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 develop-
ment grants, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Fisheries Ad-
visory Committee Act’’. 
SEC. 2. AMERICAN FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 2 of the Act of August 
11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 713c–3), is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection 
(f); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(e) AMERICAN FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘Committee’ 
means the American Fisheries Advisory Com-
mittee established under paragraph (2). 
‘‘(B) FISHING COMMUNITY.—The term ‘fish-
ing community’ means harvesters, marketers, 
growers, processors, recreational fishermen, char-
ter fishermen, and persons providing them with 
goods and services. 
‘‘(C) MARKETING
AND
PROMOTION.—The 
term ‘marketing and promotion’ means an activ-
ity aimed at encouraging the consumption of 
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seafood or expanding or maintaining commercial 
markets for seafood. 
‘‘(D) PROCESSOR.—The term ‘processor’ 
means any person in the business of preparing 
or packaging seafood (including seafood of the 
processor’s own harvesting) for sale. 
‘‘(E) SEAFOOD.—The term ‘seafood’ means 
farm-raised and wild-caught fish, shellfish, or 
marine algae harvested in the United States or 
by a United States flagged vessel for human con-
sumption. 
‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date of the enactment of the American Fish-
eries Advisory Committee Act, the Secretary shall es-
tablish 6 regions within the American Fisheries Advi-
sory Committee as follows: 
‘‘(A) Region 1 shall consist of Alaska, Ha-
waii, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar-
iana Islands, and the Territories of Guam and 
American Samoa. 
‘‘(B) Region 2 shall consist of Maine, New 
Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and 
Connecticut. 
‘‘(C) Region 3 shall consist of Texas, Ala-
bama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Arkan-
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sas, Puerto Rico, and the Territory of the Virgin 
Islands of the United States. 
‘‘(D) Region 4 shall consist of California, 
Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. 
‘‘(E) Region 5 shall consist of New Jersey, 
New York, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. 
‘‘(F) Region 6 shall consist of Michigan, 
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, 
and Pennsylvania. 
‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall be 
composed of the following members: 
‘‘(A) REGIONAL
REPRESENTATION.—Each 
of the regions listed in subparagraphs (A) 
through (F) of paragraph (2) shall be represented 
on the Committee by 3 members— 
‘‘(i) who are appointed by the Sec-
retary; 
‘‘(ii) who reside in a State or territory 
in the region that the member will rep-
resent; 
‘‘(iii) of which— 
‘‘(I) one shall have experience as a 
seafood harvester or processor; 
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‘‘(II) one shall have experience as 
recreational or commercial fisher or 
have experience growing seafood; and 
‘‘(III) one shall be an individual 
who represents the fisheries science 
community or the relevant Regional 
Fishery Management Council; and 
‘‘(iv) that are selected so that the mem-
bers of the Committee have experience or ex-
pertise with as many seafood species as 
practicable. 
‘‘(B) AT-LARGE MEMBERS.—The Secretary 
shall appoint to the Committee at-large members 
as follows: 
‘‘(i) One individual with experience in 
food distribution, marketing, retail, or food 
service. 
‘‘(ii) One individual with experience 
in the recreational fishing industry supply 
chain, such as fishermen, manufacturers, re-
tailers, and distributors. 
‘‘(iii) One individual with experience 
in the commercial fishing industry supply 
chain, such as fishermen, manufacturers, re-
tailers, and distributors. 
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‘‘(iv) One individual who is an em-
ployee of the National Marine Fisheries 
Service with expertise in fisheries research. 
‘‘(C) BALANCED REPRESENTATION.—In se-
lecting the members described in subparagraphs 
(A) and (B), the Secretary shall seek to maxi-
mize on the Committee, to the extent practicable, 
a balanced representation of expertise in United 
States fisheries, seafood production, and science. 
‘‘(4) MEMBER TERMS.—The term for a member 
of the Committee shall be 3 years, except that the Sec-
retary shall designate staggered terms for the members 
initially appointed to the Committee. 
‘‘(5) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Committee shall 
be responsible for— 
‘‘(A) identifying needs of the fishing com-
munity that may be addressed by a project fund-
ed with a grant under subsection (c); 
‘‘(B) developing the request for proposals for 
such grants; 
‘‘(C) reviewing applications for such grants; 
and 
‘‘(D) selecting applications for approval 
under subsection (c)(2)(B). 
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‘‘(6) CHAIR.—The Committee shall elect a chair 
by a majority of those voting, if a quorum is present. 
‘‘(7) QUORUM.—A simple majority of members 
of the Committee shall constitute a quorum, but a 
lesser number may hold hearings. 
‘‘(8) MEETINGS.— 
‘‘(A) FREQUENCY.—The Committee shall 
meet not more than 2 times each year. 
‘‘(B) LOCATION.—The meetings of the Com-
mittee shall rotate between the geographic regions 
described under paragraph (2). 
‘‘(C) MINIMIZING
COSTS.—The Committee 
shall seek to minimize the operational costs asso-
ciated with meetings, hearings, or other business 
of the Committee, including through the use of 
video or teleconference. 
‘‘(9) DESIGNATION
OF
STAFF
MEMBER.—The 
Secretary shall designate a staff member to coordinate 
the activities of the Committee and to assist with ad-
ministrative and other functions as requested by the 
Committee. 
‘‘(10) PER
DIEM
AND
EXPENSES
AND
FUND-
ING.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Com-
mittee shall serve without compensation, but 
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shall be reimbursed in accordance with section 
5703 of title 5, United States Code, for reason-
able travel costs and expenses incurred in per-
forming duties as a member of the Committee. 
‘‘(B) FUNDING.—The costs of reimburse-
ments under subparagraph (A) and the other 
costs associated with the Committee shall be paid 
from funds made available to carry out this sec-
tion (which may include funds described in sub-
section (f)(1)(B)), except that no funds allocated 
for grants under subsection (f)(1)(A) shall be ex-
pended for any purpose under this subsection. 
‘‘(11) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—The conflict of 
interest and recusal provisions set out in section 
302(j) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)) shall apply 
to any decision by the Committee and to all members 
of the Committee as if each member of the Committee 
is an affected individual within the meaning of such 
section 302(j), except that in addition to the disclo-
sure requirements of section 302(j)(2)(C) of such Act 
(16 U.S.C. 1852(j)(2)(C)), each member of the Com-
mittee shall disclose any financial interest or rela-
tionship in an organization or with an individual 
that is applying for a grant under subsection (c) held 
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by the member of the Committee, including an inter-
est as an officer, director, trustee, partner, employee, 
contractor, agent, or other representative. 
‘‘(12) TECHNICAL REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Prior to review of an 
application for a grant under subsection (c) by 
the Committee, the Secretary shall obtain an 
independent written technical evaluation from 3 
or more appropriate Federal, private, or public 
sector experts (such as industry, academia, or 
governmental experts) who— 
‘‘(i) have subject matter expertise to de-
termine the technical merit of the proposal 
in the application; 
‘‘(ii) shall independently evaluate each 
such proposal; and 
‘‘(iii) shall certify that the expert does 
not have a conflict of interest concerning the 
application that the expert is reviewing. 
‘‘(B) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of the American Fish-
eries Advisory Committee Act, the Secretary 
shall issue guidance related to carrying out the 
technical evaluations under subparagraph (A). 
Such guidance shall include criteria for the 
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elimination by the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration of applications that fail 
to meet a minimum level of technical merit as 
determined by the review described in subpara-
graph (A).’’. 
(b) ROLE IN APPROVAL OF GRANTS.—Section 2(c)(3) 
of the Act of August 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 713c–3(c)(3)), is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(3)(A) No application for a grant under this sub-
section may be approved unless the Secretary— 
‘‘(i) is satisfied that the applicant has the req-
uisite technical and financial capability to carry out 
the project; and 
‘‘(ii) based on the recommendations of the Amer-
ican Fisheries Advisory Committee established in sub-
section (e), evaluates the proposed project as to— 
‘‘(I) soundness of design; 
‘‘(II) the possibilities of securing productive 
results; 
‘‘(III) minimization of duplication with 
other fisheries research and development projects; 
‘‘(IV) the organization and management of 
the project; 
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‘‘(V) methods proposed for monitoring and 
evaluating the success or failure of the project; 
and 
‘‘(VI) such other criteria as the Secretary 
may require. 
‘‘(B) If the Secretary fails to provide funds to a grant 
selected by the American Fisheries Advisory Committee, the 
Secretary shall provide a written document to the Com-
mittee justifying the decision.’’. 
SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF SPECIFIED PURPOSES OF FISHERIES 
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS 
GRANTS PROGRAM TO INCLUDE FISHERIES 
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS. 
Section 2(c)(1) of the Act of August 11, 1939 (15 
U.S.C. 713c–3(c)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘fisheries 
science, recreational fishing,’’ before ‘‘harvesting,’’. 
SEC. 4. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF GRANTS PROPOSALS. 
Section 2(c) of the Act of August 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 
713c–3(c)), is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(6) Any person awarded a grant under this sub-
section shall make publicly available a title and abstract 
of the project to be carried out by the grant funds that serves 
as the public justification for funding the project that in-
cludes a statement describing how the project serves to en-
hance United States fisheries, including harvesting, proc-
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essing, marketing, and associated infrastructures, if appli-
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 Com-
mittee to assist in the awarding of fisheries re-
search and development grants, and for other 
purposes. 
JUNE 4, 2020 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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