American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act of 2021

IB Union Calendar No. 458 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 3128 [Report No. 117–635] 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 MAY 11, 2021 Mr. YOUNG (for himself and Mrs. RADEWAGEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources DECEMBER 14, 2022 Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources; committed to the Com- mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3128.RH H3128 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3128 RH 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. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3128.RH H3128 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3128 RH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Fisheries 4 Advisory Committee Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. AMERICAN FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 2 of the Act of Au- 7 gust 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 713c–3), is amended— 8 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub- 9 section (f); and 10 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol- 11 lowing: 12 ‘‘(e) AMERICAN FISHERIES ADVISORY COM- 13 MITTEE.— 14 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 15 ‘‘(A) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘Committee’ 16 means the American Fisheries Advisory Com- 17 mittee established under paragraph (2). 18 ‘‘(B) FISHING COMMUNITY.—The term 19 ‘fishing community’ means harvesters, market- 20 ers, growers, processors, recreational fishermen, 21 charter fishermen, and persons providing them 22 with goods and services. 23 ‘‘(C) MARKETING AND PROMOTION.—The 24 term ‘marketing and promotion’ means an ac- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3128.RH H3128 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3128 RH tivity aimed at encouraging the consumption of 1 seafood or expanding or maintaining commer- 2 cial 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’ 8 means farm-raised and wild-caught fish, shell- 9 fish, or marine algae harvested in the United 10 States or by a United States flagged vessel for 11 human consumption. 12 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 13 after the date of the enactment of the American 14 Fisheries Advisory Committee Act of 2021, the Sec- 15 retary shall establish 6 regions within the American 16 Fisheries Advisory Committee as follows: 17 ‘‘(A) Region 1 shall consist of Alaska, Ha- 18 waii, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar- 19 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3128.RH H3128 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3128 RH ‘‘(C) Region 3 shall consist of Texas, Ala- 1 bama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Arkan- 2 sas, Puerto Rico, and the Territory of the Vir- 3 gin Islands of the United States. 4 ‘‘(D) Region 4 shall consist of California, 5 Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. 6 ‘‘(E) Region 5 shall consist of New Jersey, 7 New York, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, 8 North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. 9 ‘‘(F) Region 6 shall consist of Michigan, 10 Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, 11 and Pennsylvania. 12 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall be 13 composed of the following members: 14 ‘‘(A) REGIONAL REPRESENTATION.—Each 15 of the regions listed in subparagraphs (A) 16 through (F) of paragraph (2) shall be rep- 17 resented on the Committee by 3 members— 18 ‘‘(i) who are appointed by the Sec- 19 retary; 20 ‘‘(ii) who reside in a State or territory 21 in the region that the member will rep- 22 resent; 23 ‘‘(iii) of which— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3128.RH H3128 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3128 RH ‘‘(I) one shall have experience as 1 a seafood harvester or processor; 2 ‘‘(II) one shall have experience as 3 recreational or commercial fisher or 4 have experience growing seafood; and 5 ‘‘(III) one shall be an individual 6 who represents the fisheries science 7 community or the relevant Regional 8 Fishery Management Council; and 9 ‘‘(iv) that are selected so that the 10 members of the Committee have experience 11 or expertise with as many seafood species 12 as practicable. 13 ‘‘(B) AT-LARGE MEMBERS.—The Secretary 14 shall appoint to the Committee at-large mem- 15 bers as follows: 16 ‘‘(i) One individual with experience in 17 food distribution, marketing, retail, or food 18 service. 19 ‘‘(ii) One individual with experience in 20 the recreational fishing industry supply 21 chain, such as fishermen, manufacturers, 22 retailers, and distributors. 23 ‘‘(iii) One individual with experience 24 in the commercial fishing industry supply 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3128.RH H3128 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3128 RH chain, such as fishermen, manufacturers, 1 retailers, and distributors. 2 ‘‘(iv) One individual who is an em- 3 ployee of the National Marine Fisheries 4 Service with expertise in fisheries research. 5 ‘‘(C) BALANCED REPRESENTATION.—In 6 selecting the members described in subpara- 7 graphs (A) and (B), the Secretary shall seek to 8 maximize on the Committee, to the extent prac- 9 ticable, a balanced representation of expertise 10 in United States fisheries, seafood production, 11 and science. 12 ‘‘(4) MEMBER TERMS.—The term for a member 13 of the Committee shall be 3 years, except that the 14 Secretary shall designate staggered terms for the 15 members initially appointed to the Committee. 16 ‘‘(5) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Committee shall 17 be responsible for— 18 ‘‘(A) identifying needs of the fishing com- 19 munity that may be addressed by a project 20 funded with a grant under subsection (c); 21 ‘‘(B) developing the request for proposals 22 for such grants; 23 ‘‘(C) reviewing applications for such 24 grants; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3128.RH H3128 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3128 RH ‘‘(D) selecting applications for approval 1 under subsection (c)(2)(B). 2 ‘‘(6) CHAIR.—The Committee shall elect a chair 3 by a majority of those voting, if a quorum is 4 present. 5 ‘‘(7) QUORUM.—A simple majority of members 6 of the Committee shall constitute a quorum, but a 7 lesser number may hold hearings. 8 ‘‘(8) MEETINGS.— 9 ‘‘(A) FREQUENCY.—The Committee shall 10 meet not more than 2 times each year. 11 ‘‘(B) LOCATION.—The meetings of the 12 Committee shall rotate between the geographic 13 regions described under paragraph (2). 14 ‘‘(C) MINIMIZING COSTS.—The Committee 15 shall seek to minimize the operational costs as- 16 sociated with meetings, hearings, or other busi- 17 ness of the Committee, including through the 18 use of video or teleconference. 19 ‘‘(9) DESIGNATION OF STAFF MEMBER.—The 20 Secretary shall designate a staff member to coordi- 21 nate the activities of the Committee and to assist 22 with administrative and other functions as requested 23 by the Committee. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3128.RH H3128 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3128 RH ‘‘(10) PER DIEM AND EXPENSES AND FUND- 1 ING.— 2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A member of the 3 Committee shall serve without compensation, 4 but shall be reimbursed in accordance with sec- 5 tion 5703 of title 5, United States Code, for 6 reasonable travel costs and expenses incurred in 7 performing duties as a member of the Com- 8 mittee. 9 ‘‘(B) FUNDING.—The costs of reimburse- 10 ments under subparagraph (A) and the other 11 costs associated with the Committee shall be 12 paid from funds made available to carry out 13 this section (which may include funds described 14 in subsection (f)(1)(B)), except that no funds 15 allocated for grants under subsection (f)(1)(A) 16 shall be expended for any purpose under this 17 subsection. 18 ‘‘(11) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—The conflict of 19 interest and recusal provisions set out in section 20 302(j) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva- 21 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)) shall 22 apply to any decision by the Committee and to all 23 members of the Committee as if each member of the 24 Committee is an affected individual within the mean- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3128.RH H3128 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3128 RH ing of such section 302(j), except that in addition to 1 the disclosure requirements of section 302(j)(2)(C) 2 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(j)(2)(C)), each member 3 of the Committee shall disclose any financial interest 4 or relationship in an organization or with an indi- 5 vidual that is applying for a grant under subsection 6 (c) held by the member of the Committee, including 7 an interest as an officer, director, trustee, partner, 8 employee, contractor, agent, or other representative. 9 ‘‘(12) TECHNICAL REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.— 10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Prior to review of an 11 application for a grant under subsection (c) by 12 the Committee, the Secretary shall obtain an 13 independent written technical evaluation from 3 14 or more appropriate Federal, private, or public 15 sector experts (such as industry, academia, or 16 governmental experts) who— 17 ‘‘(i) have subject matter expertise to 18 determine the technical merit of the pro- 19 posal in the application; 20 ‘‘(ii) shall independently evaluate each 21 such proposal; and 22 ‘‘(iii) shall certify that the expert does 23 not have a conflict of interest concerning 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3128.RH H3128 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3128 RH the application that the expert is review- 1 ing. 2 ‘‘(B) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 days 3 after the date of enactment of the American 4 Fisheries Advisory Committee Act of 2021, the 5 Secretary shall issue guidance related to car- 6 rying out the technical evaluations under sub- 7 paragraph (A). Such guidance shall include cri- 8 teria for the elimination by the National Oce- 9 anic and Atmospheric Administration of appli- 10 cations that fail to meet a minimum level of 11 technical merit as determined by the review de- 12 scribed in subparagraph (A).’’. 13 (b) ROLE IN APPROVAL OF GRANTS.—Section 14 2(c)(3) of the Act of August 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 713c– 15 3(c)(3)), is amended to read as follows: 16 ‘‘(3)(A) No application for a grant under this sub- 17 section may be approved unless the Secretary— 18 ‘‘(i) is satisfied that the applicant has the req- 19 uisite technical and financial capability to carry out 20 the project; and 21 ‘‘(ii) based on the recommendations of the 22 American Fisheries Advisory Committee established 23 in subsection (e), evaluates the proposed project as 24 to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3128.RH H3128 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3128 RH ‘‘(I) soundness of design; 1 ‘‘(II) the possibilities of securing produc- 2 tive results; 3 ‘‘(III) minimization of duplication with 4 other fisheries research and development 5 projects; 6 ‘‘(IV) the organization and management of 7 the project; 8 ‘‘(V) methods proposed for monitoring and 9 evaluating the success or failure of the project; 10 and 11 ‘‘(VI) such other criteria as the Secretary 12 may require. 13 ‘‘(B) If the Secretary fails to provide funds to a grant 14 selected by the American Fisheries Advisory Committee, 15 the Secretary shall provide a written document to the 16 Committee justifying the decision.’’. 17 SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF SPECIFIED PURPOSES OF FISH- 18 ERIES RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 19 PROJECTS GRANTS PROGRAM TO INCLUDE 20 FISHERIES RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 21 PROJECTS. 22 Section 2(c)(1) of the Act of August 11, 1939 (15 23 U.S.C. 713c–3(c)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘fisheries 24 science, recreational fishing,’’ before ‘‘harvesting,’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3128.RH H3128 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 3128 RH SEC. 4. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF GRANTS PROPOSALS. 1 Section 2(c) of the Act of August 11, 1939 (15 2 U.S.C. 713c–3(c)), is amended by adding at the end the 3 following: 4 ‘‘(6) Any person awarded a grant under this sub- 5 section shall make publicly available a title and abstract 6 of the project to be carried out by the grant funds that 7 serves as the public justification for funding the project 8 that includes a statement describing how the project 9 serves to enhance United States fisheries, including har- 10 vesting, processing, marketing, and associated infrastruc- 11 tures, if applicable.’’. 12 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3128.RH H3128 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS Union Calendar No. 458 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 3128 [Report No. 117–635] 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. DECEMBER 14, 2022 Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H3128.RH H3128 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS