NOPP Revitalization Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7713 To reauthorize the National Oceanographic Partnership Program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 21, 2020 Mr. PANETTA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, and Science, Space, and Technology, 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 con- cerned A BILL To reauthorize the National Oceanographic Partnership Program, 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 ‘‘National Oceano- 4 graphic Partnership Program Revitalization Act’’ or the 5 ‘‘NOPP Revitalization Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7713.IH H7713 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7713 IH SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF NATIONAL OCEANO- 1 GRAPHIC PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM. 2 Chapter 893 of title 10, United States Code, is 3 amended to read as follows: 4 ‘‘SEC. 8931. NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PARTNERSHIP 5 PROGRAM. 6 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Navy 7 shall establish a program to be known as the ‘National 8 Oceanographic Partnership Program’. 9 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program are 10 as follows: 11 ‘‘(1) To promote the national goals of assuring 12 national security, advancing economic development, 13 protecting quality of life, ensuring environmental 14 stewardship, and strengthening science education 15 and communication through improved knowledge of 16 the ocean. 17 ‘‘(2) To coordinate and strengthen oceano- 18 graphic efforts in support of those goals by— 19 ‘‘(A) creating and carrying out partner- 20 ships among Federal agencies, academia, indus- 21 try, and other members of the oceanographic 22 community in the areas of science, data, re- 23 sources, education, and communication; and 24 ‘‘(B) accepting, planning, and executing 25 oceanographic research projects funded by 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7713.IH H7713 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7713 IH grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, or 1 other vehicles as appropriate, that contribute to 2 assuring national security, advancing economic 3 development, protecting quality of life, ensuring 4 environmental stewardship, and strengthening 5 science education and communication through 6 improved knowledge of the ocean. 7 ‘‘SEC. 8932. OCEAN POLICY COMMITTEE. 8 ‘‘(a) COMMITTEE.—There is established an Ocean 9 Policy Committee (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Com- 10 mittee’). The Committee shall retain the membership, co- 11 chairs, and subcommittees outlined in Executive Order 12 13840. 13 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Committee shall con- 14 tinue the activities of that Committee as it was in exist- 15 ence on the day before the date of enactment of this Act. 16 In discharging its responsibilities and to assist in the exe- 17 cution of the activities delineated in this subparagraph, 18 the Committee may delegate to a subcommittee, as appro- 19 priate. The Committee shall: 20 ‘‘(1) Prescribe policies and procedures to imple- 21 ment the National Oceanographic Partnership Pro- 22 gram. 23 ‘‘(2) Engage and collaborate, pursuant to exist- 24 ing laws and regulations, with stakeholders, includ- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7713.IH H7713 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7713 IH ing regional ocean partnerships, to address ocean-re- 1 lated matters that may require interagency or inter- 2 governmental solutions. 3 ‘‘(3) Facilitate coordination and integration of 4 Federal activities in ocean and coastal waters to in- 5 form ocean policy and identify priority ocean re- 6 search, technology, and data needs. 7 ‘‘(4) Review, select, and identify partnership 8 projects for implementation under the program, 9 based on the following criteria: 10 ‘‘(A) Whether the project addresses impor- 11 tant research objectives or operational goals. 12 ‘‘(B) Whether the project has, or is de- 13 signed to have, appropriate participation within 14 the oceanographic community of public, aca- 15 demic, commercial, private participation or sup- 16 port. 17 ‘‘(C) Whether the partners have a long- 18 term commitment to the objectives of the 19 project. 20 ‘‘(D) Whether the resources supporting the 21 project are shared among the partners. 22 ‘‘(E) Whether the project has been sub- 23 jected to adequate review according to each of 24 the supporting agencies. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7713.IH H7713 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7713 IH ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORT AND BRIEF.—Not later than 1 March 1 of each year, the Committee shall post a report 2 on a publicly available website and brief the Committee 3 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; 4 the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate; the Com- 5 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Representa- 6 tives; the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 7 of the House of Representatives; and the Committee on 8 Armed Services of the House of Representatives on the 9 National Oceanographic Partnership Program. The report 10 and brief shall discuss the following: 11 ‘‘(1) A description of activities of the program 12 carried out during the prior fiscal year. 13 ‘‘(2) A general outline of the activities planned 14 for the program during the current fiscal year. 15 ‘‘(3) A summary of projects, partnerships, and 16 collaborations, including the Federal and non-Fed- 17 eral sources of funding, continued from the prior fis- 18 cal year and projects expected to begin during the 19 current and subsequent fiscal years, as required in 20 the program office report outlined in section 21 8932(f)(2)(C). 22 ‘‘(4) The amounts requested in the budget sub- 23 mitted to Congress pursuant to section 1105(a) of 24 title 31 for the subsequent fiscal year, for the pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7713.IH H7713 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7713 IH grams, projects, activities and the estimated expend- 1 itures under such programs, projects, and activities, 2 to execute the National Oceanographic Partnership 3 Program. 4 ‘‘(5) A summary of national ocean research pri- 5 orities informed by the Ocean Research Advisory 6 Panel required in section 8933(b)(4). 7 ‘‘(6) A list of the members of the Ocean Re- 8 search Advisory Panel described in section 8933(a) 9 and any working groups described in section 10 8932(f)(2)(A) in existence during the fiscal years 11 covered. 12 The report and all briefing materials shall be posted to 13 a publicly available website not later than 30 days after 14 the briefing. 15 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PARTNERSHIP 16 FUND.—There is established in the Treasury a separate 17 account to be known as the National Oceanographic Part- 18 nership Program Fund to be jointly managed by the Sec- 19 retary of the Navy, the Administrator of the National Oce- 20 anic and Atmospheric Administration, and any other Fed- 21 eral agency that contributes amounts to the Fund. 22 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATION AND AUTHORIZED 23 USES.—Amounts in the Fund shall be available to 24 the NOPP without further appropriation to remain 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7713.IH H7713 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7713 IH available for up to 5 years from the date contributed 1 or until expended for the purpose of carrying out 2 this section. 3 ‘‘(2) CREDITING OF AMOUNTS TO FUND.— 4 There is authorized to be credited to the Fund the 5 following: 6 ‘‘(A) Such amounts as determined appro- 7 priate to be transferred to the Fund by the 8 head of a Federal agency or entity participating 9 in the National Oceanographic Partnership Pro- 10 gram. 11 ‘‘(B) Funds provided by a State, local gov- 12 ernment, tribal government, territory, or pos- 13 session, or any subdivisions thereof. 14 ‘‘(C) Funds contributed by a non-profit or- 15 ganization, individual, or Congressionally estab- 16 lished foundation; by private grants, contracts, 17 and donations. 18 ‘‘(3) CONTRACT AND GRANT AUTHORITY.—For 19 the purpose of carrying out this section, as directed 20 by the Committee, departments or agencies rep- 21 resented on the Committee may enter into contracts, 22 make grants, including transactions authorized by 23 paragraph (4), and may transfer funds available to 24 the National Oceanographic Partnership Program 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7713.IH H7713 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7713 IH under paragraph (2) to participating departments 1 and agencies for such purposes. 2 ‘‘(4) COOPERATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES, 3 STATES, TERRITORIES, AND POLITICAL SUBDIVI- 4 SIONS.—The Committee or any participating Fed- 5 eral agency or entity may enter into an agreement 6 to use, with or without reimbursement, the land, 7 services, equipment, personnel, and facilities of any 8 department, agency, or instrumentality of the United 9 States, or of any State, local government, Indian 10 tribal government, Territory, District of Columbia, 11 or possession, or of any political subdivision thereof, 12 or of any foreign government or international orga- 13 nization or individual, for the purpose of carrying 14 out this section. 15 ‘‘(e) ESTABLISHMENT AND FORMS OF PARTNERSHIP 16 PROJECTS.—A partnership project under the National 17 Oceanographic Partnership Program— 18 ‘‘(1) may be established by any instrument that 19 the Committee considers appropriate; and 20 ‘‘(2) may include demonstration projects. 21 ‘‘(f) PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM OFFICE.— 22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Navy 23 and Administrator of the National Oceanic and At- 24 mospheric Administration shall jointly establish a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7713.IH H7713 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7713 IH partnership program office for the National Oceano- 1 graphic Partnership Program. Competitive proce- 2 dures will be used to select an external operator for 3 the partnership program office. 4 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Committee will monitor the 5 performance of the duties of the partnership pro- 6 gram office, which shall consist of the following: 7 ‘‘(A) To support working groups estab- 8 lished by the Committee or subcommittee and 9 report working group activities to the Com- 10 mittee, including working group proposals for 11 partnership projects. 12 ‘‘(B) To support the process for proposing 13 partnership projects to the Committee, includ- 14 ing, where appropriate, managing review of 15 such projects. 16 ‘‘(C) To submit to the Committee and 17 make publicly available an annual report on the 18 status of all partnership projects, including the 19 Federal and non-Federal sources of funding for 20 each project, and activities of the office. 21 ‘‘(D) To perform any additional duties for 22 the administration of the National Oceano- 23 graphic Partnership Program that the Com- 24 mittee considers appropriate. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7713.IH H7713 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7713 IH ‘‘SEC. 8933. OCEAN RESEARCH ADVISORY PANEL. 1 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Committee shall estab- 2 lish an Ocean Research Advisory Panel consisting of not 3 less than 10 and not more than 18 members appointed 4 by the Co-chairs, including the following: 5 ‘‘(1) Three members who will represent the Na- 6 tional Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Med- 7 icine. 8 ‘‘(2) Members selected from among individuals 9 who will represent the views of ocean industries, 10 State, tribal, territorial or local governments, aca- 11 demia, and such other views as the Co-chairs con- 12 sider appropriate. 13 ‘‘(3) Members selected from among individuals 14 eminent in the fields of marine science, marine tech- 15 nology, and marine policy, or related fields. 16 The Committee shall ensure that an appropriate balance 17 of academic, scientific, industry, and geographical inter- 18 ests and gender and racial diversity are represented by 19 the members of the Advisory Panel. 20 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Committee shall as- 21 sign the following responsibilities to the Advisory Panel: 22 ‘‘(1) To advise the Committee on policies and 23 procedures to implement the National Oceano- 24 graphic Partnership Program. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7713.IH H7713 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7713 IH ‘‘(2) To advise the Committee on matters relat- 1 ing to national oceanographic science, engineering, 2 facilities, or resource requirements. 3 ‘‘(3) To advise the Committee on improving di- 4 versity, equity, and inclusion in the ocean sciences 5 and related fields 6 ‘‘(4) To advise the Committee on national ocean 7 research priorities. 8 ‘‘(5) Any additional responsibilities that the 9 Committee considers appropriate. 10 ‘‘(6) To meet no fewer than two times a year. 11 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATIVE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT.— 12 The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos- 13 pheric Administration shall provide such administrative 14 and technical support as the Ocean Research Advisory 15 Panel may require. 16 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—Section 17 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 18 App.) shall not apply to the Ocean Research Advisory 19 Panel appointed under section 8933.’’. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7713.IH H7713 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS