Speech #1000143282

I believe this new restriction on doing rebuilding and conversion work in foreign yards is desirable because the overall economic health of our shipbuilding industry is so important. not only to a healthy fishing and maritime industry. but to our national defense as well. Further. the bill provides for the application of the U.S. Immigration laws to the offshore fishing industry. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 represented a significant commitment by this Nation toward gaining control of our borders. and ending the economic exploitation of illegal aliens in this country. Many industries in this country are expending significant effort in bringing their operations into compliance with this new law. I believe that we can ask the same of the fishing industry. There are sufficient provisions in the immigration laws to allow the industry to hire foreign specialized technicians to run their processing equipment if appropriate American workers are not available. and I believe that this bill provides an adequate grace period for the offshore fleet to bring itself into compliance with these new regulations. Finally. the bill will contain an amendment providing that in order for a corporation to own a fishing. fish tendering. or fish processing vessel. that corporation must be under the majority control of American citizens. I must confess to having serious concerns about this provision.