§3606 Report to Congress

Summary

The Administrator must prepare a report by March 30, 2022 and every 5 years after. The President, through the Council, must approve the report and send it to Congress. Each report must say what actions were taken under the law and the System Plan, judge how well the System is working and how the Council is meeting its goals, list Federal and non‑Federal assets added to the System (including those needed to collect required observation data), and review planned or started purchases by Council agencies to improve observation tools and data systems (including data management and communications). It must summarize gaps in observation infrastructure and monitoring (including advisory‑committee priorities and items such as the national sea surface current mapping network, coastal buoys, ocean chemistry monitoring, marine sound monitoring, and unmanned maritime systems), assess efforts to integrate assets nationally and regionally and how regional coastal observing systems are performing, describe benefits to users (the public, industry, scientists, resource managers, emergency responders, policymakers, and educators), offer any recommendations on System changes and funding for future fiscal years, and include the results of a periodic external, independent program audit.