Title I — Department of Commerce

During the current fiscal year, applicable appropriations and funds made available to the Department of Commerce by this Act shall be available for the activities specified in the Act of October 26, 1949 (15 U.S.C. 1514), to the extent and in the manner prescribed by the Act, and, notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3324, may be used for advanced payments not otherwise authorized only upon the certification of officials designated by the Secretary of Commerce that such payments are in the public interest.

During the current fiscal year, appropriations made available to the Department of Commerce by this Act for salaries and expenses shall be available for hire of passenger motor vehicles as authorized by 31 U.S.C. 1343 and 1344; services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109; and uniforms or allowances therefor, as authorized by law (5 U.S.C. 5901–5902).

Not to exceed 5 percent of any appropriation made available for the current fiscal year for the Department of Commerce in this Act may be transferred between such appropriations, but no such appropriation shall be increased by more than 10 percent by any such transfers: Provided, That any transfer pursuant to this section shall be treated as a reprogramming of funds under section 505 of this Act and shall not be available for obligation or expenditure except in compliance with the procedures set forth in that section: Provided further, That the Secretary of Commerce shall notify the Committees on Appropriations at least 15 days in advance of the acquisition or disposal of any capital asset (including land, structures, and equipment) not specifically provided for in this Act or any other law appropriating funds for the Department of Commerce.

The requirements set forth by section 105 of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 (Public Law 112–55), as amended by section 105 of title I of division B of Public Law 113–6, are hereby adopted by reference and made applicable with respect to fiscal year 2024: Provided, That the life cycle cost for the Joint Polar Satellite System is $11,322,125,000, the life cycle cost of the Polar Follow On Program is $6,837,900,000, the life cycle cost for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R-Series Program is $11,700,100,000, and the life cycle cost for the Space Weather Follow On Program is $692,800,000.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Commerce may furnish services (including but not limited to utilities, telecommunications, and security services) necessary to support the operation, maintenance, and improvement of space that persons, firms, or organizations are authorized, pursuant to the Public Buildings Cooperative Use Act of 1976 or other authority, to use or occupy in the Herbert C. Hoover Building, Washington, DC, or other buildings, the maintenance, operation, and protection of which has been delegated to the Secretary from the Administrator of General Services pursuant to the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 on a reimbursable or non-reimbursable basis. Amounts received as reimbursement for services provided under this section or the authority under which the use or occupancy of the space is authorized, up to $200,000, shall be credited to the appropriation or fund which initially bears the costs of such services.

Nothing in this title shall be construed to prevent a grant recipient from deterring child pornography, copyright infringement, or any other unlawful activity over its networks.

The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is authorized to use, with their consent, with reimbursement and subject to the limits of available appropriations, the land, services, equipment, personnel, and facilities of any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States, or of any State, local government, Indian Tribal government, Territory, or possession, or of any political subdivision thereof, or of any foreign government or international organization, for purposes related to carrying out the responsibilities of any statute administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The National Technical Information Service shall not charge any customer for a copy of any report or document generated by the Legislative Branch unless the Service has provided information to the customer on how an electronic copy of such report or document may be accessed and downloaded for free online. Should a customer still require the Service to provide a printed or digital copy of the report or document, the charge shall be limited to recovering the Service's cost of processing, reproducing, and delivering such report or document.

To carry out the responsibilities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Administrator of NOAA is authorized to: (1) enter into grants and cooperative agreements with; (2) use on a non-reimbursable basis land, services, equipment, personnel, and facilities provided by; and (3) receive and expend funds made available on a consensual basis from: a Federal agency, State or subdivision thereof, local government, Tribal government, Territory, or possession or any subdivisions thereof: Provided, That funds received for permitting and related regulatory activities pursuant to this section shall be deposited under the heading “National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—Operations, Research, and Facilities” and shall remain available until September 30, 2025, for such purposes: Provided further, That all funds within this section and their corresponding uses are subject to section 505 of this Act.

Amounts provided by this Act or by any prior appropriations Act that remain available for obligation, for necessary expenses of the programs of the Economics and Statistics Administration of the Department of Commerce, including amounts provided for programs of the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of the Census, shall be available for expenses of cooperative agreements with appropriate entities, including any Federal, State, or local governmental unit, or institution of higher education, to aid and promote statistical, research, and methodology activities which further the purposes for which such amounts have been made available.

Amounts provided by this Act for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership under the heading “National Institute of Standards and Technology—Industrial Technology Services” shall not be subject to cost share requirements under 15 U.S.C. 278k(e)(2): Provided, That the authority made available pursuant to this section shall be elective, in whole or in part, for any Manufacturing Extension Partnership Center that also receives funding from a State that is conditioned upon the application of a Federal cost sharing requirement.

The Secretary of Commerce, or the designee of the Secretary, may waive—

There is hereby established in the Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the “Recreational Quota Entity Fund” to carry out the provisions of section 106 of the Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act (title I of division S of Public Law 117–328): Provided, That the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is authorized to collect and credit to the Fund such amounts as may be assessed pursuant to regulations promulgated under that section: Provided further, That any amount so collected and credited to the Fund shall remain available until expended for the purposes authorized by that section and shall be available in addition to any other amounts that may be available for such purposes.

Any unobligated balances of expired discretionary funds transferred to the Department of Commerce Nonrecurring Expenses Fund, as authorized by section 111 of title I of division B of Public Law 116–93, may be obligated only after the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate are notified at least 15 days in advance of the planned use of funds.

The Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere is authorized to designate one or more Cooperative Aviation Centers for the purposes of recruiting aviators for the NOAA commissioned officer corps from institutions that provide a four-year baccalaureate program of professional flight and piloting instruction that is accredited by the Aviation Accreditation Board International: Provided, That Cooperative Aviation Centers shall be located in a geographic area that experiences a wide variation in climate-related activity, such as frequent high winds, convective activity (including tornadoes), periods of low visibility, heat, and snow and ice episodes, to provide opportunities for pilots to demonstrate skill in all weather conditions compatible with future encounters during their service in the commissioned officer corps of the Administration.

The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may accept payments from a non-Federal party during fiscal year 2024 for the purpose of altering or replacing fencing, and related activities, for the Administration’s port facility in Ketchikan, Alaska. Amounts accepted under this section may be credited to the appropriation account otherwise available for such purpose and shall remain available until expended.