[House Report 116-429]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


116th Congress   }                                     {        Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session      }                                     {       116-429

======================================================================



 
                   YOUNG FISHERMEN'S DEVELOPMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

  June 4, 2020.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Grijalva, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1240]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 1240) to preserve United States fishing heritage 
through a national program dedicated to training and assisting 
the next generation of commercial fishermen, having considered 
the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and 
recommends that the bill as amended do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Young Fishermen's Development Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

  In this Act:
          (1) Sea grant institution.--The term ``Sea Grant 
        Institution'' means a sea grant college or sea grant institute, 
        as those terms are defined in section 203 of the National Sea 
        Grant College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 1122).
          (2) Tribal organization.--The term ``Tribal organization'' 
        has the meaning given the term ``tribal organization'' in 
        section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
        Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
          (3) Young fisherman.--The term ``young fisherman'' means an 
        individual who--
                  (A) desires to participate in the commercial 
                fisheries of the United States, including the Great 
                Lakes fisheries;
                  (B) has worked as a captain, crew member, or deckhand 
                on a commercial fishing vessel for not more than 10 
                years of cumulative service;
                  (C) is a beginning commercial fisherman; or
                  (D) is less than 35 years of age.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.

  The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the National Sea Grant 
Office, shall establish a program to provide training, education, 
outreach, and technical assistance initiatives for young fishermen, to 
be known as the ``Young Fishermen's Development Grant Program'' 
(referred to in this section as the ``Program'').

SEC. 4. GRANTS.

  (a) In General.--In carrying out the Program, the Secretary shall 
make competitive grants to support new and established local and 
regional training, education, outreach, and technical assistance 
initiatives for young fishermen, including programs, workshops, and 
services relating to--
          (1) seamanship, navigation, electronics, and safety;
          (2) vessel and engine care, maintenance, and repair;
          (3) innovative conservation fishing gear engineering and 
        technology;
          (4) sustainable fishing practices;
          (5) entrepreneurship and good business practices;
          (6) direct marketing, supply chain, and traceability;
          (7) financial and risk management, including vessel, permit, 
        and quota purchasing;
          (8) State and Federal legal requirements for specific 
        fisheries, including reporting, monitoring, licenses, and 
        regulations;
          (9) State and Federal fisheries policy and management;
          (10) mentoring, apprenticeships, or internships; and
          (11) any other activities, opportunities, or programs, as the 
        Secretary determines appropriate.
  (b) Eligibility.--
          (1) Applicants.--To be eligible to receive a grant under the 
        Program, a recipient shall be a collaborative State, Tribal, 
        local, or regionally based network or partnership of public or 
        private entities, which may include--
                  (A) a Sea Grant Institution;
                  (B) a Federal or State agency or a Tribal 
                organization;
                  (C) a community-based nongovernmental organization;
                  (D) fishermen's cooperatives or associations;
                  (E) an institution of higher education (including an 
                institution awarding an associate's degree), or a 
                foundation maintained by an institution of higher 
                education; or
                  (F) any other appropriate entity, as the Secretary 
                determines appropriate.
          (2) Participants.--All young fishermen seeking to participate 
        in the commercial fisheries of the United States and the Great 
        Lakes are eligible to participate in the activities funded 
        through grants provided for in this section, except that 
        participants in such activities shall be selected by each grant 
        recipient.
  (c) Maximum Term and Amount of Grant.--
          (1) In general.--A grant under this section shall--
                  (A) have a term of no more than 3 fiscal years; and
                  (B) be in an amount that is not more than $200,000 
                for each fiscal year.
          (2) Consecutive grants.--An eligible recipient may receive 
        consecutive grants under this section.
  (d) Matching Requirement.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
this section, a recipient shall provide a match in the form of cash or 
in-kind contributions from the recipient in the amount equal to or 
greater than 25 percent of the funds provided by the grant.
  (e) Regional Balance.--In making grants under this section, the 
Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure geographic 
diversity.
  (f) Cooperation and Evaluation Criteria.--In carrying out this 
section and in developing criteria for evaluating grant applications, 
the Secretary shall consult, to the maximum extent practicable, with--
          (1) Sea Grant Institutions and extension agents of such 
        institutions;
          (2) community-based nongovernmental fishing organizations;
          (3) Federal and State agencies, including Regional Fishery 
        Management Councils established under the Magnuson-Stevens 
        Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1851 et 
        seq.);
          (4) institutions of higher education with fisheries expertise 
        and programs; and
          (5) partners, as the Secretary determines.
  (g) Prohibition.--A grant under this section may not be used to 
purchase any fishing license, permit, quota, or other harvesting right.

SEC. 5. FUNDING.

  Of the amount made available to the Secretary of Commerce under 
section 311(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1861(e)) for each of fiscal years 2021 
through 2025, the Secretary shall use $2,000,000 to carry out section 4 
of this Act.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 1240 is to preserve United States 
fishing heritage through a national program dedicated to 
training and assisting the next generation of commercial 
fishermen.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Limited-entry programs to commercial fisheries and 
individual fishing quotas, which have been beneficial in 
managing fisheries stocks, have also made permits more 
expensive. Consolidation and relocation of permit holders, 
combined with limited access to financing, capital, and credit 
for young, rural, and indigenous fishers creates an economic 
barrier to enter the fishing industry, as permits alone can 
account for 83 percent of the value of a fishing operation.\1\ 
Research funded by Alaska Sea Grant found that the average age 
of Alaskan fishers was over 50 years old (an increase of 10 
years over the past generation) and that rural communities had 
lost 30 percent of local permit holders.\2\ Similarly, in the 
Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium 
reports that almost 40 percent of Gulf States fishers and 
owners are 55 years old or older, and that fishers and owners 
under age 35 comprise only 13.6 percent of the commercial 
fishing population.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Rachel Donkersloot & Courtney Carothers, The Graying of the 
Alaskan Fishing Fleet, 58(3) Env't: Sci. & Pol'y For Sustainable Dev. 
30 (2016), https://doi.org/10.1080/00139157.2016.1162011.
    \2\Paula Cullenberg, Rachel Donkersloot, Courtney Carothers, Jesse 
Coleman & Danielle Ringer, Turning the Tide: How Can Alaska Address the 
`Graying of the Fleet' and Loss of Rural Fisheries Access? (2017), 
available at https://seagrant.uaf.edu/bookstore/pubs/M-215.html (last 
visited May 15, 2020).
    \3\Ben Posadas, Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, Know More 
About the Commercial Fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico States (Jan. 18, 
2018), http://masgc.org/news/article/know-more-about-the-commercial-
fishermen-in-the-gulf-of-mexico-states.
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    In addition to social and financial barriers, advances in 
marine technology, such as electronic navigation systems, 
vessel propulsion systems, and more sophisticated fishing gear 
have improved the efficiency of fishing operations, while also 
steepening the learning curve for new fishers.
    This bill creates a Young Fishermen's Development Grant 
Program to train and assist the next generation of commercial 
fishers. This proposed program is modeled after the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture's Beginning Farmer and Rancher 
Development Program, which provides grants to educate beginning 
farmers and ranchers.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP), USDA 
Nat'l Institute of Food & Agric., https://nifa.usda.gov/program/
beginning-farmer-and-rancher-development-program-bfrdp (last visited 
May 15, 2020).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Funding for the Young Fishermen's Development Grant 
Program, authorized at $2 million per year through Fiscal Year 
2025, is to be allocated from the Fisheries Asset Forfeiture 
Fund (Fund), which is managed by the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Office of Law Enforcement 
and consists of funding from fines, penalties, and forfeiture 
proceeds received for violations of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The Fund has held a 
balance between $14 and $17 million per year from 2014 to 2019, 
with collections exceeding obligations in all but one year 
during this period. Unless there are significant changes in the 
amounts collected from noncompliance or amounts needed to 
administer NOAA's enforcement program, the Committee does not 
anticipate that the obligation of an additional $2 million per 
year will deplete or diminish the Fund within five years.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 1240 was introduced on February 14, 2019, by 
Representative Don Young (R-AK). The bill was referred solely 
to the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee 
to the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife. On May 8, 
2019, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On January 
29, 2020, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the 
bill. The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent. 
Chair Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ) offered an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute. The amendment in the nature of a 
substitute offered by Chair Grijalva was agreed to by unanimous 
consent. The bill, as amended, was adopted and ordered 
favorably reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous 
consent.

                                HEARINGS

    For the purposes of section 103(i) of H. Res. 6 of the 
116th Congress--the following hearing was used to develop or 
consider H.R. 1240: legislative hearing by the Subcommittee on 
Water, Oceans, and Wildlife held on May 8, 2019.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    This section provides the short title of the bill, the 
``Young Fishermen's Development Act.''

Section 2. Definitions

    This section defines relevant terms.

Section 3. Establishment of program

    This section directs the Secretary of Commerce, acting 
through the National Sea Grant Office, to establish the Young 
Fishermen's Development Grant Program to provide training, 
education, outreach, and technical assistance initiatives for 
young fishers.

Section 4. Grants

    This section authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to make 
competitive grants to provide assistance for programs, 
workshops, and services relating to topics including the 
operation and maintenance of fishing vessels; innovative 
conservation fishing gear; sustainable fishing practices; 
entrepreneurship; and marketing and seafood traceability. Under 
this program, grants would be limited to three fiscal years at 
no more than $200,000 per fiscal year and require that 
recipients provide a match in cash or in-kind contributions of 
at least 25 percent of the amount of the grant. Grants would be 
prohibited from being used to purchase fishing licenses, 
permits, quotas, or other harvesting rights.

Section 5. Funding

    This section authorizes $2 million per year for Fiscal 
Years 2021 through 2025, to be taken from funds collected from 
fines, penalties, and forfeitures of property for violations of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act or 
other marine resource laws enforced by the Secretary of 
Commerce.\5\
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    \5\See 16 U.S.C. Sec. 1861(e).
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            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

      COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT

    1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. 
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the 
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                                Congressional Budget Office
                                  Washington, DC, February 5, 2020.
Hon. Raul M. Grijalva,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1240, the Young 
Fishermen's Development Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Madeleine 
Fox.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

              [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    

    H.R. 1240 would require the Secretary of Commerce to 
establish a program to provide grants for training, education, 
outreach, and technical assistance to young fishermen. The bill 
would authorize the expenditure of $2 million a year over the 
2021-2025 period from the Fisheries Enforcement Asset 
Forfeiture Fund for those purposes. (Grants would be capped at 
$200,000 for each recipient and could be renewed for up to 
three fiscal years.)
    Amounts in the fisheries fund are available to be spent on 
authorized purposes without further appropriation. That fund 
has a balance of about $17 million and collects about $4 
million a year in penalties. CBO estimates that authorizing the 
grant program would increase direct spending by $10 million 
from the fund over the 2020-2025 period.
    The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 establishes budget-
reporting and enforcement procedures for legislation affecting 
direct spending or revenues. The net changes in outlays that 
are subject to those pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in 
Table 1.

    TABLE 1.--CBO'S ESTIMATE OF THE STATUTORY PAY-AS-YOU-GO EFFECTS OF H.R. 1240, YOUNG FISHERMEN'S DEVELOPMENT ACT, AS ORDERED REPORTED BY THE HOUSE
                                                   COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES ON JANUARY 29, 2020
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
                                                      --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        2020   2021   2022   2023   2024   2025   2026   2027   2028   2029   2030  2020-2025  2020-2030
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Net Increase in the Deficit
 
Pay-As-You-Go Effect.................................      0      2      2      2      2      2      0      0      0      0      0        10         10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On October 18, 2019, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 
496, the Young Fishermen's Development Act, as ordered reported 
by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation on July 24, 2019. The period over which the 
funds would be authorized to be expended is different for each 
bill and CBO's cost estimates reflect that difference.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Madeleine Fox. 
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Director of Budget Analysis.
    2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goals and 
objectives of this bill are to preserve United States fishing 
heritage through a national program dedicated to training and 
assisting the next generation of commercial fishermen.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                 UNFUNDED MANDATES REFORM ACT STATEMENT

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                           EXISTING PROGRAMS

    This bill does not establish or reauthorize a program of 
the federal government known to be duplicative of another 
program. Such program was not included in any report from the 
Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to 
section 21 of Public Law 111-139. The Young Fishermen's 
Development Grant Program to be established under this bill is 
related and complementary to, but not duplicative of, the 
following programs identified in the most recent Catalog of 
Federal Domestic Assistance published pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 
Sec. 6104: Fishermen's Contingency Fund (CFDA No. 11.408), 
Fisheries Finance Program (CFDA No. 11.415), Sea Grant Support 
(CFDA No. 11.417), Regional Fishery Management Councils (CFDA 
No. 11.441), and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (CFDA No. 
20.807).

                  APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

               PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL, OR TRIBAL LAW

    Any preemptive effect of this bill over state, local, or 
tribal law is intended to be consistent with the bill's 
purposes and text and the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the 
U.S. Constitution.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes to existing 
law.

        SUPPLEMENTAL, MINORITY, ADDITIONAL, OR DISSENTING VIEWS

    None.

                                  [all]