Political Quotes

“Today, I rise to urge my colleagues to support passage of H.R. 774, a bill that I sponsored. It is the Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Enforcement Act of 2015. H.R. 774 would strengthen enforcement mechanisms to combat IUU fishing, which threatens the economic and social infrastructure of our fishing communities and industry. IUU fishing also threatens the security of the United States and our allies. Countries like Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Palau have led the way in combating IUU fishing. I appreciate that the House is finally taking action that will help to demonstrate U.S. leadership on this important issue. IUU fishing costs our fishing industry over tens of billions of dollars over the years. This tremendous impact on fishing economies undermines their financial security and can destabilize regions. Additionally, in some cases, we have seen IUU fishing facilitates illegal human and wildlife trafficking. IUU is bad for our national security, and we must give U.S. authorities the tools to combat this illegal activity. {time} 1515 The bill would provide NOAA and the Coast Guard with much-needed tools to fight foreign illegal fishing. It would also implement the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate IUU fishing, a treaty ratified by the Senate that would set international standards for denying port entry and services to vessels that have engaged in illegal fishing.…”