The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday night passed a bill to prevent and reduce the impacts of marine debris.

H.R. 1711 now heads to the U.S. Senate for approval. It passed by voice vote, so no roll call was taken. Both of Hawaii’s reps — Colleen Hanabusa and Mazie Hirono — signed on last year as co-sponsors.

The main sponsor, California Democrat Sam Farr, had this to say on the floor Wednesday:

What this bill does is allow the Coast Guard, in working with NOAA, which is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to jointly look at, monitor and figure out ways to clean this stuff up. If we don’t do that, we’re going to suffer. It’s like living in pollution in your own backyard. Eventually, there are consequences.

— Michael Levine

Photo by Pierre Omidyar/Civil Beat