Text of Senate Amendment 5950

On 2026-06-23, Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) delivered a floor speech titled "Text Of Senate Amendment 5950" in the Senate.

Text of Senate Amendment 5950

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 105 (Tuesday, June 23, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 23, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S3098-S3100] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SA 5950. Mr. KAINE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the end of title XII, add the following: Subtitle F--Protecting Global Fisheries Act of 2026 SEC. 1271. SHORT TITLE. This subtitle may be cited as the ``Protecting Global Fisheries Act of 2026''. SEC. 1272. DEFINITIONS. In this subtitle: (1) Admission; admitted; alien; lawfully admitted for permanent residence.--The terms ``admission'', ``admitted'', ``alien'', and ``lawfully admitted for permanent residence'' have the meanings given those terms in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101). (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means-- (A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and (B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Natural Resources, and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives. (3) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means an individual or entity that is not a United States person. (4) Illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing.--The term ``illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing'' means activities described as illegal fishing, unreported fishing, or unregulated fishing in paragraph 3 of the International Plan of Action to Prevent, [[Page S3099]] Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, adopted at the 24th Session of the Committee on Fisheries of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome on March 2, 2001. (5) United states person.--The term ``United States person'' means-- (A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United States; (B) an entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States, including a foreign branch of such an entity; or (C) any person located in the United States. SEC. 1273. INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION RELATED TO COUNTERING ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, OR UNREGULATED FISHING. (a) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States to prioritize collaboration with appropriate countries that are allies and partners of the United States, and through appropriate international institutions, to combat illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing. (b) Actions by Secretaries.--The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Homeland Security may provide direction, as appropriate, to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States in all appropriate international fora and with appropriate countries that are allies and partners of the United States-- (1) to ensure that cutting edge technology is deployed in accordance with existing or future maritime law enforcement agreements the United States may enter or has entered into; and (2) to hold accountable those individuals or entities that are responsible or complicit in illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing, with a particular focus on the harmful actions of the People's Republic of China. (c) Advocacy at United Nations.--The President may direct the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States to urge the United Nations to take greater action with respect to collaborative global efforts to counter illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing. SEC. 1274. AUTHORIZATION OF IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, OR UNREGULATED FISHING AND TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES. (a) Determinations and Recommendations.--The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of the Interior, may recommend to the President that the President impose sanctions as described in subsection (b) with respect to any foreign person or foreign vessel (regardless of ownership) that the Secretaries determine-- (1) is responsible for or complicit in-- (A) illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing; or (B) except as part of a conservation effort, the sale, supply, purchase, or transfer (including transportation) of endangered species, as defined in section 3(6) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532(6)); (2) is a leader or official of an entity, including a government entity, that has engaged in, or the members of which have engaged in, any of the activities described in paragraph (1) during the tenure of the leader or official; (3) has ever owned, operated, chartered, or controlled a vessel during which time the personnel of the vessel engaged in any of the activities described in paragraph (1); or (4) has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of-- (A) any of the activities described in paragraph (1); or (B) any foreign person engaged in any such activity. (b) Imposition of Sanctions.--With respect to a foreign person or foreign vessel that is the subject of a recommendation under subsection (a) or that the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of the Interior, determines has engaged in activity described in that subsection, the President may impose sanctions, including the following: (1) Blocking of property.--Notwithstanding section 202 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701), the exercise of all powers granted to the President by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in property of a foreign person described in subsection (a), if such property and interests in property are in the United States, come within the United States, or are or come within the possession or control of a United States person. (2) Inadmissibility to the united states.--In the case of an alien described in subsection (a), or any alien that the President determines is a corporate officer or principal of, or a shareholder with a controlling interest in, a foreign person described in subsection (a) that is an entity-- (A) ineligibility for a visa and inadmissibility to the United States; and (B) revocation of any valid visa or travel documentation in accordance with section 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)). (3) Loans from united states financial institutions.--The President may prohibit any United States financial institution from making loans or providing credits to a foreign person described in subsection (a). (4) Foreign exchange.--The President may, pursuant to such regulations as the President may prescribe, prohibit any transactions in foreign exchange that are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and in which a foreign person or foreign vessel described in subsection (a) has any interest. (c) Report Required.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the President shall submit a report on the imposition of sanctions under this section to-- (1) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and (2) the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives. (d) Exceptions.-- (1) Exceptions for authorized intelligence and law enforcement activities.--Sanctions under this section shall not apply with respect to activities subject to the reporting requirements under title V of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.) or any authorized intelligence, law enforcement, or national security activities of the United States. (2) Exception to comply with international agreements.-- Sanctions under subsection (b)(2) shall not apply with respect to the admission of an alien to the United States if such admission is necessary to comply with the obligations of the United States under the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake Success on June 26, 1947, and entered into force on November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the United States, or the Convention on Consular Relations, done at Vienna on April 24, 1963, and entered into force on March 19, 1967, or other international obligations. (3) Exception for safety of vessels and crew.--Sanctions under this section shall not apply with respect to a person providing provisions to a vessel if such provisions are intended for the safety and care of the crew aboard the vessel or the maintenance of the vessel to avoid any environmental or other significant damage. (4) Humanitarian exception.-- (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the President may not impose sanctions under this section with respect to any person for conducting or facilitating a transaction for the sale of agricultural commodities, food, medicine, or medical devices or for the provision of humanitarian assistance. (B) Exclusion.--The exception under subparagraph (A) does not include transactions for the sale of food or agricultural commodities obtained through illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing. (e) Implementation; Penalties.-- (1) Implementation.--The President ma