I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5270 
To abolish the Marine Mammal Commission and transfer its functions to 
the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 17, 2016 
Mr. RUSSELL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To abolish the Marine Mammal Commission and transfer 
its functions to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 
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 ‘‘Efficient Marine Mam-
mal Protection Act’’. 
SEC. 2. ABOLISHMENT OF MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION; 
TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS. 
(a) ABOLISHMENT OF DEPARTMENT.—The Marine 
Mammal Commission is abolished. 
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(b) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.—All functions that 
immediately before the effective date of this section are 
authorized to be performed by the Commission, by any 
officer or employee of the Commission acting in that ca-
pacity, or by any agency or office of the Commission, are 
transferred to the Director of the United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service. 
SEC. 3. CONFORMING AND CLERICAL AMENDMENTS. 
(a) MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT OF 1972.— 
The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 is amend-
ed— 
(1) in section (3) (16 U.S.C. 1362), by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(30) The term ‘Director’ means the Director 
of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘Marine Mammal Commission’’ 
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Director of the 
United States Fish and Wildlife Service’’; 
(3) by striking ‘‘Commission’’ each place it ap-
pears in reference to the Marine Mammal Commis-
sion and inserting ‘‘Director’’; 
(4) by striking ‘‘Chairman of the Marine Mam-
mal Commission’’ each place it appears and insert-
ing ‘‘Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 
Service’’; 
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(5) by striking ‘‘Chairman of the Commission’’ 
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Director of the 
United States Fish and Wildlife Service’’; 
(6) by striking ‘‘Chairman’’ each place it ap-
pears in reference to the Chairman of the Marine 
Mammal Commission and inserting ‘‘Director’’; 
(7) 
in 
section 
104(l)(2) 
(16 
U.S.C. 
1383a(l)(2)), by striking ‘‘Chairman’s’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘Director’s’’; 
(8) in the heading for title II, by striking 
‘‘MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION’’ and 
inserting ‘‘UNITED STATES FISH AND 
WILDLIFE SERVICE’’; 
(9) by striking section 201 (16 U.S.C. 1401); 
(10) in the heading for section 202 (16 U.S.C. 
1402), by striking ‘‘COMMISSION’’ and inserting 
‘‘UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE’’; 
(11) in the heading for section 206 (16 U.S.C. 
1402), by striking ‘‘ADMINISTRATION OF COMMIS-
SION’’ and inserting ‘‘AUTHORITIES OF DIRECTOR OF 
UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE’’; and 
(12) in the table of contents in the first sec-
tion— 
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mission’’ and inserting ‘‘Director of the United States 
Fish and Wildlife Service’’. 
SEC. 4. REFERENCES. 
Any reference in any other Federal law, Executive 
order, rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, or any 
document of or pertaining to the Marine Mammal Com-
mission to such Commission or an official of such Commis-
sion is deemed to refer to the Director of the United 
States Fish and Wildlife Service. 
SEC. 5. EXERCISE OF AUTHORITIES. 
Except as otherwise provided by law, the Director of 
the United States Fish and Wildlife Service may, for pur-
poses of performing a function is transferred by this Act, 
exercise all authorities under any other provision of law 
that were available with respect to the performance of that 
function to the Marine Mammal Commission. 
SEC. 6. SAVINGS PROVISIONS. 
(a) LEGAL DOCUMENTS.—All orders, determinations, 
rules, regulations, permits, grants, loans, contracts, agree-
ments, certificates, licenses, and privileges— 
(1) that have been issued, made, granted, or al-
lowed to become effective by the President, the Ma-
rine Mammal Commission, any officer or employee 
of any office such Commission, or any other Govern-
ment official, or by a court of competent jurisdic-
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tion, in the performance of any function that is 
transferred by this Act, and 
(2) that are in effect on the effective date of 
such transfer (or become effective after such date 
pursuant to their terms as in effect on such effective 
date), 
shall continue in effect according to their terms until 
modified, terminated, superseded, set aside, or revoked in 
accordance with law by the President, any other author-
ized official, a court of competent jurisdiction, or operation 
of law. 
(b) PROCEEDINGS.—This Act shall not affect any 
proceedings or any application for any benefits, service, 
license, permit, certificate, or financial assistance pending 
on the date of the enactment of this Act before the Marine 
Mammal Commission, but such proceedings and applica-
tions shall be continued. Orders shall be issued in such 
proceedings, appeals shall be taken therefrom, and pay-
ments shall be made pursuant to such orders, as if this 
Act had not been enacted, and orders issued in any such 
proceeding shall continue in effect until modified, termi-
nated, superseded, or revoked by a duly authorized official, 
by a court of competent jurisdiction, or by operation of 
law. Nothing in this subsection shall be considered to pro-
hibit the discontinuance or modification of any such pro-
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ceeding under the same terms and conditions and to the 
same extent that such proceeding could have been discon-
tinued or modified if this Act had not been enacted. 
(c) SUITS.—This Act shall not affect suits com-
menced before the date of the enactment of this Act, and 
in all such suits, proceeding shall be had, appeals taken, 
and judgments rendered in the same manner and with the 
same effect as if this Act had not been enacted. 
(d) NONABATEMENT OF ACTIONS.—No suit, action, 
or other proceeding commenced by or against the Marine 
Mammal Commission, or by or against any individual in 
the official capacity of such individual as an officer or em-
ployee of such Commission, shall abate by reason of the 
enactment of this Act. 
(e) CONTINUANCE OF SUITS.—If any Government of-
ficer in the official capacity of such officer is party to a 
suit with respect to a function of the officer, and under 
this Act such function is transferred to any other officer 
or office, then such suit shall be continued with the other 
officer or the head of such other office, as applicable, sub-
stituted or added as a party. 
(f) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE AND JUDICIAL RE-
VIEW.—Except as otherwise provided by this Act, any 
statutory requirements relating to notice, hearings, action 
upon the record, or administrative or judicial review that 
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apply to any function transferred by this Act shall apply 
to the exercise of such function by the head of the Federal 
agency, and other officers of the agency, to which such 
function is transferred by this Act. 
SEC. 7. TRANSFER OF ASSETS. 
Except as otherwise provided in this Act, so much 
of the property, records, and unexpended balances of ap-
propriations, allocations, and other funds employed, used, 
held, available, or to be made available in connection with 
a function transferred to an official or agency by this Act 
shall be available to the official or the head of that agency, 
respectively, at such time or times as the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget directs for use in con-
nection with the functions transferred. 
SEC. 8. DELEGATION AND ASSIGNMENT. 
Except as otherwise expressly prohibited by law or 
otherwise provided in this Act, an official to whom func-
tions are transferred under this Act (including the head 
of any office to which functions are transferred under this 
Act) may delegate any of the functions so transferred to 
such officers and employees of the office of the official as 
the official may designate, and may authorize successive 
redelegations of such functions as may be necessary or ap-
propriate. No delegation of functions under this section 
or under any other provision of this Act shall relieve the 
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official to whom a function is transferred under this Act 
of responsibility for the administration of the function. 
SEC. 9. AUTHORITY OF DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MAN-
AGEMENT AND BUDGET WITH RESPECT TO 
FUNCTIONS TRANSFERRED. 
(a) DETERMINATIONS.—If necessary, the Director of 
the Office of Management and Budget shall make any de-
termination of the functions that are transferred under 
this Act. 
(b) INCIDENTAL TRANSFERS.—The Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget, at such time or times 
as the Director shall provide, may make such determina-
tions as may be necessary with regard to the functions 
transferred by this Act, and to make such additional inci-
dental dispositions of personnel, assets, liabilities, grants, 
contracts, property, records, and unexpended balances of 
appropriations, authorizations, allocations, and other 
funds held, used, arising from, available to, or to be made 
available in connection with such functions, as may be nec-
essary to carry out the provisions of this Act. The Director 
of the Office of Management and Budget shall provide for 
the termination of the affairs of all entities terminated by 
this Act and for such further measures and dispositions 
as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this Act. 
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SEC. 10. AVAILABILITY OF EXISTING FUNDS. 
Existing appropriations and funds available for the 
performance of functions, programs, and activities termi-
nated pursuant to this Act shall remain available, for the 
duration of their period of availability, for necessary ex-
penses in connection with the termination and resolution 
of such functions, programs, and activities. 
SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘function’’ includes any duty, obli-
gation, power, authority, responsibility, right, privi-
lege, activity, or program; and 
(2) the term ‘‘office’’ includes any office, ad-
ministration, agency, bureau, institute, council, unit, 
organizational entity, or component thereof. 
Æ 
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