II 

Calendar No. 749 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1581 

[Report No. 110–339] 

To establish an interagency committee to develop an ocean acidification research and monitoring plan and to establish an ocean acidification program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 7, 2007 

Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. KERRY, Mr. STEVENS, 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. NELSON of Florida, and Mrs. BOXER) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

MAY 22, 2008 

Reported by Mr. INOUYE, with amendments 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To establish an interagency committee to develop an ocean 

acidification research and monitoring plan and to establish an ocean acidification program within the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Federal Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring 

4 Act of 2007’’ or the ‘‘FOARAM Act’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes. 

Sec. 3. Interagency committee on ocean acidification. 

Sec. 4. Strategic research and implementation plan. 

Sec. 5. NOAA ocean acidification program. 

Sec. 6. Definitions. 

Sec. 7. Authorization of appropriations. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) The oceans help mitigate the effects of glob10 al warming by absorbing atmospheric carbon diox11 ide. About a third of anthropogenic carbon dioxide 

12 is currently absorbed by the ocean. 

13 (2) The rapid increase in atmospheric carbon 

14 dioxide is overwhelming the natural ability of the 

15 oceans to cope with human-induced carbon dioxide 

16 emissions. 

17 (3) The emission of carbon dioxide into the at18 mosphere is causing the oceans to become more 

19 acidic. The increase in acidity and changes in ocean 

20 chemistry are corrosive to marine shells and orga21 nisms that form the base of the food chain for many 

22 fish and marine mammals including the skeletons of 


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1 corals which provide one of the richest habitats on 

2 earth. 

3 (3) The emission of carbon dioxide into the at4 mosphere is changing surface ocean carbon chemistry 

5 and lowering the pH. These changes in ocean chem6 istry are corrosive to marine shells, and are detri7 mental to organisms that form the base of the food 

8 chain for many fish and marine mammals, and to 

9 corals, which provide one of the richest habitats on 

10 Earth. 

11 (4) The rich biodiversity of marine and fresh12 water organisms is an important contribution to the 

13 national economy economy, and the change in ocean 

14 chemistry threatens our fisheries and marine envi15 ronmental quality, fisheries, marine environmental 

16 quality, and tourism, and could result in significant 

17 social and economic costs. 

18 (5) Existing Federal programs support research 

19 in related ocean chemistry, but gaps in funding, co20 ordination, and outreach have impeded national 

21 progress in addressing ocean acidification. 

22 (6) National investment in a coordinated pro23 gram of research and monitoring would improve the 

24 understanding of ocean acidification effects on whole 

25 ecosystems, advance our knowledge of the socio-ecoVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:34 May 23, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1581.RS S1581

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1 nomic impacts of increased ocean acidification, and 

2 strengthen the ability of marine resource managers 

3 to assess and prepare for the harmful impacts of 

4 ocean acidification on our marine resources. 

5 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to pro6 vide for— 

7 (1) development and coordination of a com8 prehensive interagency plan to monitor and conduct 

9 research on the processes and consequences of ocean 

10 acidification on marine organisms and ecosystems 

11 and to establish an ocean acidification program 

12 within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad13 ministration; and 

14 (2) assessment and consideration of regional 

15 and national ecosystem and socio-economic impacts 

16 of increased ocean acidification, and integration into 

17 marine resource decisions. decisions; and 

18 (3) research on adaptation strategies and tech19 niques for effectively conserving marine ecosystems as 

20 they cope with increased ocean acidification. 

21 SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON OCEAN ACIDIFICA22 TION. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is hereby established 

25 an Interagency Committee on Ocean Acidification. 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall establish 

2 or designate an interagency committee on ocean 

3 acidification. 

4 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee committee 

5 shall be comprised of senior representatives from the 

6 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

7 the National Science Foundation, the National Aero8 nautics and Space Administration, the United States 

9 Geological Survey, the United States Fish and Wild10 life Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, 

11 the Department of Energy, and such other Federal 

12 agencies as the Secretary President considers appro13 priate. 

14 (3) CHAIRMAN.—The Committee committee 

15 shall be chaired by the representative from the Na16 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The 

17 chairman may create subcommittees chaired by any 

18 member agency of the committee. Working groups 

19 may be formed by the full Committee committee to 

20 address issues that may require more specialized ex21 pertise than is provided by existing subcommittees. 

22 (b) PURPOSE.—The Committee committee shall over23 see the planning, establishment, and coordination coordi24 nated implementation of a plan designed to improve the 


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1 understanding of the role of increased ocean acidification 

2 on marine ecosystems. 

3 (c) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

4 (1) STRATEGIC RESEARCH AND IMPLEMENTA5 TION PLAN.—The Committee committee shall submit 

6 the strategic research and implementation plan es7 tablished under section 4 to the Senate Committee 

8 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

9 House of Representatives Committee on Natural Re10 sources. 

11 (2) TRIENNIAL REPORT.—Not later than 2 

12 years after the date of the enactment of this Act and 

13 every 3 years thereafter, the Committee committee 

14 shall transmit a report to the Senate Committee on 

15 Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

16 House of Representatives Committee on Natural Re17 sources that includes— 

18 (A) a summary of federally funded ocean 

19 acidification research and monitoring activities, 

20 including the budget for each of these activities; 

21 and 

22 (B) an analysis of the progress made to23 ward achieving the goals and priorities for the 

24 interagency research plan developed by the 

25 Committee committee under section 4 and recVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:34 May 23, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1581.RS S1581

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1 ommendations for future activities. activities, 

2 including policy recommendations developed as 

3 part of this research. 

4 SEC. 4. STRATEGIC RESEARCH AND IMPLEMENTATION 

5 PLAN. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 1 year 18 months after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Committee committee 

8 shall develop a strategic research and implementation plan 

9 for coordinated Federal activities. In developing the plan, 

10 the Committee committee shall consider and use reports 

11 and studies conducted by Federal agencies and depart12 ments, the National Research Council, the Ocean Re13 search and Resources Advisory Panel, the Joint Sub14 committee on Ocean, Science, and Technology of the Na15 tional Science and Technology Council, the Joint Ocean 

16 Commission Initiative, and other expert scientific bodies. 

17 bodies and coordinate with other relevant Federal inter18 agency committees. 

19 (b) SCOPE.—The plan shall— 

20 (1) provide for interdisciplinary research among 

21 the ocean sciences, and coordinated research and ac22 tivities to improve understanding of ocean acidifica23 tion that will affect marine ecosystems and to assess 

24 the potential and realized socio-economic impact of 

25 ocean acidification, including— 


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1 (A) effects of atmospheric carbon dioxide 

2 on ocean chemistry; 

3 (B) biological impacts of ocean acidifica4 tion, including research on— 

5 (i) commercially and recreationally 

6 important species and ecologically impor7 tant calcifiers that lie at the base of the 

8 food chain; and 

9 (i) species, including commercially and 

10 recreationally important species, protected, 

11 endangered, or threatened species, and eco12 logically important calcifiers that lie at the 

13 base of the food chain; and 

14 (ii) physiological changes in response 

15 to ocean acidification; 

16 (C) identification and assessment of eco17 systems most at risk from projected changes in 

18 ocean chemistry including— 

19 (i) coral reef ecosystems; 

20 (ii) polar ecosystems; and 

21 (iii) coastal ocean ecosystems; 

22 (D) modeling the effects of pH including 

23 ecosystem forecasting; 


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1 (C) identification and assessment of eco2 systems most at risk from projected changes in 

3 ocean chemistry, including— 

4 (i) coastal ecosystems, including Great 

5 Lakes ecosystems; 

6 (ii) coral reef ecosystems, including 

7 deep sea coral ecosystems; and 

8 (iii) polar and subpolar ecosystems; 

9 (D) modeling the changes in ocean chem10 istry driven by the increases in ocean carbon lev11 els, including ecosystem forecasting; 

12 (E) identifying feedback mechanisms re13 sulting from the ocean chemistry changes and 

14 the subsequent such as the decrease in calcifi15 cation rates in organisms; 

16 (F) socio-economic impacts of ocean acidi17 fication, including commercially and 

18 recreationally important fisheries; fisheries and 

19 coral reef communities; and 

20 (G) identifying interactions between ocean 

21 acidification and other oceanic changes includ22 ing those associated with climate change; 

23 (2) establish, for the 10-year period beginning 

24 in the year it is submitted, goals, priorities, and 

25 guidelines for coordinated activities that will— 


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1 (A) most effectively advance scientific un2 derstanding of the characteristics and impacts 

3 of ocean acidification; 

4 (B) provide forecasts of changes in ocean 

5 acidification and the consequent impacts on ma6 rine ecosystems; and 

7 (C) provide a basis for policy decisions to 

8 reduce and manage ocean acidification and its 

9 environmental impacts; 

10 (3) provide an estimate of Federal funding re11 quirements for research and monitoring activities; 

12 and 

13 (4) identify and strengthen relevant programs 

14 and activities of the Federal agencies and depart15 ments that would contribute to accomplishing the 

16 goals of the plan and prevent unnecessary duplica17 tion of efforts, including making recommendations 

18 for the use of observing systems and technological 

19 research and development. 

20 (c) CONSULTATION.—In developing the plan, the com21 mittee may consult with the academic community, States, 

22 industry, environmental groups, and other relevant stake23 holders. 


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1 SEC. 5. NOAA OCEAN ACIDIFICATION PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish and 

3 maintain an ocean acidification program within the Na4 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to imple5 ment activities consistent with the strategic research and 

6 implementation plan developed by the Committee com7 mittee under section 4 that— 

8 (1) includes— 

9 (A) interdisciplinary research among the 

10 ocean and atmospheric sciences, and coordi11 nated research and activities to improve under12 standing of ocean acidification; 

13 (B) the establishment of a long-term moni14 toring program of pH levels in the ocean ocean 

15 acidification utilizing existing global ocean ob16 serving assets and adding instrumentation and 

17 sampling stations as appropriate to the aims of 

18 the research program; 

19 (C) research to identify and develop adapta20 tion strategies and techniques for effectively con21 serving marine ecosystems as they cope with in22 creased ocean acidification; 

23 (C) (D) educational opportunities that en24 courage an interdisciplinary and international 

25 approach to exploring the impacts of ocean 

26 acidification; 


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1 (D) (E) national public outreach activities 

2 to improve the understanding of ocean acidifica3 tion and its impacts on marine resources; and 

4 (E) (F) coordination of ocean acidification 

5 research and monitoring and impacts research 

6 with other appropriate international ocean 

7 science bodies such as the International Ocean8 ographic Commission, the International Council 

9 for the Exploration of the Sea, the North Pa10 cific Marine Science Organization, Research 

11 Board, and others; 

12 (2) provides grants for critical research projects 

13 that explore the effects of ocean acidification on eco14 systems and the socio-economic impacts of increased 

15 ocean acidification that are relevant to the goals and 

16 priorities of the strategic research plan; and 

17 (3) incorporates a competitive merit-based 

18 grant process that may be conducted jointly with 

19 other participating agencies or under the National 

20 Oceanographic Partnership Program under section 

21 7901 of title 10, United States Code. 

22 (b) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—In conducting the 

23 Program, the Secretary may enter into and perform such 

24 contracts, leases, grants, or cooperative agreements as 


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1 may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act 

2 on such terms as the Secretary deems appropriate. 

3 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Committee’’ 

6 means the Interagency Committee on Ocean Acidifi7 cation established by section 3(a). 

8 (2) OCEAN ACIDIFICATION.—The term ‘‘ocean 

9 acidification’’ means the decrease in the pH of the 

10 Earth’s oceans caused by the uptake of anthropo11 genic carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. 

12 (1) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘committee’’ means 

13 the interagency committee on ocean acidification es14 tablished or designated by the President under section 

15 3(a)(1). 

16 (2) OCEAN ACIDIFICATION.—The term ‘‘ocean 

17 acidification’’ means the change in ocean chemistry 

18 that is driven by the increase in ocean carbon levels, 

19 and the uptake of chemical inputs from the atmos20 phere, including anthropogenic carbon dioxide. 

21 (3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

22 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra23 tion Ocean Acidification Program established under 

24 section 5. 


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1 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Ad3 ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos4 pheric Administration. 

5 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro7 priated to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis8 tration $30,000,000 to carry out the purposes of this Act 

9 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012, and such sums 

10 as may be necessary for fiscal years after fiscal year 2012. 

11 (b) ALLOCATION.— 

12 (1) Of the amounts made available to carry out 

13 this Act for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall allocate 

14 at least 60 percent to other departments and agen15 cies to carry out the priorities of the plan developed 

16 by the Committee. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro18 priated to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis19 tration to carry out this Act— 

20 (1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

21 (2) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

22 (3) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

23 (4) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; and 

24 (5) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2013. 


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1 (b) ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts appropriated to the 

2 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under 

3 subsection (a) for each fiscal year— 

4 (1) 40 percent shall be available to, and retained 

5 by, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis6 tration for use in carrying out its responsibilities 

7 under this Act; and 

8 (2) 60 percent shall be transferred by the Na9 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 

10 equal amounts to— 

11 (A) the National Science Foundation; 

12 (B) the National Aeronautics and Space 

13 Administration; 

14 (C) the United States Geological Survey; 

15 and 

16 (D) the United States Fish and Wildlife 

17 Service. 

18 (2) (3) Of the amounts made available to carry 

19 out this Act for any fiscal year, the Secretary, and 

20 other departments and agencies to which amounts 

21 are allocated under paragraph (1), transferred under 

22 paragraph (2), shall allocate at least 50 percent for 

23 competitive grants. 


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Calendar No. 749 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1581 

[Report No. 110

–339] 

A BILL 

To establish an interagency committee to develop 

pheric Administration. gram within the National Oceanic and Atmosplan and to establish an ocean acidification proan ocean acidification research and monitoring 

MAY 22, 2008 

Reported with amendments 


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