[House Report 106-251]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 106-251
======================================================================
FISHERIES SURVEY VESSEL AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 1999
_______
July 22, 1999.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2181]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 2181) to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to acquire
and equip fishery survey vessels, having considered the same,
report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that
the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 2181 is to authorize the Secretary of
Commerce to acquire and equip fishery survey vessels.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
maintains a fleet of 16 oceanographic, fishery research, and
hydrographic vessels which provide the agency with 3,500 days
at sea. Most of these vessels are reaching the end of their
useful life, and NOAA has been studying how to meet its ship-
based data collection needs for over a decade. In 1993, NOAA
prepared an ambitious 15-year fleet replacement and
modernization plan as required by Congress. That plan had an
estimated cost of $1.9 billion. No funds were ever requested to
implement that plan. Funding realities have led NOAA to
reconsider the comprehensive nature of the 1993 plan.
After a comprehensive review of its fishery survey needs,
the agency determined that it needs long-term access to modern
fishery survey vessels. Using the same vessels year after year,
data can be easily compared to show trends in various fish
populations. NOAA also requires vessels with acoustically quiet
hulls and hydroacoustic survey capabilities to make the best
possible estimates of fishery populations. Without accurate
fishery population data, NOAA is unable to satisfy its fishery
management responsibilities under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act, and various international
treaties. The Administration included $50 million in its Fiscal
Year 2000 budget request to construct the first of a new class
of fishery survey vessels. The Administration intends to
request funds to equip that vessel and to construct a second
vessel in its Fiscal Year 2001 budget request.
The average age of NOAA's existing fishery survey vessels
is 33 years, and one vessel will be celebrating its 50th year
of federal service in 2000. Thirty years is generally
considered the commercially useful life of a vessel. A list of
NOAA's existing fishery survey vessels follows.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 2181 was introduced on June 10, 1999, by Congressmen
Don Young (R-AK) and Jim Saxton (R-NJ). The bill was referred
to the Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans. On
March 18, 1999, the Subcommittee held a hearing on NOAA's
Fiscal Year 2000 budget request which included $51.5 million to
acquire a new fishery survey vessel. The Administration
testified in support of this request. On June 22, 1999, the
Subcommittee met to mark up the bill. H.R. 2181 was ordered
favorably reported, without amendment, to the Full Committee by
voice vote. On June 30, 1999, the full Resources Committee met
to consider the bill. No amendments were offered and H.R. 2181
was then ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by voice vote.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
The short title of H.R. 2181 is the Fisheries Survey Vessel
Authorization Act of 1999.
Section 2. Acquisition of fishery survey vessels
Section 2 authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to purchase,
lease, lease-purchase, or charter and fully equip with the
necessary scientific instrumentation, up to six fishery survey
vessels. Each vessel must meet the hull standard for acoustic
quietness specified by the International Council for
Exploration of the Sea, be capable of staying at sea for 30
continuous days, and be able to conduct fish population studies
using a variety of techniques, including hydroacoustics. These
ships must also be capable of providing NOAA's fishery managers
with the needed data in a timely fashion. This section also
authorizes $60 million in each fiscal year from 2000 through
2005 to acquire the fishery survey vessels. These funds are
sufficient to acquire and equip one ship per year.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. Government Reform Oversight Findings. Under clause
3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, the Committee has received no report of
oversight findings and recommendations from the Committee on
Government Reform on this bill.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, July 20, 1999.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2181, the
Fisheries Survey Vessel Authorization Act of 1999.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 2181--Fisheries Survey Vessel Authorization Act of 1999
Summary: Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts,
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2181 would cost the
Federal Government $235 million over the 2000-2004 period. (An
additional $125 million would be spent after 2004). The bill
would not affect direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures would not apply. H.R. 2181 contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
H.R. 2181 would authorize the Secretary of Commerce to
acquire, subject to the availability of appropriations, up to
six vessels for conducting fishery surveys and other
activities. The Secretary could acquire the vessels by
purchase, lease, lease-purchase, or charter. For this purpose,
the bill would authorize the appropriation of $60 million for
each of fiscal years 2000 through 2005.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of H.R. 2181 is shown in the following table.
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300
(natural resources and environment). For purposes of this
estimate, CBO assumes that the entire amounts authorized will
be appropriated for each year. Outlays are based on historic
spending patterns for similar acquisitions.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
-------------------------------------------------
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Authorization Level........................................... 60 60 60 60 60
Estimated Outlays............................................. 21 42 54 58 60
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pay-as-you-go considerations: None.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 2181
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on State, local, or
tribal governments.
Estimate prepared by: Deborah Reis.
Estimate approved by: Robert A. Sunshine, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
This bill makes no changes in existing law.