“I want to talk about a bill. This bill will change rules about whales. I want the House to talk about this bill now.”
What they said. What they meant.
Plain-language translations from Congress.
Recent debates
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Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2026
13 statements
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2 statements
Honoring Former U.S. Representative Charles Hatcher of Georgia
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Recognizing Firefighters from California's Third Congressional District
17 statements
Saluting White Plains Beautification Foundation
2 statements
Celebrating Rural Lawyer Julie Bear
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Operation Midway Blitz Anniversary
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Catherine Watts Celebrates 100th Birthday
4 statements
House of Representatives
Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act of 2026
“I want the House to pass this bill about lobster fishing. Lobsters are important to Maine's economy. Lobster fishing is a tradition. Some groups want to regulate lobster fishing more. I think that is bad. I want the government to pause new rules on lobster fishing until 2035. This will give Maine and lobster fishermen more time to research and adapt.”
“I don't like this bill. I want NOAA to do more to protect whales. This bill gives NOAA too much time. Ropeless fishing gear can help. This bill will hurt the fishing industry in the long run. It undoes whale protections. It goes against the Endangered Species Act. I want my colleagues to vote against this bill.”
“I want this bill to pass. It helps the lobster industry in my district. The industry creates many jobs. I want to protect those jobs. I don't want more regulations on the lobster industry. I want to extend the current rules until 2035. That gives us more time to study the whales. Fishermen need stable rules. I want to protect both whales and the fishing industry. Some people don't like this bill. I don't care what they say. I will fight for the lobster industry in my district.”
“I want this bill to pass. It helps the lobster industry. Some people attacked me for supporting this bill. I don't care. I want my colleagues to support this bill.”
“I don't want this bill to pass. Some people agree with me. I want my colleagues to vote against this bill.”
“Some groups support this bill. I want my colleagues to vote for it. I say the current policy is working. There are more whales now. The current policy is an example of government and industry working together.”
“I support this bill. It will help lobster and crab fisheries. New rules almost shut them down. The old rules used bad data. Congress stopped new rules for 6 years. Now they need more time to get good data. The bill gives them time. It follows Trump's order about American seafood. We need time to study how wind farms affect whales and fish. Anyone who cares about them should support this. I thank my colleague for this good bill. I want everyone to vote yes.”
“I don't like this bill. I brought up something from 4 years ago to change the subject. I hope that people will be distracted by talking about that instead.”
“I want to talk about our policies. Our government is working on a system to find whales. Some technologies are ready. Some technologies need more time. I don't want to use ropeless gear now. Ropeless gear is not safe for lobstermen. This bill is good for lobstermen and whales.”
“I support this bill. It will delay new regulations. I think we need more time to make the right rules. I don't want these rules to hurt local economies and lobstermen. This bill will protect lobsters and whales. It's a good bipartisan bill. My friend Representative Golden wants this bill too. He's a good Democrat. I want this bill to pass.”
“I oppose this bill. It delays rules that protect whales. Whales are at risk. I want new rules now. The fishing industry needs to change. The current rules are enough time. Lobstermen have other problems. Tariffs and rising costs are bad for them. I don't like Trump's policies. They hurt the industry and environment. We need to help lobstermen and protect whales. I want a different plan.”
“I support this bill. It gives more time to use better science. The current rules are based on old information. We need to update them. NOAA and the state need to incorporate new data. The restrictions could hurt the lobster industry. Good regulation needs good science. This bill does not weaken protections. It gives time to improve the rules. I want my colleagues to support this bill.”
“I don't want this bill to pass. It stops our current plans. We already gave them 6 years. We spent $20 million on testing. They say they need more time. I don't agree. I think they are stalling. The Trump administration is not taking this seriously. They don't give us reports. They have 2 more years. They should use that time to do their job.”
“You are wrong. The other side wants to shut down our industry. They want to take away jobs from Americans. They want to buy seafood from other countries. That is bad. We should not do that. I yield time to an expert.”
“I argue for my bill. It will protect fishermen. It will not hurt whales. It will help Maine. It will help coastal towns. It will let us keep rules we have now. It will give us more time to use science. We should pass this bill.”
“I don't want to talk about the actual bill. I brought up something from 10 years ago to change the subject. I hope that people will be distracted by talking about that instead.”
“I am against this bill. It does not protect the whales. I think we can find a way to protect both whales and the fishing industry. The real problem is Trump's trade policies and high diesel prices. That hurts fishermen more. We need to stop these trade wars. They hurt our economy and raise costs for everyone. Let's consider the real impact on fishermen across the country. The bill does not address this. I will motion to stop the bill. I want an amendment about high costs for fishermen. This is what really matters. We need to bring down costs.”
“She wants to regulate more. I don't like that. If it moves, she wants to tax it. If it keeps moving, she wants to regulate it. If it stops, she wants to subsidize it. I don't want that. I want to protect jobs in Maine. There are 17,000 jobs there. She is wrong about the number of jobs. We need to help lobstermen now. More rules will not help them. More rules will make their life harder. That doesn't work. The current rules are working. We don't need more. I don't want more rules and taxes. I want to help lobstermen make a living.”
“I don't like my colleague's numbers. He said there were 30 whale deaths from fisheries. That's not true. I've been in Congress for 8 years. There has been only one whale death from Maine lobster fishing in that time. In the 20 or 30 years before that, there were none. My colleague's numbers are wrong. Ropeless gear is not ready yet. We are talking about a fishery that lands over 70 million pounds per year. Ropeless gear caught only a million pounds in the last 4 years. That's not enough. It's not ready. If we require ropeless gear now, it will shut down the fishery. I don't want that.”