Gerry Studds: “Mr. Speaker, I rise with mixed emotions to support the passage of this bill. The Magnuson Act was the first substantive…”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise with mixed emotions to support the passage of this bill. The Magnuson Act was the first substantive piece of legislation I coauthored when I came to Congress in 1973, the same year the gentleman from Alaska came. So it is somewhat fitting that it will also be one of the last bills in my career here. Mr. Speaker, the original Magnuson Act took 4 years of effort and negotiations, but finally, in 1976, H.R. 200 became law. At the time, the gentleman may recall, and those who are old enough to remember, it was intended to be an interim measure that would stay in place until the Law of the Sea was ratified. Instead, it has become the cornerstone of fisheries management in the United States. A year ago when the House began consideration to reauthorize the act, it was clear very major changes were needed. Despite numerous efforts to improve the law over the past two decades, the sad reality is that the act did not prevent the current crisis in New England groundfish stocks, a crisis for the conservation of both fish stocks and fishing families.”