Discussion · House of Representatives
Bruce Westerman Republican
“I want to pass this bill to protect our seafood industry. Stopping this work will cost 17,500 American jobs, hurt Maine's economy, and force us to buy more seafood from other countries.”
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am confused by arguments coming from the left. They started off today talking about high prices and the cost of food. What is their solution? They want to shut down another U.S. industry. They want to shut down seafood production. We are already 80 percent dependent on foreign imports. Their solution is to reduce penalties on Canada and other countries that are our seafood suppliers, shut down 17,500 American jobs, shut down a $2 billion industry in the State of Maine, and ship more of our money overseas to other countries and let them supply our seafood. They don’t have near the protections that we have for our other species. There is a lot of flawed logic in the argument that they are trying to make. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Golden), who understands Maine lobster fisheries more than anybody else probably in this town.”
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am confused by arguments coming from the left. They started off today talking about high prices and the cost of food. What is their solution? They want to shut down another U.S. industry. They want to shut down seafood production. We are already 80 percent dependent on foreign imports. Their solution is to reduce penalties on Canada and other countries that are our seafood suppliers, shut down 17,500 American jobs, shut down a $2 billion industry in the State of Maine, and ship more of our money overseas to other countries and let them supply our seafood. They don’t have near the protections that we have for our other species. There is a lot of flawed logic in the argument that they are trying to make. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Golden), who understands Maine lobster fisheries more than anybody else probably in this town.