Jones Calls for Change at NOAA

Press Release

This afternoon Congressman Walter B. Jones called for the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) -- Assistant Administrator Jane Lubchenco -- to step down. Citing the systemic issues identified by the Department of Commerce Inspector General's (IG) recent investigation into NOAA Fisheries Law Enforcement, and the unsatisfactory agency response to that investigation, Congressman Jones expressed the need for "new faces across the top of NOAA Fisheries."

"The IG's work makes it quite clear that NOAA Fisheries has been mismanaged for some time," stated Jones. "While Dr. Lubchenco has taken steps in the right direction, thus far they are insufficient to bring about the reform necessary to restore the taxpayer's trust in this agency. For example, it is very troubling that repeated requests from multiple members of Congress for a review of pending fisheries enforcement cases continue to be denied. The agency also continues to keep the Congress and the public in the dark as to the disposition of Dale Jones, the former Director of Fisheries Law Enforcement. Furthermore, the agency appears to be taking the position that the management personnel who created these problems should, for the most part, be in charge of attempting to fix them. I fundamentally disagree with that. The public is demanding accountability, and to this point the agency has not delivered it."

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