[House Report 111-532]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
111th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 111-532
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AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS FOR ARCTIC HYDROGRAPHIC ACTIVITIES
_______
July 13, 2010.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Rahall, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2864]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 2864) to amend the Hydrographic Services Improvement
Act of 1998 to authorize funds to acquire hydrographic data and
provide hydrographic services specific to the Arctic for safe
navigation, delineating the United States extended continental
shelf, and the monitoring and description of coastal changes,
having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an
amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 306 of the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998 (33
U.S.C. 892d) is amended--
(1) by inserting before the text the following: ``(a) In
General.--''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(b) Arctic Programs.--Of the amount authorized for each of fiscal
years 2011 and 2012--
``(1) $5,000,000 is authorized for use to acquire
hydrographic data, provide hydrographic services, conduct
coastal change analyses necessary to ensure safe navigation,
and improve the management of coastal change in the Arctic; and
``(2) $2,000,000 is authorized for use to acquire
hydrographic data and provide hydrographic services in the
Arctic necessary to delineate the United States extended
Continental Shelf.''.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 2864 is to amend the Hydrographic
Services Improvement Act of 1998 to authorize funds to acquire
hydrographic data and provide hydrographic services specific to
the Arctic for safe navigation, delineating the United States
extended continental shelf, and the monitoring and description
of coastal changes.
Background and Need for Legislation
The Office of Coast Survey (OCS), within National Ocean
Service (NOS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), is one of the oldest federal agencies
dating back to its establishment by President Thomas Jefferson
in the early 19th Century. OCS conducts hydrographic surveys to
measure the depths and bottom configurations of water bodies,
and has conducted more than 10,600 such surveys since its
establishment. Hydrographic surveys provide the underlying data
necessary to produce the nation's nautical charts, maps and
other aids to navigation to ensure safe navigation throughout
the 3.4 million square nautical miles within the United States'
Exclusive Economic Zone. These surveys also identify sea-floor
materials and features, such as cables, pipelines, wrecks and
other obstructions, as well as fish habitats, which are
important data to have in making decisions for locating
anchorages and for routing pipelines and telecommunication
cables. Surveys also support a variety of activities such as
port and harbor dredging, beach erosion and re-nourishment
studies, coastal zone management, and offshore resource
development, including sand and gravel mining and oil and gas
development.
OCS and other related NOS programs (i.e., current and tide
measurements, height (or geodetic) measurements, and nautical
charts and maps) are authorized under the Hydrographic Services
Improvement Act (HSIA). The HSIA (enacted as Title III of P.L.
105-384) amended the Coast and Geodetic Survey Act of 1947 to
modernize NOAA's responsibilities for the acquisition of
hydrographic survey data, services and products, and to
establish standards and protocols for the maintenance of the
hydrographic survey database. Additionally, the HSIA
established certification standards and fees for hydrographic
products developed outside of OCS and also required NOAA to
develop a plan to utilize private sector contractors in the
acquisition of survey data.
Recent scientific findings released in the 2009 Arctic
Report Card have shown that arctic sea ice is shrinking, with
significantly smaller amounts of summer sea ice cover and a
decrease in older, thicker ice. Open water space in the Arctic
Ocean will correspondingly be available for ship travel,
presenting a changed landscape for a variety of sectors
including international marine commerce and transport, defense,
and greater accessibility to natural resources. These
activities are likely to create substantial new demands on the
federal government to provide hydrographic data and
hydrographic services in the near term.
H.R. 2864 would amend section 306 of the HSIA to authorize
NOAA to use $5 million for Fiscal Years 2011 and 2012 to
acquire hydrographic data, provide hydrographic services,
conduct coastal change analyses necessary to ensure safe
navigation, and improve management of coastal change in the
Arctic, and $2 million for the same period to acquire
hydrographic data and provide hydrographic services to
delineate the United States extended continental shelf.
Committee Action
H.R. 2864 was introduced on June 12, 2009 by Representative
Don Young (R-AK). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife. On May 6, 2010, the
Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. Witnesses representing
NOAA, the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, and the Center for
Ocean and Coastal Mapping at the University of New Hampshire
each testified in support of the urgent need for greater
investments in hydrographic data, services and products for the
Arctic.
On June 16, the Subcommittee was discharged from the
further consideration of H.R. 2864 and the full Natural
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. Representative
Young offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute to
strike $30 million in new authorized funding over Fiscal Years
2011 and 2012, and to substitute authorizations allowing NOAA
to spend $7 million per year from the total amounts authorized
to implement the Hydrographic Services Act to be used to
support activities in the Arctic. This amendment would neither
authorize new funding nor require the use of existing funds. It
would simply clarify that NOAA has specific authority under
HSIA to work in the Arctic and set annual caps on the total
amounts NOAA may spend. The amendment was adopted by unanimous
consent. The bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably
reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.
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 Natural 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, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill, as ordered reported, is to amend the
Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998 to authorize
funds to acquire hydrographic data and provide hydrographic
services specific to the Arctic for safe navigation,
delineating the United States extended continental shelf, and
the monitoring and description of coastal changes.
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:
H.R. 2864--A bill to amend the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of
1998 to authorize funds to acquire hydrographic data and
provide hydrographic services specific to the Arctic for safe
navigation, delineating the United States extended continental
shelf, and the monitoring and description of coastal changes
The Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998 (Public
Law 110-386) authorizes the appropriation of $179 million for
fiscal year 2011 and $182 million for fiscal 2012 for the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to
conduct hydrographic activities (the measurement and
description of features that affect maritime navigation). H.R.
2864 would amend that act to specify that, of the amounts
already authorized to be appropriated under Public Law 110-386,
$7 million in each of fiscal years 2011 and 2012 would be
authorized to be used by NOAA to collect hydrographic data to
enhance the safety of maritime navigation and to map the
extended continental shelf in the Arctic.
Because the bill would not authorize funding in excess of
amounts already authorized to be appropriated under current
law, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would have
no impact on the federal budget. Enacting H.R. 2864 would not
affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures would not apply.
H.R. 2864 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Earmark Statement
H.R. 2864 does not contain any congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in
clause 9 of rule XXI.
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 (new matter is
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
HYDROGRAPHIC SERVICES IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1998
* * * * * * *
TITLE III--NOAA HYDROGRAPHIC SERVICES
* * * * * * *
SEC. 306. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
the Administrator the following:
(1) * * *
(b) Arctic Programs.--Of the amount authorized for each of
fiscal years 2011 and 2012--
(1) $5,000,000 is authorized for use to acquire
hydrographic data, provide hydrographic services,
conduct coastal change analyses necessary to ensure
safe navigation, and improve the management of coastal
change in the Arctic; and
(2) $2,000,000 is authorized for use to acquire
hydrographic data and provide hydrographic services in
the Arctic necessary to delineate the United States
extended Continental Shelf.
* * * * * * *