Congressional Record, Volume 154 Issue 156 (Sunday, September 28, 2008)

[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 156 (Sunday, September 28, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2123-E2124]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

HONORING REPRESENTATIVE TOM ALLEN, REPRESENTATIVE WAYNE GILCHREST, AND
REPRESENTATIVE JIM SAXTON

______

HON. SAM FARR

of california

in the house of representatives

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Mr. FARR. Madam Speaker, I along with Ms. Bordallo and Mr. Inslee
rise to recognize and commend three extraordinary Members of Congress--
Tom Allen, Wayne Gilchrest, and Jim Saxton--for the leadership they
have shown during their distinguished careers in this House to protect
and promote the oceans.
Mr. Allen, Mr. Gilchrest, and Mr. Saxton have been allies in the
struggle to conserve and restore our oceans, coasts, and bays. They
each have fought to ensure that our Nation, with the largest ocean
territory in the world, will have healthy and productive oceans for
generations to come.
We are honored to have served with them, to have learned from them,
and to be able to call them friends.
We commend Mr. Allen, Mr. Gilchrest, and Mr. Saxton for their
tireless efforts over the years at shaping policy for sound stewardship
of our oceans and our coasts.
Mr. Allen, Mr. Gilchrest, and Mr. Saxton have been leaders in ocean
conservation, science, and education as cochairs of the House Oceans
Caucus and as active members of the National Marine Sanctuary Caucus.
Mr. Allen, Mr. Gilchrest, and Mr. Saxton were instrumental in the
establishment of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and the first
comprehensive ocean study in 35 years.
Mr. Allen, Mr. Gilchrest, and Mr. Saxton have led efforts to increase
funding for ocean programs and for the ocean mission of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Mr. Allen, Mr. Gilchrest, and Mr. Saxton have defended and
strengthened the Coastal Zone Management Act and the National Marine
Sanctuaries Act which are our country's cornerstones of ocean
conservation and management.
Mr. Allen, Mr. Gilchrest, and Mr. Saxton joined Mr. Farr to coauthor
a comprehensive ocean management bill, H.R. 21, the Ocean Conservation
Education and National Strategy for the 21st Century Act or OCEANS-21.
With their support, passion, and input, OCEANS-21 was reported
favorably out of the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans
and we are one step closer to having a national ocean policy and
coordinated State and Federal management of our oceans.
Mr. Allen, Mr. Gilchrest, and Mr. Saxton were central to the
negotiation and passage of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006, which requires an end to
overfishing in our Nation's oceans.
Our colleague Mr. Tom Allen is especially known during all six of his
terms in Congress for his diligence in working to protect the oceans
and the communities whose livelihoods depend on the oceans,
particularly in the coastal communities of Maine.
Mr. Allen has led the House Oceans Caucus alongside Mr. Farr since
they, along with Mr. Curt Weldon and Mr. Jim Greenwood, founded the
bipartisan caucus for the oceans.
We are indebted to Mr. Allen for his long-standing commitment for the
protection of the oceans, for his defense of the National Environmental
Protection Act, his work to protect deep sea corals, and his fight to
protect fishermen and end overfishing.
Mr. Allen introduced legislation to preserve access to coastal waters
for commercial fishing operations, to prohibit the commercial
harvesting of Atlantic striped bass in the coastal waters and exclusive
economic zone.
Mr. Allen introduced and shepherded legislation to increase our
understanding of the oceans and their role in global climate change:
the National Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observing System Act of 2007
and the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act to
passage by the House of Representatives.
Mr. Allen authored and successfully led the effort in the House to
incorporate key provisions to end overfishing, rebuild depleted stocks,
create quota shares, and protect NEPA in the reauthorization of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery and Management Act--Mr. Allen's amendment
became the Democratic en-bloc amendment during negotiations of the
bill.
We will miss Mr. Allen's commitment to working for the conservation
and sustainable use of the oceans, and we will miss his passion for
those who rely on the oceans.
Our colleague from Maryland, Mr. Wayne Gilchrest has tirelessly
fought for the environment and to protect and preserve the delicate
environment of the Chesapeake Bay during his nine terms in Congress.
We have all received the benefit of Mr. Gilchrest's practice of
reaching out to freshman members and reaching across the aisle to
protect and conserve our waters, bays, coasts, and oceans.
Mr. Gilchrest has deep convictions about the need for conservation
that were only increased when he and his family spent part of 1986,
including the harsh winter, living in the Bitterroot National Forest in
Idaho where he worked for the Forest Service. This conviction extended
to his active role as Chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Task
Force, cochair of the House Climate Change Caucus, and as Founding
cochair of the House Organic Caucus.
Mr. Gilchrest is a senior member of the House Natural Resources
Committee on the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans, which
he chaired from 2000-2006. As chairman, he set a high standard for
being fair, open-minded, diligent, and responsible in discharging the
duties of the chair. Mr. Gilchrest took oversight seriously, always
respected the science, and always listened.
We are indebted to Mr. Gilchrest for leaving a strong legacy in this
House of the protection of the oceans and the environment. He sponsored
for legislation preventing aquatic invasive species, providing a better
understanding and protection of marine mammals, and to update and
refine fisheries management.
Mr. Gilchrest sponsored legislation includes the Chesapeake Bay
Restoration Enhancement Act of 2007 (and previously), a bill to
establish a Task Force on Ocean Policy, the Coastal Ocean Observation
System Integration and Implementation Act of 2005, the National Aquatic
Invasive Species Act of 2005, the Marine Mammal Protection Act
Amendments of 2005 (and previously), and the Multi-State and
International Fisheries Conservation and Management Act of 2006.
He introduced Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Amendments Act of 2006, and later continued negotiations to seek
passage of a strong reauthorization. He fought for and won the
inclusion of the provision in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act of 2006 that requires the United States to end
overfishing.
We are saddened that as we lose Mr. Gilchrest, we lose a passionate
fighter for the coasts, the ocean, and the Chesapeake Bay.
Our colleague from New Jersey, Mr. Jim Saxton has distinguished his
13 terms in

[[Page E2124]]

Congress by his commitment to the ocean and coasts and his work
protecting and conserving their resources.
Early in Mr. Saxton's career, he was successful in stopping the
dumpsites responsible for the hypodermic needles and other medical
waste that ended up on the beaches of New Jersey. Since then he
continued to strive for clean water, clean air, coastal and wildlife
protection, and the creation of open space.
We are grateful for Mr. Saxton's thoughtful contributions on coastal
and ocean issues before the Committee on Natural Resources, where he
served as the Chairman of the subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and
Oceans from 1994 to 2000 and as Vice Chairman from 2000 until 2006. Mr.
Saxton has also been a cochair of the House Oceans Caucus since the
109th Congress, and is an active member of the National Marine
Sanctuary Caucus.
While it is impossible to list everything that Mr. Saxton has done
for the oceans, and we are humbled by the legacy of protecting the
oceans that he has built. Mr. Saxton has worked to boost Federal
efforts to protect sensitive coastal lands, to promote sensible
fisheries management as well as for fishermen's rights, to support
exploration and research for discoveries and better understanding of
our oceans. He sponsored the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1996, Clean
Air Act of 1990, the Oceans Act of 2000, the Striped Bass Conservation
Act in 2000.
Mr. Saxton has been a leader on behalf of our National Wildlife
Refuge System as a founding member of the National Wildlife Refuge
Caucus and he authored the National Fish Hatchery System Volunteer Act
of 2006, the National Wildlife Refuge Volunteer Act of 2004, and the
National Wildlife Refuge System Volunteer and Community Partnership
Enhancement Act of 1998, and the Coastal and Estuarine Land
Conservation Program Act, which recently passed the House.
We will miss the insight and the vision of Mr. Saxton, the elder
statesmen of the oceans in this House.
Madam Speaker, it has truly been an honor to serve alongside Mr. Tom
Allen, Mr. Wayne Gilchrest, and Mr. Jim Saxton, who have provided
invaluable service in the House of Representatives. We will continue to
draw on their passion to continue the fight to protect and conserve our
oceans and environments: our greatest treasures. They will truly be
missed by everyone in this House and by all those who fight for the
ocean and the environment; we ask all of our colleagues to join us in
commending these members of Congress.

____________________