,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #eajb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,november #ad1       
#bjai,mr4 ,panetta 7for himself1 ,mr4   
,waltz1 ,mr4 ,rouda1 ,mr4 ,palazzo1 ,mr4
 ,carbajal1 ,mr4 ,suozzi1 ,ms4 ,eshoo1  
and ,mr4 ,richmond7 introduced the      
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and 
,technology1 and in addition to the     
,committees on ,natural ,resources1 and 
,armed ,services1 for a period to be    
subsequently determined by the ,speaker1
 in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the           
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,a ,,bill  ,to designate public colleges
 and universities that provide research1
 data1 and recommendations on physical  
and biological science1 social science1 
economic analysis1 policy analysis1 risk
 analysis1 monitoring1 predicting1 and  
planning for sea-level rise and         
associated coastal flooding and         
shoreline erosion as ,national ,centers 

of ,excellence in ,coastal ,resilience  
,research and ,education1 and for other 
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,coastal ,resilience
 ,research and ,education ,act4  #b4    
,national ,centers of ,excellence in    
,coastal ,resilience ,research and      
,education  7a7 ,in general ,the        
,administrator of the ,national ,oceanic
 and ,atmospheric ,administration shall 
designate public institutions of higher 
education as ,national ,centers of      
,excellence in ,coastal ,resilience     
,research and ,education 7in this       
section referred to as ,national        
,centers of ,excellence74 ,the          
,administrator shall make the first such
 designation by not later than #ahj days
 after the date of enactment of this    
,act4  7b7 ,purposes ,the purposes of   
such designation are the following3 7#a7
 ,to recognize institutions of higher   
education that have exhibited national  
leadership in research and education in 
coastal climate change adaptation and   

mitigation4  7#b7 ,to identify such     
,national ,centers of ,excellence as    
sources of expert advice and guidance   
for ,federal agencies engaged in        
research and education related to       
coastal climate change resilience4  7#c7
 ,to formalize and enhance existing     
collaborations and partnerships between 
public institutions of higher education 
and ,federal agencies1 with the goal of 
ensuring information and recommendations
 are communicated effectively between   
such entities4  7c7 ,criteria for       
designation ,the ,administrator shall   
designate as a ,national ,center of     
,excellence only a public institution of
 higher education that--  7#a7 has      
demonstrated proven expertise in the    
physical1 engineering1 and environmental
 sciences1 particularly research and    
education focused on the impacts of     
sea-level rise1 coastal flooding1 or    
shoreline erosion2  7#b7 has            
demonstrated a commitment to            
understanding the socioeconomic impacts 

of climate change2  7#c7 is located in a
 ,state that frequently experiences     
coastal flooding or shoreline erosion in
 connection with sea-level rise1 severe 
coastal storms1 or seawater intrusion   
into groundwater supplies2  7#d7 has    
previously partnered with1 or is        
receiving funds from1 ,federal agencies 
for research on coastal flooding or     
shoreline erosion issues2  7#e7 has     
collaborated with ,state agencies or    
,state legislators as technical and     
scientific advisory entities with       
respect to coastal flooding or shoreline
 erosion2  7#f7 can demonstrate         
institutional collaboration in coastal  
flooding or shoreline erosion research  
and education with other public         
institutions of higher education1       
including minority-serving institutions1
 within the same ,state2 and  7#g7 can  
demonstrate a history of convening      
local1 ,state1 or ,federal entities to  
develop plans for coastal flooding or   
shoreline erosion4  #c4 ,information    

collection and dissemination2 reviews   
and additional designs  7a7 ,annual     
report ,the ,administrator shall        
annually submit to ,congress and the    
,president a report describing the      
activities1 partnership and             
collaborations1 ,federal policy         
recommendations1 previous and continuing
 budgets1 and findings of1 and any other
 applicable information from1 the       
,national ,centers of ,excellence1 and  
make such reports available to the      
public in an easily accessible format on
 the website of the ,national ,oceanic  
and ,atmospheric ,administration4  7b7  
,review of reports from national centers
 of excellence ,the ,administrator shall
 review reports from ,national ,centers 
of ,excellence to ensure that           
recommendations and guidance of such    
,centers regarding sea-level rise1      
coastal flooding1 shoreline erosion1 and
 related issues are communicated to     
relevant ,federal agencies4  7c7 ,review
 of ,national ,centers of ,excellence   

and potential designees ,the            
,administrator shall periodically review
 each ,national ,center of ,excellence  
and potential new designees as such     
,centers1 to--  7#a7 ensure that each   
,national ,center of ,excellence        
continues to meet the criteria for      
designation under this ,act2 and  7#b7  
designate additional ,national ,centers 
of ,excellence in accordance with this  
,act4  7d7 ,revocation ,if the          
,secretary determines under subsection  
7c7 that a ,national ,center for        
,excellence does not meet the criteria  
for such designation1 the ,secretary    
shall revoke such designation by such   
process as the ,secretary determines    
appropriate4  #d4 ,additional           
authorities  ,in carrying out this ,act1
 the ,administrator may use-- 7#a7 the  
,national ,oceanographic ,partnership   
,program established by section #hica of
 title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 as a 
venue for collaboration and coordination
 to leverage partnerships between public

 institutions of higher education and   
,federal agencies2  7#b7 the ,coastlines
 and ,people initiative under the       
,national ,science ,foundation as a tool
 to use ongoing interdisciplinary       
research2 and  7#c7 the ,national ,sea  
,grant ,college ,program as a resource  
to help foster collaboration between    
public institutions of higher education 
and ,federal agencies4  #e4 ,definitions
 ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,institution of    
higher education ,the term institution  
of higher education has the meaning     
given such term in section #aja of the  
,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj   
,u4,s4,c4 #ajja74  7#b7                 
,minority-serving institution ,the term 
minority-serving institution means an   
institution of higher education eligible
 to receive funds under section #cga7;a7
 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife
 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajfgq7a774