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Congressional Daily Record
This section captures a floor statement or debate entry. It mentions legislation such as Save Our Shrimpers Act, members such as French Hill.
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May 12, 2026
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Download official House Record PDFReturn to issue contextMr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2071) to prohibit Federal funds from being made available to international financial institutions for the purposes of financing foreign shrimp farms, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2071
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Save Our Shrimpers Act”.
SEC. 2. VOICE AND VOTE REQUIREMENT.
(a) In General.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall
instruct the United States Executive Director at each
international financial institution (as defined in section
1701(c)(2) of the International Financial Institutions Act)
to use the voice and vote of the United States to oppose any
financial assistance by such institution for any project to
support shrimp farming, shrimp processing, or the export of
shrimp in a borrowing country.
(b) Waiver Authority.—The Secretary of the Treasury may
waive subsection (a) with respect to a project upon notifying
the Congress that the waiver is in the national interest of
the United States.
(c) Expiration.—Subsection (a) shall have no force or
effect after the end of the 7-year period beginning on the
date of enactment of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas.
General Leave
Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Arkansas?
There was no objection.
Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my friend, Mr. Nehls', bill, the Save Our Shrimpers Act.
protect our domestic shrimping industry and the hardworking men and women who keep it alive every day, day in and day out.
For far too long, U.S. shrimpers along the Gulf and other coastal communities across our country have been put in a serious disadvantage by a wave of cheap, imported shrimp.
Bank, the United States must ensure that these institutions are not financing competing shrimp producers with our domestic family growers. Representative Nehls' bipartisan bill addresses this issue.
Mr. Speaker, it requires U.S. representatives at the international financial institutions to oppose financing activities related to shrimp farming, shrimp processing, or the export of shrimp from a foreign country.
I thank Mr. Nehls for his leadership on this important issue and for helping ensure that our international financing policy prioritizes a level playing field for our shrimp producers here at home.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2071, the Save Our Shrimpers Act. Communities in places like Louisiana, Texas, Florida, and Georgia have deep, historic connections to the shrimping industry. They have raised concerns that foreign shrimping projects funded by international financial institutions, that is IFIs, are helping to dramatically increase the farmed shrimp supply, causing a glut that is driving down the price of shrimp and harming American business.
financial assistance by the World Bank and other international financial institutions to projects that support foreign shrimp farming, shrimp processing, or the export of shrimp.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage Members to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Nehls), who is the chairman of the T&I Subcommittee on Aviation, and who is the author of the bill we have before us this afternoon.
{time} 1510
Mr. NEHLS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2071, the Save Our Shrimpers Act.
by the flood of foreign shrimp imports entering our markets, driving down the prices, undermining fair competition, and forcing generation after generation of fishing families out of business.
Treasury, U.S. executive directors at international financial institutions have voted in favor of nearly 89 percent of multilateral shrimp and aquacultural projects over the last 30 years. Think about that—89 percent.
shrimp industries while our own shrimpers are being forced to compete against foreign producers benefiting from the subsidies, unfair trade practices, and lower label and environmental standards, allowing imported shrimp to be sold below the cost of production. It is unacceptable.
communities wake up before dawn and work long hours in dangerous conditions to help feed this country. They deserve a level playing field, not a Federal Government helping bankroll their foreign competition.
The Save Our Shrimpers Act directs U.S. representatives at international financial institutions to use the voice and vote of the United States to oppose projects that finance foreign shrimp farming, shrimp processing, or shrimp exports overseas.
seafood producers, and the coastal communities that depend on the shrimping industry to survive.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stand up for our shrimpers and protect the American industry, and I ask them to vote “yes” on H.R. 2071.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield myself the balance of my time to close.
Mr. Speaker, I am supportive of American workers, including the shrimpers' communities. For that reason, I recommend that my colleagues support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I think Mr. Nehls has done good work on behalf of our hardworking men and women in the shrimping industry, particularly in his native Gulf Coast, who get up at the crack of dawn every day to make a living and serve a delicious product to Americans and neighbors alike.
Mr. Speaker, I witnessed something so similar 25 years ago in the Mississippi Delta when the Federal Government's policy was to subsidize importation of catfish from Vietnam. It literally put hundreds of family farms in Mississippi and Arkansas out of business and bankrupted the industry because we facilitated—through our trade policy, through our international financial institutions policy, through our import policy—a decision that was in contrast to the very policies of USDA, which were to increase family farms and increase farms diversifying their crop from row crop to domestically produced farm-raised catfish. These policies collided, Mr. Speaker.
sense in our policy that supports our producers and our family shrimp growers, support them and put them first in this channel of providing high-quality seafood to the American consumer.
Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, and I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Nehls) for this bill. I urge a “yes” vote on both sides of the aisle, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2071, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. NEHLS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.