Don Young Veterans Advancing Conservation Act

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1918 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1918

 To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish a grant program to 
    facilitate the training and employment of veterans for certain 
            conservation activities, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 8, 2023

   Ms. Murkowski (for herself, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Sullivan, and Ms. 
   Baldwin) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish a grant program to 
    facilitate the training and employment of veterans for certain 
            conservation activities, 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 ``Don Young Veterans Advancing 
Conservation Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Veterans are among the greatest assets of the United 
        States.
            (2) Veterans are highly skilled and trained individuals 
        whose mission is to protect their communities.
            (3) Studies show that community-focused growth and 
        engagement assists veterans with mental health and combat-
        related trauma.
            (4) Scuba diving has been found to help improve mental, 
        physical, and emotional health and has been specifically linked 
        to improvement in the symptoms of post-traumatic stress 
        disorder.

SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE VETERANS ADVANCING CONSERVATION GRANT 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a program, to be 
known as the ``Veterans Advancing Conservation Grant Program'', under 
which the Secretary may award grants, on a competitive basis, to 
nonprofit organizations that train or employ veterans to conduct 
underwater marine and coastal conservation activities.
    (b) Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, an organization shall submit to the Secretary an application 
in such form, at such time, and containing such information as the 
Secretary determines appropriate.
    (c) 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 (a), which may include--
            (1) response to coral disease;
            (2) restoration and rehabilitation of coral;
            (3) eradication of invasive species;
            (4) removal of marine debris;
            (5) rescue of marine mammals and reptiles;
            (6) scientific research and development;
            (7) tagging of sharks and other marine animals;
            (8) mapping of shipwrecks;
            (9) underwater survey work;
            (10) hurrican recovery; and
            (11) coastal restoration and resilience activities.
    (d) Coordination.--In carrying out this section, the Secretary 
shall coordinate with the Secretary of the Interior.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section--
            (1) $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2024;
            (2) $1,200,000 for fiscal year 2025;
            (3) $1,400,000 for fiscal year 2026;
            (4) $1,600,000 for fiscal year 2027; and
            (5) $1,800,000 for fiscal year 2028.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Nonprofit organization.--The term ``nonprofit 
        organization'' means an organization described in section 
        501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from 
        taxation under 501(a) of that Code.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National 
        Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
            (3) Veteran.--The term ``veteran'' has the meaning given 
        that term in section 101 of title 38, United States Code.
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