[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 224 (Friday, January 1, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8004-S8005]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGE

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 REPORT OF THE VETO OF S. 906, THE DRIFTNET MODERNIZATION AND BYCATCH 
                          REDUCTION ACT--PM 63

  The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message 
from the President of the United States which was ordered to be printed 
in the Record, spread in full upon the Journal, and held at the desk:

To the Senate of the United States:
  I am returning, without my approval, S. 906, the Driftnet 
Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act. America's fishermen have made 
great sacrifices to ensure that our Nation's marine fisheries are a 
sustainable economic engine for coastal communities. Under my 
Administration, the number of United States fish stocks subject to 
overfishing is at a historic low. This achievement is the result of a 
transparent and collaborative regulatory process that is supported by 
regional fishery management councils. At council meetings, fishermen 
work with Federal Government and State government representatives to 
meet their statutory obligations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act.
  In passing S. 906, the Congress has ignored the fact that the 
regional fishery management process has had strong, bipartisan support 
since its creation. By forcing the West Coast drift gillnet fishery to 
use alternative gear that has not been proven to be an economically 
viable substitute for gillnets, the Congress is effectively terminating 
the fishery. As a result, an estimated 30 fishing vessels, all of which 
are operated by family-owned small businesses,

[[Page S8005]]

will no longer be able to bring their bounty to shore. At a time when 
our Nation has a seafood trade deficit of nearly $17 billion, S. 906 
will exacerbate this imbalance.
  Further, S. 906 will not achieve its purported conservation benefits. 
The West Coast drift gillnet fishery is subject to robust legal and 
regulatory requirements for environmental protection that equal or 
exceed the environmental protections that apply to foreign fisheries. 
Without this fishery, Americans will import more swordfish and other 
species from foreign sources that frequently have more bycatch than our 
own fisheries. If the Congress wants to address bycatch, it should 
insist on a level playing field for imported seafood instead of 
crushing American fishing families.
  My Administration has done more for American fishermen than any 
President before me. On May 7, 2020, I signed an Executive Order on 
Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth to 
bolster our domestic seafood industry while curbing illegal, 
unreported, and unregulated fishing abroad. On June 5, 2020, I issued a 
Proclamation on Modifying the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine 
National Monument to open it to commercial fishing that is conducted in 
accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable laws, 
regulations, and requirements. And as fishermen struggled to stay on 
the water during the pandemic, I issued a Memorandum on Protecting the 
United States Lobster Industry and later made approximately $530 
million available, through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Seafood 
Trade Relief Program, to support the United States seafood industry and 
fishermen affected by retaliatory tariffs from foreign governments.
  My Administration would support provisions of the enrolled bill, if 
passed separately, which would authorize fee collection in a different 
fishery--the Pacific Halibut fishery. This authority is needed to 
implement a provision of the International Pacific Halibut Commission 
Convention, to which the United States is a party. However, for the 
sake of American fishermen nationwide, I will not let the Congress 
circumvent the fisheries management process by effectively terminating 
a fishery without appropriate consultation and input from fishery 
management councils. If this occurred, it would increase our reliance 
on imported seafood and take away the livelihoods of hard-working 
Americans and their family businesses. It is my duty to return S. 906 
to the Senate without my approval.
                                                     Donald J. Trump.  
The White House, January 1, 2021.

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