,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #cfj  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,january #ac1        
#bjbe,ms4 ,ocasio-,cortez 7for herself  
and ,mrs4 ,kiggans of ,virginia7        
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on ,natural 
,resources  ,a ,,bill  ,to direct the   
,secretary of ,commerce to establish the
 ,oyster ,reef ,restoration and         
,conservation ,program4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,oyster ,reef ,recovery ,act of #bjbe4  
#b4 ,oyster ,reef ,restoration and      
,conservation ,program  7a7 ,oyster     
,reef ,restoration and ,conservation    
,program  7#a7 ,in general ,the         
,administrator shall establish a program
 for the conservation of oyster reefs1  
to be known as the ,oyster ,reef        
,restoration and ,conservation ,program4
  7#b7 ,program duties ,in carrying out 
the ,program1 the ,administrator shall  
provide technical and financial         
assistance to covered entities to-- 7,a7

 identify priorities for oyster reef    
restoration1 including existing oyster  
reef sites and locations of historically
 significant oyster reefs with the      
potential for restoration2  7,b7        
evaluate the health of and threats to   
oyster reefs1 including through mapping 
and water quality monitoring1 and       
identify conservation actions to address
 such threats2  7,c7 conduct voluntary  
planning1 construction1 assessment1     
protection1 monitoring1 restoration1 and
 enhancement projects with respect to   
oyster reefs2  7,d7 work to ensure the  
health and resilience of existing and   
restored oyster reefs through adaptive  
management procedures based on the best 
available science2  7,e7 build          
partnerships and capacity to carry out  
environmental conservation and          
stewardship measures with respect to    
oyster reefs2  7,f7 develop and         
implement monitoring protocols to ensure
 the success of conservation1           
restoration1 and enhancement measures   

with respect to oyster reefs2  7,g7     
collaborate and share information with  
other covered entities and the public   
with respect to best management         
practices for the conservation1         
restoration1 and enhancement of oyster  
reefs2 and  7,h7 support workforce      
training focused on coastal resilience  
and restoration concepts1 principles1   
techniques1 and implementation1         
especially to benefit underserved       
communities4  7#c7 ,grant program  7,a7 
,in general ,the ,administrator shall   
establish a competitive grant program to
 award amounts to persons that submit an
 application under subparagraph 7,b7 for
 the purposes of conducting research1   
planning1 construction1 assessments1    
management1 building capacity1          
monitoring1 collaborating and sharing   
information1 or workforce training with 
respect to the conservation1            
restoration1 enhancement1 or management 
of oyster reefs4  7,b7 ,applications ,to
 be eligible for a grant under this     

paragraph1 a person shall submit to the 
,administrator an application in such   
form1 at such time1 and containing such 
information1 including a sufficient     
demonstration that the project will not 
reasonably interfere with commercial or 
recreational fishing or other           
water-related uses of the relevant area1
 as the ,administrator determines       
appropriate4  7b7 ,rule of construction 
,nothing in this section may be         
construed to preempt or limit the       
authority of a ,state or an ,indian     
,tribe to manage oyster reefs or species
 of oysters4  7c7 ,authorization of     
appropriations ,there is authorized to  
be appropriated to the ,administrator to
 carry out this section #ae1jjj1jjj for 
each of fiscal years #bjbf through      
#bjcj4  7d7 ,definitions ,in this       
section3 7#a7 ,administrator ,the term  
,administrator means the ,secretary of  
,commerce1 acting through the           
,administrator of the ,national ,oceanic
 and ,atmospheric ,administration4  7#b7

 ,covered entity ,the term covered      
entity means-- 7,a7 a unit of the       
,federal or a ,state1 local1 or ,tribal 
government2  7,b7 a nongovernmental     
institution2  7,c7 a nonprofit          
organization2  7,d7 an institution of   
higher education2  7,e7 the shellfish   
industry2 and  7,f7 a private individual
 or entity4  7#c7 ,nonprofit            
organization ,the term nonprofit        
organization means an organization--    
7,a7 described in section #eja7;c77#c7  
of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of      
#aihf2 and  7,b7 exempt from tax under  
section #eja7;a7 of such ,code4  7#d7   
,program ,the term ,program means the   
,oyster ,reef ,restoration and          
,conservation ,program established under
 subsection 7a77#a74  7#e7 ,shellfish   
industry ,the term shellfish industry   
means shellfish growers and shellfish   
harvesters4