The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Commerce was published in the Senate section on pages S1942-S1943 on March 22, 2018.
The Department includes the Census Bureau, which is used to determine many factors about American life. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, said the Department is involved in misguided foreign trade policies and is home to many unneeded programs.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
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TRIBUTE TO J. MICHAEL ``MIKE'' NUSSMAN
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate J. Michael ``Mike'' Nussman, who is retiring next week from the American Sportfishing Association, ASA, the trade association that represents the recreational fishing industry. Mr. Nussman joined the ASA's government relations team in 1992 and became president and chief executive office of the association in 2001. I am proud to call him a fellow Marylander.
Sportfishing provides outdoor recreation for more than 47 million Americans each year. In Maryland, we are blessed with some of the best fishing opportunities in the Nation. From fishing for striped bass--
``rockfish''--on the Chesapeake Bay, to fly fishing for trout on the Gunpowder, to fishing for smallmouth bass on the Potomac, we have great waters and angling throughout our State. Whether casting for yellow perch and pickerel on the Eastern Shore or trolling for tuna and white marlin off Ocean City, fishing in Maryland provides opportunities for young people and families to get into the great outdoors and enjoy our public lands and waters.
Like many other outdoor industries, sport fishing is sometimes overlooked as a significant job generator and economic engine. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that, nationwide, recreational fishing generates $48 billion in retail sales, $115 billion in total economic activity, and 828,000 jobs. In 2016, Congress passed the Outdoor Recreation Jobs and Economic Impact Act. Because of that legislation, in 2018, the U.S. Commerce Department Bureau of Economic Analysis included outdoor recreation's impact, including fishing and boating, in our Nation's gross domestic product, GDP, for the first time.
Possibly the most important aspect of recreational fishing is that sportfishing manufacturers, anglers, and boaters pay for most of State fish and wildlife agencies' fisheries conservation and boating programs. Through special Federal excise and fishing license sales, anglers and boaters are providing more than $1.2 billion each year in funds that are allocated to the States
Much of this progress is due to the leadership of Mr. Nussman, who hails from Crownsville, MD. While ASA has been a trade association since 1933, it has really been in the past 25 years--a period that coincides with his tenure--that the organization has assumed more of a leadership role in the angling community.
With the support of ASA, the aforementioned excise taxes have been expanded to cover programs such as wetlands restoration, boating safety and infrastructure, and the establishment of the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation, RBFF. In fact, Mike Nussman led the effort to establish RBFF to turn around a decline in recreational fishing participation, which started to appear in the 1990s. The most recent data indicate an upward trend in recreational fishing, including among more diverse and urban communities.
Mr. Nussman's success should come as no surprise. He worked for the Senate Commerce Committee and then-Chairman Fritz Hollings of South Carolina. Mr. Nussman was the lead professional staff member for the subcommittee that oversees fisheries policy, the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Prior to that, Mr. Nussman worked for the South Carolina Sea Grant Program, earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in science, and an MBA from the University of South Carolina.
Mr. Nussman's tenure at the ASA also has improved the organization's business operations. The sportfishing industry's annual trade show is now the largest in the world. His leadership has made the organization financially strong, helping it weather economic downturns. He has also served on numerous boards of directors and advisory groups, from the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership to the Blue Ribbon Panel on Sustaining America's Diverse Fish and Wildlife Resources. He has served as a U.S. Commissioner on the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas.
Trade associations serve a unique role by allowing companies in the same industry to come together to express their views on issues affecting the entire industry. They are an important segment of our U.S. private sector and provide a legal, accepted mechanism to allow small and large companies in an industry to have a common voice when working with the Congress, the Executive, the States, and local governments. When Mr. Nussman joined the ASA, he brought special expertise as a former Senate staffer to the recreational fishing industry and conservation communities. So upon the occasion of his retirement, I think it appropriate that he be recognized and congratulated today for a job well done. Anglers and sportfishing-
related businesses in Maryland and across our Nation can be thankful that he has been at the ASA helm.
I wish him all the best as he begins the next chapter in his life which will include, presumably, even more time for fishing.
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