[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2372 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2372

  To enhance global engagement to combat marine debris, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 31, 2019

 Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Whitehouse, Ms. Collins, 
 Mr. Booker, Mr. Coons, Mr. Murphy, and Mr. Blumenthal) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                           Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To enhance global engagement to combat marine debris, 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; DEFINITIONS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Save Our Seas 2.0: 
Enhanced Global Engagement to Combat Marine Debris Act''.
    (b) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) Circular economy.--The term ``circular economy'' means 
        an economy that uses a systems-focused approach and involves 
        industrial processes and economic activities that--
                    (A) are restorative or regenerative by design;
                    (B) enable resources used in such processes and 
                activities to maintain their highest values for as long 
                as possible; and
                    (C) aim for the elimination of waste through the 
                superior design of materials, products, and systems 
                (including business models).
            (2) EPA administrator.--The term ``EPA Administrator'' 
        means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (3) Marine debris.--The term ``marine debris'' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 7 of the Marine Debris Act 
        (33 U.S.C. 1956).
            (4) Marine debris event.--The term ``marine debris event'' 
        means an event or related events that affects or may imminently 
        affect the United States involving--
                    (A) marine debris caused by a natural event, 
                including a tsunami, flood, landslide, hurricane, or 
                other natural source;
                    (B) distinct, nonrecurring marine debris, including 
                derelict vessel groundings and container spills, that 
                have immediate or long-term impacts on habitats with 
                high ecological, economic, or human-use values; or
                    (C) marine debris caused by an intentional or 
                grossly negligent act or acts that causes substantial 
                economic or environmental harm.
            (5) Post-consumer materials management.--The term ``post-
        consumer materials management'' means the systems, operation, 
        supervision, and aftercare of processes and equipment for post-
        consumer materials, including --
                    (A) collection;
                    (B) transport;
                    (C) safe disposal of waste, such as post-consumer 
                materials that cannot be recovered, reused, recycled, 
                repaired, or refurbished; and
                    (D) systems and processes related to recovering, 
                recycling, reusing, repairing, or refurbishing post-
                consumer materials.
            (6) Under secretary.--The term ``Under Secretary'' means 
        the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and 
        Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration.

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY ON INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION TO COMBAT 
              MARINE DEBRIS.

    It is the policy of the United States to partner, consult, and 
coordinate with foreign governments (at the national and subnational 
levels), civil society, international organizations, international 
financial institutions, subnational coastal communities, commercial and 
recreational fishing industry leaders, and the private sector, in a 
concerted effort--
            (1) to increase knowledge and raise awareness about--
                    (A) the linkages between the sources of plastic 
                waste, mismanaged waste and post-consumer materials, 
                and marine debris; and
                    (B) the upstream and downstream causes and effects 
                of plastic waste, mismanaged waste and post-consumer 
                materials, and marine debris on marine environments, 
                marine wildlife, human health, and economic 
                development;
            (2) to support--
                    (A) strengthening systems for recovering, managing, 
                reusing (to the extent practicable), and recycling 
                plastic waste, marine debris, and microfiber pollution 
                in the world's oceans, emphasizing upstream post-
                consumer materials management solutions--
                            (i) to mitigate plastic waste at its 
                        source; and
                            (ii) to prevent leakage of plastic waste 
                        into the environment;
                    (B) advancing the utilization and availability of 
                safe and affordable reusable alternatives to disposable 
                plastic products in commerce, to the extent 
                practicable, and with consideration for the potential 
                impacts of such alternatives, and other efforts to 
                prevent marine debris;
                    (C) deployment of and access to advanced 
                technologies to capture value from post-consumer 
                materials and municipal solid waste streams through 
                mechanical and other recycling systems;
                    (D) access to information on best practices in 
                post-consumer materials management, options for post-
                consumer materials management systems financing, and 
                options for participating in public-private 
                partnerships; and
                    (E) implementation of management measures to reduce 
                derelict fishing gear, the loss of fishing gear, and 
                other sources of pollution generated from marine 
                activities and to increase proper disposal and 
                recycling of fishing gear; and
            (3) to work cooperatively with international partners--
                    (A) on establishing--
                            (i) measurable targets for reducing marine 
                        debris, lost fishing gear, and plastic waste 
                        from all sources; and
                            (ii) action plans to achieve those targets 
                        with a mechanism to provide regular reporting;
                    (B) to promote consumer education, awareness, and 
                outreach to prevent marine debris;
                    (C) to reduce marine debris by improving advance 
                planning for marine debris events and responses to such 
                events; and
                    (D) to share best practices in post-consumer 
                materials management systems to prevent the entry of 
                plastic waste into the environment.

SEC. 3. PRIORITIZATION OF EFFORTS AND ASSISTANCE TO COMBAT MARINE 
              DEBRIS AND IMPROVE PLASTIC WASTE MANAGEMENT.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall, in coordination with 
the Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
Development, as appropriate, and the officials specified in subsection 
(b)--
            (1) lead and coordinate efforts to implement the policy 
        described in section 2; and
            (2) develop strategies and implement programs that 
        prioritize engagement and cooperation with foreign governments, 
        subnational and local stakeholders, and the private sector to 
        expedite efforts and assistance in foreign countries--
                    (A) to partner with, encourage, advise and 
                facilitate national and subnational governments on the 
                development and execution, where practicable, of 
                national projects, programs and initiatives to--
                            (i) improve the capacity, security, and 
                        standards of operations of post-consumer 
                        materials management systems;
                            (ii) monitor and track how well post-
                        consumer materials management systems are 
                        functioning nationwide, based on uniform and 
                        transparent standards developed in cooperation 
                        with municipal, industrial, and civil society 
                        stakeholders;
                            (iii) identify the operational challenges 
                        of post-consumer materials management systems 
                        and develop policy and programmatic solutions;
                            (iv) end intentional or unintentional 
                        incentives for municipalities, industries, and 
                        individuals to improperly dispose of plastic 
                        waste; and
                            (v) conduct outreach campaigns to raise 
                        public awareness of the importance of proper 
                        waste disposal;
                    (B) to facilitate the involvement of municipalities 
                and industries in improving solid waste reduction, 
                collection, disposal, and reuse and recycling projects, 
                programs, and initiatives;
                    (C) to partner with and provide technical 
                assistance to investors, and national and local 
                institutions, including private sector actors, to 
                develop new business opportunities and solutions to 
                specifically reduce plastic waste and expand solid 
                waste and post-consumer materials management best 
                practices in foreign countries by--
                            (i) maximizing the number of people and 
                        businesses, in both rural and urban 
                        communities, receiving reliable solid waste and 
                        post-consumer materials management services;
                            (ii) improving and expanding the capacity 
                        of foreign industries to responsibly employ 
                        post-consumer materials management practices;
                            (iii) improving and expanding the capacity 
                        and transparency of tracking mechanisms for 
                        marine debris to reduce the impacts on the 
                        marine environment;
                            (iv) eliminating incentives that undermine 
                        responsible post-consumer materials management 
                        practices and lead to improper waste disposal 
                        practices and leakage;
                            (v) building the capacity of countries--
                                    (I) to monitor, regulate, and 
                                manage waste, post-consumer materials 
                                and plastic waste, and pollution 
                                appropriately and transparently;
                                    (II) to encourage private 
                                investment in post-consumer materials 
                                management; and
                                    (III) to encourage private 
                                investment, grow opportunities, and 
                                develop markets for recyclable, 
                                reusable, and repurposed plastic waste 
                                and post-consumer materials, and 
                                products with high levels of recycled 
                                plastic content, at both national and 
                                local levels; and
                            (vi) promoting safe and affordable reusable 
                        alternatives to disposable plastic products, to 
                        the extent practicable; and
                    (D) to research, identify, and facilitate 
                opportunities to promote collection and proper disposal 
                of damaged or derelict fishing gear.
    (b) Officials Specified.--The officials specified in this 
subsection are the following:
            (1) The United States Trade Representative.
            (2) The Under Secretary.
            (3) The EPA Administrator.
            (4) The Director of the Trade and Development Agency.
            (5) The President and the Board of Directors of the 
        Overseas Private Investment Corporation or the Chief Executive 
        Officer and the Board of Directors of the United States 
        International Development Finance Corporation, as appropriate.
            (6) The Chief Executive Officer and the Board of Directors 
        of the Millennium Challenge Corporation.
            (7) The heads of such other agencies as the Secretary of 
        State considers appropriate.
    (c) Prioritization.--In carrying out subsection (a), the officials 
specified in subsection (b) shall prioritize assistance to countries 
with--
            (1) rapidly developing economies; and
            (2) rivers and coastal areas that are the most severe 
        sources of marine debris.
    (d) Effectiveness Measurement.--In prioritizing and expediting 
efforts and assistance under this section, the officials specified in 
subsection (b) shall use clear, accountable, and metric-based targets 
to measure the effectiveness of guarantees and assistance in achieving 
the policy described in section 2.
    (e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed 
to authorize the modification of or the imposition of limits on the 
portfolios of any agency or institution led by an official specified in 
subsection (b).

SEC. 4. UNITED STATES LEADERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL FORA.

    In implementing the policy described in section 2, the President 
shall direct the United States representatives to appropriate 
international bodies and conferences (such as the United Nations 
Environment Programme, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the 
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Group of 7, the Group of 20, and 
the Our Ocean Conference) to use the voice, vote, and influence of the 
United States, consistent with the broad foreign policy goals of the 
United States, to advocate that each such body--
            (1) commit to significantly increasing efforts to promote 
        investment in well-designed post-consumer materials management 
        and plastic waste elimination and mitigation projects and 
        services that increase access to safe post-consumer materials 
        management and mitigation services, in partnership with the 
        private sector and consistent with the constraints of other 
        countries;
            (2) address the post-consumer materials management needs of 
        individuals and communities where access to municipal post-
        consumer materials management services is historically 
        impractical or cost-prohibitive;
            (3) enhance coordination with the private sector--
                    (A) to increase access to solid waste and post-
                consumer materials management services;
                    (B) to utilize safe and affordable reusable 
                alternatives to disposable plastic products, to the 
                extent practicable;
                    (C) to encourage and incentivize the use of 
                recycled content; and
                    (D) to grow economic opportunities and develop 
                markets for recyclable, reusable, and repurposed 
                plastic waste materials and other efforts that support 
                the circular economy;
            (4) provide technical assistance to foreign regulatory 
        authorities and governments to remove unnecessary barriers to 
        investment in otherwise commercially viable projects related 
        to--
                    (A) post-consumer materials management;
                    (B) the use of safe and affordable reusable 
                alternatives to disposable plastic products, to the 
                extent practicable; or
                    (C) beneficial reuse of solid waste, plastic waste, 
                post-consumer materials, plastic products, and refuse;
            (5) use clear, accountable, and metric-based targets to 
        measure the effectiveness of such projects; and
            (6) engage international partners in an existing 
        multilateral forum (or, if necessary, establish through an 
        international agreement a new multilateral forum) to improve 
        global cooperation on--
                    (A) creating tangible metrics for evaluating 
                efforts to reduce plastic waste and marine debris;
                    (B) developing and implementing best practices for 
                collecting, disposing, recycling, and reusing plastic 
                waste and post-consumer materials, including building 
                capacity for improving post-consumer materials 
                management at the national and subnational levels of 
                foreign countries, particularly countries with little 
                to no solid waste or post-consumer materials management 
                systems, facilities, or policies in place;
                    (C) encouraging the development of standards and 
                practices, and increasing recycled content percentage 
                requirements for disposable plastic products;
                    (D) integrating tracking and monitoring systems 
                into post-consumer materials management systems;
                    (E) fostering research to improve scientific 
                understanding of--
                            (i) how microfibers and microplastics may 
                        affect marine ecosystems, human health and 
                        safety, and maritime activities;
                            (ii) changes in the amount and regional 
                        concentrations of plastic waste in the ocean, 
                        based on scientific modeling and forecasting;
                            (iii) the role rivers, streams, and other 
                        inland waterways play in serving as conduits 
                        for mismanaged waste traveling from land to the 
                        ocean;
                            (iv) effective means to eliminate present 
                        and future leakages of plastic waste into the 
                        environment; and
                            (v) other related areas of research the 
                        United States representatives deem necessary;
                    (F) encouraging the World Bank and other 
                international finance organizations to prioritize 
                efforts to combat marine debris;
                    (G) collaborating on technological advances in 
                post-consumer materials management and recycled 
                plastics;
                    (H) growing economic opportunities and developing 
                markets for recyclable, reusable, and repurposed 
                plastic waste and post-consumer materials and other 
                efforts that support the circular economy; and
                    (I) advising foreign countries, at both the 
                national and subnational levels, on the development and 
                execution of regulatory policies, services, including 
                recycling and reuse of plastic, and laws pertaining to 
                reducing the creation and the collection and safe 
                management of--
                            (i) solid waste;
                            (ii) post-consumer materials;
                            (iii) plastic waste; and
                            (iv) marine debris.

SEC. 5. ENHANCING INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH AND PARTNERSHIP OF UNITED 
              STATES AGENCIES INVOLVED IN MARINE DEBRIS ACTIVITIES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress recognizes the success of the marine debris 
program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the 
Trash-Free Waters program of the Environmental Protection Agency.
    (b) Authorization of Efforts To Build Foreign Partnerships.--The 
Under Secretary and the EPA Administrator shall work with the Secretary 
of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
International Development to build partnerships, as appropriate, with 
the governments of foreign countries and to support international 
efforts to combat marine debris.

SEC. 6. NEGOTIATION OF NEW INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of State shall submit to Congress a report--
            (1) assessing the potential for negotiating new 
        international agreements or creating a new international forum 
        to reduce land-based sources of marine debris and derelict 
        fishing gear, consistent with section 4;
            (2) describing the provisions that could be included in 
        such agreements; and
            (3) assessing potential parties to such agreements.

SEC. 7. CONSIDERATION OF MARINE DEBRIS IN NEGOTIATING INTERNATIONAL 
              AGREEMENTS.

    In negotiating any relevant international agreement with any 
country or countries after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
President shall, as appropriate--
            (1) consider the impact of land-based sources of plastic 
        waste and other solid waste from that country on the marine and 
        aquatic environment; and
            (2) ensure that the agreement strengthens efforts to 
        eliminate land-based sources of plastic waste and other solid 
        waste from that country that impact the marine and aquatic 
        environment.
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