IB 
Union Calendar No. 229 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3644 
[Report No. 111–392] 
To direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish 
education and watershed programs which advance environmental literacy, 
including preparedness and adaptability for the likely impacts of climate 
change in coastal watershed regions. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 24, 2009 
Mrs. CAPPS (for herself, Mr. EHLERS, and Mr. FARR) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
JANUARY 12, 2010 
Additional sponsors: Ms. BORDALLO, Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, Mr. 
BLUMENAUER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Ms. RICHARDSON, 
Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. SABLAN, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. 
PIERLUISI, Ms. PINGREE of Maine, Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia, Ms. 
HIRONO, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. ABER-
CROMBIE, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. HOLT, Mr. 
PALLONE, Mr. HINCHEY, Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. 
INSLEE, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. POLIS of Colorado, and Mr. FILNER 
JANUARY 12, 2010 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on September 24, 2009] 
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A BILL 
To direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
tion to establish education and watershed programs 
which advance environmental literacy, including pre-
paredness and adaptability for the likely impacts of cli-
mate change in coastal watershed regions. 
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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 ‘‘Ocean, Coastal, and Wa-
tershed Education Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
(1) The United States faces major challenges, 
such as mitigating and adapting to the impacts of 
climate change, stewarding critical coastal and ma-
rine resources including fish and wildlife habitat 
while sustaining the commercial and recreational ac-
tivities that depend on these resources, and improving 
resilience to natural disasters, that collectively threat-
en human health, economic development, environ-
mental quality, and national security. 
(2) Communities in coastal watersheds are par-
ticularly vulnerable to these increasingly urgent, 
interconnected, and complex challenges and need sup-
port for teacher professional development and experi-
ential learning among students of all ages. 
(3) These challenges can be met with the help of 
comprehensive programs specifically targeted to en-
gage coastal watershed communities, schoolchildren, 
and the general public to develop engaged and envi-
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ronmentally literate citizens who are better able to 
understand complex environmental issues, assess risk, 
evaluate proposed plans, and understand how indi-
vidual decisions affect the environment at local, re-
gional, national, and global scales. 
(4) The intrinsic social and conservation values 
of wildlife-dependent and other outdoor recreation can 
play an important role in outdoor educational pro-
grams that address the myriad of coastal and ocean 
concerns, as well as instill a sustainable conservation 
ethic that will enable them to face those challenges to 
the betterment of both the environment and coastal 
communities. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to advance 
environmental literacy, develop public awareness and ap-
preciation of the economic, social, recreational, and envi-
ronmental benefits of coastal watersheds, and emphasize 
stewardship of critical coastal and marine resources, in-
cluding an understanding of how climate change is impact-
ing those resources, through the establishment of— 
(1) an Environmental Literacy Grant Program; 
and 
(2) regional programs under the B-WET Pro-
gram. 
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