I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 959

To improve the conservation and management of coastal and ocean resources 

by authorizing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration oceanographic programs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 27, 2003

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

A BILL

To improve the conservation and management of coastal 

and ocean resources by authorizing National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration oceanographic programs.

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 ‘‘National Oceanic and 

5 Atmospheric Administration Oceanography Amendments 

6 Act of 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. COASTAL OCEAN PROGRAM. 

2 Section 201 of Public Law 102–567 (106 Stat. 4280) 

3 is amended by—

4 (1) striking the matter preceding ‘‘living marine 

5 resources’’ and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 201. COASTAL OCEAN PROGRAM. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in the National 

8 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (in this title re9 ferred to as the ‘Administration’) a coastal ocean program. 

10 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The coastal ocean pro11 gram shall augment and integrate existing research capa12 bilities of the Administration with other Federal and non13 Federal research capabilities. Research shall be conducted 

14 under this program to improve predictions of trends in 

15 Great Lakes, estuarine, and coastal ocean resources, to 

16 improve the conservation and management of’’; and 

17 (2) striking subsections (d), (e), and (f). 

18 SEC. 3. LABORATORIES. 

19 Section 202 of Public Law 102–567 (106 Stat. 4281) 

20 is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 202. LABORATORIES. 

22 ‘‘There shall be in the Administration a Great Lakes 

23 Environmental Research Laboratory, a Pacific Marine 

24 Environmental Laboratory, and an Atlantic Oceano25 graphic and Meteorological Laboratory. These laboratories 

26 shall support the Administration in carrying out its pri-
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1 mary missions specified in section 3(b). The Great Lakes 

2 Environmental Laboratory may support, in partnership 

3 with the University of Michigan, a Cooperative Institute 

4 for Limnology and Ecosystems Research.’’. 

5 SEC. 4. NATIONAL UNDERSEA RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

6 Section 203 of Public Law 102–567 (106 Stat. 4281) 

7 is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 203. NATIONAL UNDERSEA RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in the Adminis10 tration a national undersea research program. 

11 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program is to 

12 increase scientific knowledge by—

13 ‘‘(1) conducting undersea research related to 

14 the Administration’s coastal and ocean resource 

15 management missions; and 

16 ‘‘(2) maintaining operational assets and exper17 tise, and developing technology necessary to support 

18 undersea research. 

19 ‘‘(c) DIRECTOR.—The Secretary shall appoint as the 

20 Director of the National Undersea Research Program a 

21 qualified individual who has appropriate administrative ex22 perience and knowledge or expertise in fields related to 

23 undersea research. 
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1 ‘‘(d) PROGRAM.—The program shall be conducted 

2 through a national headquarters and a network of regional 

3 undersea research centers. 

4 ‘‘(e) COMPETITIVENESS.—All research, education, 

5 and technology activities under the program shall be man6 aged using an open and competitive process to evaluate 

7 scientific merit, relevance to the Administration’s coastal 

8 and ocean resource management missions, and technical 

9 feasibility.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. OCEANOGRAPHY PROGRAMS. 

11 Title II of Public Law 102–567 (106 Stat. 4281) is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 206. OCEAN EXPLORATION PROGRAM. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in the Adminis15 tration an ocean exploration program. 

16 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program are 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) To explore the physical, biological, chem19 ical, geological, archaeological, temporal, and other 

20 related characteristics of the ocean. 

21 ‘‘(2) To maximize efficiency by integrating the 

22 multiple scientific disciplines and by employing the 

23 diverse resources of the ocean science community. 

24 ‘‘(3) To create missions and scientific activities 

25 of discovery and exploration for the purpose of dis-
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1 covering and documenting knowledge regarding the 

2 ocean. 

3 ‘‘(4) In cooperation with the Coastal Ocean 

4 Program and the National Undersea Research Pro5 gram, to promote the development and application of 

6 new technologies for the exploration of the ocean. 

7 ‘‘(5) To achieve a heightened scientific literacy 

8 and public appreciation of the oceans. 

9 ‘‘(6) To facilitate ocean exploration data and 

10 information availability in a timely and consistent 

11 manner. 

12 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITIES.—In carrying out the program 

13 under this section the Secretary may perform the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(1) Conduct interdisciplinary exploration voy16 ages or other activities in conjunction with other 

17 Federal agencies or academic or educational institu18 tions, to survey little known areas of the marine en19 vironment, and inventory, monitor, and assess living 

20 and nonliving marine resources.

21 ‘‘(2) In cooperation with the Coastal Ocean 

22 Program and the National Undersea Research Pro23 gram, enhance the domestic technical capability of 

24 the marine science community by promoting the de25 velopment of improved oceanographic research, com-
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1 munication, navigation, and data management and 

2 dissemination platforms, equipment, instruments, 

3 and techniques. 

4 ‘‘(3) In conjunction with the National Sea 

5 Grant College Program and the National Science 

6 Foundation Centers for Ocean Science Education 

7 Excellence, conduct public education and outreach 

8 activities that improve the public understanding of 

9 ocean science, resources, and processes. 

10 ‘‘(4) Accept donations of property, data, and 

11 equipment to be applied for the purpose of exploring 

12 the oceans or increasing knowledge of the oceans. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 207. COASTAL OBSERVATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM. 

14 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘coastal 

15 observation technology system’ means a system of marine 

16 sensors and other devices, personnel, and products, that—

17 ‘‘(1) collects remotely sensed and in situ obser18 vations in the coastal waters of a given region or 

19 subregion in a routine manner, including continuous 

20 observations; 

21 ‘‘(2) transmits the data to users including, as 

22 appropriate, in real time or near real time; 

23 ‘‘(3) produces forecasts and other appropriate 

24 products representing ocean conditions for users; 

25 and 
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1 ‘‘(4) manages the collected data to best prac2 tices for archiving and future use. 

3 ‘‘(b) DESIGNATION OF UNITS.—Before designating a 

4 regional coastal observation technology system as a unit 

5 of the national coastal observation technology system 

6 under subsection (c), the Secretary shall—

7 ‘‘(1) establish, in consultation with the National 

8 Ocean Research Leadership Council, standards and 

9 protocols for the collection and distribution of data 

10 by regional coastal observation technology systems; 

11 ‘‘(2) establish management, quality control, and 

12 assessment systems for data collected and distrib13 uted by regional coastal observation technology sys14 tems; and 

15 ‘‘(3) determine that the regional coastal obser16 vation technology system has adequate technical ex17 pertise to collect and distribute data in accordance 

18 with standards and protocols established under para19 graph (1). 

20 ‘‘(c) DATA COLLECTION.—The Secretary may des21 ignate units of and coordinate a coastal observation tech22 nology system to collect data necessary to carry out the 

23 primary missions of the Administration. 

24 ‘‘(d) DATA USE.—The Secretary shall, in conjunction 

25 with Federal, State, and local agencies and academic insti-
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1 tutions, use data collected under subsection (b) to develop 

2 forecast models to support coastal and fishery manage3 ment, safe and efficient marine navigation, weather and 

4 climate prediction, and other appropriate activities. 

5 ‘‘(e) ASSISTANCE.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter 

7 into contracts or cooperative agreements or make 

8 grants to units designated under subsection (c) to 

9 carry out coastal observation technology activities. 

10 ‘‘(2) COST SHARE.—The Federal share of any 

11 assistance provided under paragraph (1) may not ex12 ceed 50 percent of the costs of those activities. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 208. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 ‘‘For operations, research, and facilities of the Ad15 ministration relating to ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes 

16 research, there are authorized to be appropriated to the 

17 Secretary the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) For ARGO floats, $9,000,000 for each of 

19 fiscal years 2004 through 2008. 

20 ‘‘(2) For ocean and coastal research activities 

21 of laboratories and joint institutes, other than activi22 ties related to the Great Lakes Environmental Re23 search Laboratory, $12,000,000 for each of fiscal 

24 years 2004 through 2008, of which up to 
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1 $3,000,000 may be expended each fiscal year for 

2 VENTS. 

3 ‘‘(3) For activities related to the Great Lakes 

4 Environmental Research Laboratory and associated 

5 cooperative institutes, $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 

6 years 2004 through 2008. 

7 ‘‘(4) For activities related to the coastal ocean 

8 program, $35,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 

9 through 2008. 

10 ‘‘(5) For activities related to the national un11 dersea research program—

12 ‘‘(A) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; 

13 ‘‘(B) $21,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

14 ‘‘(C) $22,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

15 ‘‘(D) $23,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(E) $24,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

18 ‘‘(6) For activities related to the ocean explo19 ration program, $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

20 2004 through 2008. 

21 ‘‘(7) For tsunami hazard mitigation activities, 

22 $3,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 

23 2008. 

24 ‘‘(8) For Arctic research partnership programs, 

25 $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 
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1 2008, of which up to $2,000,000 may used for the 

2 Study of Environmental Arctic Change. 

3 ‘‘(9) For activities related to coastal environ4 mental health and biomolecular research, 

5 $11,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 

6 2008. 

7 ‘‘(10) For coastal observing technologies—

8 ‘‘(A) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; 

9 ‘‘(B) $17,500,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

10 ‘‘(C) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

11 ‘‘(D) $22,500,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(E) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 209. SHORT TITLE. 

15 ‘‘This title may be cited as the ‘National Oceanic and 

16 Atmospheric Administration Oceanography Act of 

17 2003’.’’. 

18 SEC. 6. OCEAN EXPLORATION REPORT. 

19 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

20 of this section, the National Ocean Research Leadership 

21 Council (established by section 7902 of title 10, United 

22 States Code) shall provide to the Committee on Resources, 

23 the Committee on Science, and the Committee on Armed 

24 Services of the House of Representatives, and to the Com25 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 
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1 Committee on Armed Services of the Senate, a plan for 

2 implementing the report of the President’s Panel on Ocean 

3 Exploration transmitted on October 10, 2000, including 

4 a recommendation for a dedicated multiyear, multidisci5 plinary voyage of discovery.

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