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boats are already overburdened with debt. In those cases, more 

 debt isn't the answer. 



But even where more debt is possible, SBA's existing 

 programs, while well-intentioned, have been of little use thus far 

 - no matter how much our fishermen have wrestled with SBA 

 loan programs to make them part or all of a solution, it's been a 

 vain effort. 



Against this background, I welcomed Governor Weld's 

 initiative in seeking an Economic Injury Disaster Declaration 

 from SBA. The Governor's request captured two realities: 



first, fishing boats are hurting in the aftermath of 

 Amendments Five and Seven — and, please remember, each 

 fishing boat is a small business; 



second, run-of-the-mill SBA programs weren't doing the 

 trick — something more was needed. 



SBA's response? a denial of the Governor's request, based 

 on narrow legalistic interpretations of statutory definitions. Try 

 to sell this explanation to fishermen struggling to hold on: 



[t]here is no doubt that the fishing industry in 

 Massachusetts .. is hurting as a result of the closure of their 

 usual fishing grounds. However, that event is not a disaster 

 within the statutory definition.... 



