{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-introduces-help-our-kelp-act-to-protect-maine-coastal-ecosystem", "King Introduces \u201cHelp Our Kelp Act\u201d to Protect Maine Coastal Ecosystem", "2023-09-21", "2023", "2023-09", "Independent", "Senate", "ME", "Angus S. King, Jr.", "K000383", "www.king.senate.gov", "angusking", "https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/table", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), along with Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), have introduced bicameral legislation to protect at-risk marine life and ecosystems. The Help Our Kelp Act would invest federal resources towards state, local, and federal efforts to restore and protect kelp forests against climate change and other human-caused disruption.\n\nKelp forest ecosystems in Maine and along the nation\u2019s shores provide food and habitat for hundreds of fish and marine mammals. These aquatic regions stabilize Maine\u2019s coasts allowing for responsible economic activities including fishing, shipping, and innovations in the blue economy. Over the last 50 years, changes in climate, poor water quality, and overfishing have damaged between 40-60 percent of America\u2019s kelp forests.\n\n\u201cHealthy waters make for healthy people, but climate change and human activity are having an impact on these our coastal ecosystems \u2013 so we need to protect the beauty and bounty they provide,\u201d said Senator King. \u201cThe Help Our Kelp Act is an important step to ensure that our iconic Maine fisheries, and surrounding communities, are able to serve as a habitat for marine life well into the future. We need continued investments and safeguards to protect our fisheries, and our Maine way of life. My gratitude goes out to my colleagues for recognizing the importance of kelp forests and working to protect one of Maine\u2019s vital resources.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s incredible to see these important environmental issues getting attention at the federal level. Seaweeds are essential to a thriving ocean and we are still learning about the positive benefits they provide in creating the ocean abundance that all of humanity relies on. By helping to restore and research natural seaweed beds throughout the US, this bill can help ensure that natural seaweed populations \u2014 and marine ecosystems \u2014 remain intact for future generations to come,\u201d said Briana Warner, the CEO of Atlantic Sea Farms.\n\n\"Kelp has provided a documented ecosystem benefit to important U.S. west fisheries, and globally. As we look ahead to Gulf of Maine fisheries under changing ecosystems, funding for further kelp research will underpin our needed understanding of what we can expect from coastal habitats of the future, and the fisheries that depend on the vital nursery habitat which kelp provides,\" said Alexa Dayton, the Executive Director of the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries.\n\nThe Help Our Kelp Act would:\n\n1. Establish a new NOAA grant program to fund conservation, restoration, and management efforts;\n\n2. Focus on addressing the greatest relative regional declines, long term ecological or socioeconomic resilience, or are in focal recovery areas identified by Tribal, federal, or state management plans; and\n\n3. Authorize $5 million per year from FY2024-FY2028.\n\nIn the Senate, this legislation is also cosponsored by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM).\n\nIn the House, this legislation is also cosponsored by Representatives Susan DelBene (D-WA-01), Nanette Barrag\u00e1n (D-CA-44), Scott Peters (D-CA-50), Derek Kilmer (D-WA-06), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07), Rick Larsen (D-WA-02), and Kevin Mullin (D-CA-15).\n\nBill text can be found here.\n\nA bill summary can be found here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:37:48Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-introduces-help-our-kelp-act-to-protect-maine-coastal-ecosystem"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.554178074002266, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}