I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2734 
To provide for ocean acidification collaborative research grant opportunities. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 20, 2023 
Mr. CARBAJAL (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mrs. GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N, and 
Ms. BONAMICI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
A BILL 
To provide for ocean acidification collaborative research grant 
opportunities. 
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 Acidification 
Research Partnerships Act’’. 
SEC. 
2. 
OCEAN 
ACIDIFICATION 
COLLABORATIVE 
RE-
SEARCH GRANTS. 
The Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Moni-
toring Act of 2009 (enacted as subtitle D of part II of 
title XII of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act 
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of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.; Public Law 111–11)) 
is amended by inserting after section 12406 (33 U.S.C. 
3705) the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 12406A. OCEAN ACIDIFICATION COLLABORATIVE RE-
SEARCH GRANTS. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ACADEMIC COMMUNITY.—The term ‘aca-
demic community’ includes faculty and other rep-
resentatives of institutions of higher education and 
other schools, researchers, scientists, and natural re-
source managers. 
‘‘(2) SEAFOOD INDUSTRY.—The term ‘seafood 
industry’ includes shellfish growers, shellfish har-
vesters, commercial fishermen, recreational fisher-
men, other members of the seafood harvesting or 
supply chain, and organizations representing any of 
such groups. 
‘‘(b) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall provide grants 
for collaborative research projects on ocean acidification 
developed and conducted through partnerships between 
the seafood industry and the academic community. 
‘‘(c) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary may 
not provide a grant for a project under this section unless 
the project is— 
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‘‘(G) include appropriately balanced sup-
port from both the seafood industry and the 
academic community. 
‘‘(d) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall prioritize fund-
ing under this section to projects which— 
‘‘(1) address ecosystems and communities vul-
nerable to the impacts of ocean acidification; 
‘‘(2) demonstrate support from local stake-
holders, such as representatives of States or other 
governmental jurisdictions, community organiza-
tions, tribes, or educational institutions, as appro-
priate, located within the region in which the project 
will be undertaken; or 
‘‘(3) utilize seafood industry assets as research 
and monitoring platforms. 
‘‘(e) IMPLEMENTATION
GUIDELINES.—Not later 
than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this sec-
tion, the Secretary, in collaboration with the Sub-
committee, shall issue implementation guidelines under 
this section, including criteria and priorities for grants. 
Those guidelines shall be developed in consultation, as ap-
propriate, with the following: 
‘‘(1) State, regional, and local decisionmakers 
with ocean acidification experience. 
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‘‘(2) The seafood industry and other marine-de-
pendent industries. 
‘‘(3) Formal and informal educators, including 
both those within academia and those who are not. 
‘‘(4) Tribes. 
‘‘(5) Nongovernmental organizations involved in 
ocean acidification research, prevention, or adapta-
tion. 
‘‘(6) Any other appropriate community stake-
holders. 
‘‘(f) CONTENTS OF PROPOSALS.—Each proposal for 
a grant under this section shall include the following: 
‘‘(1) A description of the qualifications of the 
individuals or entities who will conduct the project. 
‘‘(2) A plan for ensuring full participation and 
engagement of both industry and academic commu-
nity participants, including a description of how each 
partner will contribute expertise to the project in 
terms of design, execution, and interpretation of re-
sults. 
‘‘(3) A plan for the dissemination of the results 
of the research project, which may include the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(A) Educational programs. 
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‘‘(B) Presentations to members of the sea-
food industry, the academic community, and 
community stakeholders. 
‘‘(C) Scientific publication. 
‘‘(D) Delivery to appropriate representa-
tives of States or other government jurisdictions 
who would use the information. 
‘‘(4) A description of how the project is con-
sistent with the program elements described in sec-
tion 12405(c). 
‘‘(5) Any other information the Secretary con-
siders necessary for evaluating the eligibility of the 
project for funding under this section. 
‘‘(g) ALTERNATIVE PARTICIPANTS.—The Secretary 
may make a grant under this section to a partnership in 
which a marine-dependent industry is substituted for the 
seafood industry if the proposed project serves the pur-
poses of this section. In such a case, the participation and 
interests of that marine-dependent industry shall be sub-
stituted for those of the seafood industry in applying the 
requirements of this section. 
‘‘(h) PROJECT REPORTING.—Each grantee under 
this section shall provide periodic reports as required by 
the Secretary. Each such report shall include all informa-
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tion required by the Secretary for evaluating the progress 
and success of the project. 
‘‘(i) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the total amount of Federal funding for 
a collaborative research project supported under this 
section may not exceed 85 percent of the total cost 
of such project. For purposes of this paragraph, the 
non-Federal share of project costs may be provided 
by in-kind contributions and other noncash support. 
‘‘(2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive all or 
part of the matching requirement under paragraph 
(1) if the Secretary determines that no reasonable 
means are available through which applicants can 
meet the matching requirement and the probable 
benefit of such project outweighs the public interest 
in such matching requirement. 
‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for car-
rying out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2024 through 2028.’’. 
Æ 
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