Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. ZELDIN. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of my amendment to bar funding for the creation of any national marine monuments in the EEZ through Presidential proclamation. I do this on behalf of commercial fishermen on Long Island and throughout the Nation who, like so many other hardworking Americans, are increasingly under assault from the executive overreach of this administration.

This amendment uses the power of the purse to ensure the President does not abuse the Antiquities Act to lock out commercial fishermen from portions of the EEZ that contain essential fisheries. Any efforts to create a marine-protected area must be done through the transparent process laid out by Magnuson-Stevens, not through executive fiat that threatens to put thousands of hardworking men and women out of business.

The Antiquities Act has been an effective tool in the past to preserve historic sites like the Statue of Liberty, but the overly broad interpretation of this law held by the current administration is threatening to shut down thousands of square miles of ocean from fishing through a Presidential proclamation.

In the northwest Atlantic, ocean fishermen from my district and throughout this region work in some of the most productive fishing areas in the world. This area is currently under consideration for a marine monument designation with little public input and zero transparency. The concerns regarding the marine monument designations reach nationwide, where the administration's closed and secretive process have left fishermen and regional fishery managers extremely concerned.

Recent marine monument designations proclaimed by the Obama administration have been the largest in U.S. history, locking out all fishing in perpetuity, a severe departure from the original intent of the Antiquities Act to preserve historical sites and archaeological treasures.

Mr. Chairman, protecting the seafood economy, coastal communities, and the hardworking men and women who provide for their families through commercial fishing is a top priority for my constituents on the east end of Long Island.

I would like to thank Chairman Calvert and Chairman Bishop for their support of this amendment to rein in executive overreach on behalf of America's fishermen. I urge all my colleagues to support this critical amendment.
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Mr. ZELDIN. Mr. Chairman, if the President was to designate the Plum Island Lighthouse tonight under the Antiquities Act, I would certainly welcome that, as in all the past precedent of important use and historical use of the Antiquities Act for good reason.

I introduced this amendment on behalf of all those commercial fishermen, those hardworking commercial fishermen all along the northwest Atlantic concerned that, if this marine monument is enacted by this President, they will be put out of business.

I look forward to working with all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, especially from this region, who are concerned both with the important desire for conservation, the important work of protecting and utilizing the Antiquities Act productively, but also ensuring that we are not putting our commercial fishermen out of business.

Mr. Chairman, again, I thank Chairman Calvert and Chairman Bishop. I would ask all of my colleagues to please support this important amendment, which is very important for my region, not just Long Island, but the entire northwest Atlantic.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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