I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2865 

To amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 

to address sexual harassment involving National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration personnel, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 28, 2021 

Ms. BONAMICI (for herself, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. HUFFMAN, and Miss GONZA ́LEZCOLO ́N) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

Year 2017 to address sexual harassment involving National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration personnel, and for other purposes. 

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 Sexual Harassment and As6 sault Prevention Improvements Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REFERENCES. 

2 Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in 

3 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

4 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a provision, the ref5 erence shall be considered to be made to a provision of 

6 subtitle C of title XXXV of Public Law 114–328 (33 

7 U.S.C. 894 et seq.). 

8 SEC. 3. POLICY ON THE PREVENTION OF AND RESPONSE 

9 TO SEXUAL HARASSMENT INVOLVING NA10 TIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMIN11 ISTRATION PERSONNEL. 

12 (a) COVERED PERSONNEL.—Section 3541(a) (33 

13 U.S.C. 894(a)) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘Not later’’ and inserting the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later’’; and 

17 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(2) INCLUDED PERSONNEL.—The individuals 

19 who work with or conduct business on behalf of the 

20 Administration referred to in paragraph (1) include 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(A) Observers and at-sea monitors re23 quired by the National Marine Fisheries Service 

24 to be aboard commercial fishing vessels and 

25 other privately owned vessels, barges, or plat26 forms for— 


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1 ‘‘(i) commercial fisheries observation 

2 required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

3 Conservation and Management Act; 

4 ‘‘(ii) protected species or endangered 

5 species observation required by the Marine 

6 Mammal Protection Act of 1972 or the 

7 Endangered Species Act of 1973; or 

8 ‘‘(iii) platform removal observation. 

9 ‘‘(B) Voting members and executive and 

10 administrative staff of regional fishery manage11 ment councils established by section 302 of the 

12 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

13 Management Act.’’. 

14 (b) INCLUSION OF EQUAL EMPLOYMENT IN QUAR15 TERLY REPORTS.—Section 3541(f) (33 U.S.C. 894(f)) is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) by inserting ‘‘and equal employment’’ after 

18 ‘‘sexual harassment’’ each place it appears; and 

19 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

20 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 

21 and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respec22 tively; and 

23 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 

24 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(C) A synopsis of each case and the dis2 ciplinary action taken (if any) in each case.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. COMPREHENSIVE POLICY ON PREVENTION OF AND 

4 RESPONSE TO SEXUAL ASSAULTS. 

5 (a) COVERED PERSONNEL.—Section 3542(a) (33 

6 U.S.C. 894a(a)) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘Not later’’ and inserting the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(2) INCLUDED PERSONNEL.—The individuals 

12 who work with or conduct business on behalf of the 

13 Administration referred to in paragraph (1) include 

14 the individuals described in section 3541(a)(2).’’. 

15 (b) VICTIM ADVOCATES.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3542(c)(2) (33 

17 U.S.C. 894a(c)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(2) VICTIM ADVOCATES.—For purposes of this 

19 subsection, a victim advocate is a full-time perma20 nent employee of the Administration trained in and 

21 responsible solely for matters relating to sexual as22 sault and the comprehensive policy developed under 

23 subsection (a).’’. 


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1 (2) LOCATION.—Section 3542(c)(4) (33 U.S.C. 

2 894a(c)(4)) is amended by inserting ‘‘full time’’ 

3 after ‘‘stationed’’. 

4 SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT ON SEXUAL ASSAULTS, SEXUAL 

5 HARASSMENT, AND EQUAL EMPLOYMENT. 

6 Section 3548 (33 U.S.C. 894e) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking the section heading and insert8 ing the following: ‘‘ANNUAL REPORT ON SEXUAL

9 ASSAULTS, SEXUAL HARASSMENT, AND EQUAL

10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND

11 ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION.’’; 

12 (2) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, sexual har13 assment, and equal employment’’ after ‘‘sexual as14 saults’’; and 

15 (3) in subsection (b)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, in17 cluding a synopsis of each case and the discipli18 nary action taken, if any, in each case’’ before 

19 the period at the end; and 

20 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(5) A summary of the number of change of 

22 station, unit transfer, and change of work location 

23 requests submitted to the Under Secretary under 

24 section 3544(a), including the number of such re25 quests that were denied. 


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1 ‘‘(6) A summary of the number of cases re2 ferred to the Coast Guard under section 5 of Na3 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sex4 ual Harassment and Assault Prevention Improve5 ments Act of 2021. 

6 ‘‘(7) The number of alleged sexual assaults and 

7 sexual harassment cases involving fisheries, pro8 tected species, and endangered species observers, in9 cluding— 

10 ‘‘(A) a synopsis of each case and the sta11 tus; 

12 ‘‘(B) the disposition of any investigation; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(C) a description of the fishery manage15 ment region and fishery or the geographic re16 gion and type of permitted operation in which 

17 the assault or harassment is alleged to have oc18 curred, as appropriate.’’. 

19 SEC. 6. INVESTIGATION AND CRIMINAL REFERRAL RE20 QUIREMENTS. 

21 (a) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Sections 3548 (as 

22 amended by section 5) and 3549 (33 U.S.C. 894e and 

23 894f) are redesignated as sections 3551 and 3552, respec24 tively. 


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1 (b) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title XXXV of Pub2 lic Law 114–328 (33 U.S.C. 894 et seq.) is amended by 

3 inserting after section 3547 the following: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 3548. EXCEPTIONS REGARDING ANONYMITY OF SUR5 VIVORS IN CERTAIN CASES. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which an em7 ployee, member of the commissioned officer corps, or indi8 vidual conducting business on behalf of the administration 

9 elects anonymous reporting under section 3541(b)(3)(B) 

10 or 3542(b)(5)(B), disclosure of such person’s personally 

11 identifying information is authorized to the following per12 sons or organizations when disclosure would be for the fol13 lowing reasons: 

14 ‘‘(1) To National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad15 ministration staff or law enforcement personnel, 

16 when authorized by the survivor in writing. 

17 ‘‘(2) To National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad18 ministration staff or law enforcement personnel to 

19 prevent or lessen a serious or imminent threat to the 

20 health or safety of the survivor or another person. 

21 ‘‘(3) To a victim advocate or healthcare pro22 vider, when required for the provision of victim serv23 ices. 


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1 ‘‘(4) To a State or Federal court, when ordered 

2 by such court or if disclosure is required by Federal 

3 or State statute. 

4 ‘‘(b) NOTICE OF DISCLOSURE AND PRIVACY PROTEC5 TION.—In any case in which information is disclosed 

6 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) make reasonable attempts to provide no8 tice to the employee, member, or individual whose 

9 personally identifying information is disclosed; and 

10 ‘‘(2) take such action as is necessary to protect 

11 the privacy and safety of the employee, member, or 

12 individual. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 3549. RESTRICTED REPORTING. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

15 date of enactment of the National Oceanic and Atmos16 pheric Administration Sexual Harassment and Assault 

17 Prevention Improvements Act of 2021, the Secretary of 

18 Commerce, acting through the Under Secretary for 

19 Oceans and Atmosphere, shall develop a mechanism to 

20 provide a system of restricted reporting. 

21 ‘‘(b) RESTRICTED REPORTING DEFINED.—In this 

22 section the term ‘restricted reporting’ means a system of 

23 reporting that allows employees of the National Oceanic 

24 and Atmospheric Administration, members of the Com25 missioned Officer Corps of the Administration, and indiVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:08 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2865.IH H2865

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1 viduals who work with or conduct business on behalf of 

2 the Administration who are sexually assaulted to confiden3 tially disclose the details of such person’s assault to speci4 fied individuals and receive the services outlined in this 

5 subtitle title— 

6 ‘‘(1) without the dissemination of such 

7 persons’s personally identifying information except 

8 as necessary for the provision of such services; and 

9 ‘‘(2) without automatically triggering an inves10 tigative process. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 3550. MARINER REFERRAL. 

12 ‘‘The Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and 

13 Atmosphere, acting through the Director of the Office of 

14 Marine and Aviation Operations and in consultation with 

15 the Commandant of the Coast Guard, shall, not later than 

16 180 days after the date of the enactment of the National 

17 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sexual Harass18 ment and Assault Prevention Improvements Act of 2021, 

19 develop and implement a policy to report to the Coast 

20 Guard Suspension and Revocation National Center of Ex21 pertise, the names of personnel of the National Oceanic 

22 and Atmospheric Administration who— 

23 ‘‘(1) are the subject of a claim of an act or of24 fense detrimental to good discipline and safety at 

25 sea, such as sexual harassment or sexual assault 


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1 that is substantiated by an investigation under sec2 tion 3546, or any other substantiated claim of an 

3 act or offense for which suspension or revocation of 

4 a credential is either mandatory or sought pursuant 

5 to part 5 of title 46 of the Code of Federal Regula6 tions; and 

7 ‘‘(2) are— 

8 ‘‘(A) employees or contractors of the Ad9 ministration required to hold a valid merchant 

10 mariner credential as a condition of employ11 ment; or 

12 ‘‘(B) crew of a vessel that, at the time of 

13 such act or offence, was operating under a con14 tract with the Administration.’’. 

15 SEC. 7. CONFORMING AND CLERICAL AMENDMENTS. 

16 (a) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Subtitle C of title 

17 XXXV of Public Law 114–328 (33 U.S.C. 894 et seq.) 

18 is amended— 

19 (1) by striking the term ‘‘victims’’ each place it 

20 appears and inserting ‘‘survivors’’; 

21 (2) in section 3541(b)(2)(B), by striking ‘‘vic22 tim’’ and inserting ‘‘target of sexual harassment’’; 

23 (3) in section 3542(c)(5)(A), by striking ‘‘vic24 tim of’’ and inserting ‘‘survivor of’’; 

25 (4) in section 3543— 


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1 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘VICTIM’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘SURVIVOR’’; and 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘victim’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘survivor’’; 

5 (5) in section 3544— 

6 (A) in subsection (a)— 

7 (i) by striking ‘‘VICTIMS’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘SURVIVORS’’; and 

9 (ii) in paragraph (1), by striking 

10 ‘‘was’’ each place such term appears and 

11 inserting ‘‘is’’; and 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘victim’’ each place such 

13 term appears and inserting ‘‘survivor’’. 

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Each of the tables of 

15 contents in section 2(b) and at the beginning of title 

16 XXXV of Public Law 114–328 is amended— 

17 (1) by striking the item relating to section 3543 

18 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 3543. Rights of the survivor of a sexual assault.’’; and 

19 (2) by striking the items relating to sections 

20 3548 and 3549 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 3548. Exceptions regarding anonymity of survivors in certain cases. 

‘‘Sec. 3549. Restricted reporting. 

‘‘Sec. 3550. Mariner referral. 

‘‘Sec. 3551. Annual report on sexual assaults, sexual harassment, and equal 

employment in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

‘‘Sec. 3552. Sexual assault defined.’’. 


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1 SEC. 8. PROHIBITED ACTS. 

2 Section 307(1)(L) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

3 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

4 1857(1)(L)) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘forcibly’’; and 

6 (2) by striking ‘‘on a vessel’’. 

7 SEC. 9. PROHIBITION ON SERVICE IN THE NATIONAL OCE8 ANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION 

9 COMMISSIONED OFFICER CORPS BY INDIVID10 UALS CONVICTED OF CERTAIN SEXUAL OF11 FENSES. 

12 Section 261(a) of the National Oceanic and Atmos13 pheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 

14 2002 (33 U.S.C. 3071(a)) is amended— 

15 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

16 (16) as paragraphs (5) through (17), respectively; 

17 and 

18 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(4) Section 657, relating to prohibition on 

21 service by individuals convicted of certain sexual of22 fenses.’’. 

Æ 


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