MAWS Act of 2026

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I am grateful that H.R. 4294, the MAWS Act, is included in today's suspension package, a piece of legislation I was so proud to work in partnership in crafting with the gentleman from Virginia.

The Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the Nation that is responsible for $100 billion in annual economic value, is facing a critical, albeit delicious threat, the invasive blue catfish. These blue catfish were introduced into tidal areas of the bay in the 1970s for recreational purposes under the assumption that they would stay in the freshwater and not venture into the brackish water of the larger bay. That assumption has turned out to be catastrophically wrong. Blue catfish are now not only in every tidal area of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, but they are the most abundant biomass in many of them, and the threat is real.

Blue catfish can live up to 20 years. They can weigh up to 100 pounds. They eat approximately 10 percent of their body weight every day and have an extremely fast metabolism. The imbalance my colleague from Virginia just spoke about in our ecosystem has created a situation where because they eat so much, their meals frequently consist of staples of our seafood industry and staples of Maryland and Virginia's culture: baby blue crabs, rockfish, even oysters, causing significant economic damage to our seafood industry at large, which is a central part of our economies in the bay region.

Making matters worse, these blue catfish, because they are invasive, have no natural predators in the bay to control that population growth. Because of this, they now estimate there are tens of millions of these fish throughout the entire Chesapeake Bay region, and that is growing rapidly.

The good news, Madam Speaker, is that blue catfish are nutritious and delicious, and they are high in protein and omega-3s. According to a new report from bay scientists, these catfish do not retain PFAS like other fish.

The market for human consumption has grown significantly across the region, due to a concerted marketing campaign, processors who make bold investments, chefs who are willing to take a risk with blue catfish dishes popping up in restaurant menus, and filets on sale at your local market.

However, that market has a few critical limitations that are inhibiting our ability to control this catastrophe. First, blue catfish are the only fish inspected by the USDA. All other fish are under the jurisdiction of the FDA, and this adds significant hurdles for seafood processors and watermen who want to sell blue catfish for human consumption.

I would be remiss, Madam Speaker, if I didn't highlight that this very red

tape, this bureaucracy, is a limitation placed on the industry by the Congress itself.

Second, State health regulations indicate that blue catfish filet is safe for human consumption in fish no larger than 25 pounds. This means there are tens of millions of fish over 25 pounds or up to 85 pounds actually, that watermen struggle to sell because they cannot be processed for human consumption, and the market is not there.

Fortunately, they are completely safe for inclusion in the pet food industry.

Third, on the other end of the spectrum, there are millions of more than 1- to 2-pound blue catfish that are not big enough to filet and consequently aren't sold for processing for people. The smallest fish are among the most aggressive predators of the species that our industry relies on, stealthily eating eggs in otherwise hard-to-access habitats.

We have made significant critical progress like the USDA grant program which provides financial support to processors and food banks, but there remains the problem that only the very narrow window of 2- to 25-pound fish can be sold for human consumption.

We are left without a solution to the question: What are watermen supposed to do with every other size?

They can't just throw them back.

We can do our part, everybody here, and everybody watching at home, including my mother, can do their part in ordering the blue catfish when we see it on a menu. Again, it is delicious and nutritious. This is not a problem we are capable of eating our way out of.

That is why I introduced the bipartisan MAWS Act, alongside House Natural Resources Vice Chairman Wittman, to invest funds to address invasive blue catfish and strengthen our local seafood economy, while also providing a new source of protein to pets nationwide.

The MAWS Act establishes this pilot program within the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office to facilitate a market for Chesapeake Bay blue catfish in the pet and animal food industry.

This program will complement the growing market for human consumption by forging new partnerships with pet and animal food manufacturers nationwide that otherwise do not have a footprint in the Chesapeake Bay, and it would establish a sustainable outlet for fish that are outside the window for human consumption by giving watermen and processors more opportunities to sell the smallest and largest blue catfish.

NOAA will enter into cooperative agreements with pet and animal food manufacturers to ensure watermen and processors are properly incentivized to catch blue catfish in the bay, and establish transportation, processing, and manufacturing structures for that long- term market need.

By having a customer base with consistent and reliable price points, watermen can feel confident that it is worth their while to catch blue catfish of all shapes and sizes, knowing there will be somebody at the end of the dock to buy it for a fair price.

Price points for this pilot program will be established in a collaborative effort between watermen, processors, manufacturers, scientists, and economists.

We spent a year crafting this bill, compromising to make sure that everybody's voices were heard and everybody had a seat at the table, ensuring every corner of the industry has a seat and a voice in the decision of what the baseline market price for fillet, byproduct, and whole fish will be for this program.

Additionally, in the many months of engagement on this bill with watermen, processors, and manufacturers, we learned that transportation mechanisms are a complex web of coordinated pickups, often with processors going right to the front door of the homes of watermen to pick up their daily catch.

In order to make participation in this program feasible and promote the establishment of long-term transportation processes, 15 percent of the total grant funding can be used by grantees to establish these new routes across the Chesapeake Bay in partnership with established routes led by processors.

Throughout this 2-year pilot program, NOAA will collect data on the ecological and economic impacts of the program. NOAA will report back to Congress on best practices, lessons learned, and recommendations for additional species in other watersheds that may benefit from this program.

Our seafood industry across the Chesapeake Bay is the heart of our economy, but many factors far outside the control of watermen and processors have left the industry in a dire situation. Extreme weather, deep freezes, unexpected waterway discharge, and a national affordability crisis are threatening the livelihoods of our watermen, not to mention the ever-increasing blue catfish population.

The MAWS Act, again, is the result of intensive collaboration and creativity of stakeholders across the watershed as we sought to address the ecological and economic damage of the invasive species in a way that complements--again, complements--and strengthens the growing market for human consumption.

This is not an either/or approach. This is a yes/and, all-hands-on- deck approach.

If this innovative approach is successful, it is our hope that a similar tool can be utilized to combat invasive aquatic species in other waterways across the Nation. Think carp that are wreaking havoc in the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes. Think snakeheads that are invading North Carolina, Missouri, Arkansas, and more.

I am proud to lead the effort of this one-of-a-kind legislation in partnership with my colleagues from Virginia, Representative Wittman and Representative Kiggans, as well as Representative Hoyer.

I thank the chair and his staff for providing such technical assistance to this bill, and I thank my colleagues for supporting this bill.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Madam Speaker, again, I reiterate my appreciation to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman), the committee staff, and all the stakeholders who spent the last year crafting this creative solution to a problem that threatens the economy and ecology of the greatest natural resource we have in Maryland and Virginia, the Chesapeake Bay.

This is an innovative solution. When you visit with other folks who are policymakers, what we hate to hear is, ``We have always done it this way,'' or, ``We have never done it that way.''

This moment, this crisis that we are experiencing in the Chesapeake Bay, requires innovation, creativity, partnerships, and collaboration. That is exactly what the MAWS Act represents, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4294) to direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a pilot program with respect to the sale of blue catfish caught within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 4294, the bill now under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4294, the Mitigation Action and Watermen Support Act, also known as the MAWS Act of 2026, the legislation I was proud to cosponsor with Congresswoman Elfreth.

Having grown up on the Chesapeake Bay, I understand firsthand how important it is to protect our marine wildlife and restore the bay's ecosystem. In fact, I worked in the commercial fishing realm and recreational fishing realm for a number of years there, and my son today is also a commercial fisherman, knows the bay well, and knows how problematic the blue catfish is to the Chesapeake Bay.

Unfortunately, the blue catfish has become an invasive species that poses a growing threat to the biodiversity of the Chesapeake Bay's waters and the seafood industries that depend on a healthy bay. These fish are aggressive predators that consume many of the species that define the Chesapeake Bay, things like blue crabs, striped bass, and other native fish that are vital to the Chesapeake Bay's ecological balance and to the watermen whose lives depend on them.

I hear daily from watermen across the spectrum saying how harmful the blue catfish are to the Chesapeake Bay. When I have had a chance to go out there and see the number of blue catfish in the bay watershed, it is astounding the biomass that is there. It is a wonder anything in the bay can survive based upon the volume of the blue catfish that are there.

This does have an impact on watermen up and down the bay, not just in Virginia, but also there in Maryland.

While positive steps we know have been taken to address this issue, more has to be done. The MAWS Act establishes a pilot program within the Chesapeake Bay office aimed at tackling the growing threat that these invasive blue catfish pose to the Chesapeake Bay and the fisheries that sustain our coastal communities. It is key to our economics to make sure we have crabs that people go to restaurants to enjoy and that we have striped bass that people go to restaurants to enjoy. If not, then these blue catfish will be the only thing left in the Chesapeake Bay.

By supporting increased harvesting of blue catfish and studying its impact on the bay's biodiversity, this program will help protect valuable native species like blue crabs and striped bass and the watermen who depend on them.

The legislation also explores practical uses of these harvested fish, including in the pet and animal food industry. This will help ensure their removal while making sure that we have sustainable commercial fishing industries there in the Chesapeake Bay.

We know we want to do all we can to support the hardworking men and women who make their living on the bay.

This is a bipartisan, commonsense approach that supports our watermen while helping to restore the balance to one of America's most important ecosystems. The Chesapeake Bay, by far, is the most diverse and productive water system on the face of the Earth. This imbalance is causing big problems in the bay. This will go a long way to make sure we create those opportunities for our watermen and also open up more economic opportunities for the commercial fishing industry.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Self).

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Madam Speaker, as we have heard, this bill does quite a bit to open up free markets for fishermen who want to be able to use this very abundant resource. Blue catfish are incredibly abundant--in fact, to the detriment of other species that everybody loves.

Opening up free markets and opening up opportunities for those fishermen is incredibly important. What this also does is to take down bureaucratic impediments.

We know, right now, because of the structure that USDA has to inspect these plants that process catfish, it creates an inordinate stress on that industry. For many of them, because they don't predominate in processing blue catfish, they can't afford to have a full-time USDA inspector in their plant.

What this will do is to say: Let's look at other ways to be able to utilize it. This is a great source of protein. As the world today looks for protein--remember, there is a protein deficit around the world, and we have an overabundance of protein here in the Chesapeake Bay with these blue catfish--we ought to be looking at other ways to do that, not just for human consumption.

As Ms. Elfreth talked about, there is a place for human consumption of these fish, but there is also a place outside of that that commercial fishermen could fill if we allow them to be used for other purposes, especially for pet food.

If you look at one of the industries today that is the fastest growing industry in the United States, it is the pet industry. Why wouldn't we look at these opportunities that will help our watermen, help the environment, and help other populations like crabs and striped bass? We want to do that. We want to make sure we are doing those things that will help our economy and that will alleviate some of the bureaucratic impediments for these individuals to work hard and make a living on the water.

As I said, my son is a waterman. He goes out every day with no assurance about what he will catch. He is one of the true last independent businesspeople left in the United States. When you go out today, you are not sure if you are going to catch anything.

If you have something that creates undue pressure on what you are relying on to make a living, then you want to try to alleviate that and create that balance there. This does that.

This takes some of the pressure off the blue crab population that, for the last decade, has been under tremendous pressure in the Chesapeake Bay. It takes pressure off the striped bass populations that right now are in decline.

Watermen in Virginia and Maryland rely on the striped bass. It is a heavily managed fishery, but when you have these other pressures on there, we want to make sure that we have the right balance.

What this does is to open up the door to make sure that those things happen, that we look to enhance coastal economies that right now are under significant duress. Watermen struggle and have to fish multiple species in order to make a living. This would be a great enhancement for them.

If we can do this, it helps the area economically. It also takes away some of the burdens on seafood processors that have those burdens. Sometimes, they can't get into this industry because of the regulatory burdens. This is a great way for us to do that.

The economic impact is going to be significant, I would argue, not just for the Chesapeake Bay but also for the surrounding areas that rely upon the bounty that comes out of the Chesapeake Bay.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4294, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 4294, and I am here to represent the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Harris) in his opposition to H.R. 4294.

I include a letter titled ``Coalition Letter from Maryland Blue Catfish Processors Opposing the MAWS Act.''

March 12, 2026.

Coalition Letter From Maryland Blue Catfish Processors Opposing the

MAWS Act

We write as a coalition of small, family-owned seafood

processing businesses, which are among the only facilities in

Maryland actively processing blue catfish for human

consumption, to express our serious concerns with the

proposed MAWS Act introduced by Representative Sarah K.

Elfreth and co-led by Representative Robert J. Wittman.

For several years, our businesses have worked alongside the

Maryland Department of Agriculture and other state and

federal partners to invest significant time and financial

resources into building a viable commercial market for wild-

caught blue catfish. This effort has required overcoming

longstanding public stigma and educating consumers that blue

catfish is not only safe, but a highquality and desirable

protein-rich seafood product. Progress has been hard-won.

The MAWS Act, however well-intentioned, risks undermining

this progress by shifting public messaging toward the use of

blue catfish primarily for pet food or similar byproducts.

Headlines suggesting that blue catfish is destined for pet

food damage consumer perception and directly threaten the

emerging market for human consumption--the very market that

sustains Maryland watermen, processors, and our Bay

communities. Our shared goal has always been to add value to

this fishery, increase demand, and raise dockside prices so

that watermen are incentivized to harvest more invasive blue

catfish from Maryland waters.

It is also important to note that the utilization of

processing byproducts for rendering or pet food is already

occurring through existing private-sector relationships that

we have worked hard to establish, typically at prices between

$0.10 and $0.20 per pound. Government subsidies directed

toward a new, bureaucratically-selected recipient would

therefore not create innovation, but instead introduce market

distortion and unfair competitive advantage--jeopardizing

longstanding partnerships and destabilizing an industry that

is only beginning to succeed.

Currently, many processors struggle to secure sufficient

supply to meet growing consumer demand. Introducing a

government-funded competitor capable of paying above-market

prices for whole fish would further strain supply chains and

place small Maryland processors at significant risk. Fish in

the one- to two-pound range, as well as larger specimens, are

already valuable components of our processing operations and

product lines, despite misleading claims made by entities

like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

We are equally troubled by the legislative process that

produced this proposal without meaningful consultation from

the processors who have pioneered Maryland's on-the-ground

response to the blue catfish invasion. Members of our

coalition attempted outreach to Representative Elfreth's

office but were unfortunately met with a resistance to engage

in substantive dialogue regarding the bill's impacts on

private industry.

Ultimately, we share the goal of addressing the ecological

challenges posed by invasive blue catfish and strengthening

Maryland's seafood economy. However, we believe public funds

would be far more effective if directed toward initiatives

that can help the watermen, the processors, and the people in

our working waterfront communities. For example, USDA grant

funding secured by Congressman Andy Harris has helped several

Maryland processors to make investments into costly new

facilities upgrades that we otherwise would not have been

able to make. New programs should build upon, not undercut,

investments that have already been made by taxpayers.

Without a strong processing sector, Maryland cannot sustain

a viable blue catfish industry. We remain ready and willing

to work collaboratively with Representative Elfreth,

Representative Wittman, and other sponsors of this

legislation to identify policies that genuinely support

watermen, processors, and working waterfront communities

while continuing to remove invasive blue catfish from the

Chesapeake Bay.

Sincerely,

Nick Hargrove,

Tilghman Island Seafood, Tilghman, MD.

Stephanie Pazzaglia,

J.J. McDonnell Seafood, Elkridge, MD.

Amanda Williams,

BSA Seafood, Grasonville, MD.

Patrick Welsh Jr.,

Reliant Fish Company, Jessup, MD.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to highlight the importance of critical minerals. They are the backbone of our economy, but the U.S. has ceded supply chain dominance to China, our primary adversary.

In recent decades, China has overtaken the United States and our allies in production, processing, and smelting of critical minerals. Take rare earth elements, for example. Rare earths, a type of critical mineral, are crucial inputs into various consumer technologies, including smartphones, laptops, batteries, and cars.

China controls 70 percent of rare earth mining, 90 percent of rare earth separation and processing, and 93 percent of rare earth magnet production.

They exercise their monopoly in two ways: first, by dumping their product onto the global market to deliberately undercut U.S. producers; and second, by threatening to cut off our access to their exports, as they recently did in October of 2025.

We have outsourced our supply chains to them, allowing them to engage in unfair trade practices that put our Nation's strategic and economic security at great risk.

The Trump administration has long recognized the threat China poses to our critical mineral supply chains and has taken bold actions that I applaud. Additionally, I have introduced several pieces of legislation that will help counter China's threat.

In January, I introduced the SECURE Minerals Act, which is aimed at supporting domestic critical mineral supply chains. The SECURE Minerals Act would establish a Strategic Resilience Reserve that would be tasked with stabilizing critical mineral prices and supporting domestic production and extraction supply chains.

The Strategic Resilience Reserve established under this bill would send a signal to the private sector that the United States Government is ready to take action, ultimately aggregating demand, stabilizing mineral prices, and reshoring critical advanced manufacturing.

We cannot counter China's choke hold on the global mineral marketplace alone. If we are to break their monopoly, we have to coordinate with our allies. I have also introduced the Finding ORE Act, which would enable the administration to work in coordination with our allies to map critical mineral research around the globe.

Madam Speaker, the time is now to act to save our future. Our economic and national security depend on it.

Protecting Our Marine Wildlife

Madam Speaker, recently the House Committee on Natural Resources voted favorably to report H.R. 4294, the Mitigation Action and Watermen Support Act, better known as the MAWS Act. It is an effort I co-led with Congresswoman Elfreth.

Having grown up on the Chesapeake Bay, I understand how important it is to protect our marine wildlife and restore the Bay's ecosystem. Since their introduction, the blue catfish have become an invasive species, posing a growing threat to the biodiversity of the region's waters and inflicting severe economic damage to seafood industries that rely on the Bay.

This legislation aims to direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through its existing Chesapeake Bay office to coordinate with non-Federal partners to accelerate the removal of invasive blue catfish from the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

This effort will incentivize the harvest and sale of blue catfish, while providing valuable data for future efforts to combat invasive species in our waterways.

I would be remiss if I didn't thank Representative Elfreth for her work on this effort, as well as her staff member, Allie.

I also thank the House Natural Resources Committee staff. They include Richie, Kirby, Doug, Jackson, and Hannah on the majority and Rachel on the minority staff.

Finally, I thank the many stakeholders who have helped in understanding the issues and supporting this legislative effort including the National Fisheries Institute, the Pet Food Institute, and the American Sportfishing Association, among many others.

Madam Speaker, I look forward to seeing the full House consideration of this important bill very soon.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 831) to establish an interest-bearing account for the non- Federal contributions to the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 831, the bill now under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 831, the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program Amendment Act of 2025, sponsored by Representative Calvert from California.

The Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program aims to conserve native fish populations, increase habitat for migratory birds in the Lower Colorado River Basin, and allow for continued water and power deliveries.

The Federal Government contributes 50 percent of its funding, and three Lower Basin States provide the remainder. In recent years, however, the pace of funding has outpaced the pace of work, leaving available funds idle.

This legislation would authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to place the program's non-Federal funds in an interest-bearing account, providing approximately $2 million annually that would otherwise be borne by the Lower Basin States.

I commend Representative Calvert for his continued leadership, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 831.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

I also want to reflect on Representative Elfreth's words, and that is the incredible work by the Natural Resources Committee, the leadership there with Chairman Westerman and Ranking Member Huffman, and an incredible staff. They do a lot to bring these bills to the floor to make sure, too, that they work through to make sure they can receive bipartisan support. Truly, what Congress needs to do is get bills through that have impacts on these districts.

Madam Speaker, you heard from Members today about the incredible impact these bills have on people's lives and on their districts. That is what makes legislating important. We should never forget that. People send us here to get things done, to get bills like this done. While they may be somewhat parochial in how they affect certain regions, it is critical to the Nation that we understand that all of us benefit when these great national treasures and natural resources are enhanced and conserved. That is really what makes it great.

I appreciate Representative Elfreth's work and her cooperation on H.R. 4294 in making sure we find a way to productively use a resource that is now in overabundance and making sure that we do everything we can within that realm.

It is key to us as members of the Natural Resources Committee to make sure we get these things done. We are entrusted not only as legislators, but we are entrusted by the people who elect us to be the stewards of what they own: the great lands, treasures, and natural resources of this Nation. That is what makes us great.

There is no other place on the planet that has this great abundance of resources that have such great impact on communities. We are all honored to be here today as advocates for that, along with our fellow Members, to make sure these pieces of legislation see their way to being signed into law.

I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. I thank the incredible staff on the Natural Resources Committee for what has culminated today in a number of fantastic pieces of legislation that will make a difference in people's lives. We will continue to preserve what we hold great in this Nation, and that is our true national treasure, our natural resources.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.