Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 5791 - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Appropriations Authorization

(House)
(Hertel (D) Michigan and 6 others)

The Administration opposes enactment of H.R. 5791 because it would:

—  Authorize appropriations for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ocean and coastal programs, totalling $470.8 million, that exceed the FY 1991 Budget by over $143 million.

—  Limit the price of nautical charts and other nautical products produced or published by NOAA. This would restrict NOAA's flexibility to adjust prices to reflect actual costs, as provided by existing law.

—  Exempt obligations to carry out certain real property lease-purchase acquisitions from the Anti-Deficiency Act and understate the true cost of such acquisitions for budget purposes. This requirement would circumvent the "full funding" agreement between the Executive and Legislative branches to score these purchases to avoid misrepresenting total project costs.

—  Require the Secretary of Commerce to provide notice to Congress before reprogramming appropriated funds. The Congressional oversight process makes this limitation unnecessary and burdensome.

—  Require the Secretary of Commerce to submit a report to the Congress on the status and modernization needs of the NOAA fleet. This fs unnecessary because NOAA is presently conducting a study and intends to provide its findings and recommendations to Congress early next year.

In addition, if the version of H.R. 5791 that is brought to the House floor contains provisions in H.R. 4115 as reported by the House Science Committee, the Administration would object to the title that would establish within the Department of Agriculture an Agricultural Weather Office. This office would duplicate existing Federal, State, and private sector programs. It would also be inconsistent with existing law which designates the Department of Commerce as the lead Federal agency for nrovidina agricultural weather services.