[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 114 (Thursday, July 14, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1120-E1121]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2017

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. ALAN GRAYSON

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 13, 2016

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5538) making 
     appropriations for the Department of the Interior, 
     environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2017, and for other purposes:

  Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Chair, I want to make a statement regarding the 
passage of H.R. 5538, the Department of Interior, Environment, and 
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017. Specifically I would like to 
make a statement about my amendment, Grayson Number 113. My amendment 
simply put the House on record of supporting a final funding amount of 
$27,191,000 for the National Estuary Program and Coastal Waterways. It 
does so by removing and then reapplying $468,000 within the $2.5 
billion appropriation for the environmental programs and management 
account within the Environmental Protection Agency.
  The report accompanying this bill originally called for $26,723,000 
for the National Estuary Program and Coastal Waterways, which is 
$468,000 below both the Senate's proposed appropriations level and the 
President's request for fiscal year 2017. Hence, the amount specified 
in my amendment.
  The National Estuary Program and Coastal Waterways subaccount within 
the EPA does important work, including work in my State, especially on 
the Atlantic Coast. This program addresses ocean acidification, seeks 
to remove coastal watersheds, furthers the National Estuary Program's 
restoration goals, and assists in the implementation of the very 
important Gulf of Mexico hypoxia action plan.
  This past March, in Central Florida, the Indian River Lagoon, which 
has been part of the National Estuary Program since 1990, experienced 
the worst fish kill in the history of the watershed. This fish kill is 
the result of hypoxia, caused by a recent algae blooming in the lagoon. 
Nobody knows how many fish died. And what's worse, nobody understands 
how ``brown tide,'' the algae which caused the hypoxia, and is 
typically found in salty water, got into the Indian River Lagoon. With 
ecological disasters like this, we should be moving to fully fund the 
President's request.
  Part of the funding for this program is used to try to overcome the 
hypoxia situation that has arisen in the Indian River Lagoon, while 
learning what happened, and more importantly, how to return the lagoon 
to a healthy ecosystem. This is just one of the 28 estuaries funded by 
this program, located along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts.
  The estuarine regions of the United States comprise just 12 percent 
of land area of the United States, but they contain 43 percent of the 
U.S. population and provide 49 percent of all U.S. economic output. The 
economic value of coastal recreation alone in the United States--beach 
going, fishing, bird watching, snorkeling, diving, and so on--has 
conservatively been estimated by NOAA to be between $20 billion and $60 
billion annually.

[[Page E1121]]

  Clearly, the $468,000 increase in funding for the National Estuary 
Program and Coastal Waterways will result in real returns for the 
American economy, an enhanced quality of life for the American people, 
and a healthy ecosystem which supports endangered and threatened 
species. I thank Chairman Calvert and my colleagues for their support 
of my amendment.

                          ____________________