[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 32 (Monday, August 14, 2000)]
[Pages 1805-1806]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing the Oceans Act of 2000

August 7, 2000

    Today, I am pleased to approve S. 2327, the ``Oceans Act of 2000.'' 
This legislation would establish a ``Commission on Ocean Policy,'' to 
make recommendations to the President and the Congress for a coordinated 
and comprehensive national ocean policy.
    The United States is an ocean nation. Our ocean territory of over 4 
million square miles is the largest and richest in the world. Over 
thirty years have passed since the Stratton Commission conducted a 
comprehensive examination of our Nation's ocean and coastal resources. 
The work of that Commission led to many significant achievements in the 
early 1970s, including enactment of major legislation to protect the 
oceans and coastal areas and creation of the Department of Commerce's 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It is appropriate, 
especially in the wake of the many recent scientific and technological 
advancements and pressures facing the oceans and our coasts, to re-
examine our Nation's relationship to the sea.
    My Administration has undertaken several initiatives that will 
support the work of the Commission. In 1998, I, along with Vice 
President Gore and the First Lady, participated in the first-ever 
National Ocean Conference, which was attended by over 500 individuals 
representing all sectors of the ocean community, from government to 
industry, science to conservation. At that conference, I called on the 
Congress to create an oceans commission to help forge a new strategy to 
preserve the incomparable natural resources of our oceans and seas. The 
Vice President and I launched a series of new steps to restore coral 
reefs, rebuild marine fisheries, preserve freedom of the seas, and 
further explore the ocean. My Administration's Oceans Report Task Force 
is currently implementing several initiatives related to ocean 
exploration, coral reef protection, safe navigation, environmentally 
sound and economically viable aquaculture, improved fisheries 
enforcement, and the establishment of an international observation 
network to better understand the role of oceans in climate. The Task 
Force will be beneficial to the Commission as it begins its important 
work next year.
    My Administration's Coral Reef Task Force has produced a National 
Action Plan to protect our Nation's precious corals and, earlier this 
year, I directed Federal agencies to establish an integrated national 
system of Marine Protected Areas. Most recently, I announced an Ocean 
Exploration initiative to develop a national ocean exploration strategy 
and work toward solving some of the mysteries of the ocean through the 
development of new technologies and newly discovered organisms with 
medical and commercial potential.
    In approving this measure, I note that section 4(a) states that the 
President ``shall submit to Congress a statement of proposals to 
implement or respond to the Commission's recommendations'' concerning a 
national ocean policy, which may include recommendations for changes to 
Federal law. The Recommendations Clause of the Constitution provides 
that the President ``shall from time to time . . . recommend to [the 
Congress'] Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and 
expedient,'' U.S. Const. Art. II, Sec. 3. That Clause protects the 
President's authority to formulate and

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present his own recommendations, which includes the power to decline to 
offer any recommendation. Accordingly, to avoid any infringement on the 
President's constitutionally protected policy-making prerogatives, I 
construe section 4(a) not to extend to the submission of proposals or 
responses that the President finds it unnecessary or inexpedient to 
present.
    I am disappointed that S. 2327 restricts the President's appointment 
of 12 of the 16 members of the Commission to nominees of the leadership 
of the Senate and House of Representatives. Additionally, I believe the 
Commission should focus on domestic, non-military, ocean, and coastal 
activities.
    I congratulate the congressional supporters of this legislation, 
especially Senator Hollings. I am pleased that there is a renewed 
national interest in the ocean, including a growing sense of the 
opportunities to utilize marine and coastal resources, and a sense of 
stewardship to manage these resources in a sustainable manner. As I have 
said before, I consider preservation of our living oceans to be a sacred 
legacy for all time to come. S. 2327 will enhance our understanding of 
the ocean and contribute to shaping U.S. ocean policy.
                                            William J. Clinton
 The White House,
 August 7, 2000.

 Note:  S. 2327, approved August 7, was assigned Public Law No. 106-256.