Speech #1140028097

We have a lot of interest in protecting our fishing stock as well. But I would be proud to be able to bring forth some of the priorities that I hear from my constituents that are so critical. Rather than continually bringing up bills that attack the integrity of our environmentin this case. a bill that would gut the fisheries protections that have been afforded under the MagnusonStevens Act and that both sides have acknowledged have successfully helped restore the red snapper populationI would hope that perhaps our next rule will allow us to raise the minimum wage. that perhaps our next rule will allow us to consider immigration reform. that perhaps our next rule will help us deal with the bullying in schools. that perhaps our next rule will save lives and prevent future derailments. and so many other issues. I say to my colleagues that this particular bill needs to go back to the drawing board. It needs to go back to the drawing board to have a bipartisan effort in a committee I serve on. the Natural Resources Committee. to include priorities from both sides and good science and continue to build upon the legacy of success that the 2007 bipartisan reauthorization of the MagnusonStevens Act has had in increasing the health of our wild fishing stocks.