[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 132 (Monday, September 29, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H8063-H8066]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE OCEAN
Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the
concurrent resolution, House Concurrent Resolution 131, expressing the
sense of Congress regarding the ocean, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Con. Res. 131
Whereas the ocean comprises nearly three quarters of the
surface of the Earth;
Whereas the ocean contains diverse species of fish and
other living organisms which form the largest eco-system on
Earth;
Whereas these living marine resources provide important
food resources to the United States and the world, and
unsustainable use of these resources has unacceptable
economic, environmental, and cultural consequences;
Whereas the ocean and sea floor contain vast energy and
mineral resources which are critical to the economy of the
United States and the world;
Whereas the ocean largely controls global weather and
climate, and is the ultimate source of all water resources;
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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 the ocean is the common means of transportation
between coastal nations and carries the majority of the
United States foreign trade;
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 and coastal policy, and issued recommendations
which 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 resources, 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 resources
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.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Jersey [Mr. Saxton] and the gentleman from California [Mr. Farr] each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Saxton].
Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Mr. SAXTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. SAXTON. Today we are considering House Concurrent Resolution 131,
Mr. Speaker, expressing the sense of Congress on the importance of the
ocean, the gentleman from Hawaii [Mr. Abercrombie] and I, for two
purposes. First, it will publicize the importance of the oceans to the
economy, environmental quality, and national security of the United
States.
The ocean is critical to our Nation. Ninety-eight percent of the U.S.
foreign trade travels by ship. Half of Americans live within 50 miles
of the coastline. However, many U.S. ocean programs have received flat
or decreasing funding over the last decade. We cannot act to address
this problem unless the public fully understands that the oceans are
important to all Americans, whether or not they make their living
directly from the sea.
Mr. Speaker, House Concurrent Resolution 131 helps to build this
understanding. Also, it is interesting to point out that 1998 will be
the International Year of the Ocean. Scientific and educational events
designed to increase understanding of the oceans and ocean resources
will be held throughout the year.
The international focus on ocean resources presents a very good
opportunity for us to make substantive improvements to the U.S. oceans
programs. House Concurrent Resolution 131 encourages the administration
to take advantage of the Year of the Ocean to review and streamline
ocean programs, and take steps to improve our understanding of the
ocean resources.
Mr. Speaker, this resolution, will express congressional recognition
of the importance of the ocean and congressional commitment to
improving the ocean programs. Obviously, I hope everyone will support
this bill.
I would also like to point out the important role that the gentleman
from California [Mr. Farr] has played, not only in helping to bring
this resolution to the floor, but relative to the subject of ocean
environment, generally. His contribution has been very, very
meaningful, and it has been a pleasure to work with him.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this bill, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
(Mr. FARR of California asked and was given permission to revise and
extend his remarks.)
Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House
Concurrent Resolution 131. Mr. Speaker, the U.N. General Assembly has
declared 1998 to be the International Year of the Ocean. That is
probably one U.N. action that everyone in this House can support.
It has been nearly 30 years, as the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr.
Saxton] pointed out, since the Commission on Marine Science,
Engineering, and Resources, commonly known as the Stratton Commission,
took a comprehensive look at the U.S. ocean policy. A large group of
Members of Congress have recently urged the President to hold a White
House conference on the ocean, and there will be an international
exhibit on the oceans in Lisbon, Portugal, beginning next spring.
Without a doubt, the world is becoming focused on the oceans and 1998
is the year. It is time for all the world's seafaring nations to
reexamine their ocean policies. The once boundless resources of the
oceans have proven to be finite when pitted against our incredible
technology. Many of our great fisheries have been decimated. Coastal
ecosystems are severely stressed by development and by pollution. Yet,
we depend on the oceans more than ever for food, for transportation,
and for recreation.
We need to take a long, hard look at how we interact with the oceans,
and define a new relationship based on sustainable use, I repeat that,
on sustainable use, of our ocean resources.
Mr. Speaker, this resolution is an excellent way for the House to
launch that effort. I join my colleague, the gentleman from New Jersey
[Mr. Saxton] in urging bipartisan support. The gentleman from New
Jersey is chair of the subcommittee. He has been a remarkable leader on
this issue.
It is very interesting that today a Representative from New Jersey
and a Representative from California get up to support this, because we
are separated by land mass, but our two districts are joined by the
oceans, the long way around, I might add. But the fact is that what
affects one affects the other, so this resolution will help bring a
sense of Congress that this is an important issue, and that we ought
to, in this Congress, be spending more attention and more moneys on
oceans than we are on outer space, because the oceans are our future,
how we are going to survive on this planet.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the committee for his
leadership, and I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, let me just emphasize just how important I think this
subject is. Obviously, when we pass a resolution suggesting that
Congress pay special note to something, or that the American people pay
special note of something, obviously there is a good reason for us to
do it.
I think what the gentleman from California [Mr. Farr] and I bring to
the House together in terms of this subject is that we have both had
experiences over the last decade or so that have shown us that while
there are problems related to the oceans, and while we continue to need
to make progress along that line, we have also made significant
progress in the last 10 years.
One decade ago, in the summer of 1987 on the Atlantic coast, we had a
horrific summer. We had dolphins washing up on our shores, we had algae
blooms all up and down the East coast, and in my home State of New
Jersey and on Long Island there was medical waste that washed up on our
beaches. It was enough to lead anyone who would vacation in the
Northeast at the shore or to eat products derived from the sea to take
their vacations elsewhere, or to buy their food from some other source.
It was an easy conclusion for the public to make.
[[Page H8065]]
Since 1987 and 1988, we have cooperated with the States, we have put
Federal programs in place to help with the ocean environment, we have
passed the Medical Waste Tracking Act, for example, we passed the
sludge dumping prohibition that passed in 1988 or 1989, and generally
speaking, the ecological state of our oceans has improved manyfold
since those very difficult times in the Northeast.
Mr. Speaker, as we move forward, we continue to have problems. We
continue to have problems with the regulatory process through which we
try to regulate fish and mammals that live in the ocean. I spoke of one
the other day with the gentleman from California [Mr. Farr]. We have a
Federal agency that regulates the fishing industry. It is known as the
National Marine Fisheries Service.
Perhaps it has some goals that need to be changed, because really,
every time I go home and talk to someone who lives by the sea, I hear
another story about how we need to do a better job in making sure that
the ocean environment is conducive to making a good home for fish and
mammals and other animal life that live there.
{time} 1245
This is indeed an important subject. The amount of people who live
near the ocean is immense. The amount of the world's surface that is
covered by oceans is huge, and it is in all of our best interests to
take these subjects extremely seriously. And so I hope that today will
not be just a pro forma vote, passing another resolution.
The United Nations has recognized how important this is on a global
basis and has designated 1998 as the Year of the Oceans,
internationally. It is in all of our best interests to support this
bill and to carry this message out across the country and, in fact,
around the world as to just how important these matters are.
Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. SAXTON. I yield to the gentleman from California.
Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the gentleman,
because this is just one of many steps that he is going to take in his
committee to try to strengthen the awareness and the law as it regards
the oceans.
We spend a lot of time on this floor debating how we are going to
help disaster stressed communities. We usually look at natural
disasters and base closures as sort of the two major reasons that we
need economic relief.
I happen to represent the city of Monterrey, CA, which at one time
was the largest sardine port in the world, certainly well known by the
writings of John Steinbeck in ``Cannery Row.'' Sardines disappeared.
They are coming back in small numbers now. But they are mostly a
bycatch rather than the main catch. But that was in the late 1940's and
early 1950's. Everybody has agreed that the reason they disappeared is
that they were just overfished. It shut down an entire industry, entire
community. It was before we knew about disaster relief.
I think what we are seeing with the impact of the pfiesteria
infection on the Maryland shores is that we have got to have a much
better awareness of what is happening to animals, to fish, and to
marine life, because we are really dependent on it. We may not be
totally dependent on it for food stocks, but we are dependent on it for
economic survival in our communities, for recreation, for tourism, for
restaurants, and, essentially, if the ocean is not healthy, then our
communities cannot be healthy.
So this attention that the gentleman's resolution and other bills
that he is working on and I am working with him on, I think, is going
to go a long way in bringing America to the forefront of being a
pioneer, a new pioneer in the oceans, as we have been in the last
decade. I thank the gentleman for his efforts.
I encourage all my colleagues to take this issue seriously, because
it is about our future. It is about our weather. It is about our
knowledge of weather, our knowledge of oceans, and essentially the
quality of life on the planet Earth.
Mr. SAXTON. I thank the gentleman for his comments.
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, House Concurrent Resolution 131 is
a resolution that recognizes the importance of our oceans and the fact
that 1998 has been internationally declared the ``Year of the Ocean.''
As the Congressman for all Alaska, I am keenly aware of how vital the
oceans are to my constituents. With the largest coastline in the Nation
of 6,640 miles, Alaskan waters contain some of the richest and most
valuable fishing grounds in the world. Many Alaskan towns are connected
to the rest of the State only by watercraft, and many Alaskan Natives
depend on fish and marine mammals for their subsistence.
I strongly support efforts to focus attention on these bodies of
water, which comprise nearly three-quarters of the Earth's surface.
While remarkably we know little about many of the ocean's resources, in
the future we are likely to grow increasingly dependent on the energy,
food, and mineral resources that exist there.
During the past 3 years, the Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation,
Wildlife and Oceans has conducted valuable hearings on the importance
of our fishery resources, the ocean disposal of radioactive materials,
the impact of offshore mineral production, and the need to update
nautical charts. In fact, we have been successful in convincing the
appropriators that accurate charts are essential to the maritime
community and that adequate funding is necessary.
The United States has always been a fishing nation, and these
resources have provided protein to millions of Americans. It is crucial
that our world's fisheries be properly managed and that effective
conservation measures be enforced. By focusing attention on this issue,
House Concurrent Resolution 131 serves an important purpose. I
compliment the authors for highlighting the need to promote sound
stewardship of the oceans and their living marine resources.
I urge my colleagues to support House Concurrent Resolution 131.
Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Concurrent
Resolution 131, expressing the sense of Congress regarding the ocean
and recognizing 1998 as the international year of the ocean.
Congress, this Nation, and countries throughout the world need to
foster a greater understanding and appreciation of our oceans. This
resolution is one small but important step toward that end.
Ocean waters cover nearly 75 percent of the Earth's surface. They
comprise such a dominant part of our national, social, and cultural
environment that it would be foolish to try to even begin listing all
the benefits and functions they provide.
Unfortunately, they are also fragile--at least more fragile in many
respects than we would like to admit. Pollution, invasive species,
encroaching populations, and other stressors can take their toll.
Concerted efforts are needed. The world's nations, including ours,
should work more closely together to respect and conserve our global
marine resources.
I commend Representative Saxton for his efforts and the Resources
Committee in general for its role in moving this resolution forward.
I should also add that the Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee did not seek a referral of House Concurrent Resolution 131
but has various jurisdictional interests in it and in other efforts
relating to oceans. The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
Subcommittee, chaired by Representative Wayne Gilchrest, and the Water
Resources and Environment Subcommittee, which I chair, are particularly
interested in various environmental and transportation-related aspects
of the oceans. We look forward to working on additional initiatives and
legislative provisions that are consistent with the spirit of this
resolution and protect and promote various aspects of the world's
oceans.
I urge my colleagues to support House Concurrent Resolution 131.
Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution.
Next year is the International Year of the Oceans as designated by the
United Nations. This designation hopes to draw attention to the need
for conservation of the limited resources that our oceans provide. For
years, humans have considered ocean resources as inexhaustible. As
evidenced by the depletion and extinction of many fish species, the
destruction of coral reefs and the pollution of waters around the
globe, these resources are finite. We cannot continue to harvest the
ocean without replenishing what we take. I am very pleased that the
U.S. House of Representatives is recognizing the importance of the
oceans and the need for the world to stop taking what they provide for
granted. The oceans are an integral part of our lives whether we rely
on them for food, transport or recreation. If we do not properly
maintain our oceans, they will not continue to sustain us.
Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
General Leave
Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
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may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous material on the concurrent resolution under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Upton). Is there objection to the
request of the gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Saxton] that the House suspend the rules
and agree to the concurrent resolution, House Concurrent Resolution
131, as amended.
The question was taken.
Mr. CONDIT. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not
present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5 of rule I and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.
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