§ 1517. — Transfer of statistical or scientific work.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC1517]
TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
CHAPTER 40--DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Sec. 1517. Transfer of statistical or scientific work
The President is authorized, by order in writing, to transfer at any
time the whole or any part of any office, bureau, division, or other
branch of the public service engaged in statistical or scientific work,
from the Department of State, the Department of the Treasury, the
Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, the United States
Postal Service, or the Department of the Interior, to the Department of
Commerce; and in every such case the duties and authority performed by
and conferred by law upon such office, bureau, division, or other branch
of the public service, or the part thereof so transferred, shall be
thereby transferred with such office, bureau, division, or other branch
of the public service, or the part thereof which is so transferred. All
power and authority conferred by law, both supervisory and appellate,
upon the department from which such transfer is made, or the Secretary
thereof, in relation to the said office, bureau, division, or other
branch of the public service, or the part thereof so transferred, shall
immediately, when such transfer is so ordered by the President, be fully
conferred upon and vested in the Department of Commerce, or the
Secretary thereof, as the case may be, as to the whole or part of such
office, bureau, division, or other branch of the public service so
transferred.
(Feb. 14, 1903, ch. 552, Sec. 12, 32 Stat. 830; July 26, 1947, ch. 343,
title II, Sec. 201(a), 61 Stat. 499; Aug. 10, 1949, ch. 412, Sec. 4, 63
Stat. 579; Pub. L. 91-375, Secs. 4(a), 6(o), Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat.
773, 783.)
Codification
Section was formerly classified to section 602 of Title 5 prior to
the general revision and enactment of Title 5, Government Organization
and Employees, by Pub. L. 89-554, Sec. 1, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 378.
Change of Name
``United States Postal Service'' substituted for ``Post Office
Department'' in text pursuant to Pub. L. 91-375, Secs. 4(a), 6(o), Aug.
12, 1970, 84 Stat. 773, 783, which are set out as notes preceding
section 101 of Title 39, Postal Service, and under section 201 of Title
39, respectively, which abolished Post Office Department, transferred
its functions to United States Postal Service, and provided that
references in other laws to Post Office Department shall be considered a
reference to United States Postal Service.
Department of Defense substituted for Departments of the Army and
Navy by act July 26, 1947, as amended Aug. 10, 1949.
Act Mar. 4, 1913, ch. 141, 37 Stat. 736, provided that Department of
Commerce and Labor and Secretary of Commerce and Labor were to be
thereafter called Department of Commerce and Secretary of Commerce.
Meteorological Satellite (METSAT) and Associated Ground Systems;
Expenditure of Funds To Develop Proposals To Transfer Ownership to
Private Entities Prohibited
Pub. L. 98-166, title I, Sec. 101, Nov. 28, 1983, 97 Stat. 1076,
provided that: ``No funds made available by this Act, or any other Act,
may be used--
``(1) by the Source Evaluation Board for Civil Space Remote
Sensing as established by the Secretary of Commerce to develop or
issue a request for proposal to transfer the ownership or lease the
use of any meteorological satellite (METSAT) or associated ground
system to any private entity; or
``(2) by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to
transfer the ownership of any meteorological satellite (METSAT) or
associated ground system to any private entity.''
Civil Land Remote Sensing Satellite System; Termination
Pub. L. 98-52, title II, Sec. 202, July 15, 1983, 97 Stat. 285, as
amended by Pub. L. 103-437, Sec. 5(b)(1), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4582,
provided that: ``Notwithstanding title II of the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration Authorization Act, 1983 [Pub. L. 97-324, set
out as a note below], the Secretary of Commerce shall not transfer the
ownership or management of any civil land, meteorological, or ocean
remote sensing space satellite system and associated ground system
equipment unless, in addition to any other requirement of law--
``(1) the Secretary of Commerce or his designee has presented,
in writing, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the
President of the Senate, and to the Committee on Science, Space, and
Technology [now Committee on Science] of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate, a comprehensive statement of
recommended policies, procedures, conditions, and limitations to
which any transfer should be subject; and
``(2) the Congress thereafter enacts a law which contains such
policies, procedures, conditions, or limitations (or a combination
thereof) as it deems appropriate for any such transfer.''
Pub. L. 97-324, title II, Sec. 201, Oct. 15, 1982, 96 Stat. 1601, as
amended by Pub. L. 98-365, title VI, Sec. 608, July 17, 1984, 98 Stat.
466; Pub. L. 103-437, Sec. 5(b)(2), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4582,
provided that:
``(a) The Secretary of Commerce is authorized to plan and provide
for the management and operation of civil remote-sensing space systems,
which may include the Landsat 4 and 5 satellites and associated ground
system equipment transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration; to provide for user fees; and to plan for the transfer
of the operation of civil remote-sensing space systems to the private
sector when in the national interest.
``(b)(1) As part of his planning for the transfer of the ownership
and operation of civil operational land remote sensing satellite systems
to the private sector the Secretary shall--
``(A) Conduct a study to define the current, projected, and
potential needs of the government for land remote sensing data.
``(B) Determine and describe the equipment, software, and data
inventory that could be transferred to the private sector.
``(C) Compare various feasible financial and organizational
approaches for such a transfer. Criteria for the comparison should
include considerations such as: maintenance of data continuity;
maintenance of United States leadership; national security;
international obligations; potential for market growth; marketing
ability; sunk and projected cost to the Government; independence of
subsidy or financial guarantee from the Government; potential of
financial return to the Government; and price of data to users. The
following institutional alternatives should be compared: (i) wholly
private ownership and operation of the system by an entity
competitively selected; (ii) phased-in Government/private ownership
and operation; (iii) a legislatively chartered privately owned
corporation; and (iv) continued ownership and operation by the
Federal Government.
The Secretary shall complete these studies and report on them to the
Congress by February 1, 1983.
``(2) In addition to the studies and comparisons called for in
section 201(b)(1) the Secretary shall fund at least two parallel studies
outside the government independently to assess the alternatives called
for in section 201(b)(1)(C). These studies should be submitted to the
Congress by April 1, 1983.
``(c) There is authorized to be appropriated $14,955,000 for the
fiscal year 1983, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this
title [this note].
``(d) No moneys authorized by this title [this note] shall be used
to transfer to the private sector the ownership or management of any
civil land remote sensing space satellite system and associated ground
system equipment unless (A) a period of thirty days has passed after the
receipt by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of
the Senate, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology [now
Committee on Science], and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation, of a message from the Secretary of Commerce or his
designee containing a full and complete plan for the action proposed to
be taken together with the reasons therefor and expected funding
impacts, or (B) each such committee before the expiration of such period
has transmitted to the Secretary written notice to the effect that such
committee has no objection to the proposed action.''
Ex. Ord. No. 11564. Transfer of Certain Programs and Activities to
Secretary of Commerce
Ex. Ord. No. 11564, Oct. 6, 1970, 35 F.R. 15801, provided:
By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 12 of the Act of
February 14, 1903, as amended (15 U.S.C. 1517) [this section] and
section 12(d) of the Act of October 15, 1966 (49 U.S.C. 1651 note), as
President of the United States, and in further implementation of
Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970 [set out as a note under section 1511
of this title] transferring certain functions to the Secretary of
Commerce and establishing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration in the Department of Commerce, it is ordered as follows:
Section 1. (a) The following programs and activities are hereby
transferred to the Secretary of Commerce:
(1) The National Oceanographic Instrumentation Center of the
Department of the Navy, Department of Defense.
(2) The National Oceanographic Data Center of the Department of the
Navy, Department of Defense.
(3) The Ocean Station Vessel Meteorological Program of the
Department of the Navy, Department of Defense.
(4) The Trust Territories Upper Air Observation Program of the
Department of the Navy, Department of Defense.
(5) The Hydroclimatic Network Program of the Corps of Engineers of
the Department of the Army, Department of Defense.
(6) The National Data Buoy Development Project of the Coast Guard,
Department of Transportation.
(b) All of the power and authority of the transferor Departments
conferred by law which is related to or incidental to, in support of, or
necessary for, the operation of the programs and activities transferred
by subsection (a) above, may be utilized by the Secretary of Commerce
for the operation of those programs and activities.
Sec. 2. (a) Such personnel and positions and so much of the
property, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations,
allocations, and other funds employed, used, held, authorized, affected,
available, or to be made available in connection with the operation of
the programs and activities transferred by section 1 hereof from the
Department of Defense and the Department of Transportation as the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall determine shall be
transferred from those Departments to the Department of Commerce at such
time or times as the Director shall direct.
(b) Subject to the direction of the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget, the appropriate officers of the Government shall
make necessary administrative arrangements for the assumption by the
Secretary of Commerce of the programs and activities so transferred.
Richard Nixon.
