[House Report 113-204]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


113th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    113-204

======================================================================

 
 TO DESIGNATE THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OF THE UNITED STATES AS THE 
   RONALD WILSON REAGAN EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OF THE UNITED STATES

                                _______
                                

 September 10, 2013.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 553]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 553) to designate the exclusive economic zone of 
the United States as the Ronald Wilson Reagan Exclusive 
Economic Zone of the United States, having considered the same, 
report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that 
the bill do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 553 is to designate the exclusive 
economic zone of the United States as the ``Ronald Wilson 
Reagan Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States.''

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The concept of designating the territorial waters of a 
sovereign nation has its historical roots in the 1600s when 
European colonial powers tried to protect their shores by 
adopting the ``cannon shot'' rule. This term reflected the 
principle that dominion over certain lands stopped where the 
range of coastal artillery weapons ended. It was generally 
agreed that three miles, which is measured from the territorial 
sea baseline, was the appropriate designation line and the 
United States made such a claim in 1789.
    In 1799, the 5th Congress of the United States adopted 
legislation to allow the boarding of foreign flag vessels 
within 12 nautical miles. On September 28, 1945, the U.S. 
became the first country to abandon the 3-mile limit when 
President Harry Truman signed a Proclamation declaring that 
this nation had the right to all of the ocean resources that 
existed on the Outer Continental Shelf. The Proclamation states 
that ``Having concern for the urgency of conserving and 
prudently utilizing its natural resources, the Government of 
the United States regards the natural resources of the subsoil 
and seabed of the continental shelf beneath the high seas but 
contiguous to the coasts of the United States as appertaining 
to the United States, subject to its jurisdiction and 
control.''
    On June 23, 1947 and August 1, 1947, the Governments of 
Chile and Peru became the first two nations to establish a 200-
mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The definition of this term 
is ``a maritime zone adjacent to the territorial sea that may 
not exceed beyond 200 nautical miles from the baseline from 
which the breath of the territorial sea is measured.'' It 
allows a coastal nation the sole right to explore and extract 
all natural resources from the ocean up to 200 miles off its 
shores. The Chilean Declaration proclaimed natural 
``sovereignty over submarine areas, regardless of their size or 
depth, as well as over the adjacent seas extending as far as 
necessary to reserve, protect, maintain, and utilize natural 
resources and wealth.''
    On March 10, 1983, President Ronald Wilson Reagan signed 
Presidential Proclamation 5030. This historic document 
established the 200-mile U.S. EEZ which was defined as a zone 
contiguous to the territorial sea, including zones contiguous 
to the territorial sea of the United States, the Commonwealth 
of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands and the United States overseas territories and 
possessions. Within the EEZ, the United States has sovereign 
rights for the purpose of conserving, exploiting, exploring and 
managing natural resources of the seabed and subsoil for the 
economic exploitation and exploration of the zone. In addition, 
the U.S. has jurisdiction over the establishment and use of 
artificial islands and installations, and for the protection 
and preservation of the marine environment.
    The Proclamation also made it clear that it does not change 
existing United States policies concerning the continental 
shelf, fisheries including highly migratory species, freedom of 
navigation and overflight and the management of marine mammals.
    While the United States was not the first nation to 
establish an EEZ, it has the largest such zone with 7,094,375 
miles, which is nearly 25 percent larger than the country's 
total land mass. It extends from the Arctic Ocean to the 
tropics, comprising at least 11 different ecosystems. The next 
four nations in terms of EEZ size are France, Australia, Russia 
and the United Kingdom. In total, more than 150 nations have 
established an EEZ. Over the years, some of the more heated 
international EEZ boundary disputes involved the so-called 
``Cod Wars'' between the United Kingdom and Iceland, a dispute 
over oil reserves in the Beaufort Sea involving Canada and the 
United States and arguments between Norway and Russia over who 
controls the Svalbard Archipelago.
    H.R. 553 will simply designate our EEZ as the ``Ronald 
Wilson Reagan Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States.''

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 553 was introduced on February 6, 2013, by Congressman 
Darrell Issa (R-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 
on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs. On June 13, 
2013, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On July 31, 
2013, the Full Natural Resources Committee met to consider the 
bill. The Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and 
Insular Affairs was discharged by unanimous consent. 
Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA) offered an amendment 
designated _028 to the bill; the amendment was not adopted by a 
bipartisan roll call vote of 14 to 24, as follows:


    No further amendments were offered, and the bill was then 
adopted and ordered favorably reported to the House of 
Representatives by voice vote.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 
received the following cost estimate for this bill from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                   Washington, DC, August 22, 2013.
Hon. Doc Hastings,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives. Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
reviewed H.R. 553, a bill to designate the exclusive economic 
zone of the United States as the ``Ronald Wilson Reagan 
Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States,'' as ordered 
reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on July 
31, 2013.
    CBO estimates that enacting this legislation to name the 
exclusive economic zone, which includes coastal waters 
extending from three to nine miles off the coast to 200 miles 
offshore, would have no significant impact on the federal 
budget and would not affect direct spending or revenues; 
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. H.R. 553 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not 
affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jeff LaFave.
            Sincerely,
                                              Douglas W. Elmendorf.

    2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required 
by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974, this bill does not contain any new budget 
authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase 
or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. CBO estimates that 
enacting this legislation would have no significant impact on 
the federal budget and would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill is to designate the exclusive economic 
zone of the United States as the ``Ronald Wilson Reagan 
Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States''.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                       COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5

    Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that 
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any 
specific rule-making proceedings.
    Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not 
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government 
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was 
not included in any report from the Government Accountability 
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program 
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law 
98-169) as relating to other programs.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

    The framework that allows nations to peacefully claim a 200 
nautical mile (nm) Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and establish 
sovereign rights to the natural resources within it is the 1982 
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). A 
total of 162 nations have endorsed UNCLOS, including all of the 
major Western powers except the United States. The major East 
Asian powers are also parties to UNCLOS. Both Japan and China 
ratified the treaty in 1996. The United States played a 
prominent and successful role in drafting and negotiating 
UNCLOS, yet it was neither signed by President Reagan nor 
ratified by the Senate during the Reagan Administration.
    However, President Reagan did claim the U.S. EEZ by 
Presidential Proclamation in 1983, pursuant to the authority 
created by UNCLOS. Cherry-picking this particular piece of 
UNCLOS without supporting the treaty itself showed poor 
leadership, and was a failure to take advantage of the momentum 
the treaty had gained at the time. The Senate has since failed 
to ratify UNCLOS despite the support of both Bush 
administrations, the Clinton and Obama administrations, 
secretaries of State and Defense under Republican and 
Democratic presidents, the oil and natural gas industry, and 
other industries with interests in our territorial waters. 
UNCLOS accession by the United States would be prudent 
considering the substantial benefits it offers for navigation, 
security, and environmental protection.
    H.R. 553 would designate the U.S. EEZ, as the ``Ronald 
Wilson Reagan Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States.'' 
The bill would deem any reference to the EEZ in a law, map, 
regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United 
States to be a reference to the ``Ronald Wilson Reagan 
Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States.'' Aside from 
being a silly exercise and a colossal waste of time, this 
legislation would bestow an undeserved honor on someone who has 
already had plenty of public and private entities named after 
him. A massive federal building, a major airport, and a nuclear 
powered aircraft carrier top the list. President Reagan's 
refusal to support UNCLOS has left the United States on the 
sidelines while other nations develop extended continental 
shelf resources, plan to divvy up the Arctic, and explore the 
possibility of mining the deep seabed.
    H.R. 553 passed the Committee by voice vote without 
Democratic support. Republicans rejected an amendment offered 
by Mr. Huffman that would have made the designation in the bill 
contingent upon the Senate ratifying UNCLOS. In the absence of 
UNCLOS, President Reagan would not have been able to claim the 
U.S. EEZ without the use of military force. His 
shortsightedness and the subsequent recalcitrance of 
Republicans in the Senate have left America without a seat at 
the table as important decisions about maritime security, 
marine resources, and ocean exploration are being made. For 
these reasons, we oppose H.R. 553 as reported.

                                   Peter DeFazio.
                                   Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan.

                                  
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