A federal program that protects the health and wellbeing of commercial fishermen should be expanded to include substance use disorder and worker fatigue, a group of lawmakers from New England and Alaska said.

The lawmakers want to expand a federal commercial fishing occupational safety program that funds research and training. The program is designed to help the nation’s fishermen with the often hazardous conditions they face at sea.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who along with Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., is among the lawmakers pushing for the change, said expanding the program would help fishermen access more safety training and mental health resources.

Markey added the expansion would “provide much needed funding to ensure that fishermen are getting the information and resources they need to stay safe and healthy on the job.”

Proposed changes would increase the program’s annual funding from $6 million to $12 million, a Collins spokesperson said.

Bull sees S&P 500 climbing next year

One of Wall Street’s biggest bulls estimates that the S&P 500 will hit 5,200 points next year to set a fresh record.

Oppenheimer Asset Management chief strategist John Stoltzfus, who correctly forecast this year’s rally, joins Fundstrat’s Tom Lee to hold among the most favorable outlook for 2024. Their target implies nearly 13% of gains from last Friday’s close and will see the S&P 500 move more than 8% above the current all-time high.

“We look for 2024 to be a year of transition as markets navigate what we expect will be the Fed’s pivot from a restrictive monetary policy setting to an easier stance,” the strategist wrote in a note on Monday.