1HOUSE · MAR 17, 2026
Passed the House
320–66PASSED
R 128–65 D 192–1
On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended · roll 88 · 45 not voting
House bill · 119th Congress · Latest step: Passed House
MAWS Act of 2026
Official title: To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a pilot program with respect to the sale of blue catfish caught within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
Sponsor: Rep. Sarah Elfreth D-MDWhere it went
- IntroducedJul 7, 2025
- Committee actionJan 22, 2026
- Passed HouseMar 17, 2026 · 320–66
- Passed Senate—
- To the President—
- Became law—
Latest action: Mar 18, 2026 — Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Cost and committee reports
Official records Congress.gov attaches to H.R. 4294.
- Committee reportCongress.gov lists 1 committee report for this bill: H. Rept. 119-510 ↗. The Congress.gov committee record lists a “Reported By” entry for the Natural Resources Committee on February 23, 2026.Source: Congress.gov, reported February 23, 2026 ↗
Evidence
- Field in the Congress.gov record
- committeeReports
- Report API records
- https://api.congress.gov/v3/committee-report/119/HRPT/510
- Congress.gov bill record
- H.R. 4294, 119th Congress
- Congress.gov API record
- https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/119/hr/4294
- Record last updated by Congress.gov
- September 8, 2026
- PORKER copy retrieved
- September 12, 2026
- Stored copy, SHA-256 of the file
db02da4dcd8ba217d95866c18a3574268ac35b60b9105c86934babe1f74f02d5
A committee report is the committee’s own explanation of the bill. PORKER lists it and links to it; reading it is up to you.
- Constitutional authority statementThe sponsor’s statement of where the Constitution gives Congress the power to pass this bill. Statement by Ms. ELFRETH, as printed in the Congressional Record (Vol. 171, No. 116, July 7, 2025, Page H3194):Necessary and Proper Clause (Art. 1, Sec. 8, Cl. 18)Source: Congress.gov, Congressional Record July 7, 2025 ↗
Evidence
- Field in the Congress.gov record
- constitutionalAuthorityStatementText
- Statement length
- 52 characters
- Congress.gov bill record
- H.R. 4294, 119th Congress
- Congress.gov API record
- https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/119/hr/4294
- Record last updated by Congress.gov
- September 8, 2026
- PORKER copy retrieved
- September 12, 2026
- Stored copy, SHA-256 of the file
db02da4dcd8ba217d95866c18a3574268ac35b60b9105c86934babe1f74f02d5
PORKER shows the statement exactly as printed, with the page markup removed. It is the sponsor’s claim; it is not a legal finding.
Congress.gov’s record for this bill does not list a CBO cost estimate (as of September 8, 2026). Not every bill gets one.
Sent to: Natural Resources Committee, Commerce, Science, and Transportation CommitteeBills with a CBO estimateBills with a committee reportSee it in the Data Web
From the Congress.gov bill record for H.R. 4294, last updated September 8, 2026. PORKER’s copy was retrieved September 12, 2026 and is refreshed nightly. Open “Evidence” on any line for the record, field and file fingerprint.
Vote results
1 recorded roll-call vote on H.R. 4294. The vote that moved the bill is first.
Yea–nay by party (R = Republicans, D = Democrats, I = independents). Counts for present and not-voting members are shown where there were any. Showing all 1 of 1 recorded votes. Sorted by date; within a chamber by roll-call number.
Cosponsors
10 cosponsors — 4 Republicans, 6 Democrats
4 of 10 cosponsors (40%) are from the other party.
Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Glenn Ivey (D-MD), Jennifer Kiggans (R-VA), Celeste Maloy (R-UT), April McClain Delaney (D-MD), Kweisi Mfume (D-MD), Johnny Olszewski (D-MD), Robert Scott (D-VA), Robert Wittman (R-VA).
More from the sponsor
Other 119th Congress bills sponsored by Rep. Sarah Elfreth.
- H.R. 1989 (119th) Protect Our Probationary Employees Act
- H.Res. 723 (119th) Recognizing the 180th anniversary of the United States Naval Academy.
- H.R. 5572 (119th) Help FEDS Act
- H.R. 7251 (119th) Prohibit Partisan Park Passes Act
- H.R. 6184 (119th) NOAA Data Preservation Act
- H.R. 5843 (119th) Shutdown Student Loans for Feds Act
Sponsor’s state and district
Data as of Sep 25, 2026 · bill record checked by PORKER from Congress.gov · votes from Senate.gov and the House Clerk. PORKER is non-partisan.