[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2865 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2865
To amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 to
address sexual harassment involving National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration personnel, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 28, 2021
Ms. Bonamici (for herself, Mr. Young, Mr. Huffman, and Miss Gonzalez-
Colon) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 to
address sexual harassment involving National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration personnel, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention Improvements
Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. REFERENCES.
Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in this Act an
amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal
of, a provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a
provision of subtitle C of title XXXV of Public Law 114-328 (33 U.S.C.
894 et seq.).
SEC. 3. POLICY ON THE PREVENTION OF AND RESPONSE TO SEXUAL HARASSMENT
INVOLVING NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
PERSONNEL.
(a) Covered Personnel.--Section 3541(a) (33 U.S.C. 894(a)) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``Not later'' and inserting the following:
``(1) In general.--Not later''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Included personnel.--The individuals who work with or
conduct business on behalf of the Administration referred to in
paragraph (1) include the following:
``(A) Observers and at-sea monitors required by the
National Marine Fisheries Service to be aboard
commercial fishing vessels and other privately owned
vessels, barges, or platforms for--
``(i) commercial fisheries observation
required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act;
``(ii) protected species or endangered
species observation required by the Marine
Mammal Protection Act of 1972 or the Endangered
Species Act of 1973; or
``(iii) platform removal observation.
``(B) Voting members and executive and
administrative staff of regional fishery management
councils established by section 302 of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.''.
(b) Inclusion of Equal Employment in Quarterly Reports.--Section
3541(f) (33 U.S.C. 894(f)) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``and equal employment'' after ``sexual
harassment'' each place it appears; and
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as
subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the
following:
``(C) A synopsis of each case and the disciplinary
action taken (if any) in each case.''.
SEC. 4. COMPREHENSIVE POLICY ON PREVENTION OF AND RESPONSE TO SEXUAL
ASSAULTS.
(a) Covered Personnel.--Section 3542(a) (33 U.S.C. 894a(a)) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``Not later'' and inserting the following:
``(1) In general.--Not later''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Included personnel.--The individuals who work with or
conduct business on behalf of the Administration referred to in
paragraph (1) include the individuals described in section
3541(a)(2).''.
(b) Victim Advocates.--
(1) In general.--Section 3542(c)(2) (33 U.S.C. 894a(c)(2))
is amended to read as follows:
``(2) Victim advocates.--For purposes of this subsection, a
victim advocate is a full-time permanent employee of the
Administration trained in and responsible solely for matters
relating to sexual assault and the comprehensive policy
developed under subsection (a).''.
(2) Location.--Section 3542(c)(4) (33 U.S.C. 894a(c)(4)) is
amended by inserting ``full time'' after ``stationed''.
SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT ON SEXUAL ASSAULTS, SEXUAL HARASSMENT, AND EQUAL
EMPLOYMENT.
Section 3548 (33 U.S.C. 894e) is amended--
(1) by striking the section heading and inserting the
following: ``annual report on sexual assaults, sexual
harassment, and equal employment in the national oceanic and
atmospheric administration.'';
(2) in subsection (a), by inserting ``, sexual harassment,
and equal employment'' after ``sexual assaults''; and
(3) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (4), by inserting ``, including a
synopsis of each case and the disciplinary action
taken, if any, in each case'' before the period at the
end; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) A summary of the number of change of station, unit
transfer, and change of work location requests submitted to the
Under Secretary under section 3544(a), including the number of
such requests that were denied.
``(6) A summary of the number of cases referred to the
Coast Guard under section 5 of National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention
Improvements Act of 2021.
``(7) The number of alleged sexual assaults and sexual
harassment cases involving fisheries, protected species, and
endangered species observers, including--
``(A) a synopsis of each case and the status;
``(B) the disposition of any investigation; and
``(C) a description of the fishery management
region and fishery or the geographic region and type of
permitted operation in which the assault or harassment
is alleged to have occurred, as appropriate.''.
SEC. 6. INVESTIGATION AND CRIMINAL REFERRAL REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Technical Amendment.--Sections 3548 (as amended by section 5)
and 3549 (33 U.S.C. 894e and 894f) are redesignated as sections 3551
and 3552, respectively.
(b) In General.--Subtitle C of title XXXV of Public Law 114-328 (33
U.S.C. 894 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 3547 the
following:
``SEC. 3548. EXCEPTIONS REGARDING ANONYMITY OF SURVIVORS IN CERTAIN
CASES.
``(a) In General.--In any case in which an employee, member of the
commissioned officer corps, or individual conducting business on behalf
of the administration elects anonymous reporting under section
3541(b)(3)(B) or 3542(b)(5)(B), disclosure of such person's personally
identifying information is authorized to the following persons or
organizations when disclosure would be for the following reasons:
``(1) To National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
staff or law enforcement personnel, when authorized by the
survivor in writing.
``(2) To National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
staff or law enforcement personnel to prevent or lessen a
serious or imminent threat to the health or safety of the
survivor or another person.
``(3) To a victim advocate or healthcare provider, when
required for the provision of victim services.
``(4) To a State or Federal court, when ordered by such
court or if disclosure is required by Federal or State statute.
``(b) Notice of Disclosure and Privacy Protection.--In any case in
which information is disclosed under subsection (a), the Secretary
shall--
``(1) make reasonable attempts to provide notice to the
employee, member, or individual whose personally identifying
information is disclosed; and
``(2) take such action as is necessary to protect the
privacy and safety of the employee, member, or individual.
``SEC. 3549. RESTRICTED REPORTING.
``(a) In General.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sexual
Harassment and Assault Prevention Improvements Act of 2021, the
Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Under Secretary for Oceans
and Atmosphere, shall develop a mechanism to provide a system of
restricted reporting.
``(b) Restricted Reporting Defined.--In this section the term
`restricted reporting' means a system of reporting that allows
employees of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
members of the Commissioned Officer Corps of the Administration, and
individuals who work with or conduct business on behalf of the
Administration who are sexually assaulted to confidentially disclose
the details of such person's assault to specified individuals and
receive the services outlined in this subtitle title--
``(1) without the dissemination of such persons's
personally identifying information except as necessary for the
provision of such services; and
``(2) without automatically triggering an investigative
process.
``SEC. 3550. MARINER REFERRAL.
``The Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, acting
through the Director of the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations
and in consultation with the Commandant of the Coast Guard, shall, not
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sexual Harassment and Assault
Prevention Improvements Act of 2021, develop and implement a policy to
report to the Coast Guard Suspension and Revocation National Center of
Expertise, the names of personnel of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration who--
``(1) are the subject of a claim of an act or offense
detrimental to good discipline and safety at sea, such as
sexual harassment or sexual assault that is substantiated by an
investigation under section 3546, or any other substantiated
claim of an act or offense for which suspension or revocation
of a credential is either mandatory or sought pursuant to part
5 of title 46 of the Code of Federal Regulations; and
``(2) are--
``(A) employees or contractors of the
Administration required to hold a valid merchant
mariner credential as a condition of employment; or
``(B) crew of a vessel that, at the time of such
act or offence, was operating under a contract with the
Administration.''.
SEC. 7. CONFORMING AND CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.
(a) Conforming Amendments.--Subtitle C of title XXXV of Public Law
114-328 (33 U.S.C. 894 et seq.) is amended--
(1) by striking the term ``victims'' each place it appears
and inserting ``survivors'';
(2) in section 3541(b)(2)(B), by striking ``victim'' and
inserting ``target of sexual harassment'';
(3) in section 3542(c)(5)(A), by striking ``victim of'' and
inserting ``survivor of'';
(4) in section 3543--
(A) in the heading, by striking ``victim'' and
inserting ``survivor''; and
(B) by striking ``victim'' and inserting
``survivor'';
(5) in section 3544--
(A) in subsection (a)--
(i) by striking ``Victims'' and inserting
``Survivors''; and
(ii) in paragraph (1), by striking ``was''
each place such term appears and inserting
``is''; and
(B) by striking ``victim'' each place such term
appears and inserting ``survivor''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--Each of the tables of contents in section
2(b) and at the beginning of title XXXV of Public Law 114-328 is
amended--
(1) by striking the item relating to section 3543 and
inserting the following:
``Sec. 3543. Rights of the survivor of a sexual assault.''; and
(2) by striking the items relating to sections 3548 and
3549 and inserting the following:
``Sec. 3548. Exceptions regarding anonymity of survivors in certain
cases.
``Sec. 3549. Restricted reporting.
``Sec. 3550. Mariner referral.
``Sec. 3551. Annual report on sexual assaults, sexual harassment, and
equal employment in the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration.
``Sec. 3552. Sexual assault defined.''.
SEC. 8. PROHIBITED ACTS.
Section 307(1)(L) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)(L)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``forcibly''; and
(2) by striking ``on a vessel''.
SEC. 9. PROHIBITION ON SERVICE IN THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC
ADMINISTRATION COMMISSIONED OFFICER CORPS BY INDIVIDUALS
CONVICTED OF CERTAIN SEXUAL OFFENSES.
Section 261(a) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 2002 (33 U.S.C.
3071(a)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through (16) as
paragraphs (5) through (17), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
``(4) Section 657, relating to prohibition on service by
individuals convicted of certain sexual offenses.''.
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