Statement of NEFSA CEO Jerry Leeman on passage of ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’

July 3, 2025

“For years the federal government has cut sweetheart deals with foreign offshore wind developers industrializing America’s oceans. Sadly, the final version of OBBB maintains federal favoritism for megacorporations that will destroy American jobs, maritime heritage, and our wild seafood resource.

Commercial fishermen are not powerful insiders. But offshore wind developers and their big bank allies are. The furious, last-minute bid to protect offshore wind subsidies is only the latest evidence of the influence they wield. These multinational titans get special treatment every step of the way. In one case, the federal government even waived an environmental cleanup fee to help a European developer lock in financing.

Giving America’s oceans away to global companies is a catastrophic error. OBBB was supposed to give American fishermen a chance to succeed.”