Title: First Step Act of 2018
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Save Our Seas Act of 2017 or the SOS Act of 2017
This bill amends the Marine Debris Act to revise the Marine Debris Program to require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to work with: (1) other agencies to address both land- and sea-based sources of marine debris, and (2) the Department of State and other agencies to promote international action to reduce the incidence of marine debris.
The bill also revises the program by allowing NOAA to make sums available for assisting in the cleanup and response required by severe marine debris events. NOAA must prioritize assistance for activities that respond to a severe marine debris event in: (1) a rural or remote community, or (2) a habitat of national concern.
The bill urges the President to: (1) work with foreign countries that contribute the most to the global marine debris problem in order to find a solution to the problem; (2) study issues related to marine debris, including the economic impacts of marine debris; and (3) encourage the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to consider the impact of marine debris in relevant future trade agreements.
The Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee must expand to include a senior official from the State Department or from the Department of the Interior.
This bill reauthorizes for FY2018-FY2022: (1) the Marine Debris Program, (2) an information clearinghouse on marine debris, and (3) enforcement of laws about discarded marine debris from ships.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 756 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 756

To reauthorize and amend the Marine Debris Act to promote international 
        action to reduce marine debris, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 29, 2017

 Mr. Sullivan (for himself, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Booker, Mr. Coons, Mr. 
   Peters, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Tillis, and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To reauthorize and amend the Marine Debris Act to promote international 
        action to reduce marine debris, 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 ``Save Our Seas Act of 2017'' or the 
``SOS Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. NOAA MARINE DEBRIS PROGRAM.

    Subsection (b) of section 3 of the Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. 
1952(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (5)(C), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) work with other Federal agencies to develop outreach 
        and education strategies to address both land- and sea-based 
        sources of marine debris; and
            ``(7) work with the Department of State and other Federal 
        agencies to promote international action to reduce the 
        incidence of marine debris.''.

SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR SEVERE MARINE DEBRIS EVENTS.

    Section 3 of the Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. 1952) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Assistance for Severe Marine Debris Events.--
            ``(1) In general.--At the discretion of the Administrator 
        or at the request of the Governor of an affected State, the 
        Administrator shall determine whether there is a severe marine 
        debris event.
            ``(2) Assistance.--
                    ``(A) In general.--If the Administrator makes a 
                determination under paragraph (1) that there is a 
                severe marine debris event, the Administrator is 
                authorized to make sums available to be used by the 
                affected State or by the Administrator in cooperation 
                with the affected State--
                            ``(i) to assist in the cleanup and response 
                        required by the severe marine debris event; or
                            ``(ii) such other activity as the 
                        Administrator determines is appropriate in 
                        response to the severe marine debris event.
                    ``(B) Priority assistance.--In providing assistance 
                under this paragraph, the Administrator shall 
                prioritize assistance for activities to respond to a 
                severe marine debris event--
                            ``(i) in a rural or remote community; or
                            ``(ii) in a habitat of national concern.
            ``(3) Funding.--
                    ``(A) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost 
                of an activity carried out under the authority of this 
                subsection shall be--
                            ``(i) if the activity is funded wholly by 
                        funds made available by an entity, including 
                        the government of a foreign country, to the 
                        Federal Government for the purpose of 
                        responding to a severe marine debris event, 100 
                        percent of the cost of the activity; or
                            ``(ii) for any activity other than an 
                        activity funded as described in clause (i), 75 
                        percent of the cost of the activity.
                    ``(B) Limitation on administrative expenses.--In 
                the case of an activity funded as described in 
                subparagraph (A)(i), not more than 5 percent of the 
                funds made available for the activity may be used by 
                the Administrator for administrative expenses.''.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT TO RESPOND TO 
              MARINE DEBRIS.

    It is the sense of Congress that the President should--
            (1) support Federal funding for research and development of 
        bio-based and other alternatives or environmentally feasible 
        improvements to materials that reduce municipal solid waste and 
        its consequences in the ocean;
            (2) work with representatives of foreign countries that 
        contribute the most to the global marine debris problem to 
        learn about, and find solutions to, the contributions of such 
        countries to marine debris in the world's oceans;
            (3) carry out studies to determine--
                    (A) the primary means by which solid waste enters 
                the oceans;
                    (B) the manner in which waste management 
                infrastructure can be most effective in preventing 
                debris from reaching the oceans;
                    (C) the long-term economic impacts of marine debris 
                on the national economies of each country set out in 
                paragraph (1) and on the global economy; and
                    (D) the economic benefits of decreasing the amount 
                of marine debris in the oceans;
            (4) work with representatives of foreign countries that 
        contribute the most to the global marine debris problem, 
        including land-based sources, to conclude one or more new 
        international agreements that include provisions--
                    (A) to mitigate the risk of land-based marine 
                debris contributed by such countries reaching an ocean; 
                and
                    (B) to increase technical assistance and investment 
                in waste management infrastructure, if the President 
                determines appropriate; and
            (5) encourage the United States Trade Representative to 
        consider the impact of marine debris in relevant future trade 
        agreements.

SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP OF THE INTERAGENCY MARINE DEBRIS COORDINATING 
              COMMITTEE.

    Section 5(b) of the Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. 1954(b)) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a 
        semicolon;
            (2) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (7); and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
            ``(5) the Department of State;
            ``(6) the Department of the Interior; and''.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 9 of the Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. 1958) is amended to 
read as follows:

``SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year 2018 
through 2022--
            ``(1) to the Administrator for carrying out sections 3, 5, 
        and 6, $10,000,000, of which no more than 10 percent may be for 
        administrative costs; and
            ``(2) to the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast 
        Guard is operating, for the use of the Commandant of the Coast 
        Guard in carrying out section 4, $2,000,000, of which no more 
        than 10 percent may be used for administrative costs.''.
                                 <all>