SANTA CRUZ — Legislation put forward by a Central Coast congressman is seeking to revamp a decades-old federal program that helps coordinate and fund study of the ocean.
On Thursday, Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, introduced the National Oceanographic Partnership Program Reauthorization Act to the House of Representatives.
The act would pave the way for more private funding to bolster the federal National Oceanographic Partnership Program while strengthening congressional oversight.
"For over 20 years, NOPP has facilitated public-private partnerships to address marine science priorities. However, the program requires additional authorities to better achieve its mission," Paentta said in a statement. "The NOPP Reauthorization Act will support the national goals of assuring national security, advancing economic development, protecting quality of life, and strengthening science education through improved knowledge of the ocean."
A somewhat obscure federal collaboration, the National Oceanographic Partnership Program was established in 1997 to better coordinate scientists' understanding of the ocean with the goal of improving national security and economic growth.
In its 20-year history, the partnership has funded more than 200 projects on a number of fronts: ocean exploration, technology, environmental monitoring, earth systems modeling and resource management.
Among those projects are at least five involving UC Santa Cruz and four involving the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, according to a list of projects maintained on the program website.
As of 2014, the program had coordinated investment of nearly $400 million in the research projects, according to a congressional report. It is credited with driving the creation of a global ocean observing system, weather forecasting advances and renewable energy exploration.
But the program, according to Panetta, is both underused and underfunded. One of its key advisory committees, the Ocean Research Advisor Panel, has floundered without funding for the past two years.
Enter the National Oceanographic Partnership Program Reauthorization Act. Along with expanding program's ability to take in private funding, the legislation would expand congressional oversight and require additional annual reporting and analysis on each project.
The bipartisan legislation is co-sponsored by Reps. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., Donald Norcross, D-New Jersey, and Trent Kelly, R-Miss.
"Reauthorizing this program will allow us to continue having the resources we need to keep our oceans and Americans safe while preserving key ecosystems that have environmental and economic value to our country," said Norcross, who sits alongside Panetta on the House Armed Services Committee, in a statement.
The legislation is also endorsed by the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. Consortium president and CEO Jonathan White, a retired Navy rear admiral, thanked Panetta in a statement Thursday.
The program, White said, "has already allowed us to make great strides in ocean observations, education, resource management, and more, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds with a rejuvenated and revitalized program enabled by this reauthorization."
Elected to his second congressional term in 2018, Panetta represents the Central Coast's 20th Congressional District, which includes all of Monterey and San Benito counties and parts of Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties.