[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1562 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1562

  To provide for a study and report on research on the United States 
                  Arctic Ocean and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 3, 2009

  Mr. Begich introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for a study and report on research on the United States 
                  Arctic Ocean 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 ``Arctic Ocean Research and Science 
Policy Review Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States is an Arctic nation with--
                    (A) an approximately 700-mile border with the 
                Arctic Ocean;
                    (B) more than 100,000,000 acres of land above the 
                Arctic Circle; and
                    (C) an even broader area defined as Arctic by 
                temperature which includes the Bering Sea and Aleutian 
                Islands.
            (2) The Arctic region of the United States--
                    (A) is home to an indigenous population which has 
                subsisted for millennia on the abundance in marine 
                mammals, fish, and wildlife, many of which are unique 
                to the region;
                    (B) is known to the indigenous population as 
                Inuvikput or the ``place where we live''; and
                    (C) has produced more than 16,000,000,000 barrels 
                of oil and, according to the United States Geological 
                Survey, may hold an additional 30,000,000,000 barrels 
                of oil and 220,000,000,000,000 cubic feet of natural 
                gas, making the region of fundamental importance to the 
                national interest of the United States.
            (3) Temperatures in the United States Arctic region have 
        warmed by 3 to 4 degrees Celsius over the past half-century, a 
        rate of increase that is twice the global average.
            (4) The Arctic ice pack is rapidly diminishing and 
        thinning, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration estimates the Arctic Ocean may be ice free 
        during summer months in as few as 30 years.
            (5) Such changes to the Arctic region are having a 
        significant impact on the indigenous people of the Arctic, 
        their communities and ecosystems, as well as the marine 
        mammals, fish, and wildlife upon which they depend.
            (6) Such changes are opening new portions of the United 
        States Arctic continental shelf to possible development for 
        offshore oil and gas, commercial fishing, marine shipping, and 
        tourism.
            (7) Existing Federal research and science advisory programs 
        focused on the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of a 
        changing Arctic Ocean lack a cohesive, coordinated, and 
        integrated approach and are not adequately coordinated with 
        State, local, and private sector Arctic Ocean research 
        programs.
            (8) The lack of research integration and synthesis of 
        findings of Arctic Ocean research has impeded the progress of 
        the United States and international community in understanding 
        climate change impacts and feedback mechanisms in the Arctic 
        Ocean.
            (9) An improved scientific understanding of the changing 
        Arctic Ocean is critical to the development of appropriate and 
        effective regional, national, and global climate change 
        adaptation strategies.

SEC. 3. UNITED STATES ARCTIC OCEAN DEFINED.

    In this Act, the term ``United States Arctic Ocean'' means the 
United States zone of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas north of Cape 
Prince of Wales, Alaska.

SEC. 4. STUDY OF THE UNITED STATES ARCTIC OCEAN.

    (a) Study.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall request that the National 
Research Council conduct a study on the existing research and research 
advisory entities of the United States Arctic Ocean. Such study shall--
            (1) include a review of the breadth, relationship, and 
        overlap of existing research programs and research advisory 
        entities engaged in or advising on United States Arctic Ocean 
        research, including research related to any coastal or 
        atmospheric research of United States Arctic Ocean, including 
        the operating budgets of such entities;
            (2) assess the gaps in the research and research programs 
        referred to in paragraph (1) and in the coordination, 
        integration, and synthesis of research activities and research 
        data;
            (3) assess existing scientific information and identify 
        additional information necessary, including local and 
        traditional knowledge, to ensure adequate Federal agency 
        environmental reviews;
            (4) recommend a comprehensive strategy--
                    (A) to develop priorities for, and coordination, 
                integration, and synthesis of, research and monitoring 
                carried out on United States Arctic Ocean; and
                    (B) to coordinate and integrate such research with 
                pan-Arctic research; and
            (5) provide a comprehensive, 10- to 20-year long-range 
        United States Arctic Ocean research and monitoring plan with 
        applied emphasis on climate impacts, adaption, including 
        response to coastal inundation issues, resource management, 
        ecosystem function, marine transportation, pollution, ocean 
        acidification, and coastal and offshore oil and gas 
        development, including cold water oil spill response and marine 
        mammal noise issues.
    (b) Coordination.--The Secretary of Commerce shall consult with the 
heads of other agencies and departments of the United States with 
appropriate Arctic science expertise or regulatory responsibilities in 
preparing the specifications for the study requested under subsection 
(a).

SEC. 5. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

    (a) Requirement for Report.--Not later than 18 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall 
submit to Congress a report on the study described in section 4(a). 
Such report shall include--
            (1) a description of the findings of such study;
            (2) the recommendations of the National Research Council to 
        improve the coordination, integration, and synthesis of current 
        Arctic research activities and research data; and
            (3) a prioritized and scalable research plan for the United 
        States Arctic Ocean that is arranged thematically and includes 
        budget estimates for research under such plan.
    (b) Interim Reports.--Not less frequently than once every 180-day 
period until the report described in subsection (a) is submitted, the 
Secretary of Commerce shall submit to Congress a report on the progress 
made to carry out the study described in section 4(a).

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration $2,000,000 for fiscal 
year 2010 to carry out this Act.
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