Tag Archives: President Obama

Editorial: Fishermen’s plight shows need for urgent fed response

gdt iconIt’s now been 10 months since the Department of Commerce’s then-Acting Secretary, the very aptly-named Rebecca Blank,,,,It’s been months since officials up to and including Gov. Deval Patrick pressed the White House to issue the needed executive order that could have eased the dire catch limits clamped on the fishing industry by NOAA Northeast Regional Administrator John Bullard that have, based on questionable science documentation, driven Gloucester’s and New England’s fishermen to their knees.,,,And for what it’s worth, it’s even been six weeks since Gloucester’s own Frances Ferrante, mother of state Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, got the chance at a Sen. Ed Markey rally to tell President Obama face-to-face, “we need you to help our fishermen in Gloucester, Massachusetts.” continued@GDT

You know we will,” the president responded.

Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk eyes plan for fishing ‘transition’

gdt iconThe fishing industry, its advocates in Congress, notably Rep John Tierney, whose district includes Gloucester. Attorney General Martha Coakley and Gov. Deval Patrick have carried out an escalating effort to obtain federal fisheries disaster relief for the fleet — at a price tag $100 million — but have been unable to win the support of President Obama. A direct appeal by the governor to Valeria Jarrett, a senior White House advisor to the president, fell on deaf ears. continued

Gov. gets deaf ear from White House on fisheries as Valerie Jarrett, a senior advisor to President Obama Dummies Up!

gdt iconValerie Jarrett, a senior advisor to President Obama, has declined to explain why the White House turned a deaf ear to the pleas of Gov. Deval Patrick for relief from what Patrick told her were “impending drastic cuts” in landings allowed the groundfishing fleet concentrated in his state. continued

A little bit about the gal overseeing our industry – she ain’t real people! Obama’s priorities are not what’s in the public interest.

AlterNet – Obama Embraces Plutocrats Again With His Billionaire Commerce Secretary Choice – May 6, 2013  President Obama has let the public down once again with his pick for Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, the billionaire businesswoman who led the national 2008 fundraising effort that kept the Obama campaign’s hopes alive and catapulted him to the White House. continued

 

Billionaire Penny Pritzker, daughter of the co-founder of the Hyatt hotel chain and a real estate investor, pick for Commerce Secretary.

washingtonpost.com – President Obama named two long-term aides to his Cabinet on Thursday, rounding out the list of senior advisers who will help him lead during his second term. Now, only three of the 28 top Cabinet-level, White House adviser and senior agency leader jobs are held by people rumored to be leaving or for whom nominations have not yet been made. continued

60 Massachusetts Lawmakers urge Governor Patrick to seek fishing aid from Obama, his personal friend from their Chicago days

A group of more than 60 state lawmakers, including many with districts far from the sea, asked Gov. Deval Patrick Thursday to appeal directly to President Obama, his personal friend from their Chicago days, to grant emergency relief from impending cutbacks in commercial fishery landings widely feared to render the commercial fishing industry “non-viable.”President Obama has kept a stony silence in the face of the growing crisis once he appointed Lubchenco to administer the nation’s oceans and fisheries. And he failed to respond to requests for her dismissal from Reps. Barney Frank, John Tierney, Walter Jones and Sen. Scott Brown. Frank, now retired, and Tierney, whose district includes Gloucester, are Democrats. Jones, who represents the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and Brown, defeated last November by Democrat Elizabeth Warren, are Republicans. continued

Liz Warren declines to accept Barney Frank’s proposal to press President Obama for relief for the fishing industry

“Senator Warren appreciated the opportunity to meet with fishermen, family members, local small business owners, and advocates earlier this week in Gloucester and New Bedford to talk about the future of the New England fishing industry,” said Bruno Freitas, a senior advisor to Warren who, for many years, served as Frank’s fisheries advisor. “It’s clear that the rules that are in place are not working for fishermen or their families. ”Senator Warren will use the tools she has available to provide them the help they need,” Freitas’ statement continued. “She has worked closely with Congressman Frank on this and other issues, and she will continue developing a strategy to most effectively assist Massachusetts fishermen.” Read more

Video of Richard Burgess,  “the entire fishery between the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank, whether it’s big boats or small boats, will be entirely put out of business.” Burgess concluded the segment with a renewed call for fishery disater relief for the region. “We’d like to see President Obama step in and help this Northeast region with disaster relief immediately, because we’ve got mennow that have not had paychecks in months,” he said. Watch video

Senators press for fish disaster aid – Northeast groundfishery, blue crab and oyster fishery of Mississippi, Chinnock salmon fishery of Alaska

”We believe that it is the responsibility of the administration, after declaring these disasters, to request the funding to respond to them,” the senators wrote. “Until funding is made available for these declarations, the affected fishermen will continue to struggle during a critical time of need. For those that are suffering and the fishing communities they live in, time is of the essence. They simply cannot wait for another funding cycle for help to arrive.”

Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Charles Schumer and Kirstin Gillibrand of New York, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Mark Begich of Alaska,Elizabeth Warren and William Cowan, Susan Collins of Maine, Thad Cochran  and Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska., Independent Angus King.

In the House, Congressman John Tierney, whose district includes all of Cape Ann, announced Friday an agreement with a bipartisan group of lawmakers on a different solution the same problem. Joining him in the initiative were Congressmen Ed Markey, William Keating, and Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, Walter Jones, a North Carolina Republican, and David Cicilline and Jim Langevin, Rhode Island Democrats.

Read more here

Editorial: IG’s NOAA report puts onus on the White House

Let’s face it, NOAA chief administrator Jane Lubchenco has shown nothing but contempt for Congress and for America’s fishermen since President Obama plopped her into the top NOAA seat in 2009 to do the bidding of the Environmental Defense Fund and other nonprofit giants. http://www.gloucestertimes.com/opinion/x2120614248/Editorial-IGs-NOAA-report-puts-onus-on-the-White-House

National ocean policy sparks partisan fight National ocean policy sparks partisan fight. Wrong, Juliet. It’s non partisan.

Check the Links

Partisan battles are engulfing the nation’s ocean policy, showing that polarization over environmental issuesdoesn’t stop at the water’s edge. For years, ocean policy was the preserve of wonks. But President Obama created the first national ocean policy, with a tiny White House staff, and with that set off some fierce election-year fights. Conservative Republicans warn that the administration is determined to expand its regulatory reach and curb the extraction of valuable energy resources, while many Democrats, and their environmentalist allies, argue that the policy will keep the ocean healthy and reduce conflicts over its use.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/national-ocean-policy-sparks-partisan-fight/2012/10/28/af73e464-17a7-11e2-a55c-39408fbe6a4b_story.html