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.
The USD 341 million (EUR 306 million) Business Application Solution was built to modernize the U.S. Department of Commerce’s financial operations, but federal lawmakers claim the software has resulted in system failures and delays, including to NOAA’s fishery disaster program.
“[T]here have been unnecessary delays in Fishery Disaster allocations,” the Republican senators wrote in a joint letter to the Department of Commerce. “There are currently seven separate unfunded fishery disaster requests for salmon fisheries alone. 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. We are concerned what other adverse effects may result if the department continues to roll out the new system without changes.”
The five lawmakers who signed the letter were U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Alabama). The Republican legislators claim that the department ignored warnings from a government watchdog and failed to “implement basic management controls.” In the letter, the senators request quarterly updates from the Department of Commerce until the inspector general reports no concerning deficiencies with the software and its implementation.
Delayed allocation of fishery disaster funding has been a source of frustration with federal legislators from coastal states, who complain it takes far too long for communities to receive financial relief after the government has officially declared a fishery disaster. Some fishers have had to wait years to receive any funding.
“Alaska’s fisheries have faced challenges at every turn in recent years, and we will likely see more in the future,” Murkowski said in May. “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.
