PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Projection Forces.
Congressional Research Service
Version 35 · Passed Senate amended · Oct 31, 2003
Ocean and Coastal Observation Systems Act - (Sec. 3) Directs the President, through the National Ocean Research Leadership Council (NORLC), to establish and maintain a national integrated ocean and coastal observing system (system) of marine monitoring, data communication and management, data analysis, and research to provide data and information for rapid and timely detection and prediction of changes occurring in the marine environment that impact the Nation's social, economic, and ecological systems.
Establishes an Interagency Planning Office (IPO) within NORLC with various functions. Directs the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to operate and maintain a Joint Operations Center (JOC) which reports to NORLC and which has specified authority. Directs NOAA, with respect to JOC operations, to consult with specified officers of departments and agencies represented on the NORLC.
Sets forth system elements and requires subsystem linkages. Requires the system to integrate the capabilities of the Coast Services Center and the National Coastal Data Development Center of NOAA, and other appropriate centers. Requires the research and development program for the system to be conducted under the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) and consist of specified elements.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Directs NOAA Administrator, through JOC, to work with representatives of entities in each region that provide ocean data and information to users to form regional associations to develop and operate observing systems in the coastal regions extending to the seaward boundary of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, including the Great Lakes. Directs NOAA, through IPO, to initiate pilot projects, including infrastructure capital projects, through NOPP.
(Sec. 4) Authorizes the departments and agencies represented on the NORLC to participate in interagency financing, allowing them to share, transfer, receive, and spend funds appropriated to other members of the NORLC to carry out projects or activities under this Act or under the NOPP.
(Sec. 5) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2004 through 2008, to develop and implement the system, to the following departments and agencies represented on the NORLC: (1) NOAA; (2) the National Science Foundation; (3) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; (4) the U.S. Coast Guard; (5) the Office of Naval Research; (6) the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy; and (7) other Federal agencies engaged in ocean and coastal-related activities. Requires a reservation of at least 51 percent of the NOAA funds for grants to develop and implement regional coastal observing systems. Authorizes NOAA to make available a specified amount in FY 2004 to demonstrate the capabilities of shore-based high-frequency surface wave radar.
People & committees
Sen. Snowe, Olympia J. [R-ME] · R–ME
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Projection Forces.
Executive Comment Requested from DOD.
Executive Comment Requested from Commerce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Research.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards.
Referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Science, Armed Services, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Science, Armed Services, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Science, Armed Services, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Science, Armed Services, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Science, Armed Services, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Received in the House.
Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S13735-13739; text of measure as reported in Senate: CR S13735-13738)
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.(consideration: CR S13735-13739; text of measure as reported in Senate: CR S13735-13738)
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 319.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator McCain with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 108-171.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator McCain with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 108-171.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (text of measure as introduced: CR S9332-9334)
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S9332)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.1400 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.1400 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.1400 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.1400 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.