To require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a working group to conduct research relating to ocean agriculture.

SA 3454. Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Ms. Murkowski, and Mr. Murphy)
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 3399
proposed by Mr. Shelby to the bill H.R. 6147, making appropriations for
the Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for
the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes;
which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place in division C, insert the
following:

research on ocean agriculture

Sec. ___.  (a) The Secretary of Agriculture, in
coordination with the Administrator of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, shall establish a working
group (referred to in this section as the ``working
group'')--
(1) to study how mangroves, kelp forests, tidal marshes,
and seagrass meadows could help deacidify the oceans;
(2) to study emerging ocean farming practices that use kelp
and seagrass to deacidify the oceans while providing
feedstock for agriculture and other commercial and industrial
inputs; and
(3) to coordinate and conduct research to develop and
enhance pilot-scale research for farming of kelp and seagrass
in order--
(A) to deacidify ocean environments;
(B) to produce a feedstock for agriculture; and
(C) to develop other scalable commercial applications for
kelp, seagrass, or products derived from kelp or seagrass.
(b) The working group shall include--
(1) the Secretary of Agriculture;
(2) the Administrator of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration;
(3) representatives of any relevant offices within the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and
(4) the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy.
(c) Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, the working group shall submit to Congress a report
that includes--
(1) the findings of the research described in subsection
(a);
(2) the results of the pilot-scale research described in
subsection (a)(3); and
(3) any policy recommendations based on those findings and
results.
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