[House Report 106-987]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



106th Congress                                            Rept. 106-987
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                      Part 2

======================================================================



 
            PARTIAL NOAA PROGRAMS AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 1999

                                _______
                                

October 25, 2000.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1552]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 1552) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2000 
and fiscal year 2001 for the Marine Research and related 
environmental research and development program activities of 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the 
National Science Foundation, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments 
and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Partial NOAA Programs Authorization 
Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    (a) In General.--For purposes of this Act, the term--
          (1) ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of the National 
        Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and
          (2) ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Commerce.
    (b) Marine Research.--For the purposes of this Act, the term 
``marine research'' does not include--
          (1) fisheries research, assessment, and management;
          (2) acquisition of hydrographic survey data; or
          (3) navigation services.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE.

    (a) Operations, Research, and Facilities.--There are authorized to 
be appropriated to the Secretary to enable the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration to carry out the oceanographic and marine 
research activities of the National Ocean Service $38,806,000 for 
fiscal year 2000 and $38,806,000 for fiscal year 2001, to remain 
available until expended.
    (b) Ocean Resources, Conservation, and Assessment.--Of the amounts 
authorized under subsection (a), $14,055,000 for fiscal year 2000 and 
$14,055,000 for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Ocean Resources and 
Conservation Assessment, of which--
          (1) $7,970,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $7,970,000 for fiscal 
        year 2001 shall be for Oceanic and Coastal Research; and
          (2) $6,085,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $6,085,000 for fiscal 
        year 2001 shall be for the Great Lakes Environmental Research 
        Laboratory.
    (c) Acquisition of Data.--Of the amounts authorized under 
subsection (a), $5,321,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $5,321,000 for 
fiscal year 2001 shall be for Acquisition of Data.
    (d) Coastal Ocean Program.--Of the amounts authorized under 
subsection (a), $19,430,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $19,430,000 for 
fiscal year 2001 shall be for the Coastal Ocean Program.

SEC. 4. OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH.

    (a) Operations, Research, and Facilities.--There are authorized to 
be appropriated to the Secretary to enable the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration to carry out the oceanographic and marine 
research activities of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research 
$68,100,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $68,100,000 for fiscal year 2001, 
to remain available until expended.
    (b) Marine Environmental Research.--Of the amounts authorized under 
subsection (a), $24,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $24,000,000 for 
fiscal year 2001 shall be for Marine Environmental Research. Of such 
amounts, $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $2,000,000 for fiscal year 
2001 shall be for arctic research.
    (c) NURP.--Of the amounts authorized under subsection (a), 
$15,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 
shall be for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
Undersea Research Program (NURP).
    (d) Ocean Observations.--Of the amounts authorized under subsection 
(a), $14,100,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $14,100,000 for fiscal year 
2001 shall be for ocean observations.
    (e) Acquisition of Data.--Of the amounts authorized under 
subsection (a), $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $15,000,000 for 
fiscal year 2001 shall be for Acquisition of Data.

SEC. 5. PROGRAM SUPPORT.

    (a) Operations, Research, and Facilities.--There are authorized to 
be appropriated to the Secretary to enable the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration to carry out the oceanographic and marine 
research activities of Program Support $73,887,000 for fiscal year 2000 
and $73,887,000 for fiscal year 2001, to remain available until 
expended.
    (b) Administration and Services.--Of the amounts authorized under 
subsection (a), $62,868,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $62,868,000 for 
fiscal year 2001 shall be for Administration and Services, of which--
          (1) $19,573,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $19,573,000 for 
        fiscal year 2001 shall be for Executive Direction and 
        Administration;
          (2) $712,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $712,000 for fiscal 
        year 2001 shall be for Systems Acquisition Office;
          (3) $41,583,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $41,583,000 for 
        fiscal year 2001 shall be for Central Administrative Support; 
        and
          (4) $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $1,000,000 for fiscal 
        year 2001 shall be for Historically Black Colleges and 
        Universities.
    (c) Aircraft Services.--Of the amounts authorized under subsection 
(a), $11,019,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $11,019,000 for fiscal year 
2001 shall be for Aircraft Services.
    (d) Independent Audit of Aircraft Services.--
          (1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, using available 
        funds, enter into appropriate arrangements with an independent 
        external auditor capable of providing an audit to determine 
        whether outsourcing of aircraft services is a more cost-
        effective alternative to in-house operation of aircraft in 
        meeting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 
        aircraft requirements of the conduct of marine and atmospheric 
        research and related environmental research and development 
        activities, and for other data and mission needs.
          (2) Auditing procedures.--
                  (A) In general.--The audit under paragraph (1) shall 
                be conducted in accordance with generally accepted 
                government auditing standards.
                  (B) Access to information.--The Secretary shall 
                provide the independent external auditor the 
                information such auditor requires to conduct the audit 
                under paragraph (1). The independent external auditor 
                may inspect any records of and have access to personnel 
                of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
                to obtain such information.
          (3) Report of the results of the audit.--Not later than 180 
        days after the initiation of the audit required by this 
        subsection, the independent external auditor shall submit a 
        report concerning the results of the audit to the Committee on 
        Science of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
        Science, Commerce, and Transportation of the Senate.

SEC. 6. FACILITIES.

    (a) Operations, Research, and Facilities.--There are authorized to 
be appropriated to the Secretary to enable the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration to carry out the Operations, Research, and 
Facilities oceanographic and marine research activities required to 
carry out Facilities Maintenance and Repairs and Environmental 
Compliance $5,717,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $5,717,000 for fiscal 
year 2001, to remain available until expended.
    (b) Facilities Maintenance and Repairs.--Of the amounts authorized 
under subsection (a), $1,818,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $1,818,000 
for fiscal year 2001 shall be for Facilities Maintenance and Repairs.
    (c) Environmental Compliance.--Of the amounts authorized under 
subsection (a), $3,899,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $3,899,000 for 
fiscal year 2001 shall be for Facilities Environmental Compliance.

SEC. 7. INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.

    The Administrator shall make available through the Internet home 
page of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration the 
abstracts relating to all research grants and awards made with funds 
authorized by this Act. Nothing in this section shall be construed to 
require or permit the release of any information prohibited by law or 
regulation from being released to the public.

SEC. 8. REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES.

    Notwithstanding section 3302 (b) and (c) of title 31, United States 
Code, of the amounts received by the United States in settlement of, or 
judgment for, damage claims arising from the October 9, 1992, allision 
of the vessel ZACHARY into the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration research vessel DISCOVERER, $349,000--
          (1) shall be retained as an offsetting collection in the 
        Operations, Research and Facilities account of the National 
        Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;
          (2) shall be deposited into that account upon receipt by the 
        United States Government; and
          (3) shall be available only for obligation for National 
        Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration marine services.

SEC. 9. ABOLISHMENT OF CHIEF SCIENTIST POSITION.

    (a) Abolishment of Position.--The position of Chief Scientist of 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is abolished.
    (b) Termination of Reorganization Plan Provision.--Subsection (d) 
of section 2 of Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall 
have no force or effect.
    (c) References.--Any reference in any other Federal law, Executive 
order, rule, regulation, delegation of authority, or document to Chief 
Scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is 
deemed to refer to the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration.
    (d) Clerical Amendment.--Section 5316 of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended by striking ``Chief Scientist, National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration.''.

    Amend the title so as to read:

      A bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2000 
and fiscal year 2001 for the oceanographic and marine research 
activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, and for other purposes.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 1552, as reported by the Committee on 
Resources, is to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2000 
and fiscal year 2001 for oceanographic and marine research 
activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, and for other purposes.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 
conducts research, monitoring, assessments and other studies on 
a variety of ocean, fisheries and coastal topics to support its 
oceanographic, environmental prediction and marine resource 
management functions. Lacking an Organic Act for the agency, 
some of NOAA's work is authorized under permanent statutory 
general and some is authorized in free-standing statutes for 
specific periods of time. Several efforts have been made over 
the last five years to enact annual NOAA authorization measures 
for those programs that are carried out under permanent general 
authorities, but none of these efforts have succeeded. H.R. 
1552 authorizes appropriations for a large portion of NOAA's 
oceanographic activities for fiscal years 2000 and 2001.
    H.R. 1552 was referred to both the Committee on Science and 
the Committee on Resources for consideration of the provisions 
that fall within each committee's jurisdiction. The Resources 
Committee has jurisdiction over ``oceanography'' and the 
Science Committee has jurisdiction over ``marine research'' 
under Rule 10 of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 
Therefore, oversight jurisdiction for some NOAA programs is 
shared by the two Committees. Other programs, such as 
navigation services and fisheries research and management, fall 
exclusively under the jurisdiction of the Resources Committee. 
H.R. 1552, as introduced, included authorization of several 
NOAA programs under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Committee 
on Resources. H.R. 1552 as reported by the Committee on 
Resources removes the programs under its exclusive 
jurisdiction. The bill as reported contains authorizations only 
for those programs with shared committee jurisdiction, and 
restores funding for these programs to the levels in the 
Administration's fiscal year 2000 budget request. Table 1 
summarizes the funding levels and programs authorized in the 
bill as reported from the Committee on Resources. 


                            Committee Action

    H.R. 1552 was introduced on April 26, 1999, by Congressman 
Ken Calvert (R-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Science and additionally to the Committee on Resources. Within 
the Committee on Resources, the bill was referred to the 
Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans. On 
March 18, 1999, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the fiscal 
year 2000 budget for NOAA, which includes the programs 
authorized in this bill. On May 6, 1999, the Subcommittee met 
to mark up the bill. Subcommittee Chairman Jim Saxton (R-NJ) 
offered an amendment to remove from the bill authorizations for 
activities that fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the 
Committee on Resources, move the Coastal Ocean Program to the 
Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, create a new ocean 
observation activity line item, and restore funding for the 
remaining programs to the fiscal year 2000 Administration 
request levels. The amendment was adopted by voice vote. The 
bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported to the 
Full Committee by voice vote. On June 30, 1999, the Full 
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. Subcommittee 
Chairman Saxton (R-NJ) offered an amendment to eliminate the 
position of Chief Scientist within NOAA, allow NOAA to be 
reimbursed for costs incurred due to an accident involving one 
of its ships, and return the Coastal Ocean Program to the 
National Ocean Service. The amendment was adopted by voice 
vote. The bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported 
to the House of Representatives by voice vote.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short title

    This Act may be cited as the Partial NOAA Programs 
Authorization Act of 1999.

Section 2. Definitions

    The term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the term 
``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Commerce. For the purposes 
of this Act, the term ``marine research'' does not include 
hydrographic surveys, navigation services or fisheries 
research, assessment, and management.

Section 3. National Ocean Service

    Section 3 authorizes $38,806,000 in appropriations for 
oceanographic and marine research activities carried out by the 
National Ocean Service under the Operations, Research and 
Facilities account during each of fiscal years 2000 and 2001. 
These activities include authorizations of $14,055,000 for 
Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment, $19,430,000 for 
the Coastal Ocean Program and $5,321,000 for non-hydrographic 
Acquisition of Data. This section retains the Administration's 
request for the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab at 
$6,085,000 and reduces the authorization for Acquisition of 
Data to $5,321,000 to reflect the needs for non-hydrographic 
data acquisition. Acquisition of hydrographic data is 
authorized separately in the Hydrographic Services Improvement 
Act (Public Law 105-384).

Section 4. Oceanic and atmospheric research

    Section 4 authorizes $68,100,000 in appropriations for 
oceanographic and marine research activities carried out by the 
Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research under the 
Operations, Research and Facilities account during each of 
fiscal years 2000 and 2001. These activities include 
$24,000,000 for Marine Environmental Research, $15,000,000 for 
the National Undersea Research
    Program, $14,100,000 for Ocean Observations, and 
$15,000,000 for Acquisition of Data. The Ocean Observations 
line is a new authorization which consolidates existing ocean 
observing activities into a single unit. These activities are 
currently funded in several places under the Office of Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Research. The funding levels authorized in this 
section reflect the amounts in the fiscal year 2000 
Administration request and an increase for the ocean 
observations activity line.

Section 5. Program support

    Section 5 authorizes $73,887,000 for NOAA's Program Support 
activities in each of fiscal years 2000 and 2001. These 
activities include $19,573,000 for Executive Direction and 
Administration, $712,000 for Systems Acquisition, $41,583,000 
for Central Administrative Support, $1,000,000 for Historically 
Black Colleges and Universities, and $11,019,000 for Aircraft 
Services. These authorizations reflect the levels in the 
Administration's fiscal year 2000 request. This section also 
requires the Secretary to contract with an independent, 
external auditor to evaluate whether the use of private 
aircraft to carry out NOAA's oceanographic activities is a more 
cost effective alternative to in-house maintenance and 
operation of aircraft.

Section 6. Facilities

    Section 6 authorizes $5,717,000 for NOAA's Facilities 
account for each of fiscal years 2000 and 2001. Activities 
authorized under this account include $1,818,000 for Facilities 
Maintenance and Repairs, and $3,899,000 for Environmental 
Compliance.

Section 7. Internet availability of information

    Section 7 requires the Secretary to publish on the Internet 
abstracts for all research grants and awards made with funds 
authorized under this Act.

Section 8. Reimbursement of expenses

    Section 8 requires that $349,000 of the amounts recovered 
by the United States, in settlement of or by judgment for 
damage claims arising from the October 1992 collision of the 
vessel ZACHARY with the NOAA research vessel DISCOVERER, be 
used as an offsetting collection and be available only for 
obligation for NOAA marine services.

Section 9. Abolishment of the chief scientist position

    This section abolishes the statutory references to the 
Chief Scientist position at NOAA. This position is currently 
vacant. NOAA has recently undergone an agency reorganization, 
and does not wish to fill the Chief Scientist vacancy. 
References to the Chief Scientist in statutes are deemed to 
refer to the Administrator of NOAA.

            Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations 
are reflected in the body of this report.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.

                    Compliance with House Rule XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, credit 
authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax 
expenditures. Enactment of this bill would result in $340,000 
in direct spending but any such effect ``would not be 
significant'' according to the Congressional Budget Office.
    3. Government Reform Oversight Findings. Under clause 
3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives, the Committee has received no report of 
oversight findings and recommendations from the Committee on 
Government Reform on this bill.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate 
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, August 5, 1999.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimated for H.R. 1552, the Partial 
NOAA Programs Authorization Act of 1999.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark Hadley.
            Sincerely
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 1552--Partial NOAA Programs Authorization Act of 1999

    Summary: H.R. 1552 would authorize the appropriation of 
$187 million in each of fiscal years 2000 and 2001 for certain 
marine and environment programs of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The bill also would require 
an independent study of savings that could result from 
outsourcing aircraft services related to atmospheric and 
environmental research. In addition, H.R. 1552 would allow NOAA 
to spend, without further appropriations action, the amount 
that has been collected by the federal government as a result 
of damage claims against the vessel ZACHARY.
    CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1552 would result in 
additional outlay of $373 million over the 2000-2004 period, 
assuming the appropriation of the authorized amounts. Because 
enacting H.R. 1552 would affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go 
procedures would apply, but CBO estimates that such effects 
would not be significant. H.R. 1552 contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandate Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs on 
state, local, or tribal governments.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated 
impact of H.R. 1552 on discretionary spending is shown in the 
following table. CBO also estimates that allowing NOAA to spend 
offsetting receipts from federal claims against the vessel 
ZACHARY would increase direct spending by about $340,000 over 
the next five years. For the purpose of this estimate, CBO 
assumes that H.R. 1552 will be enacted by the end of fiscal 
year 1999 and that the amounts authorized will be appropriated 
for each fiscal year. Estimated outlays are based on historical 
spending rates for these programs. The costs of this 
legislation fall within budget function 300 (natural resources 
and environment).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                           -----------------------------------------------------
                                                              1999     2000     2001     2002     2003     2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spending Under Current Law:
    Budget Authority \1\..................................      155        0        0        0        0        0
    Estimated Outlays.....................................      159       62       19        9        0        0
Proposed Changes:
    Authorization Level...................................        0      187      187        0        0        0
    Estimated Outlays.....................................        0      119      164       56       22       11
Spending Under H.R. 1552:
    Authorization Level \1\...............................      155      187      187        0        0        0
    Estimated Outlays.....................................      159      182      183       65       22       11
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The 1999 level is the amount appropriated for that year for the marine and environmental programs conducted
  by NOAA that would be authorized by H.R. 1552.

    Pay-as-you-go considerations: The Balanced Budget and 
Emergency Deficit Control Act sets up pay-as-you-go procedures 
for legislation affecting direct spending or receipts. H.R. 
1552 would affect direct spending by allowing NOAA to spend the 
sum collected as a result of damage claims against the vessel 
ZACHARY, but the amount involved would not be significant.
    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: This bill 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or 
tribal governments. Some of the funds authorized in this bill 
would be used to provide grants for research at public 
universities.
    Previous CBO estimate: On May 7, 1999, CBO transmitted a 
cost estimate for H.R. 1552, the Marine Research and Related 
Environmental Research and Development Programs Authorization 
Act of 1999, as ordered reported by the House Committee on 
Science on April 29, 1999. Differences between the estimates 
are attributable to differences in the two versions. The 
Science Committee's version included funding for programs of 
NOAA and the National Science Foundation that were not included 
in this version. The Science Committee's version would not 
affect direct spending or receipts, however.
    Estimate prepared by: Mark Hadley.
    Estimate approved by: Robert A. Sunshine, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets and 
existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

              SECTION 5316 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE


Sec. 5316. Positions at level V

  Level V of the Executive Schedule applies to the following 
positions, for which the annual rate of basic pay shall be the 
rate determined with respect to such level under chapter 11 of 
title 2, as adjusted by section 5318 of this title:
          Administrator, Bonneville Power Administration, 
        Department of the Interior.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          [Chief Scientist, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration.]

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                                  
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