I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2090

To direct the Secretary of Commerce to contract with the National Academy

of Sciences to establish the Coordinated Oceanographic Program Advisory

Panel to report to the Congress on the feasibility and social value

of a coordinated oceanography program.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 9, 1999

Mr. GREENWOOD (for himself, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. FARR of California, Mr.

GILCHREST, Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO ́, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. UNDERWOOD, Mrs. MORELLA, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. ENGLISH, Mr.

BLUMENAUER, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey,

Mr. BILBRAY, and Mr. GUTIERREZ) introduced the following bill; which

was referred to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Commerce to contract with the

National Academy of Sciences to establish the Coordinated Oceanographic Program Advisory Panel to report

to the Congress on the feasibility and social value of

a coordinated oceanography program.

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 ‘‘Exploration of the Seas

5 Act’’.
2

•HR 2090 IH

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds the following:

3 (1) During the past 100 years, scientists work4 ing with marine fossils, both underwater and high in

5 the mountains, have traced the origins of life on

6 Earth to the sea, beginning approximately 3 billion

7 years ago. Today, life on our planet remains depend8 ent on the vitality of the sea.

9 (2) More than two-thirds of the Earth’s surface

10 is covered by water, with oceans and inland seas ac11 counting for almost 140 million square miles.

12 (3) The United Nations forecasts a worldwide

13 population of 8.9 billion by the year 2050, a 50 per14 cent increase from 5.9 billion in 1999. As this trend

15 in population growth continues, increasing demands

16 will be placed on ocean and coastal resources, not

17 only as a result of population growth in coastal re18 gions, but also from the need to harvest increasing

19 amounts of marine life as a source of food to satisfy

20 world protein requirements, and from the mining of

21 energy-producing materials from offshore resource

22 deposits.

23 (4) The ocean remains one of the Earth’s last

24 unexplored frontiers. It has stirred our imaginations

25 over the millennia, led to the discovery of new lands,
3

•HR 2090 IH

1 immense mineral deposits, and reservoirs of re2 sources, and produced startling scientific findings.

3 (5) The seas possess enormous economic and

4 environmental importance. Some ocean resources,

5 such as fisheries and minerals, are well recognized.

6 Oil use has increased dramatically in recent times,

7 and the sea bed holds large deposits of largely undis8 covered reserves. Other ocean resources offer prom9 ise for the future. In addition to fossil fuels, the

10 ocean floor contains deposits of gravel, sand, man11 ganese crusts and nodules, tin, gold, and diamonds.

12 Marine mineral resources are extensive, yet poorly

13 understood.

14 (6) The oceans also offer rich untapped poten15 tial for medications. Marine plants and animals pos16 sess inestimable potential in the treatment of human

17 illnesses. Coral reefs, sometimes described as the

18 rain forests of the sea, contain uncommon chemicals

19 that may be used to fight diseases for which sci20 entists have not yet found a cure, such as cancer,

21 acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and

22 diabetes. While the number of new chemical com23 pounds that can be derived from land based plants

24 and microbial fermentation is limited, scientists have
4

•HR 2090 IH

1 only just begun to explore the sea’s vast molecular

2 potential.

3 (7) In spite of the development of new tech4 nologies, comparatively little of the ocean has been

5 studied. The leadership role of the United States has

6 been eroded by a gradual decrease in funding sup7 port, even while public opinion surveys indicate that

8 ocean exploration is at least as important as space

9 exploration.

10 (8) The National Academy of Sciences has the

11 means by which to study and make determinations

12 regarding the adoption and establishment of a co13 ordinated oceanography program for the exploration

14 of the seas, in which the National Oceanic and At15 mospheric Administration could participate in a role

16 similar to that of the National Aeronautics and

17 Space Administration with regard to the Inter18 national Space Station.

19 SEC. 3. COORDINATED OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM ADVI20 SORY PANEL.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the

22 date of enactment of this Act and subject to the avail23 ability of appropriations, the Secretary of Commerce shall

24 contract with the National Academy of Sciences to estab25 lish the Coordinated Oceanography Program Advisory
5

•HR 2090 IH

1 Panel (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Panel’’), comprised

2 of experts in ocean studies, including individuals with aca3 demic experience in oceanography, marine biology, marine

4 geology, ichthyology, and ocean related economics.

5 (b) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The

6 Panel shall elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson.

7 (c) TERMINATION.—The Panel shall cease to exist 30

8 days after submitting its final report and recommenda9 tions pursuant to section 4.

10 SEC. 4. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—No later than 18 months after its

12 establishment, the Panel shall report to the Committee on

13 Resources of the House of Representatives and the Com14 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the

15 Senate on the feasibility and social value of a coordinated

16 oceanography program. In preparing its report, the Panel

17 shall examine existing oceanographic efforts and the level

18 of coordination or cooperation between and among partici19 pating countries and institutions.

20 (b) INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP.—To assist in mak21 ing its feasibility determination under subsection (a), the

22 Panel shall convene an international workshop with par23 ticipation from interested nations and a broad range of

24 persons representing scientists, engineers, policy makers,

25 regulators, industry, and other interested parties.
6

•HR 2090 IH

1 (c) FINAL REPORT.—The Panel shall include in its

2 final report—

3 (1) an identification of countries and organiza4 tions that would be likely to participate in a coordi5 nated program;

6 (2) a description of those areas of study in

7 which national or international oceanographic co8 operation is currently being undertaken; and

9 (3) an identification of areas of study in which

10 knowledge of the oceans is inadequate.

11 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.—If the Panel determines that

12 a coordinated oceanography program is feasible and has

13 significant value towards advancing mankind’s knowledge

14 of the ocean, the Panel shall include in its final report

15 recommendations for implementing such program, includ16 ing recommendations regarding—

17 (1) the institutional arrangements, treaties, or

18 laws necessary to implement a coordinated oceanog19 raphy program;

20 (2) the methods and incentives needed to secure

21 cooperation and commitments from participating na22 tions to ensure that the benefit that each nation that

23 is a party to any international agreement estab24 lishing a coordinated oceanography program receives
7

•HR 2090 IH

1 is contingent upon meeting the nation’s obligations

2 (financial or otherwise) under such an agreement;

3 (3) the costs associated with establishing a co4 ordinated program; and

5 (4) the types of undersea vehicles, ships, ob6 serving systems, or other equipment that would be

7 necessary to operate a coordinated program.

8 SEC. 5. OBTAINING DATA.

9 Subject to National security restrictions, the Panel

10 may obtain from any department or agency of the United

11 States information necessary to enable it to carry out this

12 Act. Upon request of the chairperson of the Panel, the

13 head of any department or agency shall furnish that infor14 mation at no cost to the Panel.

15 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

16 There are authorized to be appropriated for the pur17 poses of carrying out this Act, and to be made available

18 until such sums are expended, $1,500,000.

Æ