Statement on Salmon Announcement

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Statement by North Coast Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA) in response to U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez's announcement tonight regarding an initial stage toward relief for North Coast fishing communities:

"We are in a much better position today than we were a week ago, but we still have a long way to go. This has been a great team effort with Governors and Senators from both states coming together under a tremendous amount of leadership from Dianne Feinstein to solve this problem. This is a critical first step, but it's important to keep in mind that it is only a first step. We need to be working overtime to ensure that we get a full disaster declaration that will bring the financial relief needed to our fishing communities. Small business loans mean little to a commercial fisherman who has lost everything in this disaster and has nothing left to pay it back with."

The Commerce Secretary made his announcement during a conference call tonight with Thompson, U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski and members of the Oregon Congressional Delegation.

It was the second time this week that the group joined together to address the ongoing salmon disaster along the West Coast.

http://mikethompson.house.gov/newsroom/index.asp?ID=82