Photo courtesy of NOAA Fisheries
NOAA accused of moving too slowly on pandemic aid
While the Trump administration rushed to get emergency financial assistance to small businesses hurt by the coronavirus pandemic this month, fishermen and the seafood industry are still waiting for help.
The slow delivery of aid has become a growing source of irritation for many, especially since Congress last month approved $300 million to help them survive during the coronavirus shutdown.
In a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross today, Seafood Harvesters of America said the money should be "expeditiously disbursed" to save its industry.
"The industry has not, thus far, been made aware of any process NOAA is considering to allocate these funds despite repeated requests from industry stakeholders and members of Congress," the organization said.
Seafood Harvesters of America, which represents 18 member groups and thousands of fishermen, said the industry has been hit hard by the pandemic, since roughly 70% of the money spent on seafood in the United States goes to restaurants, cafeterias and catering services.
"As these businesses have shuttered, our fishing businesses have also suffered," the groups told Ross, who oversees NOAA.
Many members of Congress have written similar letters, urging NOAA to speed things up.
In a letter to Ross two weeks ago, 39 House members urged NOAA to "quickly implement" the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed by Congress.
The bipartisan letter, led by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the chairman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife, said fishermen and seafood businesses need the money immediately because they face "unprecedented and severe impacts due to the novel coronavirus."
NOAA declined to say how or when the aid will be distributed.
"NOAA Fisheries understands the urgent need for these funds, and our overriding goal is to distribute the assistance as quickly as possible," spokesman John Ewald said this morning.
On its website, NOAA said it is "working daily with the department and federal partners to finalize a process to expedite the distribution" of the emergency aid. The agency said it had also received $20 million from Congress "for continued provision of life saving services and for keeping our workforce safe."
The aid for the fishing industry is small in comparison to the $349 billion Congress set aside for emergency small business loans in the CARES Act, part of the federal government's new Paycheck Protection Program. That program, which began operating April 3, gave businesses forgivable loans of up to $10 million to pay employee salaries and other eligible expenses for eight weeks.
NOAA, meanwhile, has faced criticism before for its handling of disaster aid.
At a hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee last September, fishery officials from Alaska, Florida, Mississippi and Washington state complained that fishermen often must wait up to three years before they receive any help from the federal government (E&E Daily, Sept. 26, 2019).
Chris Oliver, the head of NOAA Fisheries, told lawmakers at the hearing that some waits had become "excessive" and that there was room for improvement.
"We should be able to do things faster than we are doing," Oliver told the panel.
Disclosure: E&E News has received financial assistance from the Payroll Protection Program.
Rob Hotakainen, E&E News reporter