[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1581 Introduced in Senate (IS)]


110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1581

To establish an interagency committee to develop an ocean acidification 
 research and monitoring plan and to establish an ocean acidification 
  program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 7, 2007

Mr. Lautenberg (for himself and Ms. Cantwell) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish an interagency committee to develop an ocean acidification 
 research and monitoring plan and to establish an ocean acidification 
  program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Ocean 
Acidification Research And Monitoring Act of 2007'' or the ``FOARAM 
Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.
Sec. 3. Interagency committee on ocean acidification.
Sec. 4. Strategic research and implementation plan.
Sec. 5. NOAA ocean acidification program.
Sec. 6. Definitions.
Sec. 7. Authorization of appropriations.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The oceans help mitigate the effects of global warming 
        by absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide. About a third of 
        anthropogenic carbon dioxide is currently absorbed by the 
        ocean.
            (2) The rapid increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide is 
        overwhelming the natural ability of the oceans to cope with 
        human-induced carbon dioxide emissions.
            (3) The emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is 
        causing the oceans to become more acidic. The increase in 
        acidity and changes in ocean chemistry are corrosive to marine 
        shells and organisms that form the base of the food chain for 
        many fish and marine mammals including the skeletons of corals 
        which provide one of the richest habitats on earth.
            (4) The rich biodiversity of marine organisms is an 
        important contribution to the national economy and the change 
        in ocean chemistry threatens our fisheries and marine 
        environmental quality, and could result in significant social 
        and economic costs.
            (5) Existing Federal programs support research in related 
        ocean chemistry, but gaps in funding, coordination, and 
        outreach have impeded national progress in addressing ocean 
        acidification.
            (6) National investment in a coordinated program of 
        research and monitoring would improve the understanding of 
        ocean acidification effects on whole ecosystems, advance our 
        knowledge of the socio-economic impacts of increased ocean 
        acidification, and strengthen the ability of marine resource 
        managers to assess and prepare for the harmful impacts of ocean 
        acidification on our marine resources.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to provide for--
            (1) development and coordination of a comprehensive 
        interagency plan to monitor and conduct research on the 
        processes and consequences of ocean acidification on marine 
        organisms and ecosystems and to establish an ocean 
        acidification program within the National Oceanic and 
        Atmospheric Administration; and
            (2) assessment and consideration of regional and national 
        ecosystem and socio-economic impacts of increased ocean 
        acidification, and integration into marine resource decisions.

SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON OCEAN ACIDIFICATION.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--There is hereby established an Interagency 
        Committee on Ocean Acidification.
            (2) Membership.--The Committee shall be comprised of senior 
        representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration, the National Science Foundation, the National 
        Aeronautics and Space Administration, the United States 
        Geological Survey, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 
        the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, 
        and such other Federal agencies as the Secretary considers 
        appropriate.
            (3) Chairman.--The Committee shall be chaired by the 
        representative from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration. The chairman may create subcommittees chaired 
        by any member agency of the committee. Working groups may be 
        formed by the full Committee to address issues that may require 
        more specialized expertise than is provided by existing 
        subcommittees.
    (b) Purpose.--The Committee shall oversee the planning, 
establishment, and coordination of a plan designed to improve the 
understanding of the role of increased ocean acidification on marine 
ecosystems.
    (c) Reports to Congress.--
            (1) Strategic research and implementation plan.--The 
        Committee shall submit the strategic research and 
        implementation plan established under section 4 to the Senate 
        Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 
        House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources.
            (2) Triennial report.--Not later than 2 years after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act and every 3 years thereafter, 
        the Committee shall transmit a report to the Senate Committee 
        on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of 
        Representatives Committee on Natural Resources that includes--
                    (A) a summary of federally funded ocean 
                acidification research and monitoring activities, 
                including the budget for each of these activities; and
                    (B) an analysis of the progress made toward 
                achieving the goals and priorities for the interagency 
                research plan developed by the Committee under section 
                4 and recommendations for future activities.

SEC. 4. STRATEGIC RESEARCH AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.

    (a) In General.--Within 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Committee shall develop a strategic research and 
implementation plan for coordinated Federal activities. In developing 
the plan, the Committee shall consider and use reports and studies 
conducted by Federal agencies and departments, the National Research 
Council, the Ocean Research and Resources Advisory Panel, the Joint 
Subcommittee on Ocean, Science, and Technology of the National Science 
and Technology Council, the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative, and 
other expert scientific bodies.
    (b) Scope.--The plan shall--
            (1) provide for interdisciplinary research among the ocean 
        sciences, and coordinated research and activities to improve 
        understanding of ocean acidification that will affect marine 
        ecosystems and to assess the potential and realized socio-
        economic impact of ocean acidification, including--
                    (A) effects of atmospheric carbon dioxide on ocean 
                chemistry;
                    (B) biological impacts of ocean acidification, 
                including research on--
                            (i) commercially and recreationally 
                        important species and ecologically important 
                        calcifiers that lie at the base of the food 
                        chain; and
                            (ii) physiological changes in response to 
                        ocean acidification;
                    (C) identification and assessment of ecosystems 
                most at risk from projected changes in ocean chemistry 
                including--
                            (i) coral reef ecosystems;
                            (ii) polar ecosystems; and
                            (iii) coastal ocean ecosystems;
                    (D) modeling the effects of pH including ecosystem 
                forecasting;
                    (E) identifying feedback mechanisms resulting from 
                the ocean chemistry changes and the subsequent decrease 
                in calcification rates in organisms;
                    (F) socio-economic impacts of ocean acidification, 
                including commercially and recreationally important 
                fisheries;
            (2) establish, for the 10-year period beginning in the year 
        it is submitted, goals, priorities, and guidelines for 
        coordinated activities that will--
                    (A) most effectively advance scientific 
                understanding of the characteristics and impacts of 
                ocean acidification;
                    (B) provide forecasts of changes in ocean 
                acidification and the consequent impacts on marine 
                ecosystems; and
                    (C) provide a basis for policy decisions to reduce 
                and manage ocean acidification and its environmental 
                impacts;
            (3) provide an estimate of Federal funding requirements for 
        research and monitoring activities; and
            (4) identify and strengthen relevant programs and 
        activities of the Federal agencies and departments that would 
        contribute to accomplishing the goals of the plan and prevent 
        unnecessary duplication of efforts, including making 
        recommendations for the use of observing systems and 
        technological research and development.

SEC. 5. NOAA OCEAN ACIDIFICATION PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish and maintain an 
ocean acidification program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration to implement activities consistent with the strategic 
research and implementation plan developed by the Committee under 
section 4 that--
            (1) includes--
                    (A) interdisciplinary research among the ocean 
                sciences, and coordinated research and activities to 
                improve understanding of ocean acidification;
                    (B) the establishment of a long-term monitoring 
                program of pH levels in the ocean utilizing existing 
                global ocean observing assets and adding 
                instrumentation and sampling stations as appropriate to 
                the aims of the research program;
                    (C) educational opportunities that encourage an 
                interdisciplinary and international approach to 
                exploring the impacts of ocean acidification;
                    (D) national public outreach activities to improve 
                the understanding of ocean acidification and its 
                impacts on marine resources; and
                    (E) coordination of ocean acidification monitoring 
                and impacts research with other appropriate 
                international ocean science bodies such as the 
                International Oceanographic Commission, the 
                International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, 
                the North Pacific Marine Science Organization, and 
                others;
            (2) provides grants for critical research projects that 
        explore the effects of ocean acidification on ecosystems and 
        the socio-economic impacts of increased ocean acidification 
        that are relevant to the goals and priorities of the strategic 
        research plan; and
            (3) incorporates a competitive merit-based grant process 
        that may be conducted jointly with other participating agencies 
        or under the National Oceanographic Partnership Program under 
        section 7901 of title 10, United States Code.
    (b) Additional Authority.--In conducting the Program, the Secretary 
may enter into and perform such contracts, leases, grants, or 
cooperative agreements as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of 
this Act on such terms as the Secretary deems appropriate.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Committee.--The term ``Committee'' means the 
        Interagency Committee on Ocean Acidification established by 
        section 3(a).
            (2) Ocean acidification.--The term ``ocean acidification'' 
        means the decrease in the pH of the Earth's oceans caused by 
        the uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
            (3) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the National 
        Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ocean Acidification 
        Program established under section 5.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National 
        Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration $30,000,000 to carry 
out the purposes of this Act for each of fiscal years 2008 through 
2012, and such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years after fiscal 
year 2012.
    (b) Allocation.--
            (1) Of the amounts made available to carry out this Act for 
        a fiscal year, the Secretary shall allocate at least 60 percent 
        to other departments and agencies to carry out the priorities 
        of the plan developed by the Committee.
            (2) Of the amounts made available to carry out this Act for 
        any fiscal year, the Secretary, and other departments and 
        agencies to which amounts are allocated under paragraph (1), 
        shall allocate at least 50 percent for competitive grants.
                                 <all>