John Kerry: “I am pleased to bring this legislation to the Senate floor and I hope my colleagues will join us in supporting the…”

“I am pleased to bring this legislation to the Senate floor and I hope my colleagues will join us in supporting the important initiative to establish a new regime to protect marine mammal stocks during their interactions with commercial fishing operations. The bill before us today is a bipartisan effort that is the product of many months of hard work. This substitute amendment to S. 1636 is the result of extensive discussions with and comments from the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Marine Mammal Commission, conservation and animal protection groups and the fishing industry. All have worked tirelessly to meet the April 1, 1994 statutory deadline and I believe we will achieve that goal. The bill before us has the backing of the vast majority of those groups involved in its development. The Department of Commerce's lead agency, the National Marine Fisheries Service [NMFS] supports this proposal. We have worked closely with the Marine Mammal Commission. Additionally, the fishing industry and a large number of environmental organizations including the Center for Marine Conservation, the World Wildlife Fund, the Audubon Society, and the Marine Mammal Center, among others, endorse this effort as well.”