Committee Reports NOAA Organization Bill – Again
The U.S. House Committee on Science resumed work today that began more than one year ago. In the Committee’s second consideration of an act to formalize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a recognized federal agency, Democrats again attempted to strengthen the much-needed legislation.
"I believe it is important to get this legislation right," stated Ranking Member Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN). "The Organic Act for NOAA must include the tools the Agency needs today and into the future to allow their organization to grow and change as needed to serve our resource needs as our nation grows and changes."
H.R. 5450 (considered and passed last year as H.R. 50) is intended to formally codify NOAA as an agency and define its missions. NOAA was created by Executive Order through the merger of a number of organizations in 1970. To date, the agency has no formally authorized mission or administrative structure.
In a report to Congress nearly two years ago, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy recommended that Federal NOAA "organic act" legislation be considered for proper recognition and designation. H.R. 5450 is designed to meet that need. The legislation is before the Committee again to assuage jurisdictional issues encountered in its previous consideration as H.R. 50.
Democrats agreed this legislation is needed, but much needs to be done to strengthen the bill to meet NOAA’s needs. This bill does not include important authorities and functions in fisheries, coastal zone management and ocean mapping and charting, as well as measures to insure the integrity of work done by NOAA scientists and proper budgetary safeguards.
Democrats offered amendments to strengthen the legislation:
Rep. Jerry Costello (D-IL) (#1) offered an amendment to establish an annual reporting requirement to list all contract and subcontract work that is done overseas and to list all purchases for which the Buy America Act had to be waived. Similar language is in the NASA authorization the Committee passed last year. This amendment was adopted by voice vote.
"We are going to continue to gather information regarding the outsourcing of jobs in this country," said Rep. Costello. "It is imperative that we learn more about the extent that the federal government is sending jobs abroad that can and should be done in the United States, and I am pleased the Committee has recognized this need. At the same time, we should ensure that the information we request from agencies is unfiltered. It is not too much to expect that Congress will receive timely and accurate responses to its requests, but that has not always been the case."
A second amendment offered by Rep. Costello required all reports that Congress requests from NOAA to be provided directly to Congress without review, editing, or censorship by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) or by other Federal agencies. This is a constitutional issue. A legal opinion from the Congressional Research Service Division of American Law supports need for this amendment in that Congress has the right to obtain information from the agencies they oversee and for which they authorize and fund programs. This amendment was defeated: 19 Nays-15 Yeas.
Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO) offered an amendment to establish a reporting requirement for all large procurement programs (>$250 million) at NOAA, similar to a Nunn-McCurdy process. The purpose is to avoid the type of cost and schedule overruns that have occurred in NPOESS. The language of this amendment is nearly identical to that which was signed into law as part of the NASA Authorization Act.
"Without proper oversight, one program’s cost overruns can indirectly affect the research and world renowned programs at NOAA by forcing the agency to shift money in order to continue the over-budget program," said Rep. Udall. "This is a good government amendment that ensures major programs at NOAA do not potentially derail other efforts at the agency and that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely." The Udall Amendment was adopted by voice vote.
Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) offered an amendment to safeguard the integrity of science at NOAA by establishing whistleblower protections for NOAA employees that report instances of tampering or censorship of scientific information; adopting additional safeguards for advisory committees to deal with potential conflicts of interest of committee members; and ensuring greater transparency of advisory committee deliberations and work products. This amendment incorporates most of the components of the Waxman-Gordon Science Integrity bill, H.R. 839 and applies these provisions to NOAA only.
There have been numerous reports of problems with censorship and tampering with scientific information at NOAA of late. Chairman Boehlert even wrote to Admiral Lautenbacher earlier this year about these incidents and asked him to institute a policy of open dialogue and exchange on scientific matters.
"Science does not dictate policy – it informs the policy decisions we make," stated Rep. Miller in defense of his amendment. "We rely upon federal scientists to produce information not propaganda. We need complete, objective, factual information as input to our policy decisions…the incorporation of these provisions into NOAA’s organic legislation makes clear that NOAA’s science and its scientists will be protected from manipulation by shifts in the political winds." The Miller Amendment was defeated: 17 Nays-13 Yeas.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) offered an amendment to ensure that the National Weather Service communicates with all Federal agencies that have responsibilities for emergency management as appropriate. The amendment was adopted by voice vote.
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