IB 

Union Calendar No. 450 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 160 

[Report No. 117–626] 

To reauthorize the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 and to establish 

the United States Coral Reef Task Force, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 4, 2021 

Mr. SOTO (for himself, Mr. CASE, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, Mr. MAST, and Miss 

GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Natural Resources 

DECEMBER 14, 2022 

Additional sponsors: Ms. PLASKETT, Ms. SALAZAR, Mr. CRIST, Mr. SAN

NICOLAS, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mrs. MURPHY of Florida, Mr. WALTZ, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. GAETZ, 

Mr. POSEY, Mr. WEBSTER of Florida, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. C. SCOTT

FRANKLIN of Florida, Mr. BUCHANAN, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. 

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of 

Florida, Mr. DUNN, Mr. RUTHERFORD, Mr. GIMENEZ, Mrs. CAMMACK, 

Mr. DONALDS, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. KAHELE, Mr. COHEN, and Mr. DIAZBALART

DECEMBER 14, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 4, 2021] 


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A BILL 

To reauthorize the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 

and to establish the United States Coral Reef Task 

Force, and for other purposes. 


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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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Re5 storing Resilient Reefs Act of 2021’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—REAUTHORIZATION OF CORAL REEF CONSERVATION ACT 

OF 2000 

Sec. 101. Reauthorization of Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000. 

Sec. 102. Modification to section 204 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 

(16 U.S.C. 6403). 

TITLE II—UNITED STATES CORAL REEF TASK FORCE 

Sec. 201. Establishment. 

Sec. 202. Duties. 

Sec. 203. Membership. 

Sec. 204. Responsibilities of Federal agency members. 

Sec. 205. Working groups. 

Sec. 206. Definitions. 

TITLE III—DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR CORAL REEF 

AUTHORITIES 

Sec. 301. Coral reef conservation and restoration assistance. 

TITLE IV—SUSAN L. WILLIAMS NATIONAL CORAL REEF 

MANAGEMENT FELLOWSHIP 

Sec. 401. Short title. 

Sec. 402. Definitions. 

Sec. 403. Establishment of fellowship program. 

Sec. 404. Fellowship awards. 

Sec. 405. Matching requirement. 


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1 TITLE I—REAUTHORIZATION OF 

2 CORAL REEF CONSERVATION 

3 ACT OF 2000 

4 SEC. 101. REAUTHORIZATION OF CORAL REEF CONSERVA5 TION ACT OF 2000. 

6 (a) PURPOSES; FEDERAL CORAL REEF MANAGEMENT

7 AND RESTORATION ACTIVITIES.—The Coral Reef Conserva8 tion Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is amended by 

9 striking sections 202 and 203 and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 202. PURPOSES. 

11 ‘‘The purposes of this title are— 

12 ‘‘(1) to conserve and restore the condition of 

13 United States coral reef ecosystems challenged by nat14 ural and human-accelerated changes, including in15 creasing ocean temperatures, ocean acidification, 

16 coral bleaching, coral diseases, water quality degrada17 tion, invasive species, and illegal, unreported, and 

18 unregulated fishing; 

19 ‘‘(2) to promote the science-based management 

20 and sustainable use of coral reef ecosystems to benefit 

21 local communities and the Nation, including through 

22 improved integration and cooperation among Federal, 

23 State, and locally managed jurisdictions with coral 

24 reef equities; 


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1 ‘‘(3) to develop sound scientific information on 

2 the condition of coral reef ecosystems, continuing and 

3 emerging threats to such ecosystems, and the efficacy 

4 of innovative tools, technologies, and strategies to 

5 mitigate stressors and restore such ecosystems, includ6 ing evaluation criteria to determine the effectiveness 

7 of management interventions, and accurate mapping 

8 for coral reef restoration; 

9 ‘‘(4) to assist in the preservation of coral reefs by 

10 supporting science-based, consensus-driven State, 

11 Tribal, Pacific Islander, and community-based coral 

12 reef management, including monitoring, conservation, 

13 and restoration projects that empower local commu14 nities, small businesses, and nongovernmental organi15 zations; 

16 ‘‘(5) to provide financial resources, technical as17 sistance, and scientific expertise to supplement and 

18 strengthen State, Tribal, Indigenous, and community19 based management programs and conservation and 

20 restoration projects; 

21 ‘‘(6) to establish a formal mechanism for col22 lecting and allocating monetary donations from the 

23 private sector to be used for coral reef conservation 

24 and restoration projects; 


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1 ‘‘(7) to support the rapid and effective, science2 based assessment and response to emergencies that im3 minently threaten coral reefs, such as coral disease 

4 outbreaks, invasive species, hurricanes, marine heat 

5 waves, coral bleaching, and other natural disasters, 

6 vessel groundings or chemical spills, and other exigent 

7 circumstances; and 

8 ‘‘(8) to serve as a model for advancing similar 

9 international efforts to monitor, conserve, and restore 

10 coral reef ecosystems in the jurisdictions of United 

11 States allies and trading partners. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 203. FEDERAL CORAL REEF MANAGEMENT AND RES13 TORATION ACTIVITIES. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator or the Sec15 retary of the Interior may conduct activities described in 

16 subsection (b) to conserve and restore coral reefs and coral 

17 reef ecosystems that are consistent with— 

18 ‘‘(1) all applicable laws governing resource man19 agement in Federal and State waters, including this 

20 Act; 

21 ‘‘(2) the national coral reef resilience strategy in 

22 effect under section 204A; 

23 ‘‘(3) coral reef action plans in effect under sec24 tion 205, as applicable; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) coral reef emergency plans in effect under 

2 section 209, as applicable. 

3 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED.—Activities described in 

4 this subsection are activities to conserve, research, monitor, 

5 assess, and restore coral reefs and coral reef ecosystems in 

6 waters managed under the jurisdiction of a Federal agency 

7 specified in subsection (c) or in coordination with a State 

8 in waters managed under the jurisdiction of such State, in9 cluding— 

10 ‘‘(1) developing, including through the collection 

11 of requisite data, high-quality and digitized maps re12 flecting— 

13 ‘‘(A) current and historical live coral cover 

14 data; 

15 ‘‘(B) coral reef habitat quality data; 

16 ‘‘(C) priority areas for coral reef conserva17 tion to maintain biodiversity and ecosystem 

18 structure and function, including the reef matrix 

19 itself, that benefit coastal communities and liv20 ing marine resources; 

21 ‘‘(D) priority areas for coral reef restora22 tion to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem struc23 ture and function, including the reef matrix 

24 itself, to benefit coastal communities and living 

25 marine resources; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) areas of concern that may require en2 hanced monitoring of coral health and cover; 

3 ‘‘(2) enhancing compliance with Federal laws 

4 that prohibit or regulate— 

5 ‘‘(A) the taking of coral products or species 

6 associated with coral reefs; or 

7 ‘‘(B) the use and management of coral reef 

8 ecosystems; 

9 ‘‘(3) long-term ecological monitoring of coral reef 

10 ecosystems; 

11 ‘‘(4) implementing species-specific recovery plans 

12 for listed coral species consistent with the Endangered 

13 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 

14 ‘‘(5) restoring degraded coral reef ecosystems; 

15 ‘‘(6) promoting ecologically sound navigation 

16 and anchorages, including mooring buoy systems to 

17 promote enhanced recreational access, near coral reefs; 

18 ‘‘(7) monitoring and responding to severe bleach19 ing or mortality events, disease outbreaks, invasive 

20 species outbreaks, and significant maritime accidents, 

21 including chemical spill cleanup and the removal of 

22 grounded vessels; 

23 ‘‘(8) conducting scientific research that contrib24 utes to the understanding, sustainable use, and long25 term conservation of coral reefs; 


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1 ‘‘(9) enhancing public awareness, understanding, 

2 and appreciation of coral reefs and coral reef eco3 systems; 

4 ‘‘(10) preventing or minimizing the likelihood of 

5 vessel impacts or other physical damage to coral reefs 

6 through navigational aids and expansion of reef-safe 

7 anchorages; and 

8 ‘‘(11) centrally archiving, managing, and dis9 tributing data sets and coral reef ecosystem assess10 ments and publishing such information on publicly 

11 available internet websites of— 

12 ‘‘(A) the Coral Reef Conservation Program 

13 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad14 ministration; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the Task Force. 

16 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL AGENCIES SPECIFIED.—A Federal 

17 agency specified in this subsection is one of the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad19 ministration. 

20 ‘‘(2) The National Park Service. 

21 ‘‘(3) The United States Fish and Wildlife Serv22 ice. 

23 ‘‘(4) The Office of Insular Affairs.’’. 

24 (b) ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS.—The Coral Reef Con25 servation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is amended 


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1 by striking sections 205 through 210 and inserting the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 204A. NATIONAL CORAL REEF RESILIENCE STRATEGY. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) develop a national coral reef resilience 

6 strategy; and 

7 ‘‘(2) periodically, but not less frequently than 

8 every 15 years, review and revise the strategy. 

9 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required by subsection 

10 (a) shall include the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) A discussion addressing— 

12 ‘‘(A) continuing and emerging threats to the 

13 resilience of United States coral reef ecosystems; 

14 ‘‘(B) remaining gaps in coral reef ecosystem 

15 research, monitoring, and assessment; 

16 ‘‘(C) the status of management cooperation 

17 and integration among Federal, State, Tribal, 

18 and locally managed jurisdictions with coral reef 

19 equities; 

20 ‘‘(D) the status of efforts to manage and 

21 disseminate critical information, and enhance 

22 interjurisdictional data sharing, related to re23 search, reports, datasets, and maps; 

24 ‘‘(E) areas of special focus, which may in25 clude— 


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1 ‘‘(i) improving natural coral recruit2 ment; 

3 ‘‘(ii) preventing avoidable losses of cor4 als and their habitat; 

5 ‘‘(iii) enhancing the resilience of coral 

6 populations; 

7 ‘‘(iv) supporting a resilience-based 

8 management approach; 

9 ‘‘(v) developing, coordinating, and im10 plementing watershed management plans; 

11 ‘‘(vi) building and sustaining water12 shed management capacity at the local level; 

13 ‘‘(vii) providing data essential for 

14 coral reef fisheries management; 

15 ‘‘(viii) building capacity for coral reef 

16 fisheries management; 

17 ‘‘(ix) increasing understanding of coral 

18 reef ecosystem services; 

19 ‘‘(x) educating the public on the im20 portance of coral reefs, threats and solu21 tions; and 

22 ‘‘(xi) evaluating intervention efficacy; 

23 ‘‘(F) the status of conservation efforts, in24 cluding the use of marine protected areas to serve 

25 as replenishment zones developed consistent with 


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1 local practices and traditions and in cooperation 

2 with, and with respect for the scientific, tech3 nical, and management expertise and respon4 sibilities of, State fish and wildlife management 

5 agencies; and 

6 ‘‘(G) science-based adaptive management 

7 and restoration efforts. 

8 ‘‘(2) A statement of national goals and objectives 

9 designed to guide— 

10 ‘‘(A) future Federal coral reef management 

11 and restoration activities authorized under sec12 tion 203; 

13 ‘‘(B) conservation and restoration priorities 

14 for grants awarded under section 213; and 

15 ‘‘(C) research priorities for the cooperative 

16 institutes established under section 215(c). 

17 ‘‘(3) General templates for use by covered reef 

18 managers to guide the development of— 

19 ‘‘(A) coral reef action plans under section 

20 205; and 

21 ‘‘(B) coral reef emergency plans under sec22 tion 209. 

23 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATIONS.—In developing all elements of 

24 the strategy required by subsection (a), the Administrator 

25 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) consult with the Secretary of the Interior, 

2 the Task Force, covered States, and Tribal organiza3 tions; 

4 ‘‘(2) engage stakeholders, including coral reef 

5 stewardship partnerships, coral reef institutes and re6 search centers described in section 215(c), and coral 

7 reef conservation grant awardees; and 

8 ‘‘(3) solicit public review and comment regard9 ing scoping and the draft strategy. 

10 ‘‘(d) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS; PUBLICATION.—The 

11 Administrator shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) submit the strategy required by subsection 

13 (a) and any revisions to the strategy to the appro14 priate congressional committees; and 

15 ‘‘(2) publish the strategy and any such revisions 

16 on publicly available internet websites of— 

17 ‘‘(A) the Coral Reef Conservation Program 

18 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad19 ministration; and 

20 ‘‘(B) the Task Force. 

21 ‘‘(e) TRANSITION RULE.—On and after the date of the 

22 enactment of the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 2021, the 

23 2018 Coral Reef Conservation Program Strategic Plan of 

24 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 


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1 shall be considered to be the national coral reef resilience 

2 strategy in effect under this section until the earlier of— 

3 ‘‘(1) September 30, 2033; or 

4 ‘‘(2) the date on which the Administrator devel5 ops a national coral reef resilience strategy under this 

6 section. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 205. CORAL REEF ACTION PLANS. 

8 ‘‘(a) CORAL REEF ACTION PLANS.—Except as pro9 vided in subsection (h), not later than 3 years after the date 

10 of the enactment of the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 

11 2021, and not later than 2 years after the publication of 

12 a revised national coral reef resilience strategy under sec13 tion 204A, each covered reef manager shall prepare and sub14 mit to the Task Force a coral reef action plan to guide man15 agement and restoration activities to be undertaken within 

16 the responsibilities and jurisdiction of the manager. 

17 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—A covered reef manager pre18 paring a coral reef action plan under subsection (a) shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) ensure that the plan is consistent with all 

20 elements of the national coral reef resilience strategy 

21 in effect; and 

22 ‘‘(2) revise the plan not less frequently than once 

23 every 5 years. 


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1 ‘‘(c) PLAN ELEMENTS.—A coral reef action plan under 

2 subsection (a) shall include a discussion of the following ele3 ments: 

4 ‘‘(1) Short- and mid-term coral reef conservation 

5 and restoration objectives within the applicable juris6 diction. 

7 ‘‘(2) An updated adaptive management frame8 work to inform research, monitoring, and assessment 

9 needs. 

10 ‘‘(3) The status of any coral reef emergency 

11 plans in effect under section 209 covering coral reef 

12 ecosystems within the applicable jurisdiction. 

13 ‘‘(4) Tools, strategies, and partnerships necessary 

14 to identify, monitor, and redress the impacts of pollu15 tion, diminished water quality, temperature fluctua16 tions, acidification, overfishing, disease, and other 

17 disturbances to coral reef ecosystems within the appli18 cable jurisdiction. 

19 ‘‘(5) The status of efforts to improve coral reef 

20 ecosystem management cooperation and integration 

21 among neighboring Federal, State, Tribal, or locally 

22 managed jurisdictions, including the identification of 

23 existing research and monitoring activities that can 

24 be leveraged for coral reef status and trends assess25 ments within the applicable jurisdiction. 


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1 ‘‘(6) An accounting of annual expenditures on 

2 coral reef management and restoration activities 

3 within the applicable jurisdiction while the preceding 

4 action plan, if any, was in effect. 

5 ‘‘(7) Estimated budgetary and resource consider6 ations necessary to carry out the proposed action 

7 plan. 

8 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator 

9 and the Task Force shall make all reasonable efforts to pro10 vide technical assistance upon request by a covered reef 

11 manager developing a coral reef action plan under sub12 section (a). 

13 ‘‘(e) ADOPTION OF CORAL REEF ACTION PLANS.—A 

14 covered reef manager may adopt a coral reef action plan 

15 developed by another covered reef manager, in full or in 

16 part, as relevant to the adopting manager’s applicable ju17 risdiction. 

18 ‘‘(f) PUBLIC REVIEW.—The development of a coral reef 

19 action plan by a covered reef manager under subsection (a), 

20 and the adoption of a plan under subsection (e), shall be 

21 subject to public review and comment. 

22 ‘‘(g) PUBLICATION.—The Administrator shall publish 

23 each coral reef action plan prepared and submitted to the 

24 Task Force under this section on publicly available internet 

25 websites of— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the Coral Reef Conservation Program of the 

2 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(2) the Task Force. 

5 ‘‘(h) APPLICABILITY TO COVERED STATES AND CORAL

6 REEF STEWARDSHIP PARTNERSHIPS.—A covered State or 

7 non-Federal coral reef stewardship partnership is not re8 quired to develop a coral reef action plan under subsection 

9 (a), but may do so in its own discretion. In developing a 

10 coral reef action plan, a covered State or non-Federal coral 

11 reef stewardship partnership is encouraged, but not man12 dated, to comply with the requirements of this section. 

13 ‘‘(i) PLAN IN EFFECT.—A coral reef action plan shall 

14 be deemed to be in effect if the plan was submitted to the 

15 Task Force under this section during the preceding 6 years. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 206. CORAL REEF STEWARDSHIP PARTNERSHIPS. 

17 ‘‘(a) CORAL REEF STEWARDSHIP PARTNERSHIPS.— 

18 The Administrator shall establish standards for the identi19 fication of coral reefs and the formation of partnerships 

20 among government and community members for the stew21 ardship of coral reefs (in this title referred to as ‘coral reef 

22 stewardship partnerships’) in accordance with this section, 

23 including guidance for preparation and submission of coral 

24 reef action plans under section 205 for review and approval 

25 by the Administrator. 


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1 ‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION OF CORAL REEFS.—Each coral 

2 reef stewardship partnership shall identify with particu3 larity the coral reef or ecologically significant component 

4 of a coral reef that will be the subject of its stewardship 

5 activities. 

6 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP FOR FEDERAL CORAL REEFS.—A 

7 coral reef stewardship partnership that has identified, as 

8 the subject of its stewardship activities, a coral reef or eco9 logically significant component of a coral reef that is fully 

10 or partially under the management jurisdiction of any Fed11 eral agency specified in section 203(c) shall, at a minimum, 

12 include the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) That Federal agency, a representative of 

14 which shall serve as chair of the coral reef steward15 ship partnership. 

16 ‘‘(2) A State, county, or Tribal organization’s re17 source management agency. 

18 ‘‘(3) A coral reef research center described in sec19 tion 215(c)(4) or another institution of higher edu20 cation. 

21 ‘‘(4) A nongovernmental organization. 

22 ‘‘(5) Such other members as the partnership con23 siders appropriate, such as interested stakeholder 

24 groups. 


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1 ‘‘(d) MEMBERSHIP FOR NON-FEDERAL CORAL

2 REEFS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A coral reef stewardship 

4 partnership that has identified, as the subject of its 

5 stewardship activities, a coral reef or ecologically sig6 nificant component of a coral reef that is not under 

7 the management jurisdiction of any Federal agency 

8 specified in section 203(c) shall, at a minimum, in9 clude the following: 

10 ‘‘(A) A State, county, or Tribal organiza11 tion’s resource management agency, a represent12 ative of which shall serve as the chair of the coral 

13 reef stewardship partnership. 

14 ‘‘(B) A coral reef research center described 

15 in section 215(c)(4) or another institution of 

16 higher education. 

17 ‘‘(C) A nongovernmental organization. 

18 ‘‘(D) Such other members as the partner19 ship considers appropriate, such as interested 

20 stakeholder groups. 

21 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara23 graph (B), a coral reef stewardship partnership 

24 described in paragraph (1) may also include 

25 representatives of one or more Federal agencies 


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1 that have management responsibility in the coral 

2 reef that is the subject of the partnership’s stew3 ardship activities. 

4 ‘‘(B) REQUESTS; APPROVAL.—A representa5 tive of a Federal agency described in subpara6 graph (A) may become a member of a coral reef 

7 stewardship partnership described in paragraph 

8 (1) if— 

9 ‘‘(i) the representative submits a re10 quest to become a member to the chair of the 

11 partnership referred to in paragraph 

12 (1)(A); and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the chair consents to the request. 

14 ‘‘(e) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM15 MITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

16 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to coral reef stewardship part17 nerships. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 207. BLOCK GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREE19 MENTS. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall provide 

21 block grants of financial assistance to covered States to sup22 port management and restoration activities and further the 

23 implementation of coral reef action plans in effect under 

24 section 205 by covered States and non-Federal coral reef 

25 stewardship partnerships. 


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1 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY FOR ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered State shall qualify 

3 for and receive additional grant amounts beyond the 

4 base award specified in subsection (c)(1) if there is at 

5 least one coral reef action plan in effect within the ju6 risdiction of the covered State developed by that cov7 ered State or a non-Federal coral reef stewardship 

8 partnership. 

9 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—In any fiscal year before fiscal 

10 year 2025, the Administrator shall waive the require11 ment to qualify for and receive additional grant 

12 amounts described in paragraph (1). 

13 ‘‘(c) FUNDING FORMULA.—The amount of each block 

14 grant awarded to a covered State under this section shall 

15 be the sum of— 

16 ‘‘(1) a base award of $100,000; and 

17 ‘‘(2) if the State is eligible under subsection 

18 (b)— 

19 ‘‘(A) an amount that is equal to non-Fed20 eral expenditures of up to $3,000,000 on coral 

21 reef management and restoration activities with22 in the jurisdiction of the State during the pre23 vious fiscal year, and 

24 ‘‘(B) an additional amount, from any funds 

25 appropriated for activities under this section 


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1 that remain after distribution under subpara2 graph (A), paragraph (1), and subsection 

3 (g)based on the proportion of the State’s share of 

4 total non-Federal expenditures on coral reef 

5 management and restoration activities, as re6 ported within the previous fiscal year, in excess 

7 of $3,000,000, relative to other covered States. 

8 ‘‘(d) EXCLUSIONS.—For the purposes of calculating 

9 block grant amounts under subsection (c), Federal funds 

10 provided to a covered State or non-Federal coral reef stew11 ardship partnership shall not be considered as qualifying 

12 non-Federal expenditures, but non-Federal matching funds 

13 used to leverage Federal awards may be considered as quali14 fying non-Federal expenditures. 

15 ‘‘(e) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.— 

16 The Administrator is responsible for— 

17 ‘‘(1) providing guidance on qualifying non-Fed18 eral expenditures and the proper documentation of 

19 such expenditures; 

20 ‘‘(2) issuing annual solicitations to covered 

21 States for additional awards under this section; and 

22 ‘‘(3) determining the appropriate allocation of 

23 additional amounts among covered States in accord24 ance with this section. 


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1 ‘‘(f) RESPONSIBILITIES OF COVERED STATES.—Each 

2 covered State is responsible for documenting non-Federal 

3 expenditures within the jurisdiction of the State and for4 mally reporting those expenditures for review in response 

5 to annual solicitations by the Administrator under sub6 section (e). 

7 ‘‘(g) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Adminis8 trator may enter into cooperative agreements with States 

9 to fund coral reef conservation and restoration activities in 

10 waters managed under the jurisdiction of such States that 

11 are consistent with the national coral reef resilience strategy 

12 in effect under section 204A. 

13 ‘‘(h) UNEXPENDED AMOUNTS.—Any amounts avail14 able for activities under this section that are not expended 

15 shall be transferred to the Coral Reef Stewardship Fund 

16 under section 208(b). 

17 ‘‘SEC. 208. CORAL REEF STEWARDSHIP FUND. 

18 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS.—The 

19 Administrator may enter into an agreement with the Na20 tional Fish and Wildlife Foundation (in this section re21 ferred to as the ‘Foundation’), authorizing the Foundation 

22 to receive, hold, and administer funds received under this 

23 section. 

24 ‘‘(b) FUND.—The Foundation shall invest, reinvest, 

25 and otherwise administer the funds received under this secVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:23 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H160.RH H160

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1 tion and maintain such funds and any interest or revenues 

2 earned in a separate interest-bearing account, to be known 

3 as the ‘Coral Reef Stewardship Fund’ (in this section re4 ferred to as the ‘Fund’, and known before the date of the 

5 enactment of the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 2021 as 

6 the Coral Reef Conservation Fund administered through a 

7 public-private partnership with the Foundation), estab8 lished by the Foundation solely to support coral reef stew9 ardship partnership activities that— 

10 ‘‘(1) further the purposes of this title; and 

11 ‘‘(2) are consistent with— 

12 ‘‘(A) the national coral reef resilience strat13 egy in effect under section 204A; and 

14 ‘‘(B) coral reef action plans in effect, if any, 

15 under section 205 covering a coral reef or eco16 logically significant component of a coral reef to 

17 be impacted by such activities, if applicable. 

18 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION TO SOLICIT DONATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to an agreement 

20 entered into under subsection (a), the Foundation 

21 may accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, and use 

22 any gift (including, notwithstanding section 1342 of 

23 title 31, United States Code, donations of services) to 

24 further the purposes of this title. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS IN FUND.—Notwithstanding sec2 tion 3302 of title 31, United States Code, any funds 

3 received as a gift shall be deposited and maintained 

4 in the Fund. 

5 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION REQUIRED.—Not later than 

6 30 days after funds are deposited in the Fund under 

7 paragraph (2), the Foundation shall notify the Com8 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Com9 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Representa10 tives of the source and amount of such funds. 

11 ‘‘(d) REVIEW OF PERFORMANCE.—The Administrator 

12 shall conduct a continuing review of all deposits into, and 

13 disbursements from, the Fund. Each review shall include 

14 a written assessment concerning the extent to which the 

15 Foundation has implemented the goals and requirements 

16 of— 

17 ‘‘(1) this section; and 

18 ‘‘(2) the national coral reef resilience strategy in 

19 effect under section 204A. 

20 ‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATION.—Under an agreement entered 

21 into pursuant to subsection (a), the Administrator may 

22 transfer funds appropriated to carry out this title to the 

23 Foundation. Amounts received by the Foundation under 

24 this subsection may be used for matching, in whole or in 

25 part, contributions (whether in money, services, or propVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:23 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H160.RH H160

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1 erty) made to the Foundation by private persons, State or 

2 local government agencies, or Tribal organizations. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 209. CORAL REEF EMERGENCY PLANS. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A covered reef manager may de5 velop and periodically update a plan (in this title referred 

6 to as a ‘coral reef emergency plan’) consistent with the tem7 plate described in section 204A(b)(3) to guide the rapid and 

8 effective response to circumstances that pose an urgent and 

9 immediate threat to the coral reef ecosystems within the 

10 manager’s responsibilities and jurisdictions, and consistent 

11 with any applicable coral reef action plan. 

12 ‘‘(b) CORAL REEF EMERGENCIES.—The Adminis13 trator shall develop a list of, and criteria for, circumstances 

14 that pose an urgent and immediate threat to coral reefs (in 

15 this title referred to as ‘coral reef emergencies’), including— 

16 ‘‘(1) new and ongoing outbreaks of disease; 

17 ‘‘(2) new and ongoing outbreaks of invasive or 

18 nuisance species; 

19 ‘‘(3) new and ongoing coral bleaching events; 

20 ‘‘(4) natural disasters; 

21 ‘‘(5) man-made disasters, including vessel 

22 groundings, hazardous spills, or coastal construction 

23 accidents; and 

24 ‘‘(6) other exigent circumstances. 


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1 ‘‘(c) BEST RESPONSE PRACTICES.—The Adminis2 trator shall develop guidance on best practices to respond 

3 to coral reef emergencies that can be adopted within coral 

4 reef emergency plans. Such best practices shall be— 

5 ‘‘(1) based on the best available science and inte6 grated with evolving innovative technologies; and 

7 ‘‘(2) revised not less frequently than once every 

8 5 years. 

9 ‘‘(d) PLAN ELEMENTS.—A coral reef emergency plan 

10 shall include the following elements: 

11 ‘‘(1) A description of particular threats, and the 

12 proposed responses, consistent with the best practices 

13 developed under subsection (d). 

14 ‘‘(2) A delineation of roles and responsibilities 

15 for executing the plan. 

16 ‘‘(3) Evidence of engagement with interested 

17 stakeholder groups, as applicable, in the development 

18 of the plan. 

19 ‘‘(4) Any other information the Administrator 

20 considers to be necessary for the plan. 

21 ‘‘(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator 

22 and the Task Force shall make all reasonable efforts to pro23 vide technical assistance upon request by a covered reef 

24 manager developing a coral reef emergency plan under sub25 section (a). 


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1 ‘‘(f) ADOPTION OF CORAL REEF EMERGENCY

2 PLANS.—A covered reef manager may adopt a coral reef 

3 emergency plan developed by another covered reef manager, 

4 in full or in part, as relevant to the adopting manager’s 

5 applicable jurisdiction. 

6 ‘‘(g) PUBLIC REVIEW.—The development of a coral reef 

7 action plan by a covered reef manager under subsection (a), 

8 and the adoption of a plan under subsection (f), shall be 

9 subject to public review and comment. 

10 ‘‘(h) PUBLICATION.—The Administrator shall publish 

11 each coral reef emergency plan prepared and submitted to 

12 the Task Force under this section on publicly available 

13 internet websites of— 

14 ‘‘(1) the Coral Reef Conservation Program of the 

15 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(2) the Task Force. 

18 ‘‘(i) PLAN IN EFFECT.—A coral reef emergency plan 

19 shall be deemed to be in effect if the plan was submitted 

20 to the Task Force under this section during the preceding 

21 6 years. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 210. CORAL REEF EMERGENCY FUND. 

23 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is established 

24 in the Treasury an interest-bearing fund to be known as 


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1 the ‘Coral Reef Emergency Fund’, which shall consist of 

2 amounts deposited into the Fund under subsection (c). 

3 ‘‘(b) USES.—Amounts in the Fund— 

4 ‘‘(1) shall be available only for use by the Ad5 ministrator to compensate covered coral reef mangers 

6 to implement a coral reef emergency plan in effect 

7 under sections 210 and 212; and 

8 ‘‘(2) shall remain available until expended. 

9 ‘‘(c) DEPOSITS INTO THE FUND.—There shall be de10 posited into the Fund— 

11 ‘‘(1) amounts appropriated for the Fund; and 

12 ‘‘(2) other amounts appropriated to the Adminis13 trator for use with respect to coral reef emergencies. 

14 ‘‘(d) ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of carrying out 

16 this title, the Administrator may accept, receive, so17 licit, hold, administer, and use any gift (including, 

18 notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, United 

19 States Code, donations of services). 

20 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS IN FUND.—Notwithstanding sec21 tion 3302 of title 31, United States Code, any funds 

22 received as a gift shall be deposited and maintained 

23 in the Fund. 

24 ‘‘SEC. 211. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE. 

25 ‘‘(a) CORAL REEF EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) SUA SPONTE DECLARATION.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

3 may determine and declare a coral reef emer4 gency, including at the recommendation of the 

5 Secretary of the Interior. 

6 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—In declaring a coral 

7 reef emergency under subparagraph (A), the Ad8 ministrator shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) certify that an emergency has oc10 curred that is ecologically significant and 

11 harmful to coral reefs; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) submit to the appropriate con13 gressional committees findings and analysis 

14 to justify the declaration. 

15 ‘‘(2) PETITIONS.—If a covered State or non-Fed16 eral coral reef stewardship partnership believes that a 

17 coral reef emergency has occurred, and is impacting 

18 coral reefs or ecologically significant components of 

19 coral reefs subject to the responsibilities or jurisdic20 tion of the State or partnership, the State or partner21 ship may petition the Administrator for a declaration 

22 of a coral reef emergency. 

23 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION AND ACTION.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days 

25 after receiving a petition under paragraph (2) 


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1 (except as provided in subparagraph (B)), the 

2 Administrator shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) evaluate the petition to determine 

4 whether a coral reef emergency has occurred; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(ii) declare a coral reef emergency or 

7 deny the petition. 

8 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION.—The Administrator may 

9 extend the deadline provided for under subpara10 graph (A) by not more than 15 days. 

11 ‘‘(4) APPEAL.—If the Administrator denies a pe12 tition for an emergency declaration submitted under 

13 paragraph (2), the State or partnership that sub14 mitted the petition may, not later than 15 days after 

15 receiving notice of the denial, appeal the denial to the 

16 Administrator. Not later than 15 days after receiving 

17 an appeal under this paragraph, the Administrator 

18 shall grant or deny the appeal. 

19 ‘‘(5) REVOCATION.—The Administrator may re20 voke any declaration of a coral reef emergency in 

21 whole or in part after determining that circumstances 

22 no longer require an emergency response. 

23 ‘‘(6) RECOVERY OF EMERGENCY FUNDING.—The 

24 Administrator may seek compensation from negligent 

25 parties to recover emergency funds expended in excess 


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1 of $500,000 under this section as a result of an emer2 gency declaration arising from direct impacts to coral 

3 reefs from man-made disasters or accidents. 

4 ‘‘(b) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AUTHORITY.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the declaration of a 

6 coral reef emergency under subsection (a), the Admin7 istrator shall provide grants to carry out proposals 

8 that meet the requirements of paragraph (2) to imple9 ment coral reef emergency plans in effect under sec10 tion 209. 

11 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A proposal for a grant 

12 under this subsection to implement a coral reef emer13 gency plan in effect under section 209 shall include— 

14 ‘‘(A) the name of the entity submitting the 

15 proposal; 

16 ‘‘(B) a copy of the coral reef emergency 

17 plan; 

18 ‘‘(C) a description of the qualifications of 

19 the individuals and entities who will implement 

20 the plan; 

21 ‘‘(D) an estimate of the funds and time re22 quired to complete the implementation of the 

23 plan; and 

24 ‘‘(E) any other information the Adminis25 trator considers to be necessary for evaluating 


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1 the eligibility of the proposal for a grant under 

2 this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(3) REVIEW.—Not later than 30 days after re4 ceiving a proposal for a grant under this subsection, 

5 the Administrator shall review the proposal and de6 termine if the proposal meets the requirements of 

7 paragraph (2). 

8 ‘‘(4) CONCURRENT REVIEW.—An entity seeking a 

9 grant under this subsection may submit a proposal 

10 under paragraph (2) to the Administrator at any 

11 time following the submission of a petition for an 

12 emergency declaration under subsection (a)(2) that is 

13 applicable to coral reefs or ecologically significant 

14 components of coral reefs subject to the responsibilities 

15 or jurisdiction of the entity. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 212. VESSEL GROUNDING INVENTORY. 

17 ‘‘The Administrator, in coordination with the heads 

18 of other Federal agencies, shall establish and maintain an 

19 inventory of all vessel grounding incidents involving United 

20 States coral reefs, including a description of— 

21 ‘‘(1) the impacts of each such incident to coral 

22 reefs and related natural resources; 

23 ‘‘(2) vessel and ownership information relating 

24 to each such incident, if available; 


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1 ‘‘(3) the estimated cost of removal of the vessel, 

2 remediation, or restoration relating to each such inci3 dent; 

4 ‘‘(4) the response actions taken by the owner of 

5 the vessel, the Administrator, the Commandant of the 

6 Coast Guard, or representatives of other Federal or 

7 State agencies; 

8 ‘‘(5) the status of the response actions, including 

9 the dates of— 

10 ‘‘(A) vessel removal; 

11 ‘‘(B) remediation or restoration activities, 

12 including whether a coral reef emergency plan 

13 was implemented; and 

14 ‘‘(C) any actions taken to prevent future 

15 grounding incidents; and 

16 ‘‘(6) recommendations for additional naviga17 tional aids or other mechanisms for preventing future 

18 grounding incidents. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 213. RUTH D. GATES CORAL REEF CONSERVATION 

20 GRANT PROGRAM. 

21 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.—The Administrator shall establish a 

22 program (to be known as the ‘Ruth D. Gates Coral Reef 

23 Conservation Grant Program’) to provide grants for 

24 projects for the conservation and restoration of coral reef 

25 ecosystems (in this section referred to as ‘coral reef projects’) 


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1 pursuant to proposals approved by the Administrator in 

2 accordance with this section. 

3 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An entity described in para5 graph (2) may submit to the Administrator a pro6 posal for a coral reef project. 

7 ‘‘(2) ENTITIES DESCRIBED.—An entity described 

8 in this paragraph is— 

9 ‘‘(A) a natural resource management au10 thority of a State or local government or Tribal 

11 organization— 

12 ‘‘(i) with responsibility for coral reef 

13 management; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) the activities of which directly or 

15 indirectly affect coral reefs or coral reef eco16 systems; 

17 ‘‘(B) a regional fishery management council 

18 established under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

19 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

20 1801 et seq.); 

21 ‘‘(C) a coral reef stewardship partnership 

22 seeking to implement a coral reef action plan in 

23 effect under section 205; 

24 ‘‘(D) a coral reef research center designated 

25 under section 215(c)(4); or 


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1 ‘‘(E) another nongovernmental organization 

2 or research institution with demonstrated exper3 tise in the conservation or restoration of coral 

4 reefs in practice or through significant contribu5 tions to the body of existing scientific research on 

6 coral reefs. 

7 ‘‘(c) PROJECT PROPOSALS.—Each proposal for a 

8 grant under this section for a coral reef project shall include 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) The name of the individual or entity re11 sponsible for conducting the project. 

12 ‘‘(2) A description of the qualifications of the in13 dividual or entity. 

14 ‘‘(3) A succinct statement of the purposes of the 

15 project. 

16 ‘‘(4) An estimate of the funds and time required 

17 to complete the project. 

18 ‘‘(5) Evidence of support for the project by ap19 propriate representatives of States or other govern20 ment jurisdictions in which the project will be con21 ducted. 

22 ‘‘(6) Information regarding the source and 

23 amount of matching funding available to the appli24 cant. 


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1 ‘‘(7) A description of how the project meets one 

2 or more of the criteria under subsection (e)(2). 

3 ‘‘(8) In the case of a proposal submitted by a 

4 coral reef stewardship partnership, a description of 

5 how the project aligns with the applicable coral reef 

6 action plan in effect under section 205. 

7 ‘‘(9) Any other information the Administrator 

8 considers to be necessary for evaluating the eligibility 

9 of the project for a grant under this subsection. 

10 ‘‘(d) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall re12 view each coral reef project proposal submitted under 

13 this section to determine if the project meets the cri14 teria set forth in subsection (e). 

15 ‘‘(2) PRIORITIZATION OF CONSERVATION

16 PROJECTS.—The Administrator shall prioritize the 

17 awarding of grants for projects that meet the criteria 

18 for approval under subparagraphs (A) through (G) of 

19 subsection (e)(2) that are proposed to be conducted 

20 within priority areas identified for coral reef con21 servation by the Administrator and consistent with 

22 the national coral reef resilience strategy in effect 

23 under section 204A. 

24 ‘‘(3) PRIORITIZATION OF RESTORATION

25 PROJECTS.—The Administrator shall prioritize the 


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1 awarding of grants for projects that meet the criteria 

2 for approval under subparagraphs (E) through (L) of 

3 subsection (e)(2) that are proposed to be conducted 

4 within priority areas identified for coral reef restora5 tion by the Administrator and consistent with the na6 tional coral reef resilience strategy in effect under sec7 tion 204A. 

8 ‘‘(4) REVIEW; APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL.—Not 

9 later than 180 days after receiving a proposal for a 

10 coral reef project under this section, the Adminis11 trator shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) request and consider written comments 

13 on the proposal from each Federal agency, State 

14 government, Tribal organization, or other gov15 ernment jurisdiction, including the relevant re16 gional fishery management councils established 

17 under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva18 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et 

19 seq.), or any National Marine Sanctuary or Ma20 rine National Monument, with jurisdiction or 

21 management authority over coral reef ecosystems 

22 in the area where the project is to be conducted, 

23 including the extent to which the project is con24 sistent with locally established priorities, unless 


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1 such entities were directly involved in the devel2 opment of the project proposal; 

3 ‘‘(B) provide for the merit-based peer review 

4 of the proposal and require standardized docu5 mentation of that peer review; 

6 ‘‘(C) after considering any written com7 ments and recommendations based on the reviews 

8 under subparagraphs (A) and (B), approve or 

9 disapprove the proposal; and 

10 ‘‘(D) provide written notification of that 

11 approval or disapproval, with summaries of all 

12 written comments, recommendations, and peer13 reviews, to the entity that submitted the pro14 posal, and each of those States, Tribal organiza15 tions, and other government jurisdictions that 

16 provided comments under subparagraph (A). 

17 ‘‘(e) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Administrator 

18 may not approve a proposal for a coral reef project under 

19 this section unless the project— 

20 ‘‘(1) is consistent with— 

21 ‘‘(A) the national coral reef resilience strat22 egy in effect under section 204A; and 

23 ‘‘(B) any Federal or non-Federal coral reef 

24 action plans in effect under section 205 covering 


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1 a coral reef or ecologically significant component 

2 of a coral reef to be affected by the project; and 

3 ‘‘(2) will enhance the conservation and restora4 tion of coral reefs by— 

5 ‘‘(A) addressing conflicts arising from the 

6 use of environments near coral reefs or from the 

7 use of corals, species associated with coral reefs, 

8 and coral products, including supporting con9 sensus-driven, community-based planning and 

10 management initiatives for the protection of 

11 coral reef ecosystems; 

12 ‘‘(B) improving compliance with laws that 

13 prohibit or regulate the taking of coral products 

14 or species associated with coral reefs or regulate 

15 the use and management of coral reef ecosystems; 

16 ‘‘(C) designing and implementing networks 

17 of real-time water quality monitoring along 

18 coral reefs, including data collection related to 

19 turbidity, nutrient availability, harmful algal 

20 blooms, and plankton assemblages, with an em21 phasis on coral reefs impacted by agriculture 

22 and urban development; 

23 ‘‘(D) promoting ecologically sound naviga24 tion and anchorages, including mooring buoy 


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1 systems to promote enhanced recreational access, 

2 near coral reefs; 

3 ‘‘(E) furthering the goals and objectives of 

4 coral reef action plans in effect under section 205 

5 and coral reef emergency plans in effect under 

6 section 209; 

7 ‘‘(F) mapping the location and distribution 

8 of coral reefs and potential coral reef habitat; 

9 ‘‘(G) stimulating innovation to advance the 

10 ability of the United States to understand, re11 search, or monitor coral reef ecosystems, or to de12 velop management or adaptation options to pre13 serve, sustain, and restore coral reef ecosystems; 

14 ‘‘(H) implementing research to ensure the 

15 population viability of listed coral species in 

16 United States waters as detailed in the popu17 lation-based recovery criteria included in species18 specific recovery plans consistent with the En19 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

20 seq.); 

21 ‘‘(I) developing and implementing cost-effec22 tive methods to restore degraded coral reef eco23 systems or to create geographically appropriate 

24 coral reef ecosystems in suitable waters, includ25 ing by improving habitat or promoting success of 


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1 keystone species, with an emphasis on novel res2 toration strategies and techniques to advance 

3 coral reef recovery and growth near population 

4 centers threatened by rising sea levels and storm 

5 surge; 

6 ‘‘(J) translating and applying coral genet7 ics research to coral reef ecosystem restoration, 

8 including research related to traits that promote 

9 resilience to increasing ocean temperatures, 

10 ocean acidification, coral bleaching, coral dis11 eases, and invasive species; 

12 ‘‘(K) developing and maintaining in situ 

13 native coral propagation sites; 

14 ‘‘(L) developing and maintaining ex situ 

15 coral propagation nurseries and land-based coral 

16 gene banks to— 

17 ‘‘(i) conserve or augment genetic diver18 sity of native coral populations; 

19 ‘‘(ii) support captive breeding of rare 

20 coral species; or 

21 ‘‘(iii) enhance resilience of native coral 

22 populations to increasing ocean tempera23 tures, ocean acidification, coral bleaching, 

24 and coral diseases through selective breed25 ing, conditioning, or other approaches that 


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1 target genes, gene expression, phenotypic 

2 traits, or phenotypic plasticity; or 

3 ‘‘(M) maintaining the structure and func4 tion of coral reefs, including the reef matrix 

5 itself. 

6 ‘‘(f) FUNDING REQUIREMENTS.—To the extent prac7 ticable based upon proposals for coral reef projects sub8 mitted to the Administrator, the Administrator shall ensure 

9 that funding for grants awarded under this section during 

10 a fiscal year is distributed as follows: 

11 ‘‘(1) Not less than 40 percent of funds available 

12 shall be awarded for projects in the Pacific Ocean 

13 within the maritime areas and zones subject to the ju14 risdiction or control of the United States. 

15 ‘‘(2) Not less than 40 percent of the funds avail16 able shall be awarded for projects in the Atlantic 

17 Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, or the Caribbean Sea with18 in the maritime areas and zones subject to the juris19 diction or control of the United States. 

20 ‘‘(g) PROJECT REPORTING.—Each entity receiving a 

21 grant under this section shall submit to the Administrator 

22 such reports at such times and containing such information 

23 for evaluating project performance as the Administrator 

24 may require. 


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1 ‘‘(h) TASK FORCE.—The Administrator may consult 

2 with the Secretary of the Interior and the Task Force to 

3 obtain guidance in establishing priorities and evaluating 

4 proposals for coral reef projects under this section. 

5 ‘‘(i) UNEXPENDED AMOUNTS.—Any amounts available 

6 for grants under this section that are not expended shall 

7 be transferred to the Coral Reef Stewardship Fund under 

8 section 208(b). 

9 ‘‘SEC. 214. REPORTS ON ADMINISTRATION. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

11 date of the enactment of the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act 

12 of 2021, and every 2 years thereafter, the Administrator 

13 shall submit to the committees specified in subsection (b) 

14 a report on the administration of this title during the 2- 

15 year period preceding submission of the report, including— 

16 ‘‘(1) a description of all activities undertaken to 

17 implement the most recent national coral reef resil18 ience strategy under section 204A; 

19 ‘‘(2) a statement of all funds obligated under the 

20 authorities of this title; and 

21 ‘‘(3) a summary, disaggregated by State, of Fed22 eral and non-Federal contributions toward the costs of 

23 each project or activity funded, in full or in part, 

24 under the authorities of this title. 


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1 ‘‘(b) COMMITTEES SPECIFIED.—The committees speci2 fied in this subsection are— 

3 ‘‘(1) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

4 Transportation and the Committee on Appropriations 

5 of the Senate; and 

6 ‘‘(2) the Committee on Natural Resources and 

7 the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 

8 Representatives. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 215. AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may enter into 

11 and perform such contracts, leases, grants, or cooperative 

12 agreements as may be necessary to carry out the purposes 

13 of this title. 

14 ‘‘(b) FUNDING.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Under an agreement entered 

16 into under subsection (a), the Administrator may re17 imburse or provide funds authorized to be appro18 priated by section 216 to, and may receive funds or 

19 reimbursements from, individuals and entities de20 scribed in paragraph (2) to carry out activities au21 thorized by this title. 

22 ‘‘(2) INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES DESCRIBED.— 

23 Individuals and entities described in this paragraph 

24 are the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Federal agencies, instrumentalities, 

2 and laboratories. 

3 ‘‘(B) State and local governments. 

4 ‘‘(C) Indian Tribes and Tribal organiza5 tions. 

6 ‘‘(D) International organizations. 

7 ‘‘(E) Foreign governments not subject to 

8 economic sanctions imposed by the United 

9 States. 

10 ‘‘(F) Institutions of higher education, re11 search centers, and other educational institu12 tions. 

13 ‘‘(G) Nonprofit organizations. 

14 ‘‘(H) Commercial organizations. 

15 ‘‘(I) Other public or private individuals or 

16 entities. 

17 ‘‘(c) COOPERATIVE INSTITUTES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—The Administrator shall 

19 designate two cooperative institutes for the purpose of 

20 advancing and sustaining essential capabilities in 

21 coral reef research, to be known as the ‘Atlantic Coral 

22 Reef Institute’ and the ‘Pacific Coral Reef Institute’. 

23 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—Each institute established 

24 under paragraph (1) shall be housed within a single 

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1 trator under paragraph (4) in the Atlantic and Pa2 cific basins, respectively, and may contract with other 

3 coral reef research centers within the same basin to 

4 support each institute’s capacity and reach. 

5 ‘‘(3) FUNCTIONS.—The institutes established 

6 under paragraph (1) shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) conduct federally directed research to 

8 fill national and regional coral reef ecosystem re9 search gaps and improve understanding of, and 

10 responses to, continuing and emerging threats to 

11 the resilience of United States coral reef eco12 systems consistent with the national coral reef 

13 resilience strategy in effect under section 204A; 

14 ‘‘(B) support ecological research and moni15 toring to study the effects of conservation and 

16 restoration activities funded by this title on pro17 moting more effective coral reef management and 

18 restoration; and 

19 ‘‘(C) through agreements— 

20 ‘‘(i) collaborate directly with govern21 mental resource management agencies, coral 

22 reef stewardship partnerships, nonprofit or23 ganizations, and other coral reef research 

24 centers designated under paragraph (4); 


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1 ‘‘(ii) assist in the development and im2 plementation of— 

3 ‘‘(I) the national coral reef resil4 ience strategy under section 204A; 

5 ‘‘(II) coral reef action plans under 

6 section 205; and 

7 ‘‘(III) coral reef emergency plans 

8 under section 209; 

9 ‘‘(iii) build capacity within govern10 mental resource management agencies to es11 tablish research priorities and translate and 

12 apply research findings to management and 

13 restoration practices; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) conduct public education and 

15 awareness programs for policymakers, re16 source managers, and the general public 

17 on— 

18 ‘‘(I) coral reefs and coral reef eco19 systems; 

20 ‘‘(II) best practices for coral reef 

21 ecosystem management and restora22 tion; 

23 ‘‘(III) the value of coral reefs; and 

24 ‘‘(IV) the threats to the sustain25 ability of coral reef ecosystems. 


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1 ‘‘(4) CORAL REEF RESEARCH CENTERS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

3 shall periodically solicit applications and des4 ignate all qualifying institutions in a covered 

5 State as coral reef research centers. 

6 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—An institution qualifies 

7 for designation as a coral reef research center 

8 under subparagraph (A) if the Administrator de9 termines that the institution— 

10 ‘‘(i) is operated by an institution of 

11 higher education; 

12 ‘‘(ii) has established management-driv13 en national or regional coral reef research 

14 or restoration programs; 

15 ‘‘(iii) has demonstrated abilities to co16 ordinate closely with appropriate Federal 

17 and State agencies, as well as other aca18 demic and nonprofit organizations; and 

19 ‘‘(iv) maintains significant local com20 munity engagement and outreach programs 

21 related to coral reef ecosystems. 

22 ‘‘(d) USE OF RESOURCES OF OTHER AGENCIES.—The 

23 Administrator may use, with consent and with or without 

24 reimbursement, the land, services, equipment, personnel, 

25 and facilities of any agency or instrumentality of— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the United States; 

2 ‘‘(2) any State or local government; 

3 ‘‘(3) any Indian Tribe; or 

4 ‘‘(4) any foreign government not subject to eco5 nomic sanctions imposed by the United States. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 216. CORAL REEF PRIZE COMPETITIONS. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The head of any Federal agency 

8 with a representative serving on the U.S. Coral Reef Task 

9 Force established by Executive Order 13089 (16 U.S.C. 

10 6401 note; relating to coral reef protection), may, individ11 ually or in cooperation with one or more agencies, carry 

12 out a program to award prizes competitively under section 

13 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 

14 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719). 

15 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—Any program carried out under this 

16 section shall be for the purpose of stimulating innovation 

17 to advance the ability of the United States to understand, 

18 research, or monitor coral reef ecosystems, or to develop 

19 management or adaptation options to preserve, sustain, 

20 and restore coral reef ecosystems. 

21 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY PROGRAMS.—Priority shall be given to 

22 establishing programs under this section that address com23 munities, environments, or industries that are in distress 

24 as a result of the decline or degradation of coral reef eco25 systems, including— 


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1 ‘‘(1) scientific research and monitoring that fur2 thers the understanding of causes behind coral reef de3 cline and degradation and the generally slow recovery 

4 following disturbances; 

5 ‘‘(2) the development of monitoring or manage6 ment options for communities or industries that are 

7 experiencing significant financial hardship; 

8 ‘‘(3) the development of adaptation options to al9 leviate economic harm and job loss caused by damage 

10 to coral reef ecosystems; 

11 ‘‘(4) the development of measures to help vulner12 able communities or industries, with an emphasis on 

13 rural communities and businesses; and 

14 ‘‘(5) the development of adaptation and manage15 ment options for impacted tourism industries. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 217. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro18 priated to the Administrator $38,000,000 for each of fiscal 

19 years 2022 through 2026 to carry out this title, which shall 

20 remain available until expended. 

21 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATION.—Of the amounts appropriated 

22 pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under sub23 section (a), not more than the lesser of $1,500,000 or 10 

24 percent may be used for program administration or for 

25 overhead costs incurred by the National Oceanic and AtVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:23 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H160.RH H160

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1 mospheric Administration or the Department of Commerce 

2 and assessed as an administrative charge. 

3 ‘‘(c) FEDERALLY DIRECTED RESEARCH AND CORAL

4 REEF CONSERVATION PROGRAM GRANTS.—From the 

5 amounts authorized to be appropriated under subsection 

6 (a), there shall be made available to the Administrator not 

7 less than $8,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 

8 2026 to support purposes consistent with this title, of 

9 which— 

10 ‘‘(1) not less than $3,500,000 shall be made 

11 available for each such fiscal year for authorized ac12 tivities under section 213; and 

13 ‘‘(2) not less than $4,500,000 shall be made 

14 available for each such fiscal year through cooperative 

15 agreements with the cooperative institutes designated 

16 under section 215(c). 

17 ‘‘(d) BLOCK GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREE18 MENTS.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the Ad19 ministrator, $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

20 through 2026, which shall remain available until expended, 

21 to carry out section 207. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 218. DEFINITIONS. 

23 ‘‘In this title: 


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1 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis2 trator’ means the Administrator of the National Oce3 anic and Atmospheric Administration. 

4 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT5 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional commit6 tees’ means the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

7 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

8 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives. 

9 ‘‘(3) CONSERVATION.—The term ‘conservation’ 

10 means the use of methods and procedures necessary to 

11 preserve or sustain geographically appropriate corals 

12 and associated species as diverse, viable, and self-per13 petuating coral reef ecosystems with minimal impacts 

14 from invasive species, including— 

15 ‘‘(A) all activities associated with resource 

16 management, such as monitoring, assessment, 

17 protection, restoration, sustainable use, manage18 ment of habitat, and maintenance or augmenta19 tion of genetic diversity; 

20 ‘‘(B) mapping; 

21 ‘‘(C) scientific expertise and technical as22 sistance in the development and implementation 

23 of management strategies for marine protected 

24 areas and marine resources consistent with the 

25 National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 


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1 1431 et seq.) and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

2 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

3 1801 et seq.); 

4 ‘‘(D) law enforcement; 

5 ‘‘(E) conflict resolution initiatives; 

6 ‘‘(F) community outreach and education; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(G) promotion of safe and ecologically 

9 sound navigation and anchoring. 

10 ‘‘(4) CORAL.—The term ‘coral’ means species of 

11 the phylum Cnidaria, including— 

12 ‘‘(A) all species of the orders Antipatharia 

13 (black corals), Scleractinia (stony corals), 

14 Alcyonacea (soft corals, organ pipe corals, 

15 gorgonians), and Helioporacea (blue coral), of 

16 the class Anthozoa; and 

17 ‘‘(B) all species of the order Anthoathecata 

18 (fire corals and other hydrocorals) of the class 

19 Hydrozoa. 

20 ‘‘(5) CORAL PRODUCTS.—The term ‘coral prod21 ucts’ means any living or dead specimens, parts, or 

22 derivatives, or any product containing specimens, 

23 parts, or derivatives, of any species referred to in 

24 paragraph (4). 


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1 ‘‘(6) CORAL REEF.—The term ‘coral reef’ means 

2 calcium carbonate structures in the form of a reef or 

3 shoal, composed in whole or in part by living coral, 

4 skeletal remains of coral, crustose coralline algae, and 

5 other associated sessile marine plants and animals. 

6 ‘‘(7) CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEM.—The term ‘coral 

7 reef ecosystem’ means— 

8 ‘‘(A) corals and other geographically and 

9 ecologically associated marine communities of 

10 other reef organisms (including reef plants and 

11 animals) associated with coral reef habitat; and 

12 ‘‘(B) the biotic and abiotic factors and proc13 esses that affect coral physiology, coral-algal 

14 symbiosis, and biodiversity in such habitat. 

15 ‘‘(8) CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES.—The 

16 term ‘coral reef ecosystem services’ means the at17 tributes and benefits provided by coral reef ecosystems 

18 including— 

19 ‘‘(A) protection of coastal beaches, struc20 tures, and infrastructure; 

21 ‘‘(B) habitat for organisms of economic, eco22 logical, biomedical, medicinal, and cultural 

23 value; 

24 ‘‘(C) serving as centers for the promulga25 tion, performance, and training of cultural pracVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:23 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H160.RH H160

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1 tices representative of traditional ecological 

2 knowledge; and 

3 ‘‘(D) aesthetic value. 

4 ‘‘(9) COVERED REEF MANAGER.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘covered reef 

6 manager’ means a management unit of a Fed7 eral agency specified in subparagraph (B) with 

8 jurisdiction over a coral reef ecosystem, covered 

9 State, or coral reef stewardship partnership. 

10 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL AGENCIES SPECIFIED.—A 

11 Federal agency specified in this subparagraph is 

12 one of the following: 

13 ‘‘(i) The National Oceanic and Atmos14 pheric Administration. 

15 ‘‘(ii) The National Park Service. 

16 ‘‘(iii) The United States Fish and 

17 Wildlife Service. 

18 ‘‘(iv) The Office of Insular Affairs. 

19 ‘‘(10) COVERED STATE.—The term ‘covered 

20 State’ means Florida, Hawaii, and the territories of 

21 American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern 

22 Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the United 

23 States Virgin Islands. 

24 ‘‘(11) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian Tribe’ 

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


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1 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

2 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

3 ‘‘(12) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

4 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

5 meaning given that term in section 101 of the Higher 

6 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

7 ‘‘(13) INTERESTED STAKEHOLDER GROUPS.— 

8 The term ‘interested stakeholder groups’ includes com9 munity members such as businesses, commercial and 

10 recreational fishermen, other recreationalists, Federal, 

11 State, Tribal, and local government units with related 

12 jurisdiction, institutions of higher education, and 

13 nongovernmental organizations. 

14 ‘‘(14) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

15 ‘nonprofit organization’ means an organization that 

16 is described in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue 

17 Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 

18 501(a) of such Code. 

19 ‘‘(15) RESTORATION.—The term ‘restoration’ 

20 means the use of methods and procedures necessary to 

21 enhance, rehabilitate, recreate, or create a functioning 

22 coral reef or coral reef ecosystem, in whole or in part, 

23 within suitable waters of the historical geographic 

24 range of such ecosystems, to provide ecological, eco25 nomic, cultural, or coastal resiliency services associVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:23 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00057 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H160.RH H160

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1 ated with healthy coral reefs and benefit native popu2 lations of coral reef organisms. 

3 ‘‘(16) RESILIENCE.—The term ‘resilience’ means 

4 the capacity for corals within their native range, 

5 coral reefs, or coral reef ecosystems to resist and re6 cover from natural and human disturbances, and 

7 maintain structure and function to provide coral reef 

8 ecosystem services as determined by clearly identifi9 able, measurable, and science-based standards. 

10 ‘‘(17) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means— 

11 ‘‘(A) any State of the United States that 

12 contains a coral reef ecosystem within its sea13 ward boundaries; 

14 ‘‘(B) American Samoa, the Commonwealth 

15 of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto 

16 Rico, or the United States Virgin Islands; or 

17 ‘‘(C) any other territory or possession of the 

18 United States or separate sovereign in free asso19 ciation with the United States that contains a 

20 coral reef ecosystem within its seaward bound21 aries. 

22 ‘‘(18) STEWARDSHIP.—The term ‘stewardship’, 

23 with respect to a coral reef, includes conservation, res24 toration, and public outreach and education. 


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1 ‘‘(19) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘Task Force’ 

2 means the United States Coral Reef Task Force estab3 lished under section 201 of the Restoring Resilient 

4 Reefs Act of 2021. 

5 ‘‘(20) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘Tribal 

6 organization’ has the meaning given the term ‘tribal 

7 organization’ in section 3765 of title 38, United 

8 States Code.’’. 

9 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO NATIONAL OCEANS

10 AND COASTAL SECURITY ACT.—Section 905(a) of the Na11 tional Oceans and Coastal Security Act (16 U.S.C. 

12 7504(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘and coastal infrastruc13 ture’’ and inserting ‘‘, coastal infrastructure, and ecosystem 

14 services provided by natural systems such as coral reefs’’. 

15 SEC. 102. MODIFICATION TO SECTION 204 OF THE CORAL 

16 REEF CONSERVATION ACT OF 2000 (16 U.S.C. 

17 6403). 

18 Section 204 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 

19 (16 U.S.C. 6403) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘this section’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘section 213’’; and 

22 (2) by striking subsections (c) through (j). 


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1 TITLE II—UNITED STATES 

2 CORAL REEF TASK FORCE 

3 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT. 

4 There is established a task force to lead, coordinate, 

5 and strengthen Federal Government actions to better pre6 serve, conserve, and restore coral reef ecosystems, to be 

7 known as the ‘‘United States Coral Reef Task Force’’ (in 

8 this title referred to as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 

9 SEC. 202. DUTIES. 

10 The duties of the Task Force shall be— 

11 (1) to coordinate, in cooperation with State, 

12 Tribal, and local government partners, coral reef re13 search centers designated under section 215(c) of the 

14 Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (as amended by 

15 section 101), and other nongovernmental and aca16 demic partners as appropriate, activities regarding 

17 the mapping, monitoring, research, conservation, 

18 mitigation, and restoration of coral reefs and coral 

19 reef ecosystems; 

20 (2) to monitor and advise regarding implemen21 tation of the policy and Federal agency responsibil22 ities set forth in— 

23 (A) Executive Order 13089 (63 Fed. Reg. 

24 32701; relating to coral reef protection); and 


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1 (B) the national coral reef resilience strat2 egy developed under section 204A of the Coral 

3 Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as amended by 

4 section 101; 

5 (3) to work with the Secretary of State and the 

6 Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter7 national Development, and in coordination with the 

8 other members of the Task Force— 

9 (A) to assess the United States role in inter10 national trade and protection of coral species; 

11 (B) to encourage implementation of appro12 priate strategies and actions to promote con13 servation and sustainable use of coral reef re14 sources worldwide; and 

15 (C) to collaborate with international com16 munities successful in managing coral reefs; 

17 (4) to provide technical assistance for the devel18 opment and implementation, as appropriate, of— 

19 (A) the national coral reef resilience strat20 egy under section 204A of the Coral Reef Con21 servation Act of 2000, as amended by section 

22 101; 

23 (B) coral reef action plans under section 

24 205 of that Act; and 


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1 (C) coral reef emergency plans under section 

2 209 of that Act; and 

3 (5) to produce a report each year, for submission 

4 to the appropriate congressional committees and pub5 lication on a publicly available internet website of the 

6 Task Force, highlighting the status of the coral reef 

7 equities of a covered State on a rotating basis, includ8 ing— 

9 (A) a summary of recent coral reef manage10 ment and restoration activities undertaken in 

11 that State; and 

12 (B) updated estimates of the direct and in13 direct economic activity supported by, and other 

14 benefits associated with, those coral reef equities. 

15 SEC. 203. MEMBERSHIP. 

16 (a) VOTING MEMBERSHIP.—The Task Force shall have 

17 the following voting members: 

18 (1) The Secretary of Commerce, acting through 

19 the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At20 mospheric Administration, and the Secretary of the 

21 Interior, who shall be co-chairs of the Task Force. 

22 (2) The Administrator of the United States 

23 Agency for International Development. 

24 (3) The Secretary of Agriculture. 

25 (4) The Secretary of Defense. 


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1 (5) The Secretary of the Army, acting through 

2 the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. 

3 (6) The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting 

4 through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

5 Management Agency. 

6 (7) The Commandant of the Coast Guard. 

7 (8) The Attorney General. 

8 (9) The Secretary of State. 

9 (10) The Secretary of Transportation. 

10 (11) The Administrator of the Environmental 

11 Protection Agency. 

12 (12) The Administrator of the National Aero13 nautics and Space Administration. 

14 (13) The Director of the National Science Foun15 dation. 

16 (14) The Governor, or a representative of the 

17 Governor, of each covered State. 

18 (b) NONVOTING MEMBERS.—The Task Force shall have 

19 the following nonvoting members: 

20 (1) A member appointed by the President of the 

21 Federated States of Micronesia. 

22 (2) A member appointed by the President of the 

23 Republic of the Marshall Islands. 

24 (3) A member appointed by the President of the 

25 Republic of Palau. 


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1 SEC. 204. RESPONSIBILITIES OF FEDERAL AGENCY MEM2 BERS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Task Force speci4 fied in paragraphs (1) through (14) of section 203(a) 

5 shall— 

6 (1) identify the actions of the agency that mem7 ber represents that may affect coral reef ecosystems; 

8 (2) utilize the programs and authorities of that 

9 agency to protect and enhance the conditions of such 

10 ecosystems, including through the promotion of basic 

11 and applied scientific research; 

12 (3) collaborate with the Task Force to appro13 priately reflect budgetary needs for coral reef con14 servation and restoration activities in all agency 

15 budget planning and justification documents and 

16 processes; and 

17 (4) engage in any other coordinated efforts ap18 proved by the Task Force. 

19 (b) CO-CHAIRS.—In addition to their responsibilities 

20 under subsection (a), the co-chairs of the Task Force shall 

21 administer performance of the functions of the Task Force 

22 and facilitate the coordination of the members of the Task 

23 Force specified in paragraphs (1) through (14) of section 

24 203(a). 


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1 SEC. 205. WORKING GROUPS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The co-chairs of the Task Force 

3 may establish working groups as necessary to meet the goals 

4 and carry out the duties of the Task Force. 

5 (b) REQUESTS FROM MEMBERS.—The members of the 

6 Task Force may request that the co-chairs establish a work7 ing group under subsection (a). 

8 (c) PARTICIPATION BY NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZA9 TIONS.—The co-chairs may allow nongovernmental organi10 zations as appropriate, including academic institutions, 

11 conservation groups, and commercial and recreational fish12 ing associations, to participate in a working group estab13 lished under subsection (a). 

14 (d) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM15 MITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

16 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to working groups established 

17 under this section. 

18 SEC. 206. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this title: 

20 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT21 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit22 tees’’ means the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

23 and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee 

24 on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives. 

25 (2) CONSERVATION, CORAL, CORAL REEF, ETC.— 

26 The terms ‘‘conservation’’, ‘‘coral’’, ‘‘coral reef’’, 


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1 ‘‘coral reef ecosystem’’, ‘‘covered State’’, ‘‘restoration’’, 

2 ‘‘resilience’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the meaning given 

3 those terms in section 218 of the Coral Reef Conserva4 tion Act of 2000, as amended by section 101. 

5 TITLE III—DEPARTMENT OF THE 

6 INTERIOR CORAL REEF AU7 THORITIES 

8 SEC. 301. CORAL REEF CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION 

9 ASSISTANCE. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior, in 

11 addition to activities authorized under section 203 of the 

12 Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as amended by section 

13 101, may provide scientific expertise, technical assistance, 

14 and financial assistance for the conservation and restora15 tion of coral reefs consistent with all applicable laws gov16 erning resource management in Federal, State, and Tribal 

17 waters, including— 

18 (1) the national coral reef resilience strategy in 

19 effect under section 204A of the Coral Reef Conserva20 tion Act of 2000, as amended by section 101; 

21 (2) coral reef action plans in effect under section 

22 205 of that Act, as applicable; and 

23 (3) coral reef emergency plans in effect under 

24 section 209 of that Act, as applicable. 


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1 (b) OFFICE OF INSULAR AFFAIRS CORAL REEF INITIA2 TIVE.—The Secretary may establish within the Office of In3 sular Affairs a Coral Reef Initiative Program— 

4 (1) to provide grant funding to support local 

5 management, conservation, and protection of coral 

6 reef ecosystems in— 

7 (A) insular areas of covered States; and 

8 (B) Freely Associated States; 

9 (2) to complement the other conservation and as10 sistance activities conducted under this Act; and 

11 (3) to provide other technical, scientific, and fi12 nancial assistance and conduct conservation activities 

13 that advance the purpose of this Act. 

14 (c) CONSULTATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF COM15 MERCE.—The Secretary of the Interior may consult with 

16 the Secretary of Commerce regarding the conduct of any 

17 activities to conserve and restore coral reefs and coral reef 

18 ecosystems in waters managed under the jurisdiction of the 

19 Federal agencies specified in paragraphs (2) and (3) of sec20 tion 203(c) of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as 

21 amended by section 101. 

22 (d) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary of 

23 the Interior may enter into cooperative agreements with 

24 covered reef managers to fund coral reef conservation and 


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1 restoration activities in waters managed under the jurisdic2 tion of such managers that— 

3 (1) are consistent with the national coral reef re4 silience strategy in effect under section 204A of the 

5 Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as amended by 

6 section 101; and 

7 (2) support and enhance the success of— 

8 (A) coral reef action plans in effect under 

9 section 205 of that Act; and 

10 (B) coral reef emergency plans in effect 

11 under section 209 of that Act. 

12 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘con13 servation’’, ‘‘coral reef’’, ‘‘covered reef manager’’, ‘‘covered 

14 State’’, ‘‘restoration’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the meaning given 

15 those terms in section 218 of the Coral Reef Conservation 

16 Act of 2000, as amended by section 101. 

17 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

18 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out 

19 this title for each of fiscal years 2022 to 2026, $4,000,000. 

20 TITLE IV—SUSAN L. WILLIAMS 

21 NATIONAL CORAL REEF MAN22 AGEMENT FELLOWSHIP 

23 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

24 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Susan L. Williams Na25 tional Coral Reef Management Fellowship Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 402. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this title: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis4 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National Oce5 anic and Atmospheric Administration. 

6 (2) FELLOW.—The term ‘‘fellow’’ means a Na7 tional Coral Reef Management Fellow. 

8 (3) FELLOWSHIP.—The term ‘‘fellowship’’ means 

9 the National Coral Reef Management Fellowship es10 tablished in section 403. 

11 (4) INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The 

12 terms ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ and ‘‘Tribal organization’’ have 

13 the meanings given those terms in section 4 of the In14 dian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

15 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

16 SEC. 403. ESTABLISHMENT OF FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a National 

18 Coral Reef Management Fellowship Program. 

19 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the fellowship are— 

20 (1) to encourage future leaders of the United 

21 States to develop additional coral reef management 

22 capacity in States and local communities with coral 

23 reefs; 

24 (2) to provide management agencies of States, 

25 Tribal organizations, and Freely Associated States 

26 with highly qualified candidates whose education and 


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1 work experience meet the specific needs of each State, 

2 Indian Tribe, and Freely Associated State; and 

3 (3) to provide fellows with professional experi4 ence in management of coastal and coral reef re5 sources. 

6 SEC. 404. FELLOWSHIP AWARDS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in coordination 

8 with the Secretary of the Interior, shall award the fellow9 ship in accordance with this section. 

10 (b) TERM OF FELLOWSHIP.—A fellowship awarded 

11 under this section shall be for a term of not more than 24 

12 months. 

13 (c) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Administrator, in coordi14 nation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall award the 

15 fellowship to individuals who have demonstrated— 

16 (1) an intent to pursue a career in marine serv17 ices and outstanding potential for such a career; 

18 (2) leadership potential, actual leadership expe19 rience, or both; 

20 (3) a college or graduate degree in biological 

21 science, experience that correlates with aptitude and 

22 interest for marine management, or both; 

23 (4) proficient writing and speaking skills; and 


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1 (5) such other attributes as the Administrator, in 

2 coordination with the Secretary of the Interior, con3 sider appropriate. 

4 SEC. 405. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Admin6 istrator to carry out this title for each of fiscal years 2022- 

7 2026, $1,500,000, to remain available until expended. 


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Union Calendar No. 450 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 160 

[Report No. 117–626] 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 

Reef Task Force, and for other purposes. 2000 and to establish the United States Coral 

DECEMBER 14, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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