I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5447 
To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to establish a regional economic 
transition program to provide immediate disaster relief assistance to 
the fishermen, charter fishing operators, United States fish processors, 
and owners of related fishery infrastructure affected by a catastrophic 
regional fishery disaster, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 22, 2006 
Mr. JINDAL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Resources 
A BILL 
To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act to authorize the Secretary of Commerce 
to establish a regional economic transition program to 
provide immediate disaster relief assistance to the fisher-
men, charter fishing operators, United States fish proc-
essors, and owners of related fishery infrastructure af-
fected by a catastrophic regional fishery disaster, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. REGIONAL COASTAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE, 
TRANSITION, AND RECOVERY PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 
1851 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘SEC. 315. REGIONAL COASTAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE, 
TRANSITION, AND RECOVERY PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—When there is a catastrophic re-
gional fishery disaster the Secretary may, upon the re-
quest of, and in consultation with, the Governors of af-
fected States, establish a regional economic transition pro-
gram to provide immediate disaster relief assistance to the 
fishermen, charter fishing operators, United States fish 
processors, and owners of related fishery infrastructure af-
fected by the disaster. 
‘‘(b) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability 
of appropriations, the program shall provide funds 
or other economic assistance to affected entities, or 
to governmental entities for disbursement to affected 
entities, for— 
‘‘(A) meeting immediate regional shoreside 
fishery infrastructure needs, including proc-
essing facilities, cold storage facilities, ice 
houses, docks, including temporary docks and 
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storage facilities, and other related shoreside 
fishery support facilities and infrastructure; 
‘‘(B) financial assistance and job training 
assistance for fishermen who wish to remain in 
a fishery in the region that may be temporarily 
closed as a result of environmental or other ef-
fects associated with the disaster; 
‘‘(C) vessel repair and refloating; 
‘‘(D) debris removal and cleaning; 
‘‘(E) public and private oyster bed, shrimp, 
and other fisheries rehabilitation; and 
‘‘(F) any other activities authorized under 
section 312(a) of this Act or section 308(d) of 
the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 1986 
(16 U.S.C. 4107(d)). 
‘‘(2) JOB TRAINING.—Any fisherman who de-
cides to scrap a fishing vessel under the program 
shall be eligible for job training assistance. 
‘‘(3) NO MATCHING REQUIRED.—The Secretary 
may waive the matching requirements of section 312 
of this Act, section 308 of the Interjurisdictional 
Fisheries Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 4107), and any 
other provision of law under which the Federal share 
of the cost of any activity is limited to less than 100 
percent if the Secretary determines that— 
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‘‘(A) no reasonable means are available 
through which applicants can meet the match-
ing requirement; and 
‘‘(B) the probable benefit of 100 percent 
Federal financing outweighs the public interest 
in imposition of the matching requirement. 
‘‘(4) NET
REVENUE
LIMIT
INAPPLICABLE.— 
Section 308(d)(3) of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries 
Act (16 U.S.C. 4107(d)(3)) shall not apply to assist-
ance under this section. 
‘‘(c) REGIONAL IMPACT EVALUATION.—Within 2 
months after a catastrophic regional fishery disaster the 
Secretary shall provide the Governor of each State partici-
pating in the program a comprehensive economic and 
socio-economic evaluation of the affected region’s fisheries 
to assist the Governor in assessing the current and future 
economic viability of affected fisheries, including the eco-
nomic impact of foreign fish imports and the direct, indi-
rect, or environmental impact of the disaster on the fish-
ery and coastal communities. 
‘‘(d) CATASTROPHIC REGIONAL FISHERY DISASTER 
DEFINED.—In this section the term ‘catastrophic regional 
fishery disaster’ means a natural disaster, including a hur-
ricane or tsunami, or a judicial or regulatory closure to 
protect human health or the marine environment, that— 
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‘‘(1) results in economic losses to coastal or 
fishing communities; 
‘‘(2) affects more than 1 State or a major fish-
ery managed by a Council or interstate fishery com-
mission; and 
‘‘(3) is determined by the Secretary to be a 
commercial fishery failure under section 312(a) of 
this Act or a fishery resource disaster or section 
308(d) of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 
1986 (16 U.S.C. 4107(d)).’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in the first section of that Act is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 314 the following: 
‘‘Sec. 315. Regional coastal disaster assistance, transition, and recovery pro-
gram’’. 
Æ 
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