The Department of Commerce has the authority to distribute fishery relief funds once the funds have been appropriated by Congress.
December 20, 2012 — A bipartisan group of twenty members of Congress from eight states wrote today to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies to request that the supplemental appropriations bill for relief from Hurricane Sandy also include funding for federal fisheries disaster relief. The Department of Commerce has the authority to distribute fishery relief funds once the funds have been appropriated by Congress.
Writing that natural events have caused the Commerce Department to issue fishery disaster declarations in nine states, the authors state that "we strongly believe that inclusion of this funding will help fishing communities respond and recover from these disasters and help mitigate the effects of future disasters."
The request cites four separate natural events that led to the disaster declaration. These include the the collapse of the New England multispecies groundfishery and the Alaska chinook salmon fishery, despite adherence to strict conservation measures. Hurricane Sandy led to the disaster declarations in New York and New Jersey, while flooding from the Mississippi River caused a disaster declaration for Mississippi's oyster and blue crab fisheries.
Concluding that "the losses that these disasters have caused for the recreational and commercial fishing industries as well as by the communities that rely on them as economic engines have been devastating," the letter asked for urgent action by including fishery relief in any comprehensive disaster appropriations bill.
The signatories of the letter are below:
Frank Pallone Jr. (D, NJ)
Michael Grimm (R, NY)
Edward J. Markey (D, NY)
Don Young (R, AK)
Timothy H. Bishop (D, NY)
Peter T. King (R, NY)
Rush Holt (D, NJ)
Frank C. Guinta (R, NH)
Maurice Hinchey (D, NY)
Rosa L. Delauro (D, CT)
Barney Frank, (D, MA)
Michael H. Michaud (D, ME)
John F. Tierney (D, MA)
Chellie Pingree (D, ME)
William Keating (D, MA)
Stephen Lynch (D, MA)
Joe Courtney (D, CT)
Niki Tsongas (D, MA)
David N. Cicilline (D, RI)
James R. Langevin (D, RI)
Read the letter here