THE DAILY WHIP: MONDAY, JUNE 1, 2015

**Following one minute speeches, the House is expected to recess until approximately 3:00 p.m. At that time, the House will reconvene and debate the first four bills listed for consideration under suspension of the Rules. Following suspension debate the House will consider general and amendment debate of H.R. 1335. Following amendment debate, the House will consider the fifth and sixth bills listed for consideration under suspension of the Rules. Any recorded votes requested will be postponed until 6:30 p.m. Members are advised that the vote series at 6:30 p.m. is expected to be longer than usual.

**Following last votes, the House is expected to debate the last two suspensions listed for consideration under suspension of the Rules. Any recorded votes requested will be postponed until tomorrow.

Suspensions (8 bills)

1. H.R. 404 – To authorize early repayment of obligations to the Bureau of Reclamation within the Northport Irrigation District in the State of Nebraska (Rep. Smith (NE) – Natural Resources)
2. H.R. 533– To revoke the charter of incorporation of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma at the request of that tribe, and for other purposes (Rep. Mullin – Natural Resources)
3. H.R. 1168– Native American Children's Safety Act (Rep. Cramer – Natural Resources)
4. H.R. 979– To designate a mountain in the John Muir Wilderness of the Sierra National Forest as "Sky Point" (Rep. McClintock – Natural Resources)
5. H.R. 336– To direct the Administrator of General Services, on behalf of the Archivist of the United States, to convey certain Federal property located in the State of Alaska to the Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska (Rep. Young (AK) – Transportation and Infrastructure)
6. H.R. 944– To reauthorize the National Estuary Program, and for other purposes (Rep. LoBiondo – Transportation and Infrastructure)
7. S. 802– Girls Count Act of 2015 (Sen. Rubio – Foreign Affairs)
8. H.R. 1493 – Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act, as amended (Rep. Engel – Foreign Affairs)

H.R. 1335 – Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act (Rep. Young (AK) – Natural Resources) (One Hour of Debate). This bill would reauthorize, as well as amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). Originally enacted in 1976, the goals of the MSA were to end unregulated fishing by foreign fleets in U.S. waters as well as develop domestic fleets that could reap the economic benefit of our considerable fishery resources.  The Act was reauthorized, with key improvements and on a bipartisan basis, in 1996 and 2007.

This bill, however, would roll back a number of those improvements – exposing fish stocks in our nation’s waters to overfishing.  It creates exemptions for annual catch limits for potentially hundreds of species, including some that may be overfished or subject to overfishing; exempts federal fishery management plans from the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); and changes the definition of “overfished” – making it less likely for a species to be identified as depleted.  Further, it makes a number of other dangerous changes, including the elimination of the requirement that stocks identified as depleted be rebuilt as quickly as possible and allowing “factors outside of fishing” or “unusual events” causing depletion to be cited as a reason to continue to allow overfishing – instead of a reason to stop it. Lastly, the White House has issued a SAP stating that President’s senior advisers would recommend that he veto the bill.

The Rule, which was adopted on May 21st, makes in order 7 amendments, each debatable for 10 minutes, equally divided between the offeror and an opponent and 1 amendment in the nature of a substitute, debatable for 20 minutes, equally divided between the offeror and an opponent. The amendments are:

Dingell Amendment. Eliminates the underlying bill’s requirement that environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) be fast-tracked.
Farr Amendment. Allows the use of vessel information collected under Executive Order 13547 to aid in restoring fisheries habitat at the Secretary's discretion.
Keating/Lynch/Moulton Amendment. Amends Section 10 of the bill to include fishery research and independent stock assessments, conservation gear engineering, at-sea and shoreside monitoring, fishery impact statements, and other priorities established by a Fisheries Management Council as necessary to rebuild or maintain sustainable fisheries, ensure healthy ecosystems, and maintain fishing communities.
Lowenthal Amendment. Allows the National Ocean Council, operating under Executive Order 13547, to develop a process for decommissioning oil and gas rigs that eliminates harm to the red snapper stock and improves habitat.
Young (AK) Amendment. Provides for additional information for fishery stock assessments, the use of students to collect marine recreational fishing data and clarifies information that a Fisheries Council reviews.
Graves Amendment. Confers management of snapper fisheries to Gulf of Mexico states similar to the management of Atlantic Striped Bass to Atlantic states. Seeks to improve the science of snapper fisheries monitoring.
Wittman Amendment. Gives the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the authority to use alternative fishery management measures.
Huffman Amendment in the Nature of Substitute. Reauthorizes the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and improves fisheries management and data collection.

Bill Text for H.R. 1335:
PDF Version

Background for H.R. 1335:
House Report (HTML Version)
House Report (PDF Version)

TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK
The GOP Leadership has announced the following schedule for Tuesday, June 2: The House will meet at 12:00 p.m. for legislative business. The House is expected to begin consideration of H.R. 2578– Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016 (Rep. Culberson – Appropriations) (Subject to a Rule).