73 



2404 Raybuan Building 



Washington. DC 20515-2104 



|202t 225-5931 



29 Crafts Street 



Newton. MA 02158 



(617) 332-3920 



Congress of tfje ®niteb States 

 ^ouse of ftepregentatibea 



SHasfiington, BC 



558 Pleasant Street 



Room 309 



New Bedford, ma 02740 



(5081999-6462 



222 MlLLIKEN Place 



Third FLOOR 



Fall River. MA 02721 



1508)674-3551 



89 Main Street 



Briocewater. MA 02324 



|508| 697-9403 



STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN BARNEY FRANK 



I am pleased to submit a statement to this hearing on the 

 plight of the fishing industry in Massachusetts. I am in strong 

 support of aid to the fishermen, and have worked hard for some 

 years now to provide as much support as possible from the Federal 

 Government to fishermen who find themselves trying to continue to 

 make a living under increasingly harsh restrictions on their 

 ability to fish. 



I am one who has strongly defended against the notion that 

 the Federal Government has a small or even no role to play in 

 aiding the fishermen. My consistent view is that it is a 

 responsibility of the Federal Government to protect citizens 

 against the vagaries of nature and to help in tough economic 

 situations. That is especially true in the case of the 

 fishermen, since the Federal Government played a role in helping 

 to create the overfishing which brought us to the situation we 

 face now. Therefore I believe strongly that there is an 

 essential role to play for the Federal Government in helping the 

 fishermen, and I would call attention to the disagreement I have 

 with those elected officials who advocate fewer and fewer 

 resources for the Federal Government to respond to the type of 

 emergency we face in Southeastern Massachusetts. 



I strongly support complete flexibility in the distribution 

 of Federal Government resources. After successfully securing a 

 package of direct aid from the Clinton Administration to the 

 fishermen, in the form of Economic Development Administration 

 money, Fishing Industry Grants, Fishing Obligation Guarantees, 

 two vessel buyout programs. Family Assistance Centers, 

 Saltonstall-Kennedy supplements, etc, I and other New England 

 Members have worked very hard to make sure that the Federal 

 Government's distribution of that money was not hampered by 

 irrelevant or onerous restrictions. I will continue to make that 

 case, and continue to press the Administration to provide needed 

 resources to the fishermen through every available avenue. 



