COMMISSIONED 

3 OFFICER CORPS ACT OF 2002. 

4 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

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

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

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

8 other provision of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

9 Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 2002 

10 (33 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.). 

11 TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

12 SEC. 101. STRENGTH AND DISTRIBUTION IN GRADE. 

13 Section 214 (33 U.S.C. 3004) is amended to read as 

14 follows: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 214. STRENGTH AND DISTRIBUTION IN GRADE. 

16 ‘‘(a) GRADES.—The commissioned grades in the com17 missioned officer corps of the Administration are the fol18 lowing, in relative rank with officers of the Navy: 

19 ‘‘(1) Vice admiral. 

20 ‘‘(2) Rear admiral. 

21 ‘‘(3) Rear admiral (lower half). 

22 ‘‘(4) Captain. 

23 ‘‘(5) Commander. 

24 ‘‘(6) Lieutenant commander. 

25 ‘‘(7) Lieutenant. 

26 ‘‘(8) Lieutenant (junior grade). 


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1 ‘‘(9) Ensign. 

2 ‘‘(b) PROPORTION.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The officers on the lineal list 

4 shall be distributed in grade in the following percent5 ages: 

6 ‘‘(A) 8 in the grade of captain. 

7 ‘‘(B) 14 in the grade of commander. 

8 ‘‘(C) 19 in the grade of lieutenant com9 mander. 

10 ‘‘(2) GRADES BELOW LIEUTENANT COM11 MANDER.—The Secretary shall prescribe, with respect 

12 to the distribution on the lineal list in grade, the per13 centages applicable to the grades of lieutenant, lieu14 tenant (junior grade), and ensign. 

15 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL COMPUTATION OF NUMBER IN GRADE.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than once 

17 each year, the Secretary shall make a computation to 

18 determine the number of officers on the lineal list au19 thorized to be serving in each grade. 

20 ‘‘(2) METHOD OF COMPUTATION.—The number 

21 in each grade shall be computed by applying the ap22 plicable percentage to the total number of such officers 

23 serving on active duty on the date the computation is 

24 made. 


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1 ‘‘(3) FRACTIONS.—If a final fraction occurs in 

2 computing the authorized number of officers in a 

3 grade, the nearest whole number shall be taken. If the 

fraction is 1 4 ⁄2, the next higher whole number shall be 

5 taken. 

6 ‘‘(d) TEMPORARY INCREASE IN NUMBERS.—The total 

7 number of officers authorized by law to be on the lineal list 

8 during a fiscal year may be temporarily exceeded if the av9 erage number on that list during that fiscal year does not 

10 exceed the authorized number. 

11 ‘‘(e) POSITIONS OF IMPORTANCE AND RESPONSI12 BILITY.—Officers serving in positions designated under sec13 tion 228(a) and officers recalled from retired status shall 

14 not be counted when computing authorized strengths under 

15 subsection (c) and shall not count against those strengths. 

16 ‘‘(f) PRESERVATION OF GRADE AND PAY.—No officer 

17 may be reduced in grade or pay or separated from the com18 missioned officer corps of the Administration as the result 

19 of a computation made to determine the authorized number 

20 of officers in the various grades.’’. 

21 SEC. 102. EXCLUSION OF OFFICERS RECALLED FROM RE22 TIRED STATUS AND POSITIONS OF IMPOR23 TANCE AND RESPONSIBILITY FROM NUMBER 

24 OF AUTHORIZED COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. 

25 Section 215 (33 U.S.C. 3005) is amended— 


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1 (1) in the matter before paragraph (1), by strik2 ing ‘‘Effective’’ and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Effective’’; and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub5 section: 

6 ‘‘(b) POSITIONS OF IMPORTANCE AND RESPONSI7 BILITY.—Officers serving in positions designated under sec8 tion 228 and officers recalled from retired status— 

9 ‘‘(1) may not be counted in determining the total 

10 number of authorized officers on the lineal list under 

11 this section; and 

12 ‘‘(2) may not count against such number.’’. 

13 SEC. 103. OBLIGATED SERVICE REQUIREMENT. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A (33 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) 

15 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 216. OBLIGATED SERVICE REQUIREMENT. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

18 ‘‘(1) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary shall pre19 scribe the obligated service requirements for appoint20 ments, training, promotions, separations, continu21 ations, and retirement of officers not otherwise cov22 ered by law. 

23 ‘‘(2) WRITTEN AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 

24 and officers shall enter into written agreements that 

25 describe the officers’ obligated service requirements 


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1 prescribed under paragraph (1) in return for such ap2 pointments, training, promotions, separations, and 

3 retirements as the Secretary considers appropriate. 

4 ‘‘(b) REPAYMENT FOR FAILURE TO SATISFY REQUIRE5 MENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may require 

7 an officer who fails to meet the service requirements 

8 prescribed under subsection (a)(1) to reimburse the 

9 Secretary in an amount that bears the same ratio to 

10 the total costs of the training provided to that officer 

11 by the Secretary as the unserved portion of active 

12 duty bears to the total period of active duty the officer 

13 agreed to serve. 

14 ‘‘(2) OBLIGATION AS DEBT TO UNITED STATES.— 

15 An obligation to reimburse the Secretary under para16 graph (1) shall be considered for all purposes as a 

17 debt owed to the United States. 

18 ‘‘(3) DISCHARGE IN BANKRUPTCY.—A discharge 

19 in bankruptcy under title 11 that is entered less than 

20 5 years after the termination of a written agreement 

21 entered into under subsection (a)(2) does not dis22 charge the individual signing the agreement from a 

23 debt arising under such agreement. 


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1 ‘‘(c) WAIVER OR SUSPENSION OF COMPLIANCE.—The 

2 Secretary may waive the service obligation of an officer 

3 who— 

4 ‘‘(1) becomes unqualified to serve on active duty 

5 in the commissioned officer corps of the Administra6 tion because of a circumstance not within the control 

7 of that officer; or 

8 ‘‘(2) is— 

9 ‘‘(A) not physically qualified for appoint10 ment; and 

11 ‘‘(B) determined to be unqualified for serv12 ice in the commissioned officer corps of the Ad13 ministration because of a physical or medical 

14 condition that was not the result of the officer’s 

15 own misconduct or grossly negligent conduct.’’. 

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections in 

17 section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the Hydro18 graphic Service Improvement Act of 1998, and for other 

19 purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372) is amended by inserting 

20 after the item relating to section 215 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 216. Obligated service requirement.’’. 

21 SEC. 104. TRAINING AND PHYSICAL FITNESS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A (33 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.), 

23 as amended by section 103(a), is further amended by add24 ing at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 217. TRAINING AND PHYSICAL FITNESS. 

2 ‘‘(a) TRAINING.—The Secretary may take such meas3 ures as may be necessary to ensure that officers are pre4 pared to carry out their duties in the commissioned officer 

5 corps of the Administration and proficient in the skills nec6 essary to carry out such duties. Such measures may include 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘(1) Carrying out training programs and cor9 respondence courses, including establishing and oper10 ating a basic officer training program to provide ini11 tial indoctrination and maritime vocational training 

12 for officer candidates as well as refresher training, 

13 mid-career training, aviation training, and such 

14 other training as the Secretary considers necessary for 

15 officer development and proficiency. 

16 ‘‘(2) Providing officers and officer candidates 

17 with books and school supplies. 

18 ‘‘(3) Acquiring such equipment as may be nec19 essary for training and instructional purposes. 

20 ‘‘(b) PHYSICAL FITNESS.—The Secretary shall ensure 

21 that officers maintain a high physical state of readiness by 

22 establishing standards of physical fitness for officers that 

23 are substantially equivalent to those prescribed for officers 

24 in the Coast Guard.’’. 

25 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections in 

26 section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the HydroVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:05 Jan 08, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1068.RS S1068

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1 graphic Service Improvement Act of 1998, and for other 

2 purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372), as amended by section 

3 103(b), is further amended by inserting after the item relat4 ing to section 216 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 217. Training and physical fitness.’’. 

5 TITLE II—APPOINTMENTS AND 

6 PROMOTION OF OFFICERS 

7 SEC. 201. APPOINTMENTS. 

8 (a) ORIGINAL APPOINTMENTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 221 (33 U.S.C. 3021) 

10 is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 221. ORIGINAL APPOINTMENTS AND REAPPOINT12 MENTS. 

13 ‘‘(a) ORIGINAL APPOINTMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) GRADES.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

16 subparagraph (B), an original appointment of 

17 an officer may be made in such grades as may 

18 be appropriate for— 

19 ‘‘(i) the qualification, experience, and 

20 length of service of the appointee; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the commissioned officer corps of 

22 the Administration. 

23 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENT OF OFFICER CAN24 DIDATES.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) LIMITATION ON GRADE.—An origi2 nal appointment of an officer candidate, 

3 upon graduation from the basic officer 

4 training program of the commissioned offi5 cer corps of the Administration, may not be 

6 made in any other grade than ensign. 

7 ‘‘(ii) RANK.—Officer candidates receiv8 ing appointments as ensigns upon gradua9 tion from basic officer training program 

10 shall take rank according to their pro11 ficiency as shown by the order of their merit 

12 at date of graduation. 

13 ‘‘(2) SOURCE OF APPOINTMENTS.—An original 

14 appointment may be made from among the following: 

15 ‘‘(A) Graduates of the basic officer training 

16 program of the commissioned officer corps of the 

17 Administration. 

18 ‘‘(B) Graduates of the military service 

19 academies of the United States who otherwise 

20 meet the academic standards for enrollment in 

21 the training program described in subparagraph 

22 (A). 

23 ‘‘(C) Licensed officers of the United States 

24 merchant marine who have served 2 or more 

25 years aboard a vessel of the United States in the 


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1 capacity of a licensed officer, who otherwise meet 

2 the academic standards for enrollment in the 

3 training program described in subparagraph 

4 (A). 

5 ‘‘(3) MILITARY SERVICE ACADEMIES OF THE

6 UNITED STATES DEFINED.—In this subsection, the 

7 term ‘military service academies of the United States’ 

8 means the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) The United States Military Academy, 

10 West Point, New York. 

11 ‘‘(B) The United States Naval Academy, 

12 Annapolis, Maryland. 

13 ‘‘(C) The United States Air Force Academy, 

14 Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

15 ‘‘(D) The United States Coast Guard Acad16 emy, New London, Connecticut. 

17 ‘‘(E) The United States Merchant Marine 

18 Academy, Kings Point, New York. 

19 ‘‘(b) REAPPOINTMENT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para21 graph (2), an individual who previously served in the 

22 commissioned officer corps of the Administration may 

23 be appointed by the Secretary to the grade the indi24 vidual held prior to separation. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REAPPOINTMENTS TO HIGHER GRADES.— 

2 An appointment under paragraph (1) to a position of 

3 importance and responsibility designated under sec4 tion 228 may only be made by the President. 

5 ‘‘(c) QUALIFICATIONS.—An appointment under sub6 section (a) or (b) may not be given to an individual until 

7 the individual’s mental, moral, physical, and professional 

8 fitness to perform the duties of an officer has been estab9 lished under such regulations as the Secretary shall pre10 scribe. 

11 ‘‘(d) PRECEDENCE OF APPOINTEES.—Appointees 

12 under this section shall take precedence in the grade to 

13 which appointed in accordance with the dates of their com14 missions as commissioned officers in such grade. Appointees 

15 whose dates of commission are the same shall take prece16 dence with each other as the Secretary shall determine. 

17 ‘‘(e) INTER-SERVICE TRANSFERS.—For inter-service 

18 transfers (as described in the Department of Defense Direc19 tive 1300.4 (dated December 27, 2006)) the Secretary 

20 shall— 

21 ‘‘(1) coordinate with the Secretary of Defense 

22 and the Secretary of the Department in which the 

23 Coast Guard is operating to promote and streamline 

24 inter-service transfers; 


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1 ‘‘(2) give preference to such inter-service trans2 fers for recruitment purposes as determined appro3 priate by the Secretary; and 

4 ‘‘(3) reappoint such inter-service transfers to the 

5 equivalent grade in the commissioned officer corps.’’. 

6 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec7 tions in section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to au8 thorize the Hydrographic Service Improvement Act of 

9 1998, and for other purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372) 

10 is amended by striking the item relating to section 

11 221 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 221. Original appointments and reappointments.’’. 

12 SEC. 202. PERSONNEL BOARDS. 

13 Section 222 (33 U.S.C. 3022) is amended to read as 

14 follows: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 222. PERSONNEL BOARDS. 

16 ‘‘(a) CONVENING.—Not less frequently than once each 

17 year and at such other times as the Secretary determines 

18 necessary, the Secretary shall convene a personnel board. 

19 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A board convened under sub21 section (a) shall consist of 5 or more officers who are 

22 serving in or above the permanent grade of the offi23 cers under consideration by the board. 


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1 ‘‘(2) RETIRED OFFICERS.—Officers on the retired 

2 list may be recalled to serve on such personnel boards 

3 as the Secretary considers necessary. 

4 ‘‘(3) NO MEMBERSHIP ON 2 SUCCESSIVE

5 BOARDS.—No officer may be a member of 2 successive 

6 personnel boards convened to consider officers of the 

7 same grade for promotion or separation. 

8 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—Each personnel board shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) recommend to the Secretary such changes as 

10 may be necessary to correct any erroneous position on 

11 the lineal list that was caused by administrative 

12 error; and 

13 ‘‘(2) make selections and recommendations to the 

14 Secretary and the President for the appointment, pro15 motion, involuntary separation, continuation, and 

16 involuntary retirement of officers in the commissioned 

17 officer corps of the Administration as prescribed in 

18 this title. 

19 ‘‘(d) ACTION ON RECOMMENDATIONS NOT ACCEPT20 ABLE.—If any recommendation by a board convened under 

21 subsection (a) is not accepted by the Secretary or the Presi22 dent, the board shall make such further recommendations 

23 as the Secretary or the President consider appropriate.’’. 


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1 SEC. 203. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY FOR APPOINTMENTS 

2 AND PROMOTIONS TO PERMANENT GRADES. 

3 Section 226 (33 U.S.C. 3026) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘Appointments’’ and inserting 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Appointments’’; and 

7 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(b) DELEGATION OF APPOINTMENT AUTHORITY.—If 

9 the President delegates authority to the Secretary to make 

10 appointments under this section, the President shall, during 

11 a period in which the position of the Secretary is vacant, 

12 delegate such authority to the Deputy Secretary of Com13 merce or the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere 

14 during such period.’’. 

15 SEC. 204. TEMPORARY APPOINTMENTS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 229 (33 U.S.C. 3029) is 

17 amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 229. TEMPORARY APPOINTMENTS. 

19 ‘‘(a) APPOINTMENTS BY PRESIDENT.—Temporary ap20 pointments in the grade of ensign, lieutenant junior grade, 

21 or lieutenant may be made by the President. 

22 ‘‘(b) TERMINATION.—A temporary appointment to a 

23 position under subsection (a) shall terminate upon ap24 proval of a permanent appointment for such position made 

25 by the President. 


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1 ‘‘(c) ORDER OF PRECEDENCE.—Appointees under sub2 section (a) shall take precedence in the grade to which ap3 pointed in accordance with the dates of their appointments 

4 as officers in such grade. The order of precedence of ap5 pointees who are appointed on the same date shall be deter6 mined by the Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(d) ANY ONE GRADE.—When determined by the Sec8 retary to be in the best interest of the commissioned officer 

9 corps, officers in any permanent grade may be temporarily 

10 promoted one grade by the President. Any such temporary 

11 promotion terminates upon the transfer of the officer to a 

12 new assignment. 

13 ‘‘(e) DELEGATION OF APPOINTMENT AUTHORITY.—If 

14 the President delegates authority to the Secretary to make 

15 appointments under this section, the President shall, during 

16 a period in which the position of the Secretary is vacant, 

17 delegate such authority to the Deputy Secretary of Com18 merce or the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere 

19 during such period.’’. 

20 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections in 

21 section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the Hydro22 graphic Service Improvement Act of 1998, and for other 

23 purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372) is amended by striking 

24 the item relating to section 229 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 229. Temporary appointments.’’. 


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1 SEC. 205. OFFICER CANDIDATES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B (33 U.S.C. 3021 et seq.) 

3 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 234. OFFICER CANDIDATES. 

5 ‘‘(a) DETERMINATION OF NUMBER.—The Secretary 

6 shall determine the number of appointments of officer can7 didates. 

8 ‘‘(b) APPOINTMENT.—Appointment of officer can9 didates shall be made under regulations which the Secretary 

10 shall prescribe, including regulations with respect to deter11 mining age limits, methods of selection of officer candidates, 

12 term of service as an officer candidate before graduation 

13 from the program, and all other matters affecting such ap14 pointment. 

15 ‘‘(c) DISMISSAL.—The Secretary may dismiss from the 

16 basic officer training program of the Administration any 

17 officer candidate who, during the officer candidate’s term 

18 as an officer candidate, the Secretary considers unsatisfac19 tory in either academics or conduct, or not adapted for a 

20 career in the commissioned officer corps of the Administra21 tion. Officer candidates shall be subject to rules governing 

22 discipline prescribed by the Director of the National Oce23 anic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Offi24 cer Corps. 

25 ‘‘(d) AGREEMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each officer candidate shall 

2 sign an agreement with the Secretary in accordance 

3 with section 216(a)(2) regarding the officer can4 didate’s term of service in the commissioned officer 

5 corps of the Administration. 

6 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—An agreement signed by an of7 ficer candidate under paragraph (1) shall provide 

8 that the officer candidate agrees to the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) That the officer candidate will com10 plete the course of instruction at the basic officer 

11 training program of the Administration. 

12 ‘‘(B) That upon graduation from the such 

13 program, the officer candidate— 

14 ‘‘(i) will accept an appointment, if 

15 tendered, as an officer; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) will serve on active duty for at 

17 least 4 years immediately after such ap18 pointment. 

19 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

20 regulations to carry out this section. Such regulations shall 

21 include— 

22 ‘‘(1) standards for determining what constitutes 

23 a breach of an agreement signed under such sub24 section (d)(1); and 


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1 ‘‘(2) procedures for determining whether such a 

2 breach has occurred. 

3 ‘‘(f) REPAYMENT.—An officer candidate or former offi4 cer candidate who does not fulfill the terms of the obligation 

5 to serve as specified under section (d) shall be subject to 

6 the repayment provisions of section 216(b).’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections in 

8 section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the Hydro9 graphic Service Improvement Act of 1998, and for other 

10 purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372) is amended by inserting 

11 after the item relating to section 233 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 234. Officer candidates.’’. 

12 (c) OFFICER CANDIDATE DEFINED.—Section 212(b) 

13 (33 U.S.C. 3002(b)) is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through (6) 

15 as paragraphs (5) through (7), respectively; and 

16 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(4) OFFICER CANDIDATE.—The term ‘officer 

19 candidate’ means an individual who is enrolled in the 

20 basic officer training program of the Administration 

21 and is under consideration for appointment as an of22 ficer under section 221(a)(2)(A).’’. 

23 (d) PAY FOR OFFICER CANDIDATES.—Section 203 of 

24 title 37, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

25 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(f)(1) An officer candidate enrolled in the basic officer 

2 training program of the commissioned officer corps of the 

3 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is enti4 tled, while participating in such program, to monthly offi5 cer candidate pay at monthly rate equal to the basic pay 

6 of an enlisted member in the pay grade E–5 with less than 

7 2 years service. 

8 ‘‘(2) An individual who graduates from such program 

9 shall receive credit for the time spent participating in such 

10 program as if such time were time served while on active 

11 duty as a commissioned officer. If the individual does not 

12 graduate from such program, such time shall not be consid13 ered creditable for active duty or pay.’’. 

14 SEC. 206. PROCUREMENT OF PERSONNEL. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B (33 U.S.C. 3021 et seq.), 

16 as amended by section 205(a), is further amended by add17 ing at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 235. PROCUREMENT OF PERSONNEL. 

19 ‘‘The Secretary may make such expenditures as the 

20 Secretary considers necessary in order to obtain recruits for 

21 the commissioned officer corps of the Administration, in22 cluding advertising.’’. 

23 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections in 

24 section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the Hydro25 graphic Service Improvement Act of 1998, and for other 


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1 purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372), as amended by section 

2 205(b), is further amended by inserting after the item relat3 ing to section 234 the following: 

‘‘235. Procurement of personnel.’’. 

4 TITLE III—SEPARATION AND 

5 RETIREMENT OF OFFICERS 

6 SEC. 301. INVOLUNTARY RETIREMENT OR SEPARATION. 

7 Section 241 (33 U.S.C. 3041) is amended by adding 

8 at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(d) DEFERMENT OF RETIREMENT OR SEPARATION

10 FOR MEDICAL REASONS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary determines 

12 that the evaluation of the medical condition of an of13 ficer requires hospitalization or medical observation 

14 that cannot be completed with confidence in a man15 ner consistent with the officer’s well being before the 

16 date on which the officer would otherwise be required 

17 to retire or be separated under this section, the Sec18 retary may defer the retirement or separation of the 

19 officer. 

20 ‘‘(2) CONSENT REQUIRED.—A deferment may 

21 only be made with the written consent of the officer 

22 involved. If the officer does not provide written con23 sent to the deferment, the officer shall be retired or 

24 separated as scheduled. 


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1 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—A deferral of retirement or 

2 separation under this subsection may not extend for 

3 more than 30 days after completion of the evaluation 

4 requiring hospitalization or medical observation.’’. 

5 SEC. 302. SEPARATION PAY. 

6 Section 242 (33 U.S.C. 3042) is amended by adding 

7 at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTION.—An officer discharged for twice fail9 ing selection for promotion to the next higher grade is not 

10 entitled to separation pay under this section if the officer— 

11 ‘‘(1) expresses a desire not to be selected for pro12 motion; or 

13 ‘‘(2) requests removal from the list of selectees.’’. 

14 TITLE IV—RIGHTS AND 

15 BENEFITS 

16 SEC. 401. EDUCATION LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E (33 U.S.C. 3071 et seq.) 

18 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 267. EDUCATION LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM. 

20 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO REPAY EDUCATION LOANS.—For 

21 the purpose of maintaining adequate numbers of officers of 

22 the commissioned officer corps of the Administration on ac23 tive duty who have skills required by the commissioned offi24 cer corps, the Secretary may repay, in the case of a person 

25 described in subsection (b), a loan that— 


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1 ‘‘(1) was used by the person to finance edu2 cation; and 

3 ‘‘(2) was obtained from a governmental entity, 

4 private financial institution, educational institution, 

5 or other authorized entity. 

6 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PERSONS.—To be eligible to obtain a 

7 loan repayment under this section, a person must— 

8 ‘‘(1) satisfy 1 of the requirements specified in 

9 subsection (c); 

10 ‘‘(2) be fully qualified for, or hold, an appoint11 ment as a commissioned officer in the commissioned 

12 officer corps of the Administration; and 

13 ‘‘(3) sign a written agreement to serve on active 

14 duty, or, if on active duty, to remain on active duty 

15 for a period in addition to any other incurred active 

16 duty obligation. 

17 ‘‘(c) ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL REQUIRE18 MENTS.—One of the following academic requirements must 

19 be satisfied for purposes of determining the eligibility of an 

20 individual for a loan repayment under this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) The person is fully qualified in a profession 

22 that the Secretary has determined to be necessary to 

23 meet identified skill shortages in the commissioned of24 ficer corps. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The person is enrolled as a full-time student 

2 in the final year of a course of study at an accredited 

3 educational institution (as determined by the Sec4 retary of Education) leading to a degree in a profes5 sion that will meet identified skill shortages in the 

6 commissioned officer corps. 

7 ‘‘(d) LOAN REPAYMENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the limits estab9 lished under paragraph (2), a loan repayment under 

10 this section may consist of the payment of the prin11 cipal, interest, and related expenses of a loan obtained 

12 by a person described in subsection (b). 

13 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT.—For each year of 

14 obligated service that a person agrees to serve in an 

15 agreement described in subsection (b)(3), the Sec16 retary may pay not more than the amount specified 

17 in section 2173(e)(2) of title 10, United States Code. 

18 ‘‘(e) ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE OBLIGATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person entering into an 

20 agreement described in subsection (b)(3) incurs an ac21 tive duty service obligation. 

22 ‘‘(2) LENGTH OF OBLIGATION DETERMINED

23 UNDER REGULATIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

25 subparagraph (B), the length of the obligation 


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1 under paragraph (1) shall be determined under 

2 regulations prescribed by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM OBLIGATION.—The regula4 tions prescribed under subparagraph (A) may 

5 not provide for a period of obligation of less than 

6 1 year for each maximum annual amount, or 

7 portion thereof, paid on behalf of the person for 

8 qualified loans. 

9 ‘‘(3) PERSONS ON ACTIVE DUTY BEFORE ENTER10 ING INTO AGREEMENT.—The active duty service obli11 gation of persons on active duty before entering into 

12 the agreement shall be served after the conclusion of 

13 any other obligation incurred under the agreement. 

14 ‘‘(f) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO COMPLETE OBLIGA15 TION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) ALTERNATIVE OBLIGATIONS.—An officer 

17 who is relieved of the officer’s active duty obligation 

18 under this section before the completion of that obliga19 tion may be given any alternative obligation, at the 

20 discretion of the Secretary. 

21 ‘‘(2) REPAYMENT.—An officer who does not com22 plete the period of active duty specified in the agree23 ment entered into under subsection (b)(3), or the al24 ternative obligation imposed under paragraph (1), 


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1 shall be subject to the repayment provisions under sec2 tion 216. 

3 ‘‘(g) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary shall prescribe reg4 ulations to carry out this section, including— 

5 ‘‘(1) standards for qualified loans and authorized 

6 payees; and 

7 ‘‘(2) other terms and conditions for the making 

8 of loan repayments.’’. 

9 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections in 

10 section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the Hydro11 graphic Service Improvement Act of 1998, and for other 

12 purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372) is amended by inserting 

13 after the item relating to section 266 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 267. Education loan repayment program.’’. 

14 SEC. 402. INTEREST PAYMENT PROGRAM. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E (33 U.S.C. 3071 et seq.), 

16 as amended by section 401(a), is further amended by add17 ing at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 268. INTEREST PAYMENT PROGRAM. 

19 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may pay the interest 

20 and any special allowances that accrue on 1 or more stu21 dent loans of an eligible officer, in accordance with this sec22 tion. 

23 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE OFFICERS.—An officer is eligible for 

24 the benefit described in subsection (a) while the officer— 

25 ‘‘(1) is serving on active duty; 


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1 ‘‘(2) has not completed more than 3 years of 

2 service on active duty; 

3 ‘‘(3) is the debtor on 1 or more unpaid loans de4 scribed in subsection (c); and 

5 ‘‘(4) is not in default on any such loan. 

6 ‘‘(c) STUDENT LOANS.—The authority to make pay7 ments under subsection (a) may be exercised with respect 

8 to the following loans: 

9 ‘‘(1) A loan made, insured, or guaranteed under 

10 part B of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 

11 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.). 

12 ‘‘(2) A loan made under part D of such title (20 

13 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.). 

14 ‘‘(3) A loan made under part E of such title (20 

15 U.S.C. 1087aa et seq.). 

16 ‘‘(d) MAXIMUM BENEFIT.—Interest and any special 

17 allowance may be paid on behalf of an officer under this 

18 section for any of the 36 consecutive months during which 

19 the officer is eligible under subsection (b). 

20 ‘‘(e) FUNDS FOR PAYMENTS.—The Secretary may use 

21 amounts appropriated for the pay and allowances of per22 sonnel of the commissioned officer corps of the Administra23 tion for payments under this section. 

24 ‘‘(f) COORDINATION WITH SECRETARY OF EDU25 CATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall consult 

2 with the Secretary of Education regarding the admin3 istration of this section. 

4 ‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—The Secretary shall 

5 transfer to the Secretary of Education the funds nec6 essary— 

7 ‘‘(A) to pay interest and special allowances 

8 on student loans under this section (in accord9 ance with sections 428(o), 455(l), and 464(j) of 

10 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

11 1078(o), 1087e(l), and 1087dd(j)); and 

12 ‘‘(B) to reimburse the Secretary of Edu13 cation for any reasonable administrative costs 

14 incurred by the Secretary in coordinating the 

15 program under this section with the administra16 tion of the student loan programs under parts B, 

17 D, and E of title IV of the Higher Education Act 

18 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq., 1087a et seq., 

19 1087aa et seq.). 

20 ‘‘(g) SPECIAL ALLOWANCE DEFINED.—In this section, 

21 the term ‘special allowance’ means a special allowance that 

22 is payable under section 438 of the Higher Education Act 

23 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087–1).’’. 

24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) Section 428(o) of the Higher Education Act 

2 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078(o)) is amended— 

3 (A) by striking the subsection heading and 

4 inserting ‘‘ARMED FORCES AND NOAA COMMIS5 SIONED OFFICER CORPS STUDENT LOAN INTER6 EST PAYMENT PROGRAMS’’; and 

7 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

8 (i) by inserting ‘‘or section 264 of the 

9 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin10 istration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 

11 2002’’ after ‘‘Code,’’; and 

12 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or an officer in the 

13 commissioned officer corps of the National 

14 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

15 respectively,’’ after ‘‘Armed Forces’’. 

16 (2) Sections 455(l) and 464(j) of the Higher 

17 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(l) and 

18 1087dd(j)) are each amended— 

19 (A) by striking the subsection heading and 

20 inserting ‘‘ARMED FORCES AND NOAA COMMIS21 SIONED OFFICER CORPS STUDENT LOAN INTER22 EST PAYMENT PROGRAMS’’; and 

23 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

24 (i) by inserting ‘‘or section 264 of the 

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1 istration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 

2 2002’’ after ‘‘Code,’’; and 

3 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or an officer in the 

4 commissioned officer corps of the National 

5 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

6 respectively’’ after ‘‘Armed Forces’’. 

7 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections in 

8 section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the Hydro9 graphic Service Improvement Act of 1998, and for other 

10 purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372), as amended by section 

11 401(b), is further amended by inserting after the item relat12 ing to section 267 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 268. Interest payment program.’’. 

13 SEC. 403. STUDENT PRE-COMMISSIONING EDUCATION AS14 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E (33 U.S.C. 3071 et seq.), 

16 as amended by sections 401(a) and 402(a), is further 

17 amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 269. STUDENT PRE-COMMISSIONING EDUCATION AS19 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

20 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL ASSIST21 ANCE.—For the purpose of maintaining adequate numbers 

22 of officers of the commissioned officer corps of the Adminis23 tration on active duty, the Secretary may provide financial 

24 assistance to a person described in subsection (b) for ex25 penses of the person while the person is pursuing on a fullVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:05 Jan 08, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1068.RS S1068

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1 time basis at an accredited educational institution (as de2 termined by the Secretary of Education) a program of edu3 cation approved by the Secretary that leads to— 

4 ‘‘(1) a baccalaureate degree in not more than 5 

5 academic years; or 

6 ‘‘(2) a postbaccalaureate degree. 

7 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PERSONS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person is eligible to obtain 

9 financial assistance under subsection (a) if the per10 son— 

11 ‘‘(A) is enrolled on a full-time basis in a 

12 program of education referred to in subsection 

13 (a) at any educational institution described in 

14 such subsection; 

15 ‘‘(B) meets all of the requirements for ac16 ceptance into the commissioned officer corps of 

17 the Administration except for the completion of 

18 a baccalaureate degree; and 

19 ‘‘(C) enters into a written agreement with 

20 the Secretary described in paragraph (2). 

21 ‘‘(2) AGREEMENT.—A written agreement referred 

22 to in paragraph (1)(C) is an agreement between the 

23 person and the Secretary in which the person 

24 agrees— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to accept an appointment as an offi2 cer, if tendered; and 

3 ‘‘(B) upon completion of the person’s edu4 cational program, agrees to serve on active duty, 

5 immediately after appointment, for— 

6 ‘‘(i) up to 3 years if the person re7 ceived less than 3 years of assistance; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) up to 5 years if the person re9 ceived at least 3 years of assistance. 

10 ‘‘(c) QUALIFYING EXPENSES.—Expenses for which fi11 nancial assistance may be provided under subsection (a) 

12 are the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) Tuition and fees charged by the educational 

14 institution involved. 

15 ‘‘(2) The cost of books. 

16 ‘‘(3) In the case of a program of education lead17 ing to a baccalaureate degree, laboratory expenses. 

18 ‘‘(4) Such other expenses as the Secretary con19 siders appropriate. 

20 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall 

21 prescribe the amount of financial assistance provided to a 

22 person under subsection (a), which may not exceed the 

23 amount specified in section 2173(e)(2) of title 10, United 

24 States Code, for each year of obligated service that a person 


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1 agrees to serve in an agreement described in subsection 

2 (b)(2). 

3 ‘‘(e) DURATION OF ASSISTANCE.—Financial assist4 ance may be provided to a person under subsection (a) for 

5 not more than 5 consecutive academic years. 

6 ‘‘(f) SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person who receives finan8 cial assistance under subsection (a) shall be entitled 

9 to a monthly subsistence allowance at a rate pre10 scribed under paragraph (2) for the duration of the 

11 period for which the person receives such financial as12 sistance. 

13 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT.—The Sec14 retary shall prescribe monthly rates for subsistence al15 lowance provided under paragraph (1), which shall be 

16 equal to the amount specified in section 2144(a) of 

17 title 10, United States Code. 

18 ‘‘(g) INITIAL CLOTHING ALLOWANCE.— 

19 ‘‘(1) TRAINING.—The Secretary may prescribe a 

20 sum which shall be credited to each person who re21 ceives financial assistance under subsection (a) to 

22 cover the cost of the person’s initial clothing and 

23 equipment issue. 

24 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT.—Upon completion of the 

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1 nancial assistance under subsection (a) and accept2 ance of appointment in the commissioned officer corps 

3 of the Administration, the person may be issued a 

4 subsequent clothing allowance equivalent to that nor5 mally provided to a newly appointed officer. 

6 ‘‘(h) TERMINATION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall termi8 nate the assistance provided to a person under this 

9 section if— 

10 ‘‘(A) the Secretary accepts a request by the 

11 person to be released from an agreement de12 scribed in subsection (b)(2); 

13 ‘‘(B) the misconduct of the person results in 

14 a failure to complete the period of active duty re15 quired under the agreement; or 

16 ‘‘(C) the person fails to fulfill any term or 

17 condition of the agreement. 

18 ‘‘(2) REIMBURSEMENT.—The Secretary may re19 quire a person who receives assistance described in 

20 subsection (c), (f), or (g) under an agreement entered 

21 into under subsection (b)(1)(C) to reimburse the Sec22 retary in an amount that bears the same ratio to the 

23 total costs of the assistance provided to that person as 

24 the unserved portion of active duty bears to the total 


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1 period of active duty the officer agreed to serve under 

2 the agreement. 

3 ‘‘(3) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the 

4 service obligation of a person through an agreement 

5 entered into under subsection (b)(1)(C) if the per6 son— 

7 ‘‘(A) becomes unqualified to serve on active 

8 duty in the commissioned officer corps of the Ad9 ministration because of a circumstance not with10 in the control of that person; or 

11 ‘‘(B) is— 

12 ‘‘(i) not physically qualified for ap13 pointment; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) determined to be unqualified for 

15 service in the commissioned officer corps of 

16 the Administration because of a physical or 

17 medical condition that was not the result of 

18 the person’s own misconduct or grossly neg19 ligent conduct. 

20 ‘‘(4) OBLIGATION AS DEBT TO UNITED STATES.— 

21 An obligation to reimburse the Secretary imposed 

22 under paragraph (2) is, for all purposes, a debt owed 

23 to the United States. 

24 ‘‘(5) DISCHARGE IN BANKRUPTCY.—A discharge 

25 in bankruptcy under title 11, United States Code, 


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1 that is entered less than 5 years after the termination 

2 of a written agreement entered into under subsection 

3 (b)(1)(C) does not discharge the person signing the 

4 agreement from a debt arising under such agreement 

5 or under paragraph (2). 

6 ‘‘(i) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may promulgate 

7 such regulations and orders as the Secretary considers ap8 propriate to carry out this section.’’. 

9 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections in 

10 section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the Hydro11 graphic Service Improvement Act of 1998, and for other 

12 purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372), as amended by section 

13 402(c), is further amended by inserting after the item relat14 ing to section 268 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 269. Student pre-commissioning education assistance program.’’. 

15 SEC. 404. LIMITATION ON EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each fiscal year, beginning with 

17 fiscal year 2013, the Secretary of Commerce shall ensure 

18 that the total amount expended by the Secretary under sec19 tion 267 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin20 istration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 2002 (as added 

21 by section 401(a)), section 268 of such Act (as added by 

22 section 402(a)), and section 269 of such Act (as added by 

23 section 403(a)) does not exceed the amount by which— 

24 (1) the total amount the Secretary would pay in 

25 that fiscal year to officer candidates under section 


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1 203(f)(1) of title 37, United States Code (as added by 

2 section 205(d)), if such section entitled officers can3 didates to pay at monthly rates equal to the basic pay 

4 of a commissioned officer in the pay grade O–1 with 

5 less than 2 years of service; exceeds 

6 (2) the total amount the Secretary actually pays 

7 in that fiscal year to officer candidates under section 

8 203(f)(1) of such title (as so added). 

9 (b) OFFICER CANDIDATE DEFINED.—In this section, 

10 the term ‘‘officer candidate’’ has the meaning given the term 

11 in section 212 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

12 Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 2002 

13 (33 U.S.C. 3002), as added by section 205(c). 

14 SEC. 405. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF 

15 TITLE 10, UNITED STATES CODE. 

16 Section 261(a) (33 U.S.C. 3071(a)) is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (13) through 

18 (16) as paragraphs (20) through (23), respectively; 

19 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through (12) 

20 as paragraphs (12) through (17), respectively; 

21 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through (6) 

22 as paragraphs (8) through (10), respectively; 

23 (4) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(4) Section 771, relating to unauthorized wear2 ing of uniforms. 

3 ‘‘(5) Section 774, relating to wearing religious 

4 apparel while in uniform. 

5 ‘‘(6) Section 982, relating to service on State 

6 and local juries. 

7 ‘‘(7) Section 1031, relating to administration of 

8 oaths.’’; 

9 (5) by inserting after paragraph (10), as redesig10 nated, the following: 

11 ‘‘(11) Chapter 58, relating to the Benefits and 

12 Services for members being separated or recently sep13 arated.’’; and 

14 (6) by inserting after paragraph (17), as redesig15 nated, the following: 

16 ‘‘(18) Subchapter I of chapter 88, relating to 

17 Military Family Programs. 

18 ‘‘(19) Section 2005, relating to advanced edu19 cation assistance, active duty agreements, and reim20 bursement requirements.’’. 

21 SEC. 406. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF 

22 TITLE 37, UNITED STATES CODE. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E (33 U.S.C. 3071 et seq.) 

24 is amended by inserting after section 261 the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 261A. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF 

2 TITLE 37, UNITED STATES CODE. 

3 ‘‘(a) PROVISIONS MADE APPLICABLE TO COMMIS4 SIONED OFFICER CORPS.—The provisions of law applicable 

5 to the Armed Forces under the following provisions of title 

6 37, United States Code, shall apply to the commissioned 

7 officer corps of the Administration: 

8 ‘‘(1) Section 324, relating to accession bonuses 

9 for new officers in critical skills. 

10 ‘‘(2) Section 403(f)(3), relating to prescribing 

11 regulations defining the terms ‘field duty’ and ‘sea 

12 duty’. 

13 ‘‘(3) Section 403(l), relating to temporary con14 tinuation of housing allowance for dependents of 

15 members dying on active duty. 

16 ‘‘(4) Section 414(a)(2), relating to personal 

17 money allowance while serving as Director of the Na18 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

19 Commissioned Officer Corps. 

20 ‘‘(5) Section 488, relating to allowances for re21 cruiting expenses. 

22 ‘‘(6) Section 495, relating to allowances for fu23 neral honors duty. 

24 ‘‘(b) REFERENCES.—The authority vested by title 37, 

25 United States Code, in the ‘military departments’, ‘the Sec26 retary concerned’, or ‘the Secretary of Defense’ with respect 


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1 to the provisions of law referred to in subsection (a) shall 

2 be exercised, with respect to the commissioned officer corps 

3 of the Administration, by the Secretary of Commerce or the 

4 Secretary’s designee.’’. 

5 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections in 

6 section 1 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the Hydro7 graphic Service Improvement Act of 1998, and for other 

8 purposes’’ (Public Law 107–372) is amended by inserting 

9 after the item relating to section 261 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 261A. Applicability of certain provisions of title 37, United States Code.’’. 

10 SEC. 407. APPLICATION OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF COM11 PETITIVE SERVICE LAW. 

12 Section 3304(f) of title 5, United States Code, is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and mem15 bers of the commissioned officer corps of the National 

16 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or its 

17 predecessor organization the Coast and Geodetic Sur18 vey) separated from such uniformed service’’ after 

19 ‘‘separated from the armed forces’’; 

20 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘or veteran’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘, veteran, or member’’; and 

22 (3) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘and mem23 bers of the commissioned officer corps of the National 

24 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or its 

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1 vey) separated from such uniformed service’’ after 

2 ‘‘separated from the armed forces’’. 

3 SEC. 408. ELIGIBILITY OF ALL MEMBERS OF UNIFORMED 

4 SERVICES FOR LEGION OF MERIT AWARD. 

5 Section 1121 of title 10, United States Code, is amend6 ed by striking ‘‘armed forces’’ and inserting ‘‘uniformed 

7 services’’. 

8 SEC. 409. APPLICATION OF EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOY9 MENT RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF THE UNI10 FORMED SERVICES TO MEMBERS OF COMMIS11 SIONED OFFICER CORPS. 

12 Section 4303(16) of title 38, United States Code, is 

13 amended by inserting ‘‘the commissioned officer corps of the 

14 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,’’ after 

15 ‘‘Public Health Service,’’. 

16 SEC. 410. PROTECTED COMMUNICATIONS FOR COMMIS17 SIONED OFFICER CORPS AND PROHIBITION 

18 OF RETALIATORY PERSONNEL ACTIONS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 261 (33 

20 U.S.C. 3071), as amended by section 405, is further amend21 ed— 

22 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through (23) 

23 as paragraphs (9) through (24), respectively; and 

24 (2) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(8) Section 1034, relating to protected commu2 nications and prohibition of retaliatory personnel ac3 tions.’’. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (b) of such 

5 section is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘For 

6 purposes of paragraph (8) of subsection (a), the term ‘In7 spector General’ in section 1034 of such title 10 shall mean 

8 the Inspector General of the Department of Commerce.’’. 

9 SEC. 411. CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR WEARING UNIFORM 

10 WITHOUT AUTHORITY. 

11 Section 702 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

12 by striking ‘‘Service or any’’ and inserting ‘‘Service, the 

13 commissioned officer corps of the National Oceanic and At14 mospheric Administration, or any’’. 

15 TITLE V—OTHER MATTERS 

16 SEC. 501. TECHNICAL CORRECTION. 

17 Section 101(21)(C) of title 38, United States Code, is 

18 amended by inserting ‘‘in the commissioned officer corps’’ 

19 before ‘‘of the National’’. 

20 SEC. 502. REPORT. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce 

23 shall submit to Congress a report evaluating the current sta24 tus and projected needs of the commissioned officer corps 


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1 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

2 to operate sufficiently through fiscal year 2017. 

3 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required by subsection (a) 

4 shall include the following: 

5 (1) The average annual attrition rate of officers 

6 in the commissioned officer corps of the National Oce7 anic and Atmospheric Administration. 

8 (2) An estimate of the number of annual recruits 

9 that would reasonably be required to operate the com10 missioned officer corps sufficiently through fiscal year 

11 2017. 

12 (3) The projected impact of this Act on annual 

13 recruitment numbers through fiscal year 2017. 

14 (4) Identification of areas of duplication or un15 necessary redundancy in current activities of the com16 missioned officer corps that could otherwise be stream17 lined or eliminated to save costs. 

18 (5) Such other matters as the Secretary considers 

19 appropriate regarding the provisions of this Act and 

20 the amendments made by this Act. 

21 SEC. 503. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

22 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, sec23 tions 101 through 411 shall take effect on the date that is 

24 90 days after the date on which the Secretary of Commerce 

25 submits to Congress the report required by section 502(a). 


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Calendar No. 292 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1068 

[Report No. 113–133] 

A BILL 

To reauthorize and amend the National Oceanic 

poses. Officer Corps Act of 2002, and for other purand Atmospheric Administration Commissioned 

JANUARY 8, 2014 

Reported with an amendment 


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