Political Quotes

“I wanted to come down and speak today about a very important sector of the economy for Alaska and for America--that is, our fishermen--and some important, very bipartisan legislation that I am trying to move right now that I am hopeful everybody can agree to. The Senate has agreed to it previously, and I am really hopeful that we can do it again right now. I talk about the great State of Alaska being the superpower of seafood. Over 60 percent of all seafood--commercial, recreational-- harvested in America comes from my great State. Sixty percent. So this is a vital industry in my State but also a vital industry in the country. As my colleagues know, our fishermen are some of the hardest working Americans. They are also some of the Americans who have been hit the hardest by this pandemic. The Saltonstall-Kennedy Act helps these hard- working men and women across the country by providing consistent funding for fisheries research and development and related programs, grant programs--very popular. Decades ago, Congress authorized a group of experts from all around the country--Alaska, the east coast--and vessel owners, fishermen, and distributors to advise the Secretary of Commerce on how to distribute these funds. It makes sense. They are the closest to the action. Over time, unfortunately, this group was disbanded. Nobody thought that was a good idea--abolishing this advisory committee.…”