A bill to establish a one hundred per cent observer program on all foreign fishing vessels in the U. S. 200 mile fishery conservation zone.
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
Amends the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program under which at least one United States observer will be stationed aboard each foreign fishing vessel while that vessel is within the fishery conservation zone and is: (1) engaging in fishing; (2) accepting United States harvested fish through transfer at sea; (3) cruising to and from a location at which any such fishing or transfer will transpire; or (4) taking highly migratory species if such taking may result in the incidental taking of species over which the United States exercises fishery management authority. Requires such observers, while aboard foreign fishing vessels, to carry out such scientific and other functions as the Secretary deems necessary. Requires the Secretary to impose, with respect to each foreign fishing vessel for which a permit is issued under such Act, a surcharge in an amount sufficient to cover all the costs of providing an observer aboard that vessel. Declares that the failure to pay any surcharge imposed shall be treated by the Secretary as a failure to pay the permit fee for such vessel. Requires the owner and operator of each fishing vessel to which an observer is assigned to reimburse the United States for the total costs of placing the observer aboard. Requires each such vessel to display an insignia that will indicate that such an observer is aboard. Requires the Secretary to provide such observers and observer assistants with necessary training. Requires the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to provide transportation for United States observers and observer assistants to and from foreign fishing vessels.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on May 14, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on May 14, 1980: Referred to Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
MAURICE GRAVEL (D-AK) introduced it on May 14, 1980. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 14, 1980, 16967 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16967 days ago, on May 14, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers