HR 8704 · 118th Congress 2023–2025, ended

To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish a grant program to foster enhanced coexistence between ocean users and North Atlantic right whales and other large cetacean species.

Introduced Jun 12, 2024 Originated House Sponsor Earl L. "Buddy" Carter R-GA

Latest action · Dec 10, 2024 Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 118-837, Part I.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

IntroducedJun 12, 2024
Passed HouseNot reached
Passed SenateNot reached
To the PresidentNot reached
Became lawNot reached

Cosponsors 10

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jun 14, 2024 to Aug 13, 2024.

Seat	Cosponsor	Signed on
R-GA	Austin Scott	Jun 14, 2024
R-FL	Daniel Webster	Jun 14, 2024
D-AK	Mary Sattler Peltola	Jun 14, 2024
R-NC	David Rouzer	Jun 25, 2024
R-LA	Garret Graves	Jun 25, 2024
R-VA	Jennifer A. Kiggans	Jun 25, 2024
R-VA	Robert J. Wittman	Jun 25, 2024
R-SC	Russell Fry	Jun 26, 2024
D-NC	Donald G. Davis	Jul 9, 2024
R-FL	John H. Rutherford	Aug 13, 2024

Committees 2

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

Chamber	Committee	What it did
House	Transportation and Infrastructure Committee	Referred Jun 12, 2024
	Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee	Referred Jun 13, 2024
House	Natural Resources Committee	Referred Jun 12, 2024Discharged Sep 19, 2024Markup Sep 19, 2024Reported Dec 10, 2024
	Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee	Referred Jun 24, 2024Hearings Jun 27, 2024

Actions 9

Everything that happened, newest first.

Dec 10, 2024Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 118-837, Part I.
Sep 19, 2024Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries Discharged
Sep 19, 2024Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Sep 19, 2024Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 23 - 13.
Jun 27, 2024Subcommittee Hearings Held
Jun 24, 2024Referred to the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries.
Jun 13, 2024Referred to the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.
Jun 12, 2024Introduced in House
Jun 12, 2024Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Committee report

H. Rept. 118-837

Congressional Budget Office cost estimate

Dec 5, 2024H.R. 8704, a bill to require the Secretary of Commerce to establish a grant program to foster enhanced coexistence between ocean users and North Atlantic right whales and other large cetaceanAs ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on September 19, 2024

Constitutional authority

[Pages H3974-H3975] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] By Mr. CARTER of Georgia: H.R. 8704. Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Clause 3 of Section 8 of article I of the U.S. Constitution provides Congress with the power to regulate commerce. The single subject of this legislation is: The single subject of the bill is to prohibit NOAA from further developing a rule to restrict vessel speeds that would damage coastal economies and instead establishes a grant program to prevent vessel collisions with North Atlantic Right Whales.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 170, no. 99, June 12, 2024, page H3975.

Printed hearings 1

Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.

Number	Hearing	Committee	Held
Serial No. 118-132	LEGISLATIVE HEARING ON H.R. 6841, TO AMEND THE COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT ACT OF 1972 TO ALLOW THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE TO ESTABLISH A COASTAL AND ESTUARINE RESILIENCE AND RESTORA- TION PROGRAM, AND FOR OTHER PUR- POSES; H.R. 7925, TO PROVIDE FOR THE STANDARDIZATION, PUBLICATION, AND ACCESSIBILITY OF DATA RELATING TO PUBLIC OUTDOOR RECREATIONAL USE OF FEDERAL WATERWAYS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, "MODERNIZING ACCESS TO OUR PUBLIC OCEANS ACT"; H.R. 8704, TO RE- QUIRE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE TO ESTABLISH A GRANT PROGRAM TO FOSTER ENHANCED COEXISTENCE BETWEEN OCEAN USERS AND NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALES AND OTHER LARGE CETACEAN SPECIES; AND H.R. 8705, TO REQUIRE THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE NATIONAL OCE- ANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION TO REFORM THE MARINE RECREATIONAL INFORMATION PROGRAM OF THE NA- TIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, "FISHERIES DATA MODERNIZATION AND ACCURACY ACT OF 2024"99 pages	Natural Resources Committee	Jun 27, 2024

CRS reports 1

Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.

Cite it 1

Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.

Product	Title	Kind	Published
IF12776	The North Atlantic Right Whale: Conservation Trade-Offs with Selected Marine Sectors and Considerations for Congress	Resource	Jan 23, 2026

Titles 1

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced: To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish a grant program to foster enhanced coexistence between ocean users and North Atlantic right whales and other large cetacean species.

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

Jun 12, 2024Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.