1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Act of 2023 . 2. Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Grant program (a) Establishment The Secretary shall establish a grant program to be known as the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Grant Program , to encourage and facilitate coordinated rapid response and rescue by awarding grants for the purposes described in subsection (c). (b) Designation of stranding regions The Secretary shall designate geographic regions of the United States as stranding regions for the purposes of carrying out this section. (c) Purposes The purposes of the Program are to provide for— (1) the recovery, short- or long-term care, transportation, and treatment of stranded marine turtles; (2) the release of rescued and recovered marine turtles; (3) the collection of data and samples, including tagging information, from stranded marine turtles for scientific research or assessments, or both, that inform the understanding of causes of mortality; and (4) facility operation costs that are directly related to activities described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3). (d) Equitable distribution of funds The Secretary shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that funds awarded under this section are distributed equitably among stranding regions, taking into account— (1) the number of strandings that occurred in each stranding region in the preceding 5 years; (2) region-specific factors that increase risks of strandings; and (3) the conservation priorities and recovery needs of species of marine turtles that are threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. ). (e) Applications (1) In general An applicant for a grant under this section that is an eligible applicant described in paragraph (2) shall submit an application in such form and manner as the Secretary shall prescribe. (2) Eligible applicants An entity is an eligible applicant if the entity is— (A) a nonprofit member of the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network; (B) an Indian Tribe