I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5776 
To reauthorize and amend the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue 
and Response Grant Program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 13, 2016 
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska (for himself and Mr. HECK of Washington) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To reauthorize and amend the John H. Prescott Marine 
Mammal Rescue and Response Grant 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 ‘‘Marine Mammal Re-
search and Response Act of 2016’’. 
SEC. 2. DATA COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION. 
Section 402 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 
of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1421a) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)— 
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(A) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘‘or 
entangled’’ after ‘‘stranded’’; 
(B) in paragraph (3)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘strandings,’’ and in-
serting ‘‘strandings and entanglements, in-
cluding unusual mortality events,’’; 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘stranding’’ before 
‘‘region’’; and 
(iii) by striking ‘‘marine mammals; 
and’’ and inserting ‘‘and entangled marine 
mammals to allow comparison of the 
causes of illness and deaths in stranded 
and entangled marine mammals with phys-
ical, chemical, and biological environmental 
parameters; and’’; and 
(C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘anal-
yses, that would allow comparison of the causes 
of illness and deaths in stranded marine mam-
mals with physical, chemical, and biological en-
vironmental parameters.’’ and inserting ‘‘anal-
yses.’’; and 
(2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(c) DATA AVAILABILITY.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 
a program to make information, including any data 
and metadata, collected under subsection (b) avail-
able to researchers, stranding networks, and the 
public— 
‘‘(A) to improve real-time coordination of 
response to stranding and entanglement events 
across geographic areas and between stranding 
coordinators; 
‘‘(B) to identify and quickly disseminate 
information on potential public health risks; 
‘‘(C) to facilitate integrated interdiscipli-
nary research; 
‘‘(D) to facilitate peer-reviewed publica-
tions; 
‘‘(E) to archive regional data into one na-
tional database for future analyses; and 
‘‘(F) for education and outreach activities. 
‘‘(2) PUBLIC ACCESS.—The Secretary shall en-
sure that— 
‘‘(A) all information, including data and 
metadata, collected under subsection (b) is 
archived in a form that is readily accessible, un-
derstandable, and can be easily shared with, the 
public, as appropriate, through the Marine 
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Mammal Health Map established under section 
408A; and 
‘‘(B) not later than 60 days after the date 
that any information, including any data and 
metadata, collected under paragraph (1), (2), or 
(3) of subsection (b), is made readily available 
to stranding network participants, other quali-
fied scientists, employees of the Federal Gov-
ernment, and the public through the Marine 
Mammal Health Map and the Integrated Ocean 
Observation System. 
‘‘(d) DATA REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec-
retary shall require each stranding network participant to 
submit to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration, for inclusion in the Marine Mammal Health Map 
established under section 408A the following: 
‘‘(1) NOAA Form 89–864 (OMB #0648–0178) 
and NOAA Form 89–878 (OMB #0648–0178), or 
similar successor form, not later than 30 days after 
the date of a response to a stranding or entangle-
ment event. 
‘‘(2) The information, including any data and 
metadata, described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of 
subsection (b), not later than 30 days after the date 
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that the information is available or updated, as ap-
plicable. 
‘‘(3) The information, including any data and 
metadata, described in paragraphs (3) and (4) of 
subsection (b), not later than 30 days after the date 
that the stranding network responds to a stranding 
or entanglement event.’’. 
SEC. 3. STRANDING OR ENTANGLEMENT RESPONSE AGREE-
MENTS. 
Section 403 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 
of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1421b) is amended— 
(1) in the section heading by inserting ‘‘OR EN-
TANGLEMENT’’ before ‘‘RESPONSE’’; and 
(2) in subsection (a), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘or entanglement.’’. 
SEC. 4. UNUSUAL MORTALITY EVENT ACTIVITY FUNDING. 
(a) USES OF THE MARINE MAMMAL UNUSUAL MOR-
TALITY EVENT FUND.—Subsection (b) of section 405 of 
the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 
1421d) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(b) USES.—Amounts in the Fund— 
‘‘(1) shall be available only for use by the Sec-
retary, in consultation with the Secretary of the In-
terior and dispersed among claimants based on 
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budgets approved by the Secretary prior to expendi-
ture— 
‘‘(A) to make advance, partial, or progress 
payments under contracts or other funding 
mechanisms for property, supplies, salaries, 
services, and travel costs incurred in acting in 
accordance with the contingency plan issued 
under section 404(b) or under the direction of 
an Onsite Coordinator for an unusual mortality 
event; 
‘‘(B) for reimbursing any stranding net-
work participant for costs incurred in the prep-
aration, analysis, and transportation of marine 
mammal tissues collected with respect to an un-
usual mortality event, including such transpor-
tation, for the Tissue Bank; and 
‘‘(C) for care and maintenance of marine 
mammal seized under section 104(c)(2)(D); and 
‘‘(2) shall remain available until expended.’’. 
(b) DEPOSITS INTO THE FUND.—Subsection (c) of 
section 405 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 
(16 U.S.C. 1421d) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
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(2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting a semicolon; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) sums received for marine mammal con-
servation, including assessment costs, fines, pen-
alties, restitution, natural resource damages, and 
forfeitures of property for violations of any provision 
of this Act or other environmental statute and sums 
received from emergency declaration grants for ma-
rine mammal conservation; and 
‘‘(5) up to $750,000 per fiscal year, as deter-
mined by the Secretary of Commerce and the Sec-
retary of the Interior, from amounts appropriated to 
the Secretary for carrying out this title and other ti-
tles of this Act.’’. 
SEC. 5. LIABILITY. 
Section 406(a) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 
of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1421e(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or 
entanglement’’ after ‘‘to a stranding’’. 
SEC. 6. NATIONAL MARINE MAMMAL TISSUE BANK AND TIS-
SUE ANALYSIS. 
Section 407 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 
of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1421f) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (c)(2)(A), by striking ‘‘the 
health of marine mammals’’ and inserting ‘‘marine 
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mammal health and mortality and the health of’’; 
and 
(2) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘public’’ be-
fore ‘‘access’’. 
SEC. 7. JOHN H. PRESCOTT MARINE MAMMAL RESCUE AND 
RESPONSE GRANT PROGRAM AND RAPID RE-
SPONSE FUND. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 408 of the Marine Mam-
mal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1421f–1) is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 408. JOHN H. PRESCOTT MARINE MAMMAL RESCUE 
AND RESPONSE GRANT PROGRAM AND RAPID 
RESPONSE FUND. 
‘‘(a) JOHN H. PRESCOTT MARINE MAMMAL RESCUE 
AND RESPONSE GRANT PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability 
of appropriations, the Secretary shall conduct a 
grant program to be known as the John H. Prescott 
Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant Pro-
gram (hereinafter in this section referred to as the 
‘Grant Program’) to award grants to eligible strand-
ing network participants or stranding network col-
laborators as described in this subsection. 
‘‘(2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Grant 
Program are to provide for— 
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‘‘(A) the recovery or treatment of sick, in-
jured, or entangled marine mammals; 
‘‘(B) marine mammal stranding events 
that require emergency assistance; 
‘‘(C) the collection of data and samples 
from living or dead stranded marine mammals 
for scientific research regarding marine mam-
mal health; 
‘‘(D) facility operating costs that are di-
rectly related to activities described in subpara-
graph (A), (B), or (C); and 
‘‘(E) development of Stranding Network 
capacity, including training for emergency re-
sponse, where facilities do not exist or are 
sparse. 
‘‘(3) CONTRACT, GRANT, AND
COOPERATIVE 
AGREEMENT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may enter 
into a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement with 
any person, as the Secretary determines appropriate, 
for the purposes described in paragraph (2). 
‘‘(4) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
ensure, to the extent practicable, that funds 
awarded under the Grant Program are distrib-
uted equitably among the stranding regions. 
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‘‘(B) PREFERENCES.—The Secretary shall 
give preference to awarding funds under the 
Grant Program in each stranding region to any 
facility with an established record of marine 
mammal rescue and rehabilitation, or of sci-
entific data collection and research on sick, 
stranded, or entangled marine mammals where 
such facilities exist. 
‘‘(C) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining 
priorities among the stranding regions under 
this paragraph, the Secretary may consider— 
‘‘(i) any episodic stranding, entangle-
ment, or mortality event, except for an un-
usual mortality event, that occurred in any 
stranding region in the preceding year; 
‘‘(ii) any data regarding average an-
nual stranding, entanglements, and mor-
tality events per stranding region; 
‘‘(iii) the size of the marine mammal 
populations inhabiting a geographic area 
within a stranding region; and 
‘‘(iv) the conservation of threatened or 
endangered marine mammal species. 
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‘‘(5) APPLICATION.—To apply for a grant 
under the Grant Program a stranding network par-
ticipant shall— 
‘‘(A) submit an application in such form 
and manner as the Secretary prescribes; and 
‘‘(B) comply with the data reporting re-
quirements of section 402(d). 
‘‘(6) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con-
sult with the Marine Mammal Commission, a rep-
resentative from each of the stranding regions, and 
other individuals who represent public and private 
organizations that are actively involved in rescue, re-
habilitation, release, scientific research, marine con-
servation, and forensic science regarding stranded 
marine mammals to develop criteria for awarding 
grants under the Grant Program. 
‘‘(7) LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) 
MAXIMUM
GRANT
AMOUNT.—No 
grant made under the Grant Program for a sin-
gle project may exceed $200,000 in any 12- 
month period. 
‘‘(B) UNEXPENDED
FUNDS.—Any funds 
awarded under the Grant Program that are un-
expended or unobligated at the end of a 12- 
month period— 
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