I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2786 
To allow the Secretary of Commerce to establish a Coastal and Estuarine 
Resilience and Restoration Program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 9, 2025 
Mr. LEVIN (for himself, Mrs. KIGGANS of Virginia, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. MAST, 
Mr. LARSEN of Washington, and Mr. CARTER of Georgia) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To allow the Secretary of Commerce to establish a Coastal 
and Estuarine Resilience and Restoration Program, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Resilient Coasts and 
Estuaries Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. COASTAL AND ESTUARINE RESILIENCE AND RES-
TORATION PROGRAM. 
Section 307A of the Coastal Zone Management Act 
of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1456–1) is amended— 
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(1) by striking the heading and inserting 
‘‘COASTAL AND ESTUARINE RESILIENCE AND RES-
TORATION PROGRAM’’; 
(2) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may conduct a 
Coastal and Estuarine Resilience and Restoration Pro-
gram in cooperation with State, regional, and other units 
of government, the National Estuarine Research Reserves, 
and non-governmental organizations for the purposes of— 
‘‘(1) protecting important coastal and estuarine 
areas that— 
‘‘(A) have significant conservation, rec-
reational, coastal access, ecological, historical, 
community protection, or aesthetic value; 
‘‘(B) are threatened by conversion from 
their natural, undeveloped, or recreational state 
to other uses; or 
‘‘(C) could be managed or restored to ef-
fectively conserve, enhance, or restore ecological 
function or mitigate climate change; and 
‘‘(2) restoring developed or degraded property 
in vulnerable coastal and estuarine areas to a nat-
ural state to restore ecological function, allow for 
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shoreline migration, and protect coastal commu-
nities.’’; 
(3) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘or National 
Estuarine Research Reserve units’’ and inserting ‘‘, 
National Estuarine Research Reserves, or non-gov-
ernmental organizations that meet the requirements 
of subsection (k)’’; 
(4) in subsection (c)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘or National Estuarine Re-
search Reserves’’ and inserting ‘‘, National Es-
tuarine Research Reserves, or non-governmental 
organizations that meet the requirements of 
subsection (k)’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘after consultation’’ 
and inserting ‘‘in coordination’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘shall identify’’ and in-
serting ‘‘may identify’’; 
(C) by amending paragraph (7) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(7)(A) Priority shall be given to lands that— 
‘‘(i) can be effectively managed and pro-
tected 
and 
are 
described 
in 
subsection 
(a)(1)(A); 
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‘‘(ii) to the maximum extent practicable, 
benefit communities that may not have ade-
quate resources to prepare for or respond to 
coastal hazards or to access coastline, including 
low-income communities; 
‘‘(iii) are under an imminent threat of con-
version to a use that will degrade or otherwise 
diminish their natural, undeveloped, or rec-
reational state; 
‘‘(iv) serve to mitigate the adverse impacts 
caused by coastal population growth on the 
coastal environment; 
‘‘(v) benefit a National Estuarine Research 
Reserve or a national estuarine reserve pro-
posed to be designated under section 315; 
‘‘(vi) are within or adjacent to a national 
estuary program or other such protected area; 
‘‘(vii) are under threat due to climate 
change; or 
‘‘(viii) may serve to mitigate the adverse 
effects of climate change, including through 
long-term carbon storage or facilitating inland 
migration of coastal ecosystems in response to 
sea level rise. 
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‘‘(B) Of the lands that are given priority under 
subparagraph (A), priority shall be given to lands 
that reflect conservation priorities identified pursu-
ant to paragraphs (1) through (4).’’; and 
(D) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘tri-
ennially’’ and inserting ‘‘every 5 years’’; 
(5) in subsection (f)— 
(A) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting ‘‘for 
any territory of the United States that is un-
able to provide such match,’’ after ‘‘commu-
nity,’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (4)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 
‘‘the land meets the criteria set forth in 
section 2(b) and’’ and inserting ‘‘such use 
will further the goals described in sub-
section (b) and such interest in land’’; 
(ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and 
redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub-
paragraph (B); 
(iii) in subparagraph (B) (as so redes-
ignated), by striking ‘‘described in (A)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘described in subparagraph 
(A)’’; and 
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(iv) by inserting at the end the fol-
lowing new subparagraph: 
‘‘(C) The value of ecosystem services that 
such interest in land provides, including as a 
buffer for storm surge, as a habitat for eco-
nomically valuable species, and as a long-term 
carbon store.’’; 
(6) in subsection (g)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘15’’ and inserting ‘‘20’’; 
and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘unless no such acquisi-
tion is available, in which case all such funds 
may be used for other acquisitions that do not 
benefit a National Estuarine Research Reserve’’ 
before the period at the end; 
(7) in subsection (i)(1)(A), by inserting ‘‘unless 
approved to be held by a qualified non-governmental 
organization that meets the requirements of sub-
section (k)’’ after ‘‘in perpetuity’’; 
(8) by redesignating subsections (k) and (l) as 
subsections (l) and (m), respectively; 
(9) by inserting after subsection (j) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(k) NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS.— 
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