[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7918 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7918

To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish the Sea Turtle Rescue 
                       Assistance Grant Program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 31, 2022

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish the Sea Turtle Rescue 
                       Assistance Grant Program.

    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 ``Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Act of 
2022''.

SEC. 2. SEA TURTLE RESCUE ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a grant program 
to be known as the ``Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Grant Program'', to 
award grants for the purposes described in subsection (c).
    (b) Designation of Stranding Regions.--The Secretary shall 
designate geographic regions of the United States as stranding regions 
for the purposes of carrying out this section.
    (c) Purposes.--The purposes of the Program are to provide for--
            (1) the recovery, care, or treatment of stranded marine 
        turtles;
            (2) the collection of data and samples from stranded marine 
        turtles for scientific research or assessments regarding marine 
        turtle health; and
            (3) facility operation costs that are directly related to 
        activities described in paragraphs (1) and (2).
    (d) Equitable Distribution of Funds.--The Secretary shall ensure, 
to the extent practicable, that funds awarded under this section are 
distributed equitably among stranding regions, taking into account--
            (1) the number of stranding events that occurred in each 
        stranding region in the preceding year;
            (2) the average number of stranding events per stranding 
        region per year;
            (3) the size of marine turtle populations in each stranding 
        region; and
            (4) the conservation and recovery of species of marine 
        turtles that are threatened or endangered under the Endangered 
        Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
    (e) Application.--An applicant for a grant under this section shall 
submit an application in such form and manner as the Secretary shall 
prescribe.
    (f) Grant Criteria.--
            (1) Development of criteria.--The Secretary shall, in 
        consultation with a representative from each stranding region 
        and representatives of public and private organizations that 
        are actively involved in rescue, rehabilitation, release, 
        scientific research, marine conservation, and forensic science 
        with respect to stranded marine turtles, develop criteria for 
        awarding grants under this section.
            (2) Required criteria.--The criteria developed under 
        paragraph (1) shall prioritize applicants with an established 
        record of rescuing or rehabilitating stranded marine turtles.
    (g) Limitations.--
            (1) Maximum amount of grant.--No grant awarded under this 
        section may exceed $150,000 in any 12-month period.
            (2) Matching requirement.--The non-Federal share of the 
        costs of an activity conducted with a grant awarded under the 
        Program shall be not less than 25 percent of such costs, 
        including in-kind services and the use of property.
    (h) Administrative Cost.--The Secretary may not expend to 
administer the Program in a fiscal year an amount greater than--
            (1) 6 percent of the amount awarded in grants under this 
        section in such fiscal year; or
            (2) $80,000.
    (i) Transparency.--The Secretary shall publish each grant proposal 
and approved grant under this section.
    (j) Receive Gifts.--Notwithstanding section 3113 of title 31, 
United States Code, the Secretary may accept gifts in cash or in-kind 
to be used to carry out the purposes of this section.
    (k) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $5,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2023 through 2028 to remain available until 
expended.
    (l) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Marine turtle.--The term ``marine turtle'' means any 
        member of the family Cheloniidae or Dermochelyidae.
            (2) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the Sea Turtle 
        Rescue Assistance Grant Program established under subsection 
        (a).
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Commerce.
            (4) Stranding.--The term ``stranding'' means an event in 
        the wild in which--
                    (A) a marine turtle is dead and is--
                            (i) on a beach or shore of the United 
                        States; or
                            (ii) in waters under the jurisdiction of 
                        the United States (including any navigable 
                        waters); or
                    (B) a marine turtle is alive and is--
                            (i) on a beach or shore of the United 
                        States and unable to return to the water;
                            (ii) on a beach or shore of the United 
                        States and in need of medical attention; or
                            (iii) in the waters under the jurisdiction 
                        of the United States (including any navigable 
                        waters), but is unable to return to its natural 
                        habitat under its own power or without 
                        assistance.
            (5) Stranding region.--The term ``stranding region'' means 
        a geographic region designated by the Secretary under 
        subsection (b).
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