Bill lets the President punish illegal fishing with sanctions.

What it does

The bill gives the President power to freeze money and ban visas. It targets ship owners, captains, crew leaders, and fishing company managers. The President must report to Congress every year. The law makes exceptions for aid to people in danger, crew safety, and United Nations offices.

Who it affects

The bill helps ocean ecosystems and coastal towns, especially in poor countries. It stops overfishing and protects workers from forced labor and human trafficking. U.S. fishers and people who eat fish benefit.

One thing to notice

The President has broad power to impose sanctions. Congress only gets reports after decisions are made.

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

Where it stands

3 cosponsors: 2 Republicans, 1 Democrats.

• Dec 1, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Dec 1, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary and House Committee on Foreign Affairs · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period…”
• Dec 3, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Dec 3, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 47 - 2”
• Jun 8, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H3968-3969)”
• Jun 8, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Mast moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”

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 $50,000 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 5 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

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

Gregory Meeks, who sponsored the bill, received $957,928 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• International Labour Organization — $50,000 in 1 report

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

Words to know

• sanctions — Punishments like freezing money or banning travel to pressure a person or country.
• human trafficking — Forcing people to work against their will, often on ships far from help.
• overfishing — Catching so many fish that not enough remain to keep the population healthy.
• 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.