Legislative Priorities

HR 3951 Sustaining Healthy Ecosystems, Livelihoods, and Local Seafood Act (SHELLS) Act

Sponsor: Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1)

Co-sponsors: Ed Case (D-HI-1), Jennifer Kiggans (R-VA-2), Frank Pallone (D-NJ-6), Chellie Pingree (D-ME-1), Jill Tokuda (D-H-2) and Robert Wittman (R-VA-1).

S 2211 Sustaining Healthy Ecosystems, Livelihoods, and Local Seafood Act (SHELLS) Act

Sponsors: Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

Co-sponsors: Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Thomas Carper (D-DE), Chris Coons (D-DE), Angus King (I-ME), Roger Wicker (R-MS)

What does the Bill do?

The bills focus on creating an Office of Aquaculture and associated advisory committee in the US Department of Agriculture.

What needs to be done?

Both bills would greatly benefit from additional sponsors.  Reach out to your Senators and House member and ask for co-sponsorship. Senator Whitehouse’s lead staffer is Zoe Wong (Zoe_Wong@whitehouse.senate.gov) and Congresswoman Bonamici’s lead staffer is Morgan McCue (Morgan.McCue@mail.house.gov).

HR 3542 Promoting American Competition in Aquaculture Research Act

Sponsor: Jill Tokuda (D-HI-2)

Co-sponsors: Ed Case (D-HI-1), Robert Wittman (R-VA-1)

S 2619 Promoting American Competition in Aquaculture Research Act

Sponsor: Mazie Hirono (D-HI)

Co-sponsor: Roger Wicker (R-MS)

What does the Bill do?

The bills focus on increasing the funding authorization for the five USDA Regional Aquaculture Centers that fund farmer directed applied research. Current authorization is $5 million, or $990,000 per Center per year, to $15 million.

What needs to be done:

Reach out to their House member and Senators to cosponsor. Congresswoman Tokuda’s lead staff person is Mitch Heidenreich (Heidenreich@mail.house.gov) and Senator Hirono’s lead staff person is Laakea Stone (Laakea_Stone@hirono.senate.gov).

To find your House member, click here, and to find your Senators, click here. If you have questions or need additional information, contact the NAA Office at naa@nationalaquaculture.org.

H.R.6393 Sturgeon Conservation and Sustainability Act

Sponsor: Mike Waltz (R-FL-6)

Co-Sponsors: Kat Cammack (FL-3), Scott Franklin (FL-15), and Neal Dunn (FL-2).

S. 2870 Sturgeon Conservation and Sustainability Act

Sponsors: Rick Scott (R-FL)

Co-Sponsor: Marco Rubio (R-FL)

What does the Bill do?

In the absence of a captive-bred exemption and with the pending Endangered Species Act listing of several farmed sturgeon species, numerous U.S. farmers are in immediate danger of being put out of business!

Congressman Mike Waltz introduced the Act to amend the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and allow American farmers to continue their sturgeon operations while also ensuring the longevity of the species across the globe.

What needs to be done? 

Both bills would greatly benefit from additional sponsors.  Reach out to your Senators and House member and ask for co-sponsorship.

If House or Senate offices have questions about the bill, direct them to Carl Schuler carl.schuler@mail.house.gov in Congressman Waltz’s Office and Clayton Stein with Senator Scott’s office.

S. 3719, Sound Science for Farmers Act

Sponsors: Ted Budd (R-NC)

Co-Sponsor: Joe Manchin (D-WV)

What does the Bill do?

S. 3719, Sound Science for Farmers Act, creates accountability and scientific quality standards for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assessments, risk evaluations, and regulatory actions for existing chemicals that impact America’s farmers and producers.

 Background:

• On October 30, 2023, the EPA proposed changes to its chemical risk evaluation framework that undermine peer review and scientific standards for “best available science” under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
• The lack of rigorous interagency and peer review of these chemical assessments results in regulations with a direct, negative impact on America’s farmers and producers.
• Over the next two years, the EPA intends to issue Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) assessments and TSCA risk evaluations and regulations for dozens of building block chemistries, many with key agricultural applications.
• The EPA has failed to exclude agricultural uses from nearly all of these reviews, and the impact could be nationwide bans or unachievable workplace standards that significantly disrupt farm operations.

 The Sound Science for Farmers Act:

• Requires the EPA to provide assessments, evaluations, or regulations to other agencies (including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food & Drug Administration, and Small Business Administration), for at least 90 days and follow Executive Order and docketing requirements for interagency comments.
• Ensures a full, open peer review of EPA draft or final assessments, evaluations, or regulations with an impact on agriculture, including for scientific quality, transparency, reproducibility of key results, effects on the agricultural sector, and consideration of real-world exposure.

Full text of the bill HERE

What needs to be done? 

House companion bill is needed! Contact your House member and ask for a companion bill.

H.R.5691 - Drought Assistance Improvement Act

Sponsor: Julia Letlow (R-LA-5)

Co-Sponsors: Michael Guest (R-MS-3), Garret Graves (R-LA-6), Troy Carter (D-LA-2)

S. 3836 - CRAWDAD Act

Sponsor: John Kennedy (R-LA)

What does the Bill do? 

Currently, drought is not an eligible adverse weather event under the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey-bees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP).  This program is the only catastrophic disaster assistance program that is truly beneficial for all of the U.S. aquaculture (except farmed turtles and alligator).

Why is this legislation needed?

• Drought can trigger a variety of direct and pernicious aquatic animal impacts.
• Drought increases water temperature, reduce surface and groundwater availability, for crawfish that consume aquatic plants in shallow ponds the forage will be killed and as soils dry crawfish are killed through desiccation, and increase salinity to lethal concentrations for farmed molluscan shellfish and crawfish.
• Drought negatively impacts reproductive cycles through death or stress of sexually mature animals.
• Drought can cause collateral negative impacts including intense algae blooms that are directly toxic to farmed aquatic animals and reduced water column dissolved oxygen or reduced soil moisture. These direct and indirect effects will kill, or stress, farmed aquatic animals that are quantifiable by immediate death loss, death loss within a short period of time or chronic death over the period of the drought and lasting drought effects.
• Drought is readily measurable, length and intensity, using local weather or coastal water quality reporting. At the regional or farm level drought can be quantified by accessing drought monitor mapping (Current Map | U.S. Drought Monitor (unl.edu)) and farm-held records for water temperature, flow, and salinity. Given water quantity and quality is essential to farm operations, farms hold long term records that can yield seasonal averages to be compared to current drought induced changes.

If you are unfamiliar with ELAP, please click here for a fact sheet or contact the National Aquaculture Association at naa@nationalaquaculture.org for information.

What needs to be done? 

Contact your House and Senate members to ask for their support of this important bill.

Prohibit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) from implementing any rule or regulation requiring vehicles over 26,000 pounds that are engaged in interstate commerce to be equipped with a speed limiting device set to a maximum speed.