I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9255 
To amend the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act to improve the administration of 
the Marine Debris Foundation, to amend the Marine Debris Act to 
improve the administration of the Marine Debris Program of the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 31, 2022 
Ms. BONAMICI (for herself, Miss GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N, Mrs. PELTOLA, Ms. PIN-
GREE, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. LIEU, and Mr. HUFFMAN) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Trans-
portation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Nat-
ural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak-
er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju-
risdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act to improve the admin-
istration of the Marine Debris Foundation, to amend 
the Marine Debris Act to improve the administration 
of the Marine Debris Program of the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration, 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 ‘‘Save Our Seas 2.0 
Amendments Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. MODIFICATIONS TO THE MARINE DEBRIS FOUNDA-
TION. 
(a) STATUS OF FOUNDATION.—Section 111(a) of the 
Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (33 U.S.C. 4211(a)) is amended, 
in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘organization’’ and in-
serting ‘‘corporation’’. 
(b) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 
(1) APPOINTMENTS
AND
REMOVAL.—Section 
112(b) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 4212(b)) is amend-
ed— 
(A) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre-
ceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘and 
such other criteria as the Under Secretary may 
establish’’ after ‘‘subsection (a)’’; 
(B) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘the 
Administrator of the United States Agency for 
International Development,’’ after ‘‘Service,’’; 
(C) by redesignating subparagraphs (2) 
through (5) as subparagraphs (3) through (6), 
respectively; and 
(D) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 
following: 
‘‘(2) RECOMMENDATIONS OF BOARD REGARD-
ING
APPOINTMENTS.—For 
appointments 
made 
under paragraph (1) other than the initial appoint-
ments, the Board shall submit to the Under Sec-
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retary recommendations on candidates for appoint-
ment.’’. 
(2) GENERAL POWERS.—Section 112(g) of such 
Act (33 U.S.C. 4212(g)) is amended— 
(A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘offi-
cers and employees’’ and inserting ‘‘the initial 
officers and employees of the Board’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (2)(B)(i), by striking 
‘‘chief operating officer’’ and inserting ‘‘chief 
executive officer’’. 
(3) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.—Section 112 
of such Act (33 U.S.C. 4212) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(h) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.— 
‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT; REMOVAL; REVIEW.—The 
Board shall appoint and may remove and review the 
performance of the chief executive officer of the 
Board. 
‘‘(2) POWERS.—The chief executive officer of 
the Board may appoint, remove, and review the per-
formance of any officer or employee of the Founda-
tion.’’. 
(c) POWERS OF FOUNDATION.—Section 113(c)(1) of 
such Act (33 U.S.C. 4213(c)(1)) is amended, in the mat-
ter preceding subparagraph (A)— 
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(1) by inserting ‘‘nonprofit’’ before ‘‘corpora-
tion’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘acting as a trustee’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘formed’’. 
(d) PRINCIPAL OFFICE.—Section 113 of such Act 
(33 U.S.C. 4213) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(g) PRINCIPAL OFFICE.—The Board may locate the 
principal office of the Foundation outside the District of 
Columbia and is encouraged to locate that office in a 
coastal State.’’. 
(e) USE OF FUNDS.—Section 118 of such Act (33 
U.S.C. 4218) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and 
State and local government agencies’’ and in-
serting ‘‘, State and local government agencies, 
United States and international nongovern-
mental organizations, regional organizations, 
and foreign government entities’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (3)— 
(i) in the paragraph heading, by strik-
ing ‘‘PROHIBITION’’ and inserting ‘‘LIMI-
TATION’’; and 
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(ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(B) SALARIES.—The Foundation may use 
Federal funds described in subparagraph (A) to 
pay for salaries only during the 24-month pe-
riod beginning on the date of the enactment of 
this Act. The Secretary shall not require reim-
bursement from the Foundation for any such 
Federal funds used to pay for such salaries.’’; 
and 
(2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘and State 
and local government agencies’’ and inserting ‘‘, 
State and local government agencies, United States 
and international nongovernmental organizations, re-
gional organizations, and foreign government enti-
ties’’. 
SEC. 3. MODIFICATIONS TO THE MARINE DEBRIS PROGRAM 
OF THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOS-
PHERIC ADMINISTRATION. 
(a) GRANTS, COOPERATIVE
AGREEMENTS, CON-
TRACTS, AND OTHER AGREEMENTS.—Section 3(d) of the 
Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. 1952(d)) is amended— 
(1) in the subsection heading, by striking ‘‘AND 
CONTRACTS’’ and inserting ‘‘CONTRACTS, 
AND 
OTHER AGREEMENTS’’; 
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(2) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and con-
tracts’’ and inserting ‘‘, contracts, and other agree-
ments’’; 
(3) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) in subparagraph (B)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘part of the’’ and in-
serting ‘‘part of a’’; and 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘or (C)’’ after ‘‘sub-
paragraph (A)’’; and 
(B) in subparagraph (C), in the matter 
preceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘and except as 
provided in subparagraph (B)’’ after ‘‘subpara-
graph (A)’’; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(7) IN-KIND
CONTRIBUTIONS.—With respect 
to any project carried out pursuant to a contract or 
other agreement entered into under paragraph (1) 
that is not a cooperative agreement or an agreement 
to provide financial assistance in the form of a 
grant, the Administrator may contribute on an in- 
kind basis the portion of the costs of the project that 
the Administrator determines represents the amount 
of benefit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration derives from the project.’’. 
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(b) RECEIPT AND EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS; USE OF 
RESOURCES.—Section 3 of the Marine Debris Act (33 
U.S.C. 1952) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(e) RECEIPT AND EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS.—In 
order to accomplish the purpose set forth in section 2, the 
Administrator, acting through the Program, may receive 
and, only to the extent provided in advance in appropria-
tions Acts, expend funds made available by— 
‘‘(1) any department, agency, or instrumen-
tality of the United States; 
‘‘(2) any State, local, or tribal government (or 
any political subdivision thereof); 
‘‘(3) any foreign government or international 
organization; 
‘‘(4) any public or private organization; or 
‘‘(5) any individual. 
‘‘(f) USE OF RESOURCES.—In order to accomplish 
the purpose set forth in section 2, the Administrator, act-
ing through the Program, may use, with consent, with re-
imbursement, and subject to the availability of appropria-
tions, the land, services, equipment, personnel, and facili-
ties of— 
‘‘(1) any department, agency, or instrumen-
tality of the United States; 
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‘‘(2) any State, local, or tribal government (or 
any political subdivision thereof); 
‘‘(3) any foreign government or international 
organization; 
‘‘(4) any public or private organization; or 
‘‘(5) any individual.’’. 
SEC. 4. BEST PRACTICES. 
Section 113 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (33 U.S.C. 
4213) (as amended by section 2(d)) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(h) BEST PRACTICES.— 
‘‘(1) TRIBAL
GOVERNMENT.—In this para-
graph, the term ‘Tribal government’ means the rec-
ognized governing body of any Indian or Alaska Na-
tive tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community, 
component band, or component reservation individ-
ually identified (including parenthetically) in the list 
published most recently as of the date of enactment 
of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act pursuant 
to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian 
Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 
‘‘(2) BEST PRACTICES.—The Foundation shall 
develop and implement best practices for conducting 
outreach to Tribal governments and Indian Tribes. 
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‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—The best practices de-
veloped under paragraph (2) shall— 
‘‘(A) include a process to support technical 
assistance and capacity building to improve out-
comes; and 
‘‘(B) promote an awareness of programs 
and grants available under this Act.’’. 
Æ 
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