[Senate Report 116-183]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 394
116th Congress }                                             { REPORT
                              SENATE  
 1st Session   }                                             { 116-183

_______________________________________________________________________



                   YOUNG FISHERMEN'S DEVELOPMENT ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

           COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION

                                   on

                                 S. 496
                                 

               [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


                 December 19, 2019.--Ordered to be printed
                 
                              __________

                U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                
99-010                   WASHINGTON : 2019
                 
                 
                 
                 
       SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
       
                     ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
       
                            FIRST SESSION

                 ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi, Chairman
JOHN THUNE, South Dakota             MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
ROY BLUNT, Missouri                  AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
TED CRUZ, Texas                      RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska                BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
JERRY MORAN, Kansas                  EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska                 TOM UDALL, New Mexico
CORY GARDNER, Colorado               GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee          TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia  TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
MIKE LEE, Utah                       JON TESTER, Montana
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin               KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona
TODD C. YOUNG, Indiana               JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
RICK SCOTT, Florida
                       John Keast, Staff Director
               David Strickland, Minority Staff Director
               
               
               


                                                       Calendar No. 394
116th Congress }                                            { Report
                                 SENATE
  1st Session  }                                            { 116-183

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

 
                   YOUNG FISHERMEN'S DEVELOPMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

               December 19, 2019.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

       Mr. Wicker, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 496]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to 
which was referred the bill (S. 496) to preserve United States 
fishing heritage through a national program dedicated to 
training and assisting the next generation of commercial 
fishermen, and for other purposes, having considered the same, 
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that 
the bill do pass.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of S. 496 is to establish a program through the 
National Sea Grant Office to create competitive grants to 
support local and regional training and education initiatives 
for young fishermen.

                          Background and Needs

    The United States is among the leading fishing nations in 
the world, generating over $200 billion in sales and supporting 
1.7 million jobs per year.\1\ The positive impact of U.S. 
commercial fisheries on the economy largely reflects the 
effective laws put in place under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act,\2\ and the collective progress 
of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries), 
regional fisheries management counsels, and stakeholder efforts 
to rebuild U.S. fisheries.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Fisheries Economics of the United States, 2016 Fact Sheet. 
(2018) (https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/document/fisheries-
economics-united-states-2016-fact-sheet) (accessed 7/15/2019).
    \2\Pub. L. 94-265 and Pub. L. 109-479.
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    Many of the statutes that have been put in place to ensure 
the long-term stability of U.S. fisheries and fishing 
communities have presented new challenges for incoming 
generations of commercial fishermen entering the industry, 
contributing to several shifts in demographics of commercial 
permit holders. In several regions, commercial fisheries have 
seen an average increase of 10 years of age or more over the 
past generation of fishermen, and rural communities have lost 
30 percent of local permit holders.\3\ Consolidation in some 
sectors and graying of fleet have led to an increase in 
financial capital and risk needed to enter into the commercial 
fishing industry. Several other financial challenges have been 
identified, including mixing fishing with other local jobs, 
lack of stable markets increasing risk, and lack of experience 
managing debt and small businesses.\4\
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    \3\Cramer, Lori A., et al. ``Graying of the fleet: Perceived 
impacts on coastal resilience and local policy.'' Marine Policy 96 
(2018): 27-35; Johnson, Teresa R., and Mackenzie D. Mazur. ``A mixed 
method approach to understanding the graying of Maine's lobster 
fleet.'' Bulletin of Marine Science 94.3 (2018): 1185-1199; 
Donkersloot, Rachel, and Courtney Carothers. ``The graying of the 
Alaskan fishing fleet.'' Environment: Science and policy for 
sustainable development 58.3 (2016): 30-42.
    \4\Cullenberg, Paula, et al. ``Turning the tide: How can Alaska 
address the `graying of the fleet' and loss of rural fisheries 
access.'' A review of programs and policies to address access 
challenges in Alaska fisheries. Report funded by the North Pacific 
Research Board and Alaska Sea Grant (2017).
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    Currently, there is no Federal program dedicated to 
training, educating, and assisting the next generation of 
commercial fishermen. First introduced in 2017, the Young 
Fishermen's Development Act (YFDA) is modeled after the 
Department of Agriculture's successful Beginning Farmer and 
Rancher Development Program, which is credited with preparing 
hundreds of young farmers and ranchers for their careers.\5\ 
This grant program would be run through the National Sea Grant 
office.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. ``Beginning Farmer 
and Rancher Program: Training new farmers and helping them start 
successful farm businesses'' (http://sustainableagriculture.net/
publications/grassrootsguide/farming-opportunities/beginning-
farmer-development-program/) (accessed 7/17/19).
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                         Summary of Provisions

    If enacted, S. 496 would establish a program through the 
National Sea Grant Office to create competitive grants to 
provide training, education, outreach, and technical assistance 
initiatives for young fishermen.

                          Legislative History

    S. 496 was introduced on February 14, 2019, by Senator 
Sullivan (for himself and Senators Murkowski, Cantwell, and 
Collins) and was referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate. Senators King, 
Warren, Jones, Markey, and Blumenthal are additional 
cosponsors. On July 24, 2019, the Committee met in open 
Executive Session and, by voice vote, ordered S. 496 reported 
favorably without amendment.
    A similar bill, H.R. 1240, was introduced on February 14, 
2019, by Representative Young (for himself and Representatives 
Golden, Moulton, Pingree, and Radewagen) and was referred to 
the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
Representatives. There are seven additional cosponsors.
    In the 115th Congress, a similar bill, S. 1323, was 
introduced on June 8, 2017, by Senator Sullivan (for himself 
and Senators Murkowski, Markey, and Cantwell) and was referred 
to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 
the Senate. Senators King, Warren, and Collins were additional 
cosponsors.
    An additional similar bill in the 115th Congress, H.R. 
2079, was introduced on April 6, 2017, by Representative Young 
(for himself and Representative Moulton) and nine additional 
cosponsors. That bill was referred to the Subcommittee on 
Water, Power, and Oceans of the Committee on Natural Resources 
of the House of Representatives.

                            Estimated Costs

    In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the 
following cost estimate, prepared by the Congressional Budget 
Office:

          [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    S. 496 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 2020-
2024 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 2020-2024 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 S. 496
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                         By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
                                                             -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               2020   2021   2022   2023   2024   2025   2026   2027   2028   2029  2020-2024  2020-2029
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Net Increase in the Deficit
 
Pay-As-You-Go Effect........................................      2      2      2      2      2      0      0      0      0      0        10         10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Madeleine Fox. 
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                      Regulatory Impact Statement

    Because S. 496 does not create any new programs, the 
legislation will have no additional regulatory impact, and will 
result in no additional reporting requirements. The legislation 
will have no further effect on the number or types of 
individuals and businesses regulated, the economic impact of 
such regulation, the personal privacy of affected individuals, 
or the paperwork required from such individuals and businesses.

                   Congressionally Directed Spending

    In compliance with paragraph 4(b) of rule XLIV of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides that no 
provisions contained in the bill, as reported, meet the 
definition of congressionally directed spending items under the 
rule.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short title

    This section would provide that the bill may be cited as 
the ``Young Fishermen's Development Act''.

Section 2. Definitions

    This section would define terms used throughout the 
legislation. These terms include Sea Grant Institution, Tribal 
organization, and young fisherman.

Section 3. Establishment of program

    This section would direct the Secretary of Commerce to 
establish the Young Fishermen's Development Grant Program 
through the National Sea Grant Office. The program would 
provide training, education, outreach, and technical assistance 
to young fishermen.

Section 4. Grants

    This section would define the types of programs, workshops, 
and services that grants funded through the Young Fishermen's 
Development Grant Program would support. This section also 
would define eligible applicants as collaborative networks or 
partnerships of public or private entities. Eligible 
participants would include all young fishermen seeking to 
participate in U.S. commercial fisheries that have worked on a 
commercial fishing vessel for less than 10 years.
    This section also would define funding terms as up to 3 
years and amounts as up to $200,000 per year. This section also 
would define a matching requirement of 25 percent or greater 
than the funds provided by the grant. This section also would 
direct the Secretary to ensure geographic diversity when 
awarding grants. Grants would not be used to purchase a fishing 
license, permit, quota, or other harvesting right.

Section 5. Funding

    This section would direct the Secretary to use $2,000,000 
per year for fiscal years 2019 through 2024 to carry out this 
program from the funds available under section 311(e) of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.\6\
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    \6\16 U.S.C. 1861(e).
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                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee states that the 
bill as reported would make no change to existing law.