Young Fishermen’s Development Program Reauthorization Act
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 351.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 25 · Reported to Senate · Mar 11, 2026
Young Fishermen’s Development Program Reauthorization Act
This bill reauthorizes through FY2031 and expands the purposes of the Young Fishermen’s Development Program. The bill also directs the National Sea Grant Office within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to track and evaluate the career progression of program participants.
As background, the Young Fishermen’s Development Program awards grants to support training, education, outreach, and technical assistance initiatives for young fishermen. Currently, grants may be used for specified topics, including vessel and engine maintenance, sustainable fishing practices, and financial and risk management. The bill expands these topics to include
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Read full official summaryShow less
crew management,
disaster preparedness,
seafood handling,
fishing portfolio diversification and expansion, and
management of working waterfronts and related shoreside infrastructure.
In addition, the bill eliminates NOAA's discretionary authority to determine other activities, opportunities, or programs that are eligible for grants under the program.
The bill also prohibits recipients from receiving concurrent grants. (Consecutive grants are permitted under the bill and current law.)
Finally, the bill directs the National Sea Grant Office, to the extent practicable, to (1) track the career progression of program participants; (2) identify participants who subsequently enter or remain in commercial fisheries in the United States or related industries; and (3) use these outcomes as a key factor in evaluating future grant applications.
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 351.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 119-115.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 119-115.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Bill text & related measures
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Nov 3, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Explore the bill from different angles
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Neutral evidence review
Objective
Analyze S.2357 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact
Progressive lens
Examine S.2357 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope
Conservative lens
Examine S.2357 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power
Liberty lens
Examine S.2357 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.