Political Quotes

“I rise today as a cosponsor of S. 1636, the Marine Mammal Protection Act Amendments of 1994. This bill reflects a bipartisan effort and many months of discussions and drafting that included the Congress, the environmental and conservation groups, and the fishing industry. All participants are to be praised for their achievement in crafting this very balanced bill that improves the program to reduce the incidental taking of marine mammals in the course of commercial fishing operations. If this bill is not passed by Congress and signed by the President by April 1, the commercial fishing industry will simply come to a halt because the industry will have no exemption from its unavoidable interactions with marine mammals while fishing. The economic impacts would be dire for my State and for the Nation. The bill also includes incidental take reduction plans for stocks in need. It takes into account the limited funding available by addressing those stocks in the greatest peril first. Also, an excellent and realistic change has been made to address problems fishermen have had with the present cumbersome reporting system. The act now directs the reporting process to be done simply by a postage paid card or by computer within 48 hours, rather than requiring fishermen to keep logbooks throughout the season.”