IB 

Union Calendar No. 413 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3228 

[Report No. 117–572, Part I] 

To direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of 

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to improve 

science, data, and services that enable sound decision making in response 

to coastal flood risk, including impacts of sea level rise, storm events, 

changing Great Lakes water levels, and land subsidence. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 13, 2021 

Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ (for herself, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Ms. TLAIB, and Mr. COHEN) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, 

and Technology, 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 

NOVEMBER 16, 2022 

Additional sponsor: Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois 

NOVEMBER 16, 2022 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

NOVEMBER 16, 2022 

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology discharged; committed to the 

Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered 

to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 13, 2021] 


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•HR 3228 RH

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the 

Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, to improve science, data, and services 

that enable sound decision making in response to coastal 

flood risk, including impacts of sea level rise, storm 

events, changing Great Lakes water levels, and land subsidence. 


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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. AUTHORIZATION OF NATIONAL OCEANIC AND 

4 ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION ACTIVITIES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall, in con6 sultation with other Federal agencies, develop within the 

7 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration a com8 prehensive suite of coastal flood and coastal land loss, sea 

9 level rise, Great Lakes bathymetry water level, and vertical 

10 land motion data, products, and services, and conduct the 

11 research and development necessary to support those prod12 ucts and services that— 

13 (1) augment existing capacities and combine ex14 isting observations, modeling, predictions, products 

15 and services into a coordinated decision-support 

16 framework; 

17 (2) produce and maintain authoritative and 

18 timely data, maps, and information services, includ19 ing improving existing and new information products 

20 and services targeted to end-user needs, that allow 

21 coastal communities across the United States to plan 

22 for present and future coastal flood and coastal land 

23 loss risk; and 

24 (3) engage with, ensure accessibility by, and pro25 vide technical assistance to, end users, with parVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:08 Nov 17, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3228.RH H3228

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1 ticular attention to historically underserved and at 

2 risk communities and populations, and also including 

3 other Federal agencies, regional ocean partnerships, 

4 states, local governments, Tribal governments, and In5 digenous communities on the appropriate application 

6 of these data and tools and to better assess informa7 tion gaps, needs, and solutions relating to the risk 

8 posed by coastal flooding and coastal land loss, in9 cluding sea level rise. 

10 (b) DATA ARCHIVING.—The Administrator shall pub11 lish and maintain archives of the data and metadata gen12 erated under this Act and shall maximize distribution, ac13 cess, and use of such data and metadata. 

14 (c) USE OF EXISTING ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—The 

15 Administrator may consult with and seek input from exist16 ing agency advisory committees to provide recommenda17 tions on systems, products, and services relating to coastal 

18 flooding and coastal land loss, including sea level rise. 

19 (d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO OTHER FEDERAL

20 AGENCIES.—To assist in carrying out this Act and to fa21 cilitate collaboration, the Administrator may provide tech22 nical assistance to other Federal agencies on a reimbursable 

23 or non-reimbursable basis, including by entering into an 

24 agreement with another Federal agency to detail, for a pe25 riod of not more than 3 years, an employee of the National 


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•HR 3228 RH

1 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to such other 

2 Federal agency. 

3 (e) INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT.—The Adminis4 trator, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may 

5 work with international counterparts to provide and receive 

6 technical assistance, data sharing, and capacity building 

7 on matters pertaining to coastal flooding and coastal land 

8 loss, sea level rise, and inundation, including participation 

9 in relevant international bodies. 

10 (f) REPORT.—The Administrator shall, not later than 

11 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act and every 

12 3 years thereafter, provide the Committee on Natural Re13 sources of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

14 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

15 with a report on actions taken to implement this Act and 

16 containing an evaluation of the need to expand and im17 prove agency observations, modeling, predictions, products, 

18 and services to— 

19 (1) improve the understanding of the processes 

20 that drive coastal flood and coastal land loss risk, in21 cluding sea level rise, storm events, changing Great 

22 Lakes water levels, and land subsidence; and 

23 (2) track and report how observed rates of sea 

24 level rise compare to the sea level rise trends and preVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:08 Nov 17, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3228.RH H3228

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1 dictions published within the quadrennial National 

2 Climate Assessments and related reports. 

3 (g) ADMINISTRATOR.—In this section, the term ‘‘Ad4 ministrator’’ means the Secretary of Commerce, acting 

5 through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At6 mospheric Administration. 

7 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

8 out this Section, there are authorized to be appropriated 

9 $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 

10 SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY COORDINATION. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of Science 

12 and Technology Policy, in consultation with the Adminis13 trator, shall— 

14 (1) facilitate interagency cooperation and align15 ment of Federal Government activities conducted with 

16 respect to coastal flooding and coastal land loss, in17 cluding sea level rise, to improve the ability of the 

18 United States to prepare for, avoid, mitigate, respond 

19 to, and recover from potentially devastating impacts; 

20 and 

21 (2) coordinate the activities of the interagency 

22 subcommittee established under subsection (b). 

23 (b) COASTAL FLOODING, COASTAL LAND LOSS, AND

24 SEA LEVEL RISE SUBCOMMITTEE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the President, act3 ing through the appropriate interagency committee or 

4 task force, shall establish an interagency subcommittee 

5 on coastal flooding, coastal land loss, and sea level 

6 rise (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sub7 committee’’). 

8 (2) PURPOSES.—The Subcommittee shall— 

9 (A) examine the latest science and tech10 nologies for measuring, predicting, and deliv11 ering information related to coastal flood and 

12 coastal land loss risk, including sea level rise; 

13 (B) coordinate executive branch actions and 

14 activities that improve measurements, pre15 dictions, and service delivery of information re16 lated to coastal flood and coastal land loss risk, 

17 including sea level rise; 

18 (C) identify gaps in observations, data, in19 formation, and modeling relating to coastal flood 

20 and coastal land loss risk and ensure that agen21 cy activities relating to coastal flood and coastal 

22 land loss risk are complementary; 

23 (D) consult and coordinate with other inter24 agency climate and ocean policy efforts and bod25 ies as appropriate; 


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1 (E) coordinate the scientific efforts of Fed2 eral agencies and the provision of data and tech3 nical assistance from such agencies on matters 

4 relating to coastal flooding and coastal land loss; 

5 and 

6 (F) define and prioritize needs from other 

7 Federal agencies that could be addressed by en8 hancements to Federal data and services, includ9 ing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis10 tration products and services. 

11 (3) LEADERSHIP.—The Subcommittee shall be 

12 co-chaired by the Director of the Office of Science and 

13 Technology Policy and the Administrator. 

14 (4) MEMBERSHIP.—The Subcommittee shall be 

15 composed of representatives of each of the following 

16 agencies: 

17 (A) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

18 Administration. 

19 (B) The National Aeronautics and Space 

20 Administration. 

21 (C) The United States Geological Survey. 

22 (D) The United States Army Corps of Engi23 neers. 

24 (E) The Federal Emergency Management 

25 Administration. 


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1 (F) The Environmental Protection Agency. 

2 (G) The Department of Defense. 

3 (H) The Department of Energy. 

4 (I) The National Science Foundation. 

5 (J) Such other White House offices and 

6 Federal agencies the Director of the Office of 

7 Science and Technology Policy determines ap8 propriate. 

9 (5) AGREEMENTS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—To carry out activities 

11 under this Act, the heads of agencies represented 

12 on the committee may enter into agreements 

13 with each other, and transfer, receive, and ex14 pend funds made available by a Federal or State 

15 agency or any person. 

16 (B) NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE

17 ADMINISTRATION AND NATIONAL OCEANIC AND

18 ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION.—The Adminis19 trator of the National Aeronautics and Space 

20 Administration and the Administrator shall 

21 enter into an interagency agreement providing 

22 for cooperation and collaboration in the develop23 ment of sea level rise and coastal flood and coast24 al land loss related instruments, technologies, 


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1 data sets, and products in accordance with this 

2 Act. 

3 (C) UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

4 AND NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC AD5 MINISTRATION.—The Director of the United 

6 States Geological Survey and the Administrator 

7 shall enter into an interagency agreement pro8 viding for cooperation and collaboration in the 

9 development, quality control, processing, and de10 livery of coastal hazards and sea level rise re11 lated data, modeling, mapping, and services in 

12 accordance with this Act. 

13 (6) INTERNATIONAL, ACADEMIC COMMUNITY, AND

14 COMMERCIAL SECTOR COLLABORATION.—The heads of 

15 each Federal agency participating in the Sub16 committee established under paragraph (1) shall, to 

17 the extent practicable, engage and cooperate with the 

18 international community, academic community, and 

19 commercial sector on the observational infrastructure, 

20 data, scientific research, and service delivery and 

21 technical assistance necessary to advance the moni22 toring, forecasting, and prediction of, preparation for, 

23 and protection from coastal flooding and coastal land 

24 loss, sea level rise, changing Great Lakes water levels, 

25 and land subsidence. 


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1 (c) ADMINISTRATOR.—In this section, the term ‘‘Ad2 ministrator’’ means the Secretary of Commerce, acting 

3 through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At4 mospheric Administration. 


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Union Calendar No. 413 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3228 

[Report No. 117–572, Part I] 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting 

sidence. changing Great Lakes water levels, and land subincluding impacts of sea level rise, storm events, cision making in response to coastal flood risk, science, data, and services that enable sound deanic and Atmospheric Administration, to improve through the Administrator of the National OceNOVEMBER 16, 2022 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with 

an amendment 

NOVEMBER 16, 2022 

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology disprinted House on the State of the Union and ordered to be charged; committed to the Committee of the Whole 


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