Congressman Ted Deutch has cosponsored H.R. 1171, the Marine Debris Act Reauthorization Amendments of 2011. According to recent estimates, between 5 and 20 million tons of debris resulting from the tsunami is floating across the Pacific Ocean. Models developed by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to track and predict the movement of this debris suggest that it could wash up on the shores of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands by this winter and the west coast of the United States by 2013. The Marine Debris Act Reauthorization Amendments of 2011 establishes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Program, and includes provisions requiring NOAA to address the adverse impacts of marine debris to the marine environment, navigation safety, and the economy through investigation and source identification, assessment, reduction, removal, and prevention activities. It establishes a legal definition of marine debris, which includes derelict fishing gear, and calls for the development of a Federal marine debris information clearinghouse. It also encourages collaboration between federal and local, state, regional, and tribal entities, as well as the international community, to implement best practices and to establish public private partnerships to address marine debris.

You can read H.R. 1171, the Marine Debris Act Reauthorization Amendments of 2011, here.