33 U.S.C. § 893c — Workforce study

(a) The Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, with the Secretary of Education, must request the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study of the scientific workforce in oceanic and atmospheric research and development. The study must examine shortages of advanced-degree researchers; shortages of technical or trade workers with degrees, skills, or credentials suited to oceanic and atmospheric data collection, processing, satellite production, or satellite operations; Federal programs that can help students pursue those degrees, skills, or credentials; barriers to moving highly qualified scientists, technical professionals, and tradespeople into Federal civil-service scientist career tracks; what higher-education institutions, the private sector, and Congress could do to increase the number of people with those post-baccalaureate degrees, skills, or credentials; the effect of an aging Federal workforce on agencies' ability to conduct high-quality research, observations, and monitoring; Federal actions to help qualified scientists, technical professionals, and tradespeople move into Federal careers; workforce diversity and Federal actions to increase it; and Federal actions to shorten the hiring backlog for this workforce. (b) The Under Secretary and the Secretary of Education must consult the heads of other Federal agencies and departments with oceanic and atmospheric expertise or authority when preparing the study's specifications. (c) No later than 18 months after December 23, 2022, the Under Secretary and the Secretary of Education must transmit a joint report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives. The report must detail the study's findings and recommendations and set out a prioritized plan to carry out the recommendations. (d) The Under Secretary must evaluate the National Academy of Sciences study and develop a workforce program and plan to institutionalize the Administration's Federal science career pathways and address aging-workforce issues. The program and plan must be developed in consultation with the Administration's cooperative institutes and other academic partners.