Don Young Veterans Advancing Conservation Act

To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a grant program to facilitate the training and employment of veterans for certain conservation activities, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Don Young Veterans Advancing Conservation Act 2. Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) Veterans are among the greatest assets of the United States. (2) Veterans are highly skilled and trained individuals whose mission is to protect their communities. (3) Studies show that community-focused growth and engagement assists veterans with mental health and combat-related trauma. (4) SCUBA diving has been found to help improve mental, physical, and emotional health and has been specifically linked to improvement in the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. 3. Department of Commerce Veterans Advancing Conservation Grant Program (a) Establishment Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a program, to be known as the Veterans Advancing Conservation Grant Program, to award grants, on a competitive basis, to facilitate the training and employment of veterans for marine and coastal conservation activities. (b) Eligible entities (1) In general The Secretary may award a grant under this section to a non-profit organization that conducts marine and coastal conservation activities in partnership with Federal, State, or scientific organizations. (2) Applications To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, an organization shall submit to the Secretary an application in such form, at such time, and containing such information as the Secretary determines appropriate. (c) Use of funds An organization awarded grant funds under this section may use such funds to train or employ veterans to conduct marine and coastal conservation activities, which may include— (1) coral disease response; (2) coral restoration and rehabilitation; (3) invasive species eradication; (4) marine debris removal; (5) marine mammal and reptile rescue; (6) scientific research and development; (7) shark tagging; (8) shipwreck mapping; and (9) underwater survey work. (d) Coordination In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall coordinate with the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. (e) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section— (1) $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; (2) $1,200,000 for fiscal year 2023; (3) $1,400,000 for fiscal year 2024; (4) $1,600,000 for fiscal year 2025; and (5) $1,800,000 for fiscal year 2026. (f) Secretary In this section, the term Secretary

Summary: Don Young Veterans Advancing Conservation Act This bill requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish the Veterans Advancing Conservation Grant Program to award grants, on a competitive basis, to facilitate the training and employment of veterans for marine and coastal conservation activities (e.g., coral restoration and rehabilitation). NOAA must coordinate with the Department of the Interior and the Department of Veterans Affairs to implement the program.