[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 92 (Tuesday, June 5, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H4741-H4742]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         WE MUST TAKE ACTION TO PRESERVE AMERICA'S CORAL REEFS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Guam (Ms. Bordallo) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to reintroduce the Coral Reef 
Conservation Reauthorization Act. This bipartisan, comprehensive bill 
builds on legislation that I have sponsored in the House since 2009 to 
reauthorize the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000.
  I want to thank each of my 13 original cosponsors for their support: 
Representatives Soto, Wasserman Schultz, Hastings, Crist, Castor, 
Hanabusa, Gabbard, Radewagen, Gonzalez-Colon, Rutherford, Sablan, 
Plaskett, and Mast.
  Our bill for this 115th Congress makes amendments to update and 
strengthen the 2000 law and reflects coral reef conservation work 
governmentwide.
  Coral reefs are God-given natural infrastructure that provide real, 
tangible benefits to our coastal and island communities, as well as the 
Nation at large.
  Healthy, resilient coral reefs safeguard against extreme weather, 
shoreline erosion, and coastal flooding and serve as natural 
breakwaters for maritime ports and harbors of refuge. Without the reefs 
to absorb the blunt force of wave action, many island and coastal 
communities would simply wash away.
  Coral reefs also support countless American tourism jobs and valuable 
fisheries across the United States. According to the National Oceanic 
Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, coral reefs support upwards of 12 
percent of global fisheries and an estimated 25 percent of all known 
fish species.
  In addition, coral reefs are the world's greatest source of 
biodiversity, covering less than 1 percent of the ocean floor but home 
to some 25 percent of all known marine species. U.S. territorial waters 
in the Pacific support the majority of our Nation's shallow water 
corals.
  Guam, my home, sits adjacent to the western Pacific Ocean's Coral 
Triangle, one of the most biologically diverse and important marine 
ecosystems on the planet, and yet the planet's coral reefs are in 
crisis. 2017 marked a prolonged, unprecedented global coral bleaching 
event. Guam and the western Pacific, long home to some of the most 
well-preserved reefs in the world, were impacted severely.
  Ocean acidification, warming sea temperatures, coastal pollution, 
invasive species, and other stressors linked to human activity and 
global climate change threaten to wipe out these incredibly productive 
ecosystems. These threats have necessitated special protections and 
listing under the Endangered Species Act for 25 coral species, to date.
  The Coral Reef Conservation Reauthorization Act addresses these 
challenges head-on, with concrete Federal actions and policy changes 
that will make a difference by:
  First, strengthening the Federal response to coral reef emergencies, 
including vessel groundings, natural disasters, harmful algae blooms, 
and unexploded ordnance underwater;
  Second, minimizing damage to coral reefs from invasive or nuisance 
species, vessel impacts, marine debris, and derelict fishing gear;
  Third, directing new Federal grant making for local coral reef 
conservation projects;
  Fourth, recognizing the importance of coral reef fisheries and the 
expertise of local fishery and wildlife management agencies;
  Fifth, developing the first-ever national guidelines for 
environmentally responsible artificial reefs; and
  Last, engaging our Nation's marine laboratories, aquariums, Sea Grant 
colleges, and coral reef institutions in federally funded research on 
coral biodiversity, propagation, and resiliency.
  In particular, our bipartisan bill provides congressional 
authorization for the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, codifying Executive 
Order 13089.
  Since 1998, Mr. Speaker, the Coral Reef Task Force has coordinated 
Federal and local actions to protect coral reefs nationwide. Our bill 
preserves full voting membership on the task force for the Governors of 
all five U.S. territories and the States of Florida and Hawaii.

[[Page H4742]]

  The Coral Reef Conservation Reauthorization Act also authorizes the 
U.S. Department of the Interior to take action to conserve our coral 
reefs. Many of our most spectacular coral resources lie within national 
parks, national wildlife refuges, and marine national monuments.
  Congress needs to take action to protect our Nation's irreplaceable 
coral reef resources, and that starts with reauthorizing the Coral Reef 
Conservation Act. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members of our House to join 
us in cosponsoring the Coral Reef Conservation Reauthorization Act of 
2018, and I look forward to working with our House and Senate 
colleagues to advance this important legislation.

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