Marine Mammal Research and Response Act of 2021
Bill: S.1289 | Sponsor: Sen. Cantwell, Maria (D-WA)
Policy area: Animals

Summary:
Marine Mammal Research and Response Act of 2021
This bill provides support for efforts to protect marine mammals.
Specifically, the bill reauthorizes through FY2026 and generally revises the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program, including by renaming the program as the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant Program. The bill also establishes the Joseph R. Geraci Marine Mammal Rescue and Rapid Response Fund for providing emergency financial assistance for certain stranded or entangled marine mammals and otherwise provides support for marine mammals.

To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to reauthorize and 
   modify the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant 
                    Program, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Marine Mammal Research and Response 
Act of 2021''.

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)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ``or 
                entangled'' after ``stranded'';
                    (B) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) by striking ``strandings,'' and 
                        inserting ``strandings and entanglements, 
                        including unusual mortality events,'';
                            (ii) by inserting ``stranding'' before 
                        ``region''; and
                            (iii) by striking ``marine mammals; and'' 
                        and inserting ``marine mammals and entangled 
                        marine mammals to allow comparison of the 
                        causes of illness and deaths in stranded marine 
                        mammals and entangled marine mammals with 
                        physical, chemical, and biological 
                        environmental parameters; and''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ``analyses, that 
                would allow comparison of the causes of illness and 
                deaths in stranded marine mammals with physical, 
                chemical, and biological environmental parameters.'' 
                and inserting ``analyses.''; and
            (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:
    ``(c) Information Required To Be Submitted and Collected.--
            ``(1) In general.--After each response to a stranding or 
        entanglement event, the Secretary shall collect (including from 
        any staff of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration that respond directly to such an event), and 
        shall require each stranding network participant who responds 
        to that stranding or entanglement to submit to the 
        Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration--
                    ``(A) data on the stranding event, including NOAA 
                Form 89-864 (OMB #0648-0178), NOAA Form 89-878 (OMB 
                #0648-0178), similar successor forms, or similar 
                information in an appropriate format required by the 
                United States Fish and Wildlife Service for species 
                under its management authority;
                    ``(B) supplemental data to the data described in 
                subparagraph (A), which may include, as available, 
                relevant information about--
                            ``(i) weather and tide conditions;
                            ``(ii) offshore human, predator, or prey 
                        activity;
                            ``(iii) morphometrics;
                            ``(iv) behavior;
                            ``(v) health assessments;
                            ``(vi) life history samples; or
                            ``(vii) stomach and intestinal contents; 
                        and
                    ``(C) data and results from laboratory analysis of 
                tissues, which may include, as appropriate and 
                available--
                            ``(i) histopathology;
                            ``(ii) toxicology;
                            ``(iii) microbiology
                            ``(iv) virology; or
                            ``(v) parasitology.
            ``(2) Timeline.--A stranding network participant shall 
        submit--
                    ``(A) the data described in paragraph (1)(A) not 
                later than 30 days after the date of a response to a 
                stranding or entanglement event;
                    ``(B) the compiled data described in paragraph 
                (1)(B) not later than 30 days after the date on which 
                the data is available to the stranding network 
                participant; and
                    ``(C) the compiled data described in paragraph 
                (1)(C) not later than 30 days after the date on which 
                the laboratory analysis has been reported to the 
                stranding network participant.
    ``(d) Availability of Data.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall develop a program to 
        make information, including any data and metadata collected 
        under paragraphs (3) or (4) of subsection (b) or subsection 
        (c), available to researchers, stranding network participants, 
        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 interdisciplinary 
                research;
                    ``(D) to facilitate peer-reviewed publications;
                    ``(E) to archive regional data into 1 national 
                database for future analyses; and
                    ``(F) for education and outreach activities.
            ``(2) Access to data.--The Secretary shall ensure that any 
        data or metadata collected under subsection (c)--
                    ``(A) by staff of the National Oceanic and 
                Atmospheric Administration that responded directly to a 
                stranding or entanglement event is available to the 
                public through the Health MAP and the Observation 
                System not later than 30 days after that data or 
                metadata is collected by, available to, or reported to 
                the Secretary; and
                    ``(B) by a stranding network participant that 
                responded directly to a stranding or entanglement event 
                is made available to the public through the Health MAP 
                and the Observation System 2 years after the date on 
                which that data is submitted to the Secretary under 
                subsection (c).
            ``(3) Exceptions.--
                    ``(A) Written release.--Notwithstanding paragraph 
                (2)(B), the Secretary may make data described in 
                paragraph (2)(B) publicly available earlier than 2 
                years after the date on which that data is submitted to 
                the Secretary under subsection (c), if the stranding 
                network participant has completed a written release 
                stating that such data may be made publicly available.
                    ``(B) Law enforcement.--Notwithstanding paragraph 
                (2), the Secretary may withhold data for a longer 
                period than the period of time described in paragraph 
                (2) in the event of a law enforcement action or legal 
                action that may be related to that data.
    ``(e) Standards.--The Secretary, in consultation with the marine 
mammal stranding community, shall--
            ``(1) make publicly available guidance about uniform data 
        and metadata standards to ensure that data collected in 
        accordance with this section can be archived in a form that is 
        readily accessible and understandable to the public through the 
        Health MAP and the Observation System; and
            ``(2) periodically update such guidance.
    ``(f) Management Policy.--In collaboration with the regional 
stranding networks, the Secretary shall develop, and periodically 
update, a data management and public outreach collaboration policy for 
stranding or entanglement events.''.

SEC. 3. STRANDING OR ENTANGLEMENT RESPONSE AGREEMENTS.

    (a) In General.--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 entanglement'' 
        before ``response'';
            (2) in subsection (a), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``or entanglement.''; and
            (3) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' after the 
                semicolon;
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) include a description of the data management and 
        public outreach policy established under section 402(f).''.
    (b) Table of Contents Amendment.--The table of contents in the 
first section of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (Public Law 
92-522; 86 Stat. 1027) is amended by striking the item related to 
section 403 and inserting the following:

``Sec. 403. Stranding or entanglement response agreements.''.

SEC. 4. UNUSUAL MORTALITY EVENT ACTIVITY FUNDING.

    Section 405 the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 
1421d) is amended--
            (1) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
    ``(b) Uses.--Amounts in the Fund--
            ``(1) shall be available only for use by the Secretary, in 
        consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, and dispersed 
        among claimants based on budgets approved by the Secretary 
        prior to expenditure--
                    ``(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 designated under section 
                404(a)(2)(B)(iii);
                    ``(B) for reimbursing any stranding network 
                participant for costs incurred in the collection, 
                preparation, analysis, and transportation of marine 
                mammal tissues and samples collected with respect to an 
                unusual mortality event for the Tissue Bank; and
                    ``(C) for the care and maintenance of a marine 
                mammal seized under section 104(c)(2)(D); and
            ``(2) shall remain available until expended.''; and
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting a semicolon; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) not more than $250,000 per year, as determined by the 
        Secretary of Commerce, from sums collected as fines, penalties, 
        or forfeitures of property by the Secretary of Commerce for 
        violations of any provision of this Act; and
            ``(5) sums received from emergency declaration grants for 
        marine mammal conservation.''.

SEC. 5. LIABILITY.

    Section 406(a) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 
U.S.C. 1421e(a)) is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
            (1) by inserting ``or entanglement'' after ``to a 
        stranding''; and
            (2) by striking ``government'' and inserting 
        ``Government''.

SEC. 6. NATIONAL MARINE MAMMAL TISSUE BANK AND TISSUE 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'' and inserting ``marine mammal health and 
        mortality and the health of''; and
            (2) in subsection (d), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by inserting ``public'' before ``access''.

SEC. 7. MARINE MAMMAL RESCUE AND RESPONSE GRANT PROGRAM AND RAPID 
              RESPONSE FUND.

    (a) In General.--Section 408 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 
1972 (16 U.S.C. 1421f-1) is amended--
            (1) by striking the section heading and inserting ``marine 
        mammal rescue and response grant program and rapid response 
        fund'';
            (2) by striking subsections (a) through (d) and subsections 
        (f) through (h);
            (3) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f); and
            (4) by inserting before subsection (f), as redesignated by 
        paragraph (3), the following:
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Emergency assistance.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `emergency assistance' 
                means--
                            ``(i) financial assistance provided to 
                        respond to, or that results from, a stranding 
                        event or entanglement event that--
                                    ``(I) causes an immediate increase 
                                in the cost of a response, recovery, or 
                                rehabilitation that is greater than the 
                                usual cost of a response, recovery, or 
                                rehabilitation;
                                    ``(II) is cyclical or endemic; or
                                    ``(III) involves a marine mammal 
                                that is out of the normal range for 
                                that marine mammal; or
                            ``(ii) financial assistance provided to 
                        respond to, or that results from, a stranding 
                        event or an entanglement event that the 
                        appropriate Secretary or State or Tribal 
                        government considers to be an emergency.
                    ``(B) Exclusions.--The term `emergency assistance' 
                does not include financial assistance to respond to an 
                unusual mortality event.
            ``(2) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 3(12)(A).
            ``(3) Stranding region.--The term `stranding region' means 
        a geographic region designated by the applicable Secretary for 
        purposes of administration of this title.
    ``(b) John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant 
Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to the availability of 
        appropriations or other funding, the applicable Secretary shall 
        carry out a grant program, to be known as the `John H. Prescott 
        Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant Program' (referred to 
        in this section as the `grant program'), to award grants to 
        eligible stranding network participants or stranding network 
        collaborators, as described in this subsection.
            ``(2) Purposes.--The purposes of the grant program are to 
        provide for--
                    ``(A) the recovery, care, or treatment of sick, 
                injured, or entangled marine mammals;
                    ``(B) responses to 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 or assessments regarding marine mammal health;
                    ``(D) facility operating costs that are directly 
                related to activities described in subparagraph (A), 
                (B), or (C); and
                    ``(E) development of stranding network capacity, 
                including training for emergency response, where 
                facilities do not exist or are sparse.
            ``(3) Contract, grant, and cooperative agreement 
        authority.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The applicable Secretary may 
                enter into a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement 
                with any eligible stranding network participant or 
                stranding network collaborator, as the Secretary 
                determines to be appropriate, for the purposes 
                described in paragraph (2).
                    ``(B) Emergency award flexibility.--Following a 
                request for emergency award flexibility and analysis of 
                the merits of and necessity for such a request, the 
                applicable Secretary may--
                            ``(i) amend any contract, grant, or 
                        cooperative agreement entered into under this 
                        paragraph, including provisions concerning the 
                        period of performance; or
                            ``(ii) waive the requirements under 
                        subsection (f) for grant applications submitted 
                        during the provision of emergency assistance.
            ``(4) Equitable distribution of funds.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall ensure, to 
                the extent practicable, that funds awarded under the 
                grant program are distributed equitably among the 
                stranding regions.
                    ``(B) Considerations.--In determining priorities 
                among the stranding regions under this paragraph, the 
                Secretary may consider--
                            ``(i) equitable distribution within the 
                        stranding regions, including the sub regions 
                        (including, but not limited to, the Gulf of 
                        Mexico);
                            ``(ii) any episodic stranding, 
                        entanglement, or mortality events, except for 
                        unusual mortality events, that occurred in any 
                        stranding region in the preceding year;
                            ``(iii) any data with respect to average 
                        annual stranding, entanglements, and mortality 
                        events per stranding region;
                            ``(iv) the size of the marine mammal 
                        populations inhabiting a stranding region;
                            ``(v) the importance of the region's marine 
                        mammal populations to the well-being of 
                        indigenous communities; and
                            ``(vi) the conservation of protected, 
                        depleted, threatened, or endangered marine 
                        mammal species.
                    ``(C) Strandings.--For the purposes of this 
                program, priority is to be given to applications 
                focusing on marine mammal strandings.
            ``(5) Application.--To be eligible for a grant under the 
        grant program, a stranding network participant shall--
                    ``(A) submit an application in such form and manner 
                as the applicable Secretary prescribes; and
                    ``(B) be in compliance with the data reporting 
                requirements under section 402(d) and any applicable 
                reporting requirements of the United States Fish and 
                Wildlife Service for species under its management 
                jurisdiction.
            ``(6) Grant criteria.--The Secretary shall, in consultation 
        with the Marine Mammal Commission, a representative from each 
        of the stranding regions, and other individuals who represent 
        public and private organizations that are actively involved in 
        rescue, rehabilitation, release, scientific research, marine 
        conservation, and forensic science with respect to stranded 
        marine mammals under that Department's jurisdiction, develop 
        criteria for awarding grants under their respective grant 
        programs.
            ``(7) Limitations.--
                    ``(A) Maximum grant amount.--No grant made under 
                the grant program for a single award may exceed 
                $150,000 in any 12-month period.
                    ``(B) Unexpended funds.--Any funds that have been 
                awarded under the grant program but that are unexpended 
                at the end of the 12-month period described in 
                subparagraph (A) shall remain available until expended.
            ``(8) Administrative costs and expenses.--The Secretary's 
        administrative costs and expenses related to reviewing and 
        awarding grants under the grant program, in any fiscal year may 
        not exceed the greater of--
                    ``(A) 6 percent of the amounts made available each 
                fiscal year to carry out the grant program; or
                    ``(B) $80,000.
            ``(9) Transparency.--The Secretary shall make publicly 
        available a list of grant proposals for the upcoming fiscal 
        year, funded grants, and requests for grant flexibility under 
        this subsection.
    ``(c) Joseph R. Geraci Marine Mammal Rescue and Rapid Response 
Fund.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is established in the Treasury of 
        the United States an interest-bearing fund, to be known as the 
        `Joseph R. Geraci Marine Mammal Rescue and Rapid Response Fund' 
        (referred to in this section as the `Rapid Response Fund').
            ``(2) Use of funds.--Amounts in the Rapid Response Fund 
        shall be available only for use by the Secretary to provide 
        emergency assistance.
    ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) In general.--
                    ``(A) Authorization of appropriations.--There is 
                authorized to be appropriated to carry out the grant 
                program $7,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 
                through 2026, to remain available until expended, of 
                which for each fiscal year--
                            ``(i) $6,000,000 shall be made available to 
                        the Secretary of Commerce; and
                            ``(ii) $1,000,000 shall be made available 
                        to the Secretary of the Interior.
                    ``(B) Derivation of funds.--Funds to carry out the 
                activities under this section shall be derived from 
                amounts authorized to be appropriated pursuant to 
                subparagraph (A) that are enacted after the date of 
                enactment of the Marine Mammal Research and Response 
                Act of 2021.
            ``(2) Joseph r. geraci marine mammal rescue and rapid 
        response fund.--There is authorized to be appropriated to the 
        Rapid Response Fund $500,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 
        through 2026.
    ``(e) Acceptance of Donations.--For the purposes of carrying out 
this section, the Secretary may solicit, accept, receive, hold, 
administer, and use gifts, devises, and bequests without any further 
approval or administrative action.''.
    (b) Table of Contents Amendment.--The table of contents in the 
first section of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (Public Law 
92-522; 86 Stat. 1027) (as amended by section 3(b)) is amended by 
striking the item related to section 408 and inserting the following:

``Sec. 408. Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant Program and Rapid 
                            Response Fund.''.

SEC. 8. HEALTH MAP.

    (a) In General.--Title IV of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 
1972 (16 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 408 
the following:

``SEC. 408A. MARINE MAMMAL HEALTH MONITORING AND ANALYSIS PLATFORM 
              (HEALTH MAP).

    ``(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of the Marine Mammal Research and Response Act of 2021, the 
Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, in consultation with the Secretary of the 
Interior and the Marine Mammal Commission, shall--
            ``(1) establish a marine mammal health monitoring and 
        analysis platform (referred to in this Act as the `Health 
        MAP');
            ``(2) incorporate the Health MAP into the Observation 
        System; and
            ``(3) make the Health MAP--
                    ``(A) publicly accessible through the web portal of 
                the Observation System; and
                    ``(B) interoperable with other national data 
                systems or other data systems for management or 
                research purposes, as practicable.
    ``(b) Purposes.--The purposes of the Health MAP are--
            ``(1) to promote--
                    ``(A) interdisciplinary research among individuals 
                with knowledge and experience in marine mammal science, 
                marine mammal veterinary and husbandry practices, 
                medical science, and oceanography, and with other 
                marine scientists;
                    ``(B) timely and sustained dissemination and 
                availability of marine mammal health, stranding, 
                entanglement, and mortality data;
                    ``(C) identification of spatial and temporal 
                patterns of marine mammal mortality, disease, and 
                stranding;
                    ``(D) evaluation of marine mammal health in terms 
                of mortality, as well as sublethal marine mammal health 
                impacts;
                    ``(E) improved collaboration and forecasting of 
                marine mammal and larger ecosystem health events;
                    ``(F) rapid communication and dissemination of 
                information regarding marine mammal strandings that may 
                have implications for human health, such as those 
                caused by harmful algal blooms; and
                    ``(G) increased accessibility of data in a user 
                friendly visual interface for public education and 
                outreach; and
            ``(2) to contribute to an ocean health index that 
        incorporates marine mammal health data.
    ``(c) Requirements.--The Health MAP shall--
            ``(1) integrate in situ, remote, and other marine mammal 
        health, stranding, and mortality data, including visualizations 
        and metadata, collected by marine mammal stranding networks, 
        Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments, private 
        partners, and academia; and
            ``(2) be designed--
                    ``(A) to enhance data and information availability, 
                including data sharing among stranding network 
                participants, scientists, and the public within and 
                across stranding network regions;
                    ``(B) to facilitate data and information access 
                across scientific disciplines, scientists, and 
                managers;
                    ``(C) to facilitate public access to national and 
                regional marine mammal health, stranding, entanglement, 
                and mortality data, including visualizations and 
                metadata, through the national and regional data 
                portals of the Observation System; and
                    ``(D) in collaboration with, and with input from, 
                States and stranding network participants.
    ``(d) Procedures and Guidelines.--The Secretary shall establish and 
implement policies, protocols, and standards for--
            ``(1) reporting marine mammal health data collected by 
        stranding networks consistent with subsections (c) and (d) of 
        section 402;
            ``(2) promptly transmitting health data from the stranding 
        networks and other appropriate data providers to the Health 
        MAP;
            ``(3) disseminating and making publicly available data on 
        marine mammal health, stranding, entanglement, and mortality 
        data in a timely and sustained manner; and
            ``(4) integrating additional marine mammal health, 
        stranding, or other relevant data as the Secretary determines 
        appropriate.
    ``(e) Consultation.--The Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration shall maintain and update the Health MAP in 
consultation with the Secretary of the Interior and the Marine Mammal 
Commission.
    ``(f) Contributions.--For purposes of carrying out this section, 
the Secretary may solicit, accept, receive, hold, administer, and use 
gifts, devises, and bequests without any further approval or 
administrative action.''.
    (b) Table of Contents Amendment.--The table of contents in the 
first section of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (Public Law 
92-522; 86 Stat. 1027) (as amended by section 7(b)) is amended by 
inserting after the item related to section 408 the following:

``Sec. 408A. Marine Mammal Health Monitoring and Analysis Platform 
                            (Health MAP).''.

SEC. 9. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

    (a) In General.--Title IV of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 
1972 (16 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.) (as amended by section 8(a)) is amended 
by inserting after section 408A the following:

``SEC. 408B. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

    ``(a) Definition of Appropriate Committees of Congress.--In this 
section, the term `appropriate committees of Congress' means--
            ``(1) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
        Transportation of the Senate;
            ``(2) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
        Representatives; and
            ``(3) the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 
        the House of Representatives.
    ``(b) Health MAP Status Report.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 2 year after the date of 
        enactment of the Marine Mammal Research and Response Act of 
        2021, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration, in consultation with the Marine Mammal 
        Commission, the Secretary of the Interior, and the National 
        Ocean Research Leadership Council, shall submit to the 
        appropriate committees of Congress a report describing the 
        status of the Health MAP.
            ``(2) Requirements.--The report under paragraph (1) shall 
        include--
                    ``(A) a detailed evaluation of the data made 
                publicly available through the Health MAP;
                    ``(B) a detailed list of any gaps in data collected 
                pursuant to the Health MAP, a description of the 
                reasons for those gaps, and recommended actions to 
                close those gaps;
                    ``(C) an analysis of the effectiveness of using the 
                website of the Observation System as the platform to 
                collect, organize, visualize, archive, and disseminate 
                marine mammal stranding and health data;
                    ``(D) a list of publications, presentations, or 
                other relevant work product resulting from, or produced 
                in collaboration with, the Health MAP;
                    ``(E) a description of emerging marine mammal 
                health concerns and the applicability of those concerns 
                to human health;
                    ``(F) an analysis of the feasibility of the 
                Observation System being used as an alert system during 
                stranding events, entanglement events, and unusual 
                mortality events for the stranding network, Observation 
                System partners, Health MAP partners, Federal and State 
                agencies, and local and Tribal governments;
                    ``(G) an evaluation of the use of Health MAP data 
                to predict broader ecosystem events and changes that 
                may impact marine mammal or human health and specific 
                examples of proven or potential uses of Observation 
                System data for those purposes; and
                    ``(H) recommendations for the Health MAP with 
                respect to--
                            ``(i) filling any identified data gaps;
                            ``(ii) standards that could be used to 
                        improve data quality, accessibility, 
                        transmission, interoperability, and sharing;
                            ``(iii) any other strategies that would 
                        contribute to the effectiveness and usefulness 
                        of the Health MAP; and
                            ``(iv) the funding levels needed to 
                        maintain and improve the Health MAP.
    ``(c) Data Gap Analysis.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 5 years after the date on 
        which the report required under subsection (b)(1) is submitted, 
        and every 10 years thereafter, the Administrator of the 
        National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in 
        consultation with the Marine Mammal Commission and the 
        Secretary of Commerce, shall--
                    ``(A) make publicly available a report on the data 
                gap analysis described in paragraph (2); and
                    ``(B) provide a briefing to the appropriate 
                committees of Congress concerning that data gap 
                analysis.
            ``(2) Requirements.--The data gap analysis under paragraph 
        (1) shall include--
                    ``(A) an overview of existing participants within a 
                marine mammal stranding network;
                    ``(B) an identification of coverage needs and 
                participant gaps within a network;
                    ``(C) an identification of data and reporting gaps 
                from members of a network; and
                    ``(D) an analysis of how stranding and health data 
                are shared and made available to scientists, academics, 
                State, local, and Tribal governments, and the public.
    ``(d) Marine Mammal Response Capabilities in the Arctic.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of the Marine Mammal Research and Response Act of 
        2021, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration, the Director of the United States Fish and 
        Wildlife Service, and the Director of the United States 
        Geologic Survey, in consultation with the Marine Mammal 
        Commission and the Secretary of the Interior, shall--
                    ``(A) make publicly available a report describing 
                the response capabilities for sick and injured marine 
                mammals in the Arctic regions of the United States; and
                    ``(B) provide a briefing to the appropriate 
                committees of Congress on that report.
            ``(2) Arctic.--The term `Arctic' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 112 of the Arctic Research and Policy Act of 
        1984 (15 U.S.C. 4111).
            ``(3) Requirements.--The report under paragraph (1) shall 
        include--
                    ``(A) a description, developed in consultation with 
                the Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the 
                Interior, of all marine mammal stranding agreements in 
                place for the Arctic region of the United States, 
                including species covered, response capabilities, 
                facilities and equipment, and data collection and 
                analysis capabilities;
                    ``(B) a list of State and local government agencies 
                that have personnel trained to respond to marine mammal 
                strandings in the Arctic region of the United States;
                    ``(C) an assessment of potential response and data 
                collection partners and sources of local information 
                and knowledge, including Alaska Native people and 
                villages;
                    ``(D) an analysis of spatial and temporal trends in 
                marine mammal strandings and unusual mortality events 
                that are correlated with changing environmental 
                conditions in the Arctic region of the United States;
                    ``(E) a description of training and other resource 
                needs to meet emerging response requirements in the 
                Arctic region of the United States;
                    ``(F) an analysis of oiled marine mammal response 
                and rehabilitation capabilities in the Arctic region of 
                the United States, including personnel, equipment, 
                facilities, training, and husbandry capabilities, and 
                an assessment of factors that affect response and 
                rehabilitation success rates; and
                    ``(G) recommendations to address future stranding 
                response needs for marine mammals in the Arctic region 
                of the United States.''.
    (b) Table of Contents Amendment.--The table of contents in the 
first section of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (Public Law 
92-522; 86 Stat. 1027) (as amended by section 8(b)) is amended by 
inserting after the item related to section 408A the following:

``Sec. 408B. Reports to Congress.''.

SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 409 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 
1421g) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``1993 and 1994;'' and 
        inserting ``2021 through 2026;'';
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``1993 and 1994;'' and 
        inserting ``2021 through 2026;''; and
            (3) in paragraph (3), by striking ``fiscal year 1993.'' and 
        inserting ``for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2026.''.

SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 410 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 
1421h) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (6) as 
        paragraphs (2), (5), (6), (7), (8), and (9), respectively;
            (2) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so redesignated) 
        the following:
            ``(1) The term `entangle' or `entanglement' means an event 
        in the wild in which a living or dead marine mammal has gear, 
        rope, line, net, or other material wrapped around or attached 
        to the marine mammal and is--
                    ``(A) on lands under the jurisdiction of the United 
                States, including beaches and shorelines; or
                    ``(B) in waters under the jurisdiction of the 
                United States, including any navigable waters.'';
            (3) in paragraph (2) (as so redesignated) by striking ``The 
        term'' and inserting ``Except as used in section 408, the 
        term'';
            (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) (as so redesignated) 
        the following:
            ``(3) The term `Health MAP' means the Marine Mammal Health 
        Monitoring and Analysis Platform established under section 
        408A(a)(1).
            ``(4) The term `Observation System' means the National 
        Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System established 
        under section 12304 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 
        Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603).''.

SEC. 12. STUDY ON MARINE MAMMAL MORTALITY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 12 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and 
Atmosphere shall, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior 
and the Marine Mammal Commission, conduct a study evaluating the 
connections among marine heat waves, frequency and intensity of harmful 
algal blooms, prey availability, and habitat degradation, and the 
impacts of these conditions on marine mammal mortality.
    (b) Report.--The Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and 
Atmosphere, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior and the 
Marine Mammal Commission, shall prepare, post to a publicly available 
website, and brief the appropriate committees of Congress on, a report 
containing the results of the study described in subsection (a). The 
report shall identify priority research activities, opportunities for 
collaboration, and current gaps in effort and resource limitations 
related to advancing scientific understanding of how ocean heat waves, 
harmful algae blooms, availability of prey, and habitat degradation 
impact marine mammal mortality. The report shall include 
recommendations for policies needed to mitigate and respond to 
mortality events.
                                                       Calendar No. 212

117th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                                S. 1289

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