[Senate Report 116-258]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 519
116th Congress      }                                   {       Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session         }                                   {      116-258
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     


 SCIENTIFIC ASSISTANCE FOR VERY ENDANGERED NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALES 
                              ACT OF 2019

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

           COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION

                                   on

                                S. 2453













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                August 13, 2020.--Ordered to be printed 
                
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                  U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                  
99-010                 WASHINGTON : 2020                 
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
       SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
                     one hundred sixteenth congress
                             second session

                 ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi, Chairman
JOHN THUNE, South Dakota             MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
ROY BLUNT, Missouri                  AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
TED CRUZ, Texas                      RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska                BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
JERRY MORAN, Kansas                  EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska                 TOM UDALL, New Mexico
CORY GARDNER, Colorado               GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee          TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia  TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
MIKE LEE, Utah                       JON TESTER, Montana
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin               KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona
TODD C. YOUNG, Indiana               JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
RICK SCOTT, Florida
                       John Keast, Staff Director
               David Strickland, Minority Staff Director



























                                                      Calendar No. 519
116th Congress      }                                   {       Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session         }                                   {      116-258

======================================================================



 
 SCIENTIFIC ASSISTANCE FOR VERY ENDANGERED NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALES 
                              ACT OF 2019

                                _______
                                

                August 13, 2020.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

       Mr. Wicker, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 2453]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to 
which was referred the bill (S. 2453) to assist in the 
conservation of the North Atlantic right whale by supporting 
and providing financial resources for North Atlantic right 
whale conservation programs and projects of persons with 
expertise required for the conservation of North Atlantic right 
whales, and for other purposes, having considered the same, 
reports favorably thereon with an amendment (in the nature of a 
substitute) and recommends that the bill (as amended) do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of S. 2453, the Scientific Assistance for Very 
Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales Act (SAVE Right Whales 
Act), is to authorize appropriations to fund projects for the 
conservation of North Atlantic right whales, to require a 
report to Congress on the effectiveness of projects under the 
Act, and to designate a continuous plankton recorder survey.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEEDS

    North Atlantic right whales are baleen whales, which feed 
on krill and small fish by straining large amounts of ocean 
water through baleen plates.\1\ North Atlantic right whales are 
generally found in the northeast Atlantic, up the coast to 
Canada, but their migratory pattern ranges to the southeastern 
European coast.\2\ The North Atlantic right whale has been 
listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) 
since 1970 and is currently designated depleted by the Marine 
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).\3\ The North Atlantic right whale 
is ``one of the world's most endangered large whale species, 
with only about 400 whales remaining.''\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\NOAA Fisheries, ``North Atlantic Right Whale'' (https://
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/north-atlantic-right-whale) (accessed 
Mar. 5, 2020).
    \2\Id.
    \3\Id.
    \4\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    While the North Atlantic right whale population was 
decimated in the early 1800s by the whaling industry, today the 
biggest threat to the North Atlantic right whale population is 
human activity.\5\ Vessel collisions and entanglement are the 
two leading causes of whale mortality.\6\ North Atlantic right 
whale migration routes and habitats are near major ports in the 
Atlantic Ocean and often cross over highly traveled shipping 
lanes.\7\ Vessel collisions cause death by blunt force trauma 
and propeller cuts.\8\ Entanglement in fishing gear can injure 
or stress a whale, leading to decreased fertility and, in many 
cases, death.\9\ ``[M]ore than 85 percent of right whales have 
been entangled in fishing gear at least once, and about 60 
percent have been entangled multiple times.''\10\ Entanglements 
and strikes which do not cause immediate death often have long-
lasting negative effects which later develop into conditions 
which result in slow, painful deaths.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\Id.
    \6\Id.
    \7\Id.
    \8\NOAA Fisheries, ``North Atlantic Right Whale: Conservation and 
Management'' (https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/north-atlantic-
right-whale#conservation-management) (accessed Mar. 5, 2020).
    \9\Id.
    \10\Id.
    \11\Sharon Livermore, ``Ship Strikes and Whales: Preventing a 
Collision Course,'' International Fund for Animal Welfare, Nov. 4, 2019 
(https://www.ifaw.org/people-and-ideas/opinions/ship-strikes-whales-
preventing-collision); Ed Yong, ``North Atlantic Right Whales Are Dying 
in Horrific Ways,'' The Atlantic, Jun. 27, 2019 (https://
www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/06/1-north-atlantic-right-
whales-have-died-month/592840/). See also Russ Bynum (AP),
``Injured Baby Right Whale Given Grim Prognosis After 2nd Look,'' 
Seattle Times, Jan. 13, 2020 (https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-
world/nation/injured-baby-right-whale-given-grim-prognosis-after-2nd-
look/).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    North Atlantic right whales are also threatened by small 
population numbers.\12\ Of the approximately 400 right whales 
left, fewer than 100 of them are breeding females.\13\ There 
have been only 12 births recorded by North Atlantic right 
whales since 2017.\14\ Conversely, there has been a record 30 
right whale mortalities since 2017, which was declared an 
Unusual Mortality Event under the MMPA.\15\ Right whales give 
birth to a single calf after a 12-month long pregnancy.\16\ 
Normally, there is a 3-year interval between right whale 
calving events, but recent studies have revealed that female 
North Atlantic right whales are only having calves every 6 to 
10 years.\17\ Some biologists cite ``additional stress caused 
by entanglement [as] one of the reasons that females are 
calving less often.''\18\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \12\``North Atlantic Right Whale,'' supra note 1.
    \13\Id.
    \14\Id.
    \15\NOAA Fisheries, ``2017-2020 North Atlantic Right Whale Unusual 
Mortality Event'' (https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-life-
distress/2017-2020-north-atlantic-right-whale-unusual-mortality-event) 
(accessed Mar. 5, 2020).
    \16\Id.
    \17\Id.
    \18\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    NOAA Fisheries designated critical habitat for the North 
Atlantic right whale in 1994, which was revised in 2016.\19\ It 
includes ``a foraging area in the Northeast and a calving area 
in the Southeast.''\20\ Researchers have estimated that the 
number of right whales that can be killed each year while still 
maintaining a stable population is 0.9.\21\ There were 10 North 
Atlantic right whale deaths recorded in 2019.\22\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \19\``North Atlantic Right Whale: Conservation and Management,'' 
supra note 8.
    \20\Id.
    \21\Yong, supra note 11.
    \22\``2017-2019 North Atlantic Right Whale Unusual Mortality 
Event,'' supra note 15.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The SAVE Right Whales Act would support collaborative 
projects between States, nongovernmental organizations, and 
members of the fishing and shipping industries to reduce the 
impacts of human activities on North Atlantic right whales.

                         SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS

    S. 2453, the SAVE Right Whales Act, would do the following:
   Provide for a $5 million appropriation for each of 
        fiscal years 2019-2029 to fund projects for the 
        conservation of North Atlantic right whales.
   Require a report to Congress on the effectiveness of 
        projects under the Act.
   Designate a continuous plankton recorder survey.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 2453 was introduced on September 10, 2019, by Senator 
Booker (for himself and Senators Isakson and Carper) and was 
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate. Senators Roberts, Blumenthal, and 
Markey are additional cosponsors. On November 13, 2019, the 
Committee met in open Executive Session and, by voice vote, 
ordered S. 2453 reported favorably with an amendment (in the 
nature of a substitute).
    A related bill, H.R. 1568, was introduced on March 6, 2019, 
by Representative Moulton (for himself and Representatives 
Huffman, Keating, Posey, and Rutherford) and was referred to 
the Committee on Natural Resources (in addition to the 
Committee on the Budget) of the House of Representatives. There 
are 49 additional cosponsors. On October 18, 2019, H.R. 1568 
was reported favorably with an amendment (in the nature of a 
substitute) and was discharged by the Committee on the Budget.

                            ESTIMATED COSTS

    In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the 
following cost estimate, prepared by the Congressional Budget 
Office:

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    S. 2453 would authorize the appropriation of $5.3 million 
annually from 2020 through 2029 for the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to provide competitive grants 
for projects to conserve a particular species of whale, known 
as the North Atlantic right whale ($5.0 million), and to 
conduct surveys using a device known as a continuous plankton 
recorder on an ongoing basis ($0.3 million).
    Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO 
estimates that implementing S. 2453 would cost $25 million over 
the 2020-2025 period and $28 million after 2025. The costs of 
the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall into budget function 
300 (natural resources and environment).

                                TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED BUDGETARY EFFECTS OF S. 2453
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
                                          ----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             2020      2021      2022      2023      2024      2025    2020-2025
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 Increases in Spending Subject to Appropriation
 
Authorization............................         5         5         5         5         5         5         32
Estimated Outlays........................         *         4         5         5         5         5         25
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Components may not sum to totals because of rounding, * = between zero and $500,000.

    Under the bill, NOAA also would be authorized to accept and 
spend monetary gifts to supplement appropriated funds provided 
for the right whale conservation grants. The receipt and 
spending of such gifts are recorded in the budget as direct 
spending. Because any money received would probably be spent 
soon thereafter, CBO estimates that the net effect on direct 
spending would be negligible.
    On May 13, 2019, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
1568, the SAVE Right Whales Act, as ordered reported by the 
House Committee on Natural Resources on May 1, 2019. H.R. 1568 
and S. 2453 are similar and the CBO cost estimates for those 
pieces of legislation reflect differences only in the time 
periods over which CBO estimated the costs.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Madeleine Fox. 
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                      REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT

    In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the 
following evaluation of the regulatory impact of the 
legislation, as reported:

Number of Persons Covered

    S. 2453, as reported, does not create any new programs or 
impose any new regulatory requirements and therefore will not 
subject any individuals or businesses to new regulations.

Economic Impact

    S. 2453 is not expected to have a negative impact on the 
Nation's economy.

Privacy

    S. 2453, as reported, would have no impact on the personal 
privacy of individuals.

Paperwork

    S. 2453 would require additional paperwork from grant 
applicants, but this would be offset by the benefit of 
receiving the grant for research into right whale conservation.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    In compliance with paragraph 4(b) of rule XLIV of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides that no 
provisions contained in the bill, as reported, meet the 
definition of congressionally directed spending items under the 
rule.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Sec. 1. Short title.

    This section would provide that the bill may be cited as 
the ``Scientific Assistance for Very Endangered North Atlantic 
Right Whales Act of 2019'' or the ``SAVE Right Whales Act''.

Sec. 2. Findings; sense of Congress.

    This section would establish a congressional finding that 
North Atlantic right whales are critically endangered, with 
approximately 400 whales remaining at the time of introduction.
    It would also find that North Atlantic right whales are 
listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species 
Conservation Act of 1969 and designated as depleted under the 
Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (MMPA). It would find that 
North Atlantic right whales are highly vulnerable to the 
impacts of human activity and habitat degradation and that 
North Atlantic right whales frequently cross paths with major 
shipping lanes. It would find that the two leading causes of 
injury and death to the species are vessel collisions and 
fishing gear entanglements.
    This section would find that recent analysis suggests that 
the species will lose its ability to recover in a few decades 
if human-caused mortality is not reduced.
    It would establish a sense of Congress that the Governments 
of the United States and Canada must work together to conserve 
and protect North Atlantic right whales.

Sec. 3. Purposes.

    This section would establish the purposes of this Act to 
rebuild healthy populations of the North Atlantic right whale 
and assist in their conservation and protection by financially 
supporting right whale conservation programs that minimize 
conflicts between North Atlantic right whales and human 
activities.

            TITLE I--NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE CONSERVATION

Sec. 101. North Atlantic right whale conservation assistance.

    This section would establish an annual grant program for 
the conservation of North Atlantic right whales. It would allow 
for project proposals to be submitted by relevant State and 
Tribal agencies or any other individual or entity with the 
expertise required for the conservation of the North Atlantic 
right whale.
    This section would direct the Secretary to approve projects 
likely to aid in the recovery and sustainability of North 
Atlantic right whales, and prioritize projects designed to 
reduce the lethal and sub-lethal affects of human activities on 
North Atlantic right whales. It would also, in most cases, 
require a 25 percent non-Federal matching funds requirement, 
which could be met through in-kind contributions.

Sec. 102. Report to Congress.

    This section would require the Secretary to submit a report 
to Congress on the results and efficacy of projects receiving 
assistance under this Act, including recommendations for 
improvement, not later than 2 years after enactment, and every 
5 years thereafter.

Sec. 103. Funding.

    This section would authorize $5 million to be appropriated 
to the Secretary for each of fiscal years 2019-2029 to carry 
out this title. It would limit administrative expenses to no 
more than 5 percent, or $80,000, whichever is greater.
    This section would establish that funds appropriated under 
this Act would supplement and not supplant other amounts 
available to the Secretary.
    This section would also allow the Secretary to accept and 
utilize donations to provide assistance under section 101.

                 TITLE II--CONTINUOUS PLANKTON RECORDER

Sec. 201. Survey.

    This section would require the Secretary to conduct a 
continuous plankton recorder survey not later than 180 days 
after enactment.
    The survey would be conducted by the Northeast Fisheries 
Science Center (NFSC), utilizing the resources of and 
partnering with research institutions, nonprofits, commercial 
vessels, and other Federal agencies.
    This section would require the NFSC to ensure relevant 
survey samples and results are made publicly available. It 
would prioritize the collection of plankton samples and data 
that inform the conservation of North Atlantic right whales. It 
would also require the NFSC to coordinate with the Government 
of Canada to develop a transboundary understanding of plankton 
abundance and distribution.
    This section would authorize $300,000 to be appropriated to 
the Secretary for each of fiscal years 2019-2029 for these 
purposes.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee states that the 
bill as reported would make no change to existing law.

                                  [all]