
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 10USC7902]

 
                         TITLE 10--ARMED FORCES
 
                    Subtitle C--Navy and Marine Corps
 
                     PART IV--GENERAL ADMINISTRATION
 
         CHAPTER 665--NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM
 
Sec. 7902. National Ocean Research Leadership Council

    (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.

    (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.

(Added Pub. L. 104-201, div. A, title II, Sec. 282(a)(1), Sept. 23, 
1996, 110 Stat. 2470; amended Pub. L. 105-85, div. A, title II, 
Sec. 241(a), title X, Sec. 1073(a)(64), Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1665, 
1903; Pub. L. 106-65, div. A, title X, Sec. 1066(a)(30), Oct. 5, 1999, 
113 Stat. 772.)


                               Amendments

    1999--Subsec. (e)(5). Pub. L. 106-65 struck out ``, United States 
Code,'' after ``title 31''.
    1997--Subsec. (b)(8). Pub. L. 105-85, Sec. 1073(a)(64), inserted 
``United States'' before ``Geological Survey''.
    Subsec. (b)(11) to (13). Pub. L. 105-85, Sec. 241(a)(1), 
redesignated pars. (12) and (13) as (11) and (12), respectively, and 
struck out former par. (11) which read as follows: ``The President of 
the National Academy of Sciences, the President of the National Academy 
of Engineering, and the President of the Institute of Medicine.''
    Subsec. (b)(14) to (17). Pub. L. 105-85, Sec. 241(a)(1)(A), struck 
out pars. (14) to (17) which read as follows:
    ``(14) One member appointed by the chairman from among individuals 
who will represent the views of ocean industries.
    ``(15) One member appointed by the chairman from among individuals 
who will represent the views of State governments.
    ``(16) One member appointed by the chairman from among individuals 
who will represent the views of academia.
    ``(17) One member appointed by the chairman from among individuals 
who will represent such other views as the chairman considers 
appropriate.''
    Subsecs. (d) to (i). Pub. L. 105-85, Sec. 241(a)(2), (3), 
redesignated subsecs. (e) to (i) as (d) to (h), respectively, and struck 
out former subsec. (d) which read as follows:
    ``(d) Term of Office.--The term of office of a member of the Council 
appointed under paragraph (14), (15), (16), or (17) of subsection (b) 
shall be two years, except that any person appointed to fill a vacancy 
occurring before the expiration of the term for which his predecessor 
was appointed shall be appointed for the remainder of such term.''


                    Effective Date of 1997 Amendment

    Section 241(d) of Pub. L. 105-85 provided that: ``The amendments 
made by subsections (a) and (b) [amending this section, section 7903 of 
this title, and provisions set out as a note under section 7903 of this 
title] shall be effective as of September 23, 1996, as if included in 
section 282 of Public Law 104-201.''


                 Initial Appointments of Council Members

    Section 282(b) of Pub. L. 104-201 directed Secretary of the Navy to 
make appointments required by subsec. (b) of this section, not later 
than Dec. 1, 1996, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 105-85, div. A, title II, 
Sec. 241(c)(1), Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1666.


                     First Annual Report of Council

    Section 282(c), formerly Sec. 282(d), of Pub. L. 104-201, as 
renumbered by Pub. L. 105-85, div. A, title II, Sec. 241(c)(2), Nov. 18, 
1997, 111 Stat. 1666, provided that: ``The first annual report required 
by section 7902(f) of title 10, United States Code, as added by 
subsection (a)(1), shall be submitted to Congress not later than March 
1, 1997. The first report shall include, in addition to the information 
required by such section, information about the terms of office, 
procedures, and responsibilities of the Ocean Research Advisory Panel 
established by the Council.''
