[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 114 (Tuesday, September 21, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1665-E1666]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 ON RELEASE OF THE FINAL REPORT OF THE U.S. COMMISSION ON OCEAN POLICY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 21, 2004

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, five months ago yesterday, the U.S. Commission 
on Ocean Policy released a Preliminary Report outlining the imperiled 
state of our oceans. Yesterday, the U.S. Commission moved our country 
one step closer to being better stewards of our oceans by submitting to 
the President and to Congress a Final Report on ``everything oceans.'' 
This comprehensive document makes recommendations on a wide range of 
topics, from improving governance of ocean resources to promoting 
greater marine stewardship and education, from recognizing the need to 
manage the oceans on an ecosystem basis to suggesting greater 
exploration of unknown areas of the sea, from discussing reform of 
fisheries management to arguing for increases in our marine science 
research budget, and from speaking to the connections between coastal 
land uses and the oceans to implementing an integrated ocean 
observation system.
  Submission of the Final Report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy 
is truly an historic event. It has been more than 30 years since we, as 
a nation, have evaluated our relationship with the sea. I sincerely 
hope that our evaluation does not get ignored, but instead serves as a 
springboard for increased protection of this country's largest public 
trust resource.
  The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy was mandated by the Oceans Act of 
2000, legislation on which I am an original cosponsor and which is 
based on bills that I initially introduced in 1997 and 1999. In the 
Oceans Act,

[[Page E1666]]

we gave the Commissioners an enormous task and today I want to 
recognize the efforts of the 16 Commissioners, 26 Advisors, and 
countless staff who helped to create such a comprehensive report. All 
of these people have spent a large portion of the past five months 
reading comments on the Preliminary Report provided by Governors, 
tribal interests, non-governmental organizations, and members of the 
public--not a small task. I am sure that the Commission's excitement 
over the release of the Final Report, an endeavor embarked upon roughly 
three years ago, approximates the thrill felt by those of us who love, 
care deeply about, and want to protect the oceans.
  The Final Report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy details the 
crises facing our oceans. Building on the Preliminary Report, the Final 
Report includes refinements in a few areas: the funding mechanism is 
provided in detail, marine cultural heritage is included, more 
attention is given to how climate change will affect the oceans, the 
intent to include all coastal areas such as the Great Lakes and 
Territories is clarified, and the important role that states should 
play in protecting ocean resources is emphasized.

  While we have many crises--at home and abroad--that require our 
immediate attention, we cannot overlook the fact that our oceans are in 
a state of crisis, too. It is my sincere hope that both Members of 
Congress and the Bush Administration will read the U.S. Commission's 
Report and realize that our oceans need attention--now--and that the 
country is looking to us--their leaders--to act. I look forward to 
analyzing the President's response to the Final Report, a response 
that, under law, must be submitted within 90 days of today.
  We all depend on our oceans and coasts, from the person who lives off 
the water to the person who visits once in a lifetime. The oceans 
provide food, jobs, vacation spots, scientific knowledge, and 
opportunities for reflection. Despite our inability to measure the many 
non-market values associated with our oceans and coasts, we are able to 
quantify some of the benefits they provide. For example, over a 
trillion dollars is added to our economy each year by ocean and coastal 
economies. I trust that we can all agree that this is a huge 
contribution; a contribution that must be protected so the returns keep 
coming.
  Protection of our oceans will require a change of course. 
Unfortunately, all too often we take our oceans for granted: we 
underestimate their value and we ignore the negative consequences 
human-related activities can have on them. Our oceans represent the 
largest public trust resource in the U.S. and cover an area nearly one 
and a half times the size of the continental United States. Americans 
expect the Government to safeguard this vast resource and I hope that 
the Final Report will be the impetus for us to actually begin to do so.
  Simply put, our current ocean and coastal management system, created 
over thirty years ago, is archaic and incompatible with new knowledge 
about how the oceans and coastal waters function as a whole. Our 
policies are fragmented, both institutionally and geographically. For 
example, Mr. Speaker, today we find ourselves with over ten federal 
departments involved in the implementation of more than 130 ocean-
related statutes. It is time to re-consider this incoherent and 
oftentimes incompatible management situation and bring order to our 
ocean governance structure. The U.S. Commission's Report offers some 
guidance on how to do just this.
  One of the biggest advances in our understanding of oceans to occur 
since our last national review of ocean policy is that the natural 
world functions as ecosystems, with each species intricately connected 
to the other parts that make up the whole. The U.S. Commission's Final 
Report, as well as the independent Pew Oceans Commission Report 
released in June of 2003, clearly states that we must adopt a new 
policy framework that is based on the concept of ``the whole,'' an 
ecosystem-based approach rather than one based on political boundaries. 
This approach will not be as easy or straightforward as our previous 
approaches, but we must dedicate ourselves to making it a reality. With 
a comprehensive national ocean policy explicitly written to maintain 
healthy ocean ecosystems, our oceans will be a bountiful resource in 
which we can all take pride.

  The Final Report released yesterday also stresses the importance of 
instilling a new ecosystem-based stewardship ethic. Involved in 
instilling this ethic is increasing ocean-related education for all 
Americans at all levels, from first-graders learning how to read to 
graduate students investigating intricate scientific processes. The 
U.S. Commission details suggestions on how we can instill a new 
stewardship ethic by emphasizing and investing in greater marine 
science education. I see this recommendation--that of committing 
ourselves to teaching people about all aspects of the oceans and how 
our activities can have negative consequences for ocean ecosystems--as 
being fundamental to ensuring a better future for our oceans.
  It is up to each of us to not let this unprecedented opportunity pass 
us by--we cannot wait any longer to clean up this mess we have created 
for our oceans. On this point both the Pew and U.S. Commission reports 
are adamant: we must rethink the way we look at the oceans. We are at a 
turning point in oceans management and we have a once-in-a-generation 
opportunity to take the momentum created by the two ocean reports and 
make long lasting changes to protect our seas.
  Within the Legislative Branch, I have been working to bring attention 
to oceans issues. I worked with my fellow co-chairs of the bi-partisan 
House Oceans Caucus, Mr. Jim Greenwood (R-PA), Mr. Tom Allen (D-ME), 
and Mr. Curt Weldon (R-PA), to introduce a comprehensive oceans bill, 
H.R. 4900 (informally known as OCEANS-21). OCEANS-21 answers the calls 
of the Pew and U.S. Commissions by establishing a clear national oceans 
policy and by providing a framework for addressing the many problems 
outlined in the reports. I hope that those in the majority party will 
recognize the bi-partisan nature of OCEANS-21 and give it consideration 
during this session of Congress. In addition to my efforts on H.R. 
4900, I am working closely with Mr. Rahall, Ranking Member of the House 
Resources Committee, on his efforts to implement those recommendations 
from the Pew and U.S. Commissions that address management of our 
nation's fishery resources (H.R. 4706). The specific elements of this 
bill include separating the biological science from the allocation 
decisions, implementing conflict of interest requirements for members 
of the fishery councils, and broadening representation on the councils. 
I am also the lead sponsor on H.R. 4100, a bill that addresses the 
problem of pollution from cruise ships, and am a cosponsor of both H.R. 
4897, a bill to protect deep sea corals, and H.R. 5001, a bill to 
establish an ocean observation pilot project that will move us closer 
to having an integrated ocean observation system. Individual members of 
the House of Representatives have been working hard to introduce 
legislation that implements the changes needed to ensure that the 
oceans we pass to the next generations are oceans that we can be proud 
of. We are now looking to the House leadership to consider our bills 
and to make good on the collective responsibility we have to future 
generations.
  Within the Executive Branch, the Bush Administration has a prime 
opportunity to take the steps necessary to instill a new ocean ethic in 
our government. In fact, Pew and U.S. Commission recommendation-based 
action by this Administration could very well save our largest public 
trust. The time for leadership is now. I am dedicated to providing it 
in Congress, with the help of my fellow Oceans Caucus co-chairs and 
other colleagues concerned about ocean issues, and I hope the President 
will provide it in the White House.

  Mr. Speaker, I would like to close with a quote from the Final Report 
that encapsulates my thoughts on the importance of yesterday's historic 
occasion:

       The responsibility of our generation is to reclaim and 
     renew the oceans for ourselves, for our children, and--if we 
     do the job right--for those whose footprints will mark the 
     sands of beaches from Maine to Hawaii long after ours have 
     washed away.

  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to dedicate themselves to 
shaping a better future for our oceans.

                          ____________________