The Senate Appropriations Committee agreed to the funding in a supplemental spending bill that now must be approved by the full House and Senate, announced Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich.
Murkowski, a member of the committee, said she hopes to see the measure passed by the Memorial Day recess. The bill also includes money for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and to respond to the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Fishing for kings is one of the few ways to make money in many cash-poor Yukon River villages, but chinook runs have dwindled in recent years, prompting restrictions and closures on the river.
"When there's nothing out there and you're counting on it to sustain your family and help pay whatever bills, this was a real disaster," Murkowski said.
During a visit hosted by Begich in January, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke issued a disaster declaration for the 2008 and 2009 commercial king salmon seasons.
"We're discussing with regional groups how this will work in terms of who will get it and how it will be distributed," Julie Hasquet, a Begich spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail.
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