[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 74 (Thursday, May 26, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3440-S3441]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. INOUYE (for himself, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Begich, Ms. 
        Snowe, and Ms. Murkowski):
  S. 1119. A bill to reauthorize and improve the Marine Debris 
Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce the Trash Free 
Seas Act of 2011, a bill to reauthorize and strengthen the Marine 
Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act, MDRPRA. This act, of 
which I am proud to have been the original sponsor, was first passed in 
2006 to address the pervasive issue of marine debris which is found in 
myriad forms throughout our oceans. It created programs in both the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, and the U.S. 
Coast Guard that research, track, and work to mitigate and remove 
marine debris and its associated impacts. The Trash Free Seas Act would 
update these programs to incorporate advances in our understanding of 
the issue and allow for greater regional and international coordination 
in our mitigation efforts.
  Marine debris is a catch-all term that encompasses everything from 
floating refuse to lost fishing nets and pieces of micro-plastic. In 
all its forms, however, it is something that was once manufactured and 
has since been lost at sea through accident, intent, or act of nature. 
Once at sea, the impacts of marine debris may reach unintended shores 
as it drifts on ocean currents

[[Page S3441]]

and harms our ecosystems and economies. This harm may come from direct 
interactions such as physical damage to a coral reef or fishing vessel; 
through indirect impacts such as the concentration of harmful chemicals 
in floating plastics; or from a reduction in tourism due to the 
unsightliness of a littered beach. In every case we should be 
responding by working to reduce the overall problem on a global scale 
and by striving to mitigate specific impacts.
  As an island State, Hawaii is particularly susceptible to the impacts 
of marine debris and, all the more so, because we are located near the 
center of a great network of ocean currents in the Pacific that tend to 
concentrate debris into a wide region known as the ``garbage patch''. 
For this reason, our State has long been at the forefront in dealing 
with this issue and in fact we have recently become the first State to 
develop and implement a comprehensive marine debris action plan. This 
Plan, along with the programs at NOAA and the Coast Guard, are likely 
to be even more valuable to us in the coming years as recent research 
suggests that the tragic Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami that 
struck in March, resulted in a tremendous amount of lost infrastructure 
that may reach our shores as debris in as little as 1 to 2 years.
  The Trash Free Seas Act of 2011 would strengthen our ability to 
respond to the pervasive problem of marine debris by incorporating 
marine debris removal as an explicit purpose of the programs; 
clarifying research and assessment and reduction, prevention, and 
removal as two distinct components of the NOAA program; and including 
tool development, regional coordination, and promoting international 
action as explicit program functions.
  I ask that my colleagues join me in supporting this important 
legislation.
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