II 

Calendar No. 262 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 318 

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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 9, 2023 

Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mr. 

PETERS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

DECEMBER 5, 2023 

Reported by Ms. CANTWELL, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

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, 


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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 FOUNDA5 TION. 

6 (a) DEFINITION OF TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—Sec7 tion 2 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (33 U.S.C. 4201) 

8 is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (7)(D), by striking ‘‘(as de10 fined’’ and all that follows through ‘‘5304))’’; 

11 (2) by redesignating paragraph (11) as para12 graph (12); and 

13 (3) by inserting after paragraph (10) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(11) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘Trib16 al organization’ has the meaning given that term in 

17 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu18 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).’’. 

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

20 such Act (33 U.S.C. 4211(a)) is amended, in the second 

21 sentence, by striking ‘‘organization’’ and inserting ‘‘cor22 poration’’. 

23 (c) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 

24 (1) APPOINTMENT, VACANCIES, AND RE25 MOVAL.—Section 112(b) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

26 4212(b)) is amended— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre2 ceding subparagraph (A)— 

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

4 inserting ‘‘considering’’; 

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

7 after ‘‘by the Board,’’; and 

8 (iii) by inserting ‘‘and such other cri9 teria as the Under Secretary may estab10 lish’’ after ‘‘subsection (a)’’; 

11 (B) in paragraph (3)(A), by inserting 

12 ‘‘with the approval of the Secretary of Com13 merce’’ after ‘‘the Board’’; 

14 (C) in paragraph (5)— 

15 (i) by inserting ‘‘the Administrator of 

16 the United States Agency for International 

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

18 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and with the ap19 proval of the Secretary of Commerce’’ after 

20 ‘‘EPA Administrator’’; 

21 (D) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

22 through (5) as paragraphs (3) through (6), re23 spectively; and 

24 (E) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

25 following: 


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

3 under paragraph (1) other than the initial appoint4 ments, the Board shall submit to the Under Sec5 retary recommendations on candidates for appoint6 ment.’’. 

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

8 Act (33 U.S.C. 4212(g)) is amended— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘offi10 cers and employees’’ and inserting ‘‘the initial 

11 officers and employees’’; and 

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

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

14 executive officer of the Foundation’’. 

15 (3) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.—Section 112 

16 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 4212) is amended by adding 

17 at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(h) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.— 

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

20 Board shall appoint and may remove and review the 

21 performance of the chief executive officer of the 

22 Foundation. 

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

24 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 such Act (33 U.S.C. 4213(c)(1)) is amended, in the mat5 ter 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 such Act (33 

11 U.S.C. 4213) is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

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

14 principal office of the Foundation outside the District of 

15 Columbia and is encouraged to locate that office in a 

16 coastal State.’’. 

17 (f) BEST PRACTICES.—Section 113 of such Act (33 

18 U.S.C. 4213), as amended by subsection (e), is further 

19 amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(h) BEST PRACTICES.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall de22 velop and implement best practices for conducting 

23 outreach to Indian Tribes. 

24 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The best practices de25 veloped under paragraph (1) shall— 


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

2 assistance and capacity building to improve out3 comes; and 

4 ‘‘(B) promote an awareness of programs 

5 and grants available under this Act.’’. 

6 (g) USE OF FUNDS.—Section 118 of such Act (33 

7 U.S.C. 4218) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and 

10 State and local government agencies’’ and in11 serting ‘‘, State and local government agencies, 

12 United States and international nongovern13 mental organizations, regional organizations, 

14 Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and foreign 

15 government entities’’; and 

16 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

17 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik18 ing ‘‘PROHIBITION’’ and inserting ‘‘LIMI19 TATION’’; 

20 (ii) in subparagraph (A)— 

21 (I) by striking ‘‘Except as pro22 vided in subparagraph (B), no’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘Not more than 12 percent 

24 of’’; and 


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1 (II) by striking ‘‘for administra2 tive’’ and inserting ‘‘to offset the ad3 ministrative’’; and 

4 (iii) by striking subparagraph (B) and 

5 inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(B) SALARIES.—The Foundation may use 

7 Federal funds described in subparagraph (A) to 

8 pay for salaries only during the 24-month pe9 riod beginning on the date of the enactment of 

10 the Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act. The 

11 Secretary shall not require reimbursement from 

12 the Foundation for any such Federal funds 

13 used to pay for such salaries.’’; 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, and foreign government enti19 ties’’. 

20 SEC. 3. MODIFICATIONS TO THE MARINE DEBRIS PROGRAM 

21 OF THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOS22 PHERIC ADMINISTRATION. 

23 (a) GRANTS, COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS, CON24 TRACTS, AND OTHER AGREEMENTS.—Section 3(d) of the 

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


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

2 CONTRACTS’’ and inserting ‘‘CONTRACTS, AND

3 OTHER AGREEMENTS’’; 

4 (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and con5 tracts’’ and inserting ‘‘, contracts, and other agree6 ments’’; 

7 (3) in paragraph (2)— 

8 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 

9 (i) by striking ‘‘part of the’’ and in10 serting ‘‘part of a’’; and 

11 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or (C)’’ after ‘‘sub12 paragraph (A)’’; and 

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

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

15 provided in subparagraph (B)’’ after ‘‘subpara16 graph (A)’’; and 

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

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

19 to any project carried out pursuant to a contract or 

20 other agreement entered into under paragraph (1) 

21 that is not a cooperative agreement or an agreement 

22 to provide financial assistance in the form of a 

23 grant, the Administrator may contribute on an in24 kind basis the portion of the costs of the project that 

25 the Administrator determines represents the amount 


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1 of benefit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

2 Administration derives from the project.’’. 

3 (b) RECEIPT AND EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS; USE OF

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

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

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

8 Administrator, acting through the Program, may receive 

9 and, only to the extent provided in advance in appropria10 tions Acts, expend funds made available by— 

11 ‘‘(1) any department, agency, or instrumen12 tality of the United States; 

13 ‘‘(2) any State or local government (or any po14 litical subdivision thereof); 

15 ‘‘(3) any Indian tribe; 

16 ‘‘(4) any foreign government or international 

17 organization; 

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

19 ‘‘(6) any individual. 

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

21 the purpose set forth in section 2, the Administrator, act22 ing through the Program, may use, with consent, with re23 imbursement, and subject to the availability of appropria24 tions, the land, services, equipment, personnel, and facili25 ties of— 


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1 ‘‘(1) any department, agency, or instrumen2 tality of the United States; 

3 ‘‘(2) any State or local government (or any po4 litical subdivision thereof); 

5 ‘‘(3) any Indian tribe; 

6 ‘‘(4) any foreign government or international 

7 organization; 

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

9 ‘‘(6) any individual.’’. 

10 (c) DEFINITION OF INDIAN TRIBE.—Section 7 of 

11 such Act (33 U.S.C. 1956) is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

13 (7) as paragraphs (3) through (8), respectively; and 

14 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 

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

18 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

19 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).’’. 

20 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

22 Amendments Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MODIFICATIONS TO THE MARINE DEBRIS FOUNDA2 TION. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 

4 Act (33 U.S.C. 4201) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (7)(D), by striking ‘‘(as de6 fined’’ and all that follows through ‘‘5304))’’; 

7 (2) by redesignating paragraph (11) as para8 graph (13); and 

9 (3) by inserting after paragraph (10) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(11) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘Tribal 

12 government’ means the recognized governing body of 

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

14 pueblo, village, community, component band, or com15 ponent reservation, individually identified (including 

16 parenthetically) in the list published most recently as 

17 of the date of the enactment of the Save Our Seas 2.0 

18 Amendments Act pursuant to section 104 of the Fed19 erally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 

20 U.S.C. 5131). 

21 ‘‘(12) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘Tribal 

22 organization’ has the meaning given that term in sec23 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu24 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).’’. 


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1 (b) STATUS OF FOUNDATION.—Section 111(a) of such 

2 Act (33 U.S.C. 4211(a)) is amended, in the second sentence, 

3 by striking ‘‘organization’’ and inserting ‘‘corporation’’. 

4 (c) PURPOSES.—Section 111(b)(3) of such Act (33 

5 U.S.C. 4211(b)(3)) is amended by inserting ‘‘Indian 

6 Tribes,’’ after ‘‘Tribal governments,’’. 

7 (d) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 

8 (1) APPOINTMENT, VACANCIES, AND REMOVAL.— 

9 Section 112(b) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 4212(b)) is 

10 amended— 

11 (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre12 ceding subparagraph (A)— 

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

14 inserting ‘‘considering’’; 

15 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and with the ap16 proval of the Secretary of Commerce,’’ after 

17 ‘‘by the Board,’’; and 

18 (iii) by inserting ‘‘and such other cri19 teria as the Under Secretary may establish’’ 

20 after ‘‘subsection (a)’’; 

21 (B) in paragraph (3)(A), by inserting ‘‘with 

22 the approval of the Secretary of Commerce’’ after 

23 ‘‘the Board’’; 

24 (C) in paragraph (5)— 


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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 (D) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

8 through (5) as paragraphs (3) through (6), re9 spectively; and 

10 (E) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(2) RECOMMENDATIONS OF BOARD REGARDING

13 APPOINTMENTS.—For appointments made under 

14 paragraph (1) other than the initial appointments, 

15 the Board shall submit to the Under Secretary rec16 ommendations on candidates for appointment.’’. 

17 (2) GENERAL POWERS.—Section 112(g) of such 

18 Act (33 U.S.C. 4212(g)) is amended— 

19 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘offi20 cers and employees’’ and inserting ‘‘the initial 

21 officers and employees’’; and 

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

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

24 executive officer of the Foundation’’. 


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1 (3) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.—Section 112 of 

2 such Act (33 U.S.C. 4212) is amended by adding at 

3 the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(h) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.— 

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

6 Board shall appoint and may remove and review the 

7 performance of the chief executive officer of the Foun8 dation. 

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

10 Foundation may appoint, remove, and review the 

11 performance of any officer or employee of the Founda12 tion.’’. 

13 (e) POWERS OF FOUNDATION.—Section 113(c)(1) of 

14 such Act (33 U.S.C. 4213(c)(1)) is amended, in the matter 

15 preceding subparagraph (A)— 

16 (1) by inserting ‘‘nonprofit’’ before ‘‘corpora17 tion’’; and 

18 (2) by striking ‘‘acting as a trustee’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘formed’’. 

20 (f) PRINCIPAL OFFICE.—Section 113 of such Act (33 

21 U.S.C. 4213) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

23 principal office of the Foundation outside the District of 

24 Columbia and is encouraged to locate that office in a coastal 

25 State.’’. 


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1 (g) BEST PRACTICES; RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Sec2 tion 113 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 4213), as amended by sub3 section (f), is further amended by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(h) BEST PRACTICES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall de7 velop and implement best practices for conducting 

8 outreach to Indian Tribes and Tribal governments. 

9 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The best practices devel10 oped under paragraph (1) shall— 

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

12 assistance and capacity building to improve out13 comes; and 

14 ‘‘(B) promote an awareness of programs 

15 and grants available under this Act. 

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

17 may be construed— 

18 ‘‘(1) to satisfy any requirement for government19 to-government consultation with Tribal governments; 

20 or 

21 ‘‘(2) to affect or modify any treaty or other right 

22 of any Tribal government.’’. 

23 (h) USE OF FUNDS.—Section 118 of such Act (33 

24 U.S.C. 4218) is amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and 

2 State and local government agencies’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘, State and local government agencies, re4 gional organizations, Indian Tribes, and Tribal 

5 organizations’’; and 

6 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

7 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik8 ing ‘‘PROHIBITION’’ and inserting ‘‘LIMITA9 TION’’; and 

10 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and 

11 inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(B) SALARIES.—The Foundation may use 

13 Federal funds described in subparagraph (A) to 

14 pay for salaries only during the 24-month period 

15 beginning on the date of the enactment of the 

16 Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act. The Sec17 retary shall not require reimbursement from the 

18 Foundation for any such Federal funds used to 

19 pay for such salaries.’’; and 

20 (2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘and State 

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

22 and local government agencies, United States and 

23 international nongovernmental organizations, re24 gional organizations, and foreign government enti25 ties’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. 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 OTHER

8 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 pre19 ceding 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 to 

24 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 grant, 

2 the Administrator may contribute on an in-kind basis 

3 the portion of the costs of the project that the Admin4 istrator determines represents the amount of benefit 

5 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra6 tion derives from the project.’’. 


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Calendar No. 262 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 318 

A BILL 

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 FoundaDECEMBER 5, 2023 

Reported with an amendment 


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