HR 1006 RFS

March 20, 2007CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and TransportationCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To amend the provisions of law relating to the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `‘Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Amendments of 2007'8’. CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. STRANDING AND ENTANGLEMENT RESPONSE.

(a) Collection and Updating of Information- Section 402(b)(1)(A) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1421a(b)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting `or entangled' after `stranded'‘or entangled’ after ‘stranded’. CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Entanglement Response Agreements- CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- Section 403 of suchthat Act (16 U.S.C. 1421b) is amended-- CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) by amendstriking the section heading to read as follows:`and inserting the following: CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 403. STRANDING OR ENTANGLEMENT RESPONSE AGREEMENTS.';and(B) in subsection (a) by inserting `or entanglement' before the period’

(B) in subsection (a) by striking ‘standing.’ and inserting ‘stranding or entanglement.’. CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT- The table of contents at the end of the first sectionfor title IV of that Act is amended by striking the item relating to section 403 and inserting the following: CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`‘Sec. 403. Stranding or entanglement response agreements.'’. CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Liability- Section 406(a) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1421e(a)) is amended by inserting `or entanglement' after `stranding'‘or entanglement’ after ‘stranding’. CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Entanglement Defined- CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- Section 410 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1421h) is amended-- CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (6) in order as paragraphs (2) through (7); and CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so redesignated) the following: CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`‘(1) The term `entanglement'‘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 it and is-- CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`‘(A) on a beach or shore of the United States; or CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`‘(B) in waters under the jurisdiction of the United States.'’. CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT- Section 408(a)(2)(B)(i) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1421f-1(a)(2)(B)(i)) is amended by striking `section 410(6)' and inserting `section 410(7)'‘section 410(6)’ and inserting ‘section 410(7)’. CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(e) John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grantand Response Funding Program- CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR GRANT PROGRAM- Section 408(h) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1421f-1(h)) is amended-- CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) by striking `‘$5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2001 through 2003' and inserting `’ and inserting ‘$7,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2010'’; and CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) in paragraph (1) by striking `$4,000,000' and inserting `$6,000,000'‘$4,000,000’ and inserting ‘$6,000,000’. CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS AND EXPENSES- Section 408(f) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1421f-1) is amended--(A) by adding at the end of subsection (a)(1) the following: `All funds available to implement this section shall be distributed to eligible stranding network participants for the purposes set forth in this paragraph and paragraph (2), except as provided in subsection (f).'; and(B) by amending subsection (f) to read as follows:` to read as follows: CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(f) Administrative Costs and Expenses- Of the amounts available each fiscal year to carry out this section, the Secretary may expend not more than 6 percent or $80,000, whichever is greater, to pay the administrative costs and administrative expenses to implement the grant program under subsection (a). Any such funds retained by the Secretary for a fiscal year for such costs and expenses that are not used for such costs and expenses before the end of the fiscal year shall be provided as grants under subsection (a).'under subsection (a).’. CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE- Section 408 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1421f-1) is amended-- CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) in subsection (a) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3), and by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:`(2-- CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following: CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(a) IN GENERAL- (1) Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary may also enter into cooperative agreements, contracts, or such other agreements or arrangements as the Secretary considers appropriate to addressshall conduct a program to be known as the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Funding Program, to provide for the recovery or treatment of marine mammals, the collection of data from living or dead stranded marine mammals for scientific research regarding marine mammal health, facility operation costs that are directly related to those purposes, and stranding events requiring emergency assistance.';(B) in subsection (d) by inserting `(1)' before the text, and by adding at the end the following:`(2) Funding for emergency stranding projects All funds available to implement this section shall not be subject to the funding limit established in paragraph (1).';(C) in subsection (e)--(i) in paragraph (1) by striking `The non-Federal' and inserting `Except as provided in paragraph (2), the non-Federal'distributed to eligible stranding network participants for the purposes set forth in this paragraph and paragraph (2), except as provided in subsection (f).’; CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and(iii)4), and by inserting after paragraph (1) the following: CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2 ‘(2) CONTRACT AUTHORITY- To carry out the activities set out in paragraph (1), the Secretary may enter into grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, or such other agreements or arrangements as the Secretary deems appropriate. CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE- No non-Federal contribution shallPRESCOTT FUND- There is established in the Treasury an interest bearing fund to be required for funding forknown as the ‘John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Emergency Fund’, which shall consist of a response toportion of amounts deposited into the Fund under subsection (h) or received as contributions under subsection (i), and which shall remain available until expended without regard to any statutory or regulatory provision related to the negotiation, award, or administration of any grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts.’; CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iii) by striking ‘designated as of the date of the enactment of the Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Act of 2000, and in making such grants’ in paragraph (4), as redesignated, and inserting ‘as defined in subsection (g)(3). The Secretary’; and CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iv) by striking ‘subregions.’ in paragraph (4), as redesignated, and inserting ‘subregions where such facilities exist.’; CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the following: CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(d) LIMITATION- Support for an emergency stranding event.'individual project under this section may not exceed $200,000 per annum.’; CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) in subsection (e)(1)-- CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) by striking ‘a grant’ and inserting ‘funds’; and CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(II) by inserting ‘Federal’ after ‘such’; and CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) in subsection (g) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3) and inserting after paragraph (1) the following: CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`‘(2) EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE- The term `emergency assistance'‘emergency assistance’ means assistance provided for a stranding event-- CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) that-- CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A‘(i) is not an unusual mortality event as defined in section 409(6); CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B‘(ii) leads to an immediate increase in required costs for stranding response, recovery, or rehabilitation in excess of regularly scheduled costs; CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(C‘(iii) may be cyclical or endemic; and CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(D‘(iv) may involve out-of-habitat animals.'; or CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) is found by the Secretary to qualify for emergency assistance.’. CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) CONTRIBUTIONS- Section 408 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1421f-1) is amended by adding at the end the following: CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`‘(i) 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.’. CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) CONFORMING AMENDMENT- The section heading for section 408 is amended to read as follows: CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 408. JOHN H. PRESCOTT MARINE MAMMAL RESCUE AND RESPONSE FUNDING PROGRAM.’.

(f) Authorization of Appropriations for Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Event Fund- Section 409(3) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1421g(3)) is amended by striking `‘fiscal year 1993' and inserting `.’ and inserting ‘each of fiscal years 2007 through 2010'.Passed the House of Representatives March 19, 2007.Attest:LORRAINE C. MILLER,Clerk..’. CommentsClose CommentsPermalink