Title: Marine Mammal Research and Response Act of 2019
Policy area: Animals

Summary:
Marine Mammal Research and Response Act of 2019
This bill reauthorizes through FY2025 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 John H. Prescott 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.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2802 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2802

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 6, 2019

 Ms. Cantwell introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to reauthorize and 
  modify the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue and Response 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 2019''.

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) Data Availability.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall develop a program to 
        make information, including any data and metadata collected 
        under subsection (b), 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) Public access.--The Secretary shall ensure that--
                    ``(A) all information, including data and metadata, 
                collected under subsection (b) is archived in a form 
                that is readily accessible and understandable to, and 
                can be easily shared with, the public, as appropriate, 
                through the Marine Mammal Health Monitoring and 
                Analysis Platform (Health MAP); and
                    ``(B) not later than 60 days after the date on 
                which any information, including any data and metadata 
                collected under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of 
                subsection (b), is collected, that information is made 
                readily available to stranding network participants, 
                other qualified scientists, employees of the Federal 
                Government, and the public through the Health MAP and 
                the Observation System.
    ``(d) Data Reporting Requirements.--The Secretary shall require 
each stranding network participant to submit to the Administrator of 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, for inclusion in 
the Health MAP--
            ``(1) NOAA Form 89-864 (OMB #0648-0178) and NOAA Form 89-
        878 (OMB #0648-0178), or similar successor forms, not later 
        than 30 days after the date of a response to a stranding or 
        entanglement 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 on which the information is 
        available or updated, as applicable; and
            ``(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 on which the stranding 
        network responds to a stranding or entanglement event.''.

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''; and
            (2) in subsection (a), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``or entanglement.''.
    (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) except as provided by section 1000(a)(3) of division 
        B of the Act entitled ``An Act making consolidated 
        appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2000, 
        and for other purposes'', approved November 29, 1999 (16 U.S.C. 
        1375a), sums collected as fines, penalties, or forfeitures of 
        property for violations of any provision of this Act;
            ``(5) sums received from emergency declaration grants for 
        marine mammal conservation; and
            ``(6) not more than $750,000 per fiscal year, as determined 
        by the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior, 
        from each of the amounts appropriated to the Secretary or the 
        Secretary of the Interior for carrying out this Act.''.

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. JOHN H. PRESCOTT 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 to read as follows:

``SEC. 408. JOHN H. PRESCOTT MARINE MAMMAL RESCUE AND RESPONSE GRANT 
              PROGRAM AND RAPID RESPONSE FUND.

    ``(a) Definition of Emergency Assistance.--
            ``(1) In general.--In this section, the term `emergency 
        assistance' means--
                    ``(A) 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; and
                            ``(iii) involves a marine mammal that is 
                        out of the normal range for that marine mammal; 
                        or
                    ``(B) financial assistance provided to respond to, 
                or that results from, a stranding event or an 
                entanglement event that the Secretary considers to be 
                an emergency.
            ``(2) Exclusions.--The term `emergency assistance' does not 
        include financial assistance to respond to an unusual mortality 
        event.
    ``(b) John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant 
Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to the availability of 
        appropriations or other funding, the 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.--The 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).
            ``(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) any episodic stranding, entanglement, 
                        or mortality events, except for unusual 
                        mortality events, that occurred in any 
                        stranding region in the preceding year;
                            ``(ii) any data with respect to average 
                        annual stranding, entanglements, and mortality 
                        events per stranding region;
                            ``(iii) the size of the marine mammal 
                        populations inhabiting a stranding region; and
                            ``(iv) the conservation of protected, 
                        depleted, threatened, or endangered marine 
                        mammal species.
            ``(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 Secretary prescribes; and
                    ``(B) be in compliance with the data reporting 
                requirements under section 402(d).
            ``(6) Grant criteria.--The Secretary and the Secretary of 
        the Interior 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, develop criteria for awarding grants under the 
        grant program.
            ``(7) Limitations.--
                    ``(A) Maximum grant amount.--No grant made under 
                the grant program for a single project 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.
                    ``(C) Limitation.--A new grant may not be awarded 
                to a project until the funds of a previous grant are 
                expended.
            ``(8) Matching requirement.--The non-Federal share of the 
        costs of a project conducted with funds awarded under the grant 
        program shall be not less than 25 percent of the costs of that 
        project.
            ``(9) 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.
    ``(c) John H. Prescott 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 
        `John H. Prescott 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.
            ``(3) Matching requirement.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), the non-Federal share of the costs of 
                an activity conducted with amounts from the Rapid 
                Response Fund shall be not less than 25 percent of the 
                costs.
                    ``(B) Waiver.--The Secretary may waive the matching 
                requirement under subparagraph (A) for emergency 
                assistance.
                    ``(C) In-kind contributions.--In determining 
                whether the requirement under subparagraph (A) is met, 
                the Secretary may apply to the non-Federal share of an 
                activity conducted with amounts from the Rapid Response 
                Fund the amount of funds and the fair market value of 
                property and services provided by non-Federal sources 
                and used for the activity.
    ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
        to carry out the grant program $7,000,000 for each of fiscal 
        years 2020 through 2025, to remain available until expended, of 
        which for each fiscal year--
                    ``(A) $6,000,000 shall be made available to the 
                Secretary of Commerce; and
                    ``(B) $1,000,000 shall be made available to the 
                Secretary of the Interior.
            ``(2) John h. prescott marine mammal rescue and rapid 
        response fund.--
                    ``(A) Authorization of appropriations.--There is 
                authorized to be appropriated to the Rapid Response 
                Fund $500,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 
                2025.
                    ``(B) Transfer of funds.--In addition to amounts 
                appropriated pursuant to an authorization of 
                appropriations under subparagraph (A), there shall be 
                deposited into the Fund not more than $500,000 for each 
                fiscal year (as determined by the Secretary) from 
                amounts appropriated to the Secretary for carrying out 
                this title and other titles of this Act.
                    ``(C) Availability of funds.--Amounts in the Fund 
                shall remain available until expended, without regard 
                to any law related to the negotiation, award, or 
                administration of any contract, grant, or cooperative 
                agreement.
    ``(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. John H. Prescott 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 2019, 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. 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 
        2019, 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 5 years thereafter, the Administrator of the National 
        Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in consultation with 
        the Marine Mammal Commission and the Secretary of the Interior, 
        shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a data 
        gap analysis, as described in paragraph (2).
            ``(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) Rescue and 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 
        2019, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration, in consultation with the Marine Mammal 
        Commission and the Director of the United States Fish and 
        Wildlife Service, shall submit to the appropriate committees of 
        Congress a report describing the response capabilities for sick 
        and injured marine mammals in the Arctic regions of the United 
        States.
            ``(2) Requirements.--The report under paragraph (1) shall 
        include--
                    ``(A) a description of all stranding agreements in 
                place in the Arctic regions of the United States, 
                including species covered, response capabilities, 
                facilities, and data collection and analysis 
                capabilities;
                    ``(B) a list of State and local government agencies 
                that have personnel trained to respond to strandings in 
                the Arctic regions 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 
                strandings in response to changing environmental 
                conditions in the Arctic regions of the United States 
                and the relationships to unusual mortality events 
                involving other species, including birds and fish;
                    ``(E) a description of training and other resource 
                needs to meet emerging response requirements in the 
                Arctic regions of the United States;
                    ``(F) an analysis of oiled marine mammal and bird 
                response and rehabilitation capabilities in the Arctic 
                regions of the United States, including equipment, 
                facilities, training, and husbandry capabilities, and 
                an assessment of likely success rates; and
                    ``(G) recommendations to address future stranding 
                response needs in the Arctic regions 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 ``2020 through 2025;'';
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``1993 and 1994;'' and 
        inserting ``2020 through 2025;''; and
            (3) in paragraph (3), by striking ``fiscal year 1993.'' and 
        inserting ``for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2025.''.

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), (9), and (10), 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 a beach or shore of the United States; or
                    ``(B) in navigable waters of the United States.'';
            (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).''; and
            (5) by inserting after paragraph (7) (as so redesignated) 
        the following:
            ``(8) The term `stranding region' means a geographic region 
        designated by the Secretary for purposes of administration of 
        this Act.''.

SEC. 12. STUDY ON MARINE MAMMAL MORTALITY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall make appropriate 
arrangements with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and 
Medicine under which the National Academies shall conduct a study 
regarding the connection between marine heat waves, harmful algal 
blooms, prey availability, habitat degradation, and marine mammal 
mortality. The study shall evaluate how ocean heat waves impact harmful 
algae blooms, availability of prey, and habitat degradation.
    (b) Report.--In entering into an arrangement under subsection (a), 
the Secretary of Commerce shall request that the National Academies 
transmit to Congress a report containing the results of the study 
described in subsection (a). The report shall include recommendations 
for policies needed to mitigate and respond to mortality events.
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