I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2405 

To reauthorize and amend the National Sea Grant College Program Act, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 30, 2019 

Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. KILMER, Mr. KATKO, Mr. 

BEYER, Mr. ZELDIN, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. PANETTA, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. 

RASKIN, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. CASE, Ms. 

GABBARD, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. SIRES, Mr. PAPPAS, and Mr. 

KEATING) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To reauthorize and amend the National Sea Grant College 

Program Act, 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 Sea Grant 

5 College Program Amendments Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO THE NATIONAL SEA GRANT COL2 LEGE PROGRAM ACT. 

3 Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in 

4 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

5 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi6 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

7 section or other provision of the National Sea Grant Col8 lege Program Act (33 U.S.C. 1121 et seq.). 

9 SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF DEAN JOHN A. KNAUSS MARINE 

10 POLICY FELLOWSHIP. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 208(b) (33 U.S.C. 

12 1127(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘shall’’. 

14 (b) PLACEMENTS IN CONGRESS.—Such section is 

15 further amended— 

16 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘The Sec17 retary’’ and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

19 (2) in paragraph (1), as designated by para20 graph (1) of this section, in the second sentence, by 

21 striking ‘‘A fellowship’’ and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(2) PLACEMENT PRIORITIES.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In each year in which 

24 the Secretary awards a legislative fellowship 

25 under this subsection, when considering the 


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1 placement of fellows, the Secretary shall 

2 prioritize placement of fellows in the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) Positions in offices of committees 

4 of Congress that have jurisdiction over the 

5 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin6 istration. 

7 ‘‘(ii) Positions in offices of Members 

8 of Congress who are on such committees. 

9 ‘‘(iii) Positions in offices of Members 

10 of Congress that have a demonstrated in11 terest in ocean, coastal, or Great Lakes re12 sources. 

13 ‘‘(B) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.— 

14 ‘‘(i) FINDING AND RECOGNITION.— 

15 Congress— 

16 ‘‘(I) finds that both host offices 

17 and fellows benefit when fellows have 

18 the opportunity to choose from a 

19 range of host offices from different 

20 States and regions, both chambers of 

21 Congress, and both political parties; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(II) recognizes the steps taken 

24 by the National Sea Grant College 

25 Program to facilitate an equitable disVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 May 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2405.IH H2405

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1 tribution of fellows among the political 

2 parties. 

3 ‘‘(ii) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

4 shall ensure, to the maximum extent prac5 ticable, that fellows have the opportunity 

6 to choose from offices that are described in 

7 clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph 

8 (A) and that are equitably distributed 

9 among— 

10 ‘‘(I) the political parties; and 

11 ‘‘(II) the Senate and the House 

12 of Representatives. 

13 ‘‘(iii) POLITICAL AND CAMERAL EQ14 UITY.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

15 placements are equitably distributed be16 tween— 

17 ‘‘(I) the political parties; and 

18 ‘‘(II) the Senate and the House 

19 of Representatives. 

20 ‘‘(3) DURATION.—A fellowship’’. 

21 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

22 subsection (b) shall apply with respect to the first calendar 

23 year beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act 

24 and each fiscal year thereafter. 


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1 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS CONCERNING FEDERAL

2 HIRING OF FORMER FELLOWS.—It is the sense of Con3 gress that in recognition of the competitive nature of the 

4 fellowship under section 208(b) of the National Sea Grant 

5 College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 1127(b)), and of the ex6 ceptional qualifications of fellowship awardees— 

7 (1) the Secretary of Commerce, acting through 

8 the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and 

9 Atmosphere, should encourage participating Federal 

10 agencies to consider opportunities for fellowship 

11 awardees at the conclusion of their fellowships for 

12 workforce positions appropriate for their education 

13 and experience; and 

14 (2) Members and committees of Congress 

15 should consider opportunities for such awardees for 

16 such positions. 

17 SEC. 4. MODIFICATION OF AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF 

18 COMMERCE TO ACCEPT DONATIONS FOR NA19 TIONAL SEA GRANT COLLEGE PROGRAM. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 204(c)(4)(E) (33 U.S.C. 

21 1123(c)(4)(E)) is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(E) accept donations of money and, not23 withstanding section 1342 of title 31, United 

24 States Code, of voluntary and uncompensated 

25 services;’’. 


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1 (b) PRIORITIES.—The Secretary of Commerce, acting 

2 through the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and 

3 Atmosphere, shall establish priorities for the use of dona4 tions accepted under section 204(c)(4)(E) of the National 

5 Sea Grant College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 

6 1123(c)(4)(E)), and shall consider among those priorities 

7 the possibility of expanding the Dean John A. Knauss Ma8 rine Policy Fellowship’s placement of additional fellows in 

9 relevant legislative offices under section 208(b) of that Act 

10 (33 U.S.C. 1127(b)), in accordance with the recommenda11 tions under subsection (c) of this section. 

12 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

13 of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the National 

14 Sea Grant College Program, in consultation with the Na15 tional Sea Grant Advisory Board and the Sea Grant Asso16 ciation, shall— 

17 (1) develop recommendations for the optimal 

18 use of any donations accepted under section 

19 204(c)(4)(E) of the National Sea Grant College Pro20 gram Act (33 U.S.C. 1123(c)(4)(E)); and 

21 (2) submit to Congress a report on the rec22 ommendations developed under paragraph (1). 

23 (d) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be 

24 construed to limit or otherwise affect any other amounts 

25 available for marine policy fellowships under section 


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1 208(b) of the National Sea Grant College Program Act 

2 (33 U.S.C. 1127(b)), including amounts— 

3 (1) accepted under section 204(c)(4)(F) of that 

4 Act (33 U.S.C. 1123(c)(4)(F)); or 

5 (2) appropriated under section 212 of that Act 

6 (33 U.S.C. 1131). 

7 SEC. 5. REPEAL OF REQUIREMENT FOR REPORT ON CO8 ORDINATION OF OCEANS AND COASTAL RE9 SEARCH ACTIVITIES. 

10 Section 9 of the National Sea Grant College Program 

11 Act Amendments of 2002 (33 U.S.C. 857–20) is repealed. 

12 SEC. 6. REDUCTION IN FREQUENCY REQUIRED FOR NA13 TIONAL SEA GRANT ADVISORY BOARD RE14 PORT. 

15 Section 209(b)(2) (33 U.S.C. 1128(b)(2)) is amend16 ed— 

17 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘BIENNIAL’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘PERIODIC’’; and 

19 (2) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘The 

20 Board shall report to the Congress every two years’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘Not less frequently than once every 

22 4 years, the Board shall submit to Congress a re23 port’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. MODIFICATION OF ELEMENTS OF NATIONAL SEA 

2 GRANT COLLEGE PROGRAM. 

3 Section 204(b) (33 U.S.C. 1123(b)) is amended, in 

4 the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘for re5 search, education, extension, training, technology transfer, 

6 and public service’’ after ‘‘financial assistance’’. 

7 SEC. 8. DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY; DEAN JOHN A. KNAUSS 

8 MARINE POLICY FELLOWSHIP. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—During fiscal year 2019 and any 

10 fiscal year thereafter, the head of any Federal agency may 

11 appoint, without regard to the provisions of subchapter I 

12 of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, other than 

13 sections 3303 and 3328 of that title, a qualified candidate 

14 described in subsection (b) directly to a position with the 

15 Federal agency for which the candidate meets Office of 

16 Personnel Management qualification standards. 

17 (b) QUALIFIED CANDIDATE.—Subsection (a) applies 

18 with respect to a former recipient of a Dean John A. 

19 Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship under section 208(b) of 

20 the National Sea Grant College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 

21 1127(b)) who— 

22 (1) earned a graduate or post-graduate degree 

23 in a field related to ocean, coastal, or Great Lakes 

24 resources or policy from an institution of higher edu25 cation accredited by an agency or association recog26 nized by the Secretary of Education pursuant to secVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 May 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2405.IH H2405

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1 tion 496(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

2 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(a)); 

3 (2) received a Dean John A. Knauss Marine 

4 Policy Fellowship under section 208(b) of the Na5 tional Sea Grant College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 

6 1127(b)) within 5 years before the date the indi7 vidual is appointed under this section; and 

8 (3) successfully fulfilled the requirements of the 

9 fellowship within the executive or legislative branch 

10 of the United States Government. 

11 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR NA12 TIONAL SEA GRANT COLLEGE PROGRAM. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 212(a) (33 U.S.C. 

14 1131(a)) is amended— 

15 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol16 lows: 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

18 appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this 

19 title— 

20 ‘‘(A) $87,520,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

21 ‘‘(B) $91,900,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

22 ‘‘(C) $96,500,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

23 ‘‘(D) $101,325,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

24 ‘‘(E) $106,380,000 for fiscal year 2024; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(F) $111,710,813 for fiscal year 2025.’’; 

2 and 

3 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol4 lows: 

5 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY ACTIVITIES FOR FISCAL YEARS

6 2020 THROUGH 2025.—In addition to the amounts 

7 authorized to be appropriated under paragraph (1), 

8 there are authorized to be appropriated $6,000,000 

9 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2025 for com10 petitive grants for the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) University research on the biology, 

12 prevention, and control of aquatic nonnative 

13 species. 

14 ‘‘(B) University research on oyster dis15 eases, oyster restoration, and oyster-related 

16 human health risks. 

17 ‘‘(C) University research on the biology, 

18 prevention, and forecasting of harmful algal 

19 blooms. 

20 ‘‘(D) University research, education, train21 ing, and extension services and activities fo22 cused on coastal resilience and United States 

23 working waterfronts and other regional or na24 tional priority issues identified in the strategic 

25 plan under section 204(c)(1). 


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1 ‘‘(E) University research on sustainable 

2 aquaculture techniques and technologies. 

3 ‘‘(F) Fishery extension activities conducted 

4 by sea grant colleges or sea grant institutes to 

5 enhance, and not supplant, existing core pro6 gram funding.’’. 

7 (b) MODIFICATION OF LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNTS

8 FOR ADMINISTRATION.—Paragraph (1) of section 212(b) 

9 (33 U.S.C. 1131(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATION.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There may not be 

12 used for administration of programs under this 

13 title in a fiscal year more than 5.5 percent of 

14 the lesser of— 

15 ‘‘(i) the amount authorized to be ap16 propriated under this title for the fiscal 

17 year; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) the amount appropriated under 

19 this title for the fiscal year. 

20 ‘‘(B) CRITICAL STAFFING REQUIRE21 MENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall 

23 use the authority under subchapter VI of 

24 chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, 

25 to meet any critical staffing requirement 


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1 while carrying out the activities authorized 

2 under this title. 

3 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION FROM CAP.—For 

4 purposes of subparagraph (A), any costs 

5 incurred as a result of an exercise of au6 thority described in clause (i) shall not be 

7 considered an amount used for administra8 tion of programs under this title in a fiscal 

9 year.’’. 

10 (c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 204(d)(3) (33 

12 U.S.C. 1123(d)(3)) is amended— 

13 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

14 (A), by striking ‘‘With respect to sea grant col15 leges and sea grant institutes’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘With respect to sea grant colleges, sea grant 

17 institutes, sea grant programs, and sea grant 

18 projects’’; and 

19 (B) in subparagraph (B), in the matter 

20 preceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘funding 

21 among sea grant colleges and sea grant insti22 tutes’’ and inserting ‘‘funding among sea grant 

23 colleges, sea grant institutes, sea grant pro24 grams, and sea grant projects’’. 


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1 (2) REPEAL OF REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING

2 DISTRIBUTION OF EXCESS AMOUNTS.—Section 212 

3 (33 U.S.C. 1131) is amended— 

4 (A) by striking subsection (c); and 

5 (B) by redesignating subsections (d) and 

6 (e) as subsections (c) and (d), respectively. 

7 SEC. 10. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 

8 The National Sea Grant College Program Act (33 

9 U.S.C. 1121 et seq.) is amended— 

10 (1) in section 204(d)(3)(B) (33 U.S.C. 

11 1123(d)(3)(B)), by moving clause (vi) 2 ems to the 

12 right; and 

13 (2) in section 209(b)(2) (33 U.S.C. 

14 1128(b)(2)), as amended by section 6 of this Act, in 

15 the third sentence, by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall’’ 

16 and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES OF DEPART18 MENT OF COMMERCE.—The Secretary shall’’. 

Æ 


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