Senator Chuck Schumer of New York has joined the bipartisan chorus willing to publicly question President Obama on his Administration's fisheries policy.
Senator Charles Schumer of New York minced no words in criticizing the Obama Administration for refusing to allow fishermen wronged by NOAA from appealing their cases to Special Master Charles Swartwood. Read Senator Schumer's press release and letter to Secretary Locke.
In a related expression of frustration by a senior Democrat, last Friday, Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts wrote directly to President Obama, asking that the President overrule a number of decisions by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, including the decision with which Senator Schumer expressed frustration today, which Governor Patrick described as adverse to the legitimate concerns of his constituents.
Last April, Senator Schumer obtained a commitment from Dr. Lubchenco, to visit with his constituents on Long Island. Dr. Lubchenco visited Eastern Long Island last August, and Senator Schumer expressed the hope at that time that Dr. Lubchenco would leave New York "with a greater understanding of how NOAA’s enforcement regime affects the bottom line of so many Long Island families and businesses."
While that and other visits by Dr. Lubchenco to the northeast have resulted in similar expressions of hope from elected officials, they have all been followed by expressions of frustration by the same officials who previously welcomed the Obama appointee to their communities.
Last March, Dr. Lubchenco visited Gloucester, Massachusetts and met with fishermen who Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk noted would soon face foreclosures, vessel repossessions and other economic hardships. A NOAA spokesperson at that time stated that Dr. Lubchenco “wants to strengthen communication between NOAA and commercial fishermen." However, months after that meeting, Mayor Kirk expressed frustration at the lack of progress made, and joined Mayor Scott Lang of New Bedford — America's most profitable seaport — in a lawsuit against NOAA which questioned the legitimacy of actions taken by her agency.
Mayor Lang has repeatedly expressed frustration that the "sector" version of the "catch share" fisheries management system embraced by Dr. Lubchenco and promoted strenuously by the Environmental Defense Fund has resulted in consolidation of the industry which has enhanced profits for larger fishing interests while hurting smaller working families in the industry. Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has noted that enhancing profits for larger corporate interests while hurting working families is not traditionally a value associated with liberal politics.
Mayor Lang has also expressed frustration that Freedom of Information Act requests for documents from NOAA have resulted in responses in which up to one third of the documents requested have been withheld. Mayor Lang has publicly noted that his requests were for documents related to fisheries management not national security.
In the summer of 2010, Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), John Tierney (D-Mass.) and Walter Jones (R-North Carolina) called for the resignation of Dr. Lubchenco as NOAA Administrator.
On Monday, Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass.) filed a bill that would require that actions taken by NOAA to regulate fisheries be subject to annual economic impact evaluations undertaken by non-Federal analysts.
Before being appointed by President Obama to her current position, Dr. Lubchenco served as vice-chair of board of the Environmental Defense Fund. Her deputy, Monica Medina, did legal work as a private sector attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund before joining Dr. Lubchenco at NOAA. Ms. Medina served as chair of Dr. Lubchenco's Catch Shares task force at NOAA.
Attorney Medina's husband, Ron Klain, recently stepped down as chief of staff to Vice President Biden. He accepted a position as president of Case Holdings, the investment company of former AOL chairman Steve Case. On Monday, the White House announced he White House announced the launch of the Startup America Partnership, chaired by Mr. Case.