45 



unlike typical disclosure provisions, once this disclosure is made, 

 there is no requirement for the member to be recused, no matter 

 how directly he or she may benefit from the outcome of the issue 

 under consideration. 



I also offer suggestions on how to improve economic allocation 

 decisionmaking and to make the council process more accessible to 

 the general public. You will note that they all have a common 

 theme — restoring integrity and public confidence in our national 

 fisheries management system. 



I would be pleased to address any questions you may have about 

 the proposals in my prepared testimony and remarks this morning. 

 Again, thank you for the opportunity to address you. 



[The statement of Mr. Looney may be found at end of hearing.] 



Mr. M anton. Thank you, Mr. Looney. Your exhibits will be 

 made a part of the record. 



Mr. Jay Rasmussen. 



STATEMENT OF JAY RASMUSSEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, 

 OREGON COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION 



Mr. Rasmussen. Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, my 

 pleasure to be here and to represent Oregon's coastal communities. 

 I represent an association of 41 local coastal governments, counties, 

 cities, and ports along the Oregon coast. I am very pleased that you 

 are here in a field hearing, a rather unique circumstance for us all, 

 and I am particularly pleased to see that Congresswoman Furse is 

 a member of the committee. So welcome back to Oregon, even so 

 briefly. 



Very briefly today, and I am sitting here kind of at the end 

 thinking a moment ago that if this were a family, I would soon 

 learn to get to the table earlier, I would lose weight, something I 

 wanted to do, but I am stuck over here in the corner a little bit. I 

 hope you don't mind. 



Oregon's coastal communities only comprise roughly 10 percent 

 of the State's population, and the State's population is slightly one 

 percent of the national population, so it is essentially a very rural 

 area. It is an area also very heavily dependent, its industries, on 

 natural resources. 



On the Oregon coast in one case, for example, Astoria on the 

 mouth of the Columbia River, in Clatsop County, roughly 27 per- 

 cent of earned personal income is generated by the fishing indus- 

 try, or not generated by the fishing industry as times become diffi- 

 cult. 



I would like to speak to you today just about one issue. It came 

 out of the Pacific whiting issue problems this last year, and to 

 relate to you that the Oregon legislature in its wisdom here this 

 past session finally ending last week passed a memorial that seeks 

 some corrective mechanism, corrective changes to the Magnuson 

 Act. They come specifically, I guess, to the issue of fairness and 

 process. 



What the amendments do is suggest, and very similar to what I 

 think the councils will be suggesting or have already suggested, 

 that the Magnuson Act be amended to include regulatory amend- 

 ments as plan amendments in a time-ticking clock sequence. We 



