II 

Calendar No. 628 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3664 

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 

FEBRUARY 16, 2022 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. CARPER, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

DECEMBER 12, 2022 

Reported by Ms. CANTWELL, with an amendment 

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

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. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Right Whale Coexist3 ence Act of 2022’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

6 (1) North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena 

7 glacialis) are critically endangered, with fewer than 

8 340 remaining at the time of the introduction of this 

9 Act; 

10 (2) historically, the North Atlantic right whale 

11 population was decimated by the whaling industry, 

12 although the whale population received protections 

13 from such industry in the 1930s; 

14 (3) despite a modest recovery prior to 2010, the 

15 North Atlantic right whale is one of the most endan16 gered whales in the world and has experienced a sig17 nificant decline since 2010; 

18 (4) the North Atlantic right whale has been 

19 listed as an endangered species under the Endan20 gered Species Conservation Act of 1969 (Public Law 

21 89–669; 80 Stat. 926) and its successor the Endan22 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 

23 since 1970 and is designated as depleted under the 

24 Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 

25 1361 et seq.); 


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1 (5) because North Atlantic right whales are 

2 long-lived and highly migratory, and at present rates 

3 females give birth to a single calf only once every 5 

4 to 10 years, they are highly vulnerable to the im5 pacts of human activity and habitat degradation, 

6 with female whales and calves particularly vulnerable 

7 to vessel strikes; 

8 (6) North Atlantic right whales frequently cross 

9 paths with high vessel traffic areas and fishing 

10 grounds, leaving the whales particularly vulnerable 

11 to vessel collisions and fishing gear entanglements, 

12 the leading causes of injury and death to the species; 

13 (7) even when North Atlantic right whales do 

14 not die as a result of fishing gear entanglement or 

15 vessel strike, those whales can still experience sig16 nificant sub-lethal effects such as chronic stress and 

17 reproductive failure; 

18 (8) this ongoing decline due to human impacts 

19 resulted in a further 30 percent decline in the popu20 lation between 2019 and 2020 resulting in the low21 est population estimate in the past 2 decades; 

22 (9) based on the current rate of mortality of 

23 North Atlantic right whales, and because of the 

24 small number of breeding females in the population 

25 and low birth rates, recent analysis suggests the speVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Dec 13, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3664.RS S3664

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1 cies will lose its ability to recover in merely a few 

2 decades if human-caused mortality is not reduced 

3 immediately; 

4 (10) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

5 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), United States 

6 fishermen in certain locations have been required to 

7 modify their fishing gear and behavior to minimize 

8 the likelihood of entanglements, including by using 

9 sinking groundlines, having weak links in buoy lines, 

10 using multiple traps per buoy, appropriately mark11 ing fishing gear, and complying with seasonal area12 specific closures in North Atlantic right whale habi13 tats; 

14 (11) vessels in United States waters that are 65 

15 feet or more in length have been required to comply 

16 with a seasonal 10-knot speed limit in certain loca17 tions to reduce the threat of vessel collisions; and 

18 (12) ongoing mortalities, driven in part by 

19 shifts in North Atlantic right whale distribution 

20 caused by climate change, indicate that additional 

21 actions are necessary to reverse this species’ popu22 lation decline. 

23 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con24 gress that— 


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1 (1) the Governments of the United States and 

2 Canada must work together to reduce lethal and 

3 sub-lethal effects of human activities on North At4 lantic right whales; and 

5 (2) effectively addressing the threats to the 

6 long-term viability of the North Atlantic right 

7 whales will require a joint commitment and effort 

8 from government entities, local communities, marine 

9 scientists and conservationists, fishermen, owners 

10 and operators of commercial and recreational vessels 

11 and others in the boating and shipping industries, 

12 and other stakeholders. 

13 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

14 The purposes of this Act are the following: 

15 (1) To rebuild healthy populations of the North 

16 Atlantic right whale. 

17 (2) To assist in the conservation and protection 

18 of North Atlantic right whales by supporting North 

19 Atlantic right whale conservation programs that 

20 minimize conflicts between North Atlantic right 

21 whales and human activities. 


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1 TITLE I—NORTH ATLANTIC 

2 RIGHT WHALE CONSERVATION 

3 SEC. 101. NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE CONSERVATION 

4 ASSISTANCE. 

5 (a) ASSISTANCE.— 

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

7 funds and in consultation with other Federal offi8 cials, the Secretary of Commerce (in this title re9 ferred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall provide competi10 tive financial assistance, including multiyear grants, 

11 for projects designed to reduce the lethal and sub12 lethal effects of human activities on North Atlantic 

13 right whales for which project proposals are ap14 proved by the Secretary in accordance with this sec15 tion. 

16 (2) USE OF EXISTING AUTHORITIES.—Assist17 ance provided under this section shall be carried out 

18 in a manner consistent with authorities available to 

19 the Secretary under the Endangered Species Act of 

20 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the Marine 

21 Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et 

22 seq.). 

23 (b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.— 


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1 (1) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—A project proposal 

2 may be submitted to the Secretary under this section 

3 by— 

4 (A) relevant State and tribal agencies, re5 search institutions, and nonprofit organizations 

6 with expertise required for the conservation of 

7 North Atlantic right whales; and 

8 (B) any other individual or entity, as de9 termined appropriate by the Secretary, with the 

10 expertise required for the conservation of North 

11 Atlantic right whales, including— 

12 (i) large whale disentanglement teams 

13 approved by the National Oceanic and At14 mospheric Administration and members in 

15 good standing of the National Marine 

16 Mammal Health and Stranding Response 

17 Program; 

18 (ii) an owner or operator of a vessel, 

19 as defined under section 3 of title 1, 

20 United States Code; and 

21 (iii) participants within sectors of the 

22 maritime industry, such as boating, ship23 ping, fishing, fishing gear and rope manu24 facturing, and other maritime activities. 


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1 (2) FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.— 

2 A Federal agency may not be a lead entity or receive 

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

4 included as a partner or collaborator on a project 

5 that receives such funding. 

6 (c) ANNUAL GRANT PROJECT PROPOSAL SOLICITA7 TION, REVIEW, AND APPROVAL.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall annu9 ally— 

10 (A) solicit project proposals for grants 

11 under this section; 

12 (B) provide to other Federal officials, as 

13 appropriate, copies of each proposal submitted 

14 in response to the solicitation; and 

15 (C) review each such proposal on a 

16 timeline that recognizes the urgency of the de17 clining North Atlantic right whale population to 

18 determine whether the proposal meets the cri19 teria specified in subsection (d). 

20 (2) CONSULTATION; APPROVAL OR DIS21 APPROVAL.—Subject to the availability of funds, the 

22 Secretary shall, with respect to each project proposal 

23 submitted under this section, and after consulting 

24 with other Federal officials, as appropriate— 


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1 (A) consult, with respect to the proposal, 

2 with the government of each State and foreign 

3 country in which the project is to be conducted; 

4 (B) take into consideration any comments 

5 resulting from the consultation and input from 

6 fishing and other stakeholders on the potential 

7 impacts as a result of the proposal; and 

8 (C) approve or disapprove the proposal in 

9 accordance with subsections (d) and (e) and 

10 provide written notification of the approval or 

11 disapproval to the individual or entity that sub12 mitted the proposal, other Federal officials, and 

13 each State and foreign country described in 

14 subparagraph (A). 

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

16 approve a project proposal under this section that is likely 

17 to aid in the recovery and sustainability of a viable popu18 lation of North Atlantic right whales in the wild. Such 

19 projects shall— 

20 (1) address the unintentional conflicts between 

21 humans and North Atlantic right whales through de22 velopment, testing, and use of innovative technology 

23 or other methods to reduce the lethal and sub-lethal 

24 effects on North Atlantic right whales from fishing 

25 gear entanglements and vessel collisions; and 


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1 (2)(A) promote cooperative projects on such 

2 topics with foreign governments; or 

3 (B) promote cooperative projects on such topics 

4 with affected local communities, small businesses 

5 such as fishermen, others in the maritime private 

6 sector, or nongovernmental organizations. 

7 (e) PRIORITY.—In determining whether to fund 

8 project proposals under this section, the Secretary shall 

9 prioritize projects— 

10 (1) with a substantial likelihood of reducing le11 thal and sub-lethal effects on North Atlantic right 

12 whales from fishing gear entanglements or vessel 

13 collisions; 

14 (2) that include cooperation with private sector 

15 stakeholders; and 

16 (3) that demonstrate, or have the potential to 

17 provide, economic benefits to small businesses based 

18 in the United States. 

19 (f) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para21 graph (3), the non-Federal share of the costs of an 

22 activity conducted with financial assistance under 

23 this section shall be 25 percent of such costs. 

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

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


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1 conducted with financial assistance under this sec2 tion the amount of funds, and the fair market value 

3 of property and services, provided by non-Federal 

4 sources and used for the activity. 

5 (3) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec6 retary may waive the application of paragraph (1) if 

7 the Secretary finds that such waiver is necessary to 

8 support a conservation project that the Secretary 

9 has identified as of high priority. 

10 (g) PROJECT REPORTING.— 

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

12 that receives assistance under this section for a 

13 project shall submit to the Secretary periodic reports 

14 (at such intervals as the Secretary may require) that 

15 include all information that the Secretary, after con16 sultation with other government officials, determines 

17 is necessary to evaluate the progress and success of 

18 the project for the purposes of ensuring positive re19 sults, assessing problems, and fostering improve20 ments. 

21 (2) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—Reports 

22 under paragraph (1), and any other documents re23 lating to projects for which financial assistance is 

24 provided under this Act, shall be made available to 

25 the public in a timely manner. 


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1 SEC. 102. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

2 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary 

4 shall submit to Congress a report on the results and effec5 tiveness of projects receiving assistance provided under 

6 this title, including recommendations concerning how this 

7 title might be improved and whether funding for this title 

8 should be continued in the future. 

9 SEC. 103. FUNDING. 

10 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

11 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to 

12 be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this 

13 title $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

14 through 2032. 

15 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

16 amounts authorized to be appropriated under this 

17 subsection for a fiscal year, the Secretary may ex18 pend not more than 5 percent, or up to $80,000, 

19 whichever is greater, to pay the administrative ex20 penses necessary to carry out this Act. 

21 (3) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—The 

22 amount authorized to be appropriated by paragraph 

23 (1) shall supplement and not supplant other 

24 amounts available to the Secretary. 

25 (b) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.—The 

26 Secretary may accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, 


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1 and use any gift, devise, or bequest to provide assistance 

2 under section 101. 

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 enactment of this Act, and on an ongoing basis 

8 thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce shall conduct a 

9 Continuous Plankton Recorder survey. 

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

12 Northeast Fisheries Science Center shall— 

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

14 of and partner with, on a volunteer basis, research 

15 institutions, nonprofit organizations, commercial ves16 sels, and other Federal agencies; 

17 (2) in as short a time as possible, ensure rel18 evant survey samples and results are analyzed, 

19 stored, 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 

24 the Government of Canada to develop a transboundVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Dec 13, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3664.RS S3664

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1 ary understanding of plankton abundance and dis2 tribution. 

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 

6 years 2022 through 2032. 

7 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

8 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Right Whale Coexistence 

9 Act of 2022’’. 

10 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

11 The purposes of this Act are the following: 

12 (1) To rebuild a healthy population of the North 

13 Atlantic right whale. 

14 (2) To assist in the conservation and protection 

15 of North Atlantic right whales by supporting North 

16 Atlantic right whale conservation programs that re17 duce conflicts between North Atlantic right whales 

18 and human activities to sustainable levels. 

19 TITLE I—NORTH ATLANTIC 

20 RIGHT WHALE CONSERVATION 

21 SEC. 101. NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE CONSERVATION 

22 ASSISTANCE. 

23 (a) ASSISTANCE.— 

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

25 funds and in consultation with other Federal officials, 


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

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

3 assistance, including multiyear grants, for projects 

4 designed to reduce the lethal and sub-lethal effects of 

5 human activities on North Atlantic right whales for 

6 which project proposals are approved by the Secretary 

7 in accordance with this section. 

8 (2) USE OF EXISTING AUTHORITIES.—Assistance 

9 provided under this section shall be carried out in a 

10 manner consistent with authorities available to the 

11 Secretary under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

12 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the Marine Mammal 

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

14 (b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.— 

15 (1) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—A project proposal 

16 may be submitted to the Secretary under this section 

17 by— 

18 (A) relevant State and Tribal governments, 

19 research institutions, and nonprofit organiza20 tions with expertise required for the conservation 

21 of North Atlantic right whales; and 

22 (B) any other individual or entity, as deter23 mined appropriate by the Secretary, with the ex24 pertise required for the conservation of North At25 lantic right whales, including— 


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1 (i) large whale disentanglement teams 

2 approved by the National Oceanic and At3 mospheric Administration and members in 

4 good standing of the National Marine Mam5 mal Health and Stranding Response Pro6 gram; 

7 (ii) an owner or operator of a vessel, 

8 as defined under section 3 of title 1, United 

9 States Code; and 

10 (iii) participants within sectors of the 

11 maritime industry, such as boating, ship12 ping, fishing, fishing gear and rope manu13 facturing, and other maritime activities. 

14 (2) FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.—A 

15 Federal agency may not be a lead entity or receive 

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

17 included as a partner or collaborator on a project 

18 that receives such funding. 

19 (c) ANNUAL GRANT PROJECT PROPOSAL SOLICITA20 TION, REVIEW, AND APPROVAL.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall annu22 ally— 

23 (A) solicit project proposals for grants 

24 under this section; 


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1 (B) provide to other Federal officials, as ap2 propriate, copies of each proposal submitted in 

3 response to the solicitation; and 

4 (C) review each such proposal on a timeline 

5 that recognizes the urgency of the declining 

6 North Atlantic right whale population to deter7 mine whether the proposal meets the criteria 

8 specified in subsection (d). 

9 (2) CONSULTATION; APPROVAL OR DIS10 APPROVAL.—Subject to the availability of funds, the 

11 Secretary shall, with respect to each project proposal 

12 submitted under this section, and after consulting 

13 with other Federal officials, such as the Marine Mam14 mal Commission, as appropriate— 

15 (A) consult, with respect to the proposal, 

16 with the government of each State, Tribal gov17 ernment, and foreign country in which the 

18 project is to be conducted; 

19 (B) take into consideration any comments 

20 resulting from the consultation and input from 

21 fishing and other stakeholders on the potential 

22 impacts as a result of the proposal; and 

23 (C) approve or disapprove the proposal in 

24 accordance with subsections (d) and (e) and pro25 vide written notification of the approval or disVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Dec 13, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3664.RS S3664

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1 approval to the individual or entity that sub2 mitted the proposal, other Federal officials, and 

3 each State, Tribal government, and foreign coun4 try described in subparagraph (A). 

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

6 approve a project proposal under this section that is likely 

7 to aid in the recovery and sustainability of a viable popu8 lation of North Atlantic right whales in the wild. Such 

9 projects shall— 

10 (1) address the unintentional conflicts between 

11 humans and North Atlantic right whales through de12 velopment, testing, and use of gear or technology or 

13 other methods to reduce the lethal and sub-lethal ef14 fects on North Atlantic right whales from fishing gear 

15 entanglements and vessel collisions; and 

16 (2)(A) promote cooperative projects on such top17 ics with foreign governments; or 

18 (B) promote cooperative projects on such topics 

19 with affected local communities, small businesses such 

20 as fishermen, others in the maritime private sector, or 

21 nongovernmental organizations. 

22 (e) PRIORITY.—In determining whether to fund project 

23 proposals under this section, the Secretary shall prioritize 

24 projects— 


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1 (1) with a substantial likelihood of reducing le2 thal and sub-lethal effects on North Atlantic right 

3 whales from fishing gear entanglements or vessel colli4 sions; 

5 (2) that include cooperation with private sector 

6 stakeholders; and 

7 (3) that demonstrate, or have the potential to 

8 provide, economic benefits to small businesses based in 

9 the United States. 

10 (f) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para12 graph (3), the non-Federal share of the costs of an ac13 tivity conducted with financial assistance under this 

14 section shall be 25 percent of such costs. 

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

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

17 conducted with financial assistance under this section 

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

19 property and services, provided by non-Federal 

20 sources and used for the activity. 

21 (3) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 

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

23 Secretary finds that such waiver is necessary to sup24 port a conservation project that the Secretary has 

25 identified as of high priority. 


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1 (g) PROHIBITED USES.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para3 graph (2), funds awarded under this section may not 

4 be used to distribute resources to an entity or indi5 vidual that is not a United States person (as defined 

6 in section 7701(a)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

7 1986). 

8 (2) EXCEPTION.—Funds awarded under this sec9 tion may be used to distribute resources to a partner10 ship that includes an entity or individual that is not 

11 a United States person (as defined in section 

12 7701(a)(30) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) if 

13 the resources are distributed directly to a partner in 

14 the partnership that is a United States person (as so 

15 defined). 

16 (h) PROJECT REPORTING.— 

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

18 that receives assistance under this section for a project 

19 shall submit to the Secretary periodic reports (at such 

20 intervals as the Secretary may require) that include 

21 all information that the Secretary, after consultation 

22 with other government officials, determines is nec23 essary to evaluate the progress and success of the 

24 project for the purposes of ensuring positive results, 

25 assessing problems, and fostering improvements. 


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1 (2) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—Reports 

2 under paragraph (1) shall be made available to the 

3 public in a timely manner. 

4 SEC. 102. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

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

6 this Act, and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall 

7 submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans8 portation of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Re9 sources of the House of Representatives a report on the re10 sults and effectiveness of projects receiving assistance pro11 vided under this title, including recommendations con12 cerning how this title might be improved and whether fund13 ing for this title should be continued in the future. 

14 SEC. 103. FUNDING. 

15 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

17 appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this title 

18 $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 

19 2032. 

20 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

21 amounts authorized to be appropriated under this 

22 subsection for a fiscal year, the Secretary may expend 

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

24 is greater, to pay the administrative expenses nec25 essary to carry out this title. 


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1 (3) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—The amount 

2 authorized to be appropriated by paragraph (1) shall 

3 supplement and not supplant other amounts available 

4 to the Secretary. 

5 (b) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.—The Sec6 retary may accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, and use 

7 any gift, devise, or bequest, consistent with policy of the 

8 Department of Commerce in effect on the date of enactment 

9 of this Act, to provide assistance under section 101. 

10 TITLE II—CONTINUOUS 

11 PLANKTON RECORDER 

12 SEC. 201. SURVEY. 

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

14 date of enactment of this Act, and on an ongoing basis 

15 thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce shall conduct a Con16 tinuous Plankton Recorder survey. 

17 (b) REQUIRED ELEMENTS.—For the purpose of con18 ducting the survey required under subsection (a), the North19 east Fisheries Science Center shall— 

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

21 and partner with, on a volunteer basis, research insti22 tutions, nonprofit organizations, commercial vessels, 

23 and other Federal agencies; 


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

2 survey samples and results are analyzed, stored, 

3 archived, and made publicly available; 

4 (3) prioritize the collection of plankton samples 

5 and data that inform the conservation of North At6 lantic right whales; and 

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

8 Government of Canada to develop a transboundary 

9 understanding of plankton abundance and distribu10 tion. 

11 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

12 out this section there is authorized to be appropriated to 

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

14 2023 through 2032, which shall be derived from existing 

15 funds otherwise appropriated to the Secretary. 


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Calendar No. 628 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3664 

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 

DECEMBER 12, 2022 

Reported with an amendment 


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