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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4692 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4692

 To direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator 
  of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to conduct 
     coastal community vulnerability assessments related to ocean 
                 acidification, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 20, 2014

Ms. Pingree of Maine introduced the following bill; which was referred 
           to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator 
  of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to conduct 
     coastal community vulnerability assessments related to ocean 
                 acidification, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Coastal Communities Ocean 
Acidification Act of 2014''.

SEC. 2. COASTAL COMMUNITY VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT.

    (a) In General.--Section 12406 of the Federal Ocean Acidification 
Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3705) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' after the 
                semicolon;
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) includes an ongoing mechanism that allows affected 
        industry members, coastal stakeholders, non-federal resource 
        managers, and outside scientific experts to provide input on 
        research, data, and monitoring needs that are necessary to 
        support on-the-ground management, decisionmaking, and 
        adaptation related to ocean acidification and its impacts.'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c); and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
    ``(b) Community Vulnerability Assessment.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, through the program 
        established under subsection (a), shall conduct an ocean 
        acidification coastal community vulnerability assessment, and 
        issue a corresponding public report, that shall be updated at 
        least once every 5 years.
            ``(2) Requirements.--The assessment conducted under 
        paragraph (1) shall--
                    ``(A) identify the United States coastal 
                communities, including island communities, low-
                population rural communities, and subsistence 
                communities, that are most dependent on coastal and 
                ocean resources that may be impacted by ocean 
                acidification;
                    ``(B) assess the nature of those communities' 
                social and economic vulnerabilities;
                    ``(C) identify the ocean acidification impacts that 
                might harm those communities, including impacts from 
                changes in ocean and coastal marine resources that are 
                not managed by the Federal Government;
                    ``(D) identify key knowledge gaps where research 
                could be devoted to better understand the possible 
                impacts of ocean acidification on these vulnerable 
                communities, the risks and threats facing these 
                communities, and possible adaptation strategies for 
                these communities; and
                    ``(E) be conducted in collaboration with experts 
                who are familiar with the unique economic, social, 
                ecological, geographic, and resource concerns of the 
                Nation's coastal communities, including representatives 
                from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service, and 
                Coastal Services Center.''.
    (b) Strategic Research Plan.--Section 12405(b) of the Federal Ocean 
Acidification Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3704(b)) 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(10) make recommendations for research that should be 
        conducted, including in the social sciences and economics, to 
        address the key knowledge gaps identified in the community 
        vulnerability assessment report conducted under subsection (b) 
        of section 12406.''.
                                 <all>
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