Both sides have signed this (Bill Ranking)
S. 4822 · 119th Congress (2025-2026)
12 members · Left 10 · Center 1 · Right 1 (Bill Ranking)
| Sponsor | Sen. Murkowski, Lisa (R-AK) (Introduced 06/17/2026) |
|---|---|
| Sponsor Voting Record | Center · DW-NOMINATE +0.20 · measured from every roll-call vote this member has cast (voteview.com) (Sponsor Ranking) |
| Support |
LLLCLRR support across the spectrum: 12 members signed on (Bill Ranking) this bill: sponsor + current cosponsors, each once |
| Committees | — |
| Latest Action | 06/18/2026 Held at the desk. |
| Roll Call Votes | There have been no roll call votes |
| Source | view on congress.gov → |
Passed Senate (06/17/2026)
Saving the OOI Act of 2026
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.
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.
119 S4822 : Saving the OOI Act of 2026 U.S. Senate 2026-06-17 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. II119th CONGRESS2d SessionS. 4822IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESJune 17, 2026Ms. Murkowski (for herself, Mr. Sullivan, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Merkley, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Reed, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Markey, and Ms. Warren) introduced the following bill; which was read twice, considered, read the third time and passedA BILLTo prohibit the National Science Foundation from using Federal funds to descope or decommission the Ocean Observatories Initiative instruments.1.Short titleThis Act may be cited as the Saving the OOI Act of 2026.2.No NSF funding to descope or decommission the Ocean Observatories Initiative instruments; restoration(a)In generalNotwithstanding any other provision of law, the National Science Foundation shall not use any Federal funds to decommission or descope the Ocean Observatories Initiative instruments anchored off the States of Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and North Carolina, and in the Irminger Sea, until the National Science Foundation conducts a thorough review of the initiative, and the national assets that it provides, with robust stakeholder engagement from the scientific and coastal communities. (b)Maintenance of operationsThe Director of the National Science Foundation shall maintain the Ocean Observatories Initiative with full and consistent operations, including monitoring in all States that had instruments decommissioned, until the full review described in subsection (a) has been completed
119 S4822 ES: Saving the OOI Act of 2026 U.S. Senate text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. 119th CONGRESS2d SessionS. 4822IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESAN ACTTo prohibit the National Science Foundation from using Federal funds to descope or decommission the Ocean Observatories Initiative instruments.1.Short titleThis Act may be cited as the Saving the OOI Act of 2026.2.No NSF funding to descope or decommission the Ocean Observatories Initiative instruments; restoration(a)In generalNotwithstanding any other provision of law, the National Science Foundation shall not use any Federal funds to decommission or descope the Ocean Observatories Initiative instruments anchored off the States of Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and North Carolina, and in the Irminger Sea, until the National Science Foundation conducts a thorough review of the initiative, and the national assets that it provides, with robust stakeholder engagement from the scientific and coastal communities. (b)Maintenance of operationsThe Director of the National Science Foundation shall maintain the Ocean Observatories Initiative with full and consistent operations, including monitoring in all States that had instruments decommissioned, until the full review described in subsection (a) has been completed.Passed the Senate June 17, 2026.Secretary
The bill's own words, from our database (synced from the GPO BILLS XML); paragraph breaks added at the bill's section boundaries, nothing else changed.
| Date | Chamber | All Actions |
|---|---|---|
| 06/17/2026 | Library of Congress | Introduced in Senate |
| 06/17/2026 | Library of Congress | Passed/agreed to in Senate: Introduced in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Voice Vote. |
| 06/17/2026 | Senate | Introduced in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Voice Vote. (consideration: CR S2885-2886; text: CR S2885-2886) |
| 06/18/2026 | Senate | Message on Senate action sent to the House. |
| 06/18/2026 | House floor actions | Received in the House. |
| 06/18/2026 | House floor actions | Held at the desk. |
| Title Type | Title |
|---|---|
| Display Title | Saving the OOI Act of 2026 |
| Short Title(s) as Passed Senate | Saving the OOI Act of 2026 |
| Official Title as Introduced | A bill to prohibit the National Science Foundation from using Federal funds to descope or decommission the Ocean Observatories Initiative instruments. |
There are no amendments to this bill.
* = Original cosponsor
No committee data is available for this bill.
Policy Area: Science, Technology, Communications
All data on this page comes from our own database (legislation.congress_* tables), synced daily from the GPO govinfo BILLSTATUS and BILLS collections. Formatted after congress.gov; nothing is generated. Member placement is their DW-NOMINATE score (voteview.com, Lewis et al.) - a measurement of roll-call voting behavior, not our judgement. Buckets: Left below −0.50 · Lean Left to −0.25 · Center to +0.25 · Lean Right to +0.50 · Right above +0.50. The bill's Support meter aggregates the people who signed the bill - sponsor and current cosponsors, each counted once - nothing else.