H.R. 4294 · 119th Congress

MAWS Act of 2026

Introduced on Jul 7, 2025 by Sarah Elfreth (D-MD-3). 10 cosponsors, 4 of them from another party. Latest action (Mar 18, 2026): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Jul 7, 2025
Cosponsors
10
4 from the other party
Policy area
Public Lands and Natural Resources
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

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.

Subjects

  • Chesapeake Bay
  • Congressional oversight
  • Delaware
  • District of Columbia
  • Fishes
  • Food industry and services
  • Food supply, safety, and labeling
  • Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
  • Maryland
  • New York State
  • Pennsylvania
  • Seafood
  • Virginia
  • Watersheds
  • West Virginia
  • Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Reported to House, Feb 23, 2026). Public domain.

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.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Sarah ElfrethD-MD-3Sponsor

Democrats · 6

Republicans · 4

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended
    Mar 17, 2026· House· Passage· Passed 320–66

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Jul 7, 2025Introduced in House
  2. Jul 7, 2025Introduced in House
  3. Jul 7, 2025 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
  4. Jul 16, 2025 · HouseReferred to the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries.
  5. Jul 22, 2025 · HouseSubcommittee Hearings Held
  6. Jan 22, 2026 · HouseSubcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Discharged
  7. Jan 22, 2026 · HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
  8. Jan 22, 2026 · HouseOrdered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Unanimous Consent.
  9. Feb 23, 2026Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 119-510.
  10. Feb 23, 2026 · HouseReported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 119-510.
  11. Feb 23, 2026 · HousePlaced on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 436.
  12. Mar 16, 2026 · HouseMr. Wittman moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  13. Mar 16, 2026 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H2516-2519; text: CR H2516-2517)
  14. Mar 16, 2026 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 4294.
  15. Mar 16, 2026 · HouseAt the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
  16. Mar 17, 2026 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H2545)
  17. Mar 17, 2026Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 320 - 66 (Roll no. 88).House · Roll call 88
  18. Mar 17, 2026 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 320 - 66 (Roll no. 88).House · Roll call 88
  19. Mar 17, 2026 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  20. Mar 18, 2026 · SenateReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. AMERICAN ZOO AND AQUARIUM ASSOCIATION4 reports
    $150K reported (all issues)
  2. PET FOOD INSTITUTE4 reports
    $620K reported (all issues)
  3. AMERICAN SPORTFISHING ASSOCIATION2 reports
    $120K reported (all issues)

Reports filed in 2025, 2026.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 5, 2026 · loaded Oct 5, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.