I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2990 
To amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 
to address sexual harassment involving National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration personnel, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 28, 2023 
Ms. BONAMICI (for herself, Mrs. GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N, Mr. HUFFMAN, and Ms. 
SALAZAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Trans-
portation and Infrastructure, 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 amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 
Year 2017 to address sexual harassment involving Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration per-
sonnel, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration Sexual Harassment and As-
sault Prevention Improvements Act of 2023’’. 
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SEC. 2. REFERENCES. 
Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in 
this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 
of an amendment to, or repeal of, a provision, the ref-
erence shall be considered to be made to a provision of 
subtitle C of title XXXV of Public Law 114–328 (33 
U.S.C. 894 et seq.). 
SEC. 3. POLICY ON THE PREVENTION OF AND RESPONSE 
TO SEXUAL HARASSMENT INVOLVING NA-
TIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMIN-
ISTRATION PERSONNEL. 
Section 3541(f) (33 U.S.C. 894(f)) is amended— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘and equal employment’’ after 
‘‘sexual harassment’’ each place it appears; and 
(2) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 
and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respec-
tively; and 
(B) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 
the following: 
‘‘(C) A synopsis of each case and the dis-
ciplinary action taken, if any, in each case.’’. 
SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT ON SEXUAL ASSAULTS, SEXUAL 
HARASSMENT, AND EQUAL EMPLOYMENT. 
Section 3548 (33 U.S.C. 894e) is amended— 
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(1) by striking the section heading and insert-
ing the following: ‘‘ANNUAL REPORT ON SEXUAL 
ASSAULTS, SEXUAL HARASSMENT, AND EQUAL 
EMPLOYMENT IN THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND 
ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION.’’; 
(2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘the sexual as-
saults involving’’ and inserting ‘‘sexual assault and 
sexual harassment involving and the equal employ-
ment of’’; and 
(3) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, in-
cluding a synopsis of each case and the discipli-
nary action taken, if any, in each case’’ before 
the period at the end; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) A summary of the number of change of 
station, unit transfer, and change of work location 
requests submitted to the Under Secretary under 
section 3544(a), including the number of such re-
quests that were denied. 
‘‘(6) A summary of the number of cases re-
ferred to the Coast Guard under this section. 
‘‘(7) The number of alleged sexual assaults and 
sexual harassment cases involving fisheries observ-
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ers, protected species observers, and endangered spe-
cies observers, including— 
‘‘(A) a synopsis of each case and the sta-
tus of such case; 
‘‘(B) the disposition of any investigation; 
and 
‘‘(C) a description of the fishery manage-
ment region and fishery or the geographic re-
gion and type of permitted operation in which 
the sexual assault or sexual harassment is al-
leged to have occurred, as appropriate.’’. 
SEC. 5. INVESTIGATION AND CRIMINAL REFERRAL RE-
QUIREMENTS. 
(a) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Sections 3548 and 
3549 (33 U.S.C. 894e and 894f) are redesignated as sec-
tions 3551 and 3552, respectively. 
(b) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title XXXV (33 
U.S.C. 894 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 
3547 (33 U.S.C. 894d–2) the following: 
‘‘SEC. 3548. EXCEPTIONS REGARDING ANONYMITY OF SUR-
VIVORS IN CERTAIN CASES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which an em-
ployee, member of the commissioned officer corps of the 
Administration, or covered personnel elects restricted or 
unrestricted reporting under section 3541(b)(3)(B) or 
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3542(b)(5)(B), disclosure of the personally identifying in-
formation of such individual is authorized to the following 
persons or organizations when disclosure would be for the 
following reasons: 
‘‘(1) To Administration staff or law enforce-
ment personnel, if authorized by the survivor in 
writing. 
‘‘(2) To Administration staff or law enforce-
ment personnel to prevent or lessen a serious or im-
minent threat to the health or safety of the survivor 
or another person. 
‘‘(3) To a survivor advocate or healthcare pro-
vider, if required for the provision of survivor serv-
ices. 
‘‘(4) To a State or Federal court, if pursuant 
to a court order or if disclosure is required by Fed-
eral or State statute. 
‘‘(b) NOTICE OF DISCLOSURE AND PRIVACY PROTEC-
TION.—In any case in which information is disclosed 
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(1) make reasonable attempts to provide no-
tice to the individual whose personally identifying in-
formation is disclosed; and 
‘‘(2) take such action as is necessary to protect 
the privacy and safety of the individual. 
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‘‘SEC. 3549. RESTRICTED REPORTING. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 
date of the enactment of the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration Sexual Harassment and Assault 
Prevention Improvements Act of 2023, the Secretary of 
Commerce, acting through the Under Secretary for 
Oceans and Atmosphere, shall develop a mechanism to 
provide a system of restricted reporting. 
‘‘(b) RESTRICTED REPORTING DEFINED.—In this 
section the term ‘restricted reporting’ means a system of 
reporting that allows employees of the Administration, 
members of the commissioned officer corps of the Admin-
istration, and covered personnel who allege that they have 
been sexually harassed or sexually assaulted to confiden-
tially disclose the details of such sexual harassment or sex-
ual assault to specified individuals and receive the services 
outlined in this subtitle— 
‘‘(1) without the dissemination of the personally 
identifying information of such individual except as 
necessary for the provision of such services and as 
provided by section 3548(a); and 
‘‘(2) without automatically triggering an inves-
tigative process. 
‘‘SEC. 3550. MARINER REFERRAL. 
‘‘The Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and 
Atmosphere, acting through the Director of the Office of 
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Marine and Aviation Operations and in consultation with 
the Commandant of the Coast Guard, shall, not later than 
180 days after the date of the enactment of the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sexual Harass-
ment and Assault Prevention Improvements Act of 2023, 
develop and implement a policy to report to the Com-
mandant of the Coast Guard, in accordance with section 
10104 of title 46, United States Code, the names of per-
sonnel of the Administration who— 
‘‘(1) are the subject of a claim of an act or of-
fense detrimental to good discipline and safety at 
sea, such as sexual harassment or sexual assault 
that is substantiated by an investigation under sec-
tion 3546, or any other substantiated claim of an 
act or offense for which suspension or revocation of 
a credential is either mandatory or sought pursuant 
to part 5 of title 46, Code of Federal Regulations; 
and 
‘‘(2) are— 
‘‘(A) employees or contractors of the Ad-
ministration required to hold a valid merchant 
mariner credential as a condition of employ-
ment; or 
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‘‘(B) crew of a vessel that, at the time of 
such act or offense, was operating under a con-
tract with the Administration.’’. 
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
Section 3552 is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 3552. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this subtitle: 
‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘Administra-
tion’ means the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration. 
‘‘(2) COVERED
PERSONNEL.—The term ‘cov-
ered personnel’ means an individual who works with 
or conducts business on behalf of the Administration 
and includes— 
‘‘(A) observers, at-sea monitors, and catch 
monitors required by the National Marine Fish-
eries Service to operate on or in commercial 
fishing vessels, other privately owned vessels, 
barges, or platforms, and shoreside processing 
facilities for— 
‘‘(i) commercial fisheries observation 
required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (16 
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.); 
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‘‘(ii) protected species or endangered 
species observation required by the Marine 
Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 
U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) or the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1351 et 
seq.); or 
‘‘(iii) platform removal observation; 
and 
‘‘(B) voting members and executive and 
administrative staff of regional fishery manage-
ment councils established by section 302 of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852). 
‘‘(3) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘sexual as-
sault’ has the meaning given the term in section 
40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 
1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a)).’’. 
SEC. 7. CONFORMING AND CLERICAL AMENDMENTS. 
(a) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Subtitle C of title 
XXXV (33 U.S.C. 894 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘individuals who work with or 
conduct business on behalf of the Administration’’ 
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘covered per-
sonnel’’; 
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(2) by striking ‘‘National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric’’ each place it appears, except— 
(A) when it appears as ‘‘National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration Sexual Har-
assment and Assault Prevention Improvements 
Act of 2023’’; 
(B) in section 3551, in the section head-
ing; and 
(C) in section 3552(1); 
(3) by striking the term ‘‘victims’’ each place it 
appears and inserting ‘‘survivors’’; 
(4) in section 3541(b)(2)(B), by striking ‘‘vic-
tim’’ and inserting ‘‘target of sexual harassment’’; 
(5) in section 3542— 
(A) in subsection (b)(9)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘Victim’’ and inserting 
‘‘Survivor’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘victim’’ and inserting 
‘‘survivor’’; and 
(B) in subsection (c)— 
(i) in the heading, by striking ‘‘VIC-
TIM’’ and inserting ‘‘SURVIVOR’’; 
(ii) in paragraph (2), in the heading, 
by striking ‘‘VICTIM’’ and inserting ‘‘SUR-
VIVOR’’; and 
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(iii) by striking the term ‘‘victim’’ 
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘sur-
vivor’’; 
(6) in section 3543— 
(A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘VICTIM’’ 
and inserting ‘‘SURVIVOR’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘victim’’ and inserting 
‘‘survivor’’; and 
(7) in section 3544— 
(A) in subsection (a)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘VICTIMS’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘SURVIVORS’’; and 
(ii) in paragraph (1), by striking 
‘‘was’’ each place it appears and inserting 
‘‘is’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘victim’’ each place it ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘survivor’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Each of the tables of 
contents in section 2(b) and at the beginning of title 
XXXV of Public Law 114–328 are amended— 
(1) by striking the item relating to section 3543 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘Sec. 3543. Rights of the survivor of a sexual assault.’’; and 
(2) by striking the items relating to sections 
3548 and 3549 and inserting the following: 
‘‘Sec. 3548. Exceptions regarding anonymity of survivors in certain cases. 
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‘‘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 Adminis-
tration. 
‘‘Sec. 3552. Definitions.’’. 
SEC. 8. PROHIBITED ACTS. 
Section 307(1)(L) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation 
and 
Management 
Act 
(16 
U.S.C. 
1857(1)(L)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘forcibly’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘on a vessel’’. 
SEC. 9. PROHIBITION ON SERVICE IN THE COMMISSIONED 
OFFICER CORPS OF THE NATIONAL OCEANIC 
AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION BY IN-
DIVIDUALS CONVICTED OF CERTAIN SEXUAL 
OFFENSES. 
Section 261(a) of the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 
2002 (33 U.S.C. 3071(a)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraph (26) as para-
graph (27); and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (25) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(26) Section 657, relating to prohibition on 
service by individuals convicted of certain sexual of-
fenses.’’. 
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