TranslatePolitics.com

Recent debates

8 latest topics

09-03 Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2026 13 statements 09-03 Moment of Silence in Honor of the 25th Anniversary of September 11 2 statements 09-03 Honoring Former U.S. Representative Charles Hatcher of Georgia 2 statements 09-03 Recognizing Firefighters from California's Third Congressional District 17 statements 09-02 Saluting White Plains Beautification Foundation 2 statements 09-02 Celebrating Rural Lawyer Julie Bear 4 statements 09-02 Operation Midway Blitz Anniversary 2 statements 09-02 Catherine Watts Celebrates 100th Birthday 4 statements

House of Representatives

Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act of 2026

2026-09-01 Issue 138 Showing 21–23 of 23

Official Congressional Record ↗

Jared Huffman

Democrat 4:10 p.m.

“I want the government to spend money on fishing technology. I don't like this bill. It will not help the whales. The government should spend more money to help the whales and fishermen. I think ropeless gear is good. The government should give money to fishermen for ropeless gear. I don't want this bill to pass. It will not help the whales. The government should do more to help whales and fishermen.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, the data--31 deaths or serious injuries from entanglements since 2022--comes from NOAA. It is available to Democrats and Republicans alike. Mr. Speaker, I urge this body to reject H.R. 9436. This bill moves the goalposts and risks the extinction of an iconic whale that calls our Nation's Atlantic waters home. Instead of taking the next 2 years to address the progress that has been made and additional policy levers that may be necessary to support a thriving lobster fishery and recover the right whale, this bill legislates blindly. It throws away momentum amongst the States, tech companies, and many fishery participants, kicking the can down the road. This is a shame. I recognize that fishing communities around this country are facing extreme levels of uncertainty, and this administration is doing nothing to help. In the lobster fishery, families who have fished these waters for generations are asking questions about what comes next. H.R. 9436 presents a false choice between saving a native species and protecting their livelihoods. This delay would undermine massive public investment. Since 2022, Congress has devoted an estimated $280 million to right whale recovery. We are beginning to see results from these investments. Advancing monitoring technologies have improved mapping of right whale patterns. Vessels are using trackers to avoid conflicts and, most importantly for this debate, ropeless gear now has a near-perfect retrieval success record and a critical safety feature. The man overboard system is now open source technology for ropeless gear developers. By removing the 2029 regulatory backstop, this bill creates a permission structure that discourages fishery participants from engaging in cooperative research to obtain the answers they say are needed. Worse, it punishes the forward-thinking fishermen who have spent money and time transitioning their gear in good faith. Lastly, the bill would extend that waiver without authorizing additional money. By delaying action until 2035 without any new funding, NOAA would need to write rules using obsolete data from the early 2020s. Democrats offered improvements to this bill to ensure that lobstermen and their families would get the support needed to confidently transition to this new gear, but Republicans rejected these improvements. Our suggestions would have authorized additional Federal investments for on-demand ropeless fishing technology to ensure fishermen can keep working, while removing the deadly vertical lines that entangle, injure, and kill these endangered whales. True leadership invests in modernizing our fisheries, not freezing our conservation laws in place while marine life pays the ultimate price. Allowing a species to go extinct on our watch is a moral failure that we cannot erase. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject this dangerous precedent, stand with science, and vote ``no'' on H.R. 9436. I yield back the balance of my time.

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Bruce Westerman

Republican 4:10 p.m.

“I went to Maine. I like lobster. Lobster is important in Maine. The government should help lobster fishermen. This bill will help. The government needs more time. The government should make rules to help the whales and the lobster fishermen. The government should use good science to make the rules. The Trump administration likes this bill. The government should pass this bill. It will help lobster fishermen and whales.”

Official Congressional Record

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, the legislation before us today would provide much- needed certainty to one of the United States' most important and iconic commercial fisheries, Maine lobster. When I visited that beautiful State, I loved what they call it there, lobstah. When you think of lobster, you think of something that is woven into the fabric of the history, the ambiance, the beauty of Maine. When people from other States think of Maine, a lot of times what comes to their mind is lobster. Passing this legislation will give NOAA more time to craft regulations to protect the North Atlantic right whale and will ensure that these regulations are based on the best available science and ensure long-term operational certainty for the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries. The legislation before us helps to advance the goals laid out in President Trump's executive order, ``Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness.'' The Trump administration has issued a Statement of Administration Policy expressing support for identical legislation, which I include in the Record. H.R. 8509--Amending the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 to Extend the Time Period for which Certain Regulations Concerning the North

View on ourcommons.ca ↗

Bruce Westerman

Republican 4:10 p.m.

“I thank my friends. I want this bill to pass. It will help lobster fishermen. The government should pass this bill.”

What they said. What they meant.

Recent debates