[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 119 (Thursday, September 21, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1806-E1807]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. THOMAS H. ALLEN

                                of maine

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 20, 2006

  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5450 and applaud 
Representative Ehlers, Chairman Boehlert and the members of the House 
Science committee for their work on this bill. However, I am also 
deeply concerned with H.R. 5450. My concern, however, is not what is 
actually in this bill, but what is missing. Because the House Resources 
Committee refused to consider this important legislation, we are now 
debating a bill that does not include authorization for the oceanic 
component of NOAA.
  This greatly disappoints me. As a co-chair of the bipartisan House 
Oceans Caucus, I have worked closely with the line offices of NOAA that 
handle ocean stewardship, and I have always been amazed at the size and 
importance of their mission considering what little Congress gives them 
in the way of guidance or funds. Funding that should go to NOAA to 
bolster ocean research and management already pales in comparison to 
other natural resource programs, and now, we are about to authorize 
only the atmospheric component of NOAA. This is just another example of 
the failure of this Congress to make the management of our oceans a 
priority. This amazes me, considering the size and economic value of 
our oceans.
  We have been called to make our oceans a greater priority for more 
than 6 years now. When are we going to act? After our fish stocks are 
fully depleted? After global warming have caused rising sea levels to 
erode our beaches and the oceans to become so acidic that coral reefs 
have wasted away? In 2000, with the passage of the Oceans Act, Congress 
called for a National Commission on Ocean Policy to conduct a 
nationwide fact-finding mission on the state of our oceans. The goal 
was to develop policy recommendations that would lead to a coordinated 
and comprehensive national ocean policy. The independent Pew Oceans 
Commission underwent a similar process to identify the root problems 
threatening our nations' oceans. The products of these two commissions 
are nothing short of remarkable. Both commissions independently came to 
the same clear message: our oceans are in peril.
  It is NOAA that must tackle these challenges. As the lead agency on 
ocean management, both commissions acknowledged the size of the task 
that NOAA faces. Americans are facing declining fish stocks, beach 
closures due to poor water quality, and laws that are inadequate to 
protect America's oceans. Both commissions have called on Congress 
repeatedly to provide NOAA with an organic act. In fact, both have 
listed an organic act as one of the highest priorities in taking steps 
towards better management of our oceans.
  NOAA already administers the core programs that manage our ocean 
resources, and again, does so under an ever tightening budget. For 
example, National Marine Fisheries Service manages all Federal 
fisheries under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The Office of Ocean and 
Coastal Resource Management administers the Coastal Zone Management Act 
that protects our coasts from pollution and erosion. Congress sure 
likes to give NOAA a lot to do, but nothing to do it with.
  Furthermore, NOAA also administers a number of completely 
unauthorized programs that Americans depend on. The Ocean and 
Atmospheric Research office played a lead role in helping institute an 
integrated ocean observation system based on what we already have in 
the Gulf of Maine. Analogous to the routine monitoring of weather and 
climate, ocean observation collects a myriad of temperature and current 
data that enhances the prediction of hurricanes and storms, the impacts 
of global warming, and is used by search and rescue teams and shipping 
fleets for navigation. Despite the multiple uses of ocean observation, 
the regional associations are now at risk of shutting down because as 
an unauthorized program, they are unable to find a sustainable funding 
path. It is ridiculous. In essence, this innovative program may have to 
shut down for being too ahead of its time.
  The challenges NOAA faces are only going to increase over the next 
century. More than

[[Page E1807]]

50 percent of the population already lives in coastal counties, and the 
numbers are rising. To support NOAA in their task, Congress must 
provide it with a full organic act. With an organic act, the offices 
that run the core programs that Americans nation-wide depend on would 
be provided with an established mission. A clear mission would help 
NOAA prioritize and justify itself during appropriations, perhaps 
heading off the crippling cuts that are leveled against it each year. 
Guidance from Congress would also help NOAA reorganize and enhance 
inter-office and inter-agency communication, thus making NOAA 
operations more efficient and streamlined.
  While I support H.R. 5450 for taking us toward the goal of 
authorizing NOAA, we must remember it only takes us halfway. By 
authorizing only the atmospheric and educational components of NOAA, we 
fail half of this vital agency, and I urge Congress to make a full 
organic act for NOAA a priority.

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