United States 119th Congress Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 10 D · 2 R cosponsors

HR 9647 — To prohibit the National Science Foundation from obligating or expending Federal funds to descope or decommission the Ocean Observatories Initiative instruments, and for other purposes.

Last action — Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced July 13, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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Prognosis

Advancing 42% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 12 sponsors

    1 primary, 11 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (10 D · 2 R) — cross-party backing.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

In plain language

The bill prevents federal funds from being used to reduce or shut down the Ocean Observatories Initiative instruments.

This bill prohibits the National Science Foundation from using federal funds to descope or decommission instruments related to the Ocean Observatories Initiative. It aims to ensure that these scientific resources remain available for research and monitoring.

Summary

This bill prohibits the National Science Foundation (NSF) from using federal funds to decommission or descope Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) instruments until a thorough review of OOI is completed.OOI measures and observes ocean conditions using a series of in-water instruments that gather physical, chemical, geological, and biological data. On May 21, 2026, NSF announced that it would remove all in-water infrastructure from four of the five active OOI arrays. However, on June 18, 2026, NSF announced that it would not proceed with this decommissioning and would instead continue OOI operations and solicit input from stakeholders on the future of NSF's ocean observation efforts. NSF also indicated that it would redeploy one array that was removed from the water.Under the bill, NSF must conduct a thorough review of OOI with engagement from the scientific and coastal communities before decommissioning or descoping specified OOI instruments. This includes OOI instruments anchored off of Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and North Carolina, as well as instruments anchored in the Irminger Sea. NSF is required to maintain full and consistent OOI operations, including monitoring in states where instruments have already been decommissioned, until the review is complete.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Introduced in House

  2. Introduced in House

  3. Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 11 co-sponsors · 535 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (11)

Not signed on (535)

535 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

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Subjects

technology
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Frequently asked questions

What does HR 9647 do?
This bill prohibits the National Science Foundation (NSF) from using federal funds to decommission or descope Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) instruments until a thorough review of OOI is completed.OOI measures and observes ocean conditions using a series of in-water instruments that gather physical, chemical, geological, and biological data. On May 21, 2026, NSF announced that it would remove all in-water infrastructure from four of the five active OOI arrays. However, on June 18, 2026, NSF announced that it would not proceed with this decommissioning and would instead continue OOI operations and solicit input from stakeholders on the future of NSF's ocean observation efforts. NSF also indicated that it would redeploy one array that was removed from the water.Under the bill, NSF must conduct a thorough review of OOI with engagement from the scientific and coastal communities before decommissioning or descoping specified OOI instruments. This includes OOI instruments anchored off of Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and North Carolina, as well as instruments anchored in the Irminger Sea. NSF is required to maintain full and consistent OOI operations, including monitoring in states where instruments have already been decommissioned, until the review is complete.
Who sponsors HR 9647?
HR 9647 is sponsored by Bonamici, Suzanne (Democratic), Moylan, James C. (Republican), Lofgren, Zoe (Democratic), Dean, Madeleine (Democratic), Castor, Kathy (Democratic), Ross, Deborah K. (Democratic), Pallone, Frank (Democratic), Levin, Mike (Democratic), Amo, Gabe (Democratic), Garcia, Sylvia R. (Democratic), Pingree, Chellie (Democratic), and Fitzpatrick, Brian K. (Republican).
What is the current status of HR 9647?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced July 13, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HR 9647?
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