Congress renews a Puget Sound ocean group for seven years.

What it does

This bill keeps an ocean group running in the Northwest Straits for seven more years. The group has county leaders, tribal members, state officials, and private people. It will watch ocean health and suggest ways to fix damaged areas. It will give advice to state and national offices about protecting ocean life. The group cannot make or enforce rules on its own.

Who it affects

The bill affects people who live near or use Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It protects tribal treaty rights. No new rules limit anyone's rights or access.

One thing to notice

The group must get a vote from Congress every seven years or it stops. Tribal members are picked by the national office, not by tribes.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

6 cosponsors: 6 Democrats.

• Apr 10, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Apr 10, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
• May 20, 2025 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Hearings Held”
• Jul 15, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Jul 15, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by Unanimous Consent”
• Jun 2, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Westerman moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”
• Jun 3, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required)…”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 1 reports from Jun 2026 to Jun 2026.

Those reports show $20,000 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 7 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 0% of bills with any report.

Rick Larsen, who sponsored the bill, received $1,228,925 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife — $20,000 in 1 report

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• Northwest Straits — The Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca in Washington State.
• tribal treaty rights — Legal rights that Native American tribes have under deals with the U.S. government.
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.
• sponsored — To sponsor a bill is to introduce it in Congress and put your name on it.