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Bush withholds salmon disaster money as he pushes for corporate bailouts!

Posted by: Maven on September 23, 2008 at 6:11 am

From Dan Bacher at IndyBay:

While George W. Bush wants taxpayers to give Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson a $700 billion blank check to bail out Wall Street for its reckless speculation and greed, the administration announced last week that it would release only $100 million of the $170 million appropriated to salmon fishermen and businesses impacted by this year’s salmon fishing closure off the California and Oregon coasts and in Central Valley rivers.

Representatives Peter DeFazio (OR-04) and Mike Thompson (CA-01), along with 10 other members of Congress, wrote to President Bush on September 19 urging him to distribute the full $170 million in disaster aid to fishermen and businesses suffering from the closure of the salmon fishing season on the West Coast caused by the collapse of the Sacramento River fall run chinook salmon population.

“Playing games with the livelihood of fishers across the Pacific Northwest is yet another sign that the Bush Administration has no commitment to protect our valuable river systems, and no interest in helping the fishing communities and economies that rely on them,” the letter stated. “It is also completely unacceptable. We insist that you comply with congressional intent and immediately release the full $170 million in federal disaster aid for Pacific Northwest fishers.”

The other Representatives who signed the letter were Baird, Blumenauer, Capps, Eshoo, Farr, Hooley, Matsui, Woolsey, Wu and George Miller.

“The Bush Administration has once again put politics ahead of people,” said North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA). “Because of the Administration’s disastrous policies, Pacific coast fishing families have been devastated. Congress appropriated $170 million in federal disaster relief, but this latest proposal by the Bush Administration to withhold a large portion of these funds shows no regard for hardworking fishing families nor their livelihood.”

Read more from Dan Bacher at IndyBay by clicking here.

September 23, 2008 · Filed Under Wildlife & Endangered Species

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One Response to “Bush withholds salmon disaster money as he pushes for corporate bailouts!”

  1. The Underground’s Short Casts for 2008-09-23 | The Trout Underground Fly Fishing Blog on September 24th, 2008 1:00 am

    [...] pushes bailouts for financial markets as it withholds aid to salmon fishermen: http://aquafornia.com/archives/4821 [...]

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