Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act of 2025

House Bill

H.R. 347

119th Congress

Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act of 2025

In Committee

Introduced:Jan 13, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Elise M. Stefanik

Representative

Republican

NY-21

Cosponsors

19

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Animals

Summary

This bill expands the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant Program to include separate grants for sea turtle rescue over the next seven years. Funds can be used for recovering, caring for, and treating sick, injured, or entangled sea turtles, responding to stranded turtles, collecting data and samples for research, covering facility operating costs, and developing stranding network capacity. The bill also establishes the Sea Turtle Rescue, Rehabilitation, and Rapid Response Fund to support these efforts.

Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill expands the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant Program to include separate grants for sea turtle rescue over the next seven years. Funds can be used for recovering, caring for, and treating sick, injured, or entangled sea turtles, responding to stranded turtles, collecting data and samples for research, covering facility operating costs, and developing stranding network capacity. The bill also establishes the Sea Turtle Rescue, Rehabilitation, and Rapid Response Fund to support these efforts.

Last updated: 1/4/2026

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act of 2025This bill expands the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant Program to include separate grants to rescue sea turtles for the next seven years. The grants must be used for<ul><li>the recovery, care, or treatment of sick, injured, or entangled sea turtles;</li><li>responses to rescue stranded sea turtles;</li><li>the collection of data and samples from living or dead stranded sea turtles for scientific research or health assessments;</li><li>facility operating costs that are directly related to activities to assist sea turtles; or </li><li>development of stranding network capacity where facilities do not exist or are sparse.</li></ul>In addition, the bill establishes the Sea Turtle Rescue, Rehabilitation, and Rapid Response Fund.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Expands Prescott Grant Program to include sea turtle rescue grants
Authorizes funding for seven years of sea turtle rescue activities
Covers treatment of sick, injured, and entangled sea turtles
Supports scientific research through data and sample collection
Establishes Sea Turtle Rescue, Rehabilitation, and Rapid Response Fund

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

For sea turtle populations: Enhanced rescue and rehabilitation resources for recovery. For marine rescue organizations: New funding stream for turtle-specific operations. For coastal communities: Improved response capacity for stranded turtles. For researchers: Support for health assessments and scientific data collection. For conservation efforts: Strengthened infrastructure for endangered species protection.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Animals

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

347, 119th Congress (2025). "Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act of 2025". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-hr-347