Multifaceted ocean research bill advances

摘要

The Senate on January 15, 2009, approved by a vote of 73 to 21 the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009, a package of five bills authorizing $794 million for expanded ocean research through FY 2015, including $104 million authorized for FY 2009, along with a slew of other wilderness conservation measures. The House is expected to take up the bill.rnThe first of the five bills, the Ocean Exploration and NOAA Undersea Research Act, authorizes the National Ocean Exploration Program and the National Undersea Research Program. The act prioritizes research on deep ocean areas, calling for study of hydrothermal vent communities and seamounts, documentation of shipwrecks and submerged sites, and development of undersea technology. The bill authorizes $52.8 million for these programs in FY 2009, increasing to $93.5 million in FY 2015.