(a) Council.—
There is a National Ocean Research Leadership Council (hereinafter in this chapter referred to as the Council).
(b) Membership.— The Council is composed of the following members:
(1) The Secretary of the Navy.
(2) The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
(3) The Director of the National Science Foundation.
(4) The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
(5) The Deputy Secretary of Energy.
(6) The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(7) The Commandant of the Coast Guard.
(8) The Director of the United States Geological Survey of the Department of the Interior.
(9) The Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
(10) The Director of the Minerals Management Service of the Department of the Interior.
(11) The Director of the Office of Science and Technology.
(12) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
(13) The Under Secretary for Science and Technology of the Department of Homeland Security.
(14) Other Federal officials the Council considers appropriate.
(c) Chairman and Vice Chairman.—
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the chairman and vice chairman of the Council shall be appointed every two years by a selection committee of the Council composed of, at a minimum, the Secretary of the Navy, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Director of the National Science Foundation. The term of office of the chairman and vice chairman shall be two years. A person who has previously served as chairman or vice chairman may be reappointed.
(2) The first chairman of the Council shall be the Secretary of the Navy. The first vice chairman of the Council shall be the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
(d) Responsibilities.— The Council shall have the following responsibilities:
(1) To prescribe policies and procedures to implement the National Oceanographic Partnership Program.
(2) To review, select, and identify and allocate funds for partnership projects for implementation under the program, based on the following criteria:
(A) Whether the project addresses critical research objectives or operational goals, such as data accessibility and quality assurance, sharing of resources, education, or communication.
(B) Whether the project has, or is designed to have, broad participation within the oceanographic community.
(C) Whether the partners have a long-term commitment to the objectives of the project.
(D) Whether the resources supporting the project are shared among the partners.
(E) Whether the project has been subjected to adequate peer review.
(3) To assess whether there is a need for a facility (or facilities) to provide national centralization of oceanographic data, and to establish such a facility or facilities if determined necessary. In conducting the assessment, the Council shall review, at a minimum, the following:
(A) The need for a national oceanographic data center.
(B) The need for a national coastal data center.
(C) Accessibility by potential users of such centers.
(D) Preexisting facilities and expertise.
(e) Annual Report.— Not later than March 1 of each year, the Council shall submit to Congress a report on the National Oceanographic Partnership Program. The report shall contain the following:
(1) A description of activities of the program carried out during the fiscal year before the fiscal year in which the report is prepared, together with a list of the members of the Ocean Research Advisory Panel and any working groups in existence during the fiscal year covered.
(2) A general outline of the activities planned for the program during the fiscal year in which the report is prepared.
(3) A summary of projects continued from the fiscal year before the fiscal year in which the report is prepared and projects expected to be started during the fiscal year in which the report is prepared and during the following fiscal year.
(4) A description of the involvement of the program with Federal interagency coordinating entities.
(5) The amounts requested, in the budget submitted to Congress pursuant to section
1105 (a) of title
31 for the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the report is prepared, for the programs, projects, and activities of the program and the estimated expenditures under such programs, projects, and activities during such following fiscal year.
(f) Partnership Program Office.—
(1) The Council shall establish a partnership program office for the National Oceanographic Partnership Program. The Council shall use competitive procedures in selecting an operator for the partnership program office.
(2) The Council shall assign the following duties to the partnership program office:
(A) To establish and oversee working groups to propose partnership projects to the Council and advise the Council on such projects.
(B) To manage the process for proposing partnership projects to the Council, including managing peer review of such projects.
(C) To submit to the Council an annual report on the status of all partnership projects and activities of the office.
(D) Any additional duties for the administration of the National Oceanographic Partnership Program that the Council considers appropriate.
(3) The Council shall supervise the performance of duties by the partnership program office.
(g) Contract and Grant Authority.—
The Council may authorize one or more of the departments or agencies represented on the Council to enter into contracts and make grants, using funds appropriated pursuant to an authorization of appropriations for the National Oceanographic Partnership Program, for the purpose of implementing the program and carrying out the responsibilities of the Council.
(h) Establishment and Forms of Partnership Projects.—
(1) A partnership project under the National Oceanographic Partnership Program may be established by any instrument that the Council considers appropriate, including a memorandum of understanding, a cooperative research and development agreement, and any similar instrument.
(2) Projects under the program may include demonstration projects.