YourVoice.Now Summary
EnvironmentTransparency & AccountabilityOcean sensors off four states would keep working — no shutdown until a full review is done.
Environment
The National Science Foundation runs this sensor network. It could not spend federal money to shut the sensors down or shrink the network. That block lasts until the agency finishes a full review.
Some states had sensors pulled out of the water before this measure. The agency would have to turn that monitoring back on while the review is under way.
Transparency & Accountability
The review must look at the whole program. It must also weigh what the program gives the country. The agency would have to ask scientists and coastal communities for input first.
More about this bill
A network of ocean sensors would have to keep running. The sensors sit in the water off Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and North Carolina, and in the Irminger Sea. The National Science Foundation could not spend federal money to shut them down or scale them back. That hold would last until the agency finishes a full review of the program. The review would have to include input from scientists and from coastal communities. The agency would also have to restart monitoring in states where sensors were already pulled out. Most people would notice no change in daily life. The measure passed the Senate in June 2026 and is not law yet.
Congressional Summary
Saving the OOI Act of 2026This 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.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Passed Senate
- Action Date
- 2026-06-17
- Date Added
- 2026-07-15
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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