H.R. 8337 — Buy American Seafood Act

This section prohibits the head of an agency from procuring seafood for any covered food program unless such seafood is (1) harvested in the United States by a United States-flagged fishing vessel or (2) produced or processed in the United States through aquaculture or domestic seafood processing.

This section establishes limited waiver authority permitting the head of an agency to waive the prohibition in section 2 if the Secretary of Agriculture determines that the quantity of U.S.-produced seafood is insufficient to meet the needs of the relevant covered food program or does not meet applicable food safety or quality standards under federal law or program regulations. Waivers must be published in the Federal Register and reported to Congress within 30 days, including (1) identification of the covered food program, (2) description of the seafood covered, (3) waiver duration, and (4) description of the Secretary's determination.

This section revises the "buy American" provision (Section 12(n)) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act—which requires schools participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program to purchase domestic commodities and products to the maximum extent practicable—by (1) replacing definitions in paragraph (1) to specify "seafood" (e.g., finfish, shellfish, crustaceans, shrimp), "aquaculture," "domestic commodity or product" (expanded to include U.S.-harvested seafood, U.S.-flagged vessel catches, and U.S.-produced/processed aquaculture and seafood), "domestic seafood processing," "exclusive economic zone," "United States-flagged fishing vessel," and "United States-produced"; and (2) amending paragraph (2) to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to waive the domestic purchase requirement for such seafood if U.S.-produced supply is insufficient for program needs or fails to meet applicable food safety or quality standards, with each waiver published in the Federal Register and reported to Congress within 30 days (including details on the affected program, seafood type, duration, and Secretary's determination).

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretaries of Commerce and Defense, to promulgate regulations under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. §553) to implement the Act not later than 180 days after enactment and to issue consistent guidance to agencies.

This section defines terms used in the Act, including (1) aquaculture (i.e., farming of aquatic organisms in controlled environments for human consumption); (2) covered food program (i.e., programs under the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983, Department of Defense subsistence or food services, Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster food assistance, or other federally funded food purchase or distribution programs); (3) domestic seafood processing (i.e., U.S. processing operations that materially transform seafood for human consumption); (4) seafood (i.e., finfish, shellfish, crustaceans, shrimp, crawfish, oysters, catfish, or other aquatic species for human consumption); (5) United States-flagged fishing vessel (i.e., a vessel documented under chapter 121 of title 46, U.S. Code, and eligible to operate in the exclusive economic zone); and (6) United States-produced (i.e., harvested, raised, and processed within the United States, including its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone).