00 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 34 01 Requesting the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States 02 Department of Labor to extend Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits to Alaska 03 fishermen; requesting the United States Congress and the United States Department of 04 Agriculture to extend additional disaster and price support benefits to Alaska salmon 05 fishermen; and requesting the United States Department of Agriculture to establish 06 terminal markets in Alaska for all covered commodities including salmon. 07 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 08 WHEREAS the United States Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance 09 program provides job search, relocation assistance, and retraining benefits for qualified 10 worker groups; and 11 WHEREAS the United States Department of Agriculture Trade Adjustment 12 Assistance program provides eligibility for qualified persons to receive retraining benefits 13 through the United States Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance program; and 14 WHEREAS Alaska fishermen are currently required to show a net decline in fishing 01 earnings from 2001 to 2002 in order to be eligible for the United States Department of 02 Agriculture Trade Adjustment Assistance program; and 03 WHEREAS many Alaska fishermen experienced reduced fishing earnings in 2001 04 due to the decline in the price of all five Alaska salmon species as the result of increased 05 imports of foreign salmon, price-related work stoppages, and closures of processor markets 06 and thus were not able to participate in the United States Department of Agriculture Trade 07 Adjustment Assistance program because they could not demonstrate a net decline in fishing 08 earnings from 2001 to 2002; and 09 WHEREAS many Alaska fishermen did not fish at all in 2002 because they had been 10 informed by fish processors and buyers to whom they had traditionally sold their catch that 11 the fish processors and buyers would not purchase salmon during 2002 and thus these 12 fishermen were not eligible for commodity-based United States Department of Agriculture 13 Trade Adjustment Assistance price adjustment payments or for United States Department of 14 Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance program retraining benefits; and 15 WHEREAS alternative job opportunities are uncommon in many of the rural areas 16 where Alaska fishermen live; and 17 WHEREAS the costs of relocation are generally much higher for Alaska fishermen 18 than for persons living in other states due to the expense of travel both within the state and to 19 other states; 20 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the United 21 States Department of Agriculture to extend cash benefits under the Trade Adjustment 22 Assistance program to Alaska fishermen who fished in five of the six years from 1997 to 23 2002, inclusive, if the fishermen can certify a loss in income from salmon fishing in any of 24 those years or were prevented from fishing for salmon in any of those years; and be it 25 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the 26 United States Department of Labor to extend retraining benefits under the Trade Adjustment 27 Assistance program to Alaska fishermen who fished in five of the six years from 1997 to 28 2002, inclusive, even if the fishermen either had reduced fishing earnings in 2001 or did not 29 fish in 2002; and be it 30 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests that 31 the United States Congress and the United States Department of Agriculture extend additional 01 disaster and price support benefits to Alaska salmon fishermen who fished in five of the six 02 years from 1997 to 2002, inclusive, and continued fishing during periods of disaster or market 03 declines by taking the necessary legislative and administrative action to include all species of 04 Alaska salmon as "covered/eligible" commodities for purposes of the Noninsured Crop 05 Disaster Assistance program, Livestock Compensation program, and Loan Deficiency 06 Payment program; and be it 07 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests that 08 the United States Department of Agriculture establish terminal markets in Alaska for all 09 covered commodities, including each species of salmon. 10 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Ann Veneman, United 11 States Secretary of Agriculture; the Honorable Elaine Chao, United States Secretary of Labor; 12 the Honorable Ted Stevens, President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate and member of the 13 Alaska delegation in Congress; the Honorable J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House of 14 Representatives; and to the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senator, and the Honorable Don 15 Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.