Title: PLASTICS Act
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Partnering and Leveraging Assistance to Stop Trash for International Cleaner Seas Act or the PLASTICS Act
This bill authorizes the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to prioritize and advance global efforts to prevent and reduce marine debris and plastic waste. The State Department and USAID are authorized to work with private-sector and nongovernmental entities to complement such efforts.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4636 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4636

To authorize the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United 
 States Agency for International Development to prioritize and advance 
  efforts to improve waste management systems and prevent and reduce 
        plastic waste and marine debris, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 11, 2019

 Mr. McCaul (for himself and Mr. Engel) introduced the following bill; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United 
 States Agency for International Development to prioritize and advance 
  efforts to improve waste management systems and prevent and reduce 
        plastic waste and 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 ``Partnering and Leveraging Assistance 
to Stop Trash for International Cleaner Seas Act'' or the ``PLASTICS 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Eight million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean 
        every year. Marine debris damages the health of marine life, 
        impedes local economic development, and threatens health 
        systems. Ten river systems carry an estimated 90 percent of the 
        plastic waste that ends up in the ocean.
            (2) Mismanaged plastic waste has the highest risk of 
        contaminating rivers and oceans. China contributes the largest 
        share of this mismanaged waste, followed by Indonesia, the 
        Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Egypt, Nigeria, and South 
        Africa. The United States is the world's second-largest 
        producer and consumer of plastics products, and the top 
        exporter of plastic scrap.
            (3) Most marine debris, particularly plastics, enters the 
        oceans from land-based sources, mainly in developing countries, 
        that lack the capacity to adequately manage waste and prevent 
        dumping.
            (4) During the Our Ocean Conference in October 2018, the 
        United States announced assistance to prevent marine debris 
        from entering the ocean through development of waste management 
        systems and reduce plastics in marine protected areas in the 
        Indo-Pacific.
            (5) During the June 2019 G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, the 
        United States joined other G20 members in endorsing the ``Osaka 
        Blue Ocean Vision'' to reduce additional pollution by marine 
        plastic litter to zero by 2050 and the G20 Implementation 
        Framework for Actions on Marine Plastic Litter, which outlines 
        a commitment to prevent and reduce plastic debris in the oceans 
        through waste management and clean-up efforts to remove marine 
        plastic debris and prioritizes efforts to advance innovative 
        solutions and international cooperation to support such 
        initiatives.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States to consult, partner, and 
coordinate with the governments of foreign countries, international 
organizations, private and civil society entities, and other 
stakeholders in a concerted effort to--
            (1) prevent and reduce marine debris and plastic waste, 
        including through reduced consumption, greater transparency in 
        global trade of plastic waste, and support for integrated waste 
        management systems in developing countries;
            (2) advance innovative market-based solutions and catalyze 
        private capital to prevent and reduce marine debris and plastic 
        waste, support integrated waste management systems, and improve 
        market demand for recycled material;
            (3) build the capacity of national and subnational 
        governments in other countries to develop and implement 
        integrated waste management systems, measure and report 
        progress in reducing plastic waste, and prevent plastic waste 
        from entering rivers and oceans;
            (4) support local economic development through programs 
        that assist community members, particularly women, youth, and 
        marginalized populations, to derive economic benefit from waste 
        products and participation in waste management systems; and
            (5) engage in international and regional cooperation to 
        prevent and reduce marine debris and plastic waste, share best 
        practices, and empower national and subnational governments, 
        local communities, civil society, and the private sector to 
        engage in such efforts.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that, in pursuing the policy described 
in section 3, the President should direct United States representatives 
to appropriate international bodies to use the voice, vote, and 
influence of the United States to advocate support for the following:
            (1) Efforts to improve transparency in global trade of 
        plastic waste, improve plastic waste regulation to ensure the 
        safety of humans and the environment, strengthen integrated 
        waste management systems, and prevent, reduce, reuse, and 
        recycle plastic waste, to the extent practical.
            (2) Collaborative approaches to establish measurable 
        targets and objectives, with related action plans, for reducing 
        marine debris and plastic waste from all sources and sharing 
        best practices in waste prevention and management systems to 
        prevent plastic waste.

SEC. 5. UNITED STATES SUPPORT TO IMPROVE WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND 
              PREVENT AND REDUCE MARINE DEBRIS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State and the Administrator of 
the United States Agency for International Development, in coordination 
with the heads of relevant Federal departments and agencies, are 
authorized to prioritize and advance ongoing global efforts to--
            (1) prevent and reduce marine debris and plastic waste, 
        including through reduced consumption, greater transparency in 
        global trade of plastic waste, and support for integrated waste 
        management systems in developing countries;
            (2) advance innovative market-based solutions and catalyze 
        private capital to prevent and reduce marine debris and plastic 
        waste, support integrated waste management systems, and improve 
        market demand for recycled material;
            (3) build the capacity of national and subnational 
        governments in other countries to develop and implement 
        integrated waste management systems, measure and report 
        progress in reducing plastic waste, and prevent plastic waste 
        from entering rivers and oceans; and
            (4) support local economic development through programs 
        that assist community members, particularly women, youth, and 
        marginalized populations, to derive economic benefit from waste 
        products and participation in waste management systems.
    (b) Coordination With Private Sector.--The Secretary and the 
Administrator, in coordination with the Chief Executive Officer of the 
U.S. Development Finance Corporation and the Chief Executive Officer of 
the Millennium Challenge Corporation and in consultation with the heads 
of relevant Federal departments and agencies, are authorized and 
encouraged to work with entities in the private sector and with 
nongovernmental organizations to leverage sources of public and private 
capital to complement the efforts described in subsection (a), 
including by financing infrastructure investments, supporting capacity-
building activities, and entering into cost-sharing, cost-matching, and 
other cooperative agreements to support and finance such efforts.
    (c) Monitoring and Evaluation.--The Secretary and the Administrator 
shall establish monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, including 
measurable goals, objectives, and benchmarks, to ensure the effective 
use of United States foreign assistance to achieve the objectives 
described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (a).
    (d) Domestic Resource Mobilization.--In carrying out the authority 
under subsection (a), the Secretary and the Administrator, in 
coordination with the heads of relevant Federal departments and 
agencies, shall seek to provide technical assistance to mobilize the 
domestic resources of recipient countries in order to increase cost-
sharing, self-reliance, and host country ownership of waste prevention 
and management programs.
    (e) Cost Limitation.--No additional funds are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this Act.
    (f) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Administrator, in 
consultation with the heads of relevant Federal departments and 
agencies, shall jointly submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report on ongoing programs and monitoring and evaluation 
mechanisms to carry out the authority under subsection (a) that 
includes a description of--
            (1) the monitoring and evaluation plans and indicators used 
        to measure performance of assistance programs, in accordance 
        with subsection (d);
            (2) best practices and lessons learned in implementing the 
        efforts authorized under subsection (a);
            (3) the extent to which recipient countries have 
        demonstrated a commitment and willingness to cooperate to 
        advance the efforts described in subsection (a) and to dedicate 
        resources to support waste prevention and management 
        initiatives;
            (4) the extent to which host country governments and other 
        governments in the region are investing resources to advance 
        initiatives to prevent or reduce marine debris and plastic 
        waste and develop integrated waste management systems; and
            (5) the extent to which other funding sources, including 
        through private sector investment, have been identified to 
        advance waste prevention and management initiatives.
    (g) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and
            (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the Senate.
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