Council Actions

BOSTON (AP) — January 15, 2013 — The U.S. House of Representatives declined to give any emergency aid to New England fishermen in a disaster relief bill passed Tuesday.

The only money for fishermen in the $50.7 billion Superstorm Sandy relief bill was $5 million for fishermen in New York and New Jersey affected by Sandy.

Three Democratic lawmakers from Massachusetts had each proposed amendments that would have meant between $116 million and $150 million in assistance for the fishing industry in the Northeast, Gulf Coast and Alaska.

But on Monday, the Republican-led House Rules Committee didn’t allow votes on the amendments, meaning they had no chance to be included in the bill.

Massachusetts Rep. John Tierney, who proposed an amendment, along with Reps. Ed Markey and Bill Keating, called the committee’s refusal to allow the votes ‘‘callous and outrageous.’’

In remarks on the House floor Tuesday, Markey accused Republicans of cutting a lifeline to a struggling industry.

‘‘This bill says ‘no’ to them, ‘no’ to their needs,’’ he said.

Keating said the Republican leadership’s claims of being small business champions have proven hollow.

 

Read the full story by Jay Lindsay of the Assocated Press in the Boston Globe 

 

 

 

 

January 15, 2013 — The head of a group representing charter fishing boat owners says failure by the U.S. House of Representatives to include aid for New England fishermen in the Superstorm Sandy disaster relief bill could devastate the group’s membership.

“The margin is minimal to begin with,” said Steven James, president of the Stellwagen Bank Charter Boat Association, adding that fixed costs, such as gas, insurance and maintenance don’t change when the number of fish that can be caught on a charter trip is cut – something that happened last year and that he expects to happen again this year.

Financial aid would help offset the costs of staying in business for the nearly 130 South Shore members of the Stellwagen group, he said.

David Pierce, deputy director of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, said that without financial aid, some commercial fishermen in New England could go belly-up, too.

Some groundfish fishermen are seeking permits to catch other species with healthier stocks – scallops, for example, Pierce said.

 

Read the full story at the Patriot Ledger

 

 

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — January 16, 2013 — This year's version of the Superstorm Sandy disaster relief bill is a disaster for the fishing industry, at least in the House version.

The Rules Committee reported out the relief bill Monday without including any of the three Massachusetts-sponsored amendments that would have provided $116 million to $160 million for the fishing industry.

Rules Committee spokeswoman Torrie Miller told The Standard-Times in an email: "The Rules Committee gave the Democrats an opportunity to unify around one approach to deal with the fisheries issue but they failed to do so. As a result, the Republicans put forth a solution in the form of the Runyan amendment."

The amendment by U.S. Rep. John Runyan, R-N.J., directs disaster relief to the fishery damaged by Sandy, which is mainly in New Jersey. It does not address the larger fisheries disaster issue.

Rep. Bill Keating, D-Mass., whose district includes New Bedford, was frustrated and angry about the outcome.

"This is Americans helping Americans," he said. "This is a slap in the face."

Fisheries in the Northeast, Alaska and Mississippi last year became eligible for relief when the commerce secretary made an official declaration because of dwindling stocks.

The rejection of the amendments brought a swift response from the three congressmen who filed them: Democratic Reps. Edward Markey, John Tierney and Keating.

"Republicans in Congress have cut this lifeline to fishing communities in Massachusetts and around the country," the lawmakers said in a statement. "We gave House Republicans three different options to help our fishermen and they said no, no, no. House Republican leaders should be ashamed of themselves. We will continue to fight for these small business owners and their families."

Last year's Senate version of the bill, which wasn't taken up in the House, will be refiled and sent to reconciliation with the House bill, Keating said.

Keating told The Standard-Times he was especially disappointed because his amendment took pains to be revenue-neutral, being offset by a cut in weather satellite funding.

 

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard Times

 

 

WASHINGTON — January 15, 2013 — New England lawmakers lost a battle Tuesday to secure millions of dollars in federal aid for the region’s groundfishing fleet as part of the latest efforts to provide emergency relief to Hurricane Sandy victims.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 241-180 Tuesday night to pass a $50.7 billion Sandy relief package nearly 80 days after the superstorm slammed into the mid-Atlantic. But to the dismay of lawmakers from New England and other regions, the House bill offers no assistance to victims of other disasters such as western wildfires and struggling the northeastern groundfishing industry.

The Senate had voted in late December for a $60.4 billion relief bill that included funding for other disasters around the country. But that bill died in the House, and Republicans concerned about the size and scope of the relief package removed the non-Sandy projects from their own bill.

The decisive blow came late Monday when the House Rules Committee voted along party lines to keep three amendments from Massachusetts representatives from being considered on the floor. The proposals sought between $116 million and $150 million for fisheries disasters.

As a result, advocates for the fisheries funding will have to either attempt to re-insert the money in the bill Senate next week or start from scratch with a new appropriations measure, meaning significant delays. Lawmakers from Alaska and Mississippi had also sought aid for fisheries disasters in their states.

 

Read the full story in the Portland Press Herald