H.R. 2864

H.R. 2864 is scheduled to be considered on the House floor on Tuesday, July 13, 2010, under a suspension of the rules requiring a two-thirds majority vote for passage.  The legislation was introduced by Rep. Don Young (R-AK).  The bill was referred to the Committee on Natural resources, which reported the bill by unanimous consent on June 16, 2010.

H.R. 2864 would authorize two new hydrographic data collection programs and authorize funding to carry them out.  Specifically, the bill would direct $10 million in FY 2011 and FY 2012 to acquire hydrographic data, provide hydrographic services, and conduct coastal change analyses in the Arctic.  The legislation would also direct additional $5 million in FY 2011 and FY 2012 to “acquire hydrographic data and provide hydrographic services in the Arctic necessary to delineate the U.S. extended continental shelf.”

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Office of Coast Survey “ensures safe, efficient and environmentally sound marine transportation that brings an uninterrupted flow of people and goods into and out of our nation's ports.”    The Coast Survey takes hydrographic surveys of the ocean floor and provides underwater charts that aid marine transportation.  Under current law (P.L. 110-386), there is $179 million authorized in FY 2011 and $182 million authorized in FY 2012 for NOAA to conduct hydrographic activities.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the bill would have no impact on the federal budget because it would not authorize funding beyond amounts already authorized under current law.