II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4432 

To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish the Sea Turtle Rescue 

Assistance Grant Program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 16, 2022 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself and Mr. CORNYN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish the Sea 

Turtle Rescue Assistance Grant Program. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sea Turtle Rescue As5 sistance Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SEA TURTLE RESCUE ASSISTANCE GRANT PRO7 GRAM. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

9 a grant program to be known as the ‘‘Sea Turtle Rescue 

10 Assistance Grant Program’’, to encourage and facilitate 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 4432 IS

1 coordinated rapid response and rescue by awarding grants 

2 for the purposes described in subsection (c). 

3 (b) DESIGNATION OF STRANDING REGIONS.—The 

4 Secretary shall designate geographic regions of the United 

5 States as stranding regions for the purposes of carrying 

6 out this section. 

7 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Program are to 

8 provide for— 

9 (1) the recovery, short- or long-term care, 

10 transportation, and treatment of stranded marine 

11 turtles; 

12 (2) the release of rescued and recovered marine 

13 turtles; 

14 (3) the collection of data and samples from 

15 stranded marine turtles for scientific research or as16 sessments regarding marine turtle health, including 

17 tagging information; and 

18 (4) facility operation costs that are directly re19 lated to activities described in paragraphs (1), (2), 

20 and (3). 

21 (d) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The 

22 Secretary shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that 

23 funds awarded under this section are distributed equitably 

24 among stranding regions, taking into account— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 4432 IS

1 (1) the number of stranding events that oc2 curred in each stranding region in the preceding 5 

3 years; 

4 (2) region-specific factors that increase risks of 

5 marine turtle stranding events; and 

6 (3) the conservation priorities and recovery 

7 needs of species of marine turtles that are threat8 ened or endangered under the Endangered Species 

9 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

10 (e) APPLICATION.—An applicant for a grant under 

11 this section shall submit an application in such form and 

12 manner as the Secretary shall prescribe. 

13 (f) GRANT CRITERIA.— 

14 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF CRITERIA.—The Sec15 retary shall, in consultation with the Director of the 

16 United States Fish and Wildlife Service, develop cri17 teria for awarding grants under this section and pro18 vide such criteria for formal public notice and com19 ment. 

20 (2) STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.—As part of 

21 the process for developing and finalizing criteria 

22 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall, in con23 sultation with the Director of the United States Fish 

24 and Wildlife Service, provide opportunities for en25 gagement with representatives from stranding reVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Jun 18, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4432.IS S4432

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 4432 IS

1 gions and representatives of public and private orga2 nizations with an established record in rescue, reha3 bilitation, and release, as well as related scientific re4 search, marine conservation, and forensic science, 

5 with respect to stranded marine turtles. 

6 (3) REQUIRED CRITERIA.—The criteria devel7 oped under paragraph (1) shall prioritize applicants 

8 with an established record of rescuing, rehabilita9 tion, scientific research, and forensic science with re10 spect to stranded marine turtles or conducting sci11 entific research and forensic science on stranded ma12 rine turtles. 

13 (g) ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS.—For the purposes 

14 of carrying out this section, the Secretary may solicit, ac15 cept, receive, hold, administer, and use gifts, devises, and 

16 bequests without any further approval or administrative 

17 action. 

18 (h) LIABILITY WAIVER .— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person who is acting 

20 under the authority of an entity awarded a grant 

21 under this section is deemed to be an employee of 

22 the government for purposes of chapter 171 of title 

23 28, United States Code, with respect to actions of 

24 the person that— 

25 (A) are in support of rescue efforts; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 4432 IS

1 (B) are in accordance with the purposes of 

2 subsection (c); and 

3 (C) reflect sound professional judgment 

4 and are consistent with the directions of any 

5 on-site coordinator or incident commander. 

6 (2) LIMITATION.—Paragraph (1) does not 

7 apply to actions of a person described in that para8 graph that are grossly negligent or that constitute 

9 willful misconduct. 

10 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

12 out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 

13 through 2028 to remain available until expended. 

14 (j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 (1) MARINE TURTLE.—The term ‘‘marine tur16 tle’’ means any member of the family Cheloniidae or 

17 Dermochelyidae. 

18 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

19 the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Grant Program 

20 established under subsection (a). 

21 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

22 the Secretary of Commerce. 

23 (4) STRANDING.—The term ‘‘stranding’’ means 

24 an event in which— 

25 (A) a marine turtle is dead and is— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 4432 IS

1 (i) on a beach or shore of the United 

2 States; or 

3 (ii) in waters under the jurisdiction of 

4 the United States (including any navigable 

5 waters); or 

6 (B) a marine turtle is alive and is— 

7 (i) on a beach or shore of the United 

8 States and unable to return to the water; 

9 (ii) on a beach or shore of the United 

10 States and in need of medical attention; or 

11 (iii) in the waters under the jurisdic12 tion of the United States (including any 

13 navigable waters), and in need of medical 

14 attention or other necessary intervention to 

15 aid its likelihood of survival. 

16 (5) STRANDING REGION.—The term ‘‘stranding 

17 region’’ means a geographic region designated by the 

18 Secretary under subsection (b). 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS