To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish a grant program to foster enhanced coexistence between ocean users and North Atlantic right whales and other large cetacean species.

Cost and committee reports

Official records Congress.gov attaches to H.R. 8704.

• CBO cost estimateThe Congressional Budget Office published “H.R. 8704, a bill to require the Secretary of Commerce to establish a grant program to foster enhanced coexistence between ocean users and North Atlantic right whales and other large cetacean” on December 5, 2024. CBO’s description reads “As ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on September 19, 2024”.
  Read the CBO estimate ↗Source: Congressional Budget Office, December 5, 2024 ↗

  Evidence

  Field in the Congress.gov record

  cboCostEstimates

  CBO publication

  https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61065

  CBO publication date

  December 5, 2024

  Congress.gov bill record

  H.R. 8704, 118th Congress

  Congress.gov API record

  https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/118/hr/8704

  Record last updated by Congress.gov

  May 27, 2025

  PORKER copy retrieved

  September 14, 2026

  Stored copy, SHA-256 of the file

  11ab71e1808ff48d83f854d13282d8458560791e72c052e4898172e9211f7981

• PORKER links to the estimate and does not repeat its dollar figures. Each estimate is for the version of the bill its description names; the bill may have changed since.

• Committee reportCongress.gov lists 1 committee report for this bill: H. Rept. 118-837 ↗. The Congress.gov committee record lists a “Reported By” entry for the Natural Resources Committee on December 10, 2024.
  Source: Congress.gov, reported December 10, 2024 ↗

  Evidence

  Field in the Congress.gov record

  committeeReports

  Report API records

  https://api.congress.gov/v3/committee-report/118/HRPT/837

  Congress.gov bill record

  H.R. 8704, 118th Congress

  Congress.gov API record

  https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/118/hr/8704

  Record last updated by Congress.gov

  May 27, 2025

  PORKER copy retrieved

  September 14, 2026

  Stored copy, SHA-256 of the file

  11ab71e1808ff48d83f854d13282d8458560791e72c052e4898172e9211f7981

  A committee report is the committee’s own explanation of the bill. PORKER lists it and links to it; reading it is up to you.

• Constitutional authority statementThe sponsor’s statement of where the Constitution gives Congress the power to pass this bill. Statement by Mr. CARTER of Georgia, as printed in the Congressional Record (Vol. 170, No. 99, June 12, 2024, Pages H3974-H3975):
  Clause 3 of Section 8 of article I of the U.S. Constitution provides Congress with the power to regulate commerce. The single subject of this legislation is: The single subject of the bill is to prohibit NOAA from further developing a rule to restrict vessel speeds that would damage coastal economies and instead establishes a grant program to prevent vessel collisions with North Atlantic Right Whales.
  Source: Congress.gov, Congressional Record June 12, 2024 ↗

  Evidence

  Field in the Congress.gov record

  constitutionalAuthorityStatementText

  Statement length

  404 characters

  Congress.gov bill record

  H.R. 8704, 118th Congress

  Congress.gov API record

  https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/118/hr/8704

  Record last updated by Congress.gov

  May 27, 2025

  PORKER copy retrieved

  September 14, 2026

  Stored copy, SHA-256 of the file

  11ab71e1808ff48d83f854d13282d8458560791e72c052e4898172e9211f7981

  PORKER shows the statement exactly as printed, with the page markup removed. It is the sponsor’s claim; it is not a legal finding.

From the Congress.gov bill record for H.R. 8704, last updated May 27, 2025. PORKER’s copy was retrieved September 14, 2026 and is refreshed nightly. Open “Evidence” on any line for the record, field and file fingerprint.