Political Quotes

“I am delighted to cosponsor Senator Kerry's important amendment which would provide necessary assistance to a collapsing commercial groundfish fishery. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it. This amendment addresses a very serious problem facing the Northeast, a collapse of its groundfish fishery. This fishery provided over 80 million pounds of food for our Nation last year. This collapse is comparable to a crop failure and is equally deserving of our assistance. The Federal Government has issued three times the number of permits as the fishery can sustain. The fishermen are now being held accountable for the government's actions and subjected to draconian management measures as a result. We need to help them permanently remove some of this extra capacity. In particular, the fishermen who rely on catching cod and other groundfish are in need of assistance. This amendment provides $10 million in disaster assistance for these commercial fisherman. It will bring much needed help to those fishermen who need and more importantly want help. As a voluntary program, this amendment will extend a helping hand to those fishermen who wish to make a transition and permanently exit the multispecies groundfish fishery in the Northeast by giving the Federal Government the means to provide assistance. Additionally, I have worked with Senator Kerry to develop language that ensure the equitable and efficient distribution of this aid.”