Chesapeake Bay Oyster Research Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5366 To require the Secretary of the Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to provide grants supporting research on the conservation, restoration, or manage- ment of oysters in the Chesapeake Bay. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 9, 2019 Mr. BROWN of Maryland (for himself, Mr. SARBANES, and Mr. SCOTT of Vir- ginia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To require the Secretary of the Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos- pheric Administration, to provide grants supporting re- search on the conservation, restoration, or management of oysters in the Chesapeake Bay. 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 ‘‘Chesapeake Bay Oys- 4 ter Research Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5366.IH H5366 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5366 IH SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 1 It is the sense of Congress that the Chesapeake Bay 2 Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis- 3 tration shall be the primary representative of the Adminis- 4 tration in the Chesapeake Bay. 5 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR RESEARCHING OYSTERS IN THE 6 CHESAPEAKE BAY. 7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Com- 8 merce, acting through the Administrator of the National 9 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shall establish 10 a grant program (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Pro- 11 gram’’) under which the Secretary shall award grants to 12 eligible entities for the purpose of conducting research on 13 the conservation, restoration, or management of oysters 14 in the Chesapeake Bay. 15 (b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 16 under this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the 17 Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, 18 and containing such information as the Secretary may re- 19 quire. 20 (c) ALLOCATION OF GRANT FUNDS.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award a 22 grant under the Program to eligible entities that 23 submit an application under subsection (b). 24 (2) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5366.IH H5366 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5366 IH (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 1 subparagraph (B), the total amount of Federal 2 funding received under the Program by an eligi- 3 ble entity may not exceed 85 percent of the 4 total cost of the research project for which the 5 funding was awarded. For the purposes of this 6 subparagraph, the non-Federal share of project 7 costs may be provided by in-kind contributions 8 and other noncash support. 9 (B) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive 10 all or part of the requirement in subparagraph 11 (A) if the Secretary determines that no reason- 12 able means are available through which an eligi- 13 ble entity applying for a grant under this sec- 14 tion can meet such requirement and the prob- 15 able benefit of such research project outweighs 16 the public interest in such requirement. 17 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act, the following defini- 18 tions apply: 19 (1) ACADEMIC COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘aca- 20 demic community’’ means faculty, researchers, pro- 21 fessors, and representatives of State-accredited col- 22 leges and universities. 23 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 24 ty’’ means a member of the academic community, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5366.IH H5366 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5366 IH the seafood industry, a relevant nonprofit organiza- 1 tion, or a relevant State agency, that is proposing or 2 conducting a research project on the conservation, 3 restoration, or management of oysters in the Chesa- 4 peake Bay developed through consultation with a 5 member of the academic community, a member of 6 the seafood industry, a relevant nonprofit organiza- 7 tion, or a relevant State agency. 8 (3) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 9 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization de- 10 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 11 Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 12 501(a) of such Code. 13 (4) SEAFOOD INDUSTRY.—The term ‘‘seafood 14 industry’’ means shellfish growers, shellfish har- 15 vesters, commercial fishermen, and recreational fish- 16 ermen. 17 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 18 the Secretary of the Commerce, acting through the 19 Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos- 20 pheric Administration. 21 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 22 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $2,000,000 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5366.IH H5366 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5366 IH for each of the fiscal years 2020 through 2025 to carry 1 out this section. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5366.IH H5366 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS