PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.By Senator Cantwell from Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation filed written report. Report No. 117-76.
Congressional Research Service
Version 25 · Reported to Senate · Dec 16, 2021
National Ocean Exploration Act
This bill provides statutory authority for the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Council and revises several programs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that support ocean and coastal mapping, hydrographic surveys, and spatial data collection.
The bill revises the national ocean exploration program to require NOAA to provide guidance to federal and state agencies, and others, on data standards, protocols for accepting data, and coordination of data collection, compilation, processing, archiving, and dissemination for data relating to ocean exploration and characterization. It also directs NOAA to conduct education and outreach efforts to disseminate information to the public on the discoveries made by the ocean exploration program and coordinate with the outreach strategies of other domestic or international ocean mapping, exploration, and characterization initiatives.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Additionally, the bill repeals the undersea research program of NOAA. It also modifies NOAA's ocean and coastal mapping program to include ecosystem approaches in decision-making for natural resource and habitat restoration, emergency response, and coastal resilience and adaptation.
NOAA must develop an integrated ocean and coastal mapping federal funding match opportunity to increase the coordinated acquisition, processing, stewardship, and archival of new ocean and coastal mapping data in U.S. waters.
The bill also revises and reauthorizes through FY2026 the hydrographic services program of NOAA.
People & committees
Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS] · R–MS
Legislative record
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By Senator Cantwell from Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation filed written report. Report No. 117-76.
By Senator Cantwell from Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation filed written report. Report No. 117-76.
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 195.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cantwell with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cantwell with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
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.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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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.
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