BLUE GLOBE Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3548 To improve data collection and monitoring of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 27, 2019 Ms. BONAMICI (for herself and Mr. YOUNG) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addi- tion to the Committees on Science, Space, and Technology, and Edu- cation and Labor, 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 improve data collection and monitoring of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bolstering Long-Term 4 Understanding and Exploration of the Great Lakes, 5 Oceans, Bays, and Estuaries Act’’ or the ‘‘BLUE GLOBE 6 Act’’. 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3548.IH H3548 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3548 IH SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 1 The purpose of this Act is to promote and support— 2 (1) the monitoring, understanding, and explo- 3 ration of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, 4 and coasts; and 5 (2) the collection, analysis, synthesis, and shar- 6 ing of data related to the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, 7 estuaries, and coasts to facilitate science and oper- 8 ational decision making. 9 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 10 Congress makes the following findings: 11 (1) The Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, 12 and coasts face significant challenges from, among 13 other things, marine debris, illegal, unreported, and 14 unregulated fishing, and changing conditions. 15 (2) Most of the ocean floor is mapped only at 16 a very coarse resolution of 5 kilometers per pixel, 17 whereas Mars, the Moon, and Venus are mapped at 18 a much finer resolution of 100 meters per pixel or 19 better. 20 (3) Many industries, including the fishing and 21 aquaculture, energy, shipping, insurance, telecommu- 22 nications, weather and climate forecasting, and tour- 23 ism industries, among others, use ocean data, wheth- 24 er or not the industries collect that data themselves. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3548.IH H3548 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3548 IH (4) In 2017, the National Oceanic and Atmos- 1 pheric Administration estimated that United States 2 businesses that collect ocean data or provide en- 3 hanced ocean data products have overall revenues of 4 approximately $58,000,000,000. 5 (5) Although a large amount of data related to 6 the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts 7 is collected internationally, nationally, and region- 8 ally, by international bodies, national agencies, insti- 9 tutes, private companies, and other entities, that 10 data collection is often uncoordinated, and the re- 11 sulting data are not always shared in a timely and 12 useful manner between those entities. 13 (6) Improved collection, analysis, synthesis, and 14 sharing of such data will improve our understanding 15 of, and responses to, the challenges faced by the 16 Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts. 17 (7) Innovation, research, and a skilled work- 18 force are required to improve our understanding of 19 the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts 20 and the challenges they face. 21 (8) According to the National Oceanic and At- 22 mospheric Administration, in 2015, the ocean and 23 Great Lakes economy in the United States employed 24 approximately 3,200,000 people and accounted for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3548.IH H3548 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3548 IH approximately $320,000,000,000 of the gross do- 1 mestic product of the United States. 2 (9) The value and impact of the industries re- 3 lated to the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, 4 and coasts on the economy of the United States are 5 evidently immense; however, what is known as the 6 ‘‘Blue Economy’’ is neither consistently defined nor 7 regularly quantified. 8 (10) The Federal Government has a responsi- 9 bility to support the monitoring, understanding, and 10 exploration of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estu- 11 aries, and coasts in pursuit of the national security 12 and economic and environmental well-being of the 13 United States, and as a world leader. 14 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 15 It is the sense of Congress that— 16 (1) agencies should optimize data collection, 17 management, and dissemination, to the extent prac- 18 ticable, to maximize their impact for research, com- 19 mercial, regulatory, and educational benefits and to 20 foster innovation, scientific discoveries, the develop- 21 ment of commercial products, and the development 22 of sound policy with respect to the Great Lakes, 23 oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3548.IH H3548 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3548 IH (2) the United States is a leading member of 1 the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of 2 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cul- 3 tural Organization, a founding member of the Atlan- 4 tic Ocean Research Alliance, and a key partner in 5 developing the United Nations Decade of Ocean 6 Science for Sustainable Development; 7 (3) the Integrated Ocean Observing System and 8 the Global Ocean Observing System are key assets 9 and networks that bolster our understanding of the 10 marine environment; 11 (4) the National Oceanographic Partnership 12 Program is a meaningful venue for collaboration and 13 coordination among Federal agencies, scientists, and 14 ocean users; 15 (5) the National Centers for Environmental In- 16 formation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 17 Administration should be looked to by other Federal 18 agencies as a primary, centralized repository for 19 Federal ocean data; 20 (6) the Marine Cadastre, a joint effort of the 21 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 22 and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, pro- 23 vides access to data and information for specific 24 issues and activities in ocean resources management 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3548.IH H3548 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3548 IH to meet the needs of offshore energy and planning 1 efforts; 2 (7) the regional associations of the Integrated 3 Ocean Observing System, certified by the National 4 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the 5 quality and reliability of their data, are important 6 sources of observation information for the Great 7 Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts; and 8 (8) the Regional Ocean Partnerships and re- 9 gional data portals, which provide publicly available 10 tools such as maps, data, and other information to 11 inform decisions and enhance marine development, 12 should be supported by and viewed as collaborators 13 with Federal agencies and ocean users. 14 SEC. 5. DEFINITION. 15 In this Act, the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the 16 Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere 17 in the Under Secretary’s capacity as Administrator of the 18 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 19 SEC. 6. INCREASED COORDINATION AMONG AGENCIES 20 WITH RESPECT TO DATA AND MONITORING. 21 (a) INTERAGENCY OCEAN OBSERVATION COM- 22 MITTEE.—In addition to its responsibilities as of the date 23 of the enactment of this Act, and in consultation with the 24 associated advisory committee authorized by section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3548.IH H3548 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 3548 IH 12304(d) of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observa- 1 tion System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603(d)), the Inter- 2 agency Ocean Observation Committee shall— 3 (1) work with international coordinating bodies, 4 as necessary, to ensure robust, direct measurements 5 of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and 6 coasts, including oceanographic data; 7 (2) coordinate supercomputing capacity, data 8 storage capacity, and public access across agencies; 9 and 10 (3) support cross-agency and multi-platform 11 synergy, by coordinating overlapping data collection 12 by satellites, buoys, submarines, gliders, vessels, and 13 other data collection vehicles and technologies. 14 (b) FEDERAL GEOGRAPHIC DATA COMMITTEE.—In 15 addition to its responsibilities as of the date of the enact- 16 ment of this Act, and in consultation with the National 17 Geospatial Advisory Committee, the Federal Geographic 18 Data Committee shall— 19 (1) work with international coordinating bodies, 20 as necessary, to ensure robust, continuous measure- 21 ments of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, 22 and coasts, including satellite and geospatial data; 23 (2) coordinate supercomputing capacity, data 24 storage capacity, and public access across agencies; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3548.IH H3548 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 3548 IH (3) develop and deploy cross-agency, real-time, 1 standardized, centralized, archived, open-source, and 2 publicly available databases (using declassified infor- 3 mation to the extent possible) for all federally fund- 4 ed observational and model data, using the example 5 of the World Ocean Database; and 6 (4) support new and old data and metadata cer- 7 tification, quality assurance, quality control, integra- 8 tion, and archiving. 9 (c) INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON OCEAN AND 10 COASTAL MAPPING.—In addition to its responsibilities as 11 of the date of the enactment of this Act, and in consulta- 12 tion with its associated advisory panel authorized by sec- 13 tion 12203(g) of the Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integra- 14 tion Act (33 U.S.C. 3502(g)), the Interagency Committee 15 on Ocean and Coastal Mapping shall— 16 (1) work with international coordinating bodies, 17 as necessary, to ensure robust, continuous satellite 18 and direct measurements of the Great Lakes, 19 oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts, including bathy- 20 metric data; 21 (2) coordinate supercomputing capacity, data 22 storage capacity, and public access across agencies; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3548.IH H3548 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 3548 IH (3) make recommendations on how to make 1 data, metadata, and model output accessible to a 2 broader public audience, including through geo- 3 graphic information system layers, graphics, and 4 other visuals. 5 SEC. 7. INTERAGENCY OCEAN EXPLORATION COMMITTEE. 6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish 7 a committee to promote the exploration and improved un- 8 derstanding of the oceans, to be known as the ‘‘Inter- 9 agency Ocean Exploration Committee’’. 10 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Interagency Ocean Explo- 11 ration Committee shall be composed of not fewer than one 12 senior-level representative from each of the following Fed- 13 eral agencies: 14 (1) The Department of the Navy. 15 (2) The Department of the Interior. 16 (3) The Department of Commerce. 17 (4) The department in which the Coast Guard 18 is operating. 19 (5) The Office of Management and Budget. 20 (6) The Council on Environmental Quality. 21 (7) The Office of Science and Technology Pol- 22 icy. 23 (8) The Department of State. 24 (9) The National Science Foundation. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3548.IH H3548 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 3548 IH (10) The National Aeronautics and Space Ad- 1 ministration. 2 (11) The Subcommittee on Ocean Science and 3 Technology of the National Science and Technology 4 Council. 5 (12) The elements of the intelligence commu- 6 nity (as defined in section 3 of the National Security 7 Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003)), as the President 8 considers appropriate. 9 (c) DUTIES.—The Interagency Ocean Exploration 10 Committee shall— 11 (1) cultivate public-private partnerships, includ- 12 ing with Federal agencies, academic institutions, 13 nongovernmental organizations, technology compa- 14 nies, and international partners, to develop and de- 15 ploy advanced technologies to explore and charac- 16 terize the oceans; and 17 (2) coordinate the application of existing inno- 18 vative technologies and development of emerging 19 technologies to promote the understanding, mapping, 20 and collection of data describing the oceans and the 21 changes the oceans are experiencing and are antici- 22 pated to experience in the future, such as changes 23 in temperature, salinity, oxygenation, and acidity, 24 and the biological consequences of those changes. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3548.IH H3548 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 3548 IH SEC. 8. COMMITTEE ON OCEAN POLICY. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 2 Executive Office of the President a Committee on Ocean 3 Policy, which— 4 (1) succeeds the Ocean Policy Committee estab- 5 lished on June 19, 2018, by Executive Order 13840 6 (83 Fed. Reg. 29431; relating to ocean policy); 7 (2) shall continue the activities of that com- 8 mittee as it was in existence on the day before the 9 date of the enactment of this Act; and 10 (3) shall carry out the functions described in 11 subsection (b). 12 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The Committee on Ocean Policy 13 shall— 14 (1) facilitate coordination and integration of 15 Federal activities in ocean and coastal waters to in- 16 form ocean policy and identify priority ocean re- 17 search, technology, and data needs; and 18 (2) engage and collaborate with stakeholders, 19 including Regional Ocean Partnerships, to address 20 ocean-related matters that may require interagency 21 or intergovernmental solutions. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3548.IH H3548 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 3548 IH SEC. 9. TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION TASK FORCE TO COM- 1 BAT ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, AND UNREGU- 2 LATED FISHING. 3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish 4 a technology innovation task force (in this Act referred 5 to as the ‘‘IUU Tech Force’’) to combat IUU fishing. 6 (b) LEADERSHIP.—The IUU Tech Force shall be led 7 by the Director of the National Mari [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]