Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 39 - Fishery Conservation and Management Amendments of 1995

(House)
(Young (R) AK)

The Administration supports House passage of H.R. 39, the reauthorization of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act, subject to the amendments described below.

The Administration particularly supports the provisions in H.R. 39 that address preventing over fishing, rebuilding fish stocks, reducing incidental catch, identifying essential fish habitat, and establishing user fees. However, the Administration has serious concerns with several provisions of H.R. 39 and recommends that the bill be amended prior to House passage to address the following concerns.

The Administration strongly opposes provisions in H.R. 39 that are inconsistent with the Appointments Clause of the Constitution which requires that any Federal official who exercises significant authority be appointed by one of the constitutionally prescribed methods. Certain provisions in H.R. 39 would violate the Appointments Clause by giving Fishery Management Councils significant authority for deciding certain issues without a decision by a Federal official, the Secretary of Commerce or the National Marine Fisheries Service Regional Director acting on behalf of the Secretary. Those provisions should be deleted or revised to vest final authority for those decisions in the Secretary.

H.R. 39 would authorize a Fishery Management Council (FMC) to revoke, limit, or terminate an individual fishery quota system. To avoid violating the Constitution, this provision should be amended to vest authority for a final decision on any such action in the Secretary.

H.R. 39 would require that quota shares under individual harvest share programs sunset after 7 years. This provision should be deleted. A 7-year sunset on all quota shares could have a serious negative effect on the fishing industry by negating incentives to reduce capital stock. In addition, this provision may affect the operation of the market-based system and cause a devaluation of share value as the end of the 7-year period approaches.

Finally, while the provisions dealing with conflicts of interest on the part of members of the FMCs are an improvement over present law the Administration does not believe that they adequately protect the processes of the FMCs.

Pay-As-You-Go Scoring

H.R. 39 would affect direct spending and receipts; therefore, it is subject to the pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) requirements of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. The preliminary OMB PAYGO estimate is an increase in receipts of $2 million in fiscal year 1997 and $3 million in fiscal year 1998. Final scoring of this legislation may differ from this estimate.