The House Natural Resources Committee will vote on bipartisan legislation this week to delay protections for the endangered North Atlantic right whale, a priority for the White House.
H.R. 9436, from Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Jared Golden (D-Maine), would extend a Biden-era freeze on new rules for the lobster and Jonah crab industries beyond 2028 until 2035.
Golden had already introduced a version of the bill, which the White House backed in May in a statement of administration policy. The statement said it “strongly supports” the bill and that it lined up with President Donald Trump’s executive order on “American Seafood Competitiveness.”
Golden said in response, “I’m grateful for the President’s support for Maine’s lobstermen and hopeful that my colleagues in the House will join me in quickly passing this bill into law.”
