[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 88 (Thursday, May 20, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3287-S3288]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 1867. Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 1502 proposed by Mr. 
Schumer to the bill S. 1260, to establish a new Directorate for 
Technology and Innovation in the National Science Foundation, to 
establish a regional technology hub program, to require a strategy and 
report on economic security, science, research, innovation, 
manufacturing, and job creation, to establish a critical supply chain 
resiliency program, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on 
the table; as follows:

        At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     TITLE_--BOLSTERING LONG-TERM UNDERSTANDING AND EXPLORATION OF 
                   THE GREAT LAKES, OCEANS, BAYS, AND ESTUARIES

     SEC. _01. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Bolstering Long-term 
     Understanding and Exploration of the Great Lakes, Oceans, 
     Bays, and Estuaries Act'' or the ``BLUE GLOBE Act''.

     SEC. _02. PURPOSE.

       The purpose of this title is to promote and support--
       (1) the monitoring, understanding, and exploration of the 
     Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts; and
       (2) the collection, analysis, synthesis, and sharing of 
     data related to the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and 
     coasts to facilitate science and operational decision making.

     SEC. _03. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of Congress that Federal agencies should 
     optimize data collection, management, and dissemination, to 
     the extent practicable, to maximize their impact for 
     research, conservation, commercial, regulatory, and 
     educational benefits and to foster innovation, scientific 
     discoveries, the development of commercial products, and the 
     development of sound policy with respect to the Great Lakes, 
     oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts.

     SEC. _04. DEFINITIONS.

       In this title:
       (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
     Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere in the 
     Under Secretary's capacity as Administrator of the National 
     Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
       (2) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the 
     meaning given that term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
     Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).

     SEC. _05. WORKFORCE STUDY.

       (a) In General.--Section 303(a) of the America COMPETES 
     Reauthorization Act of 2010 (33 U.S.C. 893c(a)) is amended--
       (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
     ``Secretary of Commerce'' and inserting ``Under Secretary of 
     Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere'';
       (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``, skillsets, or 
     credentials'' after ``degrees'';
       (3) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``or highly qualified 
     technical professionals and tradespeople'' after 
     ``atmospheric scientists'';
       (4) in paragraph (4), by inserting ``, skillsets, or 
     credentials'' after ``degrees'';
       (5) in paragraph (5)--
       (A) by striking ``scientist''; and
       (B) by striking ``; and'' and inserting ``, observations, 
     and monitoring;''
       (6) in paragraph (6), by striking ``into Federal'' and all 
     that follows and inserting ``, technical professionals, and 
     tradespeople into Federal career positions;''
       (7) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (6) as 
     paragraphs (3) through (7), respectively;
       (8) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
       ``(2) whether there is a shortage in the number of 
     individuals with technical or trade-based skillsets or 
     credentials suited to a career in oceanic and atmospheric 
     data collection, processing, satellite production, or 
     satellite operations;''; and
       (9) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(8) workforce diversity and actions the Federal 
     Government can take to increase diversity in the scientific 
     workforce; and
       ``(9) actions the Federal Government can take to shorten 
     the hiring backlog for such workforce.''.
       (b) Coordination.--Section 303(b) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 
     893c(b)) is amended by striking ``Secretary of Commerce'' and 
     inserting ``Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and 
     Atmosphere''.
       (c) Report.--Section 303(c) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 893c(c)) 
     is amended--

[[Page S3288]]

       (1) by striking ``the date of enactment of this Act'' and 
     inserting ``the date of the enactment of the Bolstering Long-
     term Understanding and Exploration of the Great Lakes, 
     Oceans, Bays, and Estuaries Act'';
       (2) by striking ``Secretary of Commerce'' and inserting 
     ``Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere''; 
     and
       (3) by striking ``to each committee'' and all that follows 
     through ``section 302 of this Act'' and inserting ``to the 
     Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
     Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources and the 
     Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 
     Representatives''.
       (d) Program and Plan.--Section 303(d) of such Act (33 
     U.S.C. 893c(d)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration'' and inserting ``Under Secretary 
     of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere''; and
       (2) by striking ``academic partners'' and all that follows 
     and inserting ``academic partners.''.

     SEC. _06. ACCELERATING INNOVATION AT COOPERATIVE INSTITUTES.

       (a) Focus on Emerging Technologies.--The Administrator 
     shall consider evaluating the goals of one or more 
     Cooperative Institutes of the National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration to include focusing on advancing 
     or applying emerging technologies, which may include--
       (1) applied uses and development of real-time and other 
     advanced genetic technologies and applications, including 
     such technologies and applications that derive genetic 
     material directly from environmental samples without any 
     obvious signs of biological source material;
       (2) deployment of, and improvements to, the durability, 
     maintenance, and other lifecycle concerns of advanced 
     unmanned vehicles, regional small research vessels, and other 
     research vessels that support and launch unmanned vehicles 
     and sensors; and
       (3) supercomputing and big data management, including data 
     collected through model outputs, electronic monitoring, and 
     remote sensing.
       (b) Coordination With Other Programs.--If appropriate, the 
     Cooperative Institutes shall work with the Interagency Ocean 
     Observation Committee, the regional associations of the 
     Integrated Ocean Observing System, and other ocean observing 
     programs to coordinate technology needs and the transition of 
     new technologies from research to operations.

     SEC. _07. ELECTRONIC MONITORING INNOVATION PRIZE.

       Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, and under the authority provided by section 24 of 
     the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 
     U.S.C. 3719), the Administrator, in consultation with the 
     heads of relevant Federal agencies and nongovernmental 
     partners, as appropriate, shall establish an Electronic 
     Monitoring Innovation Prize, which may be awarded for the 
     development of advanced electronic fisheries monitoring 
     equipment and data analysis tools, including improved fish 
     species recognition software.

     SEC. _08. BLUE ECONOMY VALUATION.

       (a) Measurement of Blue Economy Industries.--The 
     Administrator, in consultation with the heads of other 
     relevant Federal agencies, shall establish a program to 
     improve the collection, aggregation, and analysis of data to 
     measure the value and impact of industries related to the 
     Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts on the 
     economy of the United States, including living resources, 
     marine construction, marine transportation, offshore energy 
     development and siting including for renewable energy, 
     offshore mineral production, ship and boat building, tourism, 
     recreation, subsistence, commercial, recreational, and 
     charter fishing, seafood processing, and other fishery-
     related businesses, aquaculture such as kelp and shellfish, 
     and other industries the Administrator considers appropriate 
     (known as ``Blue Economy'' industries).
       (b) Collaboration.--In carrying out subsection (a), the 
     Administrator shall--
       (1) work with the Director of the Bureau of Economic 
     Analysis and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies to 
     develop a Coastal and Ocean Economy Satellite Account that 
     includes national, Tribal, and State-level statistics to 
     measure the contribution of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, 
     estuaries, and coasts to the overall economy of the United 
     States; and
       (2) collaborate with national and international 
     organizations and governments to promote consistency of 
     methods, measurements, and definitions to ensure 
     comparability of results between countries.
       (c) Report.--Not less frequently than once every 2 years 
     until the date that is 20 years after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation 
     with the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall 
     publish a report that--
       (1) defines the Blue Economy, in coordination with Indian 
     Tribes, academia, the private sector, nongovernmental 
     organizations, and other relevant experts;
       (2) makes recommendations for updating North American 
     Industry Classification System (NAICS) reporting codes to 
     reflect the Blue Economy; and
       (3) provides a comprehensive estimate of the value and 
     impact of the Blue Economy with respect to each State and 
     territory of the United States, including--
       (A) the value and impact of--
       (i) economic activities that are dependent upon the 
     resources of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and 
     coasts;
       (ii) the population and demographic characteristics of the 
     population along the coasts;
       (iii) port and shoreline infrastructure;
       (iv) the volume and value of cargo shipped by sea or across 
     the Great Lakes; and
       (v) data collected from the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, 
     estuaries, and coasts, including such data collected by 
     businesses that purchase and commodify the data, including 
     weather prediction and seasonal agricultural forecasting; and
       (B) to the extent possible, the qualified value and impact 
     of the natural capital of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, 
     estuaries, and coasts with respect to tourism, recreation, 
     natural resources, and cultural heritage, including other 
     indirect values.

     SEC. _09. ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY-OCEANS.

       (a) Agreement.--Not later than 45 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall seek to 
     enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences 
     to conduct the comprehensive assessment under subsection (b).
       (b) Comprehensive Assessment.--
       (1) In general.--Under an agreement between the 
     Administrator and the National Academy of Sciences under this 
     section, the National Academy of Sciences shall conduct a 
     comprehensive assessment to evaluate--
       (A) whether there is a need for an Advanced Research 
     Projects Agency-Oceans (ARPA-O) that operates within the 
     National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 
     coordination with, but not duplicative of, existing Federal 
     research programs relating to oceanic, coastal, Great Lakes, 
     estuarine, and related systems, including programs of the 
     Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research of the National 
     Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and
       (B) if there is such a need, the feasibility of 
     establishing such an ARPA-O.
       (2) Elements.--The comprehensive assessment conducted under 
     paragraph (1) shall include--
       (A) an assessment of how an ARPA-O may help overcome the 
     long-term and high-risk technological barriers in the 
     development of ocean technologies, with the goal of enhancing 
     the economic, ecological, and national security of the United 
     States through the rapid development of technologies that 
     result in--
       (i) improved data collection, monitoring, and prediction of 
     the ocean environment, including sea ice conditions;
       (ii) overcoming barriers to the application of new and 
     improved technologies, such as high costs and scale of 
     operational missions;
       (iii) improved technology for fishery stock assessments and 
     surveys; and
       (iv) ensuring that the United States maintains a 
     technological lead in developing and deploying advanced ocean 
     technologies;
       (B) an evaluation of the organizational structures under 
     which an ARPA-O could be organized, which takes into 
     account--
       (i) best practices for new research programs;
       (ii) metrics and approaches for periodic program 
     evaluation;
       (iii) capacity to fund and manage external research awards; 
     and
       (iv) options for oversight of the activity through the 
     National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;
       (C) an estimation of the scale of investment necessary to 
     pursue high priority ocean technology projects; and
       (D) in a case in which an ARPA-O is not recommended as an 
     independent office, recommendations to improve the Office of 
     Oceanic and Atmospheric Research of the National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration to achieve the goals described in 
     subparagraph (A).
       (c) Report.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to 
     the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the 
     comprehensive assessment conducted under subsection (b).
       (2) Definition of appropriate committees of congress.--In 
     this section, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' 
     means--
       (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
     of the Senate;
       (B) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
       (C) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
     Representatives;
       (D) the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 
     House of Representatives; and
       (E) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
     Representatives.

     SEC. _10. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.

       No additional funds are to be authorized to carry out this 
     title.
                                 ______