[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 184 (Tuesday, December 4, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2484-E2485]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    COMMEMORATING THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND 
                       ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 4, 2007

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate two 
centuries of service by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA), for NOAA's continued efforts to improve our 
understanding of the environment and for its dedicated stewardship of 
the Nation's coast, waterways and wildlife.
  Originally founded in 1807 to survey the early American coast, the 
predecessor of today's NOAA marked the creation of the Nation's first 
science agency. From its humble beginnings, NOAA's contribution to 
American history evolved to reflect the needs and expectations of a 
growing Nation. Even a brief selection from the catalogue of NOAA's 
contribution to the American experience offers an illustration of the 
impressive contribution NOAA and its predecessor agencies have made to 
American history over the years.

[[Page E2485]]

  In 1911, after decades of offshore, open water sealing by other 
nations decimated the herd, the North Pacific Fur Seal Treaty was 
signed--the first international treaty for wildlife conservation. The 
agreement gave NOAA's predecessor responsibility for protecting 
wildlife along the American coast and was the forerunner and 
inspiration for laws such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.
  After World War II, what would become NOAA joined the U.S. in another 
great leap forward when the technological, geographic, and social 
landscape of NOAA's two legacy agencies--the Survey of the Coast and 
the Weather Bureau--were merged and their resources combined to usher 
in a new era of weather observations from space with the launch of the 
first meteorological satellite.
  And, NOAA grew yet again in response to the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in 
1989. The spill led to the passage of the Oil Pollution Control Act of 
1990 which strengthened and enhanced NOAA's capacity to respond to and 
help reduce impacts from hazardous material spills.
  For 200 years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
and its predecessor agencies have served this great Nation by providing 
research to improve our understanding of the oceans and the atmosphere 
and has faithfully fulfilled its mandate as a steward of the 
environment. I am happy to add my voice to those of my colleagues as we 
honor today this important American institution.

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