[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4781 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4781

To reauthorize the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 21, 2002

Mr. Gilchrest introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To reauthorize the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, 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 Protection Act 
Amendments of 2002''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT REFERENCES.

    Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an 
amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal 
of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to 
be made to such section or other provision of the Marine Mammal 
Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.).

SEC. 3. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.

    (a) Committee References.--The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 
(16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) is amended by striking ``Committee on Merchant 
Marine and Fisheries'' each place it appears and inserting ``Committee 
on Resources''.
    (b) Obsolete Reference to Replaced Section.--Section 
118(c)(3)(A)(i) (16 U.S.C. 1387(c)(3)(A)(i)) is amended by striking ``, 
except that'' and all that follows through ``is valid''.

SEC. 4. LIMITED AUTHORITY TO EXPORT NATIVE HANDICRAFTS.

    Section 101(a)(6) (16 U.S.C. 1371(a)(6)) is amended by 
redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C), and by inserting 
after subparagraph (A) the following:
    ``(B) A marine mammal product may be exported from the United 
States if the product--
                    ``(i) is legally possessed and exported as part of 
                a cultural exchange, by an Indian, Aleut, or Eskimo 
                residing in Alaska; or
                    ``(ii) is owned by a Native inhabitant of Russia, 
                Canada, or Greenland and is exported for noncommercial 
                purposes--
                            ``(I) in conjunction with, and upon the 
                        completion of, travel within the United States; 
                        or
                            ``(II) as part of a cultural exchange with 
                        an Indian, Aleut, or Eskimo residing in 
                        Alaska.''.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Department of Commerce.--Section 116(a) (16 U.S.C. 1384(a)) is 
amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) Department of Commerce.--(1) There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Department of Commerce, for purposes of carrying 
out its functions and responsibilities under this title (other than 
sections 117 and 118) and title IV--
            ``(A) $16,615,000 for 2003;
            ``(B) $17,280,000 for 2004;
            ``(C) $17,971,000 for 2005;
            ``(D) $18,670,000 for 2006; and
            ``(E) $19,418,000 for 2007.
    ``(2) There are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of 
Commerce, for purposes of carrying out sections 117 and 118, 
$20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2003 through 2007.''.
    (b) Department of the Interior.--Section 116(b) (16 U.S.C. 1384(b)) 
is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b) Department of the Interior.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Department of the Interior, for purposes of 
carrying out its functions and responsibilities under this title--
            ``(1) $11,800,000 for 2003;
            ``(2) $12,300,000 for 2004;
            ``(3) $12,800,000 for 2005;
            ``(4) $13,300,000 for 2006; and
            ``(5) $13,800,000 for 2007.''.

SEC. 6. TAKE REDUCTION PLANS.

    Section 118 (16 U.S.C. 1387) is amended--
            (1) in subsections (f)(4)(B) and (f)(5)(B), by inserting 
        ``and recreational'' after ``commercial'';
            (2) in subsection (f)(6)(C) in the second sentence, by 
        inserting before the period the following:
        ``, a representative of the office of General Counsel of the 
        National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a 
        representative of the National Marine Fisheries Service having 
        responsibilities related to fisheries science, a representative 
        of the National Marine Fisheries Service having 
        responsibilities related to law enforcement, and a 
        representative of the appropriate National Marine Fisheries 
        Service Regional Administrator'';
            (3) in subsection (f)(7)(B)(i) by adding at the end the 
        following: ``Before publishing any plan that is different than 
        the draft plan proposed by a take reduction team, the Secretary 
        shall reconvene the team and explain to the team the 
        differences between the published plan and the draft plan 
        proposed by the team.''; and
            (4) in subsection (j) by inserting ``including observer, 
        research, and education and outreach programs,'' after ``For 
        purposes of carrying out this section,''.

SEC. 7. PINNIPED RESEARCH.

    Section 120 (16 U.S.C. 1389) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(k) Research on Nonlethal Removal and Control.--(1) The Secretary 
shall conduct research on the nonlethal removal and control of nuisance 
pinnipeds. The research shall include a review of measures that have 
been taken to effect such removal and control, the effectiveness of 
these measures, and the development of new technologies to deter 
nuisance pinnipeds.
    ``(2) The Secretary shall include, among the individuals that 
develop the research program under this subsection, representatives of 
the commercial and recreational fishing industries.
    ``(3) The Secretary is encouraged, where appropriate, to use 
independent marine mammal research institutions in developing and in 
conducting the research program.
    ``(4) The Secretary shall, by December 31 of each year, submit an 
annual report on the results of research under this subsection to the 
Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.''.

SEC. 8. MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION.

    (a) Number of Employees.--Section 206(5) (16 U.S.C. 1406(5)) is 
amended by striking ``; except that no fewer than 11 employees must be 
employed under paragraph (1) at any time''.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 207 (16 U.S.C. 1407) 
is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 207. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated to the Marine Mammal 
Commission for purposes of carrying out this title--
            ``(1) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;
            ``(2) $2,050,000 for fiscal year 2004;
            ``(3) $2,100,000 for fiscal year 2005;
            ``(4) $2,150,000 for fiscal year 2006; and
            ``(5) $2,200,000 for fiscal year 2007.''.

SEC. 9. SCRIMSHAW EXEMPTION.

    Any valid certificate of exemption referred to in section 18 of 
Public Law 103-238 (16 U.S.C. 1539 note) that was valid under that 
section on April 29, 1999, shall be valid during the 8-year period 
beginning October 31, 1999.

SEC. 10. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FOR SUBSISTENCE WHALE HUNTERS.

    Section 5 of the Whaling Convention Act of 1949 (16 U.S.C. 916c) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) The prohibitions of this section shall not apply to use of a 
vessel to tow a whale taken in a traditional subsistence whale hunt 
permitted by Federal law and conducted in waters off the coast of 
Alaska, if such towing is performed upon a request for emergency 
assistance made by a subsistence whale hunting organization formally 
recognized by an agency of the United States Government, or made by a 
member of such an organization, to prevent the loss of a whale.''.

SEC. 11. EXTENSION.

    Section 104(c)(5)(D) (16 U.S.C. 1374(c)(5)(D)) is amended by 
striking ``the date of the enactment of the Marine Mammal Protection 
Act Amendments of 1994'' and inserting ``February 18, 1997''.

SEC. 12. POLAR BEAR PERMITS.

    Section 104 (16 U.S.C. 1374) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (d)(2) by inserting before the period at 
        the end of the first sentence the following: ``, except for an 
        application for a permit to import polar bear parts under 
        subsection (c)(5)'';
            (2) in subsection (d)(5) by inserting before the period at 
        the end of the last sentence the following: ``if a notice of 
        application was published pursuant to paragraph (2) with 
        respect to the permit''; and
            (3) in subsection (c)(5) by adding at the end the 
        following:
    ``(E) The Secretary shall make available to the public on a 
semiannual basis information concerning the permits issued or denied 
under this paragraph.''.

SEC. 13. CAPTIVE RELEASE PROHIBITION.

    Section 102(a) (16 U.S.C. 1372(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4) by striking ``subsection 104(c); and'' 
        and inserting ``section 104(c);'';
            (2) in paragraph (5) by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) for any person that is subject to the jurisdiction of 
        the United States to release any captive marine mammal unless 
        specifically authorized to do so under section 104(c)(3)(A), 
        104(c)(4)(A), or 109(h).''.

SEC. 14. MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION ADMINISTRATION.

    Section 206(4) (16 U.S.C. 1406(4)) is amended by striking ``(but at 
rates for individuals not to exceed $100 per diem)''.
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