S. 859: Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Amendments of 2009

111th Congress · introduced 2009-04-22 · Animals · Latest: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 154.

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Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2009-04-22 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 154. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Amendments of 2009

Plain summary

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.) Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Amendments of 2009 - Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to require the collection and updating of existing practices and procedures for rescuing and rehabilitating stranded or entangled (under current law, only stranded) marine mammals. Authorizes entanglement response agreements. Broadens the sources and allowed uses of amounts in the Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Event Fund. Renames the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program as the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Funding Program and authorizes appropriations to it for FY2010-FY2014. Adds providing for stranding or entangling events requiring emergency assistance to the program's duties. Authorizes carrying out the program through grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, or other arrangements. Establishes in the Treasury the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue and Rapid Response Fund. Limits support for an individual project under the program to $200,000 for any 12-month period. (Current law limits support to $100,000 and makes no reference to a time period.) Defines the term "emergency assistance" as assistance for a stranding or entangling event that: (1) is not an unusual mortality event, leads to an immediate increase in required costs in excess of regularly scheduled costs, may be cyclical or endemic, and may involve out-of-habitat animals; or (2) is found to qualify for such assistance. Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2014 for provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to protect and rescue stranded and entangled marine mammals, including the Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Event Fund and the National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank.

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate without amendment), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Amendments of 2009

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate without amendment)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA] · 4 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: S. 859, Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Amendments of 2009 (2009-08-05); CBO cost estimate: S. 859, Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Amendments of 2009 (2009-08-05)

Cosponsors on this site

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA] reported raising $985,139 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate without amendment)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-111s859.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/111/s>

Record fed-us-cong111-s859 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong111 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong111