A bipartisan group from Congress is looking to cap the time federal officials have to make a determination on fishery disaster requests.
On Tuesday, 7 January, U.S. Representatives Jared Huffman (D-California) and Steven Palazzo (R-Mississippi) introduced the “Fishery Failures: Urgently Needed Disaster Declarations Act,” or Fishery FUNDD Act.
The bill would give the U.S. Commerce Secretary 120 days from either the receipt of the request or the close of the fishery season to consider the request. It also gives the government 90 days to begin disbursing funds.
It also allows for direct payments to affected members of an affected fishery’s community. Funding would also go toward habitat restoration, job training, public information campaigns, and measures to prevent future disasters…