I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5087 

To require the Secretary of Agriculture to submit a report to Congress 

on Department of Agriculture spending related to seafood purchases 

and grants, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 28, 2023 

Mr. PALLONE (for himself, Mrs. CAMMACK, Ms. BONAMICI, and Ms. BLUNT

ROCHESTER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Agriculture to submit a report 

to Congress on Department of Agriculture spending related to seafood purchases and grants, and for other 

purposes. 

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 ‘‘Supporting Equity for 

5 Aquaculture and Seafood Act’’ or the ‘‘SEAS Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REPORT ON USDA SEAFOOD PURCHASES AND 

2 GRANTS. 

3 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

4 of this Act, and annually thereafter through fiscal year 

5 2026, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to Con6 gress a report that includes, with respect to the previous 

7 fiscal year— 

8 (1) the total amount of expenditures of the De9 partment of Agriculture on seafood purchases and 

10 aquaculture purchases and the value of such expend11 itures; 

12 (2) the total amount of expenditures of the De13 partment on seafood and aquaculture promotion and 

14 outreach supporting the seafood and aquaculture in15 dustries and the value of such expenditures; 

16 (3) the number of grants made by the Secretary 

17 of Agriculture to the seafood and aquaculture indus18 tries, and the amount of such grants; and 

19 (4) the number of grants made by the Secretary 

20 of Agriculture to facilitate seafood and aquaculture 

21 research, the amount of such grants, and the subject 

22 matter of such research. 


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1 SEC. 3. REPORT ON USDA SUPPORT FOR AQUACULTURE 

2 AND THE SEAFOOD INDUSTRY. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agri5 culture shall submit to Congress a report— 

6 (1) evaluating the Department of Agriculture’s 

7 role in supporting aquaculture and the seafood in8 dustry; 

9 (2) evaluating the domestic seafood processing 

10 capacity of the United States and the impact of 

11 overseas processing on domestic supply chains, aqua12 culture, and the seafood industry; 

13 (3) examining the access to the Department of 

14 Agriculture’s grants and resources aquaculture and 

15 seafood producers have, as compared to traditional 

16 land-based farmers; 

17 (4) evaluating the potential environmental bene18 fits of aquaculture, with respect to climate, conserva19 tion, and pollution; 

20 (5) evaluating the potential negative impacts of 

21 aquaculture, with respect to pollution, waste, dis22 ease, and other repercussions; and 

23 (6) providing recommendations to support and 

24 advance best practice for aquaculture in the United 

25 States. 

26 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 


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1 (1) AQUACULTURE.—The term ‘‘aquaculture’’ 

2 means the controlled breeding, rearing, and har3 vesting of fish, shellfish, sea vegetables and other or4 ganisms in freshwater, saltwater, and any other con5 trolled water environments. 

6 (2) SEAFOOD INDUSTRY.—The term ‘‘seafood 

7 industry’’ means shellfish growers, shellfish har8 vesters, sea vegetable growers, fish farmers, com9 mercial fishermen that harvest shellfish or finfish, 

10 and other aquaculture producers. 

11 SEC. 4. USDA INTERNAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENT. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of the Department of 

13 Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6931 

14 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 226B (7 

15 U.S.C. 6934) the following: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 226C. AQUACULTURE EDUCATION. 

17 ‘‘(a) FSA OFFICES.— The Secretary shall develop 

18 and implement a requirement for employees of each re19 gional office of the Farm Service Agency with respect to 

20 education on aquaculture. Such requirement shall include 

21 training for all existing and new employees on— 

22 ‘‘(1) eligibility for aquaculture-related Federal 

23 grants and programs; 

24 ‘‘(2) the role of aquaculture in United States 

25 agriculture; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) the support the Department of Agriculture 

2 provides to seafood producers and aquaculture. 

3 ‘‘(b) MEMORANDUM.—Not later than 2 years after 

4 the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 

5 shall issue a department-wide memorandum that— 

6 ‘‘(1) affirms the Department of Agriculture’s 

7 current position that aquaculture plays a vital role 

8 in the United States agriculture system; and 

9 ‘‘(2) reiterates the eligibility of aquaculture and 

10 seafood products and producers for programs admin11 istered by the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(c) WEBINARS.— The Secretary shall, beginning not 

13 later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this 

14 section and every 2 years thereafter, convene a conference 

15 (including a conference held on a virtual platform or 

16 through webinars) providing for education of officers and 

17 employees of the Department of Agriculture and relevant 

18 stakeholders on the state of aquaculture in the United 

19 States.’’. 

20 (b) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Effective as if in21 cluded in the enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2018, 

22 subtitle A of the Department of Agriculture Reorganiza23 tion Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6912 et seq.) is amended by 

24 redesignating the first section 225 (7 U.S.C. 6925) (relat25 ing to the Food Access Liaison) as section 224A. 


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1 SEC. 5. REGIONAL AQUACULTURE CENTERS. 

2 (a) EXTENSION.— Section 1477(a) of the National 

3 Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy 

4 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3324(a)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

6 end; 

7 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at 

8 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(3) to carry out subsection (b), $30,000,000 

11 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.’’. 

12 (b) INDIRECT COSTS.—Section 1477 of the National 

13 Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy 

14 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3324) is amended by adding at 

15 the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(c) INDIRECT COSTS.—Of the funds made available 

17 under subsection (a) to carry out this section for a fiscal 

18 year, not more than 15 percent may be used for expenses 

19 related to administering the program under this section.’’. 

20 SEC. 6. SHELLFISH RESEARCH UNDER AGRICULTURE AND 

21 FOOD RESEARCH INITIATIVE. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b)(2)(B)(i) of the 

23 Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act 

24 (7 U.S.C. 3157(b)(2)(B)(i)) is amended to read as follows: 

25 ‘‘(i)(I) aquaculture; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) methods of increasing survival 

2 rate and adaptability of shellfish, including 

3 resistance to heat, disease, salinity, and 

4 acidification;’’. 

5 (b) DEVELOPING NEXT GENERATION TECHNOLOGY

6 FOR THE SEAFOOD AND AQUACULTURE INDUSTRIES.— 

7 Title IX of the Food Security and Rural Investment Act 

8 of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8101 et seq.) is amended by adding 

9 at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 9015. DEVELOPING NEXT GENERATION TECHNOLOGY 

11 FOR THE SEAFOOD AND AQUACULTURE IN12 DUSTRIES. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

14 with the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall 

15 make competitive grants to eligible entities to develop next 

16 generation technology, which may include more efficient 

17 gear and equipment, to reduce pollution and fuel usage 

18 in the seafood and aquaculture industries. 

19 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—The term ‘eligi20 ble entity’ includes a regional aquaculture center estab21 lished under section 1475 of the National Agricultural Re22 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 

23 U.S.C. 3322), institution of higher education, federally24 funded research and development center, and an organiza25 tion organization described in section 501(c)(5) of the InVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Aug 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5087.IH H5087

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1 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation 

2 under section 501(a) of such Code. 

3 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

5 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.’’. 

6 SEC. 7. GRANT PROGRAMS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—In awarding grants (or other as8 sistance), the Secretary shall give the same consideration 

9 to aquaculture producers as animal agriculture producers. 

10 (b) AQUACULTURE FUNDING.—The Secretary shall 

11 ensure adequate and fair funding levels are made available 

12 to aquaculture producers through grants (or other assist13 ance) under Department of Agriculture programs. 

14 (c) ANIMAL AGRICULTURE DEFINED.—The term 

15 ‘‘animal agriculture’’ means the raising, breeding, har16 vesting, and slaughtering of beef, lamb, goat, pork, duck, 

17 poultry, and other land-based organisms for consumption 

18 and the production of animal products, including milk, 

19 eggs, meat, skins, fibers, bones, feathers, and other by20 products. 

21 SEC. 8. CROP INSURANCE. 

22 Section 522(c) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 

23 1938 (7 U.S.C. 1522) is amended by adding at the end 

24 the following: 

25 ‘‘(20) AQUACULTURE PRODUCTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall 

2 carry out research and development, or offer to 

3 enter into 1 or more contracts with 1 or more 

4 qualified persons to carry out research and de5 velopment, regarding a policy to insure aqua6 culture products. 

7 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—The Corporation 

8 shall establish a policy to insure aquaculture 

9 products for the first reinsurance year that be10 gins after the date of the enactment of this 

11 paragraph.’’. 

Æ 


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