[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8337 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8337
To prohibit any procurement by the Federal Government of foreign
seafood for covered food programs, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 16, 2026
Ms. Letlow introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committees
on Agriculture, Armed Services, and Transportation and Infrastructure,
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 prohibit any procurement by the Federal Government of foreign
seafood for covered food programs, 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 ``Buy American Seafood Act''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON PROCUREMENT OF FOREIGN SEAFOOD.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the head of an agency
may not procure seafood for any covered food program unless such
seafood is--
(1) harvested--
(A) in the United States; and
(B) by a United States-flagged fishing vessel; or
(2) produced or processed in the United States through
aquaculture or domestic seafood processing.
SEC. 3. LIMITED WAIVER AUTHORITY.
(a) In General.--The head of an agency may waive the prohibition
described in section 2 if the Secretary of Agriculture determines that
the quantity of United States-produced seafood--
(1) is insufficient to meet the needs of the relevant
covered food program; or
(2) does not meet the applicable food safety or quality
standards required under Federal law or the regulations of the
relevant covered food program.
(b) Publication; Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after a waiver is
granted pursuant to subsection (a), the waiver shall be
published in the Federal Register and reported to Congress.
(2) Contents.--Each publication and report required by
paragraph (1) shall include the following:
(A) An identification of the relevant covered food
program.
(B) A description of the seafood covered by the
waiver.
(C) The duration of the waiver.
(D) A description of the determination by the
Secretary of Agriculture described in subsection (a)
with respect to such waiver.
SEC. 4. CHILD NUTRITION AMENDMENTS.
Section 12(n) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act
(42 U.S.C. 1760(n)) is amended--
(1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Aquaculture.--The term `aquaculture' means
the farming of aquatic organisms in controlled
environments for human consumption.
``(B) Domestic commodity or product.--The term
`domestic commodity or product' means--
``(i) agricultural commodity that is
produced in the United States;
``(ii) a food product that is processed in
the United States substantially using
agricultural commodities that are produced in
the United States; and
``(iii) seafood that is--
``(I) harvested--
``(aa) in the United
States; and
``(bb) by a United States-
flagged fishing vessel; or
``(II) produced and processed in
the United States through aquaculture
or domestic seafood processing.
``(C) Domestic seafood processing.--The term
`domestic seafood processing' means the processing
operations that occur within the United States to
materially transform seafood into a product intended
for human consumption.
``(D) Exclusive economic zone.--The term `exclusive
economic zone' has the meaning given that term in
section 3 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1802).
``(E) Seafood.--The term `seafood' means the
following:
``(i) Finfish.
``(ii) Shellfish.
``(iii) Crustaceans.
``(iv) Shrimp.
``(v) Crawfish.
``(vi) Oysters.
``(vii) Catfish.
``(viii) Any other aquatic species intended
for human consumption.
``(F) United states-flagged fishing vessel.--The
term `United States-flagged fishing vessel' means a
vessel--
``(i) documented under chapter 121 of title
46, United States Code; and
``(ii) eligible to operate in the exclusive
economic zone.
``(G) United states-produced.--The term `United
States-produced' means harvested, raised, and processed
within the United States, including the territorial
waters and exclusive economic zone of the United
States.''; and
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``and
subparagraph (C)'' after ``subparagraph (B)''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) Waiver for seafood.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary may waive
the requirement under subparagraph (A) with
respect to seafood described in paragraph
(1)(C) if the Secretary determines that the
quantity of United States-produced seafood--
``(I) is insufficient to meet the
needs of the school lunch program under
this Act or the school breakfast
program under section 4 of the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773);
or
``(II) does not meet the applicable
food safety or quality standards
required under this Act or the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771
et seq.).
``(ii) Publication; report.--
``(I) In general.--Not later than
30 days after a waiver is granted
pursuant to clause (i), the waiver
shall be published in the Federal
Register and reported to Congress.
``(II) Contents.--Each publication
and report required by subclause (I)
shall include the following:
``(aa) A description of
whether the waiver is with
respect to the school lunch
program under this Act or the
school breakfast program under
section 4 of the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42
U.S.C. 1773).
``(bb) A description of the
seafood covered by the waiver.
``(cc) The duration of the
waiver.
``(dd) A description of the
determination by the Secretary
described in clause (i) with
respect to such waiver.''.
SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretary
of Commerce and the Secretary of Defense--
(1) shall promulgate, under section 553 of title 5, United
States Code, regulations to carry out this Act; and
(2) may issue guidance consistent with such regulations to
agencies to carry out this Act.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Aquaculture.--The term ``aquaculture'' means the
farming of aquatic organisms in controlled environments for
human consumption.
(2) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given that
term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
(3) Covered food program.--The term ``covered food
program'' means the following:
(A) Any program carried out under the Emergency
Food Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7501 et seq.).
(B) A subsistence or food service program of the
Department of Defense.
(C) Any program to provide food in an area in which
the President has declared a major disaster under
section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) carried
out by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency.
(D) Any other program of an agency that purchases
or distributes food using Federal funds.
(4) Domestic seafood processing.--The term ``domestic
seafood processing'' means the processing operations that occur
within the United States to materially transform seafood into a
product intended for human consumption.
(5) Exclusive economic zone.--The term ``exclusive economic
zone'' has the meaning given that term in section 3 of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16
U.S.C. 1802).
(6) Seafood.--The term ``seafood'' means the following:
(A) Finfish.
(B) Shellfish.
(C) Crustaceans.
(D) Shrimp.
(E) Crawfish.
(F) Oysters.
(G) Catfish.
(H) Any other aquatic species intended for human
consumption.
(7) United states-flagged fishing vessel.--The term
``United States-flagged fishing vessel'' means a vessel--
(A) documented under chapter 121 of title 46,
United States Code; and
(B) eligible to operate in the exclusive economic
zone.
(8) United states-produced.--The term ``United States-
produced'' means harvested, raised, and processed within the
United States, including the territorial waters and exclusive
economic zone of the United States.
SEC. 7. NO ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
No additional amounts are authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this Act.
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