{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=415819", "IntraFish article on new Smith bill'Lawmaker moves to ban Chinese seafood from Congressional dining facilities'", "2026-09-02", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "NJ", "Christopher H. Smith", "S000522", "chrissmith.house.gov", "chrissmith", "https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "By Rachel Spain\n\nPublished September 2, 2026 at 13:04\n\nA U.S. House Republican is pushing new legislation that would bar Chinese seafood from congressional dining facilities, citing forced labor concerns and a lack of traceability in the country\u2019s supply chains.\n\nRep. Chris Smith of New Jersey on Aug. 27 introduced the \u201cNo PRC Seafood in Congress Act,\u201d a bill that would prohibit any Chinese seafood product from being procured, served, or sold in cafeterias and restaurants across the U.S. Capitol complex. The measure was referred to the Committee on House Administration.\n\nThe bill asserts that \u201cforced labor is pervasive in fishing, seafood harvesting, aquaculture, and seafood processing supply chains in the People\u2019s Republic of China,\u201d and argues that poor transparency makes it \u201cimpracticable\u201d to verify that seafood from China is free of forced labor.\n\nUnder the proposal, congressional dining facilities would be required to stop sourcing Chinese seafood entirely. Within 180 days of enactment, covered entities \u2014 including the House Administration Committee, the Senate Rules Committee, and the Architect of the Capitol \u2014 must issue regulations to implement the ban.\n\nA U.S. House Republican is pushing new legislation that would bar Chinese seafood from congressional dining facilities, citing forced labor concerns and a lack of traceability in the country\u2019s supply chains. Photo: Shutterstock\n\nSuppliers would also face new documentation requirements. Any vendor providing seafood to congressional dining facilities would need to \u201ccertify each and every country in which the seafood contained in such product was fished, harvested, raised, produced, or processed,\u201d and maintain records to substantiate those claims.\n\nThe bill defines a \u201cChinese seafood product\u201d as any seafood intended for human consumption that is fished, harvested, raised, produced, or processed \u2014 in whole or in part \u2014 in China, or caught by vessels owned, operated, or registered in the People\u2019s Republic of China. The definition includes Hong Kong and Macau but excludes Taiwan.", 1, "2026-09-04T09:19:37Z", "2026-09-04T09:20:58Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=415819"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 3.5758172161877155, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}