H.R. 4294 · 119th Congress · Public lands and natural resources
MAWS Act of 2026
How the House voted
Yea from the left, nay from the right, each side by party
House · Mar 17, 2026
Roll call ↗320
66
Passed the House.
Passed the House on March 17, 2026.
Latest action: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
- IntroducedJul 7, 2025
- CommitteeFeb 23, 2026
- Passed HouseMar 17, 2026
- Passed Senate
- Became law
On the record
- Cosponsors
- 10
- 6 Democrats, 4 Republicans
- Committees
- Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and TransportationHouse Committee on Natural Resources
- Lobbying
- At least 3
- organizations named it2025 Q3 to 2026 Q3
What it does
This bill directs the Secretary of Commerce, acting through NOAA, to run a pilot program that pays to remove blue catfish, an invasive species, from the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
How each member voted
The House roll call, passed the House, March 17, 2026
Yea unless marked
D · House · NC-12
R · House · AL-4
D · House · CA-33
R · House · MO-4
R · House · GA-12
This bill directs the Secretary of Commerce, acting through NOAA, to run a pilot program that pays to remove blue catfish, an invasive species, from the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Under the program the Secretary enters into cooperative agreements with companies that make pet food, animal feed, or aquaculture feed, and those companies use the awarded money to buy blue catfish from local watermen and seafood processors. The Secretary sets a minimum price per pound the fish must be bought for, and companies may spend up to 15 percent of their award to cover transporting the fish to processing facilities. The Secretary must also build an estimate of how many blue catfish are in the watershed, publish it annually through fiscal year 2032, and report the program's results to Congress after it ends. The pilot runs for two years once the first abundance estimate is published and program guidance is issued.
Each stop is a step the bill’s own record states, with the date it happened. A ring is a step not yet taken. A bill becomes law when the President signs it or Congress overrides a veto.
At least 3 organizations named this measure in a lobbying filing. A floor, not a total: they were counted by the client name on 13 quarterly reports filed by 3 organizations lobbying for themselves in 2025 Q3, 2025 Q4, 2026 Q1, 2026 Q2 and 2026 Q3. An organization that lobbied this measure without naming it is not counted here.
The filings record that lobbying was reported on the measure. The form has no per-bill dollar figure and no field for a position, so nothing here says how much was spent or which side an organization took.
The organizations named: American Zoo and Aquarium Association; Pet Food Institute; American Sportfishing Association. Listed as filed. They are every client name on the filings counted here.
From the LD-2 quarterly lobbying filings published at lda.gov by the Senate Office of Public Records. Read for 2025 Q1, 2025 Q2, 2025 Q3, 2025 Q4, 2026 Q1, 2026 Q2 and 2026 Q3. Our copy holds 24 fewer filings for 2025 Q1, 39 fewer filings for 2025 Q2, 42 fewer filings for 2025 Q3, 33 fewer filings for 2025 Q4, 28 fewer filings for 2026 Q1, 48 fewer filings for 2026 Q2 and 218 fewer filings for 2026 Q3 than the Senate's register counts, so those quarters are the filings we could read rather than every one filed. 2026 Q4 is still inside its filing window, so that quarter is only the filings posted so far.
Congress.gov bill status and cosponsor records; the House Clerk and Senate roll calls; lobbying reports filed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (lda.gov); the plain summary and provisions are read from the bill text, each with its section.