I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3161 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to reauthorize the National 

Oceanographic Partnership Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 6, 2019 

Mr. PANETTA (for himself, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. KELLY of Mississippi, and 

Mr. NORCROSS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on 

Armed Services, and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be 

subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 

of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to reauthorize the 

National Oceanographic Partnership Program, 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 ‘‘National Oceano5 graphic Partnership Program Reauthorization Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF NATIONAL OCEANO2 GRAPHIC PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM. 

3 (a) ADDITIONAL PURPOSE.—Section 8931(b)(2) of 

4 title 10, United States Code, is amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

6 the end; 

7 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub8 paragraph (C); and 

9 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol10 lowing new subparagraph (B): 

11 ‘‘(B) soliciting, accepting, and executing 

12 oceanographic research and education projects 

13 funded by private grants or contracts that con14 tribute to assuring national security, advancing 

15 economic development, protecting quality of life, 

16 and strengthening science education and com17 munication though improved knowledge of the 

18 ocean; and’’. 

19 (b) NATIONAL OCEAN RESEARCH LEADERSHIP

20 COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP.—Subsection (b) of section 8932 

21 of title 10, United States Code, is amended— 

22 (1) by striking paragraph (10); 

23 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (11) through 

24 (14) as paragraphs (12) through (15), respectively; 

25 and 


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1 (3) by inserting after paragraph (9) the fol2 lowing new paragraphs (10) and (11): 

3 ‘‘(10) The Director of the Bureau of Ocean En4 ergy Management of the Department of the Interior. 

5 ‘‘(11) The Director of the Bureau of Safety and 

6 Environmental Enforcement of the Department of 

7 the Interior.’’. 

8 (c) ANNUAL REPORT.—Subsection (e) of such section 

9 is amended— 

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

11 striking ‘‘Congress’’ and inserting ‘‘the appropriate 

12 committees of Congress’’; 

13 (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘description of 

14 activities of the program carried out during the fis15 cal year before the fiscal year in which the report is 

16 prepared, together with a’’; 

17 (3) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(2) A description of activities of the program 

20 carried out during the fiscal year before the fiscal 

21 year in which the report is prepared, including the 

22 following— 

23 ‘‘(A) an analysis of the extent to which 

24 those activities advanced the purpose of the NaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3161.IH H3161

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1 tional Oceanographic Partnership Program as 

2 described in section 8931(b) of this title; 

3 ‘‘(B) a report on the total budget require4 ment of each project carried out as part of the 

5 project; and 

6 ‘‘(C) a report on the sources of funding of 

7 each completed project.’’; and 

8 (4) in paragraph (3)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘expected’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘planned’’; 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘year.’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘year, including—’’; and 

13 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

14 subparagraphs: 

15 ‘‘(A) a statement of objectives for each 

16 such project and a description of how such 

17 projects will advance the purpose of the Na18 tional Oceanographic Partnership Program as 

19 described in section 8931(b) of this title; 

20 ‘‘(B) an estimated budget for planned 

21 projects; and 

22 ‘‘(C) a description of any funds committed 

23 to support such projects, either by Federal 

24 partners or through private grants or con25 tracts.’’. 


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1 (d) PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM OFFICE.—Subsection 

2 (f) of such section is amended— 

3 (1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the 

4 following new sentence: ‘‘To be considered qualified 

5 to compete to be selected as an operator, an entity 

6 shall demonstrate strong ties to relevant oceano7 graphic industries, academia and other research in8 stitutions, and Federal agencies, and have experi9 ence managing interagency programs and oceano10 graphic programs with participation from public and 

11 private entities.’’; and 

12 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

13 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 

14 and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respec15 tively; and 

16 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 

17 the following new subparagraph (C): 

18 ‘‘(C) To solicit, accept, and execute ocean19 ographic research and education projects 

20 aligned with the purpose of the program and 

21 funded by private contracts, grants, and dona22 tions, on behalf of, and in consultation with the 

23 Council in accordance with subsection (g).’’. 


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1 (e) GRANT AND CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—Such sec2 tion is further amended by striking subsection (g) and in3 serting the following new subsection (g): 

4 ‘‘(g) GRANT AND CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—To carry 

5 out the purpose of the National Oceanographic Partner6 ship Program, under section 8921(b) of this title, the 

7 Council shall have, in addition to other powers otherwise 

8 given it under this section, the following authorities: 

9 ‘‘(1) The authority to authorize one or more of 

10 the departments or agencies represented on the 

11 Council to enter into contracts and make grants, 

12 and establish and manage new collaborative pro13 grams as determined necessary to address emerging 

14 science priorities using funds appropriated pursuant 

15 to an authorization or appropriations for the Na16 tional Oceanographic Partnership Program, for the 

17 purpose of implementing the program and carrying 

18 out the responsibilities of the Council. 

19 ‘‘(2) The authority to authorize the Program 

20 Office, on behalf of the Council, to accept funds, in21 cluding fines and penalties, from other Federal de22 partments and agencies, and to enter into contracts 

23 and award grants. 

24 ‘‘(3) The authority to authorize the Program 

25 Office, on behalf of the Council, to solicit, accept 


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1 and execute oceanographic research projects funded 

2 by private contracts, grants, and donations.’’. 

3 (f) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE4 FINED.—Such section is further amended by adding at the 

5 end the following new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(i) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.—In 

7 this section, the term ‘appropriate committees of Con8 gress’ means— 

9 ‘‘(1) the Committee on Armed Services, the 

10 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and 

11 the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

12 of Representatives; and 

13 ‘‘(2) the Committee on Armed Services, the 

14 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor15 tation, and the Committee on Energy and Natural 

16 Resources of the Senate.’’. 

Æ 


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