Bill

H.R. 4294 (119th): Mitigation Action and Watermen Support Act of 2026 or the MAWS Act of 2026

Mitigation Action and Watermen Support Act of 2026 or the MAWS Act of 2026 This bill requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish a pilot program to facilitate the purchase of blue catfish caught within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. (Blue catfish are considered an invasive species in the Chesapeake Bay.) Under the program, NOAA must enter into cooperative agreements with manufacturers or processors of pet food, animal feed, or aquaculture feed for the purchase of blue catfish from watermen and seafood processors. NOAA must determine the minimum price per pound after considering market factors; feedback from watermen, seafood processors, and participants in the program; and differentiation of price points for fillet and byproduct. The bill also requires NOAA to enter into a memorandum of understanding with nonfederal partners to develop abundance estimates of blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. NOAA must make the first abundance estimate publicly available before beginning the pilot program.

house · Substantive

Rankings updated October 26, 2026, 11:44 AM ET · Votes through September 30, 2026
Exported candidates: 719 | Filings on file, by office: H: 5838 | P: 1467 | S: 1567. These counts include every filing for that office, so they are larger than the ranked list. One person can have more than one filing. Non-voting delegates are left out.

Recorded summary

The bill directs NOAA to create a pilot program to buy blue catfish, an invasive species in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, from watermen and seafood processors. NOAA would enter cooperative agreements with pet food, animal feed, or aquaculture feed manufacturers or processors for these purchases, and would set a minimum price per pound after considering market factors, stakeholder feedback, and price differences between fillets and byproducts. It also requires NOAA to enter a memorandum of understanding with nonfederal partners to develop blue catfish abundance estimates, and to make the first estimate public before the pilot begins.

agriculture_commercechesapeake_bayfisheriesinvasive_speciesprocedural_motion

Theological note: The bill raises ordinary stewardship concerns about managing an invasive species in a shared watershed, along with fair dealing and livelihood for watermen and processors. These are prudential matters of resource management and commerce. The measure does not directly advance or restrain a named moral harm, so it has no clear doctrine lane under this framework.

How this bill is scored

Recorded votes

Roll 88 · 17-Mar-2026 3:36 PM · On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended · Passed

Yea 320 · Nay 66 · Other 45

Yea

Nay

Other

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