Title: Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act
This bill revises provisions governing the administration of the Marine Debris Foundation and the Marine Debris Program.
Specifically, the bill allows the foundation to use appropriated funds for employee salaries for the two years following the bill's enactment. The bill also allows the foundation to locate its principal office outside of the District of Columbia and encourages the foundation to locate it in a coastal state.
In addition, the bill requires the foundation to develop best practices for conducting outreach to Indian tribes.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) may enter into other agreements, outside of contracts, under the Marine Debris Program. NOAA may also make in-kind contributions for projects under the program.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9255 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9255

To amend the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act to improve the administration of the 
Marine Debris Foundation, to amend the Marine Debris Act to improve the 
administration of the Marine Debris Program of the National Oceanic and 
          Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 31, 2022

   Ms. Bonamici (for herself, Miss Gonzalez-Colon, Mrs. Peltola, Ms. 
Pingree, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Lieu, and Mr. Huffman) introduced 
      the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on 
 Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act to improve the administration of the 
Marine Debris Foundation, to amend the Marine Debris Act to improve the 
administration of the Marine Debris Program of the National Oceanic and 
          Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes.

    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 2.0 Amendments Act''.

SEC. 2. MODIFICATIONS TO THE MARINE DEBRIS FOUNDATION.

    (a) Status of Foundation.--Section 111(a) of the Save Our Seas 2.0 
Act (33 U.S.C. 4211(a)) is amended, in the second sentence, by striking 
``organization'' and inserting ``corporation''.
    (b) Board of Directors.--
            (1) Appointments and removal.--Section 112(b) of such Act 
        (33 U.S.C. 4212(b)) is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 
                subparagraph (A), by inserting ``and such other 
                criteria as the Under Secretary may establish'' after 
                ``subsection (a)'';
                    (B) in paragraph (5), by inserting ``the 
                Administrator of the United States Agency for 
                International Development,'' after ``Service,'';
                    (C) by redesignating subparagraphs (2) through (5) 
                as subparagraphs (3) through (6), respectively; and
                    (D) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
            ``(2) Recommendations of board regarding appointments.--For 
        appointments made under paragraph (1) other than the initial 
        appointments, the Board shall submit to the Under Secretary 
        recommendations on candidates for appointment.''.
            (2) General powers.--Section 112(g) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 
        4212(g)) is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``officers and 
                employees'' and inserting ``the initial officers and 
                employees of the Board''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2)(B)(i), by striking ``chief 
                operating officer'' and inserting ``chief executive 
                officer''.
            (3) Chief executive officer.--Section 112 of such Act (33 
        U.S.C. 4212) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) Chief Executive Officer.--
            ``(1) Appointment; removal; review.--The Board shall 
        appoint and may remove and review the performance of the chief 
        executive officer of the Board.
            ``(2) Powers.--The chief executive officer of the Board may 
        appoint, remove, and review the performance of any officer or 
        employee of the Foundation.''.
    (c) Powers of Foundation.--Section 113(c)(1) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 
4213(c)(1)) is amended, in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)--
            (1) by inserting ``nonprofit'' before ``corporation''; and
            (2) by striking ``acting as a trustee'' and inserting 
        ``formed''.
    (d) Principal Office.--Section 113 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 4213) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Principal Office.--The Board may locate the principal office 
of the Foundation outside the District of Columbia and is encouraged to 
locate that office in a coastal State.''.
    (e) Use of Funds.--Section 118 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 4218) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and State and 
                local government agencies'' and inserting ``, State and 
                local government agencies, United States and 
                international nongovernmental organizations, regional 
                organizations, and foreign government entities''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) in the paragraph heading, by striking 
                        ``Prohibition'' and inserting ``Limitation''; 
                        and
                            (ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and 
                        inserting the following:
                    ``(B) Salaries.--The Foundation may use Federal 
                funds described in subparagraph (A) to pay for salaries 
                only during the 24-month period beginning on the date 
                of the enactment of this Act. The Secretary shall not 
                require reimbursement from the Foundation for any such 
                Federal funds used to pay for such salaries.''; and
            (2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ``and State and local 
        government agencies'' and inserting ``, State and local 
        government agencies, United States and international 
        nongovernmental organizations, regional organizations, and 
        foreign government entities''.

SEC. 3. MODIFICATIONS TO THE MARINE DEBRIS PROGRAM OF THE NATIONAL 
              OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) Grants, Cooperative Agreements, Contracts, and Other 
Agreements.--Section 3(d) of the Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. 1952(d)) 
is amended--
            (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ``and 
        Contracts'' and inserting ``Contracts, and Other Agreements'';
            (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and contracts'' and 
        inserting ``, contracts, and other agreements'';
            (3) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (B)--
                            (i) by striking ``part of the'' and 
                        inserting ``part of a''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``or (C)'' after 
                        ``subparagraph (A)''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (C), in the matter preceding 
                clause (i), by inserting ``and except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B)'' after ``subparagraph (A)''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(7) In-kind contributions.--With respect to any project 
        carried out pursuant to a contract or other agreement entered 
        into under paragraph (1) that is not a cooperative agreement or 
        an agreement to provide financial assistance in the form of a 
        grant, the Administrator may contribute on an in-kind basis the 
        portion of the costs of the project that the Administrator 
        determines represents the amount of benefit the National 
        Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration derives from the 
        project.''.
    (b) Receipt and Expenditure of Funds; Use of Resources.--Section 3 
of the Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. 1952) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:
    ``(e) Receipt and Expenditure of Funds.--In order to accomplish the 
purpose set forth in section 2, the Administrator, acting through the 
Program, may receive and, only to the extent provided in advance in 
appropriations Acts, expend funds made available by--
            ``(1) any department, agency, or instrumentality of the 
        United States;
            ``(2) any State, local, or tribal government (or any 
        political subdivision thereof);
            ``(3) any foreign government or international organization;
            ``(4) any public or private organization; or
            ``(5) any individual.
    ``(f) Use of Resources.--In order to accomplish the purpose set 
forth in section 2, the Administrator, acting through the Program, may 
use, with consent, with reimbursement, and subject to the availability 
of appropriations, the land, services, equipment, personnel, and 
facilities of--
            ``(1) any department, agency, or instrumentality of the 
        United States;
            ``(2) any State, local, or tribal government (or any 
        political subdivision thereof);
            ``(3) any foreign government or international organization;
            ``(4) any public or private organization; or
            ``(5) any individual.''.

SEC. 4. BEST PRACTICES.

    Section 113 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (33 U.S.C. 4213) (as 
amended by section 2(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) Best Practices.--
            ``(1) Tribal government.--In this paragraph, the term 
        `Tribal government' means the recognized governing body of any 
        Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, 
        community, component band, or component reservation 
        individually identified (including parenthetically) in the list 
        published most recently as of the date of enactment of the Save 
        Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act pursuant to section 104 of the 
        Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 
        5131).
            ``(2) Best practices.--The Foundation shall develop and 
        implement best practices for conducting outreach to Tribal 
        governments and Indian Tribes.
            ``(3) Requirements.--The best practices developed under 
        paragraph (2) shall--
                    ``(A) include a process to support technical 
                assistance and capacity building to improve outcomes; 
                and
                    ``(B) promote an awareness of programs and grants 
                available under this Act.''.
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