II 

119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 216 

To amend the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act to improve the administration of 

the Marine Debris Foundation, to amend the Marine Debris Act to 

improve the administration of the Marine Debris Program of the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 23, 2025 

Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself and Mr. WHITEHOUSE) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

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

the Marine Debris Act to improve the administration 

of the Marine Debris Program of the National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Amendments Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MODIFICATIONS TO THE MARINE DEBRIS PROGRAM 

2 OF THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOS3 PHERIC ADMINISTRATION. 

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

5 Law 109–449) is amended— 

6 (1) by inserting before section 3 the following: 

7 ‘‘Subtitle A—NOAA And Coast 

8 Guard Programs’’; and 

9 (2) by redesignating sections 3 through 6 as 

10 sections 101 through 104, respectively. 

11 (b) GRANTS, COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS, CON12 TRACTS, AND OTHER AGREEMENTS.—Section 101(d) of 

13 the Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. 1952(d)), as redesig14 nated by this Act, is amended— 

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

16 CONTRACTS’’ and inserting ‘‘CONTRACTS, AND 

17 OTHER AGREEMENTS’’; 

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

21 (3) in paragraph (2)— 

22 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 

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

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


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

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

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

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

7 to any project carried out pursuant to a contract or 

8 other agreement entered into under paragraph (1) 

9 that is not a cooperative agreement or an agreement 

10 to provide financial assistance in the form of a 

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

13 the Under Secretary determines represents the 

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

16 SEC. 3. MODIFICATIONS TO THE MARINE DEBRIS FOUNDA17 TION. 

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

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

20 to appear after section 104 of the Marine Debris Act 

21 (Public Law 109–449), as redesignated by this Act. 

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

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

24 by this Act, is amended, in the second sentence, by strik25 ing ‘‘organization’’ and inserting ‘‘corporation’’. 


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1 (c) PURPOSES.—Section 111(b) of the Marine Debris 

2 Act (Public Law 109–449), as transferred and redesig3 nated by this Act, is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (3) by inserting ‘‘Indian 

5 Tribes,’’ after ‘‘Tribal governments,’’; and 

6 (2) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘title II’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘subtitle C’’. 

8 (d) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 

9 (1) APPOINTMENT, VACANCIES, AND RE10 MOVAL.—Section 112(b) of the Marine Debris Act 

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

12 is amended— 

13 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

14 through (5) as paragraphs (2) through (6) re15 spectively; 

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

17 redesignated, the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) RECOMMENDATIONS OF BOARD REGARD19 ING APPOINTMENTS.—For appointments made 

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

21 Under Secretary recommendations on candidates for 

22 appointment.’’; 

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

24 the matter preceding subparagraph (A)— 


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

2 inserting ‘‘considering’’; and 

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

5 after ‘‘by the Board,’’; 

6 (D) by amending paragraph (3), as redes7 ignated, to read as follows: 

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

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

10 years.’’; 

11 (E) in paragraph (4)(A), as redesignated, 

12 by inserting ‘‘with the approval of the Secretary 

13 of Commerce’’ after ‘‘the Board’’; and 

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

15 (i) by inserting ‘‘the Administrator of 

16 the United States Agency for International 

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

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

20 ‘‘EPA Administrator’’. 

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

22 Marine Debris Act (Public Law 109–449), as trans23 ferred by this Act, is amended— 


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

3 officers and employees’’; and 

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

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

6 executive officer of the Foundation’’. 

7 (3) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.—Section 112 

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

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

10 end the following: 

11 ‘‘(h) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.— 

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

13 Board shall appoint and review the performance of, 

14 and may remove, the chief executive officer of the 

15 Foundation. 

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

17 the Foundation may appoint, remove, and review the 

18 performance of any officer or employee of the Foun19 dation.’’. 

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

21 the Marine Debris Act (Public Law 109–449), as trans22 ferred by this Act, is amended in the matter preceding 

23 subparagraph (A)— 

24 (1) by inserting ‘‘nonprofit’’ before ‘‘corpora25 tion’’; and 


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

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

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

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

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

7 principal office of the Foundation in the National Capital 

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

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

11 (g) BEST PRACTICES; RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

12 Section 113 of the Marine Debris Act (Public Law 109– 

13 449), as transferred by this Act and amended by sub14 section (e), is further amended by adding at the end the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(h) BEST PRACTICES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall de18 velop and implement best practices for conducting 

19 outreach to Indian Tribes and Tribal Governments. 

20 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The best practices de21 veloped under paragraph (1) shall— 

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

23 assistance and capacity building to improve out24 comes; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) promote an awareness of programs 

2 and grants available under this Act. 

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

4 may be construed— 

5 ‘‘(1) to satisfy any requirement for government6 to-government consultation with Tribal Govern7 ments; or 

8 ‘‘(2) to affect or modify any treaty or other 

9 right of any Tribal Government.’’. 

10 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

11 118(a) of the Marine Debris Act (Public Law 109–449), 

12 as transferred by this Act, is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and 

14 $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2025’’ after ‘‘through 

15 2024’’; and 

16 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and State 

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

18 State and local government agencies, regional orga19 nizations, Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and 

20 foreign governments’’. 

21 (i) REAUTHORIZATION.—Section 9(a) of the Marine 

22 Debris Act (Public Law 109–449) is amended by striking 

23 ‘‘for’’ the first place it appears and all that follows through 

24 ‘‘carrying out’’ and inserting ‘‘for each of fiscal years 

25 2018 through 2029 for carrying out’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. TRANSFERS. 

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

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

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

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

8 (Public Law 109–449) is amended— 

9 (1) by transferring sections 7, 8, 9 (as amend10 ed), and 10 to appear after section 127, as trans11 ferred by this Act, and redesignated as sections 131, 

12 132, 133, and 134, respectively; and 

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

15 ‘‘Subtitle D—Administration’’. 

16 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

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

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

20 (1) by striking paragraph (1); 

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

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

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

24 (3) by inserting before paragraph (5), as so re25 designated, the following: 


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

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

4 116–224). 

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

6 term ‘coastal shoreline community’ means a city or 

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

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

10 Administrator’ has the meaning given such term in 

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

12 116–224). 

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

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

15 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

16 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).’’; 

17 (4) by inserting before paragraph (11), as so 

18 redesignated, the following: 

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

20 ‘nonprofit organization’ has the meaning given such 

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

22 (Public Law 116–224). 

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


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

2 224).’’; 

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

5 ‘‘(14) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘Tribal 

6 Government’ means the recognized governing body 

7 of any Indian or Alaska Native Tribe, band, nation, 

8 pueblo, village, community, component band, or com9 ponent reservation, individually identified (including 

10 parenthetically) in the list published most recently as 

11 of the date of the enactment of the Save Our Seas 

12 2.0 Amendments Act pursuant to section 104 of the 

13 Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 

14 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 

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

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

19 ‘‘(16) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘Under 

20 Secretary’ has the meaning given such term in sec21 tion 2 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 

22 116–224).’’; and 

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


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1 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B), 

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

3 (E); and 

4 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(B) Indian Tribe;’’. 

7 (b) TRANSFER.— 

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

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

10 section 131 of the Marine Debris Act (Public Law 

11 109–449), inserted after paragraph (7) (as redesig12 nated), and redesignated as paragraph (8). 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

20 amended by striking ‘‘(as defined in section 4 of the In21 dian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act 

22 (25 U.S.C. 5304))’’. 

23 SEC. 6. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Sections 1 and 2 of the Marine 

25 Debris Act, sections 101, 102, and 104 of the Marine DeVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:27 Feb 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S216.IS S216

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1 bris Act, as redesignated by this Act, and section 133 of 

2 the Marine Debris Act, as transferred and so redesignated 

3 by this Act, are amended by striking ‘‘Administrator’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘Under Secretary’’. 

5 (b) SECTION 103.—Section 103 of the Marine Debris 

6 Act is amended by— 

7 (1) striking ‘‘Administrator of the National 

8 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’’ and in9 serting ‘‘Under Secretary’’; 

10 (2) striking ‘‘Administrator of the Environ11 mental Protection Agency’’ and inserting ‘‘EPA Ad12 ministrator’’; and 

13 (3) in subsection (e)(3) by striking ‘‘section 3’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘section 101’’. 

15 (c) SECTION 123.—Section 123 of the Marine Debris 

16 Act, as transferred and so redesignated by this Act, is 

17 amended by striking ‘‘title I’’ and inserting ‘‘subtitle B’’. 

18 (d) SECTION 133.—Section 133 of the Marine Debris 

19 Act, as transferred and so redesignated by this Act, is 

20 amended by striking ‘‘sections 3, 5, and 6’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘sections 101, 103, and 104’’. 

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

23 Act, as transferred and so redesignated by this Act, is 

24 amended by striking ‘‘Administrator of the Environmental 

25 Protection Agency’’ and inserting ‘‘EPA Administrator’’. 


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1 (f) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—Subtitle A of the Marine 

2 Debris Act, as designated in this Act, is amended by strik3 ing ‘‘tribal government’’ and inserting ‘‘Tribal Govern4 ment’’. 

Æ 


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