IB 

Union Calendar No. 194 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1568 

[Report No. 116–244, Part I] 

To assist in the conservation of the North Atlantic right whale by supporting 

and providing financial resources for North Atlantic right whale conservation programs and projects of persons with expertise required for the 

conservation of North Atlantic right whales, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 6, 2019 

Mr. MOULTON (for himself, Mr. RUTHERFORD, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. POSEY, 

and Mr. KEATING) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee 

on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

OCTOBER 18, 2019 

Additional sponsors: Mr. MAST, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, 

Mr. SABLAN, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. BUCHANAN, Ms. 

KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. COHEN, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. VAN DREW, 

Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. CASE, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. BEYER, Mr. SOTO, Mr. 

DEUTCH, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. 

LOWENTHAL, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. 

CUNNINGHAM, Mr. TRONE, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. PAPPAS, Ms. PRESSLEY, 

Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. NEAL, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. CRIST, 

Mr. SCHNEIDER, Ms. SLOTKIN, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. CASTOR

of Florida, Mr. SUOZZI, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. CARTER of Georgia, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. HARDER of California, and Mr. SCHIFF


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OCTOBER 18, 2019 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with an amendment 

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

OCTOBER 18, 2019 

Committee on the Budget discharged; committed to the Committee of the 

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 6, 2019] 

A BILL 

To assist in the conservation of the North Atlantic right 

whale by supporting and providing financial resources 

for North Atlantic right whale conservation programs 

and projects of persons with expertise required for the 

conservation of North Atlantic right whales, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Scientific Assistance for 

5 Very Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales Act of 2019’’ 

6 or the ‘‘SAVE Right Whales Act’’. 

7 TITLE I—NORTH ATLANTIC 

8 RIGHT WHALE CONSERVATION 

9 SEC. 101. NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE CONSERVATION 

10 ASSISTANCE. 

11 (a) ASSISTANCE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 

13 funds and in consultation with other Federal officials, 

14 the Secretary of Commerce (in this title referred to as 

15 the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall provide competitive financial 

16 assistance, including multiyear grants, for projects for 

17 the conservation of North Atlantic right whales for 

18 which project proposals are approved by the Secretary 

19 in accordance with this section. 

20 (2) USE OF EXISTING AUTHORITIES.—Assistance 

21 provided under this section shall be carried out in a 

22 manner consistent with authorities available to the 

23 Secretary under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

24 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the Marine Mammal 

25 Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.). 


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1 (b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.— 

2 (1) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—A project proposal 

3 may be submitted to the Secretary under this section 

4 by— 

5 (A) relevant State and tribal agencies, re6 search institutions, and nonprofit organizations 

7 with expertise required for the conservation of 

8 North Atlantic right whales; and 

9 (B) any other individual or entity, as deter10 mined appropriate by the Secretary, with the ex11 pertise required for the conservation of North At12 lantic right whales, including large whale 

13 disentanglement teams approved by the National 

14 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and 

15 members in good standing of the National Ma16 rine Mammal Health and Stranding Response 

17 Program, sectors of the shipping and fishing in18 dustries, fishing gear manufacturers, and rope 

19 manufacturers. 

20 (2) FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.—A 

21 Federal agency may not be a lead entity or receive 

22 funding for a project under this section, but may be 

23 included as a partner or collaborator on a project 

24 that receives such funding. 


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1 (3) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—A project proposal 

2 shall include— 

3 (A) a statement of the purposes of the 

4 project; 

5 (B) the name of the entity or individual 

6 with overall responsibility for the project; 

7 (C) a description of the qualifications of the 

8 entity or individuals that will conduct the 

9 project; 

10 (D) a description of— 

11 (i) methods for project implementation 

12 and outcome assessment; 

13 (ii) staffing and stakeholder engage14 ment for the project; 

15 (iii) the logistics of the project; 

16 (iv) an estimated timeline for the 

17 project; and 

18 (v) anticipated outcomes of the project; 

19 (E) a proposed budget for the funds and 

20 time required to complete the project; 

21 (F) information regarding the source and 

22 amount of matching funding available for the 

23 project; 


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1 (G) information that demonstrates the clear 

2 potential of the project to contribute to the con3 servation of North Atlantic right whales; and 

4 (H) any other information that the Sec5 retary considers to be necessary for evaluating 

6 the eligibility of the project for funding under 

7 this Act. 

8 (c) ANNUAL GRANT PROJECT PROPOSAL SOLICITA9 TION, REVIEW, AND APPROVAL.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall annu11 ally— 

12 (A) solicit project proposals for grants 

13 under this section; 

14 (B) provide to other Federal officials, as ap15 propriate, copies of each proposal submitted in 

16 response to the solicitation; and 

17 (C) review each such proposal on a timeline 

18 that recognizes the urgency of the declining 

19 North Atlantic right whale population to deter20 mine whether the proposal meets the criteria 

21 specified in subsection (d). 

22 (2) CONSULTATION; APPROVAL OR DIS23 APPROVAL.—Subject to the availability of funds, the 

24 Secretary shall, with respect to each project proposal 


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1 submitted under this section, and after consulting 

2 with other Federal officials, as appropriate— 

3 (A) consult with respect to the proposal 

4 with the government of each State and foreign 

5 country in which the project is to be conducted; 

6 (B) after taking into consideration any 

7 comments resulting from the consultation and 

8 any potential losses that could be incurred to the 

9 fishing industry as a result of the proposal, ap10 prove or disapprove the proposal; and 

11 (C) provide written notification of the ap12 proval or disapproval to the individual or entity 

13 that submitted the proposal, other Federal offi14 cials, and each State and foreign country de15 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

16 (d) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary may 

17 approve a project proposal under this section if the project 

18 shows promise for contributing to recovering and sustaining 

19 a viable population of North Atlantic right whales in the 

20 wild by assisting efforts to— 

21 (1) implement conservation programs; 

22 (2) address the unintentional conflicts between 

23 humans and North Atlantic right whales through de24 velopment, testing, and use of innovative technology 

25 or other methods to reduce the lethal and sub-lethal efVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 Oct 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1568.RH H1568

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1 fects on North Atlantic right whales from vessel colli2 sions and fishing gear entanglements; 

3 (3) promote cooperative projects on such topics 

4 with foreign governments; or 

5 (4) promote cooperative projects on such topics 

6 with affected local communities, small businesses such 

7 as fishermen, others in the private sector, or non8 governmental organizations. 

9 (e) PRIORITY.—To the extent practicable, in deter10 mining whether to approve project proposals under this sec11 tion, the Secretary shall prioritize projects that are designed 

12 to reduce the lethal and sub-lethal effects of human activities 

13 on North Atlantic right whales. In prioritizing such 

14 projects, the Secretary shall prioritize, among such projects, 

15 projects that are cooperative in nature and include fishing 

16 or shipping sector participants. 

17 (f) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graph (3), the non-Federal share of the costs of an ac20 tivity conducted with financial assistance under this 

21 section shall be 25 percent of such costs. 

22 (2) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Secretary 

23 may apply to the non-Federal share of an activity 

24 conducted with financial assistance under this section 

25 the amount of funds, and the fair market value of 


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1 property and services, provided by non-Federal 

2 sources and used for the activity. 

3 (3) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 

4 may waive the application of paragraph (1) if the 

5 Secretary finds that such waiver is necessary to sup6 port a conservation project that the Secretary has 

7 identified as of high priority. 

8 (g) PROJECT REPORTING.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each individual or entity 

10 that receives assistance under this section for a project 

11 shall submit to the Secretary periodic reports (at such 

12 intervals as the Secretary may require) that include 

13 all information that the Secretary, after consultation 

14 with other government officials, determines is nec15 essary to evaluate the progress and success of the 

16 project for the purposes of ensuring positive results, 

17 assessing problems, and fostering improvements. 

18 (2) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—Reports 

19 under paragraph (1), and any other documents relat20 ing to projects for which financial assistance is pro21 vided under this Act, shall be made available to the 

22 public in a timely manner. 


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1 SEC. 102. NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE INTERAGENCY 

2 BUDGET. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of Man4 agement and Budget shall include, in the budget of the 

5 President submitted to Congress under section 1105(a) of 

6 title 31, United States Code, for fiscal year 2021 and each 

7 fiscal year thereafter, an interagency budget that displays 

8 for each Federal agency that engages in North Atlantic 

9 right whale activities— 

10 (1) the amount of appropriations and expendi11 tures for the preceding fiscal year for such activities 

12 and a description of such activities; 

13 (2) the estimated amount to be expended during 

14 the current fiscal year for such activities and a de15 scription of such activities; and 

16 (3) the amount estimated to be necessary for the 

17 next fiscal year for such activities and a description 

18 of such activities. 

19 (b) NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE ACTIVITIES DE20 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘North Atlantic right 

21 whale activities’’ means any activity of a Federal agency 

22 to study, observe, monitor, manage, protect, conserve, or re23 store the North Atlantic right whale population through di24 rect or indirect means, including through the provision of 

25 competitive financial assistance to non-Federal entities. 


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1 SEC. 103. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

2 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment 

3 of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall sub4 mit to Congress a report on the results and effectiveness of 

5 projects receiving assistance provided under this title, in6 cluding recommendations concerning how this title might 

7 be improved and whether funding for this title should be 

8 continued in the future. 

9 SEC. 104. FUNDING. 

10 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

11 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to be 

12 appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this title 

13 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2029. 

14 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

15 amounts authorized to be appropriated under this 

16 subsection for a fiscal year, the Secretary may expend 

17 not more than 5 percent, or up to $80,000, whichever 

18 is greater, to pay the administrative expenses nec19 essary to carry out this Act. 

20 (3) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—The amount 

21 authorized to be appropriated by paragraph (1) shall 

22 supplement and not supplant other amounts available 

23 to the Secretary. 

24 (b) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.—The Sec25 retary may accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, and use 


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1 any gift, devise, or bequest to provide assistance under sec2 tion 5. 

3 TITLE II—CONTINUOUS 

4 PLANKTON RECORDER 

5 SEC. 201. SURVEY. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, and on an ongoing basis 

8 thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce shall conduct a con9 tinuous plankton recorder survey. 

10 (b) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—For the purpose of con11 ducting the survey required under subsection (a), the Sec12 retary of Commerce shall— 

13 (1) to the extent possible, utilize the resources of 

14 and partner with, on a volunteer basis, research insti15 tutions, nonprofit organizations, commercial vessels, 

16 and other Federal agencies; 

17 (2) in as short a time as possible, ensure relevant 

18 survey samples and results are analyzed, stored, 

19 archived, and made publicly available; 

20 (3) prioritize the collection of plankton samples 

21 and data that inform the conservation of North At22 lantic right whales; and 

23 (4) to the extent practicable, coordinate with the 

24 Government of Canada to develop a transboundary 


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1 understanding of plankton abundance and distribu2 tion. 

3 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

4 out this section there is authorized to be appropriated to 

5 the Secretary of Commerce $300,000 for each of fiscal years 

6 2019 through 2029. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 194 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1568 

[Report No. 116–244, Part I] 

A BILL 

To assist in the conservation of the North Atlantic 

Atlantic right whales, and for other purposes. expertise required for the conservation of North servation programs and projects of persons with resources for North Atlantic right whale conright whale by supporting and providing financial 

OCTOBER 18, 2019 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with 

an amendment 

OCTOBER 18, 2019 

Committee on the Budget discharged; committed to the 

Union and ordered to be printed Committee of the Whole House on the State of the 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS