118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 886 

AN ACT 

To amend the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act to improve the administration of the Marine Debris Foundation, to amend 

the Marine Debris Act to improve the administration 

of the Marine Debris Program of the National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration, 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, 
2 

•HR 886 EH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Save Our Seas 2.0 

3 Amendments Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. MODIFICATIONS TO THE MARINE DEBRIS PROGRAM 

5 OF THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOS6 PHERIC ADMINISTRATION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Marine Debris Act (Public 

8 Law 109–449) is amended by inserting before section 3 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘Subtitle A—NOAA And Coast 

11 Guard Programs’’. 

12 (b) GRANTS, COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS, CON13 TRACTS, AND OTHER AGREEMENTS.—Section 3(d) of the 

14 Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. 1952(d)) is amended— 

15 (1) in the subsection heading by striking ‘‘AND

16 CONTRACTS’’ and inserting ‘‘CONTRACTS, AND

17 OTHER AGREEMENTS’’; 

18 (2) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘and con19 tracts’’ and inserting ‘‘, contracts, and other agree20 ments’’; 

21 (3) in paragraph (2)— 

22 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 

23 (i) by striking ‘‘part of the’’ and in24 serting ‘‘part of a’’; and 

25 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or (C)’’ after ‘‘sub26 paragraph (A)’’; and 
3 

•HR 886 EH

1 (B) in subparagraph (C) in the matter pre2 ceding clause (i) by inserting ‘‘and except as 

3 provided in subparagraph (B)’’ after ‘‘subpara4 graph (A)’’; and 

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

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

7 to any project carried out pursuant to a contract or 

8 other agreement entered into under paragraph (1) 

9 that is not a cooperative agreement or an agreement 

10 to provide financial assistance in the form of a 

11 grant, the Under Secretary may contribute on an in12 kind basis the portion of the costs of the project that 

13 the Under Secretary determines represents the 

14 amount of benefit the National Oceanic and Atmos15 pheric Administration derives from the project.’’. 

16 (c) RECEIPT AND EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS; USE OF

17 RESOURCES.—Section 3 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1952) is 

18 amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(e) RECEIPT AND EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS.—In 

20 order to accomplish the purpose set forth in section 2, the 

21 Under Secretary, acting through the Program, may re22 ceive and, only to the extent provided in advance in appro23 priations Acts, expend funds made available by— 

24 ‘‘(1) any department, agency, or instrumen25 tality of the United States; 
4 

•HR 886 EH

1 ‘‘(2) any State or local government (or any po2 litical subdivision thereof); 

3 ‘‘(3) any Indian tribe; 

4 ‘‘(4) any foreign government or international 

5 organization; 

6 ‘‘(5) any public or private organization; or 

7 ‘‘(6) any individual. 

8 ‘‘(f) USE OF RESOURCES.—In order to accomplish 

9 the purpose set forth in section 2, the Under Secretary, 

10 acting through the Program, may use, with consent, with 

11 reimbursement, and subject to the availability of appro12 priations, the land, services, equipment, personnel, and fa13 cilities of— 

14 ‘‘(1) any department, agency, or instrumen15 tality of the United States; 

16 ‘‘(2) any State or local government (or any po17 litical subdivision thereof); 

18 ‘‘(3) any Indian tribe; 

19 ‘‘(4) any foreign government or international 

20 organization; 

21 ‘‘(5) any public or private organization; or 

22 ‘‘(6) any individual.’’. 
5 

•HR 886 EH

1 SEC. 3. MODIFICATIONS TO THE MARINE DEBRIS FOUNDA2 TION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title I of the Save 

4 Our Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 116–224) is transferred 

5 to appear after section 6 of the Marine Debris Act (P.L. 

6 109-449). 

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

8 Marine Debris Act (Public Law 109–449), as transferred 

9 by this Act, is amended, in the second sentence, by strik10 ing ‘‘organization’’ and inserting ‘‘corporation’’. 

11 (c) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 

12 (1) APPOINTMENT, VACANCIES, AND RE13 MOVAL.—Section 112(b) of the Marine Debris Act 

14 (Public Law 109–449), as transferred by this Act, 

15 is amended— 

16 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

17 through (5) as paragraphs (2) through (6) re18 spectively; 

19 (B) by inserting before paragraph (2), as 

20 redesignated, the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) RECOMMENDATIONS OF BOARD REGARD22 ING APPOINTMENTS.—For appointments made 

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

24 Under Secretary recommendations on candidates for 

25 appointment.’’; 
6 

•HR 886 EH

1 (C) in paragraph (2), as redesignated, in 

2 the matter preceding subparagraph (A)— 

3 (i) by striking ‘‘and considering’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘considering’’; and 

5 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and with the ap6 proval of the Secretary of Commerce,’’ 

7 after ‘‘by the Board,’’; 

8 (D) in paragraph (4)(A), as redesignated, 

9 by inserting ‘‘with the approval of the Secretary 

10 of Commerce’’ after ‘‘the Board’’; 

11 (E) by amending paragraph (3), as redes12 ignated, to read as follows: 

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

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

15 years.’’; and 

16 (F) in paragraph (6), as redesignated— 

17 (i) by inserting ‘‘the Administrator of 

18 the United States Agency for International 

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

20 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and with the ap21 proval of the Secretary of Commerce’’ after 

22 ‘‘EPA Administrator’’. 

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

24 Marine Debris Act (Public Law 109–449), as trans25 ferred by this Act, is amended— 
7 

•HR 886 EH

1 (A) in paragraph (1)(A) by striking ‘‘offi2 cers and employees’’ and inserting ‘‘the initial 

3 officers and employees’’; and 

4 (B) in paragraph (2)(B)(i) by striking ‘‘its 

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

6 executive officer of the Foundation’’. 

7 (3) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.—Section 112 

8 of the Marine Debris Act (Public Law 109–449), as 

9 transferred by this Act, is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following: 

11 ‘‘(h) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.— 

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

13 Board may appoint, remove, and review the perform14 ance of the chief executive officer of the Foundation. 

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

16 the Foundation may appoint, remove, and review the 

17 performance of any officer or employee of the Foun18 dation.’’. 

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

20 the Marine Debris Act (Public Law 109–449), as trans21 ferred by this Act, is amended in the matter preceding 

22 subparagraph (A)— 

23 (1) by inserting ‘‘nonprofit’’ before ‘‘corpora24 tion’’; and 
8 

•HR 886 EH

1 (2) by striking ‘‘acting as a trustee’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘formed’’. 

3 (e) PRINCIPAL OFFICE.—Section 113 of the Marine 

4 Debris Act (Public Law 109–449), as transferred by this 

5 Act, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(g) PRINCIPAL OFFICE.—The Board shall locate the 

7 principal office of the Foundation in the National Capital 

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

9 title 10, United States Code, or a coastal shoreline com10 munity.’’. 

11 (f) BEST PRACTICES.—Section 113 of the Marine 

12 Debris Act (Public Law 109–449), as transferred by this 

13 Act and amended by subsection (e), is further amended 

14 by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(h) BEST PRACTICES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall de17 velop and implement best practices for conducting 

18 outreach to Indian Tribes. 

19 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The best practices de20 veloped under paragraph (1) shall— 

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

22 assistance and capacity building to improve out23 comes; and 

24 ‘‘(B) promote an awareness of programs 

25 and grants available under this Act.’’. 
9 

•HR 886 EH

1 (g) USE OF FUNDS.—Section 118 of the Marine De2 bris Act (Public Law 109–449), as transferred by this Act, 

3 is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘2024’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘2025’’ and 

7 (B) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘and 

8 State and local government agencies’’ and in9 serting ‘‘, State and local government agencies, 

10 United States and international nongovern11 mental organizations, regional organizations, 

12 Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and foreign 

13 government entities’’; and 

14 (2) in subsection (b)(2) by striking ‘‘and State 

15 and local government agencies’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

16 State and local government agencies, United States 

17 and international nongovernmental organizations, re18 gional organizations, Indian Tribes, Tribal organiza19 tions, and foreign government entities’’. 

20 (i) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 9(a) of the Marine De21 bris Act (33 U.S.C. 1958) is amended by striking ‘‘fiscal 

22 year 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘each of fiscal years 2024 and 

23 2025’’. 
10 

•HR 886 EH

1 SEC. 4. TRANSFERS. 

2 (a) SAVE OUR SEAS 2.0 ACT.—Subtitle C of title I 

3 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 116–224) is 

4 transferred to appear after section 119 of the Marine De5 bris Act (Public Law 109–449) as transferred and redes6 ignated by this Act. 

7 (b) MARINE DEBRIS ACT.—The Marine Debris Act 

8 (Public Law 109–449) is amended— 

9 (1) by transferring sections 7, 8, and 9 to ap10 pear after section 127, as transferred by this Act, 

11 and redesignated as sections 131, 132, and 133, re12 spectively; and 

13 (2) by inserting before section 131, as so trans14 ferred and redesignated, the following: 

15 ‘‘Subtitle D—Administration’’. 

16 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 131 of the Marine Debris 

18 Act (Public Law 109–449), as transferred and redesig19 nated by this Act, is amended— 

20 (1) by striking paragraph (1); 

21 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), (4), 

22 (5), (6), and (7) as paragraphs (5), (6), (7), (11), 

23 (12), and (13), respectively; 

24 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol25 lowing: 
11 

•HR 886 EH

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

2 economy’ has the meaning given such term in sec3 tion 2 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 

4 116–224). 

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

6 term ‘coastal shoreline community’ means a city or 

7 county directly adjacent to the open ocean, major es8 tuaries, or the Great Lakes. 

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

10 Administrator’ has the meaning given such term in 

11 section 2 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 

12 116–224). 

13 ‘‘(4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 

14 has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the 

15 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

16 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).’’; 

17 (4) by inserting after paragraph (8), as so re18 designated, the following: 

19 ‘‘(9) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

20 ‘nonprofit organization’ has the meaning given such 

21 term in section 2 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act 

22 (Public Law 116–224). 

23 ‘‘(10) POST CONSUMER MATERIALS MANAGE24 MENT.—The term ‘post-consumer materials manage25 ment’ has the meaning given such term in section 2 
12 

•HR 886 EH

1 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 116– 

2 224).’’; 

3 (5) by inserting after paragraph (13), as so re4 designated, the following: 

5 ‘‘(14) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘Trib6 al organization’ has the meaning given the term in 

7 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu8 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

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

10 Secretary’ has the meaning given such term in sec11 tion 2 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 

12 116–224).’’; and 

13 (6) in paragraph (13), as so redesignated— 

14 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B), 

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

16 (E); and 

17 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(B) Indian Tribe;’’. 

20 (b) TRANSFER.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2(7) of the Save Our 

22 Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 116–224) is transferred to 

23 section 131 of the Marine Debris Act (Public Law 

24 109–449), inserted after paragraph (8) (as redesig25 nated), and redesignated as paragraph (8). 
13 

•HR 886 EH

1 (2) REDESIGNATION.—Section 2 of the Save 

2 Our Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 116–224) is amended 

3 by redesignating paragraphs (8) through (11) as 

4 paragraphs (7) through (10), respectively. 

5 (c) NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.—Paragraph (8)(D) of 

6 section 131 of the Marine Debris Act (Public Law 109– 

7 449), as transferred and redesignated by this Act, is 

8 amended by striking ‘‘(as defined in section 4 of the In9 dian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act 

10 (25 U.S.C. 5304))’’. 

11 SEC. 6. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—In sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 of the 

13 Marine Debris Act, and section 133 of the Marine Debris 

14 Act as transferred and so redesignated by this Act, strike 

15 ‘‘Administrator’’ and insert ‘‘Under Secretary’’. 

16 (b) SECTION 5.—In section 5 of the Marine Debris 

17 Act strike— 

18 (1) ‘‘Administrator of the National Oceanic and 

19 Atmospheric Administration’’ and insert ‘‘Under 

20 Secretary’’; and 

21 (2) ‘‘Administrator of the Environmental Pro22 tection Agency’’ and insert ‘‘EPA Administrator’’. 

23 (c) SECTION 123.—In section 123, as transferred 

24 and so redesignated by this Act, strike ‘‘title I’’ and insert 

25 ‘‘subtitle B’’. 
14 

•HR 886 EH

1 (d) SECTION 131.—Paragraph (8)(D) of section 131 

2 of the Marine Debris Act (Public Law 109–449), as trans3 ferred and redesignated by this Act, is amended by strik4 ing ‘‘(as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determina5 tion and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304))’’. 

6 (e) SECTION 134.—Section 134 of the Marine Debris 

7 Act, as transferred and so redesignated by this Act, strike 

8 ‘‘Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency’’ 

9 and insert ‘‘EPA Administrator’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives March 11, 

2024. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 886 

AN ACT 

To amend the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act to improve 

istration, and for other purposes. of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminthe administration of the Marine Debris Program tion, to amend the Marine Debris Act to improve the administration of the Marine Debris Founda-