Kilmer Statement on Administration’s Inadequate Disaster Relief Request
PORT ANGELES, WA—Following Friday’s unveiling of the Trump Administration’s request for disaster funding which ignored fishing communities in the Pacific Northwest, Representative Derek Kilmer (D-WA) made the following statement:
“The Trump Administration’s request ignores a series of devastating natural disasters that have wreaked havoc on the livelihoods of folks in our fishing communities,” Rep. Derek Kilmer said. “Given the importance of our fisheries to this region’s economy, it’s a real disappointment that the administration is ignoring the needs of our communities rather than providing long-overdue relief.”
Last Thursday, Rep. Kilmer and Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler led a bipartisan plea to the Administration on behalf of fisheries communities. They requested the Administration provide relief in the supplemental disaster funding request. The group, who were joined by other members of the Washington delegation, pointed out the important role fisheries play in the region’s economy.
Earlier this year, Rep. Kilmer and Rep. Herrera Beutler successfully secured $20 Million for fisheries when the congress passed H.R. 3354 the Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act. More is needed to stem the tide of destruction caused by several algal blooms and an anomalous warm “blob” of water which caused mass fish and bird die-offs, whale strandings and other ecological destruction that devastated the Pacific Northwest’s fishing industry.
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