To authorize the national ocean exploration program and the national undersea research program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank the gentleman from Illinois for his kind remarks and great description, I might add, of the bill.

Madam Speaker, I obviously rise in strong support of H.R. 1834 and am very pleased that it's here under this bipartisan arrangement. It authorizes both the Ocean Exploration and National Undersea Research Programs in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

According to the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, about 95 percent of the ocean floor remains unexplored. This vast area teems with undiscovered species and natural and cultural resources. On virtually every expedition, oceanographers and explorers make fascinating new discoveries. Hydrothermal vents in the Pacific, numerous new species, and important archeological sites are but a few of the important discoveries made in the past 30 years.

Consequently, the report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy recommended the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Science Foundation should lead and expand our national ocean exploration and undersea research programs.

I am proud to be the sponsor of H.R. 1834. I'm proud that it's a bipartisan piece of legislation, and I'm proud that it promotes implementation of the commission's recommendations.

This bill authorizes two important programs: the Ocean Exploration Program as well as the National Undersea Research Program, also known as NURP. The Ocean Exploration Program was created to investigate the oceans for the purpose of discovery and the advancement of knowledge. It is the NOAA program established to, first, explore and map the oceans unknown and poorly known living and nonliving resources and, second, to gain new insights about its physical, chemical, biological, and archeological characteristics.

Title I of the bill, the National Ocean Exploration Program Act, will create better coordination between NOAA and the National Science Foundation. The purposes of the act are to expand the ocean exploration to discover new marine substances that potentially have therapeutic benefits; to study the unique marine ecosystems, organisms, and the geology of the world's oceans; and to maximize ocean research effectiveness by integrating multiple scientific disciplines in the ocean science community.

A new element created by the legislation is an Ocean Exploration Advisory Board. The National Undersea Research Program is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. As the Federal agency responsible for managing living marine and coastal organisms, NOAA requires a presence beneath the sea and the Great Lakes to better understand the systems under its management. NURP provides NOAA with the unique capability to access the undersea environment. NURP also provides scientists with the tools and expertise they need to investigate the undersea environment, including submersibles, remotely operated vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles, mixed gas diving gear, underwater laboratories and observatories.

Title II of the bill, the National Undersea Research Program Act of 2007, formally authorizes the National Undersea Research Program for the first time, and we're very proud of this. The legislation creates a competitive process for the extramural undersea research centers to encourage the very best undersea research program for the United States.

Both of these programs authorized in this legislation are core to the mission of NOAA. I urge my colleagues to support this important bipartisan legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of H.R. 1834, the National Ocean Exploration Program Act.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, is the Nation's lead agency charged with conserving and managing our coastal and oceanic resources. As such, relevant and high-quality research and development is vital to NOAA's ability to better understand the marine ecosystems it manages. NOAA's ocean exploration efforts have been organized in a systematic and strategic manner in order to investigate the farthest depths of the Earth's oceans. NOAA's undersea research programs allow for direct access to undersea environments through submersibles and indirect observation through the use of robots and sea-floor observatories. These programs provide invaluable information that enables us to learn more about our environment that covers more than two-thirds of our planet.

H.R. 1834 authorizes two existing ocean programs: the Ocean Exploration Program and the National Undersea Research Program. Under this authorization, NOAA is required to work with the National Science Foundation to map out a coordinated national exploration program that promotes collaboration with other Federal ocean exploration programs to prevent duplicative efforts. This bill also requires NOAA to conduct an undersea research, exploration, education, and technology development program that coordinates with similar efforts of the academic and marine and ocean science communities.

Most of these research and exploration efforts are conducted by outside groups who receive grants and funding from NOAA. H.R. 1834 requires that such funding shall now be distributed through a competitive bid process. Competition for funding will encourage existing research centers to select their most valuable research projects and partner with each other on other research programs. This competition is essential to ensure that the best research programs and ideas are adequately funded, something that, unfortunately, has not always been the case in the past.

Madam Speaker, at a time when our Nation is struggling to divide resources among a greater number of programs, we cannot afford to allow spending on research programs that do not provide pertinent information related to NOAA's important mission. The authorizing of these two programs and the competitive grant process that is established in this bill will ensure that NOAA is able to fund only the most useful projects and leverage taxpayer dollars in a way that provides the most useful information to understanding and managing our ocean environment.

I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 1834.

Madam Speaker, I would like to yield now such time as he may consume to my colleague Jim Saxton from the State of New Jersey. He has a long and very well-established reputation here, and, by the way, this is part of his legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1834) to authorize the national ocean exploration program and the national undersea research program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 1834, the bill now under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1834, the National Ocean Exploration and National Undersea Research Program Act.

I would like to first thank our colleague, Representative Saxton from the Natural Resources Committee, for his leadership on important ocean and Great Lakes issues. This is a good bill that will expand our knowledge of the ocean and provide information about the vast resources of the seas.

The coastal areas of our Nation support a wide variety of significant activities, but in many respects the oceans remain a mystery, with many areas unexplored. Marine scientists tell us that we haven't come close to tapping the resources available to us from the oceans. I hope that my colleagues today from both sides of the aisle will agree that we should steer research dollars to those fact-finding projects so that humanity might one day reap the benefits of our oceanic resources.

This bill provides the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, with the authorities and direction to support a vigorous ocean exploration program. The bill authorizes two programs to be carried out by NOAA. The Ocean Exploration Program will explore and survey the ocean and assess ocean and costal resources. The National Undersea Research Program will operate through a network of regional undersea research centers. Both of those programs have strong education and outreach programs.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 1834 is a good bill. It is a product of a bipartisan effort to promote expanded appreciation

and knowledge of the oceans. I urge my colleagues to support the legislation.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Saxton for his work on this bill. I'm very happy we were able to work this through the Science and Technology Committee in a bipartisan manner, and I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1834. I want to commend my colleagues from the Committee on Science and Technology, Chairman Bart Gordon, and the Ranking Republican Member, Congressman Ralph Hall, for their leadership in bringing this important bill to enhance our understanding of the marine environment to the House floor.

When I became Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans at the beginning of the 110th Congress, one of my top priorities was to take action on legislation to address the thoughtful recommendations offered by the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy to improve our Nation's ocean environment. This legislation, H.R. 1834, would implement a key recommendation of the Commission by authorizing two important ocean research programs within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration--the Ocean Exploration Program and the National Undersea Research Program.

This legislation, which refines the bill that was reported by the Committee on Natural Resources on August 4, 2007, would further strengthen NOAA's standing as the preeminent civilian federal ocean agency by granting the agency explicit authority to conduct scientific research that directly contributes to increasing scientific knowledge of the world's oceans.

The legislation would address the glaring national need identified by the U.S. Commision on Ocean Policy to develop and advance new innovations in oceanographic research, communication and navigation technologies to support ocean exploration and science, and expand extramural ocean research.

Additionally, this legislation would emphasize the importance of outreach and public education to ensure that future scientific discoveries and benefits are disseminated to decision-makers in both the public and private sectors and conveyed to the general public. This will increase both public awareness and appreciation of how the world's oceans affect our economic and environmental well-being.

Again, I commend my colleagues on the Committee on Science and Tecnology for their cooperation. The support of the Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, Chairman Nick Rahall, and the ranking Republican member, Congressman Don Young, was also indispensible. Finally, I also acknowledge the leadership of Congressman Jim Saxton, the sponsor of the bill. I encourage members to vote for this non- controversial legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1834 introduced by my colleague Jim Saxton. This bill would authorize the national ocean exploration program and the national undersea research program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Our world is defined by its ocean. Planet Earth could be better named Planet Ocean. We are truly an ocean nation. In fact, more than half of the United States lies underwater and all people in the United States and in the world are affected by the ocean. The ocean helps control our climate, influences our weather, and affects our health.

The ocean gives us rain, oxygen, food, medicines, and minerals and energy sources. The ocean supports our nation's economy: it is a highway for transportation of goods and people. Even our national security is affected by the ocean.

Our ocean is important as a heritage to many cultures throughout the world and to our cultures throughout the United States. This one world ocean we all share is also a constant source of wonder and discovery.

In spite of its importance, little of the ocean has been explored. The ocean is our last and largest frontier. More is known about the moon

than is known about the deepest parts of the ocean.

This bill will add to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's ability to conduct research and exploration of the ocean. The bill will foster collaboration between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of the Navy.

The ocean exploration program and the undersea exploration program will drive technological advances and will increase our knowledge about the ocean to help us understand how to best manage, use, and preserve this resource.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and show that the age of discovery is not over.