I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1218 
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 
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. 
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 
Advisory Committee Act’’. 
SEC. 2. AMERICAN FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 2 of the Act of Au-
gust 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 713c–3), is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
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‘‘(f) 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) MARKETING AND PROMOTION.—The 
term ‘marketing and promotion’ means an ac-
tivity aimed at encouraging the consumption of 
seafood or expanding or maintaining commer-
cial markets for seafood. 
‘‘(C) 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. 
‘‘(D) 
SEAFOOD.—The 
term 
‘seafood’ 
means farm-raised and wild-caught fish or 
shellfish harvested in the United States or by a 
United States flagged vessel for human con-
sumption. 
‘‘(E) SEAFOOD INDUSTRY.—The term ‘sea-
food industry’ means harvesters, marketers, 
growers, processors, and persons providing 
them with goods and services. 
‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date of the enactment of the American 
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Fisheries Advisory Committee Act, the Secretary 
shall establish five regions within the American 
Fisheries Advisory 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, Con-
necticut, New York, Michigan, Minnesota, Wis-
consin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsyl-
vania. 
‘‘(C) Region 3 shall consist of Texas, Ala-
bama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Puerto 
Rico, and the territory of the Virgin Islands. 
‘‘(D) Region 4 shall consist of California, 
Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. 
‘‘(E) Region 5 shall consist of New Jersey, 
Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, 
South Carolina, and Georgia. 
‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall be 
composed of the following members: 
‘‘(A) REGIONAL REPRESENTATION.—Each 
of the regions listed in subparagraphs (A) 
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through (E) of paragraph (2) shall be rep-
resented on the Committee by two 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; and 
‘‘(II) one shall have experience as 
a processor; and 
‘‘(iv) that are selected so that the 
members of the Committee have experience 
or expertise with as many seafood species 
as practicable. 
‘‘(B) AT-LARGE MEMBERS.—The Secretary 
shall appoint to the Committee at-large mem-
bers to ensure that the Committee fairly re-
flects the expertise and interest of the seafood 
industry located in each region, as follows: 
‘‘(i) One individual with experience in 
mass market food distribution. 
‘‘(ii) One individual with experience in 
mass market food retail or food service. 
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‘‘(iii) One individual with experience 
in the marketing of seafood. 
‘‘(iv) One individual with experience 
in growing seafood. 
‘‘(v) One individual who is an em-
ployee of the National Marine Fisheries 
Service with expertise in fisheries research. 
‘‘(4) MEMBER TERMS.—The term for a member 
of the Committee shall be three years, except that 
the Secretary 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 seafood in-
dustry that may be addressed by a project 
funded 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). 
‘‘(6) CHAIR.—The Committee shall elect a chair 
by a majority of those voting, if a quorum is 
present. 
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‘‘(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 two times each year. 
‘‘(B) LOCATION.—The meetings of the 
Committee shall rotate between the geographic 
regions described under paragraph (2). 
‘‘(C) 
FEDERAL
ADVISORY
COMMITTEE 
ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 
U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Committee. 
‘‘(9) STAFF.—The Committee may employ staff 
as necessary without regard to the provisions of title 
5, United States Code. 
‘‘(10) PER DIEM AND EXPENSES AND FUND-
ING.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—A member of the 
Committee shall serve without compensation, 
but shall be reimbursed in accordance with sec-
tion 5703 of title 5, United States Code, for 
reasonable travel costs and expenses incurred in 
performing duties as a member of the Com-
mittee. 
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‘‘(B) 
FUNDING.—The 
reimbursements 
made under subparagraph (A) shall be paid 
with the funds made available for grants under 
subsection (c). 
‘‘(11) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—The conflict of 
interest and recusal provisions set out in section 
302(j) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva-
tion 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 mean-
ing of such section 302(j), except that in addition to 
the disclosure requirements of section 302(j)(2)(C) 
of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)(2)(C)), each member 
of the Committee shall disclose any financial interest 
or relationship in an organization or with an indi-
vidual that is applying for a grant under subsection 
(c) held by the member of the Committee, including 
an interest as an officer, director, trustee, partner, 
employee, contractor, agent, or other representa-
tive.’’. 
(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: 
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‘‘(3) No application for a grant under this subsection 
may be approved unless— 
‘‘(A) the Secretary is satisfied that the appli-
cant has the requisite technical and financial capa-
bility to carry out the project; and 
‘‘(B) the application is selected for funding by 
the American Fisheries Advisory Committee under 
subsection (f).’’. 
Æ 
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