our marine resources". NOAA is a part of the Department of Commerce rather than the Department of Interior because of a feud between President Nixon and his interior secretary, Wally Hickel, over the Nixon Administration's Vietnam War policy. Nixon did not like Hickel's letter urging Nixon to listen to the Vietnam War demonstrators, and thus punished Hickel by not putting NOAA in the Interior Department. In 2007, NOAA celebrated 200 years of service in its role as successor to the United States Survey of the Coast. NOAA was officially formed in 1970 and in 2021 had 11,833 civilian employees. Its research and operations are further supported by 321 uniformed service members who make up the NOAA Commissioned Corps. Organizational structure NOAA administrator Richard (Rick) W. Spinrad is the 11th and current NOAA Administrator. He was nominated by President Biden, and his nomination was confirmed by the US Senate on June 17, 2021, by voice vote. He was sworn in on June 23, 2021. From February 25, 2019, to January 20, 2021, Neil Jacobs, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction, served as acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere at the US Department of Commerce and as NOAA's interim administrator. Jacobs succeeded Timothy Gallaudet, who succeeded Benjamin Friedman. The three served in series as NOAA's interim administrator throughout the Trump Administration. In October 2017, Barry Lee Myers, CEO of AccuWeather, was proposed to be the agency's administrator by the Trump Administration. After two years in the nomination process, on November 21, 2019, Myers withdrew his name from consideration due to health concerns. Proposal to make NOAA an Independent Agency NOAA was created by an executive order in 1970 and has never been established in law, despite its critical role. The Washington Post reported on January 27, 2023 that Congressman Frank Lucas, the new chair of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, has released draft legislation to make NOAA an independent agency, rather than as part of the Commerce Department. Lucas' push is in response to Republican leaders who have signaled plans to slash funding for agencies and programs that continue to receive annual appropriations but have not been reauthorized by Congress. “It’s been made quite clear in the Republican conference that my friends don’t want to fund programs that are not properly authorized,” said Lucas. “NOAA is very important, so we need to get it