Washington, DC – Yesterday, Representatives Derek Kilmer (WA-06) and Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA-03) led the introduction of the Fishery Failures: Urgently Needed Disaster Declarations Act (Fishery FUNDD Act), which aims to improve the federal fishery disaster process and ensure more timely disaster relief for impacted communities.
The Fishery FUNDD Act would set a timeline for the federal government to respond to a fishery disaster request and set a timeline for disbursal of appropriated funds following a disaster. It will also clarify the disaster request process, including by allowing direct payments to be made to affected members of fishing communities as an eligible use of relief funds.
“In Washington, our coastal fisheries are an essential part of our local economies. In recent years, multiple disasters on our coasts have wreaked havoc on our fisheries and on the finances of the people who rely on them to make a living,” said Rep. Kilmer. “This bipartisan bill will expand eligibility for disaster funds so charter boat operators, processors, and other fishing related businesses that are impacted can get access to these critical relief and recovery funds. Importantly, because delays can damage communities, this bill will also increase accountability, ensuring that when the federal government commits to helping in the wake of disaster, our tribal, commercial, and recreational fishing communities see these relief and recovery funds on time and in full.”
“When a disaster strikes that causes severe economic hardships on fishing businesses in Pacific County, we need to ensure relief is getting to those who need it as quickly as possible,” said Rep. Herrera Beutler. “When relief is delayed, the costs to citizens’ livelihoods and government only increase. I’m pleased to help offer this bipartisan solution to ensure financial assistance is delivered more quickly to those charter boat businesses and other fishing-dependent entities.”
“Fishing is the way of life for many here on the coast,” said Butch Smith, a third-generation salmon and sturgeon fishing charter captain who serves as the Ilwaco Port Commissioner. “When disaster strikes, like it has in recent years, we need to know that the federal government has our backs. This bill will help ensure that our communities get the recovery and the relief funds they need when the going gets tough – and hold the federal government to its word. I’m glad to see Washington Representatives like Rep. Kilmer and Rep. Herrera Beutler leading the charge to ensure that happens.”
“The failure of a fishing season is devastating to fishermen and their communities, but in recent years, the poor performance of our fishery disaster assistance program has itself become a disaster,” said Noah Oppenheim, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations. “Fishery disasters impact port communities, but they also harm the broader economy and limit Americans' access to domestic seafood. This important bill will enhance our commercial fishing safety net, ensuring that fishery disaster assistance reaches communities in need in months instead of years.”
Under current law, fishing communities can receive federal financial assistance when fish populations decline, during closed seasons, or if other disruptions cause economic losses. However, the current disaster relief process has been slow to respond to requests and has failed to allocate funds to all impacted sectors of the industry. The Fishery FUNDD Act clarifies the process and implements timelines for faster delivery of disaster relief to impacted communities.
Specifically, the bill:
Maintains the authority of the Secretary of Commerce to determine fishery disasters;
Specifies required information for disaster requests, guidelines for evaluation of requests, and required information for spend plans;
Specifies criteria for determinations based on revenue loss and includes consideration of impacts on charter fishing and subsistence uses;
Sets a 120-day timeline for the Secretary to evaluate a request, either upon receipt or immediately after the close of the fishery season, and sets a 90-day timeline for disbursal of appropriated funds after completed spend plans are submitted;
Specifies the eligible uses of fishery disaster relief funds, including direct payments to affected members of the fishing community, habitat restoration and conservation, management improvements, job training, public information campaigns, and preventative measures for future disasters, and would prioritize hiring fishermen displaced by the fishery disaster for this work;
Requires the Department of Commerce to make a request in its annual budget for outstanding, unfunded fishery disasters and requires a GAO report on how fishery managers are preparing for and adapting to the impacts of climate change, a major factor in recent fishery disasters; and,
Consolidates the legal framework for the federal fishery disaster declaration process under the Magnuson Stevens Act
Authorizes appropriations as necessary, including supplemental appropriations.
Rep. Jared Huffman (CA-02) and Rep. Steven Palazzo (MS-04) also serve as original cosponsors of the legislation and Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) introduced similar legislation that was approved by the Senate Commerce committee in late 2019. The text of the House legislation, numbered H.R. 5548, can be found here.
For years, Reps. Kilmer and Herrera Beutler have worked persistently with Washington’s U.S. Senators to secure fishery disaster funds in Congress’s spending plans – and did so successfully in February 2018, securing $200 million in supplemental funding to support multiple commercial and tribal fishery disaster declarations in Washington, Alaska and California as part of the government funding plan passed by the Senate and House. The relief funding was intended to support investments that will encourage fishery recovery and job training, among other initiatives.
Inslee statement in response to Washingtonians detained at Canadian border
press release issued 1/ 6/ 10"The reports out of the border crossing at Blaine are deeply alarming. Washingtonians who happen to be Iranian-American were detained at the Canadian-U.S. border for extended periods of time for no other reason than their ethnicity or country of origin.
"This is wrong and rife with constitutional and moral problems. No one should be treated differently due to where they come from, how they look or what language they speak.
"What Americans endured over the weekend in Blaine is unacceptable. This will not stand in Washington state, and we will continue to push for answers to ensure that it does not happen again. We've learned time and again that we cannot trust the Trump administration.
"Customs and Border Protection denials of these reports are simply not credible. There are multiple firsthand accounts of CBP agents seizing people’s passports while they waited for up to 12 hours for re-entry into the United States. By all accounts, this is detention, regardless of whether the waiting area has bars on the windows. And it is in line with this administration’s never-ending vilification of our immigrant populations.
"We can never forget that Japanese-Americans were detained in Washington state during World War II and their constitutional and civic rights were removed out of fear and hatred. This cannot become a new era of intimidation and division.
"Let’s be clear: this overreach is the direct result of President Trump’s recklessness. Following his indefensible decision to abandon diplomacy and dismantle the nuclear deal, Iran has restarted its previously abandoned nuclear program, and violence threatening Americans has increased. Rather than making us more safe, his unilateral actions increase the risk to Washingtonians at home and abroad.
"I will continue to stand up for the rights and protections of all Washingtonians."
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