I
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4236
To establish a National Undersea Research Program within the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 18, 1994
Mr. ORTIZ (for himself, Mr. WELDON, Mr. FIELDS of Texas, Mr. GENE
GREEN of Texas, Mr. LAUGHLIN, Mr. ANDREWS of Texas, Mr. WASHING-
TON, Mr. ROSE, and Mr. GEJDENSON) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries
A BILL
To establish a National Undersea Research Program within
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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 Undersea
Research Program Act of 1994’’.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act, the term—
(1) ‘‘Administration’’ means the National Oce-
anic and Atmospheric Administration;
(2) ‘‘Center’’ means any National Undersea Re-
search Center in existence on the day before the
date of enactment of this Act or established under
section 5;
(3) ‘‘Center Director’’ means the Director of
any National Undersea Research Center;
(4) ‘‘Committee’’ means the National Undersea
Research Advisory Committee established under sec-
tion 4;
(5) ‘‘Office’’ means the Office of Undersea Re-
search established by section 3(d)(1);
(6) ‘‘priority research area’’ means any of the
priority research areas set forth in section 3(f)(1),
as those areas may be revised by the Under Sec-
retary under section 3(f)(2);
(7) ‘‘Program’’ means the National Undersea
Research Program established under section 3;
(8) ‘‘Program Director’’ means the Director of
the National Undersea Research Program appointed
pursuant to section 3(d)(2);
(9) ‘‘undersea region’’ means each of—
(A) the United States Northern Atlantic
region, comprised of the coastal and oceanic
waters and seabed north of Montauk, New
York, and off Maine, New Hampshire, Massa-
chusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut;
(B) the Mid-Atlantic Bight region, com-
prised of the coastal and oceanic waters and
seabed south of Montauk, New York, and off
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Dela-
ware, Maryland, and Virginia;
(C) the United States Southern Atlantic
region, comprised of the coastal and oceanic
waters and seabed off North Carolina, South
Carolina, Georgia, and the Atlantic coast of
Florida (including the Florida Keys);
(D) the Gulf of Mexico region, comprised
of the coastal and oceanic waters and seabed of
the Gulf of Mexico off Florida, Alabama, Mis-
sissippi, Louisiana, and Texas;
(E) the Great Lakes region, comprised of
the waters and lake beds of the Great Lakes;
(F) the California region, comprised of the
coastal and oceanic waters and seabed off Cali-
fornia;
(G) the United States Northeast Pacific
region, comprised of the coastal and oceanic
waters and seabed off Oregon, Washington, and
Alaska;
(H) the Western Pacific region, comprised
of the coastal and oceanic waters and seabed off
Hawaii, Johnston Island, Guam, American
Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and
other Western Pacific waters and seabed rel-
evant to the purpose of the Program;
(I) the Caribbean region, comprised of the
coastal and oceanic waters and seabed off Puer-
to Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and
other tropical and subtropical waters and sea-
bed relevant to the purposes of the Program;
and
(J) any other undersea region resulting
from a modification under section 3(e)(5);
(10) ‘‘undersea research’’ means scientific re-
search carried out in the oceans or large lakes of the
world, using advanced underwater technology includ-
ing diving, underwater observatories and labora-
tories, research submersibles, remotely operated ve-
hicles, autonomous vehicles, and any other research
techniques necessary to carry out the provisions of
this Act; and
(11) ‘‘Under Secretary’’ means the Under Sec-
retary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF NA-
TIONAL UNDERSEA RESEARCH PROGRAM.
(a) 
PROGRAM
ESTABLISHMENT
AND
MAINTE-
NANCE.—The Under Secretary shall establish and main-
tain in the Administration a program to be known as the
‘‘National Undersea Research Program’’.
(b) PROGRAM PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Pro-
gram shall be to enhance scientific understanding of proc-
esses in the oceans and large lakes of the world, by—
(1) developing, maintaining, and carrying out
undersea research programs;
(2) investigating, developing, and applying tech-
nology for undersea research; and
(3) developing new approaches to undersea
technology transfer and marine science education.
(c) NATIONAL UNDERSEA RESEARCH CENTERS.—
The Program shall be conducted by the National Undersea
Research Centers established pursuant to section 5(a).
(d) OFFICE OF UNDERSEA RESEARCH.—
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in
the Administration the Office of Undersea Research.
(2) PROGRAM DIRECTOR.—The head of the Of-
fice and Program Officer of the National Undersea
Research Program is the Director of the National
Undersea Research Program, who shall be appointed
by the Under Secretary from among individuals with
extensive knowledge and expertise in undersea re-
search and having appropriate administrative experi-
ence.
(e) DUTIES OF PROGRAM DIRECTOR.—Subject to the
supervision of the Under Secretary, the Program Director
shall carry out only the following duties:
(1) Facilitating and supporting the activities of
Centers.
(2) Establishing guidelines for the submission
and review of proposals from the Centers and pro-
posals from individual researchers that are submit-
ted to the Centers for research under the Program.
(3) Making grants and entering into contracts
and cooperative agreements under section 8 to ad-
vance knowledge in the priority research areas
through the Centers.
(4) Supporting the Memorandum of Agreement
Concerning Support of a National Academic Deep
Submergence Facility for Scientific Use.
(5) Modifying undersea regions as necessary
and appropriate.
(f) PRIORITY RESEARCH AREAS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary may
use amounts appropriated for the Program to fund
research, including long-term studies, within the fol-
lowing priority research areas:
(A) 
Oceanic, 
coastal, 
estuarine, 
and
limnological processes.
(B) Pathways and fates of materials in the
oceans and large lakes.
(C) Diversity, distribution, productivity,
and recruitment of organisms, including com-
mercially valuable species, with respect to habi-
tat characteristics in the oceans and large
lakes.
(D) Global change processes.
(E) Ocean lithosphere processes and min-
eral resources.
(F) Undersea research platform and in-
strument technology.
(G) Diving safety, physiology, and tech-
nology.
(H) Studies under section 21(e) of the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C.
1347(e)).
(2) REVISION OF PRIORITY AREAS.—Upon the
recommendation of the Committee, the Under Sec-
retary may, after public comment, revise the priority
research areas under paragraph (1).
SEC. 4. ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEE.—The Under
Secretary shall establish an independent advisory commit-
tee to be known as the ‘‘National Undersea Research Ad-
visory Committee’’.
(b) COMPOSITION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall consist
of 9 members appointed by the Under Secretary
from individuals who are eminent professional sci-
entists or engineers and active in at least one prior-
ity research area, of whom 2 members shall be ap-
pointed from individuals nominated by Center Direc-
tors. The Under Secretary shall complete appoint-
ments under this paragraph by not later than 6
months after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2) BALANCE.—In appointing members of the
Committee, the Under Secretary shall seek to ensure
balanced representation of—
(A) priority research areas,
(B) disciplines related to priority research
areas, and
(C) geographic regions of the United
States.
(3) PROHIBITION ON APPOINTMENTS.—Except
as provided in paragraph (4), no member of the
Committee may be an employee of a Center or of the
Administration.
(4) EX
OFFICIO
MEMBERS
OF
THE
COMMIT-
TEE.—The Chief Scientist of the Administration
shall be a nonvoting ex officio member of the Com-
mittee.
(c) DUTIES.—The Committee shall advise the Under
Secretary and the Program Director concerning—
(1) the quality of research performed with
grants awarded under this Act, including the appli-
cability of such research to the priority research
areas;
(2) the designation, establishment, and oper-
ation of Centers;
(3) the modification of undersea regions;
(4) the need to revise the priority research
areas; and
(5) any other matters the Under Secretary re-
fers to the Committee for review and advice or that
the Committee considers appropriate.
(d) TERM OF MEMBERSHIP.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),
the term of membership on the Committee shall be
3 years.
(2) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—Of the members
first appointed to the Committee—
(A) 3 members shall serve a term of 1
year;
(B) 3 members shall serve a term of 2
years; and
(C) 3 members shall serve a term of 3
years;
as specified by the Under Secretary at the time of
appointment.
(3) TERM
LIMITATION.—No individual may
serve consecutive terms as a member of the Commit-
tee.
(e) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Committee,
while performing official duties as members of the Com-
mittee, are entitled to receive compensation for travel and
transportation expenses under section 5703 of title 5,
United States Code.
(f) CHAIRPERSON.—The members of the Committee
shall select annually from among the voting members of
the Committee an individual who shall serve as Chair-
person of the Committee. No member of the Committee
may serve more than 2 annual terms as Chairperson.
(g) CONDUCT OF BUSINESS.—The Committee shall
conduct its business according to the majority vote of
those members present at a meeting of the Committee.
(h) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The following guide-
lines apply to the conduct of business by the Committee:
(1) Each meeting shall be open to the public,
and interested persons shall be permitted an oppor-
tunity to present oral or written statements on items
on the agenda.
(2) Timely notice of each meeting, including the
time, place, and agenda, shall be published in the
Federal Register and copies sent to all Center Direc-
tors.
(i) EXEMPTION.—The Federal Advisory Committee
Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Committee.
SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL UNDERSEA RE-
SEARCH CENTERS.
(a) ASSIGNMENT OF EXISTING REGIONS AND ESTAB-
LISHMENT OF NEW CENTERS.—
(1) ASSIGNMENT
OF
REGIONS
TO
EXISTING
CENTERS.—There are assigned to the Centers in ex-
istence on the day before the date of the enactment
of this Act undersea regions, as follows:
(A) The Western Pacific region is assigned
to the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory.
(B) The United States Northeast Pacific
and Californian regions are assigned to the
West Coast National Undersea Research Center
at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.
(C) The United States Northern Atlantic
and Great Lakes regions are assigned to the
National Undersea Research Center at the Uni-
versity of Connecticut at Avery Point.
(D) The Mid-Atlantic Bight region is as-
signed to the New York Bight National Under-
sea Research Center.
(E) The United States Southern Atlantic
region is assigned to the National Undersea Re-
search Center at the University of North Caro-
lina at Wilmington.
(F) The Caribbean region is assigned to
the National Undersea Research Center at the
Caribbean Marine Research Center.
(G) The Gulf of Mexico region is assigned
to a new center to be established pursuant to
subsection (f).
(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW CENTERS.—The
Under Secretary may establish a new Center to im-
plement the Program for any undersea region at an