Jerry Brown: “Actually, the gentlewoman from Michigan made a number of points that I had intended to make with regard to the existing…”

“Actually, the gentlewoman from Michigan made a number of points that I had intended to make with regard to the existing management of the program which is conducted under a treaty agreement with Canada, with the State Department as the responsible party. One of the points that I intended to make and which she has already confirmed is that the committee's proposal could have serious negative impacts on the sea lamprey program. If the committee is insistent on changing the funding mechanism for the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission, a successful arrangement that has worked very well, we propose, and NOAA recommends, that changes be postponed until an arrangement that does not contravene the convention can be developed. I think this is a matter of sufficient importance, both because of the impact on the weather service and of course the impact of the offset which dealt with the sea lamprey program.”