Steve Southerland: “You know, what's amazing is I always hear stuff that's not true. I was very clear. The letter that my colleague, Mr.…”

“You know, what's amazing is I always hear stuff that's not true. I was very clear. The letter that my colleague, Mr. Chairman, read, clearly stated that it would eliminate programs, catch share programs currently in bodies of water all around America; and that's just not true. That's not what it says. My amendment is crystal clear. New catch shares in New England, Mid- Atlantic, South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico--that's four bodies of water. Now, I also want to make it very clear that every time that opponents or proponents of catch share stand up they want to talk about commercial fishermen. And I have commercial fishermen in my district, and I'm concerned about our commercial fishing industry. But I'm also concerned about the individual freedoms and liberties of the American people, and the proponents of the catch share program never want to talk about the individual rights and freedoms of the American people. This is a public resource, a natural resource. This is not just for a small select group of commercial fishermen that are backed by very, very wealthy environmentalists to decide alone. This is an issue that is worthy for the American people to speak on. And this is the people's House. And so I stand here, yes, as a Member of the people's House, but I also stand here as someone who's lived on the Gulf of Mexico, as a family, for over 200 years. I know what I'm talking about. And you just quoted something that was untrue, Mr. Chairman, and I have a problem with that.…”