I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2848 

To A bill to amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to reauthorize 

and modify the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance 

Grant Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 26, 2021 

Mrs. MURPHY of Florida (for herself, Mr. MAST, and Ms. STRICKLAND) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 

Resources 

A BILL 

To A bill to amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

of 1972 to reauthorize and modify 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 Re5 search and Response Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DATA COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION. 

7 Section 402 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

8 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1421a) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (b)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘‘or 

3 entangled’’ after ‘‘stranded’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘strandings,’’ and in6 serting ‘‘strandings and entanglements, in7 cluding unusual mortality events,’’; 

8 (ii) by inserting ‘‘stranding’’ before 

9 ‘‘region’’; and 

10 (iii) by striking ‘‘marine mammals; 

11 and’’ and inserting ‘‘marine mammals and 

12 entangled marine mammals to allow com13 parison of the causes of illness and deaths 

14 in stranded marine mammals and entan15 gled marine mammals with physical, chem16 ical, and biological environmental param17 eters; and’’; and 

18 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘anal19 yses, that would allow comparison of the causes 

20 of illness and deaths in stranded marine mam21 mals with physical, chemical, and biological en22 vironmental parameters.’’ and inserting ‘‘anal23 yses.’’; and 

24 (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(c) INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE SUBMITTED

2 AND COLLECTED.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After each response to a 

4 stranding or entanglement event, the Secretary shall 

5 collect (including from any staff of the National 

6 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that re7 spond directly to such an event), and shall require 

8 each stranding network participant who responds to 

9 that stranding or entanglement to submit to the Ad10 ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos11 pheric Administration— 

12 ‘‘(A) data on the stranding event, includ13 ing NOAA Form 89–864 (OMB #0648–0178), 

14 NOAA Form 89–878 (OMB #0648–0178), 

15 similar successor forms, or similar information 

16 in an appropriate format required by the 

17 United States Fish and Wildlife Service for spe18 cies under its management authority; 

19 ‘‘(B) supplemental data to the data de20 scribed in subparagraph (A), which may in21 clude, as available, relevant information 

22 about— 

23 ‘‘(i) weather and tide conditions; 

24 ‘‘(ii) offshore human, predator, or 

25 prey activity; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) morphometrics; 

2 ‘‘(iv) behavior; 

3 ‘‘(v) health assessments; 

4 ‘‘(vi) life history samples; or 

5 ‘‘(vii) stomach and intestinal contents; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(C) data and results from laboratory 

8 analysis of tissues, which may include, as ap9 propriate and available— 

10 ‘‘(i) histopathology; 

11 ‘‘(ii) toxicology; 

12 ‘‘(iii) microbiology 

13 ‘‘(iv) virology; or 

14 ‘‘(v) parasitology. 

15 ‘‘(2) TIMELINE.—A stranding network partici16 pant shall submit— 

17 ‘‘(A) the data described in paragraph 

18 (1)(A) not later than 30 days after the date of 

19 a response to a stranding or entanglement 

20 event; 

21 ‘‘(B) the compiled data described in para22 graph (1)(B) not later than 30 days after the 

23 date on which the data is available to the 

24 stranding network participant; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) the compiled data described in para2 graph (1)(C) not later than 30 days after the 

3 date on which the laboratory analysis has been 

4 reported to the stranding network participant. 

5 ‘‘(d) AVAILABILITY OF DATA.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 

7 a program to make information, including any data 

8 and metadata collected under paragraphs (3) or (4) 

9 of subsection (b) or subsection (c), available to re10 searchers, stranding network participants, and the 

11 public— 

12 ‘‘(A) to improve real-time coordination of 

13 response to stranding and entanglement events 

14 across geographic areas and between stranding 

15 coordinators; 

16 ‘‘(B) to identify and quickly disseminate 

17 information on potential public health risks; 

18 ‘‘(C) to facilitate integrated interdiscipli19 nary research; 

20 ‘‘(D) to facilitate peer-reviewed publica21 tions; 

22 ‘‘(E) to archive regional data into 1 na23 tional database for future analyses; and 

24 ‘‘(F) for education and outreach activities. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ACCESS TO DATA.—The Secretary shall 

2 ensure that any data or metadata collected under 

3 subsection (c)— 

4 ‘‘(A) by staff of the National Oceanic and 

5 Atmospheric Administration that responded di6 rectly to a stranding or entanglement event is 

7 available to the public through the Health MAP 

8 and the Observation System not later than 30 

9 days after that data or metadata is collected by, 

10 available to, or reported to the Secretary; and 

11 ‘‘(B) by a stranding network participant 

12 that responded directly to a stranding or entan13 glement event is made available to the public 

14 through the Health MAP and the Observation 

15 System 2 years after the date on which that 

16 data is submitted to the Secretary under sub17 section (c). 

18 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) WRITTEN RELEASE.—Notwith20 standing paragraph (2)(B), the Secretary may 

21 make data described in paragraph (2)(B) pub22 licly available earlier than 2 years after the date 

23 on which that data is submitted to the Sec24 retary under subsection (c), if the stranding 

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1 lease stating that such data may be made pub2 licly available. 

3 ‘‘(B) LAW ENFORCEMENT.—Notwith4 standing paragraph (2), the Secretary may 

5 withhold data for a longer period than the pe6 riod of time described in paragraph (2) in the 

7 event of a law enforcement action or legal ac8 tion that may be related to that data. 

9 ‘‘(e) STANDARDS.—The Secretary, in consultation 

10 with the marine mammal stranding community, shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) make publicly available guidance about 

12 uniform data and metadata standards to ensure that 

13 data collected in accordance with this section can be 

14 archived in a form that is readily accessible and un15 derstandable to the public through the Health MAP 

16 and the Observation System; and 

17 ‘‘(2) periodically update such guidance. 

18 ‘‘(f) MANAGEMENT POLICY.—In collaboration with 

19 the regional stranding networks, the Secretary shall de20 velop, and periodically update, a data management and 

21 public outreach collaboration policy for stranding or en22 tanglement events.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. STRANDING OR ENTANGLEMENT RESPONSE AGREE2 MENTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 403 of the Marine Mam4 mal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1421b) is amend5 ed— 

6 (1) in the section heading by inserting ‘‘OR EN7 TANGLEMENT’’ before ‘‘RESPONSE’’; 

8 (2) in subsection (a), by striking the period at 

9 the end and inserting ‘‘or entanglement.’’; and 

10 (3) in subsection (b)— 

11 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

12 after the semicolon; 

13 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe14 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

15 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(3) include a description of the data manage17 ment and public outreach policy established under 

18 section 402(f).’’. 

19 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table 

20 of contents in the first section of the Marine Mammal Pro21 tection Act of 1972 (Public Law 92–522; 86 Stat. 1027) 

22 is amended by striking the item related to section 403 and 

23 inserting the following: 

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


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1 SEC. 4. UNUSUAL MORTALITY EVENT ACTIVITY FUNDING. 

2 Section 405 the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 

3 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1421d) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(b) USES.—Amounts in the Fund— 

7 ‘‘(1) shall be available only for use by the Sec8 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of the In9 terior, and dispersed among claimants based on 

10 budgets approved by the Secretary prior to expendi11 ture— 

12 ‘‘(A) to make advance, partial, or progress 

13 payments under contracts or other funding 

14 mechanisms for property, supplies, salaries, 

15 services, and travel costs incurred in acting in 

16 accordance with the contingency plan issued 

17 under section 404(b) or under the direction of 

18 an Onsite Coordinator for an unusual mortality 

19 event designated under section 

20 404(a)(2)(B)(iii); 

21 ‘‘(B) for reimbursing any stranding net22 work participant for costs incurred in the collec23 tion, preparation, analysis, and transportation 

24 of marine mammal tissues and samples col25 lected with respect to an unusual mortality 

26 event for the Tissue Bank; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) for the care and maintenance of a 

2 marine mammal seized under section 

3 104(c)(2)(D); and 

4 ‘‘(2) shall remain available until expended.’’; 

5 and 

6 (2) in subsection (c)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

8 the end; 

9 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe10 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

11 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(4) not more than $250,000 per year, as de13 termined by the Secretary of Commerce, from sums 

14 collected as fines, penalties, or forfeitures of prop15 erty by the Secretary of Commerce for violations of 

16 any provision of this Act; and 

17 ‘‘(5) sums received from emergency declaration 

18 grants for marine mammal conservation.’’. 

19 SEC. 5. LIABILITY. 

20 Section 406(a) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

21 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1421e(a)) is amended, in the matter 

22 preceding paragraph (1)— 

23 (1) by inserting ‘‘or entanglement’’ after ‘‘to a 

24 stranding’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘government’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘Government’’. 

3 SEC. 6. NATIONAL MARINE MAMMAL TISSUE BANK AND TIS4 SUE ANALYSIS. 

5 Section 407 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

6 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1421f) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (c)(2)(A), by striking ‘‘the 

8 health of marine mammals and’’ and inserting ‘‘ma9 rine mammal health and mortality and the health 

10 of’’; and 

11 (2) in subsection (d), in the matter preceding 

12 paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘public’’ before ‘‘ac13 cess’’. 

14 SEC. 7. MARINE MAMMAL RESCUE AND RESPONSE GRANT 

15 PROGRAM AND RAPID RESPONSE FUND. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 408 of the Marine Mam17 mal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1421f–1) is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) by striking the section heading and insert20 ing ‘‘MARINE MAMMAL RESCUE AND RESPONSE

21 GRANT PROGRAM AND RAPID RESPONSE

22 FUND’’; 

23 (2) by striking subsections (a) through (d) and 

24 subsections (f) through (h); 


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1 (3) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub2 section (f); and 

3 (4) by inserting before subsection (f), as redes4 ignated by paragraph (3), the following: 

5 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 ‘‘(1) EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘emergency 

8 assistance’ means— 

9 ‘‘(i) financial assistance provided to 

10 respond to, or that results from, a strand11 ing event or entanglement event that— 

12 ‘‘(I) causes an immediate in13 crease in the cost of a response, recov14 ery, or rehabilitation that is greater 

15 than the usual cost of a response, re16 covery, or rehabilitation; 

17 ‘‘(II) is cyclical or endemic; or 

18 ‘‘(III) involves a marine mammal 

19 that is out of the normal range for 

20 that marine mammal; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) financial assistance provided to 

22 respond to, or that results from, a strand23 ing event or an entanglement event that 

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1 al government considers to be an emer2 gency. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘emergency 

4 assistance’ does not include financial assistance 

5 to respond to an unusual mortality event. 

6 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ has 

7 the meaning given that term in section 3(12)(A). 

8 ‘‘(3) STRANDING REGION.—The term ‘strand9 ing region’ means a geographic region designated by 

10 the applicable Secretary for purposes of administra11 tion of this title. 

12 ‘‘(b) JOHN H. PRESCOTT MARINE MAMMAL RESCUE

13 AND RESPONSE GRANT PROGRAM.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability 

15 of appropriations or other funding, the applicable 

16 Secretary shall carry out a grant program, to be 

17 known as the ‘John H. Prescott Marine Mammal 

18 Rescue and Response Grant Program’ (referred to 

19 in this section as the ‘grant program’), to award 

20 grants to eligible stranding network participants or 

21 stranding network collaborators, as described in this 

22 subsection. 

23 ‘‘(2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the grant 

24 program are to provide for— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the recovery, care, or treatment of 

2 sick, injured, or entangled marine mammals; 

3 ‘‘(B) responses to marine mammal strand4 ing events that require emergency assistance; 

5 ‘‘(C) the collection of data and samples 

6 from living or dead stranded marine mammals 

7 for scientific research or assessments regarding 

8 marine mammal health; 

9 ‘‘(D) facility operating costs that are di10 rectly related to activities described in subpara11 graph (A), (B), or (C); and 

12 ‘‘(E) development of stranding network ca13 pacity, including training for emergency re14 sponse, where facilities do not exist or are 

15 sparse. 

16 ‘‘(3) CONTRACT, GRANT, AND COOPERATIVE

17 AGREEMENT AUTHORITY.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The applicable Sec19 retary may enter into a contract, grant, or co20 operative agreement with any eligible stranding 

21 network participant or stranding network col22 laborator, as the Secretary determines to be ap23 propriate, for the purposes described in para24 graph (2). 


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1 ‘‘(B) EMERGENCY AWARD FLEXIBILITY.— 

2 Following a request for emergency award flexi3 bility and analysis of the merits of and neces4 sity for such a request, the applicable Secretary 

5 may— 

6 ‘‘(i) amend any contract, grant, or co7 operative agreement entered into under 

8 this paragraph, including provisions con9 cerning the period of performance; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) waive the requirements under 

11 subsection (f) for grant applications sub12 mitted during the provision of emergency 

13 assistance. 

14 ‘‘(4) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

16 ensure, to the extent practicable, that funds 

17 awarded under the grant program are distrib18 uted equitably among the stranding regions. 

19 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining 

20 priorities among the stranding regions under 

21 this paragraph, the Secretary may consider— 

22 ‘‘(i) equitable distribution within the 

23 stranding regions, including the sub re24 gions (including, but not limited to, the 

25 Gulf of Mexico); 


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1 ‘‘(ii) any episodic stranding, entangle2 ment, or mortality events, except for un3 usual mortality events, that occurred in 

4 any stranding region in the preceding year; 

5 ‘‘(iii) any data with respect to average 

6 annual stranding, entanglements, and mor7 tality events per stranding region; 

8 ‘‘(iv) the size of the marine mammal 

9 populations inhabiting a stranding region; 

10 ‘‘(v) the importance of the region’s 

11 marine mammal populations to the well12 being of indigenous communities; and 

13 ‘‘(vi) the conservation of protected, 

14 depleted, threatened, or endangered marine 

15 mammal species. 

16 ‘‘(C) STRANDINGS.—For the purposes of 

17 this program, priority is to be given to applica18 tions focusing on marine mammal strandings. 

19 ‘‘(5) APPLICATION.—To be eligible for a grant 

20 under the grant program, a stranding network par21 ticipant shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) submit an application in such form 

23 and manner as the applicable Secretary pre24 scribes; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) be in compliance with the data re2 porting requirements under section 402(d) and 

3 any applicable reporting requirements of the 

4 United States Fish and Wildlife Service for spe5 cies under its management jurisdiction. 

6 ‘‘(6) GRANT CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall, in 

7 consultation with the Marine Mammal Commission, 

8 a representative from each of the stranding regions, 

9 and other individuals who represent public and pri10 vate organizations that are actively involved in res11 cue, rehabilitation, release, scientific research, ma12 rine conservation, and forensic science with respect 

13 to stranded marine mammals under that Depart14 ment’s jurisdiction, develop criteria for awarding 

15 grants under their respective grant programs. 

16 ‘‘(7) LIMITATIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—No 

18 grant made under the grant program for a sin19 gle award may exceed $150,000 in any 12- 

20 month period. 

21 ‘‘(B) UNEXPENDED FUNDS.—Any funds 

22 that have been awarded under the grant pro23 gram but that are unexpended at the end of the 

24 12-month period described in subparagraph (A) 

25 shall remain available until expended. 


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1 ‘‘(8) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS AND EXPENSES.— 

2 The Secretary’s administrative costs and expenses 

3 related to reviewing and awarding grants under the 

4 grant program, in any fiscal year may not exceed 

5 the greater of— 

6 ‘‘(A) 6 percent of the amounts made avail7 able each fiscal year to carry out the grant pro8 gram; or 

9 ‘‘(B) $80,000. 

10 ‘‘(9) TRANSPARENCY.—The Secretary shall 

11 make publicly available a list of grant proposals for 

12 the upcoming fiscal year, funded grants, and re13 quests for grant flexibility under this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(c) JOSEPH R. GERACI MARINE MAMMAL RESCUE

15 AND RAPID RESPONSE FUND.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

17 Treasury of the United States an interest-bearing 

18 fund, to be known as the ‘Joseph R. Geraci Marine 

19 Mammal Rescue and Rapid Response Fund’ (re20 ferred to in this section as the ‘Rapid Response 

21 Fund’). 

22 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts in the Rapid 

23 Response Fund shall be available only for use by the 

24 Secretary to provide emergency assistance. 

25 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

2 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA3 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

4 to carry out the grant program $7,000,000 for 

5 each of fiscal years 2021 through 2026, to re6 main available until expended, of which for each 

7 fiscal year— 

8 ‘‘(i) $6,000,000 shall be made avail9 able to the Secretary of Commerce; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) $1,000,000 shall be made avail11 able to the Secretary of the Interior. 

12 ‘‘(B) DERIVATION OF FUNDS.—Funds to 

13 carry out the activities under this section shall 

14 be derived from amounts authorized to be ap15 propriated pursuant to subparagraph (A) that 

16 are enacted after the date of enactment of the 

17 Marine Mammal Research and Response Act of 

18 2021. 

19 ‘‘(2) JOSEPH R. GERACI MARINE MAMMAL RES20 CUE AND RAPID RESPONSE FUND.—There is author21 ized to be appropriated to the Rapid Response Fund 

22 $500,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 

23 2026. 

24 ‘‘(e) ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS.—For the pur25 poses of carrying out this section, the Secretary may soVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:45 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2848.IH H2848

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1 licit, accept, receive, hold, administer, and use gifts, de2 vises, and bequests without any further approval or ad3 ministrative action.’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table 

5 of contents in the first section of the Marine Mammal Pro6 tection Act of 1972 (Public Law 92–522; 86 Stat. 1027) 

7 (as amended by section 3(b)) is amended by striking the 

8 item related to section 408 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 408. Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant Program and Rapid 

Response Fund.’’. 

9 SEC. 8. HEALTH MAP. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Marine Mammal 

11 Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.) is amend12 ed by inserting after section 408 the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 408A. MARINE MAMMAL HEALTH MONITORING AND 

14 ANALYSIS PLATFORM (HEALTH MAP). 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

16 date of enactment of the Marine Mammal Research and 

17 Response Act of 2021, the Secretary, acting through the 

18 Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

19 Administration, in consultation with the Secretary of the 

20 Interior and the Marine Mammal Commission, shall— 

21 ‘‘(1) establish a marine mammal health moni22 toring and analysis platform (referred to in this Act 

23 as the ‘Health MAP’); 


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1 ‘‘(2) incorporate the Health MAP into the Ob2 servation System; and 

3 ‘‘(3) make the Health MAP— 

4 ‘‘(A) publicly accessible through the web 

5 portal of the Observation System; and 

6 ‘‘(B) interoperable with other national data 

7 systems or other data systems for management 

8 or research purposes, as practicable. 

9 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Health MAP 

10 are— 

11 ‘‘(1) to promote— 

12 ‘‘(A) interdisciplinary research among indi13 viduals with knowledge and experience in ma14 rine mammal science, marine mammal veteri15 nary and husbandry practices, medical science, 

16 and oceanography, and with other marine sci17 entists; 

18 ‘‘(B) timely and sustained dissemination 

19 and availability of marine mammal health, 

20 stranding, entanglement, and mortality data; 

21 ‘‘(C) identification of spatial and temporal 

22 patterns of marine mammal mortality, disease, 

23 and stranding; 


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1 ‘‘(D) evaluation of marine mammal health 

2 in terms of mortality, as well as sublethal ma3 rine mammal health impacts; 

4 ‘‘(E) improved collaboration and fore5 casting of marine mammal and larger eco6 system health events; 

7 ‘‘(F) rapid communication and dissemina8 tion of information regarding marine mammal 

9 strandings that may have implications for 

10 human health, such as those caused by harmful 

11 algal blooms; and 

12 ‘‘(G) increased accessibility of data in a 

13 user friendly visual interface for public edu14 cation and outreach; and 

15 ‘‘(2) to contribute to an ocean health index that 

16 incorporates marine mammal health data. 

17 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS.—The Health MAP shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) integrate in situ, remote, and other marine 

19 mammal health, stranding, and mortality data, in20 cluding visualizations and metadata, collected by 

21 marine mammal stranding networks, Federal, State, 

22 local, and Tribal governments, private partners, and 

23 academia; and 

24 ‘‘(2) be designed— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to enhance data and information 

2 availability, including data sharing among 

3 stranding network participants, scientists, and 

4 the public within and across stranding network 

5 regions; 

6 ‘‘(B) to facilitate data and information ac7 cess across scientific disciplines, scientists, and 

8 managers; 

9 ‘‘(C) to facilitate public access to national 

10 and regional marine mammal health, stranding, 

11 entanglement, and mortality data, including vis12 ualizations and metadata, through the national 

13 and regional data portals of the Observation 

14 System; and 

15 ‘‘(D) in collaboration with, and with input 

16 from, States and stranding network partici17 pants. 

18 ‘‘(d) PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES.—The Sec19 retary shall establish and implement policies, protocols, 

20 and standards for— 

21 ‘‘(1) reporting marine mammal health data col22 lected by stranding networks consistent with sub23 sections (c) and (d) of section 402; 


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1 ‘‘(2) promptly transmitting health data from 

2 the stranding networks and other appropriate data 

3 providers to the Health MAP; 

4 ‘‘(3) disseminating and making publicly avail5 able data on marine mammal health, stranding, en6 tanglement, and mortality data in a timely and sus7 tained manner; and 

8 ‘‘(4) integrating additional marine mammal 

9 health, stranding, or other relevant data as the Sec10 retary determines appropriate. 

11 ‘‘(e) CONSULTATION.—The Administrator of the Na12 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall 

13 maintain and update the Health MAP in consultation with 

14 the Secretary of the Interior and the Marine Mammal 

15 Commission. 

16 ‘‘(f) CONTRIBUTIONS.—For purposes of carrying out 

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

18 hold, administer, and use gifts, devises, and bequests with19 out any further approval or administrative action.’’. 

20 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table 

21 of contents in the first section of the Marine Mammal Pro22 tection Act of 1972 (Public Law 92–522; 86 Stat. 1027) 

23 (as amended by section 7(b)) is amended by inserting after 

24 the item related to section 408 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 408A. Health MAP.’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Marine Mammal 

3 Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.) (as 

4 amended by section 8(a)) is amended by inserting after 

5 section 408A the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 408B. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

7 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF

8 CONGRESS.—In this section, the term ‘appropriate com9 mittees of Congress’ means— 

10 ‘‘(1) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

11 Transportation of the Senate; 

12 ‘‘(2) the Committee on Natural Resources of 

13 the House of Representatives; and 

14 ‘‘(3) the Committee on Science, Space, and 

15 Technology of the House of Representatives. 

16 ‘‘(b) HEALTH MAP STATUS REPORT.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 year after 

18 the date of enactment of the Marine Mammal Re19 search and Response Act of 2021, the Administrator 

20 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis21 tration, in consultation with the Marine Mammal 

22 Commission, the Secretary of the Interior, and the 

23 National Ocean Research Leadership Council, shall 

24 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 

25 report describing the status of the Health MAP. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The report under para2 graph (1) shall include— 

3 ‘‘(A) a detailed evaluation of the data 

4 made publicly available through the Health 

5 MAP; 

6 ‘‘(B) a detailed list of any gaps in data col7 lected pursuant to the Health MAP, a descrip8 tion of the reasons for those gaps, and rec9 ommended actions to close those gaps; 

10 ‘‘(C) an analysis of the effectiveness of 

11 using the website of the Observation System as 

12 the platform to collect, organize, visualize, ar13 chive, and disseminate marine mammal strand14 ing and health data; 

15 ‘‘(D) a list of publications, presentations, 

16 or other relevant work product resulting from, 

17 or produced in collaboration with, the Health 

18 MAP; 

19 ‘‘(E) a description of emerging marine 

20 mammal health concerns and the applicability 

21 of those concerns to human health; 

22 ‘‘(F) an analysis of the feasibility of the 

23 Observation System being used as an alert sys24 tem during stranding events, entanglement 

25 events, and unusual mortality events for the 


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1 stranding network, Observation System part2 ners, Health MAP partners, Federal and State 

3 agencies, and local and Tribal governments; 

4 ‘‘(G) an evaluation of the use of Health 

5 MAP data to predict broader ecosystem events 

6 and changes that may impact marine mammal 

7 or human health and specific examples of prov8 en or potential uses of Observation System data 

9 for those purposes; and 

10 ‘‘(H) recommendations for the Health 

11 MAP with respect to— 

12 ‘‘(i) filling any identified data gaps; 

13 ‘‘(ii) standards that could be used to 

14 improve data quality, accessibility, trans15 mission, interoperability, and sharing; 

16 ‘‘(iii) any other strategies that would 

17 contribute to the effectiveness and useful18 ness of the Health MAP; and 

19 ‘‘(iv) the funding levels needed to 

20 maintain and improve the Health MAP. 

21 ‘‘(c) DATA GAP ANALYSIS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years 

23 after the date on which the report required under 

24 subsection (b)(1) is submitted, and every 10 years 

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1 anic and Atmospheric Administration, in consulta2 tion with the Marine Mammal Commission and the 

3 Secretary of Commerce, shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) make publicly available a report on 

5 the data gap analysis described in paragraph 

6 (2); and 

7 ‘‘(B) provide a briefing to the appropriate 

8 committees of Congress concerning that data 

9 gap analysis. 

10 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The data gap analysis 

11 under paragraph (1) shall include— 

12 ‘‘(A) an overview of existing participants 

13 within a marine mammal stranding network; 

14 ‘‘(B) an identification of coverage needs 

15 and participant gaps within a network; 

16 ‘‘(C) an identification of data and report17 ing gaps from members of a network; and 

18 ‘‘(D) an analysis of how stranding and 

19 health data are shared and made available to 

20 scientists, academics, State, local, and Tribal 

21 governments, and the public. 

22 ‘‘(d) MARINE MAMMAL RESPONSE CAPABILITIES IN

23 THE ARCTIC.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

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1 search and Response Act of 2021, the Administrator 

2 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis3 tration, the Director of the United States Fish and 

4 Wildlife Service, and the Director of the United 

5 States Geologic Survey, in consultation with the Ma6 rine Mammal Commission and the Secretary of the 

7 Interior, shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) make publicly available a report de9 scribing the response capabilities for sick and 

10 injured marine mammals in the Arctic regions 

11 of the United States; and 

12 ‘‘(B) provide a briefing to the appropriate 

13 committees of Congress on that report. 

14 ‘‘(2) ARCTIC.—The term ‘Arctic’ has the mean15 ing given the term in section 112 of the Arctic Re16 search and Policy Act of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 4111). 

17 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—The report under para18 graph (1) shall include— 

19 ‘‘(A) a description, developed in consulta20 tion with the Fish and Wildlife Service of the 

21 Department of the Interior, of all marine mam22 mal stranding agreements in place for the Arc23 tic region of the United States, including spe24 cies covered, response capabilities, facilities and 


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1 equipment, and data collection and analysis ca2 pabilities; 

3 ‘‘(B) a list of State and local government 

4 agencies that have personnel trained to respond 

5 to marine mammal strandings in the Arctic re6 gion of the United States; 

7 ‘‘(C) an assessment of potential response 

8 and data collection partners and sources of 

9 local information and knowledge, including 

10 Alaska Native people and villages; 

11 ‘‘(D) an analysis of spatial and temporal 

12 trends in marine mammal strandings and un13 usual mortality events that are correlated with 

14 changing environmental conditions in the Arctic 

15 region of the United States; 

16 ‘‘(E) a description of training and other 

17 resource needs to meet emerging response re18 quirements in the Arctic region of the United 

19 States; 

20 ‘‘(F) an analysis of oiled marine mammal 

21 response and rehabilitation capabilities in the 

22 Arctic region of the United States, including 

23 personnel, equipment, facilities, training, and 

24 husbandry capabilities, and an assessment of 


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1 factors that affect response and rehabilitation 

2 success rates; and 

3 ‘‘(G) recommendations to address future 

4 stranding response needs for marine mammals 

5 in the Arctic region of the United States.’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table 

7 of contents in the first section of the Marine Mammal Pro8 tection Act of 1972 (Public Law 92–522; 86 Stat. 1027) 

9 (as amended by section 8(b)) is amended by inserting after 

10 the item related to section 408A the following: 

‘‘Sec. 408B. Reports to Congress.’’. 

11 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 Section 409 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

13 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1421g) is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘1993 and 

15 1994;’’ and inserting ‘‘2021 through 2026;’’; 

16 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘1993 and 

17 1994;’’ and inserting ‘‘2021 through 2026;’’; and 

18 (3) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘fiscal year 

19 1993.’’ and inserting ‘‘for each of fiscal years 2021 

20 through 2026.’’. 

21 SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS. 

22 Section 410 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

23 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1421h) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 

2 (6) as paragraphs (2), (5), (6), (7), (8), and (9), re3 spectively; 

4 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so re5 designated) the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) The term ‘entangle’ or ‘entanglement’ 

7 means an event in the wild in which a living or dead 

8 marine mammal has gear, rope, line, net, or other 

9 material wrapped around or attached to the marine 

10 mammal and is— 

11 ‘‘(A) on lands under the jurisdiction of the 

12 United States, including beaches and shorelines; 

13 or 

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

15 the United States, including any navigable 

16 waters.’’; 

17 (3) in paragraph (2) (as so redesignated) by 

18 striking ‘‘The term’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as used 

19 in section 408, the term’’; and 

20 (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) (as so re21 designated) the following: 

22 ‘‘(3) The term ‘Health MAP’ means the Marine 

23 Mammal Health Monitoring and Analysis Platform 

24 established under section 408A(a)(1). 


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1 ‘‘(4) The term ‘Observation System’ means the 

2 National Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation 

3 System established under section 12304 of the Inte4 grated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act 

5 of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603).’’. 

6 SEC. 12. STUDY ON MARINE MAMMAL MORTALITY. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months after 

8 the date of enactment of this Act, the Undersecretary of 

9 Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere shall, in consulta10 tion with the Secretary of the Interior and the Marine 

11 Mammal Commission, conduct a study evaluating the con12 nections among marine heat waves, frequency and inten13 sity of harmful algal blooms, prey availability, and habitat 

14 degradation, and the impacts of these conditions on ma15 rine mammal mortality. 

16 (b) REPORT.—The Undersecretary of Commerce for 

17 Oceans and Atmosphere, in consultation with the Sec18 retary of the Interior and the Marine Mammal Commis19 sion, shall prepare, post to a publicly available website, 

20 and brief the appropriate committees of Congress on, a 

21 report containing the results of the study described in sub22 section (a). The report shall identify priority research ac23 tivities, opportunities for collaboration, and current gaps 

24 in effort and resource limitations related to advancing sci25 entific understanding of how ocean heat waves, harmful 


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1 algae blooms, availability of prey, and habitat degradation 

2 impact marine mammal mortality. The report shall include 

3 recommendations for policies needed to mitigate and re4 spond to mortality events. 

Æ 


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