[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6150 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6150
To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
to add an economic cause as an allowable cause to declare a fishery
resource disaster.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 19, 2025
Ms. Mace (for herself, Mr. Donalds, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Mr. Moore
of Alabama, Mr. Golden of Maine, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Vicente
Gonzalez of Texas, Mr. Higgins of Louisiana, and Mr. Murphy) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural
Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
to add an economic cause as an allowable cause to declare a fishery
resource disaster.
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 ``Protect American Fisheries Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. ECONOMIC FISHERY RESOURCE DISASTERS.
Section 312(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1861a(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``economic
cause,'' after ``discrete anthropogenic cause,'';
(B) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) through (G)
as subparagraphs (F) through (I), respectively;
(C) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as
subparagraph (D);
(D) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the
following:
``(C) Economic cause.--The term `economic cause'
means any activity carried out by a foreign person that
the Secretary determines--
``(i) distorts the market for a fishery
resource;
``(ii) disrupts the sustainable harvest of
a fishery resource; or
``(iii) hinders the operational or economic
viability of a fishery resource.'';
(E) in subparagraph (D)(i), as so redesignated, by
inserting ``or significant disruption to the fishery
resource or economy of a fishing community'' after
``fishery resource''; and
(F) by inserting after subparagraph (D), as so
redesignated, the following:
``(E) Foreign person.--The term `foreign person'
means--
``(i) an individual who is not a citizen or
national of the United States;
``(ii) a government of a foreign country
and any unit of such government;
``(iii) an international financial
institution (as the term `international
financial institutions' is defined in section
1701(c) of the International Financial
Institutions Act (22 U.S.C. 262r(c)));
``(iv) a partnership, association,
corporation, organization, or other combination
of persons organized under the laws of or
having its principal place of business in a
foreign country; and
``(v) a partnership, association,
corporation, organization, or other combination
of persons organized under the laws of the
United States that is owned by, directly or
indirectly controlled by, or subject to the
direction of a person or an entity described in
clauses (i) through (iv).'';
(2) in paragraph (3)(B)(v)--
(A) in subclause (III), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in subclause (IV), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by inserting after subclause (IV) the
following:
``(V) if applicable with respect to
the cause of the fishery resource
disaster, information documenting the
adverse effects of activities carried
out by a foreign person on the
operational or economic viability of
the applicable fishery, including--
``(aa) illegal, unreported,
or unregulated fishing,
including the use of forced or
child labor;
``(bb) predatory pricing;
and
``(cc) the provision of
subsidies that--
``(AA) have an
adverse effect on the
price in the United
States or export
markets of seafood
produced by the
applicable fishery; or
``(BB) otherwise
cause a distortion of
such markets.'';
(3) in paragraph (4)(B)(i)(II)--
(A) in item (ii), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in item (jj), by striking the period at the end
and inserting a semicolon; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(kk) prices in the United
States or export markets of
seafood produced in the
fishery; and
``(ll) if the requester
submits information described
in paragraph (3)(B)(v)(V), any
activities carried out by a
foreign person that contribute
to an economic cause of the
fishery resource disaster and
the specific economic effects
thereof.''; and
(4) in paragraph (5)(A)--
(A) in clause (iii)--
(i) by striking ``a combination'' and
inserting ``any combination''; and
(ii) by striking ``and an anthropogenic
cause'' and inserting ``, anthropogenic cause,
or economic cause'';
(B) by redesignating clauses (iii) and (iv) as
clauses (iv) and (v), respectively; and
(C) by inserting after clause (ii) the following:
``(iii) an economic cause;''.
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