[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4636 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4636
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 30, 2020
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To authorize the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United
States Agency for International Development to prioritize and advance
efforts to improve waste management systems and prevent and reduce
plastic waste and marine debris, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Partnering and Leveraging Assistance
to Stop Trash for International Cleaner Seas Act'' or the ``PLASTICS
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Eight million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean
every year. Marine debris damages the health of marine life,
impedes local economic development, and threatens health
systems. Ten river systems carry an estimated 90 percent of the
river-based plastic waste that ends up in the ocean.
(2) Mismanaged plastic waste has the highest risk of
contaminating rivers and oceans. China contributes the largest
share of this mismanaged waste, followed by Indonesia, the
Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Egypt, Nigeria, and South
Africa. The United States is the world's second-largest
producer and consumer of plastics products, and the top
exporter of plastic scrap.
(3) Most marine debris, particularly plastics, enters the
oceans from land-based sources, mainly in developing countries,
that lack the capacity to adequately manage waste and prevent
dumping.
(4) During the Our Ocean Conference in October 2018, the
United States announced assistance to prevent marine debris
from entering the ocean through development of waste management
systems and reduce plastics in marine protected areas in the
Indo-Pacific.
(5) During the June 2019 G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, the
United States joined other G20 members in endorsing the ``Osaka
Blue Ocean Vision'' to reduce additional pollution by marine
plastic litter to zero by 2050 and the G20 Implementation
Framework for Actions on Marine Plastic Litter, which outlines
a commitment to prevent and reduce plastic debris in the oceans
through waste management and clean-up efforts to remove marine
plastic debris and prioritizes efforts to advance innovative
solutions and international cooperation to support such
initiatives.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to consult, partner, and
coordinate with the governments of foreign countries, international
organizations, private and civil society entities, and other
stakeholders in a concerted effort to--
(1) prevent and reduce marine debris and plastic waste,
including through reduced consumption, greater transparency in
global trade of plastic waste, and support for integrated waste
management systems in developing countries;
(2) advance innovative market-based solutions and catalyze
private capital to prevent and reduce marine debris and plastic
waste, support integrated waste management systems, and improve
market demand for recycled material;
(3) build the capacity of national and subnational
governments in other countries to develop and implement
integrated waste management systems, measure and report
progress in reducing plastic waste, and prevent plastic waste
from entering rivers and oceans;
(4) support local economic development through programs
that assist community members, particularly women, youth, and
marginalized populations, to derive economic benefit from waste
products and participation in waste management systems; and
(5) engage in international and regional cooperation to
prevent and reduce marine debris and plastic waste, share best
practices, and empower national and subnational governments,
local communities, civil society, and the private sector to
engage in such efforts.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that, in pursuing the policy described
in section 3, the President should direct United States representatives
to appropriate international bodies to use the voice, vote, and
influence of the United States to advocate support for the following:
(1) Efforts to improve transparency in global trade of
plastic waste, improve plastic waste regulation to ensure the
safety of humans and the environment, strengthen integrated
waste management systems, and prevent, reduce, reuse, and
recycle plastic waste, to the extent practical.
(2) Collaborative approaches to establish measurable
targets and objectives, with related action plans, for reducing
marine debris and plastic waste from all sources and sharing
best practices in waste prevention and management systems to
prevent plastic waste.
SEC. 5. UNITED STATES SUPPORT TO IMPROVE WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND
PREVENT AND REDUCE MARINE DEBRIS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State and the Administrator of
the United States Agency for International Development, in coordination
with the heads of relevant Federal departments and agencies, are
authorized to prioritize and advance ongoing global efforts to--
(1) prevent and reduce marine debris and plastic waste,
including through reduced consumption, greater transparency in
global trade of plastic waste, and support for integrated waste
management systems in developing countries;
(2) advance innovative market-based solutions and catalyze
private capital to prevent and reduce marine debris and plastic
waste, support integrated waste management systems, and improve
market demand for recycled material;
(3) build the capacity of national and subnational
governments in other countries to develop and implement
integrated waste management systems, measure and report
progress in reducing plastic waste, and prevent plastic waste
from entering rivers and oceans; and
(4) support local economic development through programs
that assist community members, particularly women, youth, and
marginalized populations, to derive economic benefit from waste
products and participation in waste management systems.
(b) Coordination With Private Sector.--The Secretary and the
Administrator, in coordination with the Chief Executive Officer of the
United States International Development Finance Corporation and the
Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation and in
consultation with the heads of relevant Federal departments and
agencies, are authorized and encouraged to work with entities in the
private sector and with nongovernmental organizations to leverage
sources of public and private capital to complement the efforts
described in subsection (a), including by financing infrastructure
investments, supporting capacity-building activities, and entering into
cost-sharing, cost-matching, and other cooperative agreements to
support and finance such efforts.
(c) Monitoring and Evaluation.--The Secretary and the Administrator
shall establish monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, including
measurable goals, objectives, and benchmarks, to ensure the effective
use of United States foreign assistance to achieve the objectives
described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (a).
(d) Domestic Resource Mobilization.--In carrying out the authority
under subsection (a), the Secretary and the Administrator, in
coordination with the heads of relevant Federal departments and
agencies, shall seek to provide technical assistance to mobilize the
domestic resources of recipient countries in order to increase cost-
sharing, self-reliance, and host country ownership of waste prevention
and management programs.
(e) Cost Limitation.--No additional funds are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this Act.
(f) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Administrator, in
consultation with the heads of relevant Federal departments and
agencies, shall jointly submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report on ongoing programs and monitoring and evaluation
mechanisms to carry out the authority under subsection (a) that
includes a description of--
(1) the monitoring and evaluation plans and indicators used
to measure performance of assistance programs, in accordance
with subsection (d);
(2) best practices and lessons learned in implementing the
efforts authorized under subsection (a);
(3) the extent to which recipient countries have
demonstrated a commitment and willingness to cooperate to
advance the efforts described in subsection (a) and to dedicate
resources to support waste prevention and management
initiatives;
(4) the extent to which host country governments and other
governments in the region are investing resources to advance
initiatives to prevent or reduce marine debris and plastic
waste and develop integrated waste management systems; and
(5) the extent to which other funding sources, including
through private sector investment, have been identified to
advance waste prevention and management initiatives.
(g) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate.
SEC. 6. PLASTIC WASTE REDUCTION INITIATIVE.
(a) In General.--The Chief Executive Officer of the United States
International Development Finance Corporation is authorized to
establish, in coordination with relevant Federal departments and
agencies and incorporating any existing programs of the Corporation for
such purposes, an initiative to pursue investment opportunities to
address plastic waste pollution and support improved, integrated waste
management systems in developing countries, including by catalyzing
global public and private-sector investments to prevent and reduce
marine debris and plastic waste in such countries.
(b) Reference.--The initiative established under subsection (a) may
be referred to as the ``Plastic Waste Reduction Initiative''.
Passed the House of Representatives November 18, 2020.
Attest:
CHERYL L. JOHNSON,
Clerk.