II 

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 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Amendments Act’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•S 318 IS

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

3 (a) DEFINITION OF TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—Sec4 tion 2 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (33 U.S.C. 4201) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (7)(D), by striking ‘‘(as de7 fined’’ and all that follows through ‘‘5304))’’; 

8 (2) by redesignating paragraph (11) as para9 graph (12); and 

10 (3) by inserting after paragraph (10) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(11) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘Trib13 al organization’ has the meaning given that term in 

14 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu15 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).’’. 

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

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

18 sentence, by striking ‘‘organization’’ and inserting ‘‘cor19 poration’’. 

20 (c) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 

21 (1) APPOINTMENT, VACANCIES, AND RE22 MOVAL.—Section 112(b) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

23 4212(b)) is amended— 

24 (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre25 ceding subparagraph (A)— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•S 318 IS

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

2 inserting ‘‘considering’’; 

3 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and with the ap4 proval of the Secretary of Commerce,’’ 

5 after ‘‘by the Board,’’; and 

6 (iii) by inserting ‘‘and such other cri7 teria as the Under Secretary may estab8 lish’’ after ‘‘subsection (a)’’; 

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

10 ‘‘with the approval of the Secretary of Com11 merce’’ after ‘‘the Board’’; 

12 (C) in paragraph (5)— 

13 (i) by inserting ‘‘the Administrator of 

14 the United States Agency for International 

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

16 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and with the ap17 proval of the Secretary of Commerce’’ after 

18 ‘‘EPA Administrator’’; 

19 (D) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

20 through (5) as paragraphs (3) through (6), re21 spectively; and 

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

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(2) RECOMMENDATIONS OF BOARD REGARD25 ING APPOINTMENTS.—For appointments made 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•S 318 IS

1 under paragraph (1) other than the initial appoint2 ments, the Board shall submit to the Under Sec3 retary recommendations on candidates for appoint4 ment.’’. 

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

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

7 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘offi8 cers and employees’’ and inserting ‘‘the initial 

9 officers and employees’’; and 

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

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

12 executive officer of the Foundation’’. 

13 (3) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.—Section 112 

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

15 at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(h) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.— 

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

18 Board shall appoint and may remove and review the 

19 performance of the chief executive officer of the 

20 Foundation. 

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

22 the Foundation may appoint, remove, and review the 

23 performance of any officer or employee of the Foun24 dation.’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•S 318 IS

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

2 such Act (33 U.S.C. 4213(c)(1)) is amended, in the mat3 ter preceding subparagraph (A)— 

4 (1) by inserting ‘‘nonprofit’’ before ‘‘corpora5 tion’’; and 

6 (2) by striking ‘‘acting as a trustee’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘formed’’. 

8 (e) PRINCIPAL OFFICE.—Section 113 of such Act (33 

9 U.S.C. 4213) is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

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

12 principal office of the Foundation outside the District of 

13 Columbia and is encouraged to locate that office in a 

14 coastal State.’’. 

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

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

17 amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(h) BEST PRACTICES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall de20 velop and implement best practices for conducting 

21 outreach to Indian Tribes. 

22 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The best practices de23 veloped under paragraph (1) shall— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•S 318 IS

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 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•S 318 IS

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— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•S 318 IS

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 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•S 318 IS

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— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•S 318 IS

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).’’. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB