Amata Highlights Three House-Passed Bills on Her Priorities

Combating IUU Fishing, Supporting Religious Freedom & Pacific Partnerships

Pago Pago - Congresswoman Uifa'atali Amata is highlighting several House-passed bills, each originating in the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC), on priority issues within Amata's legislative track record.

Pacific Partnerships: Amata is a cosponsor of the US-Japan-ROK Trilateral Cooperation Act, H.R. 3429, a bipartisan effort led by Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA), passed by the House. This bill creates a regular inter-parliamentary dialogue to facilitate closer cooperation between the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea on shared interests and values, especially important in the Pacific region. The bill directs the U.S. Department of State to negotiate regular trilateral meetings (referred to as the US-Japan-ROK Inter-Parliamentary Dialogue) to facilitate closer cooperation. It also determines the membership requirements for the group representing the United States, composed of up to eight Members of Congress appointed for two years at a time, and guides other factors of the meetings, group leadership, and the reports they will generate. "Japan and South Korea are two of our key allies in the region, part of all U.S. considerations for peace and prosperity in the Pacific," Amata said.

Combating IUU Fishing: The House passed the Stop Illegal Fishing Act, H.R. 6338, a bipartisan bill introduced by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) and Rep. Young Kim (R-CA). The bill directs the President to impose sanctions on foreign vessels and persons engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Further, regarding those involved in IUU fishing, the bill directs the President to block and prohibit transactions in the U.S. involving a covered foreign vessel, and deny or revoke their visa, along with civil and criminal penalties for violations. The bill allows waivers that are essential to U.S. security, or to provide life-saving assistance to a vessel in distress, and provides for a periodic report to Congress on these enforcement efforts.

Congresswoman Amata has a track record of backing and cosponsoring bills that pursue these legislative and enforcement efforts, including just in 2026, cosponsorships of the Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvests (FISH) Act, H.R. 3756, and the bipartisan Standards for Understanding Source and Habitat Identification (SUSHI) Act, H.R. 3706, recent bills that also contain some of these same enforcement provisions and policies, as well as the broader bill Amata led and sponsored, the South Pacific Tuna Treaty Act, passed in December 2025 as part of other major legislation and now law.

"I strongly support recent legislative efforts to toughen up our national enforcement against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and I appreciate several colleagues who've led on this critical issue," said Congresswoman Amata. "Our committee has advanced bills that had similar goals, and I'm pleased this bipartisan bill has passed the full House."

Defending Religious Freedom: The House has passed the USCIRF Reauthorization Act, HR 1744, which renews the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. In the fall of 2024, Congresswoman Amata served as floor manager for the House vote that successfully passed and reauthorized USCIRF for two years, and Amata gave a speech in the House in support of worldwide religious freedom efforts. Now, reauthorization is due again soon, and the House-passed bill awaits Senate passage to become law. This year's bill is sponsored by Chairman Chris Smith (R-NJ).

"My good friend Chairman Smith is the foremost champion in Congress for human rights and religious freedom, a tireless and outspoken advocate for these important causes, and has served an amazing 45 years in the U.S. House of Representatives," concluded Amata. "It's a delight to serve with him as the nation benefits from his experience at the helm of our Subcommittee's work for human rights and religious freedom."

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