Hydrographic Services Improvement Amendments Act of 2015

Bill: 114-hr-2743
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Young, Don [R-AK-At Large]
Introduced: 2015-06-11
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Arctic Ocean

Arctic and polar regions

Congressional oversight

Department of Commerce

Executive agency funding and structure

Government studies and investigations

Hydrology and hydrography

Marine and coastal resources, fisheries

Navigation, waterways, harbors
Latest action: action_date: 2015-07-01
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans.

Summaries:
action_date: 2015-06-11
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Hydrographic Services Improvement Amendments Act of 2015</b></p> <p> This bill reauthorizes the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998 through FY2019. </p> <p> The Governmental Accountability Office must compare the unit costs of hydrographic surveys conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to the unit costs of procuring the surveys.</p>

tv_txt: I 114th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2743 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.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Hydrographic Services Improvement Amendments Act of 2015 . 2. Reauthorization of Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998 (a) Reauthorizations Section 306 of the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998 ( 33 U.S.C. 892d ) is amended— (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 surveys— 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 vessels— 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 Administration— and all that follows through the end of the paragraph and inserting Administration, $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 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 subsection: (b) Arctic programs Of the amount authorized by this section for each fiscal year— (1) $5,000,000 is authorized for use to acquire hydrographic data, provide hydrographic services, conduct coastal change analyses necessary to ensure safe navigation, and improve the management of coastal change in the Arctic; and (2) $2,000,000 is authorized for use to acquire 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. . 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.