IB

Union Calendar No. 583

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 1552

[Report No. 106–987, Parts I and II]

To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2000 and fiscal year 2001 for

the Marine Research and related environmental research and development

program activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Science Foundation, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 26, 1999

Mr. CALVERT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, 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

OCTOBER 18, 2000

Reported from the Committee on Science with an amendment

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

OCTOBER 18, 2000

Referral to the Committee on Resources extended for a period ending not later

than October 20, 2000

OCTOBER 20, 2000

Referral to the Committee on Resources extended for a period ending not later

than October 25, 2000

OCTOBER 25, 2000

Reported from the Committee on Resources with amendments, committed to

the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
2

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

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2000 and fiscal

year 2001 for the Marine Research and related environmental research and development program activities of

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

and the National Science Foundation, 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 ‘‘Marine Research and

5 Related Environmental Research and Development Pro6 grams Authorization Act of 1999’’.

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

8 For purposes of this Act, the term—

9 (1) ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Administrator of

10 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra11 tion;

12 (2) ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of the Na13 tional Science Foundation; and

14 (3) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Com15 merce.
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1 SEC. 3. NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE.

2 (a) OPERATIONS, RESEARCH, AND FACILITIES.—There

3 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to enable

4 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to

5 carry out the Operations, Research, and Facilities marine

6 research and related environmental research and develop7 ment activities of the National Ocean Service $200,343,000

8 for fiscal year 2000 and $200,343,000 for fiscal year 2001,

9 to remain available until expended.

10 (b) NAVIGATION SERVICES.—Of the amounts author11 ized under subsection (a), $82,967,000 for fiscal year 2000

12 and $82,967,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Navigation

13 Services, of which—

14 (1) $33,335,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

15 $33,335,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Mapping

16 and Charting;

17 (2) $14,900,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

18 $14,900,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Hydro19 graphic Survey Backlog;

20 (3) $19,849,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

21 $19,849,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Geodesy;

22 and

23 (4) $14,883,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

24 $14,883,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Tide and

25 Current Data.
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1 (c) OCEAN RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION ASSESS2 MENT.—Of the amounts authorized under subsection (a),

3 $99,650,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $99,650,000 for fiscal

4 year 2001 shall be for Ocean Resources and Conservation

5 Assessment, of which—

6 (1) $7,970,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

7 $7,970,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Oceanic

8 and Coastal Research;

9 (2) $7,085,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

10 $7,085,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for the Great

11 Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory;

12 (3) $46,281,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

13 $46,281,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for the

14 Ocean Assessment Program;

15 (4) $18,884,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

16 $18,884,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Response

17 and Restoration; and

18 (5) $19,430,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

19 $19,430,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for the

20 Coastal Ocean Program.

21 (d) ACQUISITION OF DATA.—Of the amounts author22 ized under subsection (a), $17,726,000 for fiscal year 2000

23 and $17,726,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Acquisi24 tion of Data.
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1 SEC. 4. OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH.

2 (a) OPERATIONS, RESEARCH, AND FACILITIES.—There

3 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to enable

4 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to

5 carry out the Operations, Research, and Facilities marine

6 research and related environmental research and develop7 ment activities of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric

8 Research $44,320,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $44,320,000

9 for fiscal year 2001, to remain available until expended.

10 (b) MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH.—Of the

11 amounts authorized under subsection (a), $22,300,000 for

12 fiscal year 2000 and $22,300,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall

13 be for Marine Environmental Research.

14 (c) NURP.—Of the amounts authorized under sub15 section (a), $9,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $9,000,000

16 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for the National Oceanic and

17 Atmospheric Administration Undersea Research Program

18 (NURP).

19 (d) ACQUISITION OF DATA.—Of the amounts author20 ized under subsection (a), $13,020,000 for fiscal year 2000

21 and $13,020,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Acquisi22 tion of Data.

23 SEC. 5. PROGRAM SUPPORT.

24 (a) OPERATIONS, RESEARCH, AND FACILITIES.—There

25 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to enable

26 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to
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1 carry out the Operations, Research, and Facilities marine

2 research and related environmental research and develop3 ment activities of Program Support $63,769,000 for fiscal

4 year 2000 and $63,769,000 for fiscal year 2001, to remain

5 available until expended.

6 (b) ADMINISTRATION AND SERVICES.—Of the amounts

7 authorized under subsection (a), $52,750,000 for fiscal year

8 2000 and $52,750,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Ad9 ministration and Services, of which—

10 (1) $19,200,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

11 $19,200,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Executive

12 Direction and Administration;

13 (2) $700,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $700,000

14 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Systems Acquisition

15 Office;

16 (3) $31,850,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

17 $31,850,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Central

18 Administrative Support; and

19 (4) $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

20 $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Histori21 cally Black Colleges and Universities.

22 (c) AIRCRAFT SERVICES.—Of the amounts authorized

23 under subsection (a), $11,019,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

24 $11,019,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Aircraft Serv25 ices.
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1 (d) INDEPENDENT AUDIT OF AIRCRAFT SERVICES.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after

3 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall,

4 using available funds, enter into appropriate ar5 rangements with an independent external auditor ca6 pable of providing an audit to determine whether

7 outsourcing of aircraft services is a more cost-effective

8 alternative to in-house operation of aircraft in meet9 ing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis10 tration’s aircraft requirements of the conduct of ma11 rine and atmospheric research and related environ12 mental research and development activities, and for

13 other data and mission needs.

14 (2) AUDITING PROCEDURES.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The audit under para16 graph (1) shall be conducted in accordance with

17 generally accepted government auditing stand18 ards.

19 (B) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The Sec20 retary shall provide the independent external

21 auditor the information such auditor requires to

22 conduct the audit under paragraph (1). The

23 independent external auditor may inspect any

24 records of and have access to personnel of the Na-
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1 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

2 to obtain such information.

3 (3) REPORT OF THE RESULTS OF THE AUDIT.—

4 Not later than 180 days after the initiation of the

5 audit required by this subsection, the independent ex6 ternal auditor shall submit a report concerning the

7 results of the audit to the Committee on Science of the

8 House of Representatives and the Committee on

9 Science, Commerce, and Transportation of the Senate.

10 SEC. 6. FACILITIES.

11 (a) OPERATIONS, RESEARCH, AND FACILITIES.—There

12 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to enable

13 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to

14 carry out the Operations, Research, and Facilities marine

15 research and related environmental research and develop16 ment activities required to carry out Facilities Maintenance

17 and Repairs and Environmental Compliance $5,717,000

18 for fiscal year 2000 and $5,717,000 for fiscal year 2001,

19 to remain available until expended.

20 (b) FACILITIES MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS.—Of the

21 amounts authorized under subsection (a), $1,818,000 for fis22 cal year 2000 and $1,818,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be

23 for Facilities Maintenance and Repairs.

24 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE.—Of the amounts

25 authorized under subsection (a), $3,899,000 for fiscal year
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1 2000 and $3,899,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Facili2 ties Environmental Compliance.

3 SEC. 7. FLEET MAINTENANCE, PLANNING AND REPLACE4 MENT.

5 (a) FLEET MAINTENANCE AND PLANNING.—There are

6 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to enable the

7 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry

8 out the Operations, Research, and Facilities marine re9 search and related environmental research and development

10 activities of Fleet Maintenance and Planning $9,243,000

11 for fiscal year 2000 and $9,243,000 for fiscal year 2001,

12 to remain available until expended.

13 (b) FLEET REPLACEMENT.—There are authorized to be

14 appropriated to the National Science Foundation

15 $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $50,000,000 for fiscal

16 year 2001, to remain available until expended, to meet the

17 marine research and related environmental research and

18 development data requirements of the National Oceanic and

19 Atmospheric Administration set forth in the ‘‘NOAA Fish20 eries Data Acquisition Plan’’, dated September 1998, and

21 that could also help meet the Nation’s marine research and

22 related environmental research and development needs. The

23 National Science Foundation, in consultation with the De24 partment of the Navy, the University-National Oceanic

25 Laboratory System, academia, the National Oceanic and
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1 Atmospheric Administration, the private sector, and any

2 other parties it considers appropriate, shall develop a strat3 egy for meeting such requirements and other Federal ma4 rine research and related environmental research and devel5 opment requirements, using funds appropriated under this

6 subsection and at the lowest possible cost. The National

7 Science Foundation shall consider all options, including

8 various methods of acquiring vessel services, remote sensing,

9 and any other possible means.

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

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

12 Science Foundation shall submit to the Committee on

13 Science of the House of Representatives and the Committee

14 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate

15 a report detailing the strategy developed pursuant to sub16 section (b) and a plan for implementing such strategy. The

17 Director shall include in such report an analysis of the ex18 tent to which funds authorized by subsection (b) will be suf19 ficient to implement such strategy.

20 (d) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT FOR REDUCTION IN

21 AUTHORIZED NUMBER OF NOAA CORPS COMMISSIONED

22 OFFICERS.—Section 2(a)(3) of the Coast and Geodetic Sur23 vey Commissioned Officers’ Act of 1948 (33 U.S.C.

24 853a(a)(3)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and the Committee

25 on Science’’ after ‘‘Committee on Resources’’.
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1 SEC. 8. MARINE SERVICES.

2 (a) SERVICE CONTRACTS.—Notwithstanding any other

3 provision of law and subject to the availability of appro4 priations, the Secretary shall enter into contracts, including

5 multiyear contracts, subject to subsection (c), for the use of

6 vessels to conduct marine research and related environ7 mental research and development activities, monitoring, en8 forcement, and management, and to acquire other data nec9 essary to carry out the missions of the National Oceanic

10 and Atmospheric Administration. The Secretary shall enter

11 into these contracts unless—

12 (1) the cost of the contract is more than the cost

13 (including the cost of vessel operation, maintenance,

14 and all personnel) to the National Oceanic and At15 mospheric Administration of obtaining those services

16 on vessels of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

17 Administration;

18 (2) the contract is for more than 7 years; or

19 (3) the data are acquired through a vessel agree20 ment pursuant to subsection (d).

21 (b) VESSELS.—The Secretary may not enter into any

22 contract under this section for the construction, lease-pur23 chase, upgrade, or service life extension of any vessel.

24 (c) MULTIYEAR CONTRACTS.—

25 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) and

26 (3), and notwithstanding section 1341 of title 31,
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1 United States Code, and section 11 of title 41, United

2 States Code, the Secretary may acquire data, includ3 ing marine research and related environmental re4 search and development data, under multiyear con5 tracts.

6 (2) REQUIRED FINDINGS.—The Secretary may

7 not enter into a contract pursuant to this subsection

8 unless the Secretary finds with respect to that con9 tract that there is a reasonable expectation that

10 throughout the contemplated contract period the Sec11 retary will request from Congress funding for the con12 tract at the level required to avoid contract termi13 nation.

14 (3) REQUIRED PROVISIONS.—The Secretary may

15 not enter into a contract pursuant to this subsection

16 unless the contract includes—

17 (A) a provision under which the obligation

18 of the United States to make payments under the

19 contract for any fiscal year is subject to the

20 availability of appropriations provided in ad21 vance for those payments;

22 (B) a provision that specifies the term of ef23 fectiveness of the contract; and

24 (C) appropriate provisions under which, in

25 case of any termination of the contract before the
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1 end of the term specified pursuant to subpara2 graph (B), the United States shall only be liable

3 for the lesser of—

4 (i) an amount specified in the contract

5 for such a termination; or

6 (ii) amounts that were appropriated

7 before the date of the termination for the

8 performance of the contract or for procure9 ment of the type of acquisition covered by

10 the contract and are unobligated on the date

11 of the termination.

12 (d) VESSEL AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary shall use

13 excess capacity of University-National Oceanographic Lab14 oratory System vessels where appropriate and may enter

15 into memoranda of agreement with the operators of these

16 vessels to carry out this requirement.

17 SEC. 9. REPEAL.

18 The NOAA Fleet Modernization Act (33 U.S.C. 891

19 et seq.) is repealed.

20 SEC. 10. INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.

21 The Administrator shall make available through the

22 Internet home page of the National Oceanic and Atmos23 pheric Administration the abstracts relating to all research

24 grants and awards made with funds authorized by this Act.

25 Nothing in this section shall be construed to require or per-
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1 mit the release of any information prohibited by law or reg2 ulation from being released to the public.

3 SEC. 11. ELIGIBILITY FOR AWARDS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator and the Direc5 tor shall exclude from consideration for grant agreements

6 made after fiscal year 1999 by the National Oceanic and

7 Atmospheric Administration and the National Science

8 Foundation, under the activities for which funds are au9 thorized by this Act, any person who received funds, other

10 than those described in subsection (b), appropriated for a

11 fiscal year after fiscal year 1999, under a grant agreement

12 from any Federal funding source for a project that was not

13 subjected to a competitive, merit-based award process, ex14 cept as specifically authorized by this Act. Any exclusion

15 from consideration pursuant to this section shall be effective

16 for a period of 5 years after the person receives such Federal

17 funds.

18 (b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to the

19 receipt of Federal funds by a person due to the membership

20 of that person in a class specified by law for which assist21 ance is awarded to members of the class according to a for22 mula provided by law.

23 (c) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the

24 term ‘‘grant agreement’’ means a legal instrument whose

25 principal purpose is to transfer a thing of value to the re-
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1 cipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimula2 tion authorized by a law of the United States, and does

3 not include the acquisition (by purchase, lease, or barter)

4 of property or services for the direct benefit or use of the

5 United States Government. Such term does not include a

6 cooperative agreement (as such term is used in section 6305

7 of title 31, United States Code) or a cooperative research

8 and development agreement (as such term is defined in sec9 tion 12(d)(1) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innova10 tion Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a(d)(1))).

11 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

12 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Partial

13 NOAA Programs Authorization Act of 1999’’.

14 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this Act,

16 the term—

17 (1) ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Admin18 istrator of the National Oceanic and At19 mospheric Administration; and

20 (2) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

21 of Commerce.

22 (b) MARINE RESEARCH.—For the purposes

23 of this Act, the term ‘‘marine research’’ does

24 not include—
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1 (1) fisheries research, assessment,

2 and management;

3 (2) acquisition of hydrographic sur4 vey data; or

5 (3) navigation services.

6 SEC. 3. NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE.

7 (a) OPERATIONS, RESEARCH, AND FACILI8 TIES.—There are authorized to be appro9 priated to the Secretary to enable the Na10 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra11 tion to carry out the oceanographic and ma12 rine research activities of the National Ocean

13 Service $38,806,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

14 $38,806,000 for fiscal year 2001, to remain

15 available until expended.

16 (b) OCEAN RESOURCES, CONSERVATION, AND

17 ASSESSMENT.—Of the amounts authorized

18 under subsection (a), $14,055,000 for fiscal

19 year 2000 and $14,055,000 for fiscal year 2001

20 shall be for Ocean Resources and Conserva21 tion Assessment, of which—

22 (1) $7,970,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

23 $7,970,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for

24 the Oceanic and Coastal Research; and
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1 (2) $6,085,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

2 $6,085,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for

3 the Great Lakes Environmental Research

4 Laboratory.

5 (c) ACQUISITION OF DATA.—Of the amounts

6 authorized under subsection (a), $5,321,000

7 for fiscal year 2000 and $5,321,000 for fiscal

8 year 2001 shall be for Acquisition of Data.

9 (d) COASTAL OCEAN PROGRAM.—Of the

10 amounts authorized under subsection (a),

11 $19,430,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $19,430,000

12 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for the Coastal

13 Ocean Program.

14 SEC. 4. OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH.

15 (a) OPERATIONS, RESEARCH, AND FACILI16 TIES.—There are authorized to be appro17 priated to the Secretary to enable the Na18 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra19 tion to carry out the oceanographic and ma20 rine research activities of the Office of Oce21 anic and Atmospheric Research $68,100,000

22 for fiscal year 2000 and $68,100,000 for fiscal

23 year 2001, to remain available until expended.

24 (b) MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH.—Of

25 the amounts authorized under subsection (a),
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1 $24,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $24,000,000

2 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Marine Envi3 ronmental Research. Of such amounts,

4 $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $2,000,000

5 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for arctic re6 search.

7 (c) NURP.—Of the amounts authorized

8 under subsection (a), $15,000,000 for fiscal

9 year 2000 and $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2001

10 shall be for the National Oceanic and Atmos11 pheric Administration Undersea Research

12 Program (NURP).

13 (d) OCEAN OBSERVATIONS.—Of the amounts

14 authorized under subsection (a), $14,100,000

15 for fiscal year 2000 and $14,100,000 for fiscal

16 year 2001 shall be for ocean observations.

17 (e) ACQUISITION OF DATA.—Of the amounts

18 authorized under subsection (a), $15,000,000

19 for fiscal year 2000 and $15,000,000 for fiscal

20 year 2001 shall be for Acquisition of Data.

21 SEC. 5. PROGRAM SUPPORT.

22 (a) OPERATIONS, RESEARCH, AND FACILI23 TIES.—There are authorized to be appro24 priated to the Secretary to enable the Na25 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
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1 tion to carry out the oceanographic and ma2 rine research activities of Program Support

3 $73,887,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $73,887,000

4 for fiscal year 2001, to remain available until

5 expended.

6 (b) ADMINISTRATION AND SERVICES.—Of the

7 amounts authorized under subsection (a),

8 $62,868,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $62,868,000

9 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Administra10 tion and Services, of which—

11 (1) $19,573,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

12 $19,573,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be

13 for Executive Direction and Administra14 tion;

15 (2) $712,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

16 $712,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for

17 Systems Acquisition Office;

18 (3) $41,583,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

19 $41,583,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be

20 for Central Administrative Support; and

21 (4) $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

22 $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for

23 Historically Black Colleges and Univer24 sities.
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1 (c) AIRCRAFT SERVICES.—Of the amounts

2 authorized under subsection (a), $11,019,000

3 for fiscal year 2000 and $11,019,000 for fiscal

4 year 2001 shall be for Aircraft Services.

5 (d) INDEPENDENT AUDIT OF AIRCRAFT SERV6 ICES.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60

8 days after the date of enactment of this

9 Act, the Secretary shall, using available

10 funds, enter into appropriate arrange11 ments with an independent external

12 auditor capable of providing an audit to

13 determine whether outsourcing of air14 craft services is a more cost-effective al15 ternative to in-house operation of aircraft

16 in meeting the National Oceanic and At17 mospheric Administration’s aircraft re18 quirements of the conduct of marine and

19 atmospheric research and related envi20 ronmental research and development ac21 tivities, and for other data and mission

22 needs.

23 (2) AUDITING PROCEDURES.—

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The audit under

25 paragraph (1) shall be conducted in
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1 accordance with generally accepted

2 government auditing standards.

3 (B) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The

4 Secretary shall provide the inde5 pendent external auditor the infor6 mation such auditor requires to con7 duct the audit under paragraph (1).

8 The independent external auditor

9 may inspect any records of and have

10 access to personnel of the National

11 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra12 tion to obtain such information.

13 (3) REPORT OF THE RESULTS OF THE

14 AUDIT.—Not later than 180 days after the

15 initiation of the audit required by this

16 subsection, the independent external

17 auditor shall submit a report concerning

18 the results of the audit to the Committee

19 on Science of the House of Representa20 tives and the Committee on Science,

21 Commerce, and Transportation of the

22 Senate.

23 SEC. 6. FACILITIES.

24 (a) OPERATIONS, RESEARCH, AND FACILI25 TIES.—There are authorized to be appro-
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1 priated to the Secretary to enable the Na2 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra3 tion to carry out the Operations, Research,

4 and Facilities oceanographic and marine re5 search activities required to carry out Facili6 ties Maintenance and Repairs and Environ7 mental Compliance $5,717,000 for fiscal year

8 2000 and $5,717,000 for fiscal year 2001, to re9 main available until expended.

10 (b) FACILITIES MAINTENANCE AND RE11 PAIRS.—Of the amounts authorized under sub12 section (a), $1,818,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

13 $1,818,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Fa14 cilities Maintenance and Repairs.

15 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE.—Of the

16 amounts authorized under subsection (a),

17 $3,899,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $3,899,000

18 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Facilities Envi19 ronmental Compliance.

20 SEC. 7. INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.

21 The Administrator shall make available

22 through the Internet home page of the Na23 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra24 tion the abstracts relating to all research

25 grants and awards made with funds author-
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1 ized by this Act. Nothing in this section shall

2 be construed to require or permit the release

3 of any information prohibited by law or regu4 lation from being released to the public.

5 SEC. 8. REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES.

6 Notwithstanding section 3302 (b) and (c)

7 of title 31, United States Code, of the amounts

8 received by the United States in settlement of,

9 or judgment for, damage claims arising from

10 the October 9, 1992, allision of the vessel

11 ZACHARY into the National Oceanic and At12 mospheric Administration research vessel

13 DISCOVERER, $349,000—

14 (1) shall be retained as an offsetting

15 collection in the Operations, Research

16 and Facilities account of the National

17 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra18 tion;

19 (2) shall be deposited into that ac20 count upon receipt by the United States

21 Government; and

22 (3) shall be available only for obliga23 tion for National Oceanic and Atmos24 pheric Administration services.
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1 SEC. 9. ABOLISHMENT OF CHIEF SCIENTIST POSITION.

2 (a) ABOLISHMENT OF POSITION.—The posi3 tion of Chief Scientist of the National Oceanic

4 and Atmospheric Administration is abolished.

5 (b) TERMINATION OF REORGANIZATION PLAN

6 PROVISION.—Subsection (d) of section 2 of Re7 organization Plan No. 4 of 1970 (5 U.S.C. App.)

8 shall have no force or effect.

9 (c) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any

10 other Federal law, Executive order, rule, reg11 ulation, delegation of authority, or document

12 to Chief Scientist of the National Oceanic and

13 Atmospheric Administration is deemed to

14 refer to the Administrator of the National

15 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

16 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 5316 of

17 title 5, United States Code, is amended by

18 striking ‘‘Chief Scientist, National Oceanic

19 and Atmospheric Administration.’’.

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to authorize

appropriations for fiscal year 2000 and fiscal year 2001

for the oceanographic and marine research activities of

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,

and for other purposes.’’.

Union Calendar No. 583

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 1552

[Report No. 106–987, Parts I and II]

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2000

and fiscal year 2001 for the Marine Researchand related environmental research and development program activities of the National Oceanicand Atmospheric Administration and the National Science Foundation, and for other purposes.

OCTOBER 25, 2000

Reported from the Committee on Resources with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to beprinted