§3606. Report to Congress

(a) Requirement

Not later than March 30, 2022, and every 5 years thereafter, the Administrator shall prepare, and the President acting through the Council shall approve and transmit to Congress, a report on progress made in implementing this chapter.

(b) Contents

Each report required under subsection (a) shall include-

(1) a description of activities carried out under this chapter and the System Plan;

(2) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the System, including an evaluation of progress made by the Council to achieve the goals identified under the System Plan;

(3) the identification of Federal and non-Federal assets as determined by the Council that have been integrated into the System, including assets essential to the gathering of required observation data variables necessary to meet the respective missions of Council agencies;

(4) a review of procurements, planned or initiated, by each department or agency represented on the Council to enhance, expand, or modernize the observation capabilities and data products provided by the System, including data management and communication subsystems;

(5) a summary of the existing gaps in observation infrastructure and monitoring data collection, including-

(A) priorities considered by the System advisory committee;

(B) the national sea surface current mapping network;

(C) coastal buoys;

(D) ocean chemistry monitoring;

(E) marine sound monitoring; and

(F) unmanned maritime systems technology gaps;

(6) an assessment regarding activities to integrate Federal and non-Federal assets, nationally and on the regional level, and discussion of the performance and effectiveness of regional coastal observing systems to coordinate regional observation operations;

(7) a description of benefits of the program to users of data products resulting from the System (including the general public, industries, scientists, resource managers, emergency responders, policy makers, and educators);

(8) recommendations, if any, concerning-

(A) modifications to the System; and

(B) funding levels for the System in subsequent fiscal years; and

(9) the results of a periodic external independent programmatic audit of the System.

( Pub. L. 111–11, title XII, §12307, Mar. 30, 2009, 123 Stat. 1435 ; Pub. L. 116–271, title I, §105, Dec. 31, 2020, 134 Stat. 3339 .)

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2020-Pub. L. 116–271 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section required that no later than 2 years after March 30, 2009, and every 2 years thereafter, the Administrator was to prepare and the President acting through the Council was to approve and transmit to Congress a report on progress made in implementing this chapter.