119-hr1124

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1124 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 1124

To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish and carry out a grant 
 program to conserve, restore, and manage kelp forest ecosystems, and 
 for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 February 7, 2025

 Mr. Huffman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish and carry out a grant 
 program to conserve, restore, and manage kelp forest ecosystems, and 
 for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Help Our Kelp Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS TO CONSERVE, RESTORE, AND MANAGE KELP FOREST ECOSYSTEMS.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
purposes of this section and the grants authorized by this section are 
to support native wild kelp forest ecosystems and restore native wild 
kelp to enable long term recovery of naturally functioning kelp forest 
ecosystems that do not involve commercial or mechanized harvesting.

    (b) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Administrator shall establish and carry 
out a grant program under which the Administrator shall award grants to 
eligible entities described in subsection
            (c) to carry out projects 
described in subsection
            (d) relating to the conservation, restoration, 
or management of kelp forest ecosystems.
            (c) Eligible Entity.--To be eligible for a grant under this 
section, an eligible entity shall--

    (1) be--
        (A) a member of the fishing industry;
        (B) an institution of higher education;
            (C) a nonprofit organization;
            (D) an Indian Tribe;
        (E) a State agency; or
        (F) a local government;

    (2) consult or collaborate with any of the other entities 
 described in paragraph

    (1) throughout the development or 
 implementation of a project relating to the conservation, 
 restoration, or management of kelp forest ecosystems; and

    (3) submit to the Administrator an application describing 
 such project at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
 information as the Administrator may require, including 
 information regarding what criteria will be used to monitor and 
 evaluate the effectiveness of the project and the 
 qualifications of the applicant to conduct, monitor, and 
 evaluate the project.
            (d) Eligible Projects.--The Administrator shall award grants to 
eligible entities for projects that--

    (1) address greatest relative regional declines in kelp 
 forest ecosystems;

    (2) focus on elements such as--
        (A) long term ecosystem resilience of kelp forest 
 ecosystems;
        (B) long term socioeconomic resilience related to 
 kelp forest ecosystems;
            (C) kelp forest seeding and connectivity;
            (D) re-establishing or recovering natural trophic 
 relationships and structure to support resilience of 
 kelp forest ecosystems through actions such as predator 
 control through targeted urchin removal and recovery of 
 sunflower sea stars;
        (E) monitoring and assessment of kelp forest 
 ecosystems;
        (F) integration of Indigenous knowledge and 
 cultural practices into restoration and monitoring of 
 kelp forest ecosystems through consultation with Indian 
 Tribes or promotion of Federal or State co-management 
 with Indian Tribes; or
        (G) other efforts to restore kelp forest ecosystems 
 and prevent large scale losses of kelp forests; or

    (3) are identified by Indian Tribes or Federal or State 
 restoration or management plans as focal areas for recovery of 
 kelp forests and associated species.

    (e) Matching Requirement.--

    (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph

    (2) , the 
 amount of Federal funding received as a grant under this 
 section by an eligible entity may not exceed 85 percent of the 
 total cost of the project for which a grant is awarded. For the 
 purposes of this paragraph, the non-Federal share of project 
 costs may be provided by in-kind contributions and other 
 noncash support.

    (2) Waiver.--The Administrator may waive all or part of the 
 requirement in paragraph

    (1) if the Administrator determines 
 that--
        (A) no reasonable means are available through which 
 an eligible entity applying for a grant under this 
 section can meet such requirement;
        (B) the probable benefit of such project outweighs 
 the public interest in such requirement; and
            (C) the project undertaken is established on lands 
 owned by or held in trust for an Indian Tribe.

    (f) Guidelines and Criteria.--The Administrator shall--

    (1) issue guidelines regarding the implementation of the 
 grant program established under subsection

    (b) ; and

    (2) establish criteria based on best practices, the best 
 available science, and community engagement to rank eligible 
 projects under subsection
            (d) .

    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--

    (1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated to 
 the Administrator to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each 
 of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.

    (2) Availability to indian tribes.--
        (A) In general.--Of the amount authorized to be 
 appropriated by paragraph

    (1) for a fiscal year, 
 subject to appropriations, not less than $750,000 shall 
 be made available to award grants under this section to 
 eligible entities that are Indian Tribes.
        (B) Contingency; outreach.--If no Indian Tribe is 
 awarded a grant under this section in a fiscal year--
            (i) for that fiscal year, the amount 
 described in subparagraph
        (A) shall be made 
 available to award grants under this section to 
 other eligible entities; and
            (ii) the Administrator shall conduct 
 outreach to inform Indian Tribes and 
 organizations that work with Indian Tribes of 
 the grant program established under subsection

    (b) .

    (h) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
 Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the 
 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

    (2) Fishing industry.--The term ``fishing industry'' 
 means--
        (A) processors;
        (B) commercial fishermen; and
            (C) recreational fishermen.

    (3) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the 
 meaning given such term in 

section 4 of the Indian Self-
 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).

    (4) Institution of higher education.--The term 
 ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given such 
 term in 

section 101

    (a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
 U.S.C. 1001

    (a) ).

    (5) Kelp forest ecosystem.--The term ``kelp forest 
 ecosystem'' means a naturally occurring, biotic system 
 dominated by canopy-forming, stipitate, or prostrate benthic 
 macroalgae and associated taxa.

    (6) Nonprofit organization.--The term ``nonprofit 
 organization'' means an organization--
        (A) described in 

section 501
            (c) (3) of the Internal 
 Revenue Code of 1986; and
        (B) exempt from tax under 

section 501

    (a) of such 
 Code.
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