A Senate Resolution urging Congress to appropriate federal funds for fishing industries devastated by Hurricane Sandy.

Whereas, In late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy ravaged the east coast of the United States, from North Carolina to Maine; and

Whereas, Hurricane Sandy left in its wake innumerable damaged and destroyed homes and businesses, thousands of displaced and homeless citizens, tens of billions of dollars in economic losses, and hundreds of miles of wrecked coastline, with the most severe impacts occurring in the states of New Jersey and New York, where the hurricane made landfall; and

Whereas, On January 4, 2013, the Congress of the United States approved a $9.7 billion aid package to finance the flood insurance claims of many home and business owners who experienced flooding during Hurricane Sandy; and

Whereas, On January 28, 2013, Congress approved an additional $50.5 billion emergency aid package to finance the restoration of damaged properties, the replenishment of shorelines, the repair of subways, commuter rail systems, bridges, and tunnels, and the reimbursement of local government emergency spending, in association with Hurricane Sandy; and

Whereas, Of the $60.2 billion in total funds that were ultimately appropriated by Congress in these emergency aid packages, only $5 million was designated to aid the fishing industries devastated by Hurricane Sandy; and

Whereas, Although an initial aid proposal, which was introduced in the United States House of Representatives in December 2012, called for the provision of $150 million in federal resources to help cover the losses suffered by fishing industries in the states affected by Sandy, this amount was significantly reduced in the final aid package approved by Congress, after critics alleged that it was excessive pork barrel spending, unrelated to the Hurricane Sandy disaster; and

Whereas, Immediately following Hurricane Sandy's landfall, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) conducted a rapid field investigation and appraisal of fishing communities in New Jersey and New York, in order to determine the amount and significance of damage caused by Hurricane Sandy to the fishing industries in these states; and

Whereas, On March 15, 2013, several weeks after the Congressional aid packages were approved, NOAA released a report of its findings from the field investigation and appraisal, in which it concluded that Hurricane Sandy had caused an estimated $77,802,318 to $120,603,234 in uninsured losses to New Jersey's fishing industries, and an estimated $76,599,149 in uninsured losses to New York's fishing industries; and

Whereas, NOAA's estimates in this regard account only for physical damages suffered by fishing industries, and do not account for income lost by the recreational or commercial fishing industries during the time period immediately following Hurricane Sandy; and

Whereas, NOAA further indicated in its report that its estimation of uninsured physical losses to New Jersey's fishing industries is likely to be downwardly biased since field investigators were unable to interview residents or otherwise assess the damage in various fishing communities that were closed to public access in the days following Hurricane Sandy; and

Whereas, The estimates provided by NOAA indicate that New Jersey's fishing industries, alone, suffered 15 to 20 times more damage, in terms of monetary losses, than the total amount of aid to fishing industries that was approved by Congress for all of the states affected by Hurricane Sandy; and

Whereas, New Jersey's significant commercial and recreational fishing industries support vibrant fishing communities throughout the State and contribute to the overall success of the coastal and State economies; and

Whereas, According to the NOAA report, in 2011, the commercial fishing industry in New Jersey generated $6.6 billion in sales, contributed $2.4 billion to the gross State product, and supported 44,000 jobs throughout the State, while the State's recreational fishing industry generated $1.7 billion in sales, contributed $871 million to the gross State product, and supported 10,000 jobs; and

Whereas, In April 2013, following the release of the NOAA report, Congressman Frank Pallone introduced legislation - H.R.1753 - specifically designed to provide financial assistance to the fishing industries that were badly impacted by Hurricane Sandy; and

Whereas, H.R.1753, also known as the "Sandy Disaster Fisheries Relief Act," has been co-sponsored by Congressmen from both New Jersey and New York, and would make available, until September 30, 2014, a supplemental and emergency appropriation of $193 million in federal resources for necessary expenses related to fishery disasters that were declared by the Secretary of the United States Department of Commerce in 2012, as a direct result of Hurricane Sandy; and

Whereas, The $5 million in federal resources that was previously appropriated by Congress for the rehabilitation of fishing industries in all the states affected by Hurricane Sandy is clearly insufficient to provide adequate financial redress for the actual damages that were suffered by affected fishing industries, particularly in New Jersey and New York, as a direct result of this unprecedented storm event; and

Whereas, In light of the conclusions made by NOAA in its March 2013 report, which exemplify the true extent of Sandy-related damages experienced by the fishing industries in New Jersey and New York, it is both reasonable and necessary for Congress to enact H.R.1753, the "Sandy Disaster Fisheries Relief Act," and to thereby provide for the supplemental and emergency appropriation of $193 million for damages to fishing industries that resulted from Hurricane Sandy; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:

1. The Congress of the United States is urged to provide immediate and sufficient financial assistance to the fishing industries devastated by Hurricane Sandy through the expeditious enactment of H.R.1753, the "Sandy Disaster Fisheries Relief Act," which would make available, until September 30, 2014, a supplemental and emergency appropriation of $193 million in federal resources to help defray the costs of recovering from, and mitigating, the effects of fishery disasters that resulted directly from Hurricane Sandy.

2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the President of the United States, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker, Majority Leader, and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, and every member of Congress elected from this State.

STATEMENT

This resolution urges the United States Congress to support and enact H.R.1753, the "Sandy Disaster Fisheries Relief Act," which is now pending in Congress. The "Sandy Disaster Fisheries Relief Act" was introduced by Congressman Frank Pallone, and is currently co-sponsored by Congressmen Frank LoBiondo and Jon Runyan from New Jersey, and Congressmen Timothy Bishop and Michael Grimm from New York. This proposed legislation would make available, until September 30, 2014, a supplemental and emergency appropriation of $193 million in federal resources for necessary expenses related to fishery disasters that were declared by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce in 2012, as a direct result of Hurricane Sandy.

In late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy ravaged the east coast from North Carolina to Maine. Although Congress, in January 2013, appropriated a total of $60.2 billion in federal resources to assist the states affected by Hurricane Sandy in their Sandy-related recovery and rebuilding efforts, only $5 million of this total amount was earmarked for the rehabilitation of devastated fishing industries.

On March 15, 2013, however, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a report, which was based on a field survey conducted by the agency immediately following the hurricane. That report estimated the total uninsured losses suffered by the fishing industries in New Jersey and New York as a result of the storm, and it concluded that Hurricane Sandy caused an estimated $77,802,318 to $120,603,234 in uninsured losses to New Jersey's fishing industries, and an additional $76,599,149 in uninsured losses to New York's fishing industries. NOAA's estimates in this regard account only for physical damages, and do not account for income that was lost as a result of the hurricane. NOAA indicated, moreover, that its estimates pertaining to New Jersey's fishing industries were likely to be downwardly biased, since field investigators were unable to interview residents or otherwise make assessments in fishing communities that were closed to public access following the storm.

Because NOAA's findings indicate that the $5 million originally appropriated by Congress to rehabilitate fishing industries in all states affected by Hurricane Sandy is insufficient to account for the actual uninsured losses suffered by the fishing industries impacted by Sandy, particularly in New Jersey and New York, this resolution would urge Congress to promptly enact the "Sandy Disaster Fisheries Relief Act," and thereby continue its proud tradition of expeditiously aiding those who have been adversely affected by large-scale natural disasters.