[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 113 (Tuesday, July 9, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E701]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          PERSONAL EXPLANATION

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                           HON. NEAL P. DUNN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 9, 2024

  Mr. DUNN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am not recorded for Roll Call No. 
336, on Monday, July 8, 2024. Since my first day in office, I have been 
squarely focused on what I was sent here to do: Represent Floridians of 
the 2nd Congressional District of Florida. The Alabama Underwater 
Forest National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act is long overdue and 
must be passed into law. This bill will support our coastal waters by 
designating the ancient cypress forest in the Gulf of Mexico off the 
coast of Alabama as the ``Alabama Underwater Forest National Marine 
Sanctuary,'' and, prohibits the following activities within the 
sanctuary: cutting, removing, or any kind of subsurface salvage of the 
cypress trees; lowering certain devices (e.g. dredging) below the 
surface of the water; detonating explosives below the surface of the 
water; drilling or coring the seabed; and lowering, laying, 
positioning, or raising any type of seabed cable or cable-laying 
device.
  I am wholeheartedly supportive of H.R. 897, the Alabama Underwater 
Forest National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act--as a 
Representative of a coastal district myself, protecting the forest 
(between 50,000 to 70,000 years old) is important to preserving the 
remains of this ancient riverbed. I appreciate the bipartisan effort to 
protect the forest under the 1972 Marine Protection, Research and 
Sanctuaries Act which would not only federally protect the forest, but 
also provide more resources for research and ways to sustainably 
increase eco-tourism opportunities. I also support that the bill 
provides specific exemptions to allow certain activities, including 
for: fishing, diving, mooring, or similar recreational or commercial 
activities; necessary operations of public vessels; construction or 
placement of artificial reef structures for the purpose of enhancing 
fishery resources, fishing opportunities, or recreational diving 
opportunities; and exploration, development, or production of oil or 
gas projects authorized before this bill's enactment.
  Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Motion to Suspend the 
Rules and Pass, as Amended, H.R. 897 (Roll Call No. 336).

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