Amata Voices Concerns Over Expanded Marine Monument Fishing Prohibitions, and Lack of ‘Buy American’ Protections to Senior White House Witness at Hearing

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata raised the issue of buying American tuna in a question to White House Council of Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) Chairwoman Brenda Mallory, while voicing concerns about the Biden administration’s plan to expand Marine Monument fishing prohibitions.

“Council of Environmental Quality Chairwoman Brenda Mallory is charged with overseeing the Biden Administration’s expansion of the Pacific Remote Islands Monument, so I asked her point blank if she supports the ‘buy American’ program to ensure a domestic supply of tuna for our children and servicemen in the school lunch and military rations programs, but she deflected, and deferred to NOAA,” said Congresswoman Amata.  “Let’s be clear, CEQ calls the shots from the White House as NOAA, and the Commerce and Interior Departments report through CEQ in the White House, so it is clear that this Administration is waffling on the needs of the Pacific territories for continued fishing rights in the PRIMNM. This makes bad national security and food security policy for the United States and remains potentially devastating to our local economy.”

Amata also submitted for the Record, and directed the CEQ Chairman, to key comments made in opposition to expanded fishing prohibitions submitted from the 1,200 Starkist cannery workers; from Governor Lemanu Mauga and jointly with the CNMI and Guam Governors; and from WESPAC Director Kitty Simonds and former Assistant Secretary of Insular Affairs Esther Kiaʻāina.

“Most of these opposition comments are from the President’s own team and are bipartisan in opposition because it's simply common sense – China is subsidizing their fishing fleet while the United States is cannibalizing its own fleet through fishing prohibitions, overregulation and abandonment of our own fishing rights,” Amata continued.

At every relevant hearing in Congress, Amata continues to raise the subject of the Biden Administration’s expansion of the Pacific Remote Islands Monument, and the local impacts on American Samoa’s fishing economy.

Video of her statement, question, and the CEQ Chairwoman’s response is available HERE.

Amata’s hearing statement is as follows:

“Thank you, Chairman Westerman, and RM Grijalva, for holding today’s hearing. Thank you to Chair Mallory for your testimony.

On March 23, President Biden announced plans to expand the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument by designating a new marine sanctuary. The President boasted as if this were a designation review that was ending rather than beginning.

This action could devastate the economy of American Samoa, where 80% of all private sector jobs and exports are related to fishing and canning.

This is very important to the overall health of my district, and with the Committee’s permission, I would like to submit for the record a news article published just this morning outlining how StarKist cannery employees have submitted a petition opposing the PIRA expansion.

The NOAA comment period for this expansion just closed, and I wanted to share some of the key comments that I’d like to align myself with:

• President Obama’s former Assistant Secretary of Insular Affairs, Esther Kiaʻāina, commented at the NOAA outreach session in Hawaii that you attended in May that “some federal agencies have shown more concern about the protection of natural resources and ocean resources than the actual welfare and quality of life for the Indigenous peoples who live in these areas.”
• Kitty Simonds, executive director of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council stated that day that “we support the process, but we want to make sure they include fishing in their goals and objectives.”
• American Samoa Governor Lemanu Mauga stated, “American Samoa is repeatedly left out of the conversation of what is best for our communities…we are disappointed that actions that could cripple the economy of a U.S. territory would be taken without consultation of its people;”
• The Governors of all three Pacific territories of Guam, the CNMI, and American Samoa jointly wrote to the President: “We are alarmed and concerned over the prospect of expanding potential fishery enclosures through designating a marine sanctuary…further closures would be in direct conflict with the Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and run counter to the principles of equity and environmental justice.”

These are just a few of the comments that reiterate the same or similar points. So, my question is, how does CEQ plan to address these key stakeholder concerns?

With how important fishing access is to our local communities and the need to push back against reliance on foreign goods, is CEQ going to ensure a domestic tuna source and does the Biden administration support ‘Buy American’ for tuna in the school lunch program and our military rations to ensure a safe American supply of tuna for our children and Servicemembers?”

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