[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15900]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              FLORIDA KEYS

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, the Florida Keys are made up of 100 
miles of 30 islands that form a chain. Adjacent to the Keys is the most 
extensive living coral reef in North America and the third largest in 
the world.
  These coral reefs are intertwined to a marine ecosystem that supports 
one of the most diverse and unique collections of plants and animals in 
North America.
  Millions of people come from all over the United States and the world 
to visit the Florida Keys. This is both a blessing and a big part of 
the problem. The Keys are suffering from pollution brought about by 
humans.
  Some of our beaches have already had to be closed over the July 4th 
weekend because of these contaminants. Even more crucial, the living 
coral reef is in danger of dying from pollutants if the water quality 
is not improved immediately.
  I urge my colleagues, therefore, to preserve one of our national 
treasures, the Florida Keys, by acting on the bill of the gentleman 
from Florida (Mr. Deutsch), the Florida Keys Water Quality Improvement 
Act of 1999, H.R. 673.

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