[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5332 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5332
To direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to
maintain the Cooperative Institute program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 6, 2026
Ms. Cantwell (for herself, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Hickenlooper, and Mrs. Hyde-
Smith) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to
maintain the Cooperative Institute program.
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 ``Cooperative Institute Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. COOPERATIVE INSTITUTES.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' means
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the
Committees on Natural Resources and Science, Space, and
Technology of the House of Representatives.
(3) Cooperative institute.--The term ``Cooperative
Institute'' means--
(A) an academic or research partnership between--
(i) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration; and
(ii) an eligible research institution, or
an association or alliance of 2 or more
eligible research institutions; and
(B) that was or is formed either through
cooperative agreements previously established under the
authority of section 406 of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration Authorization Act of 1992
(15 U.S.C. 1540) or under the authority of this
section.
(4) Eligible research institution.--The term ``eligible
research institution'' means a research institution that--
(A) is a non-Federal academic or nonprofit
institution;
(B) has an established research program in one or
more areas relevant to the Administration's mission;
(C) promotes the involvement of students and
postdoctoral scientists in research and education; and
(D) cooperates with other research institutes
included in Cooperative Institutes.
(5) Under secretary.--The term ``Under Secretary'' means
the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.
(b) In General.--
(1) Program goals.--The Under Secretary shall maintain
within the Administration a Cooperative Institute program,
which shall promote basic and applied research, education,
training, and outreach that aligns with the Administration's
mission, fund research capabilities that do not exist within
the Administration, and expand research capacity in sciences
that are related to the work of the Administration.
(2) Cooperative institute activities.--To achieve these
goals, the Cooperative Institutes shall--
(A) conduct collaborative, long-term research
relevant to the Administration's mission, with
substantial involvement between Administration
scientists and those at eligible research institutions
in one or more scientific disciplines of interest to
the Administration;
(B) leverage scientific, educational, and outreach
expertise at eligible research institutions which,
depending on the research needs determined by the
Administration, may or may not be located near an
Administration facility;
(C) support the participation of undergraduate and
graduate students and postdoctoral scientists in
Administration-related research studies; and
(D) strengthen or expand research capacity within
the research institutions in Administration-related
research by providing funding to support administrative
and scientific research activities.
(3) Emerging research.--Every 2 years, the Under Secretary
shall conduct an assessment of the need for additional
Cooperative Institutes to address emerging research needs that
align with the program goals described in paragraph (1).
(c) Establishment of Cooperative Institutes.--
(1) In general.--The Under Secretary may establish a
Cooperative Institute by entering into a cooperative agreement
with an eligible research institution, or an association or
alliance of 2 or more eligible research institutions.
(2) Competition and review.--
(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the
Under Secretary shall use an open competition and
merit-based peer-review process for selecting eligible
research institutions for each new Cooperative
Institute, except as specified in subparagraph.
(B) Restricted pool.--The Under Secretary may use a
limited competition when the Administration determines
that it is in the best interest of the Federal
Government to restrict the pool of qualified eligible
research institution applicants. The Under Secretary
shall justify the rationale for such a restriction
under the Department of Commerce and Administration
policies related to Federal assistance.
(3) Consolidation.--In cases where multiple eligible
research institutions join to form a Cooperative Institute, the
Administration shall encourage these eligible research
institutions to consolidate management, administrative, and
oversight activities into one lead Cooperative Institute,
provided the benefit of consolidation outweighs the costs.
(4) Collaboration.--
(A) In general.--To foster collaborations, the
Administration is authorized to collocate Federal
employees and staff from eligible research institutions
of Cooperative Institutes. These collocations may
involve--
(i) Cooperative Institute staff hosted at
Federal facilities; and
(ii) Federal staff assigned their duty
station at the eligible research institutions.
(B) Choice of arrangement.--The Administration may
choose the arrangement described in this paragraph that
best fits the needs of the Cooperative Institute when
the benefits outweigh the costs.
(d) Financial Assistance.--
(1) In general.--The cooperative agreements described in
subsection (c)(1) shall be carried out in accordance with
section 6305 of title 31, United States Code, and may be
facilitated by a 5-year Federal financial assistance award.
(2) Second award.--The Under Secretary may award a second
5-year Federal financial assistance award after a Cooperative
Institute renewal review, which shall--
(A) be based on the outcome of an externally led
peer review process that occurs at or about the
beginning of the fourth year of the initial award;
(B) be conducted with the help and support of the
Science Advisory Board of the Administration;
(C) include a measurement of Cooperative Institute
performance relative to well-established, mutually
agreed-upon performance measures defined by the
Administration and the research institutions; and
(D) determine a potential renewal period of not
more than 5 additional years and the level of funding
commensurate with the final review rating.
(e) Discontinuance.--The Under Secretary may terminate or decide
not to renew an established Cooperative Institute if the following is
submitted to the appropriate congressional committees not less than 60
days prior to termination or expiration of the Cooperative Institute
cooperative agreement:
(1) A timeline for the planned termination or expiration of
the Cooperative Institute.
(2) A detailed written report, including--
(A) the justification for termination or expiration
of the Cooperative Institute;
(B) any failures of the Cooperative Institute to
meet its stated objectives, including poor management,
poor research quality, or poor fiscal management;
(C) measurements of the Cooperative Institute
performance relative to the mutually agreed-upon
performance measures defined by the Administration and
the eligible research institutions;
(D) plans for reassignment of Administration staff
assigned to the Cooperative Institute; and
(E) an explanation of how the research needs that
are being met by the Cooperative Institute will be
fulfilled by other entities within the Administration,
or an explanation of why the research needs no longer
exist.
(f) Handbook.--The Under Secretary shall maintain a Cooperative
Institute Handbook that outlines how the Administration will manage the
Cooperative Institutes. The Under Secretary shall consult the Directors
of Cooperative Institutes when updating the Cooperative Institute
Handbook.
(g) Maintenance of Cooperative Institutes.--The Under Secretary
shall maintain the Cooperative Institutes, or their successor bodies,
in existence as of the date of enactment of this Act, unless terminated
as specified in subsection (e).
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