I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2743 
To reauthorize the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 11, 2015 
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To reauthorize the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act 
of 1998, 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 ‘‘Hydrographic Services 
Improvement Amendments Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF HYDROGRAPHIC SERVICES 
IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1998. 
(a) REAUTHORIZATIONS.—Section 306 of the Hydro-
graphic Services Improvement Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 
892d) is amended— 
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(1) by inserting before the text the following: 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’; 
(2) in subsection (a) (as designated by the 
amendment made by paragraph (1))— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sur-
veys—’’ and all that follows through the end of 
the 
paragraph 
and 
inserting 
‘‘surveys, 
$70,814,000 for each of fiscal years 2015 
through 2019.’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘ves-
sels—’’ and all that follows through the end of 
the 
paragraph 
and 
inserting 
‘‘vessels, 
$25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2015 
through 2019.’’; 
(C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘Admin-
istration—’’ and all that follows through the 
end of the paragraph and inserting ‘‘Adminis-
tration, $29,932,000 for each of fiscal years 
2015 through 2019.’’; 
(D) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘title— 
’’ and all that follows through the end of the 
paragraph and inserting ‘‘title, $26,800,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2015 through 2019.’’; and 
(E) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘title— 
’’ and all that follows through the end of the 
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paragraph and inserting ‘‘title, $30,564,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2015 through 2019.’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(b) ARCTIC PROGRAMS.—Of the amount authorized 
by this section for each fiscal year— 
‘‘(1) $5,000,000 is authorized for use to ac-
quire hydrographic data, provide hydrographic serv-
ices, conduct coastal change analyses necessary to 
ensure safe navigation, and improve the manage-
ment of coastal change in the Arctic; and 
‘‘(2) $2,000,000 is authorized for use to ac-
quire hydrographic data and provide hydrographic 
services in the Arctic necessary to delineate the 
United States extended Continental Shelf.’’. 
(b) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES FOR 
SURVEYS.—Section 306 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 892d) is 
further amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) LIMITATION
ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES 
FOR SURVEYS.—Of amounts authorized by this section for 
each fiscal year for hydrographic surveys, not more than 
5 percent is authorized for administrative costs.’’. 
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SEC. 3. GAO STUDY. 
The Comptroller General of the United States shall, 
by not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act— 
(1) conduct a study comparing the unit costs of 
hydrographic surveys conducted by the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the 
unit costs of procuring performance of such surveys; 
and 
(2) report to the Congress on the findings of 
such study. 
Æ 
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