Passed
219 Yea196 Nay17 Not voting1/2 required
HR-9436-119
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Sponsored by Michael Lawler (R-NY)
What it does
This bill would amend the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 to extend the effective period of existing federal regulations protecting the North Atlantic right whale. Specifically, it would push the expiration date of those regulations from 2028 to 2035, giving them seven additional years of legal effect. The bill does not create new regulations — it preserves the current ones for a longer period.
Who benefits
Conservation organizations and environmental advocates focused on marine mammal protection. The North Atlantic right whale population itself, estimated at fewer than 370 individuals, which faces entanglement in fishing gear as a leading cause of death. Coastal communities and tourism industries that depend on healthy marine ecosystems. Researchers and scientists studying the species. Future generations who may benefit from the species' continued survival.
Who is hurt
Commercial fishing operations — particularly lobster and crab trap fishermen along the Atlantic coast — who must comply with gear modification requirements, seasonal restrictions, or area closures under the existing regulations. Small and mid-sized fishing businesses that may face higher operating costs or reduced access to fishing grounds. Fishing-dependent coastal communities in states like Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire where compliance costs could affect local economies. Gear manufacturers and suppliers whose products may not meet regulatory standards.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that the North Atlantic right whale is one of the most endangered large whale species on Earth, with fewer than 370 individuals remaining and entanglement in fishing gear identified as the primary human-caused threat. They contend that allowing the existing regulations to expire in 2028 would remove critical protections during a period when the population has not yet stabilized, and that extending the rules through 2035 provides the continuity needed for recovery efforts to take hold.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that the existing regulations have already imposed significant economic hardship on Atlantic coast fishing communities, with some studies estimating compliance costs in the tens of millions of dollars annually for the lobster industry alone. They contend that extending the rules through 2035 without reassessment locks in restrictions that may be disproportionate to their conservation benefit, and that a seven-year extension denies fishing-dependent communities a meaningful opportunity to renegotiate terms as new gear technology and population data become available.
Constitutional context
The underlying regulations are grounded in the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act, both of which rest on Congress's Commerce Clause authority (Art. I, §8, cl. 3). Post-Loper Bright (2024), any agency rules implementing these statutes face heightened judicial scrutiny, as courts no longer defer to agency interpretations of their own statutory authority.
Checks and balances
Congress retains authority over the regulatory timeline; NOAA Fisheries implements and enforces the underlying rules; courts may review agency actions under the heightened post-Loper Bright standard.
Historical precedent
The original time-limited protection for these regulations was established in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, which itself was a congressional response to ongoing litigation and regulatory disputes between NOAA Fisheries and the fishing industry over right whale protections under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Passed