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Union Calendar No. 471

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2090

[Report No. 106–810]

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

SEPTEMBER 6, 2000

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 June 19, 1999]

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.
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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 ‘‘Exploration of the Seas

5 Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds the following:

8 (1) During the past 100 years, scientists working

9 with marine fossils, both underwater and high in the

10 mountains, have traced the origins of life on Earth to

11 the sea, beginning approximately 3 billion years ago.

12 Today, life on our planet remains dependent on the

13 vitality of the sea.

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

15 is covered by water, with oceans and inland seas ac16 counting for almost 140 million square miles.

17 (3) The United Nations forecasts a worldwide

18 population of 8.9 billion by the year 2050, a 50 per19 cent increase from 5.9 billion in 1999. As this trend

20 in population growth continues, increasing demands

21 will be placed on ocean and coastal resources, not

22 only as a result of population growth in coastal re23 gions, but also from the need to harvest increasing

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

25 world protein requirements, and from the mining of
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1 energy-producing materials from offshore resource de2 posits.

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

4 unexplored frontiers. It has stirred our imaginations

5 over the millennia, led to the discovery of new lands,

6 immense mineral deposits, and reservoirs of other re7 sources, and produced startling scientific findings.

8 Recognizing the importance of the marine environ9 ment, the need for scientific exploration to expand our

10 knowledge of the world’s oceans is crucial if we are

11 to ensure that the marine environment will be man12 aged sustainably.

13 (5) The seas possess enormous economic and en14 vironmental importance. Some ocean resources, such

15 as fisheries and minerals, are well recognized. Oil use

16 has increased dramatically in recent times, and the

17 sea bed holds large deposits of largely undiscovered re18 serves. Other ocean resources offer promise for the fu19 ture. In addition to fossil fuels, the ocean floor con20 tains deposits of gravel, sand, manganese crusts and

21 nodules, tin, gold, and diamonds. Marine mineral re22 sources are extensive, yet poorly understood.

23 (6) The oceans also offer rich untapped potential

24 for medications. Marine plants and animals possess

25 inestimable potential in the treatment of human ill-
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1 nesses. Coral reefs, sometimes described as the rain

2 forests of the sea, contain uncommon chemicals that

3 may be used to fight diseases for which scientists have

4 not yet found a cure, such as cancer, acquired im5 munodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and diabetes.

6 While the number of new chemical compounds that

7 can be derived from land based plants and microbial

8 fermentation is limited, scientists have only just

9 begun to explore the sea’s vast molecular potential.

10 (7) In spite of the development of new tech11 nologies, comparatively little of the ocean has been

12 studied. The leadership role of the United States has

13 been eroded by a gradual decrease in funding support,

14 even while public opinion surveys indicate that ocean

15 exploration is at least as important as space explo16 ration.

17 (8) The National Academy of Sciences has the

18 means by which to study and make determinations

19 regarding the adoption and establishment of a coordi20 nated oceanography program for the exploration of

21 the seas, in which the National Oceanic and Atmos22 pheric Administration could participate in a role

23 similar to that of the National Aeronautics and Space

24 Administration with regard to the International

25 Space Station.
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1 SEC. 3. COORDINATED OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM ADVI2 SORY PANEL.

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

4 date of enactment of this Act and subject to the availability

5 of appropriations, the Secretary of Commerce shall contract

6 with the National Academy of Sciences to establish the Co7 ordinated Oceanography Program Advisory Panel (in this

8 Act referred to as the ‘‘Panel’’), comprised of experts in

9 ocean studies, including individuals with academic experi10 ence in oceanography, marine biology, marine geology, ich11 thyology, and ocean related economics.

12 (b) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The

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

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

15 days after submitting its final report and recommendations

16 pursuant to section 4.

17 SEC. 4. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

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

19 establishment, the Panel shall report to the Committee on

20 Resources of the House of Representatives and the Com21 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the

22 Senate on the feasibility and social value of a coordinated

23 oceanography program. In preparing its report, the Panel

24 shall examine existing oceanographic efforts and the level

25 of coordination or cooperation between and among partici26 pating countries and institutions.
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1 (b) INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP.—To assist in making

2 its feasibility determination under subsection (a), the Panel

3 shall convene an international workshop with participation

4 from interested nations and a broad range of persons rep5 resenting scientists, engineers, policy makers, regulators, in6 dustry, and other interested parties.

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

8 final report recommendations for a national oceans explo9 ration strategy, which will—

10 (1) define objectives and priorities, and note im11 portant scientific, historic, and cultural sites;

12 (2) promote collaboration among research orga13 nizations;

14 (3) examine the potential for new ocean explo15 ration technologies;

16 (4) describe those areas of study in which na17 tional or international oceanographic cooperation is

18 currently being undertaken;

19 (5) identify areas of study in which knowledge of

20 the oceans is inadequate;

21 (6) ensure coordination with the National Oce22 anic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Pro23 tected Area Center;
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1 (7) ensure that newly discovered organisms with

2 medicinal or commercial potential are identified for

3 possible research and development; and

4 (8) identify countries and organizations that

5 would be likely to participate in a coordinated ocean6 ography program.

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

8 a coordinated oceanography program is feasible and has

9 significant value for advancing mankind’s knowledge of the

10 ocean, the Panel shall include in its final report rec11 ommendations for implementing such program, including

12 recommendations regarding—

13 (1) the institutional arrangements, treaties, or

14 laws necessary to implement a coordinated oceanog15 raphy program;

16 (2) the methods and incentives needed to secure

17 cooperation and commitments from participating na18 tions to ensure that the benefit that each nation that

19 is a party to any international agreement estab20 lishing a coordinated oceanography program receives

21 is contingent upon meeting the nation’s obligations

22 (financial and otherwise) under such an agreement;

23 (3) the costs associated with establishing a co24 ordinated oceanography program;
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1 (4) the types of undersea vehicles, ships, observ2 ing systems, or other equipment that would be nec3 essary to operate a coordinated oceanography pro4 gram; and

5 (5) how utilization of aboriginal observational

6 data and other historical information may be best in7 corporated into a coordinated oceanography 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 head

13 of any department or agency shall furnish that information

14 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 remain available until

18 expended, $1,500,000.

Union Calendar No. 741

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2090

[Report No. 106–810]

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.

SEPTEMBER 6, 2000

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,

and ordered to be printed