SWIMS Act of 2022
Latest action · Aug 29, 2022 Referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJul 26, 2022
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Strengthening Welfare in Marine Settings Act of 2022 or the SWIMS Act of 2022
This bill establishes prohibitions on capturing, importing, exporting, or breeding of orcas, beluga whales, false killer whales, or pilot whales for the purpose of public display.
Specifically, the bill prohibits the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from issuing any permit under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 that authorizes the taking (e.g., capturing) or importation of such orcas or whales for the purpose of public display. The bill further revises the act to make it unlawful to export such orcas or whales, unless they are being transported to marine mammal sanctuaries or for release into the wild.
Further, the bill makes it unlawful under the Animal Welfare Act for any person to breed or artificially inseminate such marine mammals for purposes of using their progeny for public display.
Cosponsors 36
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 26, 2022 to Dec 1, 2022; 7 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CA | Alan S. Lowenthal | Original | Jul 26, 2022 |
| D-NY | Carolyn B. Maloney | Original | Jul 26, 2022 |
| D-CA | Jared Huffman | Original | Jul 26, 2022 |
| D-WA | Rick Larsen | Original | Jul 26, 2022 |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Original | Jul 26, 2022 |
| D-WA | Suzan K. DelBene | Original | Jul 26, 2022 |
| D-CA | Tony Cárdenas | Original | Jul 26, 2022 |
| D-OR | Earl Blumenauer | Jul 27, 2022 | |
| D-IL | Marie Newman | Jul 27, 2022 | |
| D-VA | Gerald E. Connolly | Jul 28, 2022 | |
| D-HI | Ed Case | Aug 9, 2022 | |
| D-CA | Nanette Diaz Barragán | Aug 9, 2022 | |
| D-CA | Ted Lieu | Aug 9, 2022 | |
| D-NY | Jerrold Nadler | Aug 12, 2022 | |
| D-PA | Madeleine Dean | Aug 12, 2022 | |
| D-MA | Seth Moulton | Aug 12, 2022 | |
| D-CA | Zoe Lofgren | Aug 12, 2022 | |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Aug 26, 2022 | |
| D-PA | Dwight Evans | Aug 26, 2022 | |
| D-WI | Mark Pocan | Aug 26, 2022 | |
| D-CA | Pete Aguilar | Aug 26, 2022 | |
| D-CO | Diana DeGette | Sep 2, 2022 | |
| D-CA | Doris O. Matsui | Sep 2, 2022 | |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Sep 9, 2022 | |
| D-CA | Grace F. Napolitano | Sep 9, 2022 | |
| D-CA | Jackie Speier | Sep 9, 2022 | |
| D-OR | Peter A. DeFazio | Sep 9, 2022 | |
| D-NJ | Donald M. Payne, Jr. | Sep 13, 2022 | |
| D-CA | Judy Chu | Sep 13, 2022 | |
| D-FL | Theodore E. Deutch | Sep 20, 2022 | |
| D-CO | Joe Neguse | Sep 21, 2022 | |
| D-OR | Suzanne Bonamici | Oct 7, 2022 | |
| D-IN | André Carson | Oct 14, 2022 | |
| D-CA | Salud O. Carbajal | Oct 25, 2022 | |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | Oct 28, 2022 | |
| D-WA | Adam Smith | Dec 1, 2022 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Natural Resources Committee | Referred Jul 26, 2022 |
| House | Agriculture Committee | Referred Jul 26, 2022 |
| Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Subcommittee | Referred Aug 29, 2022 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Aug 29, 2022Referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture.
- Jul 26, 2022Introduced in House
- Jul 26, 2022Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 168, no. 124, July 26, 2022, page H7171.
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 4740 | SWIMS Act of 2022 | Identical bill | Aug 2, 2022 |
| HR 7145 | SWIMS Act of 2024 | Reintroduced Bill | Jan 30, 2024 |
| HR 10774 | SWIMS Act of 2026 | Cross-Congress related bill | Oct 9, 2026 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit the taking, importation, exportation, and breeding of certain cetaceans for public display, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- SWIMS Act of 2022
- Strengthening Welfare in Marine Settings Act of 2022
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Animals.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 26, 2022Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
