[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 62 (Thursday, April 11, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H2298-H2299]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      SEA TURTLE RESCUE ASSISTANCE AND REHABILITATION ACT OF 2023

  Mr. TIFFANY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2560) to require the Secretary of Commerce to establish the 
Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Grant Program, and for other purposes, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2560

       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 
     and Rehabilitation Act of 2023''.

     SEC. 2. SEA TURTLE RESCUE ASSISTANCE AND REHABILITATION GRANT 
                   PROGRAM.

       (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a grant 
     program, to be known as the ``Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance 
     and Rehabilitation Grant Program'', to encourage and 
     facilitate coordinated rapid response and rescue by awarding 
     grants for the purposes described in subsection (c).
       (b) Designation of Stranding and Rehabilitation Regions.--
     The Secretary shall designate geographic regions of the 
     United States as stranding and rehabilitation regions for the 
     purposes of carrying out this section.
       (c) Purposes.--The purposes of the Program are to provide 
     for--
       (1) the recovery, short- or long-term care, transportation, 
     and treatment of stranded marine turtles;
       (2) the release of rescued and recovered marine turtles;
       (3) the collection of data and samples from stranded marine 
     turtles for scientific research related to marine turtle 
     health; and
       (4) facility operation costs that are directly related to 
     activities described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3).
       (d) Equitable Distribution of Funds.--The Secretary shall 
     ensure, to the extent practicable, that funds awarded under 
     this section are distributed equitably among stranding and 
     rehabilitation regions, taking into account--
       (1) the number of stranding and rehabilitation events that 
     occurred in each stranding and rehabilitation region in the 
     preceding 5 years; and
       (2) the conservation priorities and recovery needs 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 the Director of the United States Fish and 
     Wildlife Service, establish by regulation appropriate 
     criteria for awarding grants under this section.
       (2) Stakeholder engagement.--As part of the process for 
     developing and finalizing criteria under paragraph (1), the 
     Secretary shall, in consultation with the Director of the 
     United States Fish and Wildlife Service, provide 
     opportunities for engagement with representatives from 
     stranding and rehabilitation regions and representatives of 
     State governments and public and private organizations with 
     an established record in coordination, rescue, 
     rehabilitation, and release, as well as related scientific 
     research, marine conservation, and forensic science, with 
     respect to stranded marine turtles.
       (3) Required criteria.--The criteria developed under 
     paragraph (1) shall prioritize applicants with an established 
     record of coordination, rescuing, rehabilitation, scientific 
     research, and forensic science with respect to stranded and 
     rehabilitated marine turtles or conducting scientific 
     research and forensic science on stranded and rehabilitated 
     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 50 percent of such costs, 
     including in-kind services and the use of property.
       (h) 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 and Rehabilitation 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 
     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 waters under the jurisdiction of the United States 
     (including any navigable waters), and in need of medical 
     attention or other necessary intervention to aid its 
     likelihood of survival.
       (5) Stranding and rehabilitation region.--The term 
     ``stranding and rehabilitation region'' means a geographic 
     region designated by the Secretary under subsection (b).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Tiffany) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin.


                             General Leave

  Mr. TIFFANY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and to include extraneous material on H.R. 2560, as amended, the bill 
now under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Wisconsin?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TIFFANY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, Representative Keating's bill would establish a Federal 
grant program for the recovery, care, and treatment of stranded sea 
turtles in the United States.
  All six turtle species found in U.S. waters are listed as threatened 
or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. According to the Sea 
Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network, their partners cared for more 
than 2,000 sea turtles over the last 2 years. H.R. 2560 will build on 
the network of these organizations and further support sea turtles.
  At our full committee markup of this bill last October, an amendment 
in the nature of a substitute was offered by Representative Luna of 
Florida to incorporate feedback from the Florida Fish and Wildlife 
Conservation Commission to include rehabilitation as an intent of the 
legislation. In addition, to ensure its compliance with floor 
protocols, the ANS ensured the program would be funded through NOAA's 
general authorities.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Keating and my colleagues across the aisle 
for working with us to amend this bill to address the concerns of some 
of our Members, and I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1245

  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

[[Page H2299]]

  Mr. Speaker, this bill, H.R. 2560, Mr. Keating's Sea Turtle Rescue 
Assistance and Rehabilitation Act, would establish a Federal grant 
program to support response and rehabilitation efforts for federally 
protected endangered sea turtles.
  As my colleague across the aisle mentioned, all six of the species of 
sea turtles in the U.S. are either threatened or endangered, and human 
activities, such as urban development, accidental capture, vessel 
strikes, and marine debris entanglement, are causing increasing sea 
turtle strandings. A stranded sea turtle is defined as one that has 
been found either dead or still alive but unable to go about its normal 
behavior due to injury or illness.
  As a result of more frequent stranding events, the Sea Turtle 
Stranding and Salvage Network was created. This is a coalition of 50 
Federal, State, and private partners that responds to stranded sea 
turtles and collects information to help us better protect and 
ultimately save them.
  Now, NOAA Fisheries oversees the coordination of this network, but it 
is the dedicated local organizations that actively respond to stranded 
turtles. They gather crucial scientific data, facilitate the 
transportation of sick and injured turtles to rehabilitation centers, 
and play a pivotal role in educating the public about the importance of 
sea turtle conservation. I am pleased that we are here today supporting 
these efforts.
  The legislation before us would create a grant program that funds the 
recovery, care, and treatment of stranded marine turtles, as well as 
the collection of stranding data for scientific research and facility 
operating costs.
  This act is a step in the right direction for our national efforts to 
recover our endangered sea turtle populations, and I urge my colleagues 
to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TIFFANY. Mr. Speaker, I have no requests for time and am prepared 
to close. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Keating), the author of this 
important legislation, a champion of sea turtle conservation, and a 
Representative from the other national seashore. I represent the great 
Point Reyes National Seashore on the West Coast, and Mr. Keating 
represents our East Coast brother seashore, sister seashore in Cape 
Cod.
  Mr. KEATING. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Tiffany) for his support, the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Luna), and 
the gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman) for his great support on 
this and so many other issues we work on together.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2560, the Sea Turtle 
Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act of 2023. This bill is an 
important piece of legislation that, for the first time, provides 
assistance to many organizations that work to ensure the continued 
survival of endangered sea turtle populations in the United States.
  Every species of sea turtle in the United States today is considered 
either threatened or endangered--every single one.
  In my region, warming waters in the North Atlantic have wreaked havoc 
with the annual migration of sea turtles. Changing conditions are 
causing many sea turtles to become cold-stunned as they depart Cape Cod 
Bay in the fall during their southern migration. Having become 
hyperthermic, these turtles eventually wash ashore on our beaches, and 
sadly, they perish from exposure and predation. They perish at a rate 
of nearly 100 percent.
  There has been a sudden, shocking change in the incidence of this 
mortality. As the temperatures in the ocean have vacillated and gotten 
colder, within the 2-year period of 2020 to 2022, the amount of 
mortality has increased twentyfold, a dramatic increase in just a short 
period of time.
  Further, sea turtles face threats from entanglement and ingestion of 
marine debris, from which, nationally, there were more than 7,000 
instances just in the year of 2022.
  This isn't just about my region. This legislation is supported by 72 
different organizations in 27 different States, and it is bipartisan in 
nature. The Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act will 
provide resources to the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network, a 
consortium of numerous aquariums and not-for-profit organizations that 
work together to rescue, rehabilitate, and eventually release back into 
the wild stranded and entangled sea turtles.
  This legislation is very efficient on many fronts.
  Number one, this small amount of money, if appropriated, will move 
forward and take advantage of an increased ability to organize 
nonprofits and volunteers at no expense whatsoever to taxpayers.
  It is also a moneymaker. Sea turtles are an amazing attraction. My 
wife and I just recently went to an area where we witnessed so many 
excursions, ferries, people coming from all over the world to go down 
and not only look at shipwrecks that are undersea but look at sea 
turtles.
  In fact, I read just this week in a publication that there is one sea 
turtle, an older sea turtle in an aquarium, that was marking its 50 
millionth visitor view--one turtle. It is a necessary attraction not 
only to preserve their uniqueness and their value but also to other 
people. It generates money that, again, helps taxpayers here.
  Finally, the sea turtles themselves are efficient and helpful. They 
graze on sea grass and other areas. Their natural work enhances a 
cleansing of the ocean, so there is a holistic view of the work where 
they actually are doing something, again, at no cost that is helpful.
  The work that this stranding network does in protecting these 
endangered species is vital to ensuring the populations of this much-
loved species continue to thrive into the future, helping to preserve a 
unique part of the ocean's biodiversity for our children and 
grandchildren.

  I am proud to have sponsored this legislation. I am proud of the 
bipartisan support behind this legislation to support sea turtle 
conservation, and I am deeply grateful that the House has taken up this 
opportunity to listen to this today and, hopefully, pass this 
legislation going forward.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to 
close. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' and yield back the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. TIFFANY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to 
briefly close.
  Sea turtles are an iconic species that capture the hearts and minds 
of many. As I mentioned in my opening remarks, due to the hard work of 
organizations such as the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network, the 
National Aquarium, and others, more than 2,000 sea turtles have been 
rescued and rehabilitated over the last 2 years.
  H.R. 2560 will complement the great work of these organizations. I 
again thank Mr. Keating, Mrs. Luna, and my colleagues on the committee 
for their collaborative work on this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Tiffany) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 2560, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. TIFFANY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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