US senators blame new financial management software for delayed fishery disaster funding
Summary
A group of U.S. senators claim that a newly implemented financial management software has caused delays in the allocation of fishery disaster funds, and they want answers. “[T]here have been unnecessary delays in Fishery Disaster allocations,” the Republican senators wrote in a joint letter to the Department of Commerce. This delay has been particularly catastrophic for small communities, like St. Paul Island, Alaska, where the collapse of crab fisheries has had enormous economic impacts. “From the Yukon River to Prince William Sound to the Bering Sea, nearly every fishery has relied on disaster relief funding to help them through difficult times. Unfortunately, these fishermen often wait years to see that relief.” Murkowski was one of the several senators, including Sullivan, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida), and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) who introduced the Fishery Improvement to Streamline Untimely Regulatory Hurdles post Emergency Situation Act (FISHES Act) to expedite the distribution of federal fishery disaster relief.