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[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2453 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2453

  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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 10, 2019

 Mr. Booker (for himself, Mr. Isakson, and Mr. Carper) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Scientific Assistance for Very 
Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales Act of 2019'' or the ``SAVE 
Right Whales Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) are 
        critically endangered, with approximately 400 whales remaining 
        at the time of the introduction of this Act;
            (2) historically, the North Atlantic right whale population 
        was decimated by the whaling industry, although the whale 
        population received protections from such industry in the 
        1930s;
            (3) despite a modest recovery prior to 2010, the North 
        Atlantic right whale is one of the most endangered whales in 
        the world and has experienced a significant decline since 2010;
            (4) the North Atlantic right whale has been listed as an 
        endangered species under the Endangered Species Conservation 
        Act of 1969 (Public Law 89-669; 80 Stat. 926) and its successor 
        the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 
        since 1970 and is designated as depleted under the Marine 
        Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.);
            (5) because North Atlantic right whales are long-lived and 
        highly migratory, and at present rates females give birth to a 
        single calf only once every 4 to 10 years, they are highly 
        vulnerable to the impacts of human activity and habitat 
        degradation;
            (6) North Atlantic right whales frequently cross paths with 
        major shipping lanes and fishing grounds, leaving the whales 
        particularly vulnerable to vessel collisions and fishing gear 
        entanglements, the 2 leading causes of injury and death to the 
        species;
            (7) even when North Atlantic right whales do not die as a 
        result of fishing gear entanglement, those whales can still 
        experience significant sub-lethal effects such as chronic 
        stress and reproductive failure;
            (8) in August 2017, the National Marine Fisheries Service 
        announced an unusual mortality event involving North Atlantic 
        right whales in 2017, with 17 known whale deaths that year 
        alone;
            (9) as of August 2019, such ongoing unusual mortality event 
        includes the loss of at least 28 whales, a significant die-off 
        of a population and, under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 
        1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), demands an immediate response;
            (10) based on the current rate of mortality of North 
        Atlantic right whales, and because of the small number of 
        breeding females in the population and low birth rates, recent 
        analysis suggests the species will lose its ability to recover 
        in merely a few decades if human-caused mortality is not 
        reduced immediately;
            (11) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 
        U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), United States fishermen in certain 
        locations have been required to modify their fishing gear and 
        behavior to minimize the likelihood of entanglements, including 
        by using sinking groundlines, having weak links in buoy lines, 
        using multiple traps per buoy, appropriately marking fishing 
        gear, and complying with seasonal area-specific closures in 
        North Atlantic right whale habitats;
            (12) vessels in United States waters that are 65 feet or 
        more in length have been required to comply with a seasonal 10-
        knot speed limit in certain locations to reduce the threat of 
        vessel collisions; and
            (13) North Atlantic right whales are now migrating farther 
        north into Canadian waters and there have been at least 20 
        North Atlantic right whale deaths in Canada's Gulf of St. 
        Lawrence between 2017 and 2019, as well as 8 documented deaths 
        of such whales in the United States waters in 2017 and 2018.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the Governments of the United States and Canada must 
        work together to reduce lethal and sub-lethal effects of human 
        activities on North Atlantic right whales; and
            (2) effectively addressing the threats to the long-term 
        viability of the North Atlantic right whales will require a 
        joint commitment and effort from government entities, local 
        communities, marine scientists and conservationists, fishermen, 
        owners and operators of passenger vessels and others in the 
        shipping industry, and other stakeholders.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are the following:
            (1) To rebuild healthy populations of the North Atlantic 
        right whale.
            (2) To assist in the conservation and protection of North 
        Atlantic right whales by supporting North Atlantic right whale 
        conservation programs that minimize conflicts between North 
        Atlantic right whales and human activities.
            (3) To provide financial resources for those programs.

            TITLE I--NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE CONSERVATION

SEC. 101. NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to the availability of funds and 
        in consultation with other Federal officials, the Secretary of 
        Commerce (in this title referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall 
        provide competitive financial assistance, including multiyear 
        grants, for projects for the conservation of North Atlantic 
        right whales for which project proposals are approved by the 
        Secretary in accordance with this section.
            (2) Use of existing authorities.--Assistance provided under 
        this section shall be carried out in a manner consistent with 
        authorities available to the Secretary under the Endangered 
        Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the Marine 
        Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.).
    (b) Project Proposals.--
            (1) Eligible applicants.--A project proposal may be 
        submitted to the Secretary under this section by--
                    (A) relevant State and tribal agencies, research 
                institutions, and nonprofit organizations with 
                expertise required for the conservation of North 
                Atlantic right whales; and
                    (B) any other individual or entity, as determined 
                appropriate by the Secretary, with the expertise 
                required for the conservation of North Atlantic right 
                whales, including large whale disentanglement teams 
                approved by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                Administration and members in good standing of the 
                National Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response 
                Program, sectors of the shipping and fishing 
                industries, fishing gear manufacturers, and rope 
                manufacturers.
            (2) Federal partnership opportunities.--A Federal agency 
        may not be a lead entity or receive funding for a project under 
        this section, but may be included as a partner or collaborator 
        on a project that receives such funding.
            (3) Required elements.--A project proposal shall include--
                    (A) a statement of the purposes of the project;
                    (B) the name of the entity or individual with 
                overall responsibility for the project;
                    (C) a description of the qualifications of the 
                entity or individuals that will conduct the project;
                    (D) a description of--
                            (i) methods for project implementation and 
                        outcome assessment;
                            (ii) staffing and stakeholder engagement 
                        for the project;
                            (iii) the logistics of the project;
                            (iv) an estimated timeline for the project; 
                        and
                            (v) anticipated outcomes of the project;
                    (E) a proposed budget for the funds and time 
                required to complete the project;
                    (F) information regarding the source and amount of 
                matching funding available for the project;
                    (G) information that demonstrates the clear 
                potential of the project to contribute to the 
                conservation of North Atlantic right whales; and
                    (H) any other information that the Secretary 
                considers to be necessary for evaluating the 
                eligibility of the project for funding under this Act.
    (c) Annual Grant Project Proposal Solicitation, Review, and 
Approval.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall annually--
                    (A) solicit project proposals for grants under this 
                section;
                    (B) provide to other Federal officials, as 
                appropriate, copies of each proposal submitted in 
                response to the solicitation; and
                    (C) review each such proposal on a timeline that 
                recognizes the urgency of the declining North Atlantic 
                right whale population to determine whether the 
                proposal meets the criteria specified in subsection 
                (d).
            (2) Consultation; approval or disapproval.--Subject to the 
        availability of funds, the Secretary shall, with respect to 
        each project proposal submitted under this section, and after 
        consulting with other Federal officials, as appropriate--
                    (A) consult with respect to the proposal with the 
                government of each State and foreign country in which 
                the project is to be conducted;
                    (B) after taking into consideration any comments 
                resulting from the consultation and any potential 
                losses that could be incurred to the fishing industry 
                as a result of the proposal, approve or disapprove the 
                proposal; and
                    (C) provide written notification of the approval or 
                disapproval to the individual or entity that submitted 
                the proposal, other Federal officials, and each State 
                and foreign country described in subparagraph (A).
    (d) Criteria for Approval.--The Secretary may approve a project 
proposal under this section if the project shows promise for 
contributing to recovering and sustaining a viable population of North 
Atlantic right whales in the wild by assisting efforts to--
            (1) implement conservation programs;
            (2) address the unintentional conflicts between humans and 
        North Atlantic right whales through development, testing, and 
        use of innovative technology or other methods to reduce the 
        lethal and sub-lethal effects on North Atlantic right whales 
        from vessel collisions and fishing gear entanglements;
            (3) promote cooperative projects on such topics with 
        foreign governments; or
            (4) promote cooperative projects on such topics with 
        affected local communities, small businesses such as fishermen, 
        others in the private sector, or nongovernmental organizations.
    (e) Priority.--To the extent practicable, in determining whether to 
approve project proposals under this section, the Secretary shall 
prioritize projects that are designed to reduce the lethal and sub-
lethal effects of human activities on North Atlantic right whales. In 
prioritizing such projects, the Secretary shall prioritize, among such 
projects, projects that are cooperative in nature and include fishing 
or shipping sector participants.
    (f) Matching Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (3), the 
        non-Federal share of the costs of an activity conducted with 
        financial assistance under this section shall be 25 percent of 
        such costs.
            (2) In-kind contributions.--The Secretary may apply to the 
        non-Federal share of an activity conducted with financial 
        assistance under this section the amount of funds, and the fair 
        market value of property and services, provided by non-Federal 
        sources and used for the activity.
            (3) Waiver of requirements.--The Secretary may waive the 
        application of paragraph (1) if the Secretary finds that such 
        waiver is necessary to support a conservation project that the 
        Secretary has identified as of high priority.
    (g) Project Reporting.--
            (1) In general.--Each individual or entity that receives 
        assistance under this section for a project shall submit to the 
        Secretary periodic reports (at such intervals as the Secretary 
        may require) that include all information that the Secretary, 
        after consultation with other government officials, determines 
        is necessary to evaluate the progress and success of the 
        project for the purposes of ensuring positive results, 
        assessing problems, and fostering improvements.
            (2) Availability to the public.--Reports under paragraph 
        (1), and any other documents relating to projects for which 
        financial assistance is provided under this Act, shall be made 
        available to the public in a timely manner.

SEC. 102. NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE INTERAGENCY BUDGET.

    (a) In General.--The Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget shall include, in the budget of the President submitted to 
Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, for 
fiscal year 2021 and each fiscal year thereafter, an interagency budget 
that displays for each Federal agency that engages in North Atlantic 
right whale activities--
            (1) the amount of appropriations and expenditures for the 
        preceding fiscal year for such activities and a description of 
        such activities;
            (2) the estimated amount to be expended during the current 
        fiscal year for such activities and a description of such 
        activities; and
            (3) the amount estimated to be necessary for the next 
        fiscal year for such activities and a description of such 
        activities.
    (b) North Atlantic Right Whale Activities Defined.--In this 
section, the term ``North Atlantic right whale activities'' means any 
activity of a Federal agency to study, observe, monitor, manage, 
protect, conserve, or restore the North Atlantic right whale population 
through direct or indirect means, including through the provision of 
competitive financial assistance to non-Federal entities.

SEC. 103. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
report on the results and effectiveness of projects receiving 
assistance provided under this title, including recommendations 
concerning how this title might be improved and whether funding for 
this title should be continued in the future.

SEC. 104. FUNDING.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) Authorization.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
        to the Secretary to carry out this title $5,000,000 for each of 
        fiscal years 2019 through 2029.
            (2) Administrative expenses.--Of the amounts authorized to 
        be appropriated under this subsection for a fiscal year, the 
        Secretary may expend not more than 5 percent, or up to $80,000, 
        whichever is greater, to pay the administrative expenses 
        necessary to carry out this Act.
            (3) Supplement not supplant.--The amount authorized to be 
        appropriated by paragraph (1) shall supplement and not supplant 
        other amounts available to the Secretary.
    (b) Acceptance and Use of Donations.--The Secretary may accept, 
receive, solicit, hold, administer, and use any gift, devise, or 
bequest to provide assistance under section 102.

                 TITLE II--CONTINUOUS PLANKTON RECORDER

SEC. 201. SURVEY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and on an ongoing basis thereafter, the 
Secretary of Commerce shall conduct a continuous plankton recorder 
survey.
    (b) Required Elements.--For the purpose of conducting the survey 
required under subsection (a), the Northeast Fisheries Science Center 
shall--
            (1) to the extent possible, utilize the resources of and 
        partner with, on a volunteer basis, research institutions, 
        nonprofit organizations, commercial vessels, and other Federal 
        agencies;
            (2) in as short a time as possible, ensure relevant survey 
        samples and results are analyzed, stored, archived, and made 
        publicly available;
            (3) prioritize the collection of plankton samples and data 
        that inform the conservation of North Atlantic right whales; 
        and
            (4) to the extent practicable, coordinate with the 
        Government of Canada to develop a transboundary understanding 
        of plankton abundance and distribution.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section 
there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce 
$300,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2029.
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