S. 1322 would establish the American Fisheries Advisory Committee within the Department of Commerce (DOC). The committee would comprise three representatives from each of six geographic regions and seven at-large members with experience in the seafood and fisheries industries, as selected by DOC. Under the bill, the committee would be responsible for identifying needs of the fishing industry, developing requests for grants to meet those needs, and reviewing and selecting applications for an existing grant program for approval by DOC. Under current law, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) within DOC is responsible for those activities. In 2016, the program awarded 50 grants totaling $11 million. That amount is derived from permanent authority to spend certain customs duties that are imposed on imported fishery products. S. 1322 also would expand the scope of projects eligible for a grant under the program.
Based on an analysis of information from DOC, CBO estimates that the committee’s operations would cost $2 million a year over the 2018-2022 period to operate the grant program. However, because any increases in amounts spent on administering the grant program would result in a corresponding reduction in amounts awarded for the grants, CBO estimates that implementing S. 1322 would have no significant net effect on the federal budget. Pay-as-you-go procedures apply because enacting the bill would affect direct spending. Enacting S. 1322 would not affect revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 1322 would not significantly increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
S. 1322 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
