U.S. House of Representatives Passes Bipartisan Bill to Clean Up Marine Debris
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Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation led by House Oceans Caucus Co-Chairs Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Don Young (R-AK) along with Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) to strengthen the federal response to marine debris. Save Our Seas 2.0 – which is supported by the recreational boating community – builds on the original Save Our Seas Act to improve the domestic response to marine debris, incentivize international engagement on marine debris, and strengthen domestic waste management infrastructure to prevent the creation of new marine debris.
“We need to fundamentally change our reliance on plastics,” said Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, who spoke in support of the legislation on the House floor. “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.”
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