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 Atmos-
pheric 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´LEZ- 
COLO´N) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Natural Resources 
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 2021’’. 
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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. 
(a) COVERED PERSONNEL.—Section 3541(a) (33 
U.S.C. 894(a)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Not later’’ and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) INCLUDED PERSONNEL.—The individuals 
who work with or conduct business on behalf of the 
Administration referred to in paragraph (1) include 
the following: 
‘‘(A) Observers and at-sea monitors re-
quired by the National Marine Fisheries Service 
to be aboard commercial fishing vessels and 
other privately owned vessels, barges, or plat-
forms for— 
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‘‘(i) commercial fisheries observation 
required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act; 
‘‘(ii) protected species or endangered 
species observation required by the Marine 
Mammal Protection Act of 1972 or the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973; or 
‘‘(iii) platform removal observation. 
‘‘(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.’’. 
(b) INCLUSION OF EQUAL EMPLOYMENT IN QUAR-
TERLY REPORTS.—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: 
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‘‘(C) A synopsis of each case and the dis-
ciplinary action taken (if any) in each case.’’. 
SEC. 4. COMPREHENSIVE POLICY ON PREVENTION OF AND 
RESPONSE TO SEXUAL ASSAULTS. 
(a) COVERED PERSONNEL.—Section 3542(a) (33 
U.S.C. 894a(a)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Not later’’ and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) INCLUDED PERSONNEL.—The individuals 
who work with or conduct business on behalf of the 
Administration referred to in paragraph (1) include 
the individuals described in section 3541(a)(2).’’. 
(b) VICTIM ADVOCATES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 3542(c)(2) (33 
U.S.C. 894a(c)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(2) VICTIM ADVOCATES.—For purposes of this 
subsection, a victim advocate is a full-time perma-
nent employee of the Administration trained in and 
responsible solely for matters relating to sexual as-
sault and the comprehensive policy developed under 
subsection (a).’’. 
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(2) LOCATION.—Section 3542(c)(4) (33 U.S.C. 
894a(c)(4)) is amended by inserting ‘‘full time’’ 
after ‘‘stationed’’. 
SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT ON SEXUAL ASSAULTS, SEXUAL 
HARASSMENT, AND EQUAL EMPLOYMENT. 
Section 3548 (33 U.S.C. 894e) is amended— 
(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 inserting ‘‘, sexual har-
assment, and equal employment’’ after ‘‘sexual as-
saults’’; 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. 
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‘‘(6) A summary of the number of cases re-
ferred to the Coast Guard under section 5 of Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sex-
ual Harassment and Assault Prevention Improve-
ments Act of 2021. 
‘‘(7) The number of alleged sexual assaults and 
sexual harassment cases involving fisheries, pro-
tected species, and endangered species observers, in-
cluding— 
‘‘(A) a synopsis of each case and the sta-
tus; 
‘‘(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 assault or harassment is alleged to have oc-
curred, as appropriate.’’. 
SEC. 6. INVESTIGATION AND CRIMINAL REFERRAL RE-
QUIREMENTS. 
(a) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Sections 3548 (as 
amended by section 5) and 3549 (33 U.S.C. 894e and 
894f) are redesignated as sections 3551 and 3552, respec-
tively. 
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(b) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title XXXV of Pub-
lic Law 114–328 (33 U.S.C. 894 et seq.) is amended by 
inserting after section 3547 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, or indi-
vidual conducting business on behalf of the administration 
elects anonymous reporting under section 3541(b)(3)(B) 
or 3542(b)(5)(B), disclosure of such person’s personally 
identifying information is authorized to the following per-
sons or organizations when disclosure would be for the fol-
lowing reasons: 
‘‘(1) To National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration staff or law enforcement personnel, 
when authorized by the survivor in writing. 
‘‘(2) To National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration staff or law enforcement personnel to 
prevent or lessen a serious or imminent threat to the 
health or safety of the survivor or another person. 
‘‘(3) To a victim advocate or healthcare pro-
vider, when required for the provision of victim serv-
ices. 
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‘‘(4) To a State or Federal court, when ordered 
by such court or if disclosure is required by Federal 
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 employee, member, or individual whose 
personally identifying information is disclosed; and 
‘‘(2) take such action as is necessary to protect 
the privacy and safety of the employee, member, or 
individual. 
‘‘SEC. 3549. RESTRICTED REPORTING. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 
date of enactment of the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration Sexual Harassment and Assault 
Prevention Improvements Act of 2021, 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 National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration, members of the Com-
missioned Officer Corps of the Administration, and indi-
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viduals who work with or conduct business on behalf of 
the Administration who are sexually assaulted to confiden-
tially disclose the details of such person’s assault to speci-
fied individuals and receive the services outlined in this 
subtitle title— 
‘‘(1) 
without 
the 
dissemination 
of 
such 
persons’s personally identifying information except 
as necessary for the provision of such services; 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 
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 2021, 
develop and implement a policy to report to the Coast 
Guard Suspension and Revocation National Center of Ex-
pertise, the names of personnel of the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric 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 
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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 of the Code of Federal Regula-
tions; 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 
‘‘(B) crew of a vessel that, at the time of 
such act or offence, was operating under a con-
tract with the Administration.’’. 
SEC. 7. CONFORMING AND CLERICAL AMENDMENTS. 
(a) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Subtitle C of title 
XXXV of Public Law 114–328 (33 U.S.C. 894 et seq.) 
is amended— 
(1) by striking the term ‘‘victims’’ each place it 
appears and inserting ‘‘survivors’’; 
(2) in section 3541(b)(2)(B), by striking ‘‘vic-
tim’’ and inserting ‘‘target of sexual harassment’’; 
(3) in section 3542(c)(5)(A), by striking ‘‘vic-
tim of’’ and inserting ‘‘survivor of’’; 
(4) in section 3543— 
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