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Washington, D.C. – Today, Alaska Congressman Don Young, Co-Chair of the House Oceans Caucus, helped lead House passage of S.1982, the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act. Earlier this Congress, Young and his Oceans Caucus Co-Chair, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), introduced the House version of Save Our Seas 2.0, and have been working with their colleagues to get it across the finish line in the House of Representatives. 

Every minute, the equivalent of a garbage truck full of plastic is dumped into our ocean. According to the United Nations, that is more than eight million metric tons a year. The bipartisan Save Our Seas 2.0 Act, will address the staggering amount of plastic in the ocean by improving the domestic cleanup and response to marine debris, incentivizing international engagement on the issue, and strengthening domestic infrastructure to responsibly dispose waste materials. The legislation builds on the successes of the Save Our Seas Act, which was signed into law in 2018.

“Alaska is home to more coastline than any other state in the Union, and healthy oceans are essential to Alaska’s economy and way of life,” said Congressman Don Young. “Serving as House Oceans Caucus Co-Chair has given me the opportunity to stand up and fight for Alaska’s waters, and I am very proud of what we were able to accomplish today. Save Our Seas 2.0 builds on our successes combating marine debris through bolstering plastics research and funding needed for infrastructure improvements. Countless Alaskan families earn a living on the water; clean oceans are not just an environmental issue, but an economic one as well. I am sincerely grateful to my friend and Oceans Caucus Co-Chair, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici for fighting alongside me on behalf of marine life. Our Senator Dan Sullivan has been a strong leader on this issue, and I am confident that he will help shepherd this bill through the Senate so that we can send it to the President to be signed into law. I will continue fighting to ensure that our marine ecosystems stay healthy and productive for future generations to experience.”

“We need to fundamentally change our reliance on plastics,” said Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici. “A problem this pervasive - a global problem of this magnitude - cannot be solved with a single bill. We cannot limit our action to removing existing plastic from the ocean, and we also cannot recycle our way out of plastic waste that ends up on our shores. We need comprehensive action. Save Our Seas 2.0 is a meaningful bill that builds on our foundation of bipartisan, bicameral efforts to strengthen the NOAA Marine Debris Program. We have significant work ahead of us to prevent marine debris, and I look forward to continuing to work with my House Oceans Caucus Co-Chair, Don Young, and our Senate Oceans Caucus colleagues to protect the health of our ocean.” 

Marine debris harms costal economies, endangers marine life, destroys important marine habitats, propagates invasive species, and creates hazardous conditions for the maritime industry. The Save Our Seas 2.0 Act offers numerous provisions to address this problem, including:

• Establishing a Marine Debris Response Trust Fund for NOAA to use in responding to marine debris events
• Creating a Marine Debris Foundation to encourage, accept, and administer private gifts in connection with the activities and services of the NOAA Marine Debris Program
• Authorizing a prize competition to advance innovation in the removal and prevention of plastic waste
• Directing federal agencies to work with foreign countries to improve capacity and operation of waste management systems
• Requiring the Secretary of State to submit a report to Congress assessing the potential for negotiating a new international agreement or creating a new forum to address marine debris and mandating the Executive Branch consider marine debris in negotiations of international agreements
• Directing the EPA to develop a strategy to improve waste management and recycling infrastructure, harmonize waste collection and recycling protocols, strengthen markets for recycled plastic, and identify barriers to increasing the collection of recyclable materials
• Creating a Waste Management Revolving Fund, Waste Management Infrastructure Grant program, Drinking Water Infrastructure Grant program, Wastewater Infrastructure Grant program, and Trash-Free Water Grant program to assist local waste management authorities in improving and deploying waste interceptor technologies

Young and Bonamici co-chair the House Oceans Caucus, a bipartisan group of House Members committed to taking action to protect the health and future of our oceans. This Congress, the Caucus is focused on environmental stressors (including ocean acidification, harmful algal blooms, and hypoxia); marine debris; ocean data and monitoring; coastal resiliency; and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. More details about the original Save Our Seas Act, which reauthorized the NOAA Marine Debris Program and provided resources to help states respond to severe marine debris events, can be found here.

 (Click here for Congressman Young’s full remarks on Save Our Seas 2.0 from the House Floor.)

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