Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 3247 - National Undersea Research Program Act

(House)
(Jones (D) North Carolina and 5 others)

The Administration opposes enactment of H.R. 3247.

The bill would authorize $150 million for FYs 1992-1996 for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to assist in undersea research. NOAA has administered appropriations and provided oversight for the National Undersea Research Program since 1980, and many of the procedures prescribed by H.R. 3247 are presently in place. Statutory establishment of a new program is unnecessary. Further, the program growth authorized by the bill would place higher priority NOAA programs in direct competition for increasingly scarce resources.

A number of additional provisions of H.R. 3247 are problematic. Section 106 provides for the designation of new undersea research regions and the establishment of new research centers, but provides no limit for the amount of expansion. Sections 201 and 202 would establish new undersea research regions in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions, in direct opposition to the scientific requirements of Section 106.