Huffman Leads Bipartisan Effort to Support Fishermen, Protect Food Supply Chain
Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA), Chair of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, along with Representatives Garret Graves (R-LA), Steven M. Palazzo (R-MS), and Kurt Schrader (D-OR) led a bipartisan group of 45 Members of Congress in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy asking them to include urgently needed federal assistance for the American fishing and seafood industry in the next coronavirus relief measure. The effort to support this industry is bicameral, with Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) leading a similar letter in the Senate.
“The seafood industry is critical to local and regional economies across the country […and] is currently facing an unprecedented collapse in demand because of the novel coronavirus. We urge you to facilitate the government purchase of seafood products that would both ensure stability in this key sector and provide healthy, domestically produced food for Americans,” the members wrote. “We request that Congress appropriate and permit the Secretary to make funding available as soon as practicable to all fishery participants, including commercial and recreational fishing and seafood businesses that have been impacted by declines in tourism and the closure of restaurants and other food services industries.”
Specifically, Representative Huffman and his colleagues called for at least $2 billion for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to purchase domestically harvested and processed seafood products to be distributed through food assistance programs, as the agency does for agricultural products. They also requested an additional $1.5 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to provide direct relief to fishery participants impacted by coronavirus.
In addition to Representatives Jared Huffman (D-CA), Garret Graves (R-LA), Steven M. Palazzo (R-MS), and Kurt Schrader (D-OR), the letter was signed by Representatives Suzzane Bonamici (D-OR), G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Salud Carbajal (D-CA), Ed Case (D-HI), David N. Ciciline (D-RI), Charlie Crist (D-FL), Joe Cunningham (D-KY), Peter A. DeFazio (D-OR), Suzan K DelBene (D-WA), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Jared Golden (D-ME), Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR), Andy Harris (R-MD), Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), Denny Heck (D-WA), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), Pramilla Jayapal (D-WA), William R. Keating (D-MA), Joseph P. Kennedy, III (D-MA), Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Elaine G. Luria (D-VA), Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL), Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), Gregory F. Murphy (R-NC), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), David Rouzer (R-NC), Donna E. Shalala (D-FL), Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ), Darren Soto (D-FL), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Gergory Steube (R-FL), Thomas R. Suozzi (D-NY), Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Filemon Vela (D-TX), Randy K. Weber (R-TX), Robert J. Wittman (R-VA), Ted S. Yoho (R-FL), Don Young (R-AK), Lee Zeldin (R-NY).
The full letter can be found here.
