[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11657]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         NATIONAL OCEAN POLICY

  (Mrs. CAPPS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the National Ocean 
Policy.
  Later today, we may consider an amendment to the Energy and Water 
Appropriations bill to undermine this important policy. The amendment 
would promote inefficiency in ocean management. It would harm coastal 
communities.
  We depend on the marine environment for many important uses, like 
food, tourism, and the transportation of goods. These diverse interests 
often conflict, which is why the National Ocean Policy provides a forum 
for local stakeholders and Federal agencies to talk to each other and 
work things out.
  Efforts to cripple the National Ocean Policy will prevent local ocean 
users from deciding what issues are most important for their local 
communities, and that makes no sense.
  Improving the coordination between Federal agencies and local ocean 
stakeholders is a bipartisan idea that was first suggested during the 
Bush administration. It should still have bipartisan support.
  I urge my colleagues to support the National Ocean Policy and to 
reject efforts to undermine this commonsense idea.

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