[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5738 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5738

To improve the protections afforded under Federal law to consumers from 
    contaminated seafood by directing the Secretary of Commerce to 
  establish a program, in coordination with other appropriate Federal 
 agencies, to strengthen activities for ensuring that seafood sold or 
 offered for sale to the public in or affecting interstate commerce is 
                       fit for human consumption.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 9, 2008

   Mr. Ross introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on 
    Agriculture and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To improve the protections afforded under Federal law to consumers from 
    contaminated seafood by directing the Secretary of Commerce to 
  establish a program, in coordination with other appropriate Federal 
 agencies, to strengthen activities for ensuring that seafood sold or 
 offered for sale to the public in or affecting interstate commerce is 
                       fit for human consumption.

    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 ``Commercial Seafood Consumer 
Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. SEAFOOD SAFETY.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Commerce shall, in coordination 
with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and other appropriate 
Federal agencies, establish a program to strengthen Federal activities 
for ensuring that commercially distributed seafood in the United States 
meets the food quality and safety requirements of Federal law.
    (b) Memorandum of Understanding.--The Secretary of Commerce and the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall enter into an agreement 
within 180 days after enactment of this Act to strengthen cooperation 
on seafood safety. The agreement shall include provisions for--
            (1) cooperative arrangements for examining and testing 
        seafood imports;
            (2) coordination of inspections of foreign facilities;
            (3) technical assistance and training of foreign facilities 
        for marine aquaculture, technical assistance for foreign 
        governments concerning United States regulatory requirements, 
        and appropriate information transfer arrangements between the 
        United States and foreign governments;
            (4) developing a process for expediting imports of seafood 
        into the United States from foreign countries and exporters 
        that consistently adhere to the highest standards for ensuring 
        seafood safety;
            (5) establishing a system to track shipments of seafood in 
        the distribution chain within the United States;
            (6) labeling requirements to assure species identity and 
        prevent fraudulent practices;
            (7) a process by which officers and employees of the 
        National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National 
        Marine Fisheries Service shall be commissioned by the Secretary 
        of Health and Human Services for seafood examinations and 
        investigations conducted under section 801 of the Federal Food, 
        Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 381);
            (8) the sharing of information concerning observed non-
        compliance with United States food requirements domestically 
        and in foreign countries and new regulatory decisions and 
        policies that may affect regulatory outcomes; and
            (9) conducting joint training on subjects that affect and 
        strengthen seafood inspection effectiveness by Federal 
        authorities.

SEC. 3. CERTIFIED LABORATORIES.

    Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, shall increase the number of laboratories certified to 
the standards of the Food and Drug Administration in the United States 
and in countries that export seafood to the United States for the 
purpose of analyzing seafood and ensuring that it complies with Federal 
law. Such laboratories may include Federal, State, and private 
facilities. The Secretary of commerce shall publish in the Federal 
Register a list of certified laboratories, and shall update the list, 
and publish the updated list, no less frequently than annually.

SEC. 4. NOAA LABORATORIES.

    In any fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall increase the number and capacity 
of laboratories operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration involved in carrying out testing and other activities 
under this Act to the extent the Secretary determines that increased 
laboratory capacity is necessary to carry out the provisions of this 
Act and as provided for in appropriations Acts.

SEC. 5. CONTAMINATED SEAFOOD.

    (a) Refusal of Entry.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
shall issue an order refusing admission into the United States of all 
imports of seafood or seafood products originating from a country or 
exporter if the Secretary determines, on the basis of reliable 
evidence, that shipments of such seafood or seafood products is not 
likely to meet the requirements of Federal law.
    (b) Increased Testing.--If the Secretary determines, on the basis 
of reliable evidence that seafood imports originating from a country 
may not meet the requirements of Federal law, and determines that there 
is a lack of adequate certified laboratories to provide for the entry 
of shipments pursuant to section 3, then the Secretary shall order an 
increase in the percentage of shipments tested of seafood originating 
from such country to improve detection of potential violations of such 
requirements.
    (c) Allowance of Individual Shipments From Exporting Country or 
Exporter.--Notwithstanding an order under subsection (a) with respect 
to seafood originating from a country or exporter, the Secretary may 
permit individual shipments of seafood originating in that country or 
from that exporter to be admitted into the United States if--
            (1) the exporter presents evidence from a laboratory 
        certified by the Secretary that a shipment of seafood meets the 
        requirements of Federal law; and
            (2) the Secretary, or an entity commissioned to carry out 
        examinations and investigations under section 702(a) of the 
        Federal Food, Cosmetic, and Drug Act (21 U.S.C. 372(a)), has 
        inspected the shipment and has found that the shipment meets 
        the requirements of Federal law.
    (d) Cancellation of Order.--The Secretary shall cancel an order 
under subsection (a) with respect to seafood exported from a country or 
exporter if all shipments into the United States under subsection (c) 
of seafood originating in that country or from that exporter more than 
1 year after the date on which the Secretary issued the order have been 
found, under the procedures described in subsection (c), to meet the 
requirements of Federal law. If the Secretary determines that an 
exporter has failed to comply with the requirements of an order under 
subsection (a), the 1-year period in the preceding sentence shall run 
from the date of that determination rather than the date on which the 
order was issued.
    (e) Reliable Evidence Defined.--In this section, the term 
``reliable evidence'' includes--
            (1) the detection of failure to meet Federal law 
        requirements under subsection (a) by the Secretary;
            (2) the detection of all seafood products that fail to meet 
        Federal law requirements by an entity commissioned to carry out 
        examinations and investigations under section 702(a) of the 
        Federal Food, Cosmetic, and Drug Act (21 U.S.C. 372(a)) or a 
        laboratory certified under subsection (c);
            (3) findings from an inspection team formed under section 
        6; or
            (4) the detection by other importing countries of non-
        compliance of shipments of seafood or seafood products that 
        originate from the exporting country or exporter.
    (f) Effect.--This section shall be in addition to, and shall have 
no effect on, the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 
et seq.) with respect to seafood, seafood products, or any other 
product.

SEC. 6. INSPECTION TEAMS.

    The Secretary of Commerce, in cooperation with the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services, shall send 1 or more inspectors to a country 
or exporter from which seafood exported to the United States 
originates. The inspection team will assess whether any prohibited 
drug, practice, or process is being used in connection with the 
farming, cultivation, harvesting, preparation for market, or 
transportation of such seafood. The inspection team shall prepare a 
report for the Secretary with its findings. The Secretary of Commerce 
shall cause the report to be published in the Federal Register no later 
than 90 days after the inspection team makes its final report. The 
Secretary of Commerce shall notify the country or exporter through 
appropriate means as to the findings of the report no later than the 
date on which the report is published in the Federal Register. A 
country may offer a rebuttal to the assessment within 90 days after 
publication of the report.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 
2009 through 2013, for purposes of carrying out the provisions of this 
Act, $15,000,000.
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