from the desk of Congressman Byron Donalds

It’s Time For The Senate To Pass The FISHES Act

In Southwest Florida, hurricanes are common, which often bring about significant damage to critical infrastructure, businesses, and communities alike.

When people think about “disaster relief ”, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) often come to mind.

However, we must not forget about the critical disaster relief that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) provides in the aftermath of a federally declared fishery disaster.

For background, during the fishery disaster relief process, States must submit a “spend plan” to NOAA, which lays out how the State is going to spend the financial relief it receives from the federal government.

Currently, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) can voluntarily decide to insert itself into the federal fishery disaster
relief process which it often does–to review a State’s spend plan. Unlike most other aspects of the process, OMB has no deadline to review a spend plan. Predictably, this has led to unnecessary delays in allocating crucial federal relief post-disaster.

For example, the State of Florida alone has requested fishery disaster relief on 7 different occasions since 2012—however for
each occasion, over 2 years had lapsed from the time of approval to when fishery disaster relief funds were ultimately made
available.

This is unacceptable.

We must throw coastal communities & businesses a life raft to help them stay afloat post-disaster. And as we know firsthand in Southwest Florida, time is of the essence once a disaster hits. We must continue to evaluate ways to cut self-induced red tape & streamline the disbursement of relief to communities devastated by a natural disaster.

That’s where my bill, H.R. 5103 – The FISHES Act comes in. My simple and commonsense bill expedites the allocation of federal fishery disaster relief by requiring OMB to review a State spend plan concurrently with NOAA, while also requiring that funds be distributed to grantees within 90 days after a complete spend plan is received.

Time is of the essence when it comes to disbursing relief post disaster—but this isn’t just a Florida issue, it’s a nationwide issue. This fact is illustrated by the diverse coalition of nationwide organizations that endorse The FISHES Act, along with the vast number of bipartisan members from around the country that have decided to cosponsor this bill.

Specifically, The FISHES Act is cosponsored by 48 of my colleagues, and this bill is currently endorsed by 107 organizations of all kinds—representing the environmental community, fishing community, boaters, hospitality industry, retail and restaurant
industries, and so on.

The overwhelming support that my bill has received speaks for itself, and it really highlights how vital it is for The FISHES Act to be signed into law ASAP.

Time is of the essence once a disaster hits, and we as Congress have the ability to expedite the disbursement of federal relief to communities in need.

On December 3, 2024, The FISHES Act passed the United States House of Representatives with a unanimous and bipartisan voice vote. Therefore, I urge my colleagues in the United States Senate to vote in favor of this commonsense bill, pass The FISHES Act, and send this critical legislation to the President’s desk.