[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 130 (Tuesday, July 29, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4833-S4834]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3074. Mr. KAINE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2026 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of division A, add the following:
TITLE XVII--PROTECTING GLOBAL FISHERIES ACT OF 2025
SEC. 1701. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Protecting Global
Fisheries Act of 2025''.
SEC. 1702. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) Admission; admitted; alien; lawfully admitted for
permanent residence.--The terms ``admission'', ``admitted'',
``alien'', and ``lawfully admitted for permanent residence''
have the meanings given those terms in section 101 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on
Energy and Commerce, and the Committee on Armed Services of
the House of Representatives.
(3) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means an
individual or entity that is not a United States person.
(4) Illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing.--The term
``illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing'' means
activities described as illegal fishing, unreported fishing,
or unregulated fishing in paragraph 3 of the International
Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal,
Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, adopted at the 24th
Session of the Committee on Fisheries in Rome on March 2,
2001.
(5) United states person.--The term ``United States
person'' means--
(A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted
for permanent residence to the United States;
(B) an entity organized under the laws of the United States
or any jurisdiction within the United States, including a
foreign branch of such an entity; or
(C) any person located in the United States.
SEC. 1703. INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION RELATED TO COUNTERING
ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, OR UNREGULATED FISHING.
(a) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United
States to prioritize collaboration with friendly countries,
and through appropriate international institutions, to combat
illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing.
(b) Actions by Secretary of State.--The Secretary of State
shall take such actions as may be necessary to use the voice,
vote, and influence of the United States in all appropriate
international fora and with appropriate countries that are
allies or partners of the United States--
(1) to ensure that cutting edge technology is deployed in
accordance to existing or future maritime law enforcement
agreements the United States may enter or has entered into;
and
(2) to hold accountable those individuals or entities that
are responsible or complicit in illegal, unreported, or
unregulated fishing, with a particular focus on the harmful
actions of the People's Republic of China.
(c) Advocacy at United Nations.--The President may direct
the United States Permanent Representative to the United
Nations to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United
States to urge the United Nations to take greater action with
respect to collaborative global efforts to counter illegal,
unreported, or unregulated fishing.
SEC. 1704. AUTHORIZATION OF IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH
RESPECT TO ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, OR UNREGULATED
FISHING AND TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES.
(a) In General.--The President may impose the sanctions
described in subsection (b) with respect to any foreign
person or foreign vessel (regardless of ownership) that the
President determines--
(1) is responsible for or complicit in--
(A) illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing; or
(B) except as part of a conservation effort, the sale,
supply, purchase, or transfer (including transportation) of
endangered species, as defined in section 3(6) of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532(6));
(2) is a leader or official of an entity, including a
government entity, that has engaged in, or the members of
which have engaged in, any of the activities described in
paragraph (1) during the tenure of the leader or official;
(3) has ever owned, operated, chartered, or controlled a
vessel during which time the personnel of the vessel engaged
in any of the activities described in paragraph (1); or
(4) has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided
financial, material, or technological support for, or goods
or services in support of--
(A) any of the activities described in paragraph (1); or
(B) any foreign person engaged in any such activity.
(b) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions that may be imposed
under subsection (a) with respect to a foreign person or
foreign vessel are the following:
(1) Blocking of property.--Notwithstanding section 202 of
the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C.
1701), the exercise of all powers granted to the President by
the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C.
1701 et seq.) to the extent necessary to block and prohibit
all transactions in all property and interests in property of
a foreign person described in subsection (a), if such
property and interests in property are in the United States,
come within the United States, or are or come within the
possession or control of a United States person.
(2) Inadmissibility to the united states.--In the case of
an alien described in subsection (a), or any alien that the
President determines is a corporate officer or principal of,
or a shareholder with a controlling interest in, a foreign
person described in subsection (a) that is an entity--
(A) ineligibility for a visa and inadmissibility to the
United States; and
(B) revocation of any valid visa or travel documentation in
accordance with section 221(i) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)).
(3) Loans from united states financial institutions.--The
President may prohibit any United States financial
institution from making loans or providing credits to a
foreign person described in subsection (a).
(4) Foreign exchange.--The President may, pursuant to such
regulations as the President may prescribe, prohibit any
transactions in foreign exchange that are subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States and in which a foreign
person or foreign vessel described in subsection (a) has any
interest.
(c) Report Required.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
President shall submit a report on the imposition of
sanctions under this section to--
(1) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee
on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.
(d) National Interest Waiver.--The President may waive the
imposition of sanctions under subsection (a) with respect to
a foreign person or foreign vessel if the President
determines that such a waiver is in the national interests of
the United States.
(e) Exceptions.--
(1) Exceptions for authorized intelligence and law
enforcement activities.--Sanctions under this section shall
not apply with respect to activities subject to the reporting
requirements under title V of the National Security Act of
1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.) or any authorized intelligence,
law enforcement, or national security activities of the
United States.
(2) Exception to comply with international agreements.--
Sanctions under subsection (b)(2) shall not apply with
respect to the admission of an alien to the United States if
such admission is necessary to comply with the obligations of
the United States under the Agreement regarding the
Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake Success on
June 26, 1947, and entered into force on November 21, 1947,
between the United Nations and the United States, or the
Convention on Consular Relations, done at Vienna on April 24,
1963, and entered into force on March 19, 1967, or other
international obligations.
(3) Exception for safety of vessels and crew.--Sanctions
under this section shall not apply with respect to a person
providing provisions to a vessel if such provisions are
intended for the safety and care of the crew aboard the
vessel or the maintenance of the vessel to avoid any
environmental or other significant damage.
(4) Humanitarian exception.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B),
the President may not impose sanctions under this section
with respect to any person for conducting or facilitating a
transaction for the sale of agricultural commodities, food,
medicine, or medical devices or for the provision of
humanitarian assistance.
(B) Exclusion.--The exception under subparagraph (A) does
not include transactions for the sale of food or agricultural
commodities obtained through illegal, unreported, or
unregulated fishing.
(f) Implementation; Penalties.--
(1) Implementation.--The President may exercise all
authorities provided under sections 203 and 205 of the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702
and 1704) to carry out this section.
[[Page S4834]]
(2) Penalties.--A person that violates, attempts to
violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of this
section or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry
out this section shall be subject to the penalties set forth
in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705)
to the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful act
described in subsection (a) of that section.
(g) Rulemaking.--
(1) In general.--The head of any Federal agency responsible
for the implementation of this section may promulgate such
rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the
provisions of this section (which may include regulatory
exceptions), including under section 205 of the International
Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1704).
(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section may be
construed to limit the authority of the President pursuant to
the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C.
1701 et seq.).
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