S. 381 · 117th Congress
National Ocean Exploration Act
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 117th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
R
WickerSponsor5 cosponsors · 3 D, 2 R
4 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill provides statutory authority for the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Council and revises several programs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that support ocean and coastal mapping, hydrographic surveys, and spatial data collection.
What it does: CRS summary · Reported to Senate · Dec 16, 2021
National Ocean Exploration Act
This bill provides statutory authority for the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Council and revises several programs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that support ocean and coastal mapping, hydrographic surveys, and spatial data collection.
The bill revises the national ocean exploration program to require NOAA to provide guidance to federal and state agencies, and others, on data standards, protocols for accepting data, and coordination of data collection, compilation, processing, archiving, and dissemination for data relating to ocean exploration and characterization. It also directs NOAA to conduct education and outreach efforts to disseminate information to the public on the discoveries made by the ocean exploration program and coordinate with the outreach strategies of other domestic or international ocean mapping, exploration, and characterization initiatives.
Additionally, the bill repeals the undersea research program of NOAA. It also modifies NOAA's ocean and coastal mapping program to include ecosystem approaches in decision-making for natural resource and habitat restoration, emergency response, and coastal resilience and adaptation.
NOAA must develop an integrated ocean and coastal mapping federal funding match opportunity to increase the coordinated acquisition, processing, stewardship, and archival of new ocean and coastal mapping data in U.S. waters.
The bill also revises and reauthorizes through FY2026 the hydrographic services program of NOAA.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: National Ocean Exploration Act
Latest action (Feb 15, 2022): By Senator Cantwell from Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation filed written report. Report No. 117-76.
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Feb 23, 2021
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.