The letter from Sen. Murkowski speaks for itself. You can see by linking
inclusion of her most ardent constituency – Alaskan commercial fishermen – to the
Clean Boating Act of 2008 which was written specifically for recreational boats
only, she has doomed the bill. Sen. Murkowski has twice been honored with the “Person
of the Year” Award from the United Fishermen of Alaska (UFA), the state’s commercial
fisherman umbrella association representing 37 Alaskan fisheries trade organizations.
She has consistently introduced legislation to protect, exempt, subsidize, out right
pay, buy back, or in any other way possible bestow Federal manna (ie your tax dollars)
on the owners of Alaska commercial fishing boats both large and small. In her quest
to wrestle a blanket EPA permit exemption for these fishermen, America’s 17 million
boaters are simply collateral damage as far as she’s concerned, or so it seems.
An aide to the Senator, Mike Brumas, called on Monday to say that she hasn’t killed
S. 2766 and that there is “still time” for the bill to pass. With fewer than 18
congressional working days left before America’s boaters turn into EPA pumpkins,
we doubt it. As for Sen. Murkowski, she is now sponsoring the “Fisheries Fuel Tax
Relief Act of 2008,” and would like your Senators to support it.


If you would like to register your thoughts about Sen. Murkowski’s “Fisheries
Fuel Tax Relief Act of 2008” or urge your U.S. Senator to vote for it, just fill
out the handy comment form below and we’ll see that your thoughts are passed along.