Jared Huffman Archives - Page 10 of 12

US House approves anti-Pebble amendment; Young votes no, defends permit process

June 20, 2019 — The U.S. House voted 233-201 for an amendment that would block the Corps of Engineers from proceeding on a permit for the proposed Pebble Mine.

The sponsor, Rep. Jared Huffman, said what Pebble Limited Partnership wants to do near the headwaters of Bristol Bay is unprecedented.

“There is no other U.S. hardrock mining operation that captures and treats such a massive volume of contaminated mine water, which is harmful to fish and to public health,” Huffman said in the debate over his amendment. “We know that mines are not invincible. Things go wrong.”

Huffman, D-Calif., said an accident at the mine could devastate Bristol Bay’s valuable salmon fishery, degrade Native cultures and ruin businesses that rely on the region’s world-class sportfishing. His amendment cuts off funding to the Corps of Engineers to finish the environmental process that’s underway.

Alaska Congressman Don Young voted against the amendment – not to defend the mine, he said, but to support the permitting process.

Read the full story at Alaska Public Media

NOAA admin defends budget in House oversight hearing

May 24, 2019 — There’s likely going to be no more withering nor efficient criticism of the Trump administration’s coastal economic and environmental policy goals than U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman launched into at the outset of a U.S. House subcommittee meeting Tuesday.

The House Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife met to discuss the administration’s fiscal year 2020 budgets for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The California Democrat said the Trump administration’s proposed budget shows the president “does not value oceans, wildlife or the communities that depend on healthy ecosystems.”

Huffman cited a $250 million cut to USFWS and a nearly $1 billion cut to NOAA. He said some Republican members of the subcommittee may find these cuts wise, though he did not.

“From climate change denial to a national debt that’s ballooning thanks to huge tax cuts to billionaires, to budgets like this that abrogate any notion of stewardship for future generations, young people today could be forgiven for thinking that the generation currently in power is reckless and hedonistic.”

U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., indeed did say the proposed cuts in the budget were not only the proper way to go, but should go further in consolidating perceived overlaps between NOAA and USFWS and cutting away more spending programs.

Read the full story at The Brunswick News

Rep. Amata co-sponsors bills that would benefit future of local fishing industry

May 13, 2019 — The following was released by The Office of Congresswomen Aumua Amata (R-American Samoa):

Congresswoman Aumua Amata is an original co-sponsor of two fishing-related bills examined in a Natural Resources Committee hearing, and co-sponsored another Pacific bipartisan bill on education policy. The hearing of the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife is an important step in advancing these bills forward for a vote.

Congresswoman Amata is an original co-sponsor (one of two Republicans and two Democrats) of the bipartisan Young Fishermen’s Development Act, H.R. 1240, which would strengthen the future of fishing in American Samoa, and promote the development of the next generation of commercial fishermen with federal grant support.

For the first time ever, this legislation would create a national grant program through the Department of Commerce that would improve training, education, and workplace development for the next generation of commercial fishermen.

“Fishing is the backbone of our economy in American Samoa,” said Aumua Amata. “This program will help ensure that our young fishermen are equipped and prepared for the dynamic 21st century world. This effort can assist young commercial fishermen in overcoming challenges, by providing resources and emphasizing training for better-paying jobs.”

Additionally, she is an original co-sponsor of the American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act, HR 1218, which would add options for research and development grants related to fisheries. Also, this bill would clarify more balanced representation for the region on the American Fisheries Advisory Committee, leading to better input from the Pacific region.

Finally, Congresswoman Amata also cosponsored a bipartisan bill, the National Sea Grant College Program Amendments Act of 2019, HR 2405, introduced by Chairman Jared Huffman (D-CA) of the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife. This effort promotes studies, courses and educational programs related to ocean and marine topics.

Read the full release at Samoa News

‘Desperately needed’: Congress OKs more than $29 million in disaster relief for California fisheries

May 1, 2019 — It’s taken four years but fishermen along California’s North Coast who have seen crab and salmon seasons truncated and even closed altogether will finally see some relief after $29.65 million in federal disaster relief funding was approved by Congress.

It was in the 2015-16 year the Dungeness crab fishery and the Yurok Chinook salmon fishery both collapsed due to poor water quality. Despite $200 million in relief funding made available in 2018, the release of the money was delayed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and it took a letter from U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman and Rep. Jackie Speier to get the ball rolling again last year.

“We’ve been waiting almost two years since these funds were made available by appropriations from Congress,” said Noah Oppenheim, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman’s Association on Monday. “These funds have been desperately needed for a long time and the crab fishermen are already experiencing another severe hardship with whale entanglements and the funds are needed more now than they were before.”

Oppenheim said local crab fishermen will see anywhere from $22,000 to $45,000 depending on the size of their operation and it’s not as if someone has hit the lottery, this is money that will be used on the basics and the bare necessities.

Read the full story at the Santa Cruz Sentinel

Five US House Democrats get behind tariff-relief bill for fishermen

July 30, 2018 — In the same week that President Donald Trump announced his plan to offer land farmers in the US $12 billion to help compensate for losses suffered as a result of his trade scuffles with China and other nations, a small group of Democrats in the House of Representatives have put forth a plan to help fishermen.

HR 6528, introduced Wednesday by Massachusetts representative Seth Moulton, would amend a provision contained in the Magnuson Stevens Act that allows for the government to make money available to harvesters in the case of a natural or man-made disaster. It would add language that clarifies that such funds can also be used in the case of “unilateral tariffs imposed by other countries on any United States seafood.”

Co-sponsors of the bill include representatives Chellie Pingree of Maine, Stephen Lynch and William Keating, both of Massachusetts, Jared Huffman of California, and Raul Grijalva of Arizona.

Pingree, an organic farmer, has been particularly vocal about the president’s tough trade stance, writing letters to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and US Trade Representative.

“Farmers haven’t been the only ones to suffer the consequences of the Trump administration’s sloppy trade actions,” she said in a statement issued this week.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

House Passes MSA Reauthorization with Support of NCFC Members

July 13, 2018 — The following was released by Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities:

Yesterday the House passed H.R. 200, the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act, which modifies and reauthorizes the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Members of Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities from around the country have been invested in improving MSA for years, and weighed in with their comments and concerns at various points in this process.

Many of these concerns were addressed during the committee process and in the discussion of amendments. Several Members of Congress cited support from NCFC members for the bill during the debate on the House floor.

From Rep. Bradley Byrne of Alabama:

Let me tell you, there are over 170 groups that have signed on to being supportive of this bill. I do not have time to read all the names to you, but let me just read a few: the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation…the National Coalition for Fishing Communities…and the Guy Harvey Foundation. This is a very broadly, deeply supported bill among people who are actually fishing. Now, it may not be supported by people who don’t fish and who don’t know anything about fishing, but for those of us who do fish…we like it.

From Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana:

…Mr. Chairman, this bill is bipartisan. It’s why we have bipartisan support for this legislation. We have co-sponsors. It’s why the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, the National Coalition for Fishing Communities…American Scallop Association, Garden State Seafood Association, West Coast Seafood Processors Association, North Carolina Fisheries Association, Florida Keys Commercial Fishing Association, Gulf Coast Seafood Alliance, Southeastern Fisheries Association and many, many others that have a genuine stake in the sustainability of our fisheries [support this legislation].

In the debate over a proposed amendment from Reps. Jared Huffman of California and Alcee Hastings of Florida that would be detrimental to commercial fishing, Rep. Don Young of Alaska, author of the bill, quoted from a letter signed by several of our members and submitted the day before the vote. The amendment was ultimately defeated.

According to a letter authorized by the National Coalition for Fishing Communities…I want to submit for the record, if I could, the letter to the leadership of the House and to myself where they say… “We believe it will undermine the MSA, impede reforms that are desperately needed, and attack jobs in coastal communities around the country, including California and Florida,” the home states of Mr. Huffman and Mr. Hastings. I suggest this amendment is uncalled for and frankly will gut the bill and the MSA, period.

House votes to overhaul fishery management law

July 12, 2018 — The House on Wednesday passed controversial legislation that aims to overhaul how the federal government manages the nation’s fisheries.

The measure would make significant changes to a 1976 law that’s been credited with boosting fish stocks through restrictions on overfishing, among other successes.

The GOP-backed bill would give more authority to local fishery councils to set fishing standards such as limits and seasons. It would allow for longer timelines for species recovery, or no timelines at all in some circumstances, and let fishery councils use alternative standards for measuring the health of a fishery.

The legislation, which passed in a 222-193 vote, is supported by recreational fishing groups and opposed by conservationists and major commercial fishing organizations who argue that it would threaten sustainable fishing practices that have helped revitalize many important species.

“I’m proud to say that my bill protects our commercial and recreational fisheries’ interests and allow councils to do their jobs in a more streamlined and effective manner,” Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), the bill’s sponsor, said on the House floor.

“This legislation is written for fishermen, to ensure that they are able to catch sustainable yields of fish for the communities,” he added. “It is critical for the protection of coastal communities and for allowing the stakeholders to be part of the management of fisheries.”

While Republicans applauded the success of the existing law, they also said it is time to add more “flexibility” for local officials, and argued the bill wouldn’t threaten fisheries.

Read the full story at The Hill

Eleven of 27 Amendments Proposed for Magnuson Reauthorization Bill HR 200 Could Go to House Vote

June 28, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — An anticipated House of Representatives floor vote on H.R. 200, the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act, was delayed Tuesday. More than 25 amendments were proposed for the bill reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. It went to the Rules Committee instead.

The Rules Committee held a hearing Monday night and passed a rule to provide a structured amendment process for floor consideration. The rule included 11 of the 27 amendments.

H.R. 200, sponsored by Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, was the primary bill proposed to re-authorize the Magnuson-Stevens Act. It garnered both strong support and strong opposition.

Opponents blanketed Capitol Hill offices and committees with reasons why the bill should not pass. At the same time, many Democratic lawmakers proposed amendments or changes, some that could fundamentally change Young’s original bill.

Outside supporters and lawmakers were also busy lining up votes and proposing amendments to the bill.

By Monday night, 27 amendments had been submitted: 16 from Democrats and 7 from Republicans; four were bi-partisan. Five were revised amendments and four were submitted late, after the 10 a.m. Monday deadline.

California Democrat Jared Huffman led the opposition to H.R. 200. Both he and Young were the invited witnesses to the Rules Committee hearing Monday evening.

Young, one of the creators of the first Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976, said he recognizes the successes this bill and subsequent reauthorizations have made over the years and that he, better than anyone, understands what else is needed to protect fish stocks while helping communities. “This legislation is dear to my heart,” Young said during the Rules Committee hearing.

Young also referred to recent lawmakers proposing changes to the bill as “Johnny-come-latelys” who don’t understand the fundamentals of the language that protects the stocks while balancing communities’ needs. The proposed bill was made with the suggestions from regional Councils and scientists, Young said.

Huffman countered that several provisions in the bill would roll back fish stock protections and the current language doesn’t prevent overfishing. He also noted that all previous bills reauthorizing the Fishery Conservation and Management Act were bipartisan; this one isn’t he said. It passed out of committee on party lines, Huffman added.

To that end, Huffman proposed four amendments, one considered a substitution for the entire bill. That particular amendment was not included in the committee’s final rule

By the end of the hearing, the Rules Committee passed a rule that included 11 of the 27 amendments — also along party lines. If that rule also passes the House, only those 11 amendments can be considered when H.R. 200 comes up for a floor vote again.

Those amendments, in order, include:

1. A revised manager’s amendment by Young and Rep. Garret Graves, R-La. It revises some sections and adds a new section regarding the Western Alaska Community Development Quota Program;

2. An amendment to create an industry-based pilot trawl survey for the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council regions (Reps. Joe Courtney, D-Conn. and Lee Zeldin, R-NY);

3. A provision for a voting representative from Rhode Island on the MAFMC (Reps. Jim Langevin and David Cicilline, D-RI);

4. An amendment ensuring rebuilding plans are successful in rebuilding overfished fish stocks (Reps. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., and Alcee Hastings, D-Fla.);

5. Waiving compensatory mitigation requirements for maintenance dredging projects in certain waterways (Reps. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., and Daniel Webster, R-Fla.);

6. Requiring the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the resource rent of Limited Access Privilege Programs in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery Management Council areas (Rep. Garret Graves, R-La.);

7. A plan to establish fully operational electronic monitoring and reporting procedures for the Northeast Multispecies Fishery (Rep. William Keating, D-Ma.);

8. A requirement for NOAA to conduct a study on all fees it charges the lobster industry and report those findings to Congress (Rep. Bruce Poliquin, R-Maine);

9. Lifting the ban on striped bass fishing in the Block Island transit zone between Montauk, NY and Block Island, RI (Rep. Zeldin, R-NY);

10. Directing the Secretary of Commerce to use funds collected from penalties and fines for monitoring, in addition to traditional enforcement activities (Rep. Keating); and

11. Rewarding the elimination of lionfish from US. waters by allowing individuals to exchange lionfish for tags authorizing fishing for certain species in addition to the number of such species otherwise authorized to be taken by such individuals (Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.)

Some of the amendments that didn’t pass muster in the Rules Committee included refinancing a Pacific Coast groundfish buyback loan; two amendments related to sharks and shark finning; a prohibition on offshore drilling In essential fish habitat areas on Atlantic and Pacific coasts; additional funding for stock assessments; two amendments related to aquaculture; and more.

The earliest the committee’s rule and H.R. 200, with the 11 amendments, is likely come up on the House floor for a vote is the week of July 11. However, it may be delayed again if appropriations bills are ready in the next week and a half.

This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

Huffman Applauds Allocation of $29 Million in Fisheries Disaster Relief Funds

June 21, 2018 — North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman announced today that the federal government has allocated $25.8 million in disaster assistance to those affected by the 2015-2016 closure of California’s commercial Dungeness and rock crab fisheries and another $3.9 million to the Yurok Tribe stemming from the collapse of the fall Chinook fishery in 2016.

“For far too long, the North Coast has been waiting for this federal support to relieve the economic burden from several disastrous fishing seasons,” Huffman said in a statement. “I know that the path to recovery for our fishing communities is long but I’m grateful to see some help is finally on the way.”

The federal allocation from Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross comes after Congress passed a bipartisan budget deal in February that provided $200 million in fishery disaster relief.

Read the full story at the North Coast Journal

Lori Steele: Flexibility with Choke Species Key Issue for Magnuson, Seafood News Missed the Mark

January 3, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The following is a letter form Lori Steele, the Executive Director of the West Coast Seafood Processors Association, responding to the Seafood News story, “MSA Reauthorization Veers From Core Principles After House Committee Vote; Would Allow Overfishing,” originally published on December 19, 2017:

Your story on Dec. 19, 2017, “MSA Reauthorization Veers From Core Principles After House Committee Vote; Would Allow Overfishing,” contains some questionable statements, particularly the suggestion that core principles of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) are being eroded by the changes proposed in the House bill, H.R. 200, the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act.

The assertion that, “changing words like ‘to the extent possible’ to ‘to the extent [practicable]’ when rebuilding stocks” will make the MSA weaker and less precise is incorrect and disingenuous. The West Coast Seafood Processors Association (WCSPA), along with the majority of the U.S. seafood industry, has supported this change through several MSA reauthorization bills over the last few years. The inclusion of this in H.R. 200 should be viewed as a success. This change will not compromise or weaken the effectiveness of the MSA; rather, it will help to truly fulfill one of the fundamental and original goals of the MSA, emphasized in National Standard 1, the Act’s guiding principle – to prevent overfishing while achieving, on a continuing basis the optimum yield from each fishery. From its beginning, the MSA has conserved, protected, rebuilt, and sustained our nation’s marine resources. As we move forward with this reauthorization, we have an opportunity to better conserve, protect, and sustain the people, the economies, the culture, and the communities that rely upon healthy and abundant fisheries.

Case in Point: The Pacific Fishery Management Council faced a situation like this in 2013 with rebuilding plans for two rockfish stocks. At that time, allowing 30-mt increase in the ACL of a single rockfish species while achieving rebuilt status in December of that year – vs. January of that same year – would have provided for another few hundred tons of associated rockfish landings. While the dockside landed value of those fish may not have been viewed as significant, the indirect value was enormous: Having more incidental species available would have provided additional opportunity for commercial, sport, and tribal harvesters to access abundant stocks of fish that currently go unharvested due to the choke species effect. In turn, local vessels would have had another few weeks on the water, processors would have had longer seasons, consumers would have had more healthy domestic seafood – all without any risk to the status of the rebuilding rockfish species. Yet, the interpretation of the law required selection of a rebuilding time that would be as short as possible, not as short as practicable.

Simply changing the terminology from “possible” to “practicable” in the rebuilding requirements of the MSA would provide Councils much needed flexibility and the option to choose between several rebuilding scenarios to achieve specified conservation and management objectives, not just the shortest and most harmful to fishing communities. This change could benefit coastal communities without undermining any conservation and stock rebuilding objectives. The Councils would be able to exercise some reasonable judgment so they could, for example, allow a fish stock to be rebuilt in December rather than January, which were the choices available for canary rockfish in the above example.

We certainly agree that there is a need to work towards a more bipartisan bill, but just as Rep. Huffman stated, the one sticking point is “how the bill dealt with annual catch limits and the rebuilding framework under Magnuson.” This is indeed a “big deal,” and it’s exactly why the industry must stand behind the elements of H.R. 200 that provide much-needed flexibility to the Councils to better meet the standards set forth in the Act while also better meeting the socioeconomic needs of regional fisheries and fishing communities.

I hope that seafoodnews.com will support the U.S. fishing industry with this effort. Thank you for your consideration of my perspective.

Sincerely,

Lori Steele

This letter originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.