[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5180 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5180

 To establish an Ombudsman Office within the National Marine Fisheries 
                    Service, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 29, 2010

   Ms. Shea-Porter (for herself, Ms. Pingree of Maine, Mr. Frank of 
 Massachusetts, Mr. Tierney, Ms. Bordallo, and Mr. Pallone) introduced 
  the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish an Ombudsman Office within the National Marine Fisheries 
                    Service, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Marine Fisheries Service 
Ombudsman Act of 2010''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE OMBUDSMAN OFFICE.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Establishment.--There is established an Office of the 
        Ombudsman in the National Marine Fisheries Service.
            (2) Ombudsman.--
                    (A) In general.--The Office shall be under the 
                direction of the Ombudsman of the National Marine 
                Fisheries Service, who shall be appointed by the 
                Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                Administration--
                            (i) in the case of the first Ombudsman, 
                        within 180 days after the date of enactment of 
                        this Act; and
                            (ii) in the case of an individual appointed 
                        to serve as Ombudsman subsequent to the 
                        expiration of the term of a sitting Ombudsman, 
                        by not later than the date the term expires.
                    (B) Term.--An individual appointed as Ombudsman 
                shall serve a term of 4 years, and may be reappointed.
                    (C) Vacancies.--In the event of a vacancy in the 
                position of Ombudsman the Administrator shall appoint 
                an individual as Ombudsman by not later than 120 days 
                after the date the vacancy occurs.
            (3) Regional ombudsmen.--
                    (A) In general.--The Ombudsman shall maintain a 
                regional ombudsman in each of the regions for which a 
                Regional Fishery Management Council is established 
                under section 302 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
                Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852).
                    (B) Appointment.--The regional ombudsmen shall be 
                appointed by and serve at the discretion of the 
                Ombudsman.
                    (C) Acting ombudsman.--In the event of a vacancy in 
                the office of the Ombudsman, the Administrator shall 
                appoint a regional ombudsman to serve as the acting 
                Ombudsman until an Ombudsman is appointed.
            (4) Qualifications.--A person may not be appointed--
                    (A) as the Ombudsman, unless the person has--
                            (i) demonstrated expertise in the field of 
                        fisheries management and significant experience 
                        and knowledge of regulations that are enforced 
                        by the National Marine Fisheries Service; and
                            (ii) significant experience working in or 
                        with the commercial or recreational fishing 
                        industries; or
                    (B) as a regional ombudsman, unless the person--
                            (i) satisfies the requirements in 
                        subparagraph (A); and
                            (ii) is a resident of a State in the region 
                        for which appointed.
            (5) Notification of appointment and removal.--The 
        Administrator shall notify Congress of--
                    (A) the intent of the Administrator to appoint an 
                individual as Ombudsman, by not later than 60 days 
                before the effective date of the appointment;
                    (B) whether or not the Administrator will reappoint 
                an individual who is serving as Ombudsman, by not later 
                than 120 days before the expiration of the term of the 
                individual; and
                    (C) the intent of the Administrator to remove a 
                person from the position of Ombudsman, by not later 
                than 60 days before the effective date of the such 
                removal, including the reasons for such removal.
            (6) Ensuring independence of ombudsman.--
                    (A) In general.--The Ombudsman--
                            (i) shall report solely to and be under the 
                        general supervision of the Administrator; and
                            (ii) may only be removed by the 
                        Administrator for neglect of duty, misconduct, 
                        or inability to perform the duties of the 
                        office of the Ombudsman.
                    (B) Maintenance of independent communications.--
                Each office under the administrative jurisdiction of 
                the Ombudsman shall maintain a telephone, facsimile, 
                and other means of electronic communication access, and 
                a post office address, that is separate from those 
                maintained by the National Marine Fisheries Service and 
                from all other components of the National Oceanic and 
                Atmospheric Administration.
                    (C) IG's authority to conduct investigations not 
                affected.--Nothing in this Act shall prevent or 
                prohibit any Inspector General from initiating, 
                carrying out, or completing any investigation.
    (b) Functions.--The Ombudsman shall--
            (1) act as a neutral third party who conducts informal, 
        impartial fact finding and investigations;
            (2) identify points of conflict or contention between the 
        fishing industry and the National Marine Fisheries Service with 
        respect to the implementation and enforcement of regulations;
            (3) mitigate points of conflict or contention identified 
        under paragraph (2);
            (4) through each regional ombudsman--
                    (A) serve as a point of contact for local fishermen 
                and businesses that are regulated by the National 
                Marine Fisheries Service;
                    (B) receive complaints from persons regulated by 
                the National Marine Fisheries Service regarding 
                regulatory actions initiated by the Service;
                    (C) initiate informal, impartial fact finding and 
                investigations;
                    (D) work with the Service and local fishermen and 
                businesses to resolve such complaints; and
                    (E) conduct community outreach, including by 
                assisting the National Marine Fisheries Service in the 
                dissemination of any new regulations or requirements 
                and providing information and guidance to the public; 
                and
            (5) maintain a public Internet site that includes contact 
        information for each regional office.
    (c) Annual Report.--
            (1) In general.--The Ombudsman shall report no later than 
        September 30 each year to the Administrator, the Committee on 
        Natural Resources Committee of the House of Representatives, 
        and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 
        the Senate on the actions taken by each of the regional offices 
        over the preceding year and the objectives of those actions.
            (2) Contents.--Each such report shall include--
                    (A) full and substantive analysis, in addition to 
                statistical information;
                    (B) recommendations the Office of the Ombudsman has 
                made on improving services and responsiveness of the 
                National Marine Fisheries Service;
                    (C) a summary of the most pervasive and serious 
                points of conflict or contention encountered by 
                fishermen and businesses, including a description of 
                the nature thereof;
                    (D) an inventory of the items described in 
                subparagraphs (B) and (C) for which action has been 
                taken, and the result of such action;
                    (E) an inventory of the items described in 
                subparagraphs (B) and (C) for which action remains to 
                be completed;
                    (F) recommendations to resolve points of conflict 
                or contention encountered by fishermen and businesses;
                    (G) information the Ombudsman considers appropriate 
                regarding the independence and effectiveness of the 
                Ombudsman's office; and
                    (H) such other information as the Ombudsman 
                considers relevant.
            (3) Report to be submitted directly.--Each report under 
        this subsection shall be provided directly to the committees 
        described in paragraph (1) without any prior comment or 
        amendment from the Administrator or any from any other officer 
        or employee of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration, the National Marines Fisheries Service, or the 
        Office of Management and Budget.
            (4) Other reports.--Nothing in this subsection shall be 
        construed to preclude the Ombudsman from issuing other reports 
        on the activities of the Office of the Ombudsman.
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