WASHINGTON -- North Coast Rep. Mike Thompson and Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio on Thursday forced a meeting with Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez to press him to declare the West Coast salmon season a disaster.

The secretary said that he would review the situation.

Frustrated with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's claim that the agency could not declare a disaster until at least February, Thompson and DeFazio, among others, waited for the secretary outside the House Energy and Commerce Committee where he was due to testify. Committee Chairman Joe Barton agreed to allow the members to meet with the secretary prior to his testimony.

During the meeting, Gutierrez agreed to review, in short order, the situation and what the department's options are.

”We've been asking the secretary to meet with us for months. Today we decided to seek him out ourselves,” said Thompson, D-St. Helena. “NOAA staff has signaled that they won't act to declare a disaster until February of 2007 -- this is an unacceptable and immoral timeframe. Fishers and coastal communities up and down our districts are struggling to get by day to day. Today we appealed to the secretary to take action.”

In other business, the amendment attached by Thompson to the Science, State, Justice and Commerce Appropriations Bill passed Thursday. It will transfer $2 million in funding from the Department of Commerce's administrative budget to NOAA Fisheries. Thompson hopes that allocation will serve as a placeholder for additional disaster assistance funding.

On the state end, the Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution by Assemblywoman Patty Berg, D-Eureka, calling on federal lawmakers to provide relief to the men and women whose livelihoods have been threatened by the shortage of salmon on the Klamath River.