Blue Globe Act — Calendar No. 206, Senate, 117th Congress, 2d Session 117-74
Summary
Senate Report 117–74, 2d Session, Calendar No. 206, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on S. 140, the Blue Globe Act, ordered to be printed February 15, 2022. The Committee reports favorably with an amendment (in the nature of a substitute) and recommends that the bill (as amended) do pass. The report states that S. 140 would promote data collection, analysis, synthesis, and sharing, monitoring, and exploration of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts. It reproduces a Congressional Budget Office cost estimate stating that implementing S. 140 would cost $6 million over the 2022–2026 period, subject to the availability of appropriated amounts.
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“Blue Globe Act — Calendar No. 206, Senate, 117th Congress, 2d Session 117-74.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crpt-crpt-117srpt74-crpt-117srpt74/
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Calendar No. 206
117TH CONGRESS REPORT
" SENATE !
2d Session 117–74
BLUE GLOBE ACT
R E P O R T
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND
TRANSPORTATION
ON
S. 140
FEBRUARY 15, 2022.—Ordered to be printed
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U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
29–010 WASHINGTON : 2022
congress.#13
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington, Chair
AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota ROGER WICKER, Mississippi
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii ROY BLUNT, Missouri
EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts TED CRUZ, Texas
GARY PETERS, Michigan DEB FISCHER, Nebraska
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin JERRY MORAN, Kansas
TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska
JON TESTER, Montana MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona TODD YOUNG, Indiana
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada MIKE LEE, Utah
BEN RAY LUJÁN, New Mexico RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Colorado SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia
RAPHAEL WARNOCK, Georgia RICK SCOTT, Florida
CYNTHIA LUMMIS, Wyoming
MELISSA PORTER, Acting Staff Director
JOHN KEAST, Minority Staff Director
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(II)
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Calendar No. 206
117TH CONGRESS REPORT
" SENATE !
2d Session 117–74
BLUE GLOBE ACT
FEBRUARY 15, 2022.—Ordered to be printed
Ms. CANTWELL, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 140]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to
which was referred the bill (S. 140) to improve data collection and
monitoring of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts,
and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favor-
ably thereon with an amendment (in the nature of a substitute)
and recommends that the bill (as amended) do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
S. 140 would promote data collection, analysis, synthesis, and
sharing, monitoring, and exploration of the Great Lakes, oceans,
bays, estuaries, and coasts to advance science and operational deci-
sion making.
BACKGROUND AND NEEDS
NOAA WORKFORCE
In 2001, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified
acquiring and developing a skilled workforce at the National Oce-
anic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a high-risk area
for mismanagement.1 The absence of mission-critical skills impede
agencies’ abilities to fulfill their tasks and achieve results in the
1 GAO, High Risk Series: An Update, GAO–01–2683, 2001 (https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-
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01-263).
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most cost-efficient manner.2 The lack of resources for recruiting, re-
taining, and developing staff caused decreased capacity in NOAA’s
Workforce Management Office and a hiring backlog for the Na-
tional Weather Service (NWS) in 2013.3 Unfilled vacancies in the
NWS led to managers and staff needing to perform additional tasks
to ensure that life-saving forecasts and warnings were issued.4
In addition to hiring backlogs, other NOAA workforce issues in-
clude the lack of workforce diversity. In October 2016, NOAA devel-
oped its Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan, as required by Ex-
ecutive Order 13583—Establishing a Coordinated Government-
wide Initiative to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in the Federal
Workforce.5 To promote diversity and inclusion, NOAA identified
three goals as part of its plan: (1) recruit a diverse, highly capable
workforce; (2) build a work environment that promotes inclusion;
and (3) build sustained leadership commitment to a diverse and in-
clusive NOAA through accountability, data, and education. Though
NOAA has experienced increased participation rates among minor-
ity groups over the years, the rates are still lower than expected.
NOAA continues to remain committed to examining barriers lim-
iting a diverse workforce.6
ELECTRONIC MONITORING
Electronic monitoring (EM) can be a more accurate, efficient, and
timely method to record fish catch and effort data compared to
paper-based logbooks. There are multiple ways to implement elec-
tronic monitoring systems, for example by using cameras and sen-
sors (e.g., GPS receivers, sensors to detect activities, control box to
record data).7 The system then can record fish species, fishing time
and location, catch handling, number of bycatch, and catch count-
ing.8 In 2015, EM was fully implemented in the Atlantic and Gulf
pelagic longline fishery to observe bluefin tuna bycatch.9 Starting
in May 2021, fishers in the groundfish fishery can opt to deploy
EM systems to replace human at-sea monitors. Differences in fish-
ery dynamics, target species, vessel sizes, and fishing gear all re-
quire specialized EM systems. Despite the potential benefits of EM,
there are still numerous challenges in the design and implementa-
tion of EM. For example, data storage and access can be very cost-
ly, and human data and video review can be costly and untimely.
To scale up EM usage in different fisheries, these challenges need
to be addressed.
2 GAO, National Weather Service: Actions Have Been Taken to Fill Increasing Vacancies, but
Opportunities Exist to Improve and Evaluate Hiring, GAO–17–364, 2017 (https://www.gao.gov/
assets/gao-17-364.pdf).
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Inclusion and Civil Rights,
NOAA Diversity and Inclusion Implementation Plan—Workforce Diversity, 2017 (https://
www.eeo.noaa.gov/d&i/diversity_inclusion_strategic_plan.html).
6 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Management Directive 715: Equal Em-
ployment Opportunity Program Status Report, FY 2017 (https://www.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/
legacy/document/2020/Sep/MD715-FY%202017-Final.pdf).
7 National Marine Fisheries Service, ‘‘Electronic Monitoring in the Northeast’’ (https://
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/new-england-mid-atlantic/commercial-fishing/electronic-monitoring-
northeast#how-electronic-monitoring-works) (accessed May 18, 2021).
8 Ibid.
9 EDF, Electronic Technologies and Data Policy for U.S. Fisheries: Key Topics, Barriers, and
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Opportunities, July 2020 (https://www.edf.org/sites/default/files/documents/EDFWhitePaper%2C
ElectronicTechnologiesAndDataPolicyForU.S.Fisheries%2C6-22-20.pdf).
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3
BLUE ECONOMY
Over 40 percent of all Americans currently live in coastal re-
gions, and these regions account for nearly half of total economic
productivity in the United States,10 with 3.2 million employees
working in 152,000 businesses in the ocean and Great Lakes econo-
mies, earning $128 billion in wages as of 2015.11 In 2015, employ-
ment in the ocean economy added 97,000 jobs, an increase of 3.2
percent, compared to the national average employment growth of
2.1 percent.12 In 2018, America’s blue economy contributed $373
billion to the Nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) and grew fast-
er than the Nation’s GDP as a whole.13 The top five sectors that
contributed to the marine economy were: tourism and recreation
($143 billion), National Defense and public administration ($124
billion), offshore minerals ($49 billion), transportation and
warehousing ($25 billion), and living resources ($13 billion).14
ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY–OCEANS
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) was
established over 60 years ago and has continued to make pivotal
investments in technological development for United States na-
tional security. Working with innovators inside and outside the
Government (academic, nonprofit, and for-profit) has led to
groundbreaking innovations, such as the internet, automated voice
recognition, and Global Positions System (GPS) receivers small
enough to embed in consumer devices.15 In 2007, following a report
by the National Academies, Congress passed the America COM-
PETES Act, which authorized the creation of the Advanced Re-
search Project Agency Energy (ARPA–E). ARPA–E was modeled
after DARPA to maintain the United States’ advantages in science
and technology, and to advance high-impact and high-potential en-
ergy technologies that are too early for private-sector investment.
There has been an interest in examining the potential need for
an ARPA entity for the advancement of oceans technology. There
are several Federal entities that currently conduct ocean research.
For example, in December 2017, DARPA announced the creation of
the Ocean of Things program to enable persistent maritime situa-
tional awareness through a low-cost distributed sensor network.
Each sensor would contain a suite of commercially available sen-
sors to collect environmental data as well as activity data about
vessels, aircraft, and marine mammals. The floats housing sensors
would transmit data periodically via satellite to a cloud network for
storage and real-time analysis.16 Additionally, NOAA’s Oceanic and
Atmospheric Research (OAR) line office ‘‘provides the research
10 NOAA Digital Coast, ‘‘Socioeconomic Data Summary’’ (https://coast.noaa.gov/data/
digitalcoast/pdf/socioeconomic-data-summary.pdf) (accessed May 22, 2018).
11 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office for Coastal Management, NOAA
Report on the U.S. Ocean and Great Lakes Economy, 2018 (https://coast.noaa.gov/data/
digitalcoast/pdf/econ-report-2015.pdf).
12 Ibid.
13 NOAA, ‘‘Marine Economy in 2018 Grew Faster Than U.S. Overall,’’ press release, June 2,
2020 (https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/marine-economy-in-2018-grew-faster-than-us-overall).
14 Ibid.
15 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, ‘‘About DARPA’’ (https://www.darpa.mil/about-
us/about-darpa) (accessed July 13, 2020).
16 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, ‘‘Ocean of Things Aims to Expand Maritime
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Awareness Across Open Seas,’’ December 6, 2017 (https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2017-12-
06).
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4
foundation for understanding the complex systems that support our
planet,’’ which includes a substantial investment in ocean re-
search.17
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS
If enacted, S. 140, the BLUE GLOBE Act, would do the fol-
lowing:
• Direct the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and At-
mosphere to conduct a study through the National Academy of
Sciences on scientific workforce and develop a workforce devel-
opment program to address workforce issues identified;
• Accelerate innovation at NOAA cooperative institutes by focus-
ing on emerging technologies;
• Establish a program to improve data collection and synthesis
on blue economy industries related to the Great Lakes, oceans,
bays, estuaries, and coasts;
• Direct the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and At-
mosphere to enter into an agreement with the National Acad-
emy of Sciences to conduct a comprehensive assessment on the
need for and feasibility of an Advanced Research Projects
Agency–Oceans (ARPA–O) within NOAA.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 140, the Bolstering Long-Term Understanding and Explo-
ration of the Great Lakes, Oceans, Bays, and Estuaries Act or the
BLUE GLOBE Act, was introduced on January 28, 2021, by Sen-
ator Whitehouse and was referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate. On March 2, 2021, Sen-
ator Murkowski was added as a cosponsor, and Senators Merkley
and Portman became cosponsors on March 9, 2021. On May 12,
2021, the Committee met in open Executive Session and, by voice
vote, ordered S. 140 reported favorably with an amendment (in the
nature of a substitute).
116TH CONGRESS
A similar act, S. 933, was introduced on March 28, 2019, by Sen-
ator Whitehouse (for himself and Senator Murkowski) and was re-
ferred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
of the Senate. On July 22, 2020, the Committee met in open Execu-
tive Session and, by voice vote, ordered S. 933 reported favorably
with an amendment (in the nature of a substitute).
A related bill, H.R. 3548, the BLUE GLOBE Act, was introduced
on June 27, 2019, by Representative Suzanne Bonamici (for herself
and Representative Don Young) and referred to the Committees on
Natural Resources; Science, Space and Technology; and Education
and Labor in the House of Representatives. Seven additional co-
sponsors were later added.
ESTIMATED COSTS
In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the Standing
Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the Congressional Budget
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17 NOAA, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, ‘‘About Us’’ (https://research.noaa.gov/) (accessed
on July 31, 2020).
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Act of 1974, the Committee provides the following cost estimate,
prepared by the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. CONGRESS,
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE,
Washington, DC, January 18, 2022.
Hon. MARIA CANTWELL,
Chair, Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
DEAR MADAM CHAIR: The Congressional Budget Office has pre-
pared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 140, the BLUE GLOBE Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased
to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Robert Reese.
Sincerely,
PHILLIP L. SWAGEL,
Director.
Enclosure.
S. 140, $LUI:: QLOBE Act
Aa rel)(lr:teif by the Seriatii Qomm!ttaa.:on CQmmerea, Sclanca; an.d trilnal)(lrtatipn on fleca.lhf:ler fl', 21>:H.
By Fiscal Year, Millions of Dollars 2022 2022-2026 2022-2031
Direct Spending (Outlays) 0 0 0
Revenues 0 0 0
Increase or Decrease (-)
in the Deficit 0 0 0
S. 140 would require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration (NOAA) to contract with the National Academy of
Sciences (NAS) to complete two studies and report the results to
the Congress. One study would assess the supply of skilled labor
in the federal, private, and nonprofit sectors for oceanic and atmos-
pheric research. The other would assess whether a new advanced
oceanic research agency is needed within NOAA.
S. 140 also would direct NOAA to evaluate the benefits of using
emerging technology to support oceanic research and monitoring
within several programs. The bill would require NOAA, in coordi-
nation with the Bureau of Economic Analysis, to periodically study
the value and effects of industries related to the Great Lakes and
other major bodies of water in the United States and to report
those findings biennially to the Congress. Finally, the bill would re-
quire NOAA to establish a competition to develop fisheries moni-
toring equipment and data analysis tools.
The bill states that no appropriations are authorized to imple-
ment the requirements. However, using information on similar ac-
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tivities, CBO expects that NOAA would require seven additional
Insert offset folio 8 here SR74.001
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full-time-equivalent employees as well as additional equipment and
funding to service the NAS contracts and award prizes under the
new competition. Using information on the duration of and awards
given out for recent prize competitions administered by NOAA,
CBO expects prizes would total about $600,000 and would be
awarded in 2026.
On that basis, CBO estimates that implementing S. 140 would
cost $6 million over the 2022–2026 period; such spending would be
subject to the availability of appropriated amounts.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Robert Reese. The esti-
mate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of
Budget Analysis.
REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT
Because S. 140 does not create any new programs, the legislation
will have no additional regulatory impact, and will result in no ad-
ditional reporting requirements. The legislation will have no fur-
ther effect on the number or types of individuals and businesses
regulated, the economic impact of such regulation, the personal pri-
vacy of affected individuals, or the paperwork required from such
individuals and businesses.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
In compliance with paragraph 4(b) of rule XLIV of the Standing
Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides that no provisions
contained in the bill, as reported, meet the definition of congres-
sionally directed spending items under the rule.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section. 1. Short title.
This section would provide that the bill may be cited as the ‘‘Bol-
stering Long-term Understanding and Exploration of the Great
Lakes, Oceans, Bays, and Estuaries Act’’ or the ‘‘BLUE GLOBE
Act’’.
Section 2. Purpose.
This section would provide that the purpose of the bill would be
to better facilitate science and operational decision making of the
Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and the coasts.
Section 3. Sense of Congress.
This section would highlight the sense of Congress that agencies
should optimize data collection, management, and dissemination to
maximize the impacts, among other things, on science and policy-
making with respect to the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries,
and coasts.
Section 4. Definitions.
This section would define the terms ‘‘Administrator’’ and ‘‘Indian
Tribe’’.
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Section 5. Workforce study.
This section would amend the America COMPETES Reauthoriza-
tion Act 18 by requiring the Under Secretary of Commerce for
Oceans and Atmosphere to request the National Academy of
Sciences to conduct a study on the scientific workforce in the areas
of oceanic and atmospheric research and development. The study
would, among other things, investigate: (1) whether there is a
shortage in the number of individuals with technical or trade-based
skillsets for careers in the oceanic and atmospheric field; (2) work-
force diversity and actions the agency can take to increase diver-
sity; and (3) actions the agency can take to shorten the hiring back-
log for this workforce. The report would be submitted to Congress
within 18 months of enactment of this Act.
Section 6. Accelerating innovation at Cooperative Institutes.
This section would direct the Administrator to evaluate whether
to include advancing: (1) applied use and development of advanced
genetic technologies (e.g., eDNA); (2) deployment and improve-
ments to advanced unmanned vehicles; and (3) supercomputing
and big data management, as part of the goals of NOAA’s Coopera-
tive Institutes.
Section 7. Electronic Monitoring Innovation Prize.
This section would direct the Administrator, in consultation with
the heads of relevant Federal agencies and nongovernmental part-
ners, to establish the Electronic Monitoring Innovation Prize.
Section 8. Blue Economy valuation.
This section would direct the Administrator, in collaboration with
the heads of relevant Federal agencies, to prioritize 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. This section would also list what Blue Economy indus-
tries include.
Section 9. Advanced Research Projects Agency–Oceans.
This section would direct the Administrator to request the Na-
tional Academy of Science to conduct a comprehensive assessment
of the need for and feasibility of establishing an Advanced Re-
search Projects Agency–Oceans (ARPA–O) that operates within
NOAA. This report would include an assessment of how an ARPA–
O could help overcome the long-term and high-risk technological
barriers in the development of ocean technologies and evaluation of
the organizational structures under which an ARPA–O could be or-
ganized.
Section 10. No additional funds authorized.
This section would ensure that no additional funds are author-
ized to carry out this Act.
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18 33 U.S.C. 893c(a).
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CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing
Rules of the Senate, 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, new material is printed in italic, ex-
isting law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman):
AMERICA COMPETES
REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2010
[33 U.S.C. 893c(a)–(d)]
* * * * * * *
TITLE III—NATIONAL OCEANIC AND
ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
* * * * * * *
SEC. 303. WORKFORCE STUDY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The øSecretary of Commerce¿ Under Sec-
retary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, in cooperation with
the Secretary of Education, shall request the National Academy of
Sciences to conduct a study on the scientific workforce in the areas
of oceanic and atmospheric research and development. The study
shall investigate—
(1) whether there is a shortage in the number of individ-
uals with advanced degrees in oceanic and atmospheric
sciences who have the ability to conduct high quality scientific
research in physical and chemical oceanography, meteorology,
and atmospheric modeling, and related fields, for government,
nonprofit, and private sector entities;
(2) whether there is a shortage in the number of individ-
uals with technical or trade-based skillsets or credentials suited
to a career in oceanic and atmospheric data collection, proc-
essing, satellite production, or satellite operations;
ø(2)¿(3) what Federal programs are available to help facili-
tate the education of students hoping to pursue these degrees,
skillsets, or credentials;
ø(3)¿(4) barriers to transitioning highly qualified oceanic
and atmospheric scientists or highly qualified technical profes-
sionals and tradespeople into Federal civil service scientist ca-
reer tracks;
ø(4)¿(5) what institutions of higher education, the private
sector, and the Congress could do to increase the number of in-
dividuals with such post baccalaureate degrees, skillsets, or
credentials;
ø(5)¿(6) the impact of an aging Federal øscientist¿ work-
force on the ability of Federal agencies to conduct high quality
scientific researchø; and¿, observations, and monitoring;
ø(6)¿(7) what actions the Federal government can take to
assist the transition of highly qualified scientists øinto Federal
career scientist positions and ensure that the experiences of re-
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tiring Federal scientists are adequately documented and trans-
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ferred prior to retirement from Federal service.¿, technical pro-
fessionals, and tradespeople into Federal career positions;
(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.—The øSecretary of Commerce¿ Under Sec-
retary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and the Secretary
of Education shall consult with the heads of other Federal agencies
and departments with oceanic and atmospheric expertise or author-
ity in preparing the specifications for the study.
(c) REPORT.—No later than 18 months after øthe date of enact-
ment of this Act¿ the date of the enactment of the Bolstering Long-
term Understanding and Exploration of the Great Lakes, Oceans,
Bays, and Estuaries Act, the øSecretary of Commerce¿ Under Sec-
retary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and the Secretary
of Education shall transmit a joint report øto each committee of
Congress with jurisdiction over the programs described in 4002(b)
of the America COMPETES Act (33 U.S.C. 893a(b)), as amended by
section 302 of this Act¿ 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, detailing the findings and rec-
ommendations of the study and setting forth a prioritized plan to
implement the recommendations.
(d) PROGRAM AND PLAN.—The øAdministrator of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration¿ Under Secretary of Com-
merce for Oceans and Atmosphere shall evaluate the National
Academy of Sciences study and develop a workforce program and
plan to institutionalize the Administration’s Federal science career
pathways and address aging workforce issues. The program and
plan shall be developed in consultation with the Administration’s
cooperative institutes and other øacademic partners to identify and
implement programs and mechanisms to ensure that—¿ academic
partners.
(1) sufficient highly qualified scientists are able to transi-
tion into Federal career scientist positions in the Administra-
tion’s laboratories and programs; and
(2) the technical and management experiences of senior
employees are documented and transferred before leaving Fed-
eral service.
* * * * * * *
Æ
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