I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 844 

To amend the provisions of law relating to the John H. Prescott Marine 

Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 3, 2009 

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the provisions of law relating to the John H. 

Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program, 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 ‘‘Marine Mammal Res5 cue Assistance Amendments of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STRANDING AND ENTANGLEMENT RESPONSE. 

7 (a) COLLECTION AND UPDATING OF INFORMA8 TION.—Section 402(b)(1)(A) of the Marine Mammal Pro9 tection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1421a(b)(1)(A)) is amend10 ed by inserting ‘‘or entangled’’ after ‘‘stranded’’. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
2 

•HR 844 IH

1 (b) ENTANGLEMENT RESPONSE AGREEMENTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 403 of such Act (16 

3 U.S.C. 1421b) is amended— 

4 (A) by amending the section heading to 

5 read as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 403. STRANDING OR ENTANGLEMENT RESPONSE 

7 AGREEMENTS.’’; 

8 and 

9 (B) in subsection (a) by inserting ‘‘or en10 tanglement’’ before the period. 

11 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con12 tents at the end of the first section is amended by 

13 striking the item relating to section 403 and insert14 ing the following: 

‘‘Sec. 403. Stranding or entanglement response agreements.’’. 

15 (c) LIABILITY.—Section 406(a) of such Act (16 

16 U.S.C. 1421e(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or entangle17 ment’’ after ‘‘stranding’’. 

18 (d) ENTANGLEMENT DEFINED.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 410 of such Act (16 

20 U.S.C. 1421h) is amended— 

21 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

22 through (6) in order as paragraphs (2) through 

23 (7); and 

24 (B) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as 

25 so redesignated) the following: 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
3 

•HR 844 IH

1 ‘‘(1) The term ‘entanglement’ means an event 

2 in the wild in which a living or dead marine mammal 

3 has gear, rope, line, net, or other material wrapped 

4 around or attached to it and is— 

5 ‘‘(A) on a beach or shore of the United 

6 States; or 

7 ‘‘(B) in waters under the jurisdiction of 

8 the United States.’’. 

9 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

10 408(a)(2)(B)(i) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1421f– 

11 1(a)(2)(B)(i)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 

12 410(6)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 410(7)’’. 

13 (e) JOHN H. PRESCOTT MARINE MAMMAL RESCUE

14 ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM.— 

15 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR

16 GRANT PROGRAM.—Section 408(h) of such Act (16 

17 U.S.C. 1421f–1(h)) is amended— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘$5,000,000 for each of 

19 fiscal years 2001 through 2003’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘$7,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 

21 through 2013’’; and 

22 (B) in paragraph (1) by striking 

23 ‘‘$4,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$6,000,000’’. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
4 

•HR 844 IH

1 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS AND EXPENSES.— 

2 Section 408 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1421f–1) is 

3 amended— 

4 (A) by adding at the end of subsection 

5 (a)(1) the following: ‘‘All funds available to im6 plement this section shall be distributed to eligi7 ble stranding network participants for the pur8 poses set forth in this paragraph and paragraph 

9 (2), except as provided in subsection (f).’’; and 

10 (B) by amending subsection (f) to read as 

11 follows: 

12 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS AND EXPENSES.—Of 

13 the amounts available each fiscal year to carry out this 

14 section, the Secretary may expend not more than 6 per15 cent or $80,000, whichever is greater, to pay the adminis16 trative costs and administrative expenses to implement the 

17 grant program under subsection (a). Any such funds re18 tained by the Secretary for a fiscal year for such costs 

19 and expenses that are not used for such costs and ex20 penses before the end of the fiscal year shall be provided 

21 as grants under subsection (a).’’. 

22 (3) EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE.—Section 408 of 

23 such Act (16 U.S.C. 1421f–1) is amended— 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
5 

•HR 844 IH

1 (A) in subsection (a) by redesignating 

2 paragraph (2) as paragraph (3), and by insert3 ing after paragraph (1) the following: 

4 ‘‘(2) Subject to the availability of appropriations, the 

5 Secretary may also enter into cooperative agreements, con6 tracts, or such other agreements or arrangements as the 

7 Secretary considers appropriate to address stranding 

8 events requiring emergency assistance.’’; 

9 (B) in subsection (d) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ 

10 before the text, and by adding at the end the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(2) Funding for emergency stranding projects shall 

13 not be subject to the funding limit established in para14 graph (1).’’; 

15 (C) in subsection (e)— 

16 (i) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘The 

17 non-Federal’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as 

18 provided in paragraph (2), the non-Fed19 eral’’; 

20 (ii) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

21 paragraph (3); and 

22 (iii) by inserting after paragraph (1) 

23 the following: 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
6 

•HR 844 IH

1 ‘‘(2) EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE.—No non-Fed2 eral contribution shall be required for funding for a 

3 response to an emergency stranding event.’’; and 

4 (D) in subsection (g) by redesignating 

5 paragraph (2) as paragraph (3) and inserting 

6 after paragraph (1) the following: 

7 ‘‘(2) EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE.—The term 

8 ‘emergency assistance’ means assistance provided for 

9 a stranding event that— 

10 ‘‘(A) is not an unusual mortality event as 

11 defined in section 409(6); 

12 ‘‘(B) leads to an immediate increase in re13 quired costs for stranding response, recovery, or 

14 rehabilitation in excess of regularly scheduled 

15 costs; 

16 ‘‘(C) may be cyclical or endemic; and 

17 ‘‘(D) may involve out-of-habitat animals.’’. 

18 (4) CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section 408 of such Act 

19 (16 U.S.C. 1421f–1) is amended by adding at the 

20 end the following: 

21 ‘‘(i) CONTRIBUTIONS.—For purposes of carrying out 

22 this section, the Secretary may solicit, accept, receive, 

23 hold, administer, and use gifts, devises, and bequests.’’. 

24 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR MA25 RINE MAMMAL UNUSUAL MORTALITY EVENT FUND.— 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
7 

•HR 844 IH

1 Section 409(3) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1421g(3)) is 

2 amended by striking ‘‘fiscal year 1993’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘each of fiscal years 2010 through 2013’’. 

Æ 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS