[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 273 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 273
To prevent the escapement of genetically altered salmon in the United
States, and for other purposes.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 11, 2021
Mr. Young (for himself and Ms. Bonamici) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
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A BILL
To prevent the escapement of genetically altered salmon in the United
States, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Prevention of Escapement of
Genetically Altered Salmon in the United States Act''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON SALE OF GENETICALLY ALTERED SALMON.
(a) Prohibition.--It shall be unlawful for a person--
(1) to ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, or purchase a
covered fish, or a product containing covered fish, in
interstate or foreign commerce;
(2) to have custody, control, or possession of, with the
intent to ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, or purchase a
covered fish, or a product containing covered fish, in
interstate commerce;
(3) to engage in net-pen aquaculture of covered fish;
(4) to release a covered fish into a natural environment;
or
(5) to have custody, control, or possession of a covered
fish with the intent to release it into a natural environment.
(b) Exception.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to a fish, fish
part, or product--
(1) under confined use, or intended for confined use, for
scientific research;
(2) collected for the purpose of enforcing this Act; or
(3) if the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and
Atmosphere, in consultation with the Director of the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service and any other Federal, State,
or tribal entity the Under Secretary considers appropriate,
reviews any application requesting an action by a department or
agency of the Federal Government to permit an act prohibited
under subsection (a), including any environmental assessment
prepared as part of that application, and--
(A) prepares a finding of no significant impact in
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); or
(B) finds the application to be consistent with an
environmental impact statement prepared by the Under
Secretary in accordance with section 102(2)(C) of the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4332) that includes--
(i) an environmental risk analysis that
assesses the potential direct and indirect
impacts from escapement of covered fish on wild
and cultured fish stocks and environments that
may be exposed to such covered fish;
(ii) a failure mode and effects analysis
that quantitatively assesses the best- and
worst-case probabilities of failure of each
applicable confinement technique;
(iii) an assessment of the costs of control
or eradication of escaped covered fish; and
(iv) an assessment of the potential
economic damage in terms of loss of production
or sales to relevant wild and cultured fish
stocks and environments from the escapement of
covered fish.
(c) Environmental Impact Considerations.--
(1) Notice.--Each agency, department, or other unit of the
Federal Government shall promptly notify the Under Secretary of
Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere when an action involving
covered fish, or a product containing covered fish is first
identified by such unit.
(2) Ensuring compliance.--The Under Secretary of Commerce
for Oceans and Atmosphere, in cooperation with each Federal,
State, or tribal entity that the Under Secretary considers
appropriate, may monitor any mitigation measures proposed under
subsection (b)(3) to ensure implementation and compliance
therewith.
(3) Provisions as complementary.--The provisions of this
Act are in addition to, and shall not affect the operation of,
other Federal, State, or local laws regulating a covered fish,
or a product containing covered fish.
(d) Rules and Regulations.--The Secretary shall prescribe such
rules and regulations as the Secretary considers necessary to carry out
the provisions of this Act.
SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES.
(a) Enforcement.--The Secretary of Commerce may enforce section 2
in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction,
powers, and duties provided under sections 308, 309, 310, and 311 of
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.
1858, 1859, 1860, and 1861).
(b) Penalties.--A person who violates section 2 shall be subject to
the penalties, and entitled to the privileges and immunities, under
sections 308, 309, 310, and 311 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1858, 1859, 1860, and 1861).
SEC. 4. REPORT ON RISKS TO WILD FISH STOCKS.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere shall
transmit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of
the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives the report under section 1007 of the Food and Drug
Administration Amendments Act of 2007 (21 U.S.C. 2106).
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Confined use.--The term ``confined use'' means any
operation, undertaken within a secured, land-based facility,
that involves a covered fish controlled by specific measures
that effectively prevent the covered fish from having contact
with and impact on the external environment, including
biological and physical confinement measures.
(2) Covered fish.--The term ``covered fish'' means any
finfish, live or dead, including the gametes, fertilized eggs,
offspring, and descendants thereof, that is modified or
produced through the application of recombinant
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) technologies, using DNA from an
organism's own genome or that of another species, that overcome
natural physiological reproductive barriers and that are not
techniques used in traditional breeding and selection.
(3) Finding of no significant impact.--The term ``finding
of no significant impact'' has the meaning given the term in
section 1508.13 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations.
(4) Product.--The term ``product'' means an item
manufactured or produced for sale or use as food.
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