[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2199 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2199

To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to establish a Marine 
          Mammal Rescue Grant Program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 22, 1998

Mr. Torricelli 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 establish a Marine 
          Mammal Rescue 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. MARINE MAMMAL RESCUE GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Title IV of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 
1972 (16 U.S.C. 1371 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating sections 408 and 409 as sections 409 
        and 410, respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after section 407 the following:

``SEC. 408. MARINE MAMMAL RESCUE GRANT PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Administrator.--The term `Administrator' means the 
        Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration.
            ``(2) Chief.--The term `Chief' means the Chief of the 
        Office.
            ``(3) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
        of Commerce.
            ``(4) Stranding center.--The term `stranding center' means 
        a center with respect to which the Secretary has entered into 
        an agreement referred to in section 403 to take marine mammals 
        under section 109(h)(1) in response to a stranding.
    ``(b) Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to the availability of 
        appropriations, the Secretary, acting through the Chief, shall 
        conduct a grant program to be known as the Marine Mammal Rescue 
        Grant Program, to provide grants to eligible stranding centers 
        and eligible stranding network participants for the recovery or 
        treatment of marine mammals and the collection of health 
        information relating to marine mammals.
            ``(2) Application.--In order to receive a grant under this 
        section, a stranding center or stranding network participant 
        shall submit an application in such form and manner as the 
        Secretary, acting through the Chief, may prescribe.
            ``(3) Eligibility criteria.--The Secretary, acting through 
        the Chief and in consultation with stranding network 
        participants, shall establish criteria for eligibility for 
        participation in the grant program under this section.
            ``(4) Limitation.--The amount of a grant awarded under this 
        section shall not exceed $100,000.
            ``(5) Matching requirement.--The non-Federal share for an 
        activity conducted by a grant recipient under the grant program 
        under this section shall be 25 percent of the cost of that 
        activity.
            ``(6) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
        authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Commerce to 
        carry out the grant program under this section, $5,000,000 for 
        each of fiscal years 1999 through 2003.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in the first section 
of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (86 Stat. 1027) is amended 
by striking the items relating to sections 408 and 409 and inserting 
the following:

``Sec. 408. Marine Mammal Rescue Grant Program.
``Sec. 409. Authorization of appropriations.
``Sec. 410. Definitions.''.
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