Federal

REEF Act of 2023

Source: Congress.gov · 338 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill requires the Secretary of the Navy to notify Congress before removing Navy ships from the Naval Vessel Register (the official list of Navy ships) if those ships could be turned into artificial reefs. The bill expresses that the Navy should explore using retired ships as artificial reefs before disposing of them in other ways.

Who It Affects

The Secretary of the Navy and Congress are directly affected by this bill's requirements.

Key Provisions

• The Secretary of the Navy must notify Congress at least 90 days before removing any Navy ship from the Naval Vessel Register if that ship is a viable candidate for artificial reefing (Sec. 2(b)). • Congress expresses that the Secretary of the Navy should explore and request artificial reefing opportunities with appropriate entities for any Navy ship planned for retirement before starting any disposal plans (Sec. 2(a)).

What Changes

If this bill becomes law, the Navy must give Congress a 90-day notice before striking any ship that could become an artificial reef from the Naval Vessel Register. Currently, no such notice requirement exists.

Important Definitions

None defined in bill text.

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 386 To require the Secretary of the Navy to notify Congress of pending action to strike from the Naval Vessel Register any naval vessel that is a viable candidate for artificial reefing, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 9, 2023 Mr. RUBIO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To require the Secretary of the Navy to notify Congress of pending action to strike from the Naval Vessel Reg- ister any naval vessel that is a viable candidate for artificial reefing, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Re-using Equipment 4 for Environmental Fortification Act of 2023’’ or the 5 ‘‘REEF Act of 2023’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S386.IS S386 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 386 IS SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION OF PENDING AC- 1 TION TO STRIKE FROM THE NAVAL VESSEL 2 REGISTER NAVAL VESSELS THAT ARE VIABLE 3 CANDIDATES FOR ARTIFICIAL REEFING. 4 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 5 gress that the Secretary of the Navy should explore and 6 solicit artificial reefing opportunities with appropriate en- 7 tities for any naval vessel planned for retirement before 8 initiating any plans to dispose of the vessel. 9 (b) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 90 days before 10 the date on which a naval vessel that is a viable candidate 11 for artificial reefing is to be stricken from the Naval Vessel 12 Register, the Secretary of the Navy shall notify Congress 13 of such pending action. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S386.IS S386 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.