,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hfbg  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,october #bj1        
#bjbj,mr4 ,brown of ,maryland introduced
 the following bill2 which was referred 
to the ,committee on ,natural ,resources
  ,a ,,bill  ,to express the sense of   
,congress that the ,chesapeake ,bay     
,office of the ,national ,oceanic and   
,atmospheric ,administration shall be   
the primary representative of the       
,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric     
,administration in the ,chesapeake ,bay1
 to require the ,secretary of the       
,commerce1 acting through the           
,administrator of the ,national ,oceanic
 and ,atmospheric ,administration1 to   
provide grants supporting research on   
the conservation1 restoration1 or       
management of oysters in estuarine      
ecosystems1 and for other purposes4  #a4
 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of
 ,congress that the ,chesapeake ,bay    
,office of the ,national ,oceanic and   
,atmospheric ,administration shall be   

the primary representative of the       
,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric     
,administration in the ,chesapeake ,bay4
  #b4 ,grants for recovering oysters    
7a7 ,establishment ,the ,administrator  
shall establish a grant program 7in this
 section referred to as the ,program7   
under which the ,administrator shall    
award grants to eligible entities for   
the purpose of conducting research on   
the conservation1 restoration1 or       
management of oysters in estuarine      
ecosystems4  7b7 ,application ,to be    
eligible to receive a grant under this  
section1 an eligible entity shall submit
 to the ,administrator an application at
 such time1 in such manner1 and         
containing such information as the      
,administrator may require4  7c7        
,allocation of grant funds  7#a7 ,in    
general ,the ,administrator shall award 
a grant under the ,program to eligible  
entities that submit an application     
under subsection 7b74  7#b7 ,matching   
requirement  7,a7 ,in general ,except as

 provided in subparagraph 7,b71 the     
total amount of ,federal funding        
received under the ,program by an       
eligible entity may not exceed #he      
percent of the total cost of the        
research project for which the funding  
was awarded4 ,for the purposes of this  
subparagraph1 the non-,federal share of 
project costs may be provided by in-kind
 contributions and other noncash        
support4  7,b7 ,waiver ,the             
,administrator may waive all or part of 
the requirement in subparagraph 7,a7 if 
the ,administrator determines that no   
reasonable means are available through  
which an eligible entity applying for a 
grant under this section can meet such  
requirement and the probable benefit of 
such research project outweighs the     
public interest in such requirement4    
7#c7 ,equitable distribution ,the       
,administrator shall ensure1 to the     
maximum extent practicable1 that grant  
funding under this section is           
apportioned according to the historic   

baseline oyster population of each      
estuary of the ,united ,states4  7d7    
,definitions ,in this section1 the      
following definitions apply3 7#a7       
,academic community ,the term academic  
community means faculty1 researchers1   
professors1 and representatives of      
,state-accredited colleges and          
universities4  7#b7 ,administrator ,the 
term ,administrator means the ,secretary
 of ,commerce acting through the        
,administrator of the ,national ,oceanic
 and ,atmospheric ,administration4  7#c7
 ,eligible entity ,the term eligible    
entity means a member of the academic   
community1 the seafood industry1 a      
relevant nonprofit organization1 or a   
relevant ,state agency1 that is         
proposing or conducting a research      
project on the conservation1            
restoration1 or management of oysters in
 an estuarine ecosystem developed       
through consultation with a member of   
the academic community1 a member of the 
seafood industry1 a relevant nonprofit  

organization1 or a relevant ,state      
agency4  7#d7 ,historic baseline ,the   
term historic baseline means the        
estimated population of oysters in an   
estuary in #ahej4  7#e7 ,nonprofit      
organization ,the term nonprofit        
organization means an organization      
described in section #eja7;c77#c7 of the
 ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf and  
exempt from tax under section #eja7;a7  
of such ,code4  7#f7 ,seafood industry  
,the term seafood industry means        
shellfish growers1 shellfish harvesters1
 commercial fishermen1 and recreational 
fishermen4  7e7 ,authorization of       
appropriations ,there is authorized to  
be appropriated to the ,administrator   
#f1jjj1jjj for each of the fiscal years 
#bjba through #bjbe to carry out this   
section4