Tag Archives: Senate Commerce Committee
Report on Fishery Failures: Urgently Needed Disaster Declarations Act, S. 2346
Purpose of the Bill: The purpose of S. 2346, the Fishery Failures: Urgently Needed Disaster Declarations Act, is to clarify and expedite the disaster declaration process, establish certain deadlines for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), reduce delays, and clarify eligibility for assistance to ensure that charter, recreational, and Tribal fishers have access to disaster funds. Additionally, the bill would provide employment opportunities for fishery employees displaced by a fishery disaster by prioritizing their hiring to undertake restoration, conservation, and other fishery rebuilding activities funded by disaster relief funds. >click to read< 09:22
Senate panel clears Trump’s nominee for NOAA
The Senate Commerce Committee voted Wednesday to move forward with the nomination of Barry Myers to be head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The 14-13 vote, along party lines, puts Myers in a position for a vote in the full Senate. Myers was until recently the CEO of AccuWeather Inc., which he founded with his brother. The weather forecasting company provides products similar to some NOAA services such as the National Weather Service, leading to concerns among Democrats that Myers is unacceptably conflicted. click here to read the story 14:30
“I feel like we’re putting the Russians to work and American fishermen out of work,” Kieth Colburn
Speaking before the Senate Commerce Committee, Colburn said the furloughs of staff from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration mean they won’t be around to assign quotas before the start of Alaska’s crab fishing season next week. The quota assignments, required for all fishermen in the area, are doled out to prevent overfishing, with each fisherman entitled to a percentage of the total catch. [email protected] 23:04
