On June 13, 2013, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs held a legislative hearing on H.R. 553, H.R. 1308, H.R. 1399, H.R. 1425, H.R. 1491, and H.R. 2219.

H.R. 553 would designate the exclusive economic zone of the United States as the “Ronald Wilson Reagan Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States.” H.R. 1308, the Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act, would amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to reduce sea-lion predation on endangered Columbia River salmon.

H.R. 1399 would reauthorize the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998 and H.R. 2219 would reauthorize the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System (ICOOS) Act of 2009.

H.R. 1425, the Marine Debris Emergency Act of 2013, would to amend the current Marine Debris Act to include the Marine Debris Emergency Act, which would expedite the NOAA grant process for acquiring funds to clean-up marine debris in the wake of a severe marine debris event, such as an earthquake or tsunami. H.R. 1499 would authorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to provide certain funds to affected states for marine debris cleanup related to the March 2011 Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami.