| 1 | 1 | | I |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 1514 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To establish the Mississippi River Basin Fishery Commission, and for other |
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| 6 | 6 | | purposes. |
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| 7 | 7 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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| 8 | 8 | | FEBRUARY24, 2025 |
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| 9 | 9 | | Mr. E |
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| 10 | 10 | | ZELL(for himself and Mr. CARTERof Louisiana) introduced the |
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| 11 | 11 | | following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources |
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| 12 | 12 | | A BILL |
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| 13 | 13 | | To establish the Mississippi River Basin Fishery Commission, |
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| 14 | 14 | | and for other purposes. |
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| 15 | 15 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 16 | 16 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 |
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| 18 | 18 | | (a) S |
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| 19 | 19 | | HORTTITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 |
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| 20 | 20 | | ‘‘Mississippi River Basin Fishery Commission Act of 5 |
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| 21 | 21 | | 2025’’. 6 |
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| 22 | 22 | | (b) T |
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| 23 | 23 | | ABLE OFCONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 |
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| 24 | 24 | | this Act is as follows: 8 |
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| 25 | 25 | | Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. |
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| 26 | 26 | | Sec. 2. Findings. |
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| 27 | 27 | | Sec. 3. Definitions. |
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| 28 | 28 | | Sec. 4. Establishment of Mississippi River Basin Fishery Commission. |
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| 29 | 29 | | Sec. 5. Commission governance. |
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| 32 | 32 | | •HR 1514 IH |
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| 33 | 33 | | Sec. 6. Commission management duties. |
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| 34 | 34 | | Sec. 7. Commission grant program. |
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| 35 | 35 | | Sec. 8. Nonbinding authority. |
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| 36 | 36 | | Sec. 9. Withdrawal from the Commission. |
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| 37 | 37 | | Sec. 10. Report to Congress. |
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| 38 | 38 | | Sec. 11. Appropriations. |
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| 39 | 39 | | SEC. 2. FINDINGS. |
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| 40 | 40 | | 1 |
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| 41 | 41 | | Congress finds the following: 2 |
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| 42 | 42 | | (1) Management of the inland fishery resources 3 |
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| 43 | 43 | | of the Mississippi River Basin are shared by 31 4 |
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| 44 | 44 | | States, multiple Federal agencies, and 2 Canadian 5 |
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| 45 | 45 | | provinces. 6 |
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| 46 | 46 | | (2) The Mississippi River Basin is the fourth 7 |
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| 47 | 47 | | largest watershed in the world, and the largest wa-8 |
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| 48 | 48 | | tershed in the Nation, draining all or part of 31 9 |
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| 49 | 49 | | States and 2 Canadian provinces. The watershed 10 |
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| 50 | 50 | | measures approximately 1,200,000 square miles, and 11 |
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| 51 | 51 | | covers 41 percent of the continental United States. 12 |
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| 52 | 52 | | (3) The Mississippi River and its tributaries 13 |
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| 53 | 53 | | comprise 1 of the largest and most valuable eco-14 |
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| 54 | 54 | | systems in the world. 15 |
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| 55 | 55 | | (4) The Mississippi River Basin supports eco-16 |
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| 56 | 56 | | nomically and culturally significant subsistence, com-17 |
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| 57 | 57 | | mercial, and recreational fisheries. 18 |
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| 58 | 58 | | (5) States within the Mississippi River Basin 19 |
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| 59 | 59 | | have formed multiple regional interstate partner-20 |
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| 60 | 60 | | ships, and 1 basin-wide partnership, to promote co-21 |
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| 61 | 61 | | operation and communication among the conserva-22 |
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| 64 | 64 | | •HR 1514 IH |
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| 65 | 65 | | tion agencies to manage the interjurisdictional fish-1 |
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| 66 | 66 | | ery resources of the basin. Twenty-eight Mississippi 2 |
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| 67 | 67 | | River Basin State fishery agencies, the United 3 |
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| 68 | 68 | | States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Rec-4 |
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| 69 | 69 | | lamation, the United States Geological Survey, the 5 |
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| 70 | 70 | | Tennessee Valley Authority, the Chippewa-Cree 6 |
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| 71 | 71 | | Tribe, and the Chickasaw Nation ratified the Mis-7 |
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| 72 | 72 | | sissippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Agreement 8 |
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| 73 | 73 | | in 1990 and formed the Mississippi Interstate Coop-9 |
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| 74 | 74 | | erative Resource Association (MICRA) in 1991 to 10 |
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| 75 | 75 | | improve the management of interjurisdictional fish-11 |
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| 76 | 76 | | ery resources in the basin. 12 |
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| 77 | 77 | | (6) Recognizing the economic, ecologic, and cul-13 |
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| 78 | 78 | | tural value of the diverse interjurisdictional fishery 14 |
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| 79 | 79 | | resources in the Mississippi River Basin and the 15 |
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| 80 | 80 | | complexity and severity of issues facing resource 16 |
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| 81 | 81 | | management agencies, Congress acknowledges the 17 |
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| 82 | 82 | | need for the establishment of a Mississippi River 18 |
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| 83 | 83 | | Basin Fishery Commission for basin-wide, inter- 19 |
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| 84 | 84 | | agency collaboration in the establishment of shared 20 |
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| 85 | 85 | | management objectives, and the collaborative plan-21 |
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| 86 | 86 | | ning, implementation, and evaluation of management 22 |
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| 87 | 87 | | actions to provide for the long-term biologic and eco-23 |
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| 88 | 88 | | nomic sustainability of interjurisdictional fishery re-24 |
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| 89 | 89 | | sources in the basin. 25 |
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| 93 | 93 | | (7) As long-term sustainability of interjurisdic-1 |
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| 94 | 94 | | tional fishery resources is dependent on the control 2 |
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| 95 | 95 | | of aquatic invasive species within the Mississippi 3 |
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| 96 | 96 | | River Basin, it is the further purpose of this Com-4 |
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| 97 | 97 | | mission to provide for coordinated, inter-agency, 5 |
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| 98 | 98 | | basin-wide management, control, and removal of 6 |
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| 99 | 99 | | invasive carps and other prioritized aquatic invasive 7 |
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| 100 | 100 | | species within the basin. 8 |
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| 101 | 101 | | (8) By consent of Congress, and as directed by 9 |
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| 102 | 102 | | Federal law under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 10 |
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| 103 | 103 | | Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 11 |
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| 104 | 104 | | et seq.) and the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 12 |
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| 105 | 105 | | 1986 (16 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.), sustainable fisheries 13 |
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| 106 | 106 | | within the United States coastal waters of the Pa-14 |
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| 107 | 107 | | cific, Atlantic, and Caribbean Oceans, and the Gulf 15 |
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| 108 | 108 | | of Mexico, have been managed by multi-state com-16 |
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| 109 | 109 | | missions and fishery councils for many decades. 17 |
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| 110 | 110 | | (9) The interjurisdictional and international 18 |
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| 111 | 111 | | fishery resources of the Great Lakes are coopera-19 |
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| 112 | 112 | | tively managed by the Great Lakes Fishery Commis-20 |
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| 113 | 113 | | sion, operating through the 1954 Convention on 21 |
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| 114 | 114 | | Great Lake Fisheries. 22 |
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| 115 | 115 | | (10) The Mississippi River Basin Fishery Com-23 |
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| 116 | 116 | | mission will improve the management and utilization 24 |
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| 117 | 117 | | of sustainable interjurisdictional fishery resources in 25 |
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| 120 | 120 | | •HR 1514 IH |
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| 121 | 121 | | the Mississippi River Basin through the development 1 |
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| 122 | 122 | | of a multi-agency program for the joint management 2 |
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| 123 | 123 | | and protection of such fishery resources. 3 |
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| 124 | 124 | | SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 4 |
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| 125 | 125 | | In this Act: 5 |
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| 126 | 126 | | (1) A |
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| 127 | 127 | | QUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES .—The term 6 |
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| 128 | 128 | | ‘‘aquatic invasive species’’ means a nonindigenous 7 |
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| 129 | 129 | | species that threatens the diversity or abundance of 8 |
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| 130 | 130 | | native species in, or the ecological stability of, in-9 |
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| 131 | 131 | | fested waters, or commercial, agricultural, 10 |
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| 132 | 132 | | aquacultural, or recreational activities dependent on 11 |
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| 133 | 133 | | such waters. 12 |
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| 134 | 134 | | (2) C |
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| 135 | 135 | | OMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 13 |
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| 136 | 136 | | means the Mississippi River Basin Fishery Commis-14 |
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| 137 | 137 | | sion established under section 4. 15 |
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| 138 | 138 | | (3) D |
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| 139 | 139 | | IRECTOR OF FISHERIES .—The term ‘‘di-16 |
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| 140 | 140 | | rector of fisheries’’ means the individual in a State 17 |
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| 141 | 141 | | who is the highest designated officer in charge of 18 |
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| 142 | 142 | | fishery management employed by the State, regard-19 |
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| 143 | 143 | | less of the formal title of such individual. 20 |
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| 144 | 144 | | (4) E |
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| 145 | 145 | | LIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-21 |
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| 146 | 146 | | ty’’ includes— 22 |
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| 147 | 147 | | (A) any political subdivision, agency, or de-23 |
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| 148 | 148 | | partment of a Mississippi River Basin State 24 |
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| 149 | 149 | | that regulates Mississippi River Basin fisheries; 25 |
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| 153 | 153 | | (B) an Indian Tribe (as defined in section 1 |
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| 154 | 154 | | 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu-2 |
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| 155 | 155 | | cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)) or an 3 |
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| 156 | 156 | | entity controlled by an Indian Tribe that man-4 |
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| 157 | 157 | | ages Mississippi River Basin fisheries; 5 |
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| 158 | 158 | | (C) the United States Geological Survey; 6 |
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| 159 | 159 | | (D) the United States Fish and Wildlife 7 |
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| 160 | 160 | | Service; 8 |
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| 161 | 161 | | (E) the United States Army Corps of En-9 |
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| 162 | 162 | | gineers; 10 |
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| 163 | 163 | | (F) the Engineer Research and Develop-11 |
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| 164 | 164 | | ment Center of the United States Army Corps 12 |
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| 165 | 165 | | of Engineers; and 13 |
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| 166 | 166 | | (G) the Tennessee Valley Authority. 14 |
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| 167 | 167 | | (5) F |
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| 168 | 168 | | ISHERY RESOURCE .—The term ‘‘fishery 15 |
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| 169 | 169 | | resource’’ means finfish, mollusks, crustaceans, and 16 |
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| 170 | 170 | | any other form of animal or plant life, other than 17 |
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| 171 | 171 | | mammals or birds. 18 |
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| 172 | 172 | | (6) I |
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| 173 | 173 | | NTERJURISDICTIONAL FISHERY RE -19 |
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| 174 | 174 | | SOURCE.—The term ‘‘interjurisdictional fishery re-20 |
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| 175 | 175 | | source’’ means— 21 |
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| 176 | 176 | | (A) a fishery resource located in a fishery 22 |
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| 177 | 177 | | in waters under the jurisdiction of 2 or more 23 |
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| 178 | 178 | | Mississippi River Basin States; 24 |
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| 182 | 182 | | (B) a fishery resource for which there ex-1 |
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| 183 | 183 | | ists an interstate fishery management plan; or 2 |
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| 184 | 184 | | (C) a fishery resource that migrates be-3 |
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| 185 | 185 | | tween the waters under the jurisdiction of 2 or 4 |
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| 186 | 186 | | more Mississippi River Basin States. 5 |
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| 187 | 187 | | (7) I |
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| 188 | 188 | | NVASIVE CARP.—The term ‘‘invasive carp’’ 6 |
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| 189 | 189 | | means an aquatic invasive species of finfish that— 7 |
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| 190 | 190 | | (A) originated in Europe and Asia; 8 |
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| 191 | 191 | | (B) spread quickly once they are estab-9 |
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| 192 | 192 | | lished in a body of water or waterway; 10 |
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| 193 | 193 | | (C) cause serious damage to the native fish 11 |
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| 194 | 194 | | populations, as well as economic and physical 12 |
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| 195 | 195 | | harm to humans; and 13 |
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| 196 | 196 | | (D) include the bighead carp, black carp, 14 |
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| 197 | 197 | | grass carp, and silver carp. 15 |
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| 198 | 198 | | (8) M |
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| 199 | 199 | | EMBER ENTITY.—The term ‘‘member en-16 |
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| 200 | 200 | | tity’’ means an eligible entity that maintains an ac-17 |
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| 201 | 201 | | tive membership in the Commission. 18 |
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| 202 | 202 | | (9) M |
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| 203 | 203 | | ISSISSIPPI RIVER BASIN STATE .—The 19 |
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| 204 | 204 | | term ‘‘Mississippi River Basin State’’ means a State 20 |
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| 205 | 205 | | whose borders include waters that drain into the 21 |
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| 206 | 206 | | Mississippi River Basin, including Alabama, Arkan-22 |
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| 207 | 207 | | sas, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kan-23 |
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| 208 | 208 | | sas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Min-24 |
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| 209 | 209 | | nesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, 25 |
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| 213 | 213 | | New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Da-1 |
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| 214 | 214 | | kota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, 2 |
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| 215 | 215 | | Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wis-3 |
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| 216 | 216 | | consin, and Wyoming. 4 |
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| 217 | 217 | | (10) S |
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| 218 | 218 | | ECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 5 |
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| 219 | 219 | | means the Secretary of the Interior. 6 |
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| 220 | 220 | | SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF MISSISSIPPI RIVER BASIN 7 |
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| 221 | 221 | | FISHERY COMMISSION. 8 |
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| 222 | 222 | | (a) I |
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| 223 | 223 | | NGENERAL.—There is established in the De-9 |
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| 224 | 224 | | partment of the Interior the Mississippi River Basin Fish-10 |
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| 225 | 225 | | ery Commission. 11 |
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| 226 | 226 | | (b) M |
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| 227 | 227 | | EMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.—Any eligible 12 |
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| 228 | 228 | | entity may join the Commission by notifying the executive 13 |
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| 229 | 229 | | director and existing members of the Commission in writ-14 |
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| 230 | 230 | | ing of its intent to join the Commission. 15 |
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| 231 | 231 | | SEC. 5. COMMISSION GOVERNANCE. 16 |
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| 232 | 232 | | (a) V |
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| 233 | 233 | | OTINGDELEGATES.— 17 |
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| 234 | 234 | | (1) S |
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| 235 | 235 | | TATES.—With respect to each eligible enti-18 |
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| 236 | 236 | | ty described in section 3(4)(A) that joins the Com-19 |
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| 237 | 237 | | mission, the director of fisheries of such eligible enti-20 |
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| 238 | 238 | | ty shall serve as the voting delegate to represent 21 |
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| 239 | 239 | | such entity’s interests on the Commission. 22 |
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| 240 | 240 | | (2) F |
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| 241 | 241 | | EDERAL AGENCIES AND INDIAN TRIBES .— 23 |
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| 242 | 242 | | With respect to each eligible entity described in any 24 |
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| 243 | 243 | | of subparagraphs (B) through (G) of section 3(4) 25 |
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| 247 | 247 | | that joins the Commission, such entity shall appoint 1 |
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| 248 | 248 | | 1 individual to serve as the voting delegate to rep-2 |
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| 249 | 249 | | resent such entity’s interests on the Commission. 3 |
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| 250 | 250 | | (b) B |
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| 251 | 251 | | ODYCORPORATE.—The Commission shall be a 4 |
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| 252 | 252 | | body corporate with the powers and duties described in 5 |
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| 253 | 253 | | this Act. The member entities shall establish a governance 6 |
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| 254 | 254 | | structure for the Commission. 7 |
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| 255 | 255 | | (c) E |
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| 256 | 256 | | XECUTIVEDIRECTOR ANDSTAFF.—The Com-8 |
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| 257 | 257 | | mission shall— 9 |
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| 258 | 258 | | (1) appoint a full-time executive director and 10 |
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| 259 | 259 | | staff as needed to carry out the administrative du-11 |
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| 260 | 260 | | ties of the Commission, who shall— 12 |
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| 261 | 261 | | (A) provide advice to, and carry out oper-13 |
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| 262 | 262 | | ational duties of, the Commission; and 14 |
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| 263 | 263 | | (B) have no voting rights on the Commis-15 |
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| 264 | 264 | | sion; and 16 |
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| 265 | 265 | | (2) at its pleasure, appoint, remove, or dis-17 |
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| 266 | 266 | | charge such executive director and staff, as may be 18 |
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| 267 | 267 | | needed, and fix and determine their duties, qualifica-19 |
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| 268 | 268 | | tions, and compensation. 20 |
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| 269 | 269 | | (d) C |
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| 270 | 270 | | HAIR ANDVICECHAIR.—The Commission shall 21 |
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| 271 | 271 | | elect a Chair and a Vice Chair of the Commission from 22 |
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| 272 | 272 | | the member entities. 23 |
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| 276 | 276 | | (e) RULE AND REGULATIONS.—The Commission 1 |
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| 277 | 277 | | shall adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of its 2 |
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| 278 | 278 | | business. 3 |
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| 279 | 279 | | (f) O |
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| 280 | 280 | | FFICES ANDMEETINGS.—The Commission— 4 |
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| 281 | 281 | | (1) may establish and maintain 1 or more of-5 |
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| 282 | 282 | | fices for the transaction of its business, which shall 6 |
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| 283 | 283 | | be located within the Mississippi River Basin; and 7 |
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| 284 | 284 | | (2) may meet at any time or place but not less 8 |
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| 285 | 285 | | often than annually. 9 |
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| 286 | 286 | | (g) D |
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| 287 | 287 | | ECISIONMAKING.—The Commission may make 10 |
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| 288 | 288 | | a recommendation or take an action regarding its general 11 |
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| 289 | 289 | | affairs only by an affirmative vote of a majority of the 12 |
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| 290 | 290 | | member entities. The Commission shall strive for una-13 |
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| 291 | 291 | | nimity in its decisions but shall operate by consensus in 14 |
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| 292 | 292 | | its decision making. 15 |
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| 293 | 293 | | (h) FACA N |
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| 294 | 294 | | OT TOAPPLY.—Chapter 10 of title 5, 16 |
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| 295 | 295 | | United States Code, shall not apply to the Commission. 17 |
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| 296 | 296 | | SEC. 6. COMMISSION MANAGEMENT DUTIES. 18 |
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| 297 | 297 | | (a) O |
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| 298 | 298 | | VERSEEINGSUB-BASINFISHERYMANAGE-19 |
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| 299 | 299 | | MENT.— 20 |
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| 300 | 300 | | (1) I |
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| 301 | 301 | | N GENERAL.—The Commission shall over-21 |
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| 302 | 302 | | see the management plans and the implementation 22 |
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| 303 | 303 | | and evaluation of the effectiveness of management 23 |
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| 304 | 304 | | actions of the 6 Mississippi River sub-basins de-24 |
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| 305 | 305 | | scribed in paragraph (2) to provide for the long-term 25 |
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| 308 | 308 | | •HR 1514 IH |
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| 309 | 309 | | biologic and economic sustainability of interjurisdic-1 |
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| 310 | 310 | | tional fisheries in the Mississippi River Basin. 2 |
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| 311 | 311 | | (2) S |
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| 312 | 312 | | UB-BASINS.—The 6 Mississippi River sub- 3 |
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| 313 | 313 | | basins are the Arkansas-Red-White, the Lower Mis-4 |
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| 314 | 314 | | sissippi, the Missouri, the Ohio, the Tennessee-Cum-5 |
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| 315 | 315 | | berland, and the Upper Mississippi. 6 |
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| 316 | 316 | | (b) C |
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| 317 | 317 | | OMMISSIONMANAGEMENTPLAN.— 7 |
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| 318 | 318 | | (1) I |
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| 319 | 319 | | N GENERAL.—As the framework for a 8 |
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| 320 | 320 | | management plan for the Commission, the Commis-9 |
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| 321 | 321 | | sion shall adopt and use the MICRA Joint Strategic 10 |
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| 322 | 322 | | Plan for Management of Mississippi River Fisheries, 11 |
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| 323 | 323 | | which— 12 |
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| 324 | 324 | | (A) was adopted and approved by 28 13 |
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| 325 | 325 | | States in the Mississippi River Basin; and 14 |
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| 326 | 326 | | (B) establishes a formal commitment to a 15 |
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| 327 | 327 | | set of strategic procedures for a coordinated, 16 |
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| 328 | 328 | | inter-agency approach to cooperatively man-17 |
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| 329 | 329 | | aging self-sustaining interjurisdictional fishery 18 |
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| 330 | 330 | | resources in the Mississippi River Basin. 19 |
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| 331 | 331 | | (2) B |
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| 332 | 332 | | EST METHODS, PRACTICES, AND CONDI-20 |
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| 333 | 333 | | TIONS.—The Commission shall work to research and 21 |
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| 334 | 334 | | implement the best scientific methods, best prac-22 |
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| 335 | 335 | | tices, and best conditions to bring about the con-23 |
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| 336 | 336 | | servation and sustainable management of interjuris-24 |
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| 337 | 337 | | dictional fisheries in the Mississippi River Basin. 25 |
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| 341 | 341 | | (3) STRATEGIES TO CONTROL INVASIVE SPE -1 |
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| 342 | 342 | | CIES.—The Commission shall— 2 |
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| 343 | 343 | | (A) develop and coordinate inter-agency 3 |
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| 344 | 344 | | and inter-basin strategies to prevent the intro-4 |
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| 345 | 345 | | duction and control the abundance and spread 5 |
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| 346 | 346 | | of invasive carps and other prioritized aquatic 6 |
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| 347 | 347 | | invasive species within the Mississippi River 7 |
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| 348 | 348 | | Basin; and 8 |
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| 349 | 349 | | (B) draft and recommend to the appro-9 |
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| 350 | 350 | | priate management agencies strategies and ap-10 |
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| 351 | 351 | | proaches for dealing with the conservation of 11 |
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| 352 | 352 | | interjurisdictional fisheries and the manage-12 |
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| 353 | 353 | | ment and control of aquatic invasive species 13 |
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| 354 | 354 | | within the Mississippi River Basin. 14 |
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| 355 | 355 | | (4) C |
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| 356 | 356 | | ONSULTATION AND ADVICE .—The Com-15 |
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| 357 | 357 | | mission shall consult with and advise the pertinent 16 |
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| 358 | 358 | | administrative agencies party to the Commission re-17 |
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| 359 | 359 | | garding problems connected with the fisheries in the 18 |
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| 360 | 360 | | Mississippi River Basin and recommend the adop-19 |
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| 361 | 361 | | tion of such regulations as it determines advisable. 20 |
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| 362 | 362 | | (5) R |
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| 363 | 363 | | EEXAMINATION AND EVALUATION OF 21 |
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| 364 | 364 | | JOINT STRATEGIC PLAN .—Not later than 30 years 22 |
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| 365 | 365 | | after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis-23 |
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| 366 | 366 | | sion, in consultation with the Secretary, shall— 24 |
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| 370 | 370 | | (A) reexamine and evaluate the Joint Stra-1 |
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| 371 | 371 | | tegic Plan described in paragraph (1) to— 2 |
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| 372 | 372 | | (i) determine which portions of the 3 |
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| 373 | 373 | | Plan have been completed and which need 4 |
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| 374 | 374 | | updating; and 5 |
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| 375 | 375 | | (ii) add new objectives, if any, to the 6 |
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| 376 | 376 | | Plan; and 7 |
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| 377 | 377 | | (B) issue a report to Congress on the sta-8 |
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| 378 | 378 | | tus of interjurisdictional fishery populations and 9 |
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| 379 | 379 | | the state of the ongoing work to eradicate, 10 |
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| 380 | 380 | | manage, and control aquatic invasive species in 11 |
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| 381 | 381 | | the Mississippi River Basin in accordance with 12 |
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| 382 | 382 | | the management plan of the Commission. 13 |
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| 383 | 383 | | SEC. 7. COMMISSION GRANT PROGRAM. 14 |
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| 384 | 384 | | (a) E |
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| 385 | 385 | | STABLISHMENT OF GRANTPROGRAM.—Not 15 |
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| 386 | 386 | | later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 16 |
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| 387 | 387 | | the Commission, in consultation with the Secretary, shall 17 |
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| 388 | 388 | | establish— 18 |
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| 389 | 389 | | (1) a competitive grant program to award 19 |
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| 390 | 390 | | grants to entities to carry out an eligible project; 20 |
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| 391 | 391 | | and 21 |
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| 392 | 392 | | (2) a formula grant program to award grants 22 |
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| 393 | 393 | | to State member entities to carry out eligible inter-23 |
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| 394 | 394 | | jurisdictional fisheries projects carried out in accord-24 |
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| 397 | 397 | | •HR 1514 IH |
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| 398 | 398 | | ance with the recommendation of the Commission or 1 |
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| 399 | 399 | | the Joint Strategic Plan described in section 6(b)(1). 2 |
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| 400 | 400 | | (b) E |
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| 401 | 401 | | NTITIESELIGIBLETORECEIVEGRANTS.—The 3 |
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| 402 | 402 | | Commission may provide— 4 |
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| 403 | 403 | | (1) formula grants and competitive grants to 5 |
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| 404 | 404 | | State member entities; and 6 |
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| 405 | 405 | | (2) competitive grants to private entities, Fed-7 |
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| 406 | 406 | | eral agencies, nongovernmental organizations, public 8 |
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| 407 | 407 | | and private institutions of higher education, and 9 |
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| 408 | 408 | | partnerships between entities described in this sub-10 |
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| 409 | 409 | | section. 11 |
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| 410 | 410 | | (c) C |
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| 411 | 411 | | OMPETITIVEGRANTS.— 12 |
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| 412 | 412 | | (1) A |
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| 413 | 413 | | PPLICATIONS.—An entity desiring a com-13 |
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| 414 | 414 | | petitive grant under this section shall submit to the 14 |
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| 415 | 415 | | Commission an application at such time, in such 15 |
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| 416 | 416 | | manner, and containing such information as the 16 |
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| 417 | 417 | | Commission may require. 17 |
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| 418 | 418 | | (2) P |
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| 419 | 419 | | RIORITY FOR ENTITIES PROVIDING 18 |
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| 420 | 420 | | MATCHING FUNDS.—In awarding competitive grants 19 |
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| 421 | 421 | | under this section, the Commission shall give pri-20 |
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| 422 | 422 | | ority to entities that will provide matching funds 21 |
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| 423 | 423 | | from non-Federal sources of not less than 10 per-22 |
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| 424 | 424 | | cent of the grant award, which may be provided in 23 |
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| 425 | 425 | | cash or in-kind. 24 |
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| 428 | 428 | | •HR 1514 IH |
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| 429 | 429 | | (d) FORMULAGRANTPROGRAM.—The Commission 1 |
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| 430 | 430 | | shall determine the amount that each State member entity 2 |
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| 431 | 431 | | shall receive annually under the formula grant program. 3 |
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| 432 | 432 | | (e) U |
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| 433 | 433 | | SE OFFUNDS.—An entity that receives a grant 4 |
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| 434 | 434 | | under this section shall use the grant funds— 5 |
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| 435 | 435 | | (1) in the case of— 6 |
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| 436 | 436 | | (A) a competitive grant, in accordance with 7 |
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| 437 | 437 | | the goals and objectives of the Joint Strategic 8 |
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| 438 | 438 | | Plan described in section 6(b)(1) and each of 9 |
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| 439 | 439 | | the interjurisdictional fishery management 10 |
|---|
| 440 | 440 | | plans of the 6 Mississippi River sub-basins de-11 |
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| 441 | 441 | | scribed in section 6(a)(2); and 12 |
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| 442 | 442 | | (B) a formula grant, to carry out eligible 13 |
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| 443 | 443 | | interjurisdictional fishery projects carried out in 14 |
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| 444 | 444 | | accordance with the recommendation of the 15 |
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| 445 | 445 | | Commission or the Joint Strategic Plan de-16 |
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| 446 | 446 | | scribed in section 6(b)(1); and 17 |
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| 447 | 447 | | (2) only for projects, research, personnel, work, 18 |
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| 448 | 448 | | and programs located wholly or partially in a Mis-19 |
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| 449 | 449 | | sissippi River Basin State. 20 |
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| 450 | 450 | | (f) A |
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| 451 | 451 | | DMINISTRATIVECOSTS.—An entity awarded a 21 |
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| 452 | 452 | | grant under this section may use not more than 5 percent 22 |
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| 453 | 453 | | of the grant funds for administrative costs relating to the 23 |
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| 454 | 454 | | grant. 24 |
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| 457 | 457 | | •HR 1514 IH |
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| 458 | 458 | | (g) REPORTREQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 1 year 1 |
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| 459 | 459 | | after the disbursement of grant funding under this sec-2 |
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| 460 | 460 | | tion, the Chair of the Commission shall submit to Con-3 |
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| 461 | 461 | | gress a report on— 4 |
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| 462 | 462 | | (1) the entities awarded grants under this sec-5 |
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| 463 | 463 | | tion; 6 |
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| 464 | 464 | | (2) the amount each such grant; 7 |
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| 465 | 465 | | (3) how such entities used the grant awards; 8 |
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| 466 | 466 | | and 9 |
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| 467 | 467 | | (4) how such grant awards enhanced the man-10 |
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| 468 | 468 | | agement and sustainability of the interjurisdictional 11 |
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| 469 | 469 | | fisheries of the Mississippi River Basin. 12 |
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| 470 | 470 | | SEC. 8. NONBINDING AUTHORITY. 13 |
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| 471 | 471 | | (a) I |
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| 472 | 472 | | NGENERAL.—The authority of the Commission 14 |
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| 473 | 473 | | shall be nonbinding. 15 |
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| 474 | 474 | | (b) R |
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| 475 | 475 | | ULE OFCONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 16 |
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| 476 | 476 | | shall be construed— 17 |
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| 477 | 477 | | (1) to limit the powers of any member entity 18 |
|---|
| 478 | 478 | | that is a State to repeal or enact State laws; or 19 |
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| 479 | 479 | | (2) to limit the enforcement of any requirement 20 |
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| 480 | 480 | | by any member entity that is a State imposing addi-21 |
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| 481 | 481 | | tional conditions and restrictions to conserve its fish-22 |
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| 482 | 482 | | eries within the borders of the State. 23 |
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| 485 | 485 | | •HR 1514 IH |
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| 486 | 486 | | SEC. 9. WITHDRAWAL FROM THE COMMISSION. 1 |
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| 487 | 487 | | A member entity that intends to withdraw from the 2 |
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| 488 | 488 | | Commission shall submit a notice of intent to withdraw 3 |
|---|
| 489 | 489 | | in writing not later than 6 months before the date of the 4 |
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| 490 | 490 | | withdrawal to— 5 |
|---|
| 491 | 491 | | (1) the Commission; and 6 |
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| 492 | 492 | | (2) each of the other member entities of the 7 |
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| 493 | 493 | | Commission. 8 |
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| 494 | 494 | | SEC. 10. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 9 |
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| 495 | 495 | | Not later than September 1 of each year after the 10 |
|---|
| 496 | 496 | | date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall sub-11 |
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| 497 | 497 | | mit a report to Congress which shall set forth the activities 12 |
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| 498 | 498 | | of the Commission during the previous year. 13 |
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| 499 | 499 | | SEC. 11. APPROPRIATIONS. 14 |
|---|
| 500 | 500 | | There are authorized to be appropriated— 15 |
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| 501 | 501 | | (1) $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 to carry out 16 |
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| 502 | 502 | | the initial administrative steps necessary to set up 17 |
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| 503 | 503 | | operations, house, and administer the Commission; 18 |
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| 504 | 504 | | (2) to carry out sections 6 and 7— 19 |
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| 505 | 505 | | (A) $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 20 |
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| 506 | 506 | | 2027 through 2029, to remain available until 21 |
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| 507 | 507 | | expended; and 22 |
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| 508 | 508 | | (B) $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 23 |
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| 509 | 509 | | 2030 through 2032, to remain available until 24 |
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| 510 | 510 | | expended; and 25 |
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| 513 | 513 | | •HR 1514 IH |
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| 514 | 514 | | (3) $500,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 1 |
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| 515 | 515 | | through 2032 to the Secretary of the Interior for 2 |
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| 516 | 516 | | housing the Commission, to remain available until 3 |
|---|
| 517 | 517 | | expended. 4 |
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| 518 | 518 | | Æ |
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