[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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