S 173 111th Congress Senate

FOARAM Act

Official title: A bill to establish an interagency committee to develop an ocean acidification research and monitoring plan and to establish an ocean acidification program within NOAA.

Introduced: January 8, 2009 See on congress.gov

Environmental Protection Air qualityAquatic ecologyAtmospheric science and weatherEnvironmental assessment, monitoring, research

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Government information and archivesInternational scientific cooperationMarine and coastal resources, fisheriesMarine pollutionWildlife conservation and habitat protection

Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

Jan 8, 2009

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Jan 8, 2009

Introduced in Senate

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Latest action January 8, 2009

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Federal Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 or FOARAM Act - Defines "ocean acidification," for this Act, as the decrease in pH of the Earth's oceans and changes in ocean chemistry caused by chemical inputs from the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide.

Requires that the Joint Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology of the National Science and Technology Council coordinate federal activities on ocean acidification and establish an interagency working group.

Requires the Subcommittee to develop a strategic plan for federal ocean acidification research and monitoring that provides, among other things, for the development of adaptation and mitigation strategies. Directs the Secretary of Commerce, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to review the plan.

Directs the Secretary to establish and maintain an ocean acidification program in NOAA to conduct research, monitoring, and other activities, including: (1) providing grants for critical research projects exploring the ecosystem and socioeconomic impacts of ocean acidification; and (2) incorporating a competitive merit-based process for awarding grants that may be conducted jointly with other participating agencies or under the National Oceanographic Partnership Program.

Requires the National Science Foundation (NSF) director to continue to carry out ocean acidification research supporting competitive, merit-based, peer-reviewed proposals for research and monitoring of ocean acidification and its impacts.

Requires the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to ensure that space-based monitoring assets are used in as productive a manner as possible for the monitoring of ocean acidification and its impacts.

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