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H.R. 4294119th CongressPublic Lands and Natural Resources
MAWS Act of 2026
Sponsored by Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-MD) · 10 active : 4 Republicans, 6 Democrats
Latest action: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Where it standsPassed House, now in the Senate13 senators score as swing votes
Passed House
- House: passedMar 17, 2026
- Senate: next
- President: not yet
Summary
, via Congress.govMitigation Action and Watermen Support Act of 2026 or the MAWS Act of 2026
This bill requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish a pilot program to facilitate the purchase of blue catfish caught within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. (Blue catfish are considered an invasive species in the Chesapeake Bay.)
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Under the program, NOAA must enter into cooperative agreements with manufacturers or processors of pet food, animal feed, or aquaculture feed for the purchase of blue catfish from watermen and seafood processors. NOAA must determine the minimum price per pound after considering market factors; feedback from watermen, seafood processors, and participants in the program; and differentiation of price points for fillet and byproduct.
The bill also requires NOAA to enter into a memorandum of understanding with nonfederal partners to develop abundance estimates of blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. NOAA must make the first abundance estimate publicly available before beginning the pilot program.
How the projections held up
Each member’s recorded vote compared with their swing projection from before the vote. A member by voting against most of their own party.
House
On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as AmendedPassed320 yea, 66 nayMarch 17, 2026 · Roll call 88
| BandBand before the vote | VotedVoted yea or nay | BrokeBroke with party | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swing | 51 | 0 | 0% |
| Middle | 216 | 41 | 19% |
| Entrenched | 115 | 25 | 22% |
Committees and subjects
Committees
- House Committee on Natural Resources · HouseReported by · Markup by · Discharged from · Referred to
- Water, Wildlife and Fisheries · HouseHearings by (subcommittee) · Referred to
- Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation · SenateReferred to
Subjects
- Chesapeake Bay
- Congressional oversight
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Fishes
- Food industry and services
- Food supply, safety, and labeling
- Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
- Maryland
- New York State
- Pennsylvania
Model
Directional: count only breaks toward the other partyWhy do scores change?v3default (selected)v2 model swing-v2
How the Senate breaks down
- 13Swing 70–100
- 68Middle 30–70
- 19Entrenched 0–30
Members fall into . All 100 senators have enough data to score.
Key players in the Senate
Ranked by swing score, 0–100 · swing-v3, directional: only movement toward the other party counts, so members who sit further from the center than their party no longer score as swing votes.
Bars show each input from 0 to 100: ideology gap, scorecard gap, , and the . is the seat’s partisan lean, and shows how much of the input data a score has.
Similar past votes, Senate
Earlier behind swing-v3’s inputLoading similar votes
Cosponsors
10 activeShow all 10 cosponsors
- Jennifer A. Kiggans (R-VA-2)
- Robert J. Wittman (R-VA-1)
- Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD-5)
- April McClain Delaney (D-MD-6)
- Glenn Ivey (D-MD-4)
- Johnny Olszewski (D-MD-2)
- Kweisi Mfume (D-MD-7)
- Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA-3)
- Celeste Maloy (R-UT-2)
- Paul A. Gosar (R-AZ-9)
How the swing score works
Ideology gapHow far a member’s DW-NOMINATE voting score sits from their party’s median in the same chamber.
Scorecard gapHow far their Heritage Action and LCV ratings stray from their party’s average, using the groups’ votes on similar bills where available.
Cross-pressureHow strongly their district or state leans toward the other party, from our own computed partisan lean.
Similar votesHow often they voted against their own party on earlier roll calls about this bill or similar ones.
Committee bonusMembers of the committees handling the bill decide whether it moves, so they get a boost.
Cosponsor checkThe sponsor and active cosponsors have already committed, so they drop toward entrenched.
