[House Report 118-433]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


118th Congress    }                                     {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                     {      118-433

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



 
      SEA TURTLE RESCUE ASSISTANCE AND REHABILITATION ACT OF 2023

                                _______
                                

 April 2, 2024.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Westerman, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2560]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 2560) to require the Secretary of Commerce to 
establish the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Grant Program, and 
for other purposes, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the 
bill as amended do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

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).

                       PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION

    The purpose of H.R. 2560 is to require the Secretary of 
Commerce to establish the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Grant 
Program, and for other purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    All six sea turtle species found in the United States' 
waters are listed as threatened or endangered under the 
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). In the U.S., 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) have shared 
jurisdiction for the recovery and conservation of threatened 
and endangered sea turtles. NOAA oversees the conservation and 
recovery of sea turtles in the marine environment, while the 
USFWS leads the conservation and recovery of these animals on 
nesting beaches.\1\ Historically, NOAA's John H. Prescott Grant 
program has provided funding to assist stranded sea turtles.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\NOAA, Fisheries, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/sea-turtles.
    \2\The John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant 
Program report (FY 2001-2010), https://repository.library.noaa.gov/
view/noaa/3933.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Act would establish a 
federal grant program to provide funding for the 
rehabilitation, recovery, care, and treatment of stranded sea 
turtles in the United States, data collection for scientific 
research on such turtles and facility operating costs. Sea 
turtles can become stranded on coasts due to a number of 
factors, including accidental capture in fishing gear, vessel 
strikes, or cold-stun events, which can occur during winter 
months when water temperatures rapidly and persistently drop 
below 50+F.\3\ The Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage 
Network (Network) is a consortium of 50 federal, state, and 
private partners established to respond to stranded turtles.\4\ 
According to the Network, eight of these partners have cared 
for more than 2,000 sea turtles over the last two years at a 
cost of $5 million per year.\5\ The program created by this act 
would supplement this work by providing federal resources and 
expertise.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\NOAA, Supra 1.
    \4\Id.
    \5\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 2560 was introduced on April 10, 2023, by Rep. William 
Keating (D-MA). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 
on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries. On October 25-26, 2023, the 
Committee on Natural Resources met to consider the bill. The 
Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries was discharged 
from further consideration of H.R. 2560 by unanimous consent. 
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) offered an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute designated Luna_051 ANS. The amendment 
in the nature of a substitute was adopted by unanimous consent. 
The bill, as amended, was ordered favorably reported to the 
House of Representatives by unanimous consent.

                                HEARINGS

    For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of House rule XIII, the 
following hearing was used to develop or consider this measure: 
by the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife (now the 
Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries) held on July 21, 
2022.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    This Act may be cited as the ``Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance 
Act''.

Section 2. Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Grant Program

    Would establish a grant program within the Department of 
Commerce to assist stranded sea turtles. Funding could be 
awarded to non-federal entities for the recovery and 
rehabilitation of sea turtles, data collection and facility 
operations.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

      COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT

    1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. 
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the 
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    H.R. 2560 would direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA) to award grants to rescue and 
rehabilitate stranded marine turtles. Under the bill, entities 
could receive up to $150,000 per grant to support marine turtle 
rescue and recovery, data collection, and research; as well as 
operating costs for facilities devoted to the research and 
rehabilitation of marine turtles. H.R. 2560 also would require 
NOAA to designate regions where turtle strandings tend to occur 
and equitably distribute grants across those regions. In 2023, 
NOAA allocated about $1 million for sea turtle stranding 
response and rehabilitation activities.
    Using information from the agency, CBO expects that NOAA 
would need one full-time employee to administer the program at 
a cost of about $100,000 and would begin awarding grants in 
2025. Additionally, CBO expects that each year about 50 
organizations would receive grants of about $100,000, on 
average, under the program. On that basis and accounting for 
anticipated inflation, CBO estimates that NOAA would need about 
$5 million a year to administer the program over the 2024-2028 
period, though outlays each year would be less than that amount 
because it would take time to disburse all of the grants.
    Using historical spending patterns for similar activities, 
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2560 would cost $12 
million over the 2024-2028 period, assuming appropriation of 
the estimated amount.
    The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall 
within budget function 300 (natural resources and environment).

                TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION UNDER H.R. 2560
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
                                                              --------------------------------------------------
                                                                2024    2025    2026    2027    2028   2024-2028
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Authorization......................................       *       5       5       5       6        21
Estimated Outlays............................................       *       1       2       4       5        12
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* = between zero and $500,000.

    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Kelly Durand. 
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Director of Budget Analysis.
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

    2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill is to require the Secretary of Commerce 
to establish the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Grant Program, 
and for other purposes.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                 UNFUNDED MANDATES REFORM ACT STATEMENT

    According to the Congressional Budget Office, H.R. 2560 
contains no unfunded mandates as defined in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act.

                           EXISTING PROGRAMS

    Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any 
directed rule makings.
    Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not 
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government 
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was 
not included in any report from the Government Accountability 
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program 
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law 
98-169) as relating to other programs.

                  APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

    Any preemptive effect of this bill over state, local, or 
tribal law is intended to be consistent with the bill's 
purposes and text and the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the 
U.S. Constitution.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    As ordered reported by the Committee on Natural Resources, 
H.R. 2560 makes no changes in existing law.

                                  [all]