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People & committees
Rep. Calvert, Ken [R-CA-41] · R–CA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 3, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-03-06 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed FISH Act of 2025 would move Endangered Species Act responsibilities for fish that migrate between ocean and fresh or estuarine waters from the Secretary of Commerce or National Marine Fisheries Service to the Secretary of the Interior. It would preserve existing legal instruments, proceedings, and procedural protections, subject to stated exceptions and lawful changes. It would also allow requests to reconsider recent National Marine Fisheries Service administrative determinations, but Interior could deny those requests.
This Act may be cited as the Federally Integrated Species Health Act of 2025 or the FISH Act of 2025.
All functions with respect to anadromous species and catadromous species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) that were vested in the Secretary of Commerce or the National Marine Fisheries Service immediately before the enactment of this Act are transferred to the Secretary of the Interior.
The term anadromous species means a species of fish that spawns in fresh or estuarine waters and migrates to ocean waters.
The term catadromous species means a species of fish that spawns in ocean waters and migrates to fresh or estuarine waters.
Following the complete transfer of National Marine Fisheries Service responsibilities to the Department of the Interior, any final administrative determination made by National Marine Fisheries Service within 3 years prior to the date of the transfer may be reconsidered upon request to the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary may grant or deny the request, and the final decision will be made publicly available.
Such proceedings and applications shall be continued.
shall continue in effect according to their terms until modified, terminated, superseded, set aside, or revoked in accordance with law
Except as otherwise provided by this Act, any statutory requirements relating to notice, hearings, action upon the record, or administrative or judicial review that apply to any function transferred by this Act shall apply to the exercise of such function
Section 1 names the proposal the Federally Integrated Species Health Act of 2025, or FISH Act of 2025.
This Act may be cited as the Federally Integrated Species Health Act of 2025 or the FISH Act of 2025.
Section 2 would transfer all Endangered Species Act functions for the covered fish vested in the Secretary of Commerce or National Marine Fisheries Service immediately before enactment to the Secretary of the Interior. It would also define “Secretary” under that law as the Secretary of the Interior for these species.
All functions with respect to anadromous species and catadromous species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) that were vested in the Secretary of Commerce or the National Marine Fisheries Service immediately before the enactment of this Act are transferred to the Secretary of the Interior.
Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), with respect to anadromous species and catadromous species, the term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.
The bill would define two covered groups of fish. Anadromous species spawn in fresh or estuarine waters and migrate to ocean waters. Catadromous species spawn in ocean waters and migrate to fresh or estuarine waters.
The term anadromous species means a species of fish that spawns in fresh or estuarine waters and migrates to ocean waters.
The term catadromous species means a species of fish that spawns in ocean waters and migrates to fresh or estuarine waters.
After transfer completion, requests could seek reconsideration of final National Marine Fisheries Service administrative determinations made during the three years before transfer. Requests would have to be filed with Interior within 365 days of completion. Interior could grant or deny a request, and the final decision would have to be public. Section 2(c) says “any final administrative determination” without expressly repeating section 2(a)'s species and Endangered Species Act limits; the supplied text does not resolve whether reconsideration would extend beyond the transferred functions.
Following the complete transfer of National Marine Fisheries Service responsibilities to the Department of the Interior, any final administrative determination made by National Marine Fisheries Service within 3 years prior to the date of the transfer may be reconsidered upon request to the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary may grant or deny the request, and the final decision will be made publicly available. Any request for reconsideration made under this subsection shall be filed with the Department of Interior within 365 days of transfer completion.
All functions with respect to anadromous species and catadromous species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) that were vested in the Secretary of Commerce or the National Marine Fisheries Service immediately before the enactment of this Act are transferred to the Secretary of the Interior.
Section 3 would redirect references to departments or offices from which functions are transferred, and to their heads, in federal laws and other covered documents to Interior or its Secretary. Unless another law provides otherwise, Interior could use the Endangered Species Act authorities previously available for each transferred function.
Any reference in any other Federal law, Executive order, rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, or any document of or pertaining to a department or office from which a function is transferred by this Act— (1) to the head of such department or office is deemed to refer to the Secretary of the Interior; or (2) to such department or office is deemed to refer to the Department of the Interior.
Except as otherwise provided by law, the Secretary of the Interior may, for purposes of performing the functions transferred by this Act, exercise all authorities under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) that were available with respect to the performance of that function immediately before the effective date of the transfer of the function under this Act.
Existing rules, permits, grants, contracts, and other listed legal instruments connected to transferred functions would remain effective under their terms. This protection would also cover instruments scheduled to take effect later under terms in effect on the Act's effective date. They could still be changed or ended through lawful action.
All orders, determinations, rules, regulations, permits, grants, loans, contracts, agreements, certificates, licenses, and privileges— (A) that have been issued, made, granted, or allowed to become effective by the Secretary of Commerce, any officer or employee of the Department of Commerce, or any other Government official in the performance of any function that is transferred by this Act, or by a court of competent jurisdiction with respect to such performance; and (B) that are in effect on the effective date of this Act (or become effective after such date pursuant to their terms as in effect on such effective date), shall continue in effect according to their terms until modified, terminated, superseded, set aside, or revoked in accordance with law by the President, any other authorized official, a court of competent jurisdiction, or operation of law.
Proceedings and applications pending before a transferred office when the bill became law would continue, including orders, appeals, and payments. Orders would remain effective until lawfully changed or revoked. Proceedings could still be discontinued or modified on the same terms that would have applied without the bill.
This Act shall not affect any proceedings or any application for any benefits, service, license, permit, certificate, or financial assistance pending on the date of the enactment of this Act before an office transferred by this Act. Such proceedings and applications shall be continued.
Orders shall be issued in such proceedings, appeals shall be taken therefrom, and payments shall be made pursuant to such orders, as if this Act had not been enacted, and orders issued in any such proceeding shall continue in effect until modified, terminated, superseded, or revoked by a duly authorized official, by a court of competent jurisdiction, or by operation of law.
Nothing in this paragraph shall be considered to prohibit the discontinuance or modification of any such proceeding under the same terms and conditions and to the same extent that such proceeding could have been discontinued or modified if this Act had not been enacted.
Existing lawsuits would continue. Enactment alone would not end proceedings involving Commerce or its officials acting in their official roles. When a function involved in a lawsuit moved to another officer or office, the receiving officer or office head would replace or join the original official as a party.
This Act shall not affect suits commenced before the date of the enactment of this Act, and in all such suits, proceeding shall be had, appeals taken, and judgments rendered in the same manner and with the same effect as if this Act had not been enacted.
No suit, action, or other proceeding commenced by or against the Department of Commerce or the Secretary of Commerce, or by or against any individual in the official capacity of such individual as an officer or employee of the Department of Commerce, shall abate by reason of the enactment of this Act.
If any Government officer in the official capacity of such officer is party to a suit with respect to a function of the officer, and under this Act such function is transferred to any other officer or office, then such suit shall be continued with the other officer or the head of such other office, as applicable, substituted or added as a party.
Unless the bill provides otherwise, existing statutory requirements for notice, hearings, decisions based on the official record, and agency or court review would continue to apply to transferred functions.
Except as otherwise provided by this Act, any statutory requirements relating to notice, hearings, action upon the record, or administrative or judicial review that apply to any function transferred by this Act shall apply to the exercise of such function by the head of the Federal agency, and other officers of the agency, to which such function is transferred by this Act.
Section 4 defines “function” broadly to include duties, powers, rights, activities, and programs. “Office” includes agencies, bureaus, other organizational units, and their components. It also refers to the Endangered Species Act definitions for the two fish groups “as amended by section 3 of this Act,” although the supplied bill places those amendments in section 2(b). The text does not establish how that apparent cross-reference error would be resolved.
Each of the terms anadromous species and catadromous species has the meaning that term has under section 3 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532), as amended by section 3 of this Act.
The term function includes any duty, obligation, power, authority, responsibility, right, privilege, activity, or program.
The term office includes any office, administration, agency, bureau, institute, council, unit, organizational entity, or component thereof.
2. Transfer of functions with respect to anadromous species and catadromous species
(b) Conforming amendments The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is amended—
(2) in section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1532) by adding at the end the following:
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated September 3, 2025, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Natural Resources on March 6, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2025-09-03T08:05:56Z. 2025-03-06: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. 2025-03-06: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-03-06. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No provision unrelated to the bill's main subject or policy change attached to appropriations was identified after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; it does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials, which were not supplied and could bear on formal earmark status.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow carve-out, special exemption, or preferential treatment warranting a targeted-benefit finding was identified after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 3, 2025. How PlainBill uses AI