IB 

Union Calendar No. 342 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1218 

[Report No. 116–428] 

To establish the American Fisheries Advisory Committee to assist in the 

awarding of fisheries research and development grants, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2019 

Mr. YOUNG (for himself and Mrs. RADEWAGEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

JUNE 4, 2020 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 13, 2019] 


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A BILL 

To establish the American Fisheries Advisory Committee to 

assist in the awarding of fisheries research and development grants, and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Fisheries Ad5 visory Committee Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AMERICAN FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 2 of the Act of August 

8 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 713c–3), is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection 

10 (f); and 

11 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(e) AMERICAN FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

14 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

15 ‘‘(A) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘Committee’ 

16 means the American Fisheries Advisory Com17 mittee established under paragraph (2). 

18 ‘‘(B) FISHING COMMUNITY.—The term ‘fish19 ing community’ means harvesters, marketers, 

20 growers, processors, recreational fishermen, char21 ter fishermen, and persons providing them with 

22 goods and services. 

23 ‘‘(C) MARKETING AND PROMOTION.—The 

24 term ‘marketing and promotion’ means an activ25 ity aimed at encouraging the consumption of 


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1 seafood or expanding or maintaining commercial 

2 markets for seafood. 

3 ‘‘(D) PROCESSOR.—The term ‘processor’ 

4 means any person in the business of preparing 

5 or packaging seafood (including seafood of the 

6 processor’s own harvesting) for sale. 

7 ‘‘(E) SEAFOOD.—The term ‘seafood’ means 

8 farm-raised and wild-caught fish, shellfish, or 

9 marine algae harvested in the United States or 

10 by a United States flagged vessel for human con11 sumption. 

12 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

13 after the date of the enactment of the American Fish14 eries Advisory Committee Act, the Secretary shall es15 tablish 6 regions within the American Fisheries Advi16 sory Committee as follows: 

17 ‘‘(A) Region 1 shall consist of Alaska, Ha18 waii, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar19 iana Islands, and the Territories of Guam and 

20 American Samoa. 

21 ‘‘(B) Region 2 shall consist of Maine, New 

22 Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and 

23 Connecticut. 

24 ‘‘(C) Region 3 shall consist of Texas, Ala25 bama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, ArkanVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:54 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1218.RH H1218

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1 sas, Puerto Rico, and the Territory of the Virgin 

2 Islands of the United States. 

3 ‘‘(D) Region 4 shall consist of California, 

4 Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. 

5 ‘‘(E) Region 5 shall consist of New Jersey, 

6 New York, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North 

7 Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. 

8 ‘‘(F) Region 6 shall consist of Michigan, 

9 Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, 

10 and Pennsylvania. 

11 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall be 

12 composed of the following members: 

13 ‘‘(A) REGIONAL REPRESENTATION.—Each 

14 of the regions listed in subparagraphs (A) 

15 through (F) of paragraph (2) shall be represented 

16 on the Committee by 3 members— 

17 ‘‘(i) who are appointed by the Sec18 retary; 

19 ‘‘(ii) who reside in a State or territory 

20 in the region that the member will rep21 resent; 

22 ‘‘(iii) of which— 

23 ‘‘(I) one shall have experience as a 

24 seafood harvester or processor; 


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1 ‘‘(II) one shall have experience as 

2 recreational or commercial fisher or 

3 have experience growing seafood; and 

4 ‘‘(III) one shall be an individual 

5 who represents the fisheries science 

6 community or the relevant Regional 

7 Fishery Management Council; and 

8 ‘‘(iv) that are selected so that the mem9 bers of the Committee have experience or ex10 pertise with as many seafood species as 

11 practicable. 

12 ‘‘(B) AT-LARGE MEMBERS.—The Secretary 

13 shall appoint to the Committee at-large members 

14 as follows: 

15 ‘‘(i) One individual with experience in 

16 food distribution, marketing, retail, or food 

17 service. 

18 ‘‘(ii) One individual with experience 

19 in the recreational fishing industry supply 

20 chain, such as fishermen, manufacturers, re21 tailers, and distributors. 

22 ‘‘(iii) One individual with experience 

23 in the commercial fishing industry supply 

24 chain, such as fishermen, manufacturers, re25 tailers, and distributors. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) One individual who is an em2 ployee of the National Marine Fisheries 

3 Service with expertise in fisheries research. 

4 ‘‘(C) BALANCED REPRESENTATION.—In se5 lecting the members described in subparagraphs 

6 (A) and (B), the Secretary shall seek to maxi7 mize on the Committee, to the extent practicable, 

8 a balanced representation of expertise in United 

9 States fisheries, seafood production, and science. 

10 ‘‘(4) MEMBER TERMS.—The term for a member 

11 of the Committee shall be 3 years, except that the Sec12 retary shall designate staggered terms for the members 

13 initially appointed to the Committee. 

14 ‘‘(5) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Committee shall 

15 be responsible for— 

16 ‘‘(A) identifying needs of the fishing com17 munity that may be addressed by a project fund18 ed with a grant under subsection (c); 

19 ‘‘(B) developing the request for proposals for 

20 such grants; 

21 ‘‘(C) reviewing applications for such grants; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(D) selecting applications for approval 

24 under subsection (c)(2)(B). 


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1 ‘‘(6) CHAIR.—The Committee shall elect a chair 

2 by a majority of those voting, if a quorum is present. 

3 ‘‘(7) QUORUM.—A simple majority of members 

4 of the Committee shall constitute a quorum, but a 

5 lesser number may hold hearings. 

6 ‘‘(8) MEETINGS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) FREQUENCY.—The Committee shall 

8 meet not more than 2 times each year. 

9 ‘‘(B) LOCATION.—The meetings of the Com10 mittee shall rotate between the geographic regions 

11 described under paragraph (2). 

12 ‘‘(C) MINIMIZING COSTS.—The Committee 

13 shall seek to minimize the operational costs asso14 ciated with meetings, hearings, or other business 

15 of the Committee, including through the use of 

16 video or teleconference. 

17 ‘‘(9) DESIGNATION OF STAFF MEMBER.—The 

18 Secretary shall designate a staff member to coordinate 

19 the activities of the Committee and to assist with ad20 ministrative and other functions as requested by the 

21 Committee. 

22 ‘‘(10) PER DIEM AND EXPENSES AND FUND23 ING.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Com25 mittee shall serve without compensation, but 


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1 shall be reimbursed in accordance with section 

2 5703 of title 5, United States Code, for reason3 able travel costs and expenses incurred in per4 forming duties as a member of the Committee. 

5 ‘‘(B) FUNDING.—The costs of reimburse6 ments under subparagraph (A) and the other 

7 costs associated with the Committee shall be paid 

8 from funds made available to carry out this sec9 tion (which may include funds described in sub10 section (f)(1)(B)), except that no funds allocated 

11 for grants under subsection (f)(1)(A) shall be ex12 pended for any purpose under this subsection. 

13 ‘‘(11) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—The conflict of 

14 interest and recusal provisions set out in section 

15 302(j) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 

16 and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)) shall apply 

17 to any decision by the Committee and to all members 

18 of the Committee as if each member of the Committee 

19 is an affected individual within the meaning of such 

20 section 302(j), except that in addition to the disclo21 sure requirements of section 302(j)(2)(C) of such Act 

22 (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)(2)(C)), each member of the Com23 mittee shall disclose any financial interest or rela24 tionship in an organization or with an individual 

25 that is applying for a grant under subsection (c) held 


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1 by the member of the Committee, including an inter2 est as an officer, director, trustee, partner, employee, 

3 contractor, agent, or other representative. 

4 ‘‘(12) TECHNICAL REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Prior to review of an 

6 application for a grant under subsection (c) by 

7 the Committee, the Secretary shall obtain an 

8 independent written technical evaluation from 3 

9 or more appropriate Federal, private, or public 

10 sector experts (such as industry, academia, or 

11 governmental experts) who— 

12 ‘‘(i) have subject matter expertise to de13 termine the technical merit of the proposal 

14 in the application; 

15 ‘‘(ii) shall independently evaluate each 

16 such proposal; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) shall certify that the expert does 

18 not have a conflict of interest concerning the 

19 application that the expert is reviewing. 

20 ‘‘(B) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 days 

21 after the date of enactment of the American Fish22 eries Advisory Committee Act, the Secretary 

23 shall issue guidance related to carrying out the 

24 technical evaluations under subparagraph (A). 

25 Such guidance shall include criteria for the 


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1 elimination by the National Oceanic and Atmos2 pheric Administration of applications that fail 

3 to meet a minimum level of technical merit as 

4 determined by the review described in subpara5 graph (A).’’. 

6 (b) ROLE IN APPROVAL OF GRANTS.—Section 2(c)(3) 

7 of the Act of August 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 713c–3(c)(3)), is 

8 amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(3)(A) No application for a grant under this sub10 section may be approved unless the Secretary— 

11 ‘‘(i) is satisfied that the applicant has the req12 uisite technical and financial capability to carry out 

13 the project; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) based on the recommendations of the Amer15 ican Fisheries Advisory Committee established in sub16 section (e), evaluates the proposed project as to— 

17 ‘‘(I) soundness of design; 

18 ‘‘(II) the possibilities of securing productive 

19 results; 

20 ‘‘(III) minimization of duplication with 

21 other fisheries research and development projects; 

22 ‘‘(IV) the organization and management of 

23 the project; 


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1 ‘‘(V) methods proposed for monitoring and 

2 evaluating the success or failure of the project; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(VI) such other criteria as the Secretary 

5 may require. 

6 ‘‘(B) If the Secretary fails to provide funds to a grant 

7 selected by the American Fisheries Advisory Committee, the 

8 Secretary shall provide a written document to the Com9 mittee justifying the decision.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF SPECIFIED PURPOSES OF FISHERIES 

11 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS 

12 GRANTS PROGRAM TO INCLUDE FISHERIES 

13 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS. 

14 Section 2(c)(1) of the Act of August 11, 1939 (15 

15 U.S.C. 713c–3(c)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘fisheries 

16 science, recreational fishing,’’ before ‘‘harvesting,’’. 

17 SEC. 4. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF GRANTS PROPOSALS. 

18 Section 2(c) of the Act of August 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 

19 713c–3(c)), is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(6) Any person awarded a grant under this sub21 section shall make publicly available a title and abstract 

22 of the project to be carried out by the grant funds that serves 

23 as the public justification for funding the project that in24 cludes a statement describing how the project serves to en25 hance United States fisheries, including harvesting, procVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:54 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1218.RH H1218

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1 essing, marketing, and associated infrastructures, if appli2 cable.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 342 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1218 

[Report No. 116–428] 

A BILL 

To establish the American Fisheries Advisory Compurposes. search and development grants, and for other mittee to assist in the awarding of fisheries reJUNE 4, 2020 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS