Enrolled HJR 34: Requesting the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Labor to extend Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits to Alaska salmon fishermen; requesting the United States Congress and the United States Department of Agriculture to extend additional disaster and price support benefits to Alaska salmon fishermen; and requesting the United States Department of Commerce to establish a Trade Adjustment Assistance program specific to commercial fishermen.
00Enrolled HJR 34 01 Requesting the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of 02 Labor to extend Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits to Alaska salmon fishermen; 03 requesting the United States Congress and the United States Department of Agriculture to 04 extend additional disaster and price support benefits to Alaska salmon fishermen; and 05 requesting the United States Department of Commerce to establish a Trade Adjustment 06 Assistance program specific to commercial fishermen. 07 _______________ 08 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 09 WHEREAS the United States Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance 10 program provides job search, relocation assistance, and retraining benefits for qualified 11 worker groups; and 12 WHEREAS the United States Department of Agriculture Trade Adjustment 13 Assistance program provides eligibility for qualified persons to receive retraining benefits 14 through the United States Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance program; and 15 WHEREAS Alaska salmon fishermen are currently required to show a net decline in
01 fishing 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 salmon fishermen experienced reduced fishing earnings in 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 salmon fishermen did not fish at all in 2002 because they 10 had been informed by fish processors and buyers to whom they had traditionally sold their 11 catch that the fish processors and buyers would not purchase salmon during 2002 and thus 12 these fishermen were not eligible for commodity-based United States Department of 13 Agriculture Trade Adjustment Assistance price adjustment payments or for United States 14 Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance program retraining benefits; and 15 WHEREAS alternative job opportunities are uncommon in many of the rural areas 16 where Alaska salmon fishermen live; 17 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the United 18 States Department of Agriculture to extend price adjustment benefits under the Trade 19 Adjustment Assistance program to Alaska salmon fishermen who fished in five of the six 20 years from 1997 to 2002, inclusive, if the fishermen can certify a loss in income from salmon 21 fishing in any of those years due to import-related price fluctuations or were prevented from 22 fishing for salmon in any of those years due to loss of market caused by import-related price 23 fluctuations; and be it 24 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the 25 United States Department of Labor to extend retraining benefits under the Trade Adjustment 26 Assistance program to Alaska salmon fishermen who fished in five of the six years from 1997 27 to 2002, inclusive, even if the fishermen did not fish the preceding year due to import-related 28 price fluctuations or due to loss of market caused by import-related price fluctuations; and be 29 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 each species 04 of 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 Commerce pursue the establishment of a Trade Adjustment 09 Assistance program specific to commercial fishermen. 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 Don Evans, United States Secretary of Commerce; the Honorable Ted Stevens, 13 President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate and member of the Alaska delegation in Congress; 14 the Honorable J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; and to the 15 Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senator, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. 16 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.