[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 131 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 131


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 28, 1998

   Received and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                             Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
     Acknowledging 1998 as the International Year of the Ocean and 
         expressing the sense of Congress regarding the ocean.

Whereas the ocean, which comprises nearly three-quarters of the Earth's surface, 
        sustains a large part of the Earth's biodiversity, provides an important 
        source of food, and interacts with and affects global weather and 
        climate;
Whereas the ocean is critical to national security, is the common means of 
        transportation among coastal nations, and carries 95 percent of the 
        United States foreign trade;
Whereas the ocean and sea floor contain vast energy and mineral resources that 
        are critical to the economy of the United States and the world;
Whereas ocean resources are limited and susceptible to change as a direct and 
        indirect result of human activities, and such changes can impact the 
        ability of the ocean to provide the benefits upon which the Nation 
        depends;
Whereas the vast majority of the deep ocean is unexplored and unknown, and the 
        ocean is truly the last frontier on Earth for science and civilization;
Whereas there exists significant promise for the development of new ocean 
        technologies for stewardship of ocean resources that will contribute to 
        the economy through business and manufacturing innovations and the 
        creation of new jobs;
Whereas any nation's use or misuse of ocean resources has effects far beyond 
        that nation's borders;
Whereas it has been 30 years since the Commission on Marine Science, 
        Engineering, and Resources (popularly known as the Stratton Commission) 
        met to examine the state of United States ocean policy and issued 
        recommendations that led to the present Federal structure for 
        oceanography and marine resource management; and
Whereas 1998 has been declared the International Year of the Ocean, and in order 
        to observe such celebration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration and other Federal agencies, in cooperation with 
        organizations concerned with ocean science and marine resource,s have 
        resolved to promote exploration, utilization, conservation, and public 
        awareness of the ocean: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is 
the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) the ocean is of paramount importance to the economic future, 
        environmental quality, and national security of the United States;
            (2) the United States has a responsibility to exercise and promote 
        comprehensive stewardship of the ocean and the living marine resources 
        it contains; and
            (3) Federal agencies are encouraged to take advantage of the United 
        States and international focus on the oceans in 1998, to--
                    (A) review United States oceanography and marine resource 
                management policies and programs;
                    (B) identify opportunities to streamline, better direct, and 
                increase interagency cooperation in oceanographic research and 
                marine resource management policies and programs; and
                    (C) develop scientific, educational, and resource management 
                programs which will advance the exploration of the ocean and the 
                sustainable use of ocean resources.

            Passed the House of Representatives November 13, 1997.

            Attest:

                                                ROBIN H. CARLE,

                                                                 Clerk.