,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #adbe  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,april #i1 #bjac ,ms4
 ,bonamici 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,herrera  
,beutler1 ,mr4 ,de,fazio1 ,mr4 ,smith of
 ,washington1 ,mr4 ,schrader1 ,ms4 ,chu1
 ,mr4 ,honda1 ,mr4 ,farr1 ,ms4 ,speier1 
,mr4 ,larsen of ,washington1 ,mrs4      
,capps1 ,mr4 ,blumenauer1 ,ms4 ,lee of  
,california1 ,mr4 ,kilmer1 ,mr4         
,mc,dermott1 ,mr4 ,thompson of          
,california1 ,mr4 ,young of ,alaska1    
,mr4 ,reichert1 ,mr4 ,huffman1 ,mr4     
,heck of ,washington1 and ,ms4          
,del,bene7 introduced the following     
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,transportation and       
,infrastructure1 and in addition to the 
,committee on ,natural ,resources1 for a
 period to be subsequently determined by
 the ,speaker1 in each case for         
consideration of such provisions as fall
 within the jurisdiction of the         
committee concerned  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
amend the ,marine ,debris ,act to better

 address severe marine debris events1   
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,marine ,debris ,emergency ,act of      
#bjac4  #b4 ,marine debris ,section #c  
of the ,marine ,debris ,act 7#cc        
,u4,s4,c4 #aieb7 is amended by adding at
 the end the following3  7d7 ,severe    
marine debris events  7#a7 ,priority    
consideration and disbursement ,not     
later than #fj days after receiving an  
application for a grant under subsection
 7c7 with respect to a severe marine    
debris event1 the ,administrator shall1 
to the extent feasible--  7,a7 approve  
or disapprove the application2 and  7,b7
 if approving the application1 provide  
the approved grant funds to the grant   
recipient4  7#b7 ,preference ,in        
evaluating applications for grants under
 subsection 7c71 the ,administrator     
shall give preference to projects that  
address severe marine debris events1    
including projects that address a severe
 marine debris event that has introduced

 or is likely to introduce marine       
invasive species to the ,united ,states4
  7#c7 ,request for a declaration  7,a7 
,in general ,the ,governor of a ,state  
may request that the ,administrator     
declare a severe marine debris event1 in
 such ,state or a region that includes  
such ,state1 for purposes of paragraphs 
7#a7 and 7#b74  7,b7 ,response to       
requests ,not later than #cj days after 
receiving a request under subparagraph  
7,a71 the ,administrator shall either-- 
7i7 declare a severe marine debris event
 with respect to the request2 or  7ii7  
provide a response to the ,governor who 
submitted the request1 explaining why   
the ,administrator has not declared a   
severe marine debris event with respect 
to the request4  7e7 ,guidance ,the     
,administrator shall take appropriate   
steps to encourage recipients of grants 
under this section to--  7#a7 educate   
staff and volunteers engaged in marine  
debris response efforts on the potential
 threats that marine debris and marine  

invasive species may pose to the ,united
 ,states with respect to living marine  
resources1 the marine environment1      
navigation1 and public health2 and  7#b7
 coordinate marine debris response      
efforts with appropriate ,federal1      
,state1 and local government and        
nongovernmental entities4  7f7 ,marine  
invasive species defined ,in this       
section1 the term marine invasive       
species means a marine nonindigenous    
species 7as defined in section #ajjc of 
the ,nonindigenous ,aquatic ,nuisance   
,prevention and ,control ,act of #aiij  
7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #dgjb77 the introduction 
of which to the ,united ,states will1 or
 is likely to--  7#a7 cause economic or 
environmental harm2  7#b7 threaten the  
diversity or abundance of native species
 or the ecological stability of infested
 waters2 or  7#c7 disrupt commercial1   
agricultural1 aquacultural1 or          
recreational activities dependent on    
infested waters4  4