U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen talks successes, priorities with Eastern Shore lawmakers
DELMARVA – “It’s been a phenomenal year in the bay for recruitment, but that is only in the public oyster fishier and not in these sanctuaries. Majority of the sanctuaries really should be called cemeteries,” Sen. Johnny Mautz said.
Oyster restoration, the health of the Chesapeake Bay, and economic growth were amongst many talking points on Friday. U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen met with several members of the Eastern Shore Delegation to talk priorities.
Senator Van Hollen praised the more than 130,000 H-2B visas secured over the past year for Maryland’s Seafood workforce. Despite that, he said the challenge that remains is that it functions as a lottery system. “We’ve introduced a bipartisan bill that would essentially exempt Seafood processors all together from the H-2B annual worker cap,” Sen. Van Hollen said.
Several other lawmakers also spoke on the rising concerns on the impacts of the invasive blue catfish. “We’ve found that these blue catfish have gotten big enough that they’re now feeding on oyster spats. This year, as you hopefully now, was one of the best years we’ve had in a long time on natural oyster spat in the Chesapeake Bay. So, it’s very concerning,” Senator Jay Jacobs said.
Senator Van Hollen said the blue catfish have caught the attention of many congress members, adding that the best way for the state to deal with the situation is to eat ourselves out of it. “I’ve been working along with Congressman Andy Harris and Cardin to try and put the inspection process under the FDA like other fish products around the country,” Sen. Van Hollen said. “We’re also trying to provide the Department of Agriculture with additional funds to prevent more invasive catfish. There’s $750,000 in a grant that Senator Cardin and I included in the appropriations bill.”
Senator Van Hollen said although the H-2B visas bill has bipartisan support, it also has bipartisan opposition. Lawmakers are working to address concerns raised on both sides of the aisle.
Senator Van Hollen also spoke about the fact that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Modernization Bill includes $8 billion over the next five years, icluding money that will go to support many projects here on the shore.
He also mentioned $18 million in federal funding awarded in the past to the eastern shore which helped build out the Center of Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
