[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 14098-14099]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          NATIONAL OCEANS WEEK

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Judiciary Committee be discharged from further action on S. Con. Res. 
49, and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 49) designating the 
     week of June 9, 2003, as ``National Oceans Week'' and urging 
     the President to issue a proclamation calling upon the people 
     of the United States to observe this week with appropriate 
     recognition, programs, ceremonies, and activities to further 
     ocean literacy, education, and exploration.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
concurrent resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to; further, 
that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any 
statements regarding this matter be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Con. Res. 49) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 49

       Whereas 95 percent of the deep ocean is unexplored and 
     unknown, and the ocean is truly the last frontier on Earth 
     for science and civilization;
       Whereas the ocean comprises nearly three quarters of the 
     Earth's surface and sustains 80 percent of all life on Earth, 
     including a large part of the Earth's biodiversity;
       Whereas the oceans play a critical role in the global water 
     cycle, carbon cycle, and in regulating climate; and over 90 
     percent of the oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere, essential to 
     life on Earth, comes from the world's oceans and rivers;
       Whereas the oceans are an important source of food, provide 
     a wealth of other natural products, and the oceans and sea 
     floor contain vast energy and mineral resources that are 
     critical to the economy of the United States and the world;
       Whereas the United States has more than 95,000 miles of 
     coastline and more than 50 percent of the population of the 
     United States lives within 50 miles of the ocean or the Great 
     Lakes;
       Whereas coastal areas are regions of remarkably high 
     biological productivity; are of considerable importance for a 
     variety of recreational and commercial activities; and 
     provide a vital means of transportation;
       Whereas ocean resources are limited and susceptible to 
     change as a direct and indirect result of human activities, 
     and such damages can impact the ability of the ocean to 
     provide the benefits upon which the Nation depends;
       Whereas the rich biodiversity of marine organisms provide 
     society with an essential biomedical resource, a promising 
     source of novel compounds with therapeutic potential, and a 
     potentially important contribution to the national economy;
       Whereas there exists significant promise for the 
     development of new ocean technologies for stewardship of 
     ocean resources that will contribute to the economy through 
     business and manufacturing innovations and the creation of 
     new jobs;
       Whereas the President's Panel on Ocean Exploration 
     recommended to the White House and to the Congress in its 
     Year 2000 final report, ``Discovering Earth's Final Frontier: 
     A U.S. Strategy for Ocean Exploration,'' a 10-year program to 
     launch the first national plan for ocean exploration;
       Whereas the Oceans Act of 2000 passed by the United States 
     Congress authorized the establishment of the U.S. Commission 
     on Ocean Policy and directed it to conduct a comprehensive 
     review of present and future ocean programs and activities 
     and provide comprehensive ocean policy recommendations to the 
     Congress and the President by 2003; and
       Whereas our oceans are vital to our national security and 
     our national economy,

[[Page 14099]]

     and with America's greatest era of ocean exploration and 
     discovery still ahead: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that--
       (1) the ocean is of paramount importance to the economic 
     future, environmental quality, and national security of the 
     United States;
       (2) the United States has a responsibility to exercise and 
     promote comprehensive stewardship and understanding of the 
     ocean and the living marine resouces it constains; and
       (3) the week of June 9, 2003, be designated as National 
     Oceans Week and urges the President to issue a proclamation 
     calling upon the people of the United States to observe this 
     week with appropriate recognition, programs, ceremonies, and 
     activities to further ocean literacy, education, and 
     exploration.

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