National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention Improvements Act of 2020

IB Union Calendar No. 464 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6636 [Report No. 116–566] 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, 2020 Ms. BONAMICI (for herself, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. HUFFMAN, Miss GONZA´LEZ- COLO´N of Puerto Rico, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. CASE, Mrs. DINGELL, and Mr. COX of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources NOVEMBER 2, 2020 Reported with an amendment; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 28, 2020] VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Nov 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H6636.RH H6636 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6636 RH 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. VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Nov 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H6636.RH H6636 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6636 RH 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 ‘‘National Oceanic and 4 Atmospheric Administration Sexual Harassment and As- 5 sault Prevention Improvements Act of 2020’’. 6 SEC. 2. REFERENCES. 7 Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in 8 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of 9 an amendment to, or repeal of, a provision, the reference 10 shall be considered to be made to a provision of subtitle 11 C of title XXXV of Public Law 114–328 (130 Stat. 2800 12 et seq.; 33 U.S.C. 894 et seq.). 13 SEC. 3. POLICY ON THE PREVENTION OF AND RESPONSE TO 14 SEXUAL HARASSMENT INVOLVING NATIONAL 15 OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRA- 16 TION PERSONNEL. 17 (a) COVERED PERSONNEL.—Section 3541(a) (130 18 Stat. 2800) is amended— 19 (1) by striking ‘‘Not later’’ and inserting the fol- 20 lowing: 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later’’; and 22 (2) by adding at the end the following: 23 ‘‘(2) INCLUDED PERSONNEL.—The individuals 24 who work with or conduct business on behalf of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Nov 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6636.RH H6636 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6636 RH Administration referred to in paragraph (1) include 1 the following: 2 ‘‘(A) Observers and at-sea monitors required 3 by the National Marine Fisheries Service to be 4 aboard commercial fishing vessels and other pri- 5 vately owned vessels, barges, or platforms for— 6 ‘‘(i) commercial fisheries observation 7 required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 8 Conservation and Management Act (16 9 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.); 10 ‘‘(ii) protected species or endangered 11 species observation required by the Marine 12 Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 13 1361 et seq.) or the Endangered Species Act 14 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); or 15 ‘‘(iii) platform removal observation. 16 ‘‘(B) Voting members and executive and ad- 17 ministrative staff of regional fishery manage- 18 ment councils established by section 302 of the 19 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 20 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852).’’. 21 (b) MECHANISM FOR ANONYMOUS REPORTING OF INCI- 22 DENTS.—Section 3541(b)(3)(B) (130 Stat. 2800) is amend- 23 ed to read as follows: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Nov 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6636.RH H6636 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6636 RH ‘‘(B) incidents of sexual harassment can be 1 anonymously reported to the Office of Inclusion 2 and Civil Rights of the National Oceanic and 3 Atmospheric Administration or to the program 4 established under section 3541(b)(1); and’’. 5 (c) INCLUSION OF EQUAL EMPLOYMENT IN QUAR- 6 TERLY REPORTS.—Section 3541(f) (130 Stat. 2801) is 7 amended— 8 (1) by inserting ‘‘and equal employment’’ after 9 ‘‘sexual harassment’’ each place it appears; and 10 (2) in paragraph (2)— 11 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 12 and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respec- 13 tively; and 14 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the 15 following: 16 ‘‘(C) A synopsis of each case and the dis- 17 ciplinary action taken (if any) in each case.’’. 18 SEC. 4. COMPREHENSIVE POLICY ON PREVENTION OF AND 19 RESPONSE TO SEXUAL ASSAULTS. 20 (a) COVERED PERSONNEL.—Section 3542(a) (130 21 Stat. 2801) is amended— 22 (1) by striking ‘‘Not later’’ and inserting the fol- 23 lowing: 24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Nov 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6636.RH H6636 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6636 RH (2) by adding at the end the following: 1 ‘‘(2) INCLUDED PERSONNEL.—The individuals 2 who work with or conduct business on behalf of the 3 Administration referred to in paragraph (1) include 4 the individuals described in section 3541(a)(2).’’. 5 (b) MECHANISM FOR ANONYMOUS REPORTING OF INCI- 6 DENTS.—Section 3542(b)(5)(B) (130 Stat. 2801) is amend- 7 ed to read as follows: 8 ‘‘(B) incidents of sexual assault can be 9 anonymously reported to the program established 10 under section 3541(b)(1).’’. 11 (c) VICTIM ADVOCATES.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3542(c)(2) (130 Stat. 13 2802) is amended to read as follows: 14 ‘‘(2) VICTIM ADVOCATES.—For purposes of this 15 subsection, a victim advocate is a full-time permanent 16 employee of the Administration trained in and re- 17 sponsible solely for matters relating to sexual assault 18 and the comprehensive policy developed under sub- 19 section (a).’’. 20 (2) LOCATION.—Section 3542(c)(4) (130 Stat. 21 2802) is amended by inserting ‘‘full time’’ after ‘‘sta- 22 tioned’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Nov 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6636.RH H6636 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6636 RH SEC. 5. INVESTIGATION AND CRIMINAL REFERRAL RE- 1 QUIREMENTS. 2 (a) REDESIGNATION.—Sections 3546 and 3547 (130 3 Stat. 2804, 2805) are redesignated as sections 3551 and 4 3552, respectively. 5 (b) IN GENERAL.—Inserting the following after section 6 3545: 7 ‘‘SEC. 3546. INVESTIGATION REQUIREMENT. 8 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT TO INVESTIGATE.— 9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce, 10 acting through the Under Secretary for Oceans and 11 Atmosphere, shall ensure that each allegation of sex- 12 ual harassment reported under section 3541 and each 13 allegation of sexual assault reported under section 14 3542 is investigated thoroughly and promptly. 15 ‘‘(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON COMMENCEMENT 16 OF INVESTIGATION.—It is the sense of Congress that 17 the Secretary should ensure that an investigation of 18 an alleged incident of sexual harassment reported 19 under section 3541 or sexual assault reported under 20 section 3542 commences not later than 48 hours after 21 the time at which the allegation was reported. 22 ‘‘(b) NOTIFICATION OF DELAY.—In any case in which 23 the time between the reporting of an alleged incident of sex- 24 ual harassment or sexual assault under section 3541 or 25 3542, respectively, and commencement of an investigation 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Nov 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6636.RH H6636 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6636 RH of the allegation under this section exceeds 48 hours, the 1 Secretary shall notify the Committee on Commerce, Science, 2 and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 3 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives of the 4 delay. 5 ‘‘SEC. 3547. CRIMINAL REFERRAL. 6 ‘‘If the Secretary of Commerce finds, pursuant to an 7 investigation under section 3546, evidence that a crime may 8 have been committed, the Secretary shall refer the matter 9 to the appropriate law enforcement authorities, including 10 the appropriate United States Attorney. 11 ‘‘SEC. 3548. EXCEPTIONS REGARDING ANONYMITY OF SUR- 12 VIVORS IN CERTAIN CASES. 13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which an employee, 14 member of the commissioned officer corps, or individual 15 conducting business on behalf of the administration elects 16 anonymous reporting under section 3541(b)(3)(B) or 17 3542(b)(5)(B), disclosure of their personally identifying in- 18 formation is authorized to the following persons or organi- 19 zations when disclosure would be for the following reasons: 20 ‘‘(1) To National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- 21 ministration staff or law enforcement personnel, when 22 authorized by the survivor in writing. 23 ‘‘(2) To National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- 24 ministration staff or law enforcement personnel to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Nov 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6636.RH H6636 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6636 RH prevent or lessen a serious or imminent threat to the 1 health or safety of the survivor or another person. 2 ‘‘(3) To a victim advocate or healthcare provider, 3 when required for the provision of victim services. 4 ‘‘(4) To a State or Federal court, when ordered 5 by such court or if disclosure is required by Federal 6 or State statute. 7 ‘‘(b) NOTICE OF DISCLOSURE AND PRIVACY PROTEC- 8 TION.—In any case in which information is disclosed under 9 subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 10 ‘‘(1) make reasonable attempts to provide notice 11 to the employee, member, or individual whose person- 12 ally identifying information is disclosed; and 13 ‘‘(2) take such action as is necessary to protect 14 the privacy and safety of the employee, member, or 15 individual. 16 ‘‘SEC. 3549. RESTRICTED REPORTING. 17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 18 date of enactment of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 19 Administration Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention 20 Improvements Act of 2020, the Secretary of Commerce, act- 21 ing through the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmos- 22 phere, shall develop a mechanism to provide a system of 23 restricted reporting. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Nov 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6636.RH H6636 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6636 RH ‘‘(b) RESTRICTED REPORTING DEFINED.—In this sec- 1 tion the term ‘restricted reporting’ means a system of re- 2 porting that allows employees of the National Oceanic and 3 Atmospheric Administration, members of the Commissioned 4 Officer Corps of the Administration, and individuals who 5 work with or conduct business on behalf of the Administra- 6 tion who are sexually assaulted to confidentially disclose 7 the details of their assault to specified individuals and re- 8 ceive the services outlined in this subtitle title— 9 ‘‘(1) without the dissemination of their person- 10 ally identifying information except as necessary for 11 the provision of such services; and 12 ‘‘(2) without automatically triggering an inves- 13 tigative process. 14 ‘‘SEC. 3550. MARINER REFERRAL. 15 ‘‘The Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and At- 16 mosphere, acting through the Director of the Office of Ma- 17 rine and Aviation Operations and in consultation with the 18 Commandant of the Coast Guard, shall, within 180 days 19 after the date of the enactment of the National Oceanic and 20 Atmospheric Administration Sexual Harassment and As- 21 sault Prevention Improvements Act of 2020, develop and 22 implement a policy to report to the Coast Guard Suspen- 23 sion and Revocation National Center of Expertise, the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Nov 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6636.RH H6636 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6636 RH names of personnel of the National Oceanic and Atmos- 1 pheric Administration who— 2 ‘‘(1) are the subject of a claim of an act or of- 3 fense detrimental to good discipline and safety at sea, 4 such as sexual harassment or sexual assault that is 5 substantiated by an investigation under section 3546, 6 or any other substantiated claim of an act or offense 7 for which suspension or revocation of a credential is 8 either mandatory or sought pursuant to part 5 of title 9 46 of the Code of Federal Regulations; and 10 ‘‘(2) are— 11 ‘‘(A) employees or contractors of the Admin- 12 istration required to hold a valid merchant mar- 13 iner credential as a condition of employment; or 14 ‘‘(B) crew of a vessel that, at the time of 15 such act or offence, was operating under a con- 16 tract with the Administration.’’. 17 SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORT ON SEXUAL ASSAULTS, SEXUAL 18 HARASSMENT, AND EQUAL EMPLOYMENT. 19 Section 3551, as redesignated by section 5 of this Act 20 (130 Stat. 2804), is amended— 21 (1) by striking the section heading and inserting 22 the following: ‘‘ANNUAL REPORT ON SEXUAL AS- 23 SAULTS, SEXUAL HARASSMENT, AND EQUAL 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Nov 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6636.RH H6636 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 6636 RH EMPLOYMENT IN THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND 1 ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION.’’; 2 (2) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, sexual har- 3 assment, and equal employment’’ after ‘‘sexual as- 4 saults’’; and 5 (3) in subsection (b)— 6 (A) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, in- 7 cluding a synopsis of each case and the discipli- 8 nary action taken, if any, in each case’’ before 9 the period at the end; and 10 (B) by adding at the end the following: 11 ‘‘(5) A summary of the number of change of sta- 12 tion, unit transfer, and change of work location re- 13 quests submitted to the Under Secretary under section 14 3544(a), including the number of such requests that 15 were denied. 16 ‘‘(6) A summary of the number of cases referred 17 to the Coast Guard under section 5 of National Oce- 18 anic and Atmospheric Administration Sexual Har- 19 assment and Assault Prevention Improvements Act of 20 2020. 21 ‘‘(7) The number of alleged sexual assaults and 22 sexual harassment cases involving fisheries, protected 23 species, and endangered species observers, including— 24 ‘‘(A) a synopsis of each case and the status; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Nov 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6636.RH H6636 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 6636 RH ‘‘(B) the disposition of any investigation; 1 and 2 ‘‘(C) a description of the fishery manage- 3 ment region and fishery or the geographic region 4 and type of permitted operation in which the [Text truncated for display. 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