[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 23, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3098-S3100]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 5950. Mr. KAINE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2027 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 title XII, add the following:
Subtitle F--Protecting Global Fisheries Act of 2026
SEC. 1271. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Protecting Global
Fisheries Act of 2026''.
SEC. 1272. DEFINITIONS.
In this subtitle:
(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 Armed Services, the Committee on
Energy and Commerce, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the
Committee on Natural Resources, and the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure 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,
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Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated
Fishing, adopted at the 24th Session of the Committee on
Fisheries of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations 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. 1273. 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 appropriate countries
that are allies and partners of the United States, and
through appropriate international institutions, to combat
illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing.
(b) Actions by Secretaries.--The Secretary of State, the
Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Homeland Security
may provide direction, as appropriate, to use the voice,
vote, and influence of the United States in all appropriate
international fora and with appropriate countries that are
allies and partners of the United States--
(1) to ensure that cutting edge technology is deployed in
accordance with 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. 1274. AUTHORIZATION OF IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH
RESPECT TO ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, OR UNREGULATED
FISHING AND TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES.
(a) Determinations and Recommendations.--The Secretary of
the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State,
the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of the Interior,
may recommend to the President that the President impose
sanctions as described in subsection (b) with respect to any
foreign person or foreign vessel (regardless of ownership)
that the Secretaries determine--
(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) Imposition of Sanctions.--With respect to a foreign
person or foreign vessel that is the subject of a
recommendation under subsection (a) or that the Secretary of
the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State,
the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of the Interior,
determines has engaged in activity described in that
subsection, the President may impose sanctions, including 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) 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.
(e) 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.
(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.
(f) Rulemaking.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of State, in consultation
with the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the
Interior, may promulgate such rules and regulations as may be
necessary to carry out the provisions of this section (which
may include regulatory exceptions and a process for making
determinations and recommendations under subsection (a)).
(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.).
SEC. 1275. REPORT ON GLOBAL ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, OR
UNREGULATED FISHING.
(a) Report Required.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 4
years, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the
Secretary of Defense and in coordination with the Secretary
of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Commerce, shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
that includes--
(A) recommendations to bolster maritime law enforcement
agreements with countries that are allies and partners of the
United States;
(B) an assessment of--
(i) the global illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing
patterns, strategic goals, and regional priorities of the
People's Republic of China; and
(ii) government and nongovernment resourcing vectors of the
People's Republic of China for illegal, unreported, or
unregulated fishing fleets;
(C) an assessment of the efficacy of global forums to
respond to illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing; and
(D) a strategy for the engagement of the United States in
such forums.
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(2) Form.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified
annex.
(b) Interagency Working Group on Illegal, Unreported, or
Unregulated Fishing.--In preparing the report required by
subsection (a), the Secretary of State shall consider the
recommendations of the working group on maritime security and
illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing established by
section 3551 of the Maritime Security and Fisheries
Enforcement Act (16 U.S.C. 8031).
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