Testimony On The United We Fish Rally

Floor Speech

(Mr. BROWN of South Carolina asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Testimony On The United We Fish Rally

Mr. BROWN of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize fishermen from South Carolina who are traveling to Washington to participate in the United We Fish rally tomorrow. They will join thousands of fishermen from across the east coast to protest against the recent red snapper and shallow-water grouper ban and the proposed closing of nearly 10,000 square miles in the South Atlantic.

The current ban not only threatens the jobs of recreation and commercial fishermen, but also small business owners that rely on the recreational fishing industry in coastal communities. Extending the ban would create further economic hardships in South Carolina as we currently suffer from one of the top five unemployment rates in the Nation.

As a representative of 75 percent of the coastline of South Carolina, I will join my constituents at the United We Fish rally and push Congress to pass the Transparency in Job Loss from Fishery Closures Act of 2010, a comprehensive bill that instructs NOAA to reverse the harmful fisheries closures.

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