,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #chcc ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,february #aa1 #bjbf,mr4 ,welch 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,schumer1 ,mr4 ,sanders1 and ,mrs4 ,gillibrand7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,environment and ,public ,works ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,federal ,water ,pollution ,control ,act to provide for the selection of a fiscal agent for the ,patrick ,leahy ,lake ,champlain ,basin ,program1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,patrick ,leahy ,lake ,champlain ,basin ,program ,enhancements ,act of #bjbf or the ,,lcbp ,enhancements ,act of #bjbf4 #b4 ,patrick ,leahy ,lake ,champlain ,basin ,program ,section #abj of the ,federal ,water ,pollution ,control ,act 7#cc ,u4,s4,c4 #abgj7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7a7-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#b77;,a71 by striking ,new ,england ,interstate ,water ,pollution ,control ,commission and inserting fiscal agent2 and 7,b7 by adding at the end the following3 7#c7 ,fiscal agent 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,steering ,committee and the ,administrator shall jointly select a qualified entity to serve as the fiscal agent for the ,patrick ,leahy ,lake ,champlain ,basin ,program4 7,b7 ,assessment 7i7 ,in general ,beginning as soon as practicable after the date of enactment of the ,,lcbp ,enhancements ,act of #bjbf1 and as necessary but not less frequently than once every #e years thereafter1 the ,steering ,committee and the ,administrator shall jointly assess the effectiveness of the fiscal agent and1 if appropriate1 select a new qualified entity to serve as the fiscal agent through a competitive process4 7ii7 ,stakeholder engagement ,in carrying out the assessments required under clause 7i71 the ,steering ,committee and the ,administrator shall consult with1 and incorporate feedback from1 impacted stakeholders4 7iii7 ,no competitive process after selection ,on selection of a fiscal agent1 the ,administrator shall award funding to the fiscal agent without competition until such time as a new fiscal agent is selected4 7iv7 ,new fiscal agent selection ,if the ,steering ,committee and the ,administrator jointly select a new fiscal agent pursuant to clause 7i7-- 7,i7 the ,administrator may de-obligate unobligated or unexpended funds from prior awards under clause 7iii7 and re-obligate those funds to the new fiscal agent2 7,,ii7 the ,steering ,committee and the ,administrator shall1 to the maximum extent practicable1 ensure the continuity of the staff1 programming1 funding awards1 and other activities and administrative functions of the ,patrick ,leahy ,lake ,champlain ,basin ,program1 as determined necessary by the ,steering ,committee and the ,administrator2 and 7,,iii7 the ,steering ,committee and the ,administrator shall1 to the maximum extent practicable1 ensure that the new fiscal agent-- 7aa7 is headquartered in the ,lake ,champlain drainage basin2 7bb7 only if a suitable entity described in item 7aa7 is not identified1 is headquartered in the ,state of ,new ,york or ,vermont2 or 7cc7 only if a suitable entity described in item 7bb7 is not identified1 maintains a significant staffing presence1 including staff that would have decisionmaking authority with respect to the ,patrick ,leahy ,lake ,champlain ,basin ,program1 within the ,lake ,champlain drainage basin4 7v7 ,report to ,congress ,not later than #ij days after the date on which an assessment under clause 7i7 is completed1 the ,administrator shall submit to the ,committee on ,environment and ,public ,works of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,transportation and ,infrastructure of the ,house of ,representatives a report that describes the findings of that assessment1 including a description of the reasons for maintaining the current fiscal agent or selecting a new fiscal agent4 7,c7 ,responsibilities ,the responsibilities of the fiscal agent may include1 as jointly determined appropriate by the ,steering ,committee and the ,administrator1 executing payroll1 paying bills and fulfilling other obligations1 developing and executing funding agreements1 and acting as a fiduciary for the ,patrick ,leahy ,lake ,champlain ,basin ,program4 2 7#b7 by redesignating subsections 7g7 through 7i7 as subsections 7h7 through 7j71 respectively2 7#c7 by inserting after subsection 7f7 the following3 7g7 ,great ,lakes ,fishery ,commission 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,united ,states ,section of the ,great ,lakes ,fishery ,commission may undertake1 fund1 and support work on ,lake ,champlain1 in the ,lake ,champlain drainage basin1 and in other areas within the ,saint ,lawrence ,river basin in ,vermont and ,new ,york1 including through-- 7,a7 fisheries and aquatic ecosystem research1 monitoring1 restoration1 and management2 7,b7 sea lamprey control2 7,c7 aquatic invasive species prevention and mitigation2 7,d7 public engagement and education2 and 7,e7 other work to implement the ,plan4 7#b7 ,authorization ,in carrying out paragraph 7#a71 the ,united ,states ,section of the ,great ,lakes ,fishery ,commission may work with the ,patrick ,leahy ,lake ,champlain ,basin ,program1 ,federal and ,state agencies1 institutions of higher education1 nonprofit organizations1 units of local government1 and ,canadian federal and ,quebec provincial authorities4 2 7#d7 in subsection 7h7 7as so redesignated7-- 7,a7 by redesignating paragraphs 7#a71 7#b71 and 7#c7 as paragraphs 7#c71 7#b71 and 7#d71 respectively1 and moving the paragraphs so as to appear in numerical order2 7,b7 by inserting before paragraph 7#b7 7as so redesignated7 the following3 7#a7 ,fiscal agent ,the term fiscal agent means an organization1 including a nonprofit organization1 interstate commission1 or other entity jointly determined appropriate by the ,administrator and the ,steering ,committee1 that provides fiscal and administrative management support for the ,patrick ,leahy ,lake ,champlain ,basin ,program under the direction of the ,steering ,committee and the ,administrator4 2 and 7,c7 by adding at the end the following3 7#e7 ,steering ,committee ,the term ,steering ,committee means the ,steering ,committee established by the ,lake ,champlain ,management ,conference on ,october #i1 #aiif1 to implement the ,lake ,champlain ,management ,plan and maintained under the most recent ,memorandum of ,understanding on ,environmental ,cooperation on the ,management of ,lake ,champlain entered into between the ,state of ,new ,york1 the ,state of ,vermont1 and1 if the ,province of ,quebec elects to participate1 the ,province of ,quebec4 2 and 7#e7 in subsection 7j7 7as so redesignated71 by striking #bjbg and inserting #bjcb4