118th CONGRESS 1st Session |
To direct the Secretary of the Navy to notify Congress of the pending retirement of any naval vessel that is a viable candidate for artificial reefing, and for other purposes.
February 9, 2023
Ms. Salazar (for herself, Mr. Case, Mr. Wittman, Ms. Brownley, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Waltz, and Mrs. Cammack) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services
To direct the Secretary of the Navy to notify Congress of the pending retirement of any naval vessel that is a viable candidate for artificial reefing, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “Re-using Equipment for Environmental Fortification Act” or the “REEF Act”.
SEC. 2. Congressional notification of pending retirements of naval vessels that are viable candidates for artificial reefing.
(a) Sense of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of the Navy should explore and solicit artificial reefing opportunities with appropriate entities for any naval vessel planned for retirement before initiating any plans to dispose of the vessel.
(b) Report.—Not later than 90 days before the retirement from the Naval Vessel Register of any naval vessel that is a viable candidate for artificial reefing, the Secretary of the Navy shall notify Congress of the pending retirement of such vessel.