IB 

Union Calendar No. 61 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1237 

[Report No. 116–86] 

To amend the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act 

of 2009 to establish an Ocean Acidification Advisory Board, to expand 

and improve the research on Ocean Acidification and Coastal Acidification, to establish and maintain a data archive system for Ocean Acidification data and Coastal Acidification data, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2019 

Ms. BONAMICI (for herself, Mr. YOUNG, Ms. PINGREE, and Mr. POSEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, 

Space, and Technology 

MAY 28, 2019 

Additional sponsors: Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Miss 

GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N of Puerto Rico, Mr. ROONEY of Florida, Mr. LARSEN

of Washington, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. PETERS, Mr. 

KILMER, Mr. CRIST, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Mr. TONKO, Mr. 

MALINOWSKI, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Ms. GABBARD, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mrs. LURIA, Mr. CASE, Mr. 

VAN DREW, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. BEYER, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. SIRES, Ms. 

BROWNLEY of California, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. THOMPSON of California, 

Mr. RYAN, Mr. COX of California, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. WALTZ, Mr. 

MAST, Mr. ROUDA, Mr. SOTO, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. HECK, Mr. COHEN, 

Mr. LIPINSKI, Mrs. FLETCHER, and Ms. JOHNSON of Texas 

MAY 28, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 14, 2019] 


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A BILL 

To amend the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and 

Monitoring Act of 2009 to establish an Ocean Acidification Advisory Board, to expand and improve the research 

on Ocean Acidification and Coastal Acidification, to establish and maintain a data archive system for Ocean 

Acidification data and Coastal Acidification data, and 

for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Coastal and Ocean 

5 Acidification Stressors and Threats Research Act of 2019’’ 

6 or the ‘‘COAST Research Act of 2019’’. 

7 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 12402(a) of the Federal 

9 Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2009 

10 (33 U.S.C. 3701(a)) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

12 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

13 (A), by striking ‘‘development and coordination’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘coordination and implementa15 tion’’; 

16 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

17 ‘‘acidification on marine organisms’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘acidification and coastal acidification on 

19 marine organisms’’; and 

20 (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘es21 tablish’’ and all that follows through the semi22 colon and inserting ‘‘maintain and advise an 

23 interagency research, monitoring, and public 

24 outreach program on ocean acidification and 

25 coastal acidification;’’; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘establish2 ment’’ and inserting ‘‘maintenance’’; 

3 (3) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘and coastal 

4 acidification’’ after ‘‘ocean acidification’’; and 

5 (4) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘and coastal 

6 acidification that take into account other environ7 mental and anthropogenic stressors’’ after ‘‘ocean 

8 acidification’’. 

9 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Sec10 tion 12402 of the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and 

11 Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3701(a)) is amended 

12 by striking ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—’’. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 Section 12403 of the Federal Ocean Acidification Re15 search and Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3702) is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘of the Earth’s 

18 oceans’’ and all that follows before the period at the 

19 end and inserting ‘‘and changes in the water chem20 istry of the Earth’s oceans, coastal estuaries, and wa21 terways caused by carbon dioxide from the atmos22 phere and the breakdown of organic matter’’; 

23 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘Joint Sub24 committee on Ocean Science and Technology of the 

25 National Science and Technology Council’’ and inVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1237.RH H1237

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1 serting ‘‘National Science and Technology Council 

2 Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology’’; 

3 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) 

4 as paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), respectively; 

5 (4) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so re6 designated, the following new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(1) COASTAL ACIDIFICATION.—The term ‘coast8 al acidification’ means the combined decrease in pH 

9 and changes in the water chemistry of coastal oceans, 

10 estuaries, and other bodies of water from chemical in11 puts (including carbon dioxide from the atmosphere), 

12 freshwater inputs, and excess nutrient run-off from 

13 land and coastal atmospheric pollution that result in 

14 processes that release carbon dioxide, acidic nitrogen, 

15 and sulfur compounds as byproducts which end up in 

16 coastal waters.’’; and 

17 (5) by adding at the end the following new para18 graph: 

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

20 of the United States, the District of Columbia, the 

21 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, 

22 Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

23 Islands, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and 

24 any other territory or possession of the United 

25 States.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP. 

2 Section 12404 of the Federal Ocean Acidification Re3 search and Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3703) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘SUB6 COMMITTEE’’ and inserting ‘‘WORKING GROUP’’; 

7 (2) in subsection (a)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Joint 

9 Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology 

10 of the National Science and Technology Council 

11 shall coordinate Federal activities on ocean 

12 acidification and’’ and insert ‘‘Subcommittee 

13 shall’’; 

14 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Wildlife 

15 Service,’’ and inserting ‘‘Wildlife Service, the 

16 Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Envi17 ronmental Protection Agency, the Department of 

18 Agriculture, the Department of State, the De19 partment of Energy, the Department of the 

20 Navy, the National Park Service, the Bureau of 

21 Indian Affairs, the National Institute of Stand22 ards and Technology, the Smithsonian Institu23 tion,’’; and 

24 (C) in paragraph (3), in the heading, by 

25 striking ‘‘CHAIRMAN’’ and inserting ‘‘CHAIR’’; 

26 (3) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, in2 cluding the efforts of the National Oceanic and 

3 Atmospheric Administration to facilitate such 

4 implementation’’ after ‘‘of the plan’’; 

5 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

6 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

7 ‘‘and coastal acidification’’ after ‘‘ocean 

8 acidification’’; and 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

10 ‘‘and coastal acidification’’ after ‘‘ocean 

11 acidification’’; 

12 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

13 and inserting a semicolon; 

14 (D) in paragraph (5)— 

15 (i) by striking ‘‘developed’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘and coastal acidification developed’’; 

17 and 

18 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

19 and inserting ‘‘and coastal acidification; 

20 and’’; and 

21 (E) by adding at the end the following new 

22 paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(6) ensure that each of the Federal agencies rep24 resented on the interagency working group— 


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1 ‘‘(A) participates in the Ocean Acidification 

2 Information Exchange established under para3 graph (5); and 

4 ‘‘(B) delivers data and information to sup5 port the data archive system established under 

6 section 12406(d).’’; 

7 (4) in subsection (c), in paragraph (2)— 

8 (A) by inserting ‘‘, and to the Office of 

9 Management and Budget,’’ after ‘‘House of Rep10 resentatives’’; and 

11 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘the 

12 interagency research’’ and inserting ‘‘interagency 

13 strategic research’’; 

14 (5) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection 

15 (d); and 

16 (6) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(c) ADVISORY BOARD.— 

19 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Chair of the Sub20 committee shall establish an Ocean Acidification Ad21 visory Board. 

22 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Advisory Board shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) not later than 180 days before the Sub24 committee submits the most recent report under 

25 subsection (d)(2)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) review such report; 

2 ‘‘(ii) submit an analysis of such report 

3 to the Subcommittee for consideration in the 

4 final report submitted under subsection 

5 (d)(2); and 

6 ‘‘(iii) concurrently with the Sub7 committee’s final submission of the report 

8 under subsection (d)(2), the Advisory Board 

9 shall submit a copy of the analysis provided 

10 to the Subcommittee to the Committee on 

11 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

12 the Senate, the Committee on Science, 

13 Space, and Technology of the House of Rep14 resentatives, and the Committee on Natural 

15 Resources of the House of Representatives; 

16 ‘‘(B) not later than 180 days before the 

17 Subcommittee submits the most recent strategic 

18 research plan under subsection (d)(3) to Con19 gress— 

20 ‘‘(i) review such plan; 

21 ‘‘(ii) submit an analysis of such plan 

22 and the implementation thereof to the Sub23 committee for consideration in the final 

24 strategic research plan submitted under sub25 section (d)(3); and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) concurrently with the Sub2 committee’s final submission of the strategic 

3 research plan under subsection (d)(3), the 

4 Advisory Board shall submit a copy of the 

5 analysis provided to the Subcommittee to 

6 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

7 Transportation of the Senate, the Com8 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

9 the House of Representatives, and the Com10 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of 

11 Representatives; 

12 ‘‘(C) provide ongoing advice to the Sub13 committee and the interagency working group on 

14 matters related to Federal activities on ocean 

15 acidification and coastal acidification; 

16 ‘‘(D) advise the Subcommittee and the 

17 interagency working group on— 

18 ‘‘(i) efforts to coordinate research and 

19 monitoring activities related to ocean acidi20 fication and coastal acidification; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the best practices for the stand22 ards developed for data archiving under sec23 tion 12406(e); 

24 ‘‘(E) publish in the Federal Register a char25 ter; 


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1 ‘‘(F) provide the Library of Congress 

2 with— 

3 ‘‘(i) the charter described in subpara4 graph (E); 

5 ‘‘(ii) any schedules and minutes for 

6 meetings of the Advisory Board; 

7 ‘‘(iii) any documents that are ap8 proved by the Advisory Board; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) any reports and analysis pre10 pared by the Advisory Board; and 

11 ‘‘(G) establish a publicly accessible web page 

12 on the website of the National Oceanic and At13 mospheric Administration, that contains the in14 formation described in clauses (i) through (iv) of 

15 subparagraph (F). 

16 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Board shall 

17 consist of 24 members as follows: 

18 ‘‘(A) 2 representatives of the shellfish and 

19 crab industry. 

20 ‘‘(B) 1 representative of the finfish industry. 

21 ‘‘(C) 1 representative of seafood processors. 

22 ‘‘(D) 3 representatives from academia, in23 cluding both natural and social sciences. 

24 ‘‘(E) 1 representative of recreational fish25 ing. 


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1 ‘‘(F) 1 representative of relevant nongovern2 mental organizations. 

3 ‘‘(G) 6 representatives from relevant State, 

4 local, and Tribal governments. 

5 ‘‘(H) 1 representative from the Alaska 

6 Ocean Acidification Network. 

7 ‘‘(I) 1 representative from the California 

8 Current Acidification Network. 

9 ‘‘(J) 1 representative from the Northeast 

10 Coastal Acidification Network. 

11 ‘‘(K) 1 representative from the Southeast 

12 Coastal Acidification Network. 

13 ‘‘(L) 1 representative from the Gulf of Mex14 ico Coastal Acidification Network. 

15 ‘‘(M) 1 representative from the Mid-Atlantic 

16 Coastal Acidification Network. 

17 ‘‘(N) 1 representative from the Pacific Is18 lands Ocean Observing System or similar entity 

19 representing the island territories and posses20 sions of the United States in the Pacific Ocean, 

21 and the State of Hawaii. 

22 ‘‘(O) 1 representative from the Caribbean 

23 Regional Association for Coastal Ocean Observ24 ing or a similar entity representing Puerto Rico 

25 and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 


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1 ‘‘(P) 1 representative from the National 

2 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall 

3 serve as an ex-officio member of the Advisory 

4 Board without a vote. 

5 ‘‘(4) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.—The Chair of 

6 the Subcommittee shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) appoint members to the Advisory 

8 Board (taking into account the geographical in9 terests of each individual to be appointed as a 

10 member of the Advisory Board to ensure that an 

11 appropriate balance of geographical interests are 

12 represented by the members of the Advisory 

13 Board) who— 

14 ‘‘(i) represent the interest group for 

15 which each seat is designated; 

16 ‘‘(ii) demonstrate expertise on ocean 

17 acidification or coastal acidification and its 

18 scientific, economic, industry, cultural, and 

19 community impacts; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) have a record of distinguished 

21 service with respect to ocean acidification or 

22 coastal acidification, and such impacts; 

23 ‘‘(B) give consideration to nominations and 

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1 agency working group and the public for such 

2 appointments; and 

3 ‘‘(C) ensure that an appropriate balance of 

4 scientific, industry, and geographical interests 

5 are represented by the members of the Advisory 

6 Board. 

7 ‘‘(5) TERM OF MEMBERSHIP.—Each member of 

8 the Advisory Board— 

9 ‘‘(A) shall be appointed for a 5-year term; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) may be appointed to more than one 

12 term. 

13 ‘‘(6) CHAIR.—The Chair of the Subcommittee 

14 shall appoint one member of the Advisory Board to 

15 serve as the Chair of the Advisory Board. 

16 ‘‘(7) MEETINGS.—Not less than once each cal17 endar year, the Advisory Board shall meet at such 

18 times and places as may be designated by the Chair 

19 of the Advisory Board, in consultation with the Chair 

20 of the Subcommittee and the Chair of the interagency 

21 working group. 

22 ‘‘(8) BRIEFING.—The Chair of the Advisory 

23 Board shall brief the Subcommittee and the inter24 agency working group on the progress of the Advisory 

25 Board as necessary. 


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1 ‘‘(9) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—Sec2 tion 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act shall 

3 not apply to the Advisory Board.’’. 

4 SEC. 5. STRATEGIC RESEARCH PLAN. 

5 Section 12405 of the Federal Ocean Acidification Re6 search and Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3704) is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘acidification’’ each place it 

10 appears and inserting ‘‘acidification and coastal 

11 acidification’’; 

12 (B) in the first sentence— 

13 (i) by inserting ‘‘, and not later than 

14 every 5 years thereafter’’ after ‘‘the date of 

15 enactment of this Act’’; 

16 (ii) by inserting ‘‘address the socio17 economic impacts of ocean acidification and 

18 coastal acidification and to’’ after ‘‘mitiga19 tion strategies to’’; and 

20 (iii) by striking ‘‘marine ecosystems’’ 

21 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘eco22 systems’’; and 

23 (C) in the second sentence, by inserting 

24 ‘‘and recommendations made by the Advisory 


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1 Board in the review of the plan required under 

2 section 12404(c)(2)(B)(i)’’ after ‘‘subsection (d)’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (b)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and so5 cial sciences’’ after ‘‘among the ocean sciences’’; 

6 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

7 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

8 ‘‘impacts’’ and inserting ‘‘impacts, includ9 ing trends of changes in ocean chemistry,’’; 

10 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

11 (I) by striking ‘‘improve the abil12 ity to assess the’’ and inserting ‘‘assess 

13 the short-term and long-term’’; and 

14 (II) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end 

15 and inserting a semicolon; 

16 (iii) by amending subparagraph (C) to 

17 read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(C) provide information for the— 

19 ‘‘(i) development of adaptation and 

20 mitigation strategies to address the socio21 economic impacts of ocean acidification and 

22 coastal acidification; 

23 ‘‘(ii) conservation of marine organisms 

24 and ecosystems; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) assessment of the effectiveness of 

2 such adaptation and mitigation strategies; 

3 and’’; and 

4 (iv) by adding at the end the following 

5 new subparagraph: 

6 ‘‘(D) improve research on— 

7 ‘‘(i) ocean acidification and coastal 

8 acidification; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the interactions between and ef10 fects of multiple combined stressors includ11 ing changes in water chemistry, changes in 

12 sediment delivery, hypoxia, and harmful 

13 algal blooms, on ocean acidification and 

14 coastal acidification; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) the effect of environmental 

16 stressors on marine resources and eco17 systems;’’; 

18 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

19 (i) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

20 ‘‘database development’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘data management’’; 

22 (ii) in subparagraph (H) by striking 

23 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

24 (iii) by adding at the end the following 

25 new subparagraphs: 


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1 ‘‘(J) assessment of adaptation and mitiga2 tion strategies; and 

3 ‘‘(K) education and outreach activities;’’; 

4 (D) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘set 

5 forth’’ and inserting ‘‘ensure an appropriate bal6 ance of contribution in establishing’’; 

7 (E) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘reports’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘the best available peer-reviewed 

9 scientific reports’’; 

10 (F) in paragraph (6)— 

11 (i) by inserting ‘‘and coastal acidifica12 tion’’ after ‘‘ocean acidification’’; and 

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘of the United States’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘within the United States’’; 

15 (G) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘outline 

16 budget requirements’’ and inserting ‘‘estimate 

17 costs associated for full implementation of each 

18 element of the plan by fiscal year’’; 

19 (H) in paragraph (8)— 

20 (i) by inserting ‘‘and coastal acidifica21 tion’’ after ‘‘ocean acidification’’ each place 

22 it appears; 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘its’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘their’’; and 


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1 (iii) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end 

2 and inserting a semicolon; 

3 (I) in paragraph (9), by striking the period 

4 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (J) by adding at the end the following new 

6 paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(10) describe monitoring needs necessary to 

8 support potentially affected industry members, coastal 

9 stakeholders, fishery management councils and com10 missions, non-Federal resource managers, and sci11 entific experts on decision-making and adaptation re12 lated to ocean acidification and coastal acidifica13 tion.’’; 

14 (3) in subsection (c)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (1)(C), by striking ‘‘sur16 face’’; 

17 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and 

18 coastal acidification’’ after ‘‘ocean acidification’’ 

19 each place it appears; 

20 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

21 (i) by striking ‘‘input, and’’ and in22 serting ‘‘inputs,’’; 

23 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, marine food webs,’’ 

24 after ‘‘marine ecosystems’’; and 


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1 (iii) by inserting ‘‘, and modeling that 

2 supports fisheries management’’ after ‘‘ma3 rine organisms’’; 

4 (D) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘and 

5 coastal acidification’’ after ‘‘ocean acidification’’; 

6 and 

7 (E) by adding at the end the following new 

8 paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(6) Research to understand related and cumu10 lative stressors and other biogeochemical processes oc11 curring in conjunction with ocean acidification and 

12 coastal acidification.’’; and 

13 (4) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(e) ADVISORY BOARD EVALUATION.—Not later than 

16 180 days before a plan is submitted to Congress, the Sub17 committee shall provide the Advisory Board established 

18 under section 12404(c) a copy of the plan for purposes of 

19 review under paragraph (2)(B)(i) of such section. 

20 ‘‘(f) PUBLICATION AND PUBLIC COMMENT.—Not later 

21 than 90 days before the strategic research plan, or any revi22 sion thereof, is submitted to Congress, the Subcommittee 

23 shall publish the plan in the Federal Register and provide 

24 an opportunity for submission of public comments for a pe25 riod of not less than 60 days.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. NOAA OCEAN ACIDIFICATION ACTIVITIES. 

2 Section 12406 of the Federal Ocean Acidification Re3 search and Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3705) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a)— 

6 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

7 by inserting ‘‘coordination,’’ after ‘‘research, 

8 monitoring,’’; 

9 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

10 (i) in subparagraph (B)— 

11 (I) by inserting ‘‘including the In12 tegrated Ocean Observing System and 

13 the ocean observing assets of other Fed14 eral and State agencies,’’ after ‘‘ocean 

15 observing assets,’’; and 

16 (II) by inserting ‘‘and agency and 

17 department missions, prioritizing the 

18 location of monitoring instruments, as19 sets, and projects to maximize the effi20 ciency of resources and to optimize un21 derstanding of socioeconomic impacts 

22 and ecosystem health’’ after ‘‘research 

23 program’’; 

24 (ii) in subparagraph (C)— 


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1 (I) by striking ‘‘adaptation’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘adaptation and mitiga3 tion’’; and 

4 (II) by inserting ‘‘and supporting 

5 socioeconomically vulnerable commu6 nities and industries’’ after ‘‘marine 

7 ecosystems’’; 

8 (iii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

9 ‘‘its impacts’’ and inserting ‘‘their respec10 tive impacts’’; 

11 (iv) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

12 ‘‘monitoring and impacts research’’ and in13 serting ‘‘research, monitoring, and adapta14 tion and mitigation strategies’’; and 

15 (v) by adding at the end the following 

16 new subparagraph: 

17 ‘‘(G) research to improve understanding of 

18 the effect of— 

19 ‘‘(i) other environmental stressors on 

20 ocean acidification and coastal acidifica21 tion; 

22 ‘‘(ii) multiple environmental stressors 

23 on living marine resources and coastal eco24 systems; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) adaptation and mitigation strat2 egies to address the socioeconomic impacts 

3 of ocean acidification and coastal acidifica4 tion.’’; 

5 (C) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘critical 

6 research projects that explore’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘critical research and education projects that ex8 plore and communicate’’; and 

9 (D) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by striking 

10 ‘‘acidification’’ each place it appears and insert11 ing ‘‘acidification and coastal acidification’’; 

12 and 

13 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub14 sections: 

15 ‘‘(c) RELATIONSHIP TO INTERAGENCY WORKING

16 GROUP.—The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis17 tration shall serve as the lead Federal agency responsible 

18 for coordinating the Federal response to ocean acidification 

19 and coastal acidification, by— 

20 ‘‘(1) leading the interagency working group in 

21 implementing the strategic research plan under sec22 tion 12405; 

23 ‘‘(2) coordinating monitoring and research ef24 forts among Federal agencies in cooperation with 


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1 State, local, and Tribal government and international 

2 partners; 

3 ‘‘(3) maintaining an Ocean Acidification Infor4 mation Exchange described under section 12404(b)(5) 

5 to allow for information to be electronically accessible, 

6 including information— 

7 ‘‘(A) on ocean acidification developed 

8 through or used by the ocean acidification pro9 gram described under section 12406(a); or 

10 ‘‘(B) that would be useful to State govern11 ments, local governments, Tribal governments, 

12 resource managers, policymakers, researchers, 

13 and other stakeholders in mitigating or adapting 

14 to the impacts of ocean acidification and coastal 

15 acidification; and 

16 ‘‘(4) establishing and maintaining the data ar17 chive system under subsection (d). 

18 ‘‘(d) DATA ARCHIVE SYSTEM.— 

19 ‘‘(1) MANAGEMENT.—The Secretary, in coordi20 nation with members of the interagency working 

21 group, shall provide for the long-term stewardship of, 

22 and access to, data relating to ocean acidification 

23 and coastal acidification by establishing and main24 taining a data archive system that the National Cen25 ter for Environmental Information uses to process, 


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1 store, archive, provide access to, and incorporate to 

2 the extent possible, such data collected— 

3 ‘‘(A) through relevant federally-funded re4 search; and 

5 ‘‘(B) by a Federal agency, State agency, 

6 local agency, Tribe, academic scientist, citizen 

7 scientist, or industry organization. 

8 ‘‘(2) EXISTING GLOBAL OR NATIONAL DATA AS9 SETS.—In establishing and maintaining the data ar10 chive system under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

11 ensure that existing global or national data assets 

12 (including the data assets maintained by the National 

13 Centers for Environmental Information, the Inte14 grated Ocean Observing System, and other existing 

15 data systems within Federal agencies) are incor16 porated to the greatest extent possible. 

17 ‘‘(e) STANDARDS, PROTOCOLS, AND PROCEDURES.— 

18 With respect to the data described in subsection (d), the Sec19 retary, in coordination with members of the interagency 

20 working group, shall establish and revise as necessary the 

21 standards, protocols, or procedures for— 

22 ‘‘(1) processing, storing, archiving, and pro23 viding access to such data; 

24 ‘‘(2) the interoperability and intercalibration of 

25 such data; 


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1 ‘‘(3) the collection of any metadata underlying 

2 such data; and 

3 ‘‘(4) sharing such data with State, local, and 

4 Tribal government programs, potentially affected in5 dustry members, coastal stakeholders, fishery manage6 ment councils and commissions, non-Federal resource 

7 managers, and academia. 

8 ‘‘(f) DISSEMINATION OF OCEAN ACIDIFICATION DATA

9 AND COASTAL ACIDIFICATION DATA.—The Secretary, in co10 ordination with members of the interagency working group, 

11 shall disseminate the data described under subsection (d) 

12 to the greatest extent practicable by sharing such data on 

13 full and open access exchanges, including the Ocean Acidifi14 cation Information Exchange described in section 

15 12404(b)(5). 

16 ‘‘(g) REQUIREMENT.—Recipients of grants from the 

17 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under 

18 this subtitle that collect data described under subsection (d) 

19 shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) collect such data in accordance with the 

21 standards, protocols, or procedures established pursu22 ant to subsection (e); and 

23 ‘‘(2) submit such data to the data archive system 

24 under subsection (d), in accordance with any rules 

25 promulgated by the Secretary.’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. NSF OCEAN ACIDIFICATION ACTIVITIES. 

2 Section 12407 of the Federal Ocean Acidification Re3 search and Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3706) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘ocean acidification’’ each place 

6 it appears and inserting ‘‘ocean acidification and 

7 coastal acidification’’; 

8 (2) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 

10 (1)— 

11 (i) by striking ‘‘continue’’ and all that 

12 follows through ‘‘which shall’’ ; 

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘proposals for re14 search’’ and inserting ‘‘proposals for the re15 searching’’; and 

16 (iii) by striking ‘‘its impacts’’ and in17 serting ‘‘their respective impacts’’; 

18 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘marine 

19 ecosystems’’ and inserting ‘‘ecosystems’’; 

20 (C) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

21 at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

22 (D) in paragraph (3)— 

23 (i) by striking ‘‘and its impacts’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘and their respective impacts’’; 

25 and 


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1 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

2 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (E) by adding at the end the following new 

4 paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(4) adaptation and mitigation strategies to ad6 dress socioeconomic effects of ocean acidification and 

7 coastal acidification.’’; and 

8 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENT.—Recipients of grants from the 

10 National Science Foundation under this subtitle that collect 

11 data described under section 12406(d) shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) collect data in accordance with the stand13 ards, protocols, or procedures established pursuant to 

14 section 12406(e); and 

15 ‘‘(2) submit such data to the Director and the 

16 Secretary, in accordance with any rules promulgated 

17 by the Director or the Secretary.’’. 

18 SEC. 8. NASA OCEAN ACIDIFICATION ACTIVITIES. 

19 Section 12408 of the Federal Ocean Acidification Re20 search and Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3707) is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘ocean acidification’’ each place 

23 it appears and inserting ‘‘ocean acidification and 

24 coastal acidification’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘its impacts’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘their respective impacts’’; and 

3 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub4 section: 

5 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENT.—Researchers from the National 

6 Aeronautics and Space Administration under this subtitle 

7 that collect data described under section 12406(d) shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) collect such data in accordance with the 

9 standards, protocols, or procedures established pursu10 ant to section 12406(e); and 

11 ‘‘(2) submit such data to the Administrator and 

12 the Secretary, in accordance with any rules promul13 gated by the Administrator or the Secretary.’’. 

14 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 Section 12409 of the Federal Ocean Acidification Re16 search and Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3708) is 

17 amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘subtitle—’’ 

19 and all that follows through paragraph (4) and in20 serting the following: ‘‘subtitle $30,500,000 for each of 

21 the fiscal years 2020 through 2024.’’; and 

22 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘subtitle—’’ 

23 and all that follows through paragraph (4) and in24 serting the following: ‘‘subtitle $20,000,000 for each of 

25 the fiscal years 2020 through 2024.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 61 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1237 

[Report No. 116–86] 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Ocean Acidification Refor other purposes. fication data and Coastal Acidification data, and maintain a data archive system for Ocean Acidi- cation and Coastal Acidification, to establish and pand and improve the research on Ocean Acidifi- an Ocean Acidification Advisory Board, to ex- search and Monitoring Act of 2009 to establish 

MAY 28, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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