Coastal Fellowships Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1552 To establish the Coastal Management Fellowship and the Digital Coast Fellowship, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 11, 2023 Mr. COONS (for himself, Mr. WICKER, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To establish the Coastal Management Fellowship and the Digital Coast Fellowship, 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 ‘‘Coastal Fellowships 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘‘coastal 8 State’’— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1552.IS S1552 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1552 IS (A) means a State of the United States in, 1 or bordering on, the Atlantic, Pacific, or Arctic 2 Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Long Island 3 Sound, or one or more of the Great Lakes; and 4 (B) includes Puerto Rico, the United 5 States Virgin Islands, Guam, the Common- 6 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and 7 American Samoa. 8 (2) FELLOW.—The term ‘‘fellow’’ means an in- 9 dividual awarded a fellowship under section 5. 10 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 11 the Secretary of Commerce. 12 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COASTAL MANAGEMENT FEL- 13 LOWSHIP. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a fellowship 15 program, to be known as the ‘‘Coastal Management Fel- 16 lowship’’. 17 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Coastal Man- 18 agement Fellowship are— 19 (1) to provide on-the-job training, professional 20 mentoring, and educational opportunities in coastal 21 management and policy to qualified individuals as 22 described in section 5; 23 (2) to direct essential workforce assistance to 24 coastal States to support coastal management ef- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1552.IS S1552 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1552 IS forts, including building local-level capacity to adapt 1 to coastal vulnerabilities; and 2 (3) to encourage the next generation of coastal 3 professionals to engage in public service work to help 4 the United States better manage coastal resources 5 and protect coastal communities. 6 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF DIGITAL COAST FELLOWSHIP. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a fellowship 8 program, to be known as the ‘‘Digital Coast Fellowship’’. 9 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Digital Coast 10 Fellowship are— 11 (1) to provide on-the-job training, professional 12 mentoring, and educational opportunities in coastal 13 management and policy to qualified individuals as 14 described in section 5; 15 (2) to provide assistance to coastal States and 16 partner organizations to help advance the goals of 17 the Digital Coast program established under section 18 4 of the Digital Coast Act (16 U.S.C. 1467); and 19 (3) to encourage the next generation of coastal 20 professionals to engage in public service work to help 21 the United States better manage coastal resources 22 and protect coastal communities. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1552.IS S1552 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1552 IS SEC. 5. FELLOWSHIPS. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award fellow- 2 ships under the Coastal Management Fellowship and the 3 Digital Coast Fellowship in accordance with this section. 4 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 6 fellowships under this section to individuals selected 7 from among individuals who— 8 (A) have successfully completed a covered 9 degree or will complete a covered degree before 10 the start of the fellowship; and 11 (B) have demonstrated— 12 (i) an interest in pursuing a career in 13 coastal or marine— 14 (I) science; 15 (II) policy; 16 (III) management; or 17 (IV) law; 18 (ii) outstanding potential for such a 19 career; 20 (iii) leadership potential or experience; 21 (iv) a commitment to or significant in- 22 terest in public service; 23 (v) proficient skills in writing and oral 24 communication; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1552.IS S1552 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1552 IS (vi) such other attributes as the Sec- 1 retary determines appropriate. 2 (2) DEFINITION OF COVERED DEGREE.—In this 3 subsection, the term ‘‘covered degree’’ means a grad- 4 uate degree from an accredited United States insti- 5 tution, the curriculum for which covers topics rel- 6 evant to coastal management, as determined by the 7 Secretary. 8 (c) REQUIREMENT OF GEOGRAPHIC BALANCE.—The 9 Secretary shall award fellowships under this section in a 10 manner that is geographically balanced. 11 (d) TERM OF FELLOWSHIP.—A fellowship awarded 12 under this section shall be for a term of not more than 13 2 years. 14 (e) STIPEND.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each fellow shall receive an 16 annual stipend of not less than $47,000, which the 17 Secretary shall regularly review and periodically ad- 18 just, as determined appropriate by the Secretary— 19 (A) to be commensurate with other similar 20 fellowships; and 21 (B) to account for changes in cost of living 22 and inflation. 23 (2) LOCALITY PAY.—The Secretary shall in- 24 clude a pay adjustment as part of the stipends de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1552.IS S1552 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1552 IS scribed in paragraph (1) that is comparable to the 1 locality pay adjustment for the locality pay area in 2 which the host office of the fellow is located, as de- 3 termined under section 531.603 of title 5, Code of 4 Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation). 5 (f) STATUS OF FELLOWS.—Except as provided in 6 subsection (h)(3), fellows shall not be considered to be 7 Federal employees. 8 (g) DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—During fiscal year 2023 and 10 any fiscal year thereafter, the head of any Federal 11 agency may appoint, without regard to the provi- 12 sions of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United 13 States Code, other than sections 3303 and 3328 of 14 that title, a candidate who meets the qualifications 15 described in paragraph (2) directly to a position with 16 the Federal agency for which the candidate meets 17 Office of Personnel Management qualification stand- 18 ards. 19 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Paragraph (1) applies 20 with respect to a former fellow who has successfully 21 fulfilled the requirements of the fellowship. 22 (3) LIMITATION.—The direct hire authority 23 under paragraph (1) shall be exercised with respect 24 to a specific qualified candidate not later than 2 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1552.IS S1552 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1552 IS years after the date on which the candidate com- 1 pleted a fellowship awarded under this section. 2 (h) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts authorized to be ap- 3 propriated under section 6 shall be used for— 4 (1) the award of fellowships under this section, 5 including stipends paid to fellows and other relevant 6 benefits offered to fellows, including health insur- 7 ance, as identified by the Secretary; 8 (2) administrative costs associated with the 9 Coastal Management Fellowship and the Digital 10 Coast Fellowship; 11 (3) relocation and travel expenses paid to fel- 12 lows, who shall be considered to be Federal employ- 13 ees for purposes of section 3375 of title 5, United 14 States Code; 15 (4) professional development opportunities for 16 fellows, including costs associated with trainings, 17 certifications, classes, or other opportunities to ad- 18 vance— 19 (A) the professional skills of each fellow; or 20 (B) the ability of each fellow to support 21 the needs of the host office; and 22 (5) such other costs of the Coastal Management 23 Fellowship and the Digital Coast Fellowship as the 24 Secretary may identify. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1552.IS S1552 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1552 IS SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 1 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec- 2 retary for the uses described in section 5(h) $1,910,000 3 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1552.IS S1552 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS