The HARPOON Act (Helping Allies Respond to Piracy, Overfishing, and Oceanic Negligence Act) authorizes the Secretary of Defense to help foreign countries build their security capacity to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in their waters. The bill directs the Navy Secretary and Coast Guard Commandant to work with foreign partners on joint patrols and counter-fishing operations while also addressing broader transnational crime and regional security issues. Within one year of the bill's enactment and annually thereafter, these officials must report to Congress on which countries and regions are interested in cooperation, what resource limitations exist, program effectiveness, and recommendations for improvement. The legislation essentially expands the Defense Department's existing authority to train and support foreign militaries by explicitly adding ocean security and illegal fishing operations as approved areas for military-to-military cooperation. No specific funding amount is mentioned in the bill text provided.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.