Partnering and Leveraging Assistance to Stop Trash for International Cleaner Seas Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4636) 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, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 4636

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''.

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Mr. ESPAILLAT. 4636.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul), the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, for his hard work on this measure, which I am pleased to support.

This bill aims to address a growing problem we all see around the world: plastic waste and other debris in our oceans.

Products made from plastic are a part of everyday life. In the morning, we brush our teeth with a plastic toothbrush and wash our hair with shampoo from a plastic bottle. We drink water from a plastic cup, eat snacks out of plastic containers, and consume meals with plastic utensils. We drive cars with plastic components and do our work on plastic keyboards. At the end of the day, when we throw plastic away, we don't often think about where it ends up.

Well, every day, more than 8 million metric tons of it end up in the ocean, leading to a host of problems. It damages the health of marine life, chokes off economic development, and harms the environment.

Most marine debris enters the ocean from land-based sources, mainly in developing countries that aren't able to manage waste and prevent dumping.

This legislation will advance efforts to work with national governments and local communities to develop integrated waste management systems to effectively prevent and reduce plastic waste.

It encourages Federal departments and agencies to work with the private sector and nongovernmental organizations, aiming to leverage public and private capital in concert with American assistance programs.

It supports local economic development initiatives to assist community members--particularly women, young people, and marginalized populations--to realize the economic benefits to be gained in scaling up waste management systems.

It also urges U.S. leadership in international and regional efforts to prevent and reduce marine debris and plastic waste. This legislation supports the commitment that the United States made at both the 2018 Our Ocean Conference and the 2019 G20 Summit to achieve measurable benchmarks in preventing marine debris from entering the ocean and reduce plastic pollution.

The United States is one of the world's largest producer and consumer of plastic products, and the top exporter of plastic scrap. So we have a critical role to play in addressing this particular issue. This legislation puts us on the right track to remedy this rapidly growing problem.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. ESPAILLAT. Jackson Lee).

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for his leadership, and I also rise in enthusiastic support for the PLASTICS Act of Mr. McCaul and Mr. Engel.

Texas is a Gulf State. Before we even get to the ocean, we can see the impact of plastic even in our area. To hear the stark report that more plastic than fish in 2050, I ask the question: What do we leave for our children?

I think this legislation has a very important and strategic point to combine public and private partnership, to acknowledge the devastation of plastic, and to be able, in essence, to save the Earth.

Mr. Speaker, for a moment, I want to allude also to the nonproliferation legislation that we just discussed and to join in support of the dire conditions and dire straits that the Nation and the world will be in if we allow the proliferation of nuclear abilities.

It is very important that we contain those nuclear abilities. We have been on the floor today discussing Russia and its poisoning of dissidents, its intrusion into its neighbors. And we understand that the reckless use of nuclear materials really pose a danger to our children and our children's children. It is for that reason that I believe that we must continue fighting for nuclear nonproliferation.

As a member of the European Parliamentary Exchange and many other groups discussing this, I believe this is an important and ongoing responsibility, along with the PLASTICS Act, it is intended to make our world safer and better for all. That is a commitment that we, as the Members of the United States Congress, should take extremely seriously, and I think it will be we who will stand in the gap to show the world what America's true values really are. We care about the environment and we care to keep the world safe from nuclear proliferation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I thank the sponsor and the cosponsor of the legislation.
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Mr. ESPAILLAT. Jackson Lee).

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I thank the manager and the sponsor of this legislation for their kind courtesies.

Mr. Speaker, it is never too late to say ``thank you,'' and I wanted to just not forget to thank Chairman Engel for the years of commitment to these issues and to his service on the Foreign Affairs and the Energy and Commerce Committees.

I know this list of legislative initiatives has had the impact of our manager, the distinguished gentleman from New York, and certainly all of the friends and the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. But I think it is appropriate, having known Mr. Engel for a very long time, that he is a true believer in democracy, he is a believer in the international responsibilities of the United States, and he is also one who recognizes transition of government in the right way. He is transitioning, and he is doing it with dignity and respect.

Mr. Speaker, I want to express to him my deepest respect for his service to not only the United States Congress and his family's sacrifice, but to the United States of America. We thank him for that service. It is my desire to have that in the Record at this time. I thank him on behalf of this Nation.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation is a great example of how America can lead in finding solutions to environmental challenges such as this one, a grave challenge to the world, and helps to create jobs and builds prosperity.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support it, and I am grateful that Mr. McCaul and all the bill's cosponsors have put this forward.

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