II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1252 

To promote ocean and human health and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 11, 2009 

Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself, Mr. INOUYE, and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To promote ocean and human health and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Oceans and Human 

5 Health Reauthorization Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY OCEANS AND HUMAN HEALTH RE7 SEARCH PROGRAM. 

8 (a) COORDINATION.—Subsection (a) of section 902 

9 of the Oceans and Human Health Act (33 U.S.C. 3101) 

10 is amended by striking ‘‘in human health.’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘, coasts, and Great Lakes in human health and deliver 


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1 information, products, and services to assist the Nation 

2 in reducing public health risks, including those related to 

3 climate change, and enhancing health benefits from the 

4 ocean.’’. 

5 (b) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Subsection (b) of sec6 tion 902 of the Oceans and Human Health Act (33 U.S.C. 

7 3101) is amended— 

8 (1) by amending the matter preceding para9 graph (1) to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later than 5 

11 years after the date of the enactment of the Oceans and 

12 Human Health Reauthorization Act of 2009, an Inter13 agency Oceans and Human Health Task Force or working 

14 group established by the National Science and Technology 

15 Council, through the Director of the Office of Science and 

16 Technology Policy, shall revise and update the 2007 

17 ‘Interagency Oceans and Human Health Research Imple18 mentation Plan’ and submit to the Congress the updated 

19 Plan. Nothing in this subsection is intended to duplicate 

20 or supersede the activities of the Inter-Agency Task Force 

21 on Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia established under 

22 section 603 of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Re23 search and Control Act of 1998 (Public Law 105–383; 16 

24 U.S.C. 1451 note). The updated plan shall—’’; 

25 (2) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘, surveillance, and fore2 casting’’ after ‘‘prediction’’; 

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘, including problems re4 lated to climate change,’’ after ‘‘health prob5 lems’’; 

6 (C) by inserting ‘‘and chemical’’ after ‘‘bio7 logical’’; and 

8 (D) by inserting ‘‘products for the preven9 tion and’’ after ‘‘new’’; 

10 (3) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and partici11 pation;’’ and all that follows through the end and in12 serting ‘‘participation in national and international 

13 research and outreach efforts, and outreach to the 

14 medical community and the public;’’; 

15 (4) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘, including 

16 joint efforts,’’ after ‘‘departments’’; 

17 (5) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘preventive’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘preventing’’; 

19 (6) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘Resources’’ 

20 after ‘‘the Ocean’’; 

21 (7) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

22 end; 

23 (8) by amending paragraph (7) to read as fol24 lows: 


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1 ‘‘(7) estimate funding needed for research, sur2 veillance, education, and outreach activities to be 

3 conducted within or supported by Federal agencies 

4 and departments under the program.’’; and 

5 (9) by at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(8) build on, and complement, the research, 

7 surveillance, and outreach activities of the National 

8 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Na9 tional Science Foundation, the National Institutes of 

10 Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Preven11 tion, the National Institute of Environmental Health 

12 Sciences, and other departments and agencies.’’. 

13 (c) PROGRAM SCOPE.—Subsection (c) of section 902 

14 of the Oceans and Human Health Act (33 U.S.C. 3101) 

15 is amended— 

16 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol17 lows: 

18 ‘‘(1) Interdisciplinary research among the 

19 ocean, atmospheric, and medical sciences, and co20 ordinated research and activities to improve under21 standing of processes within the ocean that may af22 fect human and marine animal health and to explore 

23 the potential contribution of marine organisms to 

24 medicine and research, including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) vector-, water-, and food-borne dis2 eases of humans and marine organisms, includ3 ing marine mammals, corals, and fish; 

4 ‘‘(B) health effects for both humans and 

5 marine animals associated with harmful algal 

6 blooms and hypoxia (in collaboration with the 

7 Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal 

8 Blooms and Hypoxia); 

9 ‘‘(C) health effects for humans and marine 

10 organisms associated with climate change im11 pacts in ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes wa12 ters; 

13 ‘‘(D) marine-derived pharmaceuticals and 

14 other natural products; 

15 ‘‘(E) marine organisms and habitats as 

16 models for biomedical research and as indica17 tors of human health and well being and marine 

18 environmental health; 

19 ‘‘(F) marine environmental microbiology; 

20 ‘‘(G) legacy and emerging chemicals of 

21 concern, including bioaccumulative and endo22 crine-disrupting chemical contaminants; 

23 ‘‘(H) predictive models based on indicators 

24 of marine environmental health or public health 

25 threats; and 


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1 ‘‘(I) social, economic, and behavioral stud2 ies of relationships between the condition of 

3 oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes and human 

4 health and well-being.’’; 

5 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(2) Coordination with any appropriate inter8 agency working group of the Joint Subcommittee on 

9 Ocean Science and Technology, or its successor 

10 body, through the National Science and Technology 

11 Council, to ensure that any integrated ocean and 

12 coastal observing system provides information nec13 essary to monitor and reduce marine public health 

14 problems, including climate change information, 

15 health-related data on biological populations, and de16 tection of toxins and contaminants in marine waters 

17 and seafood.’’; and 

18 (3) in paragraph (3)— 

19 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

20 ‘‘genomics and proteomics’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and other 

22 related sciences’’; 

23 (B) by amending subparagraph (C) to read 

24 as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(C) in situ, laboratory, and remote sen2 sors— 

3 ‘‘(i) to detect, quantify, and predict 

4 the presence, distribution, concentration, 

5 toxicity, or virulence of infectious microbes, 

6 harmful algae, toxins, and chemical con7 taminants in ocean, coastal, and Great 

8 Lakes waters, sediments, organisms, and 

9 seafood; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) to identify new genetic resources 

11 for biomedical purposes;’’; and 

12 (C) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

13 ‘‘equipment and technologies’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘equipment, technologies, and methodologies’’. 

15 (d) BIENNIAL REPORT.—Subsection (d) of section 

16 902 of the Oceans and Human Health Act (33 U.S.C. 

17 3101) is amended— 

18 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘ANNUAL’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘BIENNIAL’’; 

20 (2) in the material preceding paragraph (1)— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘24 months after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘12 

23 months after the date of the enactment of the 

24 Oceans and Human Health Reauthorization Act 

25 of 2009’’; 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘each year an annual’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘alternate years a biennial’’; and 

3 (C) by striking ‘‘year,’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘years,’’; 

5 (3) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘year;’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘years;’’; 

7 (4) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘that pre8 ceding fiscal year;’’ and inserting ‘‘the preceding two 

9 fiscal years;’’ and 

10 (5) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘, funding 

11 needs,’’ after ‘‘action’’. 

12 SEC. 3. NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINIS13 TRATION OCEANS AND HUMAN HEALTH INI14 TIATIVE. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subsection (a) of section 903 

16 of the Oceans and Human Health Act (33 U.S.C. 3102) 

17 is amended— 

18 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

19 striking the second sentence, and inserting ‘‘In car20 rying out this section, the Secretary shall consult 

21 with other Federal agencies and departments con22 ducting integrated oceans and human health re23 search and disease surveillance activities and re24 search in related areas, including the National 

25 Science Foundation, the National Institutes of 


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1 Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Preven2 tion, the National Institute of Environmental Health 

3 Sciences, and other agencies and departments.’’; and 

4 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘external’’ 

5 after ‘‘an’’. 

6 (b) ADVISORY PANEL.—Subsection (b) of section 903 

7 of the Oceans and Human Health Act (33 U.S.C. 3102) 

8 is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘is authorized to’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘shall’’; and 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘sciences.’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘sciences, including public health practitioners.’’. 

13 (c) NATIONAL CENTERS.—Subsection (c) of section 

14 903 of the Oceans and Human Health Act (33 U.S.C. 

15 3102) is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘for’’; and 

17 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol18 lows: 

19 ‘‘(2) The centers shall focus on— 

20 ‘‘(A) areas related to agency missions, in21 cluding use of marine organisms and habitats 

22 as indicators for marine environmental health, 

23 impacts of climate change on ocean health 

24 threats, ocean pollutants, marine toxins and 

25 pathogens, harmful algal blooms, hypoxia, seaVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:59 Jun 12, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1252.IS S1252

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1 food safety and quality, identification of poten2 tial marine products, and biology and 

3 pathobiology of marine mammals, corals, and 

4 other marine organisms; and 

5 ‘‘(B) supporting disciplines including ma6 rine genomics, marine environmental microbi7 ology, ecological chemistry, and conservation 

8 medicine.’’. 

9 (d) EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH GRANTS.—Subsection 

10 (d) of section 903 of the Oceans and Human Health Act 

11 (33 U.S.C. 3102) is amended by adding at the end the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(3) Grants under this subsection shall support 

14 research to improve understanding of processes with15 in the ocean that may affect human and marine ani16 mal health and to explore the potential contribution 

17 of marine organisms to medicine and research, in18 cluding— 

19 ‘‘(A) vector-, water-, and food-borne dis20 eases of humans and marine organisms, includ21 ing marine mammals, corals, and fish; 

22 ‘‘(B) health effects for humans and marine 

23 organisms associated with climate change im24 pacts in ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes wa25 ters; 


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1 ‘‘(C) marine-derived pharmaceuticals and 

2 other natural products; 

3 ‘‘(D) marine organisms and habitats as 

4 models for biomedical research and as indica5 tors of human health and well being and marine 

6 environmental health; 

7 ‘‘(E) marine environmental microbiology; 

8 ‘‘(F) legacy and emerging chemicals of 

9 concern, including bioaccumulative and endo10 crine-disrupting chemical contaminants; 

11 ‘‘(G) predictive models based on indicators 

12 of marine environmental health or public health 

13 threats; 

14 ‘‘(H) cataloging and interpreting microbes 

15 and understanding microbial functions in eco16 systems and impacts on human and marine 

17 health; and 

18 ‘‘(I) social, economic, and behavioral stud19 ies of relationships between the condition of 

20 oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes, and human 

21 health and well-being.’’. 

22 (e) DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARS; COOPERATIVE

23 AGREEMENTS.—Section 903 of the Oceans and Human 

24 Health Act (33 U.S.C. 3102) is amended by adding at 

25 the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(f) DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARS.—The Secretary of 

2 Commerce is authorized to establish a competitive pro3 gram to recognize highly distinguished external scientists 

4 in any area of oceans and human health research and to 

5 involve those scientists in collaborative work with the 

6 Oceans and Human Health Initiative of the National Oce7 anic and Atmospheric Administration. 

8 ‘‘(g) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary of 

9 Commerce may execute and perform such contracts, 

10 leases, grants, or cooperative agreements as may be nec11 essary to carry out this section.’’. 

12 SEC. 4. PUBLIC INFORMATION AND OUTREACH. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 904 of 

14 the Oceans and Human Health Act (33 U.S.C. 3103) is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘program,’’ and inserting ‘‘and insti16 tutions of higher education,’’. 

17 (b) REPORT.—Subsection (b) of section 904 of the 

18 Oceans and Human Health Act (33 U.S.C. 3103) is 

19 amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(b) REPORT.— 

21 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of Com22 merce shall submit to Congress a biennial report re23 viewing the results of the research, assessments, and 

24 findings developed under the Oceans and Human 


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1 Health Initiative of the National Oceanic and At2 mospheric Administration. Each such report shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) describe the projects, products, and 

4 programs funded under the Initiative; 

5 ‘‘(B) describe the work of the Advisory 

6 Committee and the manner in which the pro7 gram is meeting development and implementa8 tion recommendations for the program; and 

9 ‘‘(C) include recommendations for improv10 ing or expanding the program. 

11 ‘‘(2) COMBINED REPORTS.—Each report re12 quired by paragraph (1) may be combined with the 

13 National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration’s 

14 input to the biennial interagency report required by 

15 section 902(d).’’. 

16 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 Subsection (a) of section 905 of the Oceans and 

18 Human Health Act (33 U.S.C. 3104) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘2005 through 2008’’ and in20 serting ‘‘2010 through 2014’’; and 

21 (2) by inserting ‘‘, distinguished scholar,’’ after 

22 ‘‘grant’’. 

Æ 


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