To provide authority to NOAA to enter a no cost land lease for a NOAA facility.

SA 5663. Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for Mr. Shelby) proposed an amendment to the bill H.R. 5350, to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to sell or exchange certain National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration property located in Norfolk, Virginia, and for other purposes; as follows:

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Commerce, through the Under Secretary and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is authorized to enter into a land lease with Mobile County, Alabama for a period of not less than 40 years, on such terms and conditions as NOAA deems appropriate, for purposes of construction of a Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center facility, provided that the lease is at no cost to the government. NOAA may enter into agreements with state, local, or county governments for purposes of joint use, operations and occupancy of such facility.