II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5649 

To amend the Marine Debris Act to improve the administration of the 

Marine Debris Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to improve the administration of the Marine Debris Foundation, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 21 (legislative day, DECEMBER 16), 2024 

Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself and Mr. WHITEHOUSE) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed 

A BILL 

To amend the Marine Debris Act to improve the administration of the Marine Debris Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to improve the 

administration of the Marine Debris Foundation, and 

for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Save Our Seas 2.0 

5 Amendments Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MODIFICATIONS TO THE MARINE DEBRIS PROGRAM 

2 OF THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOS3 PHERIC ADMINISTRATION. 

4 Section 3(d) of the Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. 

5 1952(d)) is amended— 

6 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ‘‘AND

7 CONTRACTS’’ and inserting ‘‘CONTRACTS, AND

8 OTHER AGREEMENTS’’; 

9 (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and con10 tracts’’ and inserting ‘‘, contracts, and other agree11 ments’’; 

12 (3) in paragraph (2)— 

13 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘part of the’’ and in15 serting ‘‘part of a’’; and 

16 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or (C)’’ after ‘‘sub17 paragraph (A)’’; and 

18 (B) in subparagraph (C), in the matter 

19 preceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘and except as 

20 provided in subparagraph (B)’’ after ‘‘subpara21 graph (A)’’; and 

22 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(7) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—With respect 

24 to any project carried out pursuant to a contract or 

25 other agreement entered into under paragraph (1) 

26 that is not a cooperative agreement or an agreement 


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1 to provide financial assistance in the form of a 

2 grant, the Under Secretary may contribute on an in3 kind basis the portion of the costs of the project that 

4 the Under Secretary determines represents the 

5 amount of benefit the National Oceanic and Atmos6 pheric Administration derives from the project.’’. 

7 SEC. 3. MODIFICATIONS TO THE MARINE DEBRIS FOUNDA8 TION. 

9 (a) STATUS OF FOUNDATION.—Section 111(a) of the 

10 Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (33 U.S.C. 4211(a)) is amended, 

11 in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘organization’’ and in12 serting ‘‘corporation’’. 

13 (b) PURPOSES.—Section 111(b)(3) of the Save Our 

14 Seas 2.0 Act (33 U.S.C. 4211(b)(3)) is amended by insert15 ing ‘‘Indian Tribes,’’ after ‘‘Tribal governments,’’. 

16 (c) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 

17 (1) APPOINTMENT, VACANCIES, AND RE18 MOVAL.—Section 112(b) of the Save Our Seas 2.0 

19 Act (33 U.S.C. 4212(b)) is amended— 

20 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

21 through (5) as paragraphs (2) through (6), re22 spectively; 

23 (B) by inserting before paragraph (2) the 

24 following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) RECOMMENDATIONS OF BOARD REGARD2 ING APPOINTMENTS.—For appointments made 

3 under paragraph (2), the Board shall submit to the 

4 Under Secretary recommendations on candidates for 

5 appointment.’’; 

6 (C) in paragraph (2), as redesignated by 

7 subparagraph (A), in the matter preceding sub8 paragraph (A)— 

9 (i) by striking ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘paragraph (3)’’; 

11 (ii) by striking ‘‘and considering’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘considering’’; and 

13 (iii) by inserting ‘‘under paragraph 

14 (1), and with the approval of the Secretary 

15 of Commerce’’ after ‘‘by the Board’’; 

16 (D) by amending paragraph (3), as so re17 designated, to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(3) TERMS.—Any Director appointed under 

19 paragraph (2) shall be appointed for a term of 6 

20 years.’’; 

21 (E) in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (4), 

22 as so redesignated, by inserting ‘‘with the ap23 proval of the Secretary of Commerce’’ after 

24 ‘‘the Board’’; and 

25 (F) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated— 


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1 (i) by inserting ‘‘the Administrator of 

2 the United States Agency for International 

3 Development,’’ after ‘‘Service,’’; and 

4 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, and with the ap5 proval of the Secretary of Commerce’’ after 

6 ‘‘EPA Administrator’’. 

7 (2) GENERAL POWERS.—Section 112(g) of the 

8 Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (33 U.S.C. 4212(g)) is 

9 amended— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘offi11 cers and employees’’ and inserting ‘‘the initial 

12 officers and employees’’; and 

13 (B) in paragraph (2)(B)(i), by striking ‘‘its 

14 chief operating officer’’ and inserting ‘‘the chief 

15 executive officer of the Foundation’’. 

16 (3) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.—Section 112 

17 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (33 U.S.C. 4212) is 

18 amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(h) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.— 

20 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT; REMOVAL; REVIEW.—The 

21 Board shall appoint and review the performance of, 

22 and may remove, the chief executive officer of the 

23 Foundation. 

24 ‘‘(2) POWERS.—The chief executive officer of 

25 the Foundation may appoint, remove, and review the 


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1 performance of any officer or employee of the Foun2 dation.’’. 

3 (d) POWERS OF FOUNDATION.—Section 113(c)(1) of 

4 the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (33 U.S.C. 4213(c)(1)) is 

5 amended, in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)— 

6 (1) by inserting ‘‘nonprofit’’ before ‘‘corpora7 tion’’; and 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘acting as a trustee’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘formed’’. 

10 (e) PRINCIPAL OFFICE.—Section 113 of the Save 

11 Our Seas 2.0 Act (33 U.S.C. 4213) is amended by adding 

12 at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(g) PRINCIPAL OFFICE.—The Board may locate the 

14 principal office of the Foundation in the National Capital 

15 Region, as such term is defined in section 2674(f)(2) of 

16 title 10, United States Code, or a coastal shoreline com17 munity.’’. 

18 (f) BEST PRACTICES; RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

19 Section 113 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (33 U.S.C. 

20 4213), as amended by subsection (e), is further amended 

21 by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(h) BEST PRACTICES FOR OUTREACH TO INDIAN

23 TRIBES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall de2 velop and implement best practices for conducting 

3 outreach to Indian Tribes. 

4 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The best practices de5 veloped under paragraph (1) shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) include a process to support technical 

7 assistance and capacity building to improve out8 comes; and 

9 ‘‘(B) promote an awareness of programs 

10 and grants available under this Act. 

11 ‘‘(i) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

12 may be construed— 

13 ‘‘(1) to satisfy any requirement for government14 to-government consultation with Tribal governments; 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(2) to affect or modify any treaty or other 

17 right of any Tribal government.’’. 

18 (g) USE OF FUNDS.—Section 118(a)(2) of the Save 

19 Our Seas 2.0 Act (33 U.S.C. 4218(a)(2)) is amended by 

20 striking ‘‘and State and local government agencies’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘, State and local government agencies, United 

22 States and international nongovernmental organizations, 

23 regional organizations, Indian Tribes, Tribal organiza24 tions, and foreign government entities’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. ORGANIZATION OF MARINE DEBRIS ACT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Marine Debris Act (33 

3 U.S.C. 1951 et seq.) is amended— 

4 (1) by inserting before section 3 the following: 

5 ‘‘Subtitle A—National Oceanic and 

6 Atmospheric Administration 

7 and Coast Guard Programs’’; 

8 (2) by redesignating sections 3 through 6 as 

9 sections 101 through 104, respectively; 

10 (3) by redesignating sections 7 through 10 as 

11 sections 131 through 134, respectively; and 

12 (4) by inserting before section 131, as redesig13 nated by paragraph (3), the following: 

14 ‘‘Subtitle D—Administration’’. 

15 (b) MARINE DEBRIS FOUNDATION.—Subtitle B of 

16 title I of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (33 U.S.C. 4211 et 

17 seq.) is— 

18 (1) transferred to the Marine Debris Act; and 

19 (2) inserted after section 104 of the Marine De20 bris Act, as redesignated by subsection (a)(2). 

21 (c) GENIUS PRIZE FOR SAVE OUR SEAS INNOVA22 TIONS.—Subtitle C of title I of the Save Our Seas 2.0 

23 Act (33 U.S.C. 4231 et seq.) is— 

24 (1) transferred to the Marine Debris Act; and 


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1 (2) inserted after section 119 of the Marine De2 bris Act, as transferred and inserted by subsection 

3 (b). 

4 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

5 Section 131 of the Marine Debris Act, as redesig6 nated by section 4(a)(3), is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), (4), 

8 (5), (6), and (7) as paragraphs (4), (5), (6), (10), 

9 (11), and (12), respectively; 

10 (2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(1) CIRCULAR ECONOMY.—The term ‘circular 

13 economy’ has the meaning given such term in sec14 tion 2 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 

15 116–224; 33 U.S.C. 4201 note). 

16 ‘‘(2) COASTAL SHORELINE COMMUNITY.—The 

17 term ‘coastal shoreline community’ means a city or 

18 county directly adjacent to the open ocean, a major 

19 estuary, or one of the Great Lakes. 

20 ‘‘(3) EPA ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘EPA 

21 Administrator’ means the Administrator of the Envi22 ronmental Protection Agency.’’; 

23 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6), as redesig24 nated by paragraph (1), the following: 


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1 ‘‘(7) NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.—The term ‘non2 Federal funds’ means funds provided by— 

3 ‘‘(A) a State; 

4 ‘‘(B) an Indian Tribe; 

5 ‘‘(C) a territory of the United States; 

6 ‘‘(D) one or more units of local govern7 ments or Tribal organizations; 

8 ‘‘(E) a foreign government; 

9 ‘‘(F) a private for-profit entity; 

10 ‘‘(G) a nonprofit organization; or 

11 ‘‘(H) a private individual. 

12 ‘‘(8) NONPROFIT.—The term ‘nonprofit’, with 

13 respect to a corporation or other organization, 

14 means the corporation or other organization is de15 scribed in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue 

16 Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 

17 501(a) of such Code. 

18 ‘‘(9) POST-CONSUMER MATERIALS MANAGE19 MENT.—The term ‘post-consumer materials manage20 ment’ has the meaning given such term in section 2 

21 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 116–224; 

22 33 U.S.C. 4201 note).’’; 

23 (4) in paragraph (12), as so redesignated— 


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1 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B), 

2 (C), and (D) as subparagraphs (C), (D), and 

3 (E), respectively; and 

4 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(B) Indian Tribe;’’; and 

7 (5) by adding after paragraph (12), as so redes8 ignated, the following: 

9 ‘‘(13) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘Tribal 

10 government’ means the recognized governing body of 

11 any Indian or Alaska Native Tribe, band, nation, 

12 pueblo, village, community, component band, or com13 ponent reservation, individually identified (including 

14 parenthetically) in the list published most recently as 

15 of the date of the enactment of the Save Our Seas 

16 2.0 Amendments Act pursuant to section 104 of the 

17 Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 

18 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 

19 ‘‘(14) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘Trib20 al organization’ has the meaning given that term in 

21 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu22 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

23 ‘‘(15) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘Under 

24 Secretary’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce 

25 for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of 


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1 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra2 tion.’’. 

3 SEC. 6. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

4 (a) MARINE DEBRIS ACT.—The Marine Debris Act 

5 (33 U.S.C. 1951 et seq.), as amended by this Act, is fur6 ther amended— 

7 (1) in section 103, as redesignated by section 

8 4(a)(2)— 

9 (A) in subsection (d), in the matter pre10 ceding paragraph (1)— 

11 (i) by striking ‘‘Administrator of the 

12 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin13 istration’’ and inserting ‘‘Under Sec14 retary’’; and 

15 (ii) by striking ‘‘Administrator of the 

16 Environmental Protection Agency’’ and in17 sert ‘‘EPA Administrator’’; and 

18 (B) in subsection (e)(3), by striking ‘‘sec19 tion 3’’ and inserting ‘‘section 101’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (b)(4) of section 111, as 

21 transferred by section 4(b), by striking ‘‘title III’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘subtitle C’’; 

23 (3) in subsection (a) of section 123, as trans24 ferred by section 4(c), by striking ‘‘title I’’ and in25 serting ‘‘subtitle B’’; 


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1 (4) in section 134, as redesignated by section 

2 4(a)(3), by striking ‘‘Administrator of the Environ3 mental Protection Agency’’ and inserting ‘‘EPA Ad4 ministrator’’; and 

5 (5) by striking ‘‘Administrator’’ each place it 

6 appears (other than in section 103(d)), 131, or 134, 

7 as redesignated by section 4(a)) and inserting 

8 ‘‘Under Secretary’’. 

9 (b) SAVE OUR SEAS 2.0 ACT.—Section 2 of the Save 

10 Our Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 116–224; 33 U.S.C. 4201 

11 note) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking paragraph (7); and 

13 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through 

14 (11) as paragraphs (7) through (10), respectively. 

Æ 


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