,i  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #didi  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #bf1 #bjbc,mr4 
,soto 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,graves of     
,louisiana1 ,mrs4 ,peltola1 ,mr4        
,huffman1 ,mrs4 ,gonzlez-,coln1 ,ms4    
,bonamici1 and ,mrs4 ,luna7 introduced  
the following bill2 which was referred  
to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs
  ,a ,,bill  ,to require the ,secretary 
of ,commerce to establish a grant       
program to facilitate the training and  
employment of veterans for certain      
conservation activities1 and for other  
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,don ,young         
,veterans ,advancing ,conservation ,act4
  #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the     
following findings3  7#a7 ,veterans are 
among the greatest assets of the ,united
 ,states4  7#b7 ,veterans are highly    
skilled and trained individuals whose   
mission is to protect their communities4
  7#c7 ,studies show that               
community-focused growth and engagement 

assists veterans with mental health and 
combat-related trauma4  7#d7 ,,scuba    
diving has been found to help improve   
mental1 physical1 and emotional health  
and has been specifically linked to     
improvement in the symptoms of          
post-traumatic stress disorder4  #c4    
,department of ,commerce ,veterans      
,advancing ,conservation ,grant ,program
  7a7 ,establishment ,not later than    
#abj days after the date of the         
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
shall establish a program1 to be known  
as the ,veterans ,advancing             
,conservation ,grant ,program1 under    
which the ,secretary may award grants1  
on a competitive basis1 to nonprofit    
organizations that train or employ      
veterans to conduct underwater marine   
and coastal conservation activities4    
7b7 ,eligible entities  7#a7 ,in general
 ,the ,secretary may award grants under 
this section to nonprofit organizations 
that train or employ veterans to conduct
 activities described in subsection 7a74

  7#b7 ,applications ,to be eligible to 
receive a grant under this section1 an  
organization shall submit to the        
,secretary an application in such form1 
at such time1 and containing such       
information as the ,secretary determines
 appropriate4  7c7 ,use of funds ,an    
organization awarded a grant under this 
section may use grant funds to train or 
employ veterans to conduct activities   
described in subsection 7a71 which may  
include--  7#a7 response to coral       
disease2  7#b7 restoration and          
rehabilitation of coral2  7#c7          
eradication of invasive species2  7#d7  
removal of marine debris2  7#e7 rescue  
of marine mammals and reptiles2  7#f7   
scientific research and development     
relating to such activities2  7#g7      
tagging of sharks and other marine      
animals2  7#h7 mapping of shipwrecks2   
7#i7 underwater survey work2  7#aj7     
hurricane recovery2 and  7#aa7 coastal  
restoration4  7d7 ,coordination ,in     
carrying out this section1 the          

,secretary shall coordinate with the    
,secretary of the ,interior4  7e7       
,authorization of appropriations ,of    
funds otherwise appropriated to the     
,secretary1 the ,secretary is authorized
 to make available not more than the    
following amounts to carry out this     
section3 7#a7 #a1jjj1jjj for fiscal year
 #bjbd4  7#b7 #a1bjj1jjj for fiscal year
 #bjbe4  7#c7 #a1djj1jjj for fiscal year
 #bjbf4  7#d7 #a1fjj1jjj for fiscal year
 #bjbg4  7#e7 #a1hjj1jjj for fiscal year
 #bjbh4  7f7 ,definitions ,in this      
section3 7#a7 ,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 taxation 
under #eja7;a7 of that ,code4  7#b7     
,secretary ,the term ,secretary means   
the ,secretary of ,commerce1 acting     
through the ,administrator of the       
,national ,oceanic and ,atmospheric     
,administration4  7#c7 ,veteran ,the    
term veteran has the meaning given such 

term in section #aja7b7 of title #ch1   
,united ,states ,code4