State- and Science-based Gray Wolf Reintroduction Act of 2020

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Johnson for yielding time, also for her leadership on the committee, and I thank Chairwoman Johnson and Ranking Member Lucas for their support of this legislation.

I rise today in support of the Coastal and Ocean Acidification Stressors and Threats, or COAST, Research Act, my bipartisan bill to expand scientific research and monitoring of ocean and coastal acidification.

According to the Fourth National Climate Assessment, catastrophic carbon dioxide concentrations are now higher than at any time in the last 3 million years. Approximately one-third of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere dissolves into our oceans and estuaries, causing them to become more acidic.

In addition to atmospheric carbon dioxide, our oceans, estuaries, and coastal waterways are absorbing chemical inputs and excess nutrient runoff from land and coastal pollution.

Our understanding of the long-term consequences of changes in water chemistry on our marine ecosystem is still limited, but we do know that ocean and coastal acidification make it difficult for marine organisms to build their shells and skeletal structures. Some finfish, including endangered salmon in the Pacific Northwest, lose their sense of smell that they use for identifying prey, reproducing, and navigating their habitats.

Ocean acidification events are only projected to become more intense, longer, and increasingly common, especially on the Pacific Coast.

The COAST Research Act would improve scientific research on ocean and coastal acidification in the context of other environmental stressors and direct Federal agencies to assess adaptation and mitigation strategies. Importantly, the bill also expands the definition of ocean acidification to include estuaries and to recognize mechanisms that cause changes in coastal chemistry.

As chair of the Interagency Working Group on Ocean Acidification, NOAA is already leading interdisciplinary efforts to expand our understanding of changing ocean conditions. This bill would designate NOAA as the lead Federal agency responsible for implementing the Federal response to ocean and coastal acidification. This is a pragmatic response to calls for an interdependent national ocean acidification program office and recommendations from a September 2014 Government Accountability Office report.

Ocean acidification research is still in its infancy, and the best way to mitigate its effects is through regionally coordinated scientific research. The COAST Research Act directs NOAA to maintain a data archive system to process, store, archive, and provide access to data on ocean and coastal acidification from federally funded research, including existing global or national datasets and research from

State and local agencies, Tribes, academic scientists, citizen scientists, and industry organizations.

Additionally, the COAST Research Act would increase our understanding of the socioeconomic effects of ocean and coastal acidification and engage stakeholders. The bill creates an advisory board comprised of representatives of the shellfish and crab industry; finfish industry; seafood processors; recreational fishing; academia; nongovernmental organizations; State, local, and Tribal governments; and regional coastal acidification networks. This regionally balanced group will advise the interagency working group on ocean and coastal acidification research and monitoring activities.

Our oceans and estuaries are facing the brunt of our inaction to reduce anthropogenic carbon emissions. We know that even if carbon dioxide emissions are halted today, many of the effects for our oceans will continue to occur over the course of the next few decades.

The COAST Research Act will support vulnerable communities, industries, and coastal and ocean managers by strengthening research on how they can best prepare and, when possible, adapt to ocean and coastal acidification. Oregon's shellfish industry and researchers at Oregon State University have collaborated on ocean acidification mitigation strategies that have helped the shellfish industry survive. Their research demonstrates what is possible when we invest in science and research to help coastal communities adapt to climate change.

Our oceans and estuaries are resilient, and we can help them heal, but we cannot afford to wait any longer. This is National Ocean Month and Capitol Hill Ocean Week, a good time to act to help protect the oceans and our planet.

Mr. Speaker, I want to close by thanking, again, my colleagues, Representative Young, Representative Posey, and Representative Pingree, for their leadership on this issue. I truly appreciate the support from my fellow House Oceans Caucus and Congressional Estuary Caucus co- chairs. I also want to, again, thank Chairwoman Johnson and Ranking Member Lucas for their support.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record letters from the Oregon Coordinating Council on Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia and Oregon State University in support of the COAST Research Act.

The Oregon Coordinating Council on Ocean Acidification

and Hypoxia,

March 8, 2019.

Re Coastal and Ocean Acidification Stressors and Threats

(COAST) Research Act.

Hon. Suzanne Bonamici,

Washington, DC.

Dear Representative Bonamici: As the Co-Chairs of the State

legislatively mandated, Oregon Coordinating Council on Ocean

Acidification and Hypoxia (or ``Oregon OAH Council''), we

appreciate the opportunity to provide you with a letter of

strong support for the Coastal and Ocean Acidification

Stressors and Threats (COAST) Research Act. Addressing

intensifying ocean acidification (OA) conditions here in

Oregon, as well as across the United States, is critical to

our Nations understanding of larger impacts from CO2

emissions.

Oregon is among the first places in the world to observe

direct impacts of ocean acidification and hypoxia (OAH), due

to our unique geographic and oceanographic context, putting

our fragile marine ecosystem at risk. Our coastal economies

rely on our vibrant marine ecosystem. Our nearshore waters

are home to sport and commercial fisheries, all of the

State's mariculture operations, and contain critical nursery

grounds for economically important species including

rockfish, oysters, salmon, pink shrimp, and Dungeness crab.

Oregon is not alone in experiencing the impacts from OA or

hypoxia. Through actions such as those in the COAST Research

Act we must act together as Americans to develop solutions

for our coastal communities, economies, and ecosystems to

prepare for future conditions.

In the coming years, the Oregon OAH Council will continue

to take a thoughtful, collaborative, science-based approach

to developing recommendations to address OAH in our state and

beyond. Through further investments and initiatives, Oregon

and the United States will benefit from adaptation and

mitigation measures and will model to the world how to

develop actionable solutions for OA adaptation and

mitigation.

the oregon oah council has identified three urgently needed strategic actions, which directly align with objectives within the coast research

act.

(1) Monitoring of key oceanographic and biological

indicators of impacts from OAH.

At the same time that OA has been impacting our coasts,

oxygen-depletion is on the rise; Oregon and much of the West

coast has seen several seasons in a row with extended periods

of hypoxia in our coastal waters. The Oregon OAH Council is

encouraged that the COAST Research Act identifies the need to

strengthen investments in OA research and monitoring in the

context of other environmental stressors. Ocean acidification

and hypoxia are compounding stressors for a wide range of

marine animals, and as such must continue to be studied

together. Through the COAST Research Acts reauthorization of

funding of NOAA, NSF, and NASA, much needed resources will be

made available to researchers across the United States to

continue to expand our knowledge of OAH. The Oregon OAH

Council also supports the initiative of the COAST Research

Act to create data processing, storage, and archive

facilities to provide for the long-term stewardship and

standardization of data. By creating a central repository for

OAH data it provides governments, scientists, and industry

better access to the information need to inform their

mitigation and adaption planning. Only by maximizing our

current data and filling our knowledge gaps of OAH, can we as

a Nation begin to be able to piece together for solutions for

our coastal communities.

(2) Projects or programs that promote coastal economic and

ecosystem resilience to OAH.

Fisheries and aquaculture are central to our history, are

enjoyed by Americans across the nation year-round, and remain

key to many of Oregon's coastal economies today. Yet, the

future sustainability of these marine resources and

communities' ability to rely on them, are uncertain in the

face of significant ocean changes, including OAH, and

uncertain in the face of our current state of preparation to

adapt to those changes over time. This is why the Oregon OAH

Council supports activities and initiatives that promote

resilience to increased OAH conditions, for both human

communities and ecosystems. The COAST Research Act also

stresses the importance of increasing our understanding of

the socioeconomic effects of OA by expanding federal research

to assess adaptation and mitigation strategies. There will be

costs of inaction relative to CO2 mitigation and the United

States has an obligation to relieve these costs wherever

possible for our citizens.

(3) Tools and strategies to increase awareness of OAH

science, impacts and solutions.

As the impacts of OA intensify, it is going to be vitally

important for our Nation to identify and advance

opportunities to raise awareness of and communicate OAH

science, impacts, and mitigation solutions. This is why the

Oregon OAH Council is encouraged by the fact that the COAST

Research Act recognizes the need to address the effects of OA

on estuaries and integrate research, monitoring, and

adaptation strategies. By integrating OA causes and effects,

it better demonstrates the complexity of this climate issue,

and provides a clearer message to communities. The Oregon OAH

Council also supports the COAST Research Act establishment of

an Advisory Board to increase coordination among

stakeholders, including members of industry, to work with

State and Federal governments to improve coordination.

Recognizing the importance of a broad membership, our Oregon

OAH Council includes members from industry, academia and

state government agencies. For the benefit of our marine

ecosystem and the human communities that rely on a healthy

marine ecosystem, the Nation's adaptation and mitigation

approaches to OA should include successful communication of

new science, monitoring, and adaptation strategies.

As Co-Chairs of the Oregon OAH Council, we appreciate the

opportunity to provide you with a letter of strong support

for the COAST Research Act. The strategic investment and

coordination opportunities outlined in this act are

meaningful and will make a difference in our understanding of

OAH science, impacts, and solutions. Through passage of this

Act and the subsequent investment in science, adaptation and

communications, the United States will demonstrate meaningful

action in fighting OA and the global challenges of climate

change, and preparing our citizens and economies for the

changes ahead.

Thank you for your consideration of these comments.

Sincerely,

John Barth, Ph.D.,

Co-Chair, Oregon OAH Council, Executive Director, Marine

Studies Initiative, Oregon State University.

Caren Braby, Ph.D.,

Co-Chair, Oregon OAH Council, Marine Resources Program

Manager, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1237) to amend the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2009 to establish an Ocean Acidification Advisory Board, to expand and improve the research on Ocean Acidification and Coastal Acidification, to establish and maintain a data archive system for Ocean Acidification data and Coastal Acidification data, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on H.R. 1237, the bill now under consideration.

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

I rise in support of H.R. 1237, the COAST Research Act of 2019. Our Nation is facing an invisible but growing threat: ocean acidification. For the last 200 years, the oceans have soaked up about one-third of the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels causing the oceans to become more acidic.

The science is clear. As spelled out in the Fourth National Climate Assessment and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report, ocean acidification is causing the chemistry of the oceans to change at an unprecedented rate.

Ocean acidification makes it more difficult for shelled organisms like oysters, mussels, clams, and corals to build their shells and skeletons and has potentially devastating effects on marine ecosystems.

The effects of ocean acidification are already being seen and felt today in our coastal communities around the Nation.

Congress acted and passed the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act in 2009, which catalyzed research and monitoring efforts

to better understand ocean acidification and its impacts. While this bill has successfully increased our understanding of ocean acidification, the Federal investment in research has been relatively small compared to the size of the problem.

H.R. 1237 updates and reauthorizes our Federal ocean acidification response and expands the scope of the Federal efforts on this important issue.

H.R. 1237 also designates the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as the lead Federal agency, which formalizes the leadership role it has played in conducting ocean acidification research and monitoring over the last decade.

Ocean acidification threatens the vitality of our coastal economies. We need to get ahead of the problem of ocean acidification before it causes even greater economic harm to our coast. We need to have a much better understanding of ocean acidification in order to mitigate and adapt to its effects.

H.R. 1237, along with the three other ocean acidification bills being considered today, offers a path toward solutions. If we don't act now, we risk going down an irreversible path.

June is World Oceans Month, and I see no better time for the U.S. House of Representatives to pass legislation to support the health of the oceans than now.

I want to take a brief moment to recognize the efforts of the sponsor of the bill, the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici). She has been a champion of this issue during her time here in the House and has been relentless in her efforts to authorize this program.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record letters from Earthjustice, Ocean Conservancy, the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems, the Integrated Ocean Observing System Association, and the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association in support of this bill.

Earthjustice,

June 4, 2019.

Re Earthjustice supports H.R. 1237, the Coastal and Ocean

Acidification Stressors and Threats Research Act of 2019.

Hon. Suzanne Bonamici,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Congresswoman Bonamici: On behalf of our supporters

and staff nationwide, we are writing to voice our strong

support for the Coastal and Ocean Acidification Stressors and

Threats (COAST) Act of 2019 (H.R. 1237). Ocean acidification

is a serious global threat, as our oceans calibrate our

atmosphere and maintain the conditions that have supported

human life for millennia. This vital legislation leads us

towards solutions that secure our ecosystems, our economies,

and our health.

Ocean acidification has devastated coastal communities by

eroding the sources of their livelihood and protection

against ocean events. Acidic waters imperil everything from

cod larvae and lobsters, to plankton and coral reefs. The

process acidification sets into motion will cause

increasingly expensive damage on scales larger than we've

already seen in our Pacific Northwest shellfish farms.

Americans will take the hit, either in the grocery store,

or--for coastal regions--in their jobs and their homes.

However, immediate action can halt plunging pH levels and

promote resilience in changing temperatures.

The COAST Research Act jumpstarts ocean recovery and helps

communities cope with ocean acidification by updating the

Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act

(FOARAM) to face current threats. Funding FOARAM through 2023

ensures we don't backslide in protecting ourselves against

ocean acidification, just as the danger is increasing.

Incorporating the best available data on the full effects of

ocean acidification, including socioeconomic and regional

variations, ensures our national response to the problem

works for the whole nation. Establishing an advisory board

that represents and coordinates the diverse stakeholders

impacted by ocean acidification ensures interests at all

level--including industry, recreation, and conservation--are

accounted for in federal action.

Bipartisan support for the COAST Research Act speaks to the

seriousness of the problem and the efficiency of this

proposed solution. Neither Democrats nor Republicans are

willing to watch our blue economy dissolve in increasingly

acidic waters. Both parties support urgent action to

stabilize our oceans and fortify them against future changes.

This bill provides the funding and strategy to do just that.

Without action, our ocean ecosystems and dependent

economies may be barren by the end of this century. Congress

has the opportunity to reverse this trend and keep our coasts

and oceans vibrant and bountiful. We greatly appreciate your

leadership in crafting the bill that can make such reversal

possible.

Sincerely,

Marjorie Mulhall,

Legislative Director for Lands,

Wildlife, and Oceans, Earthjustice.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this bipartisan bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici).

Mr. Speaker, I would simply urge the passage of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and his kind remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1237, the COAST Research Act, of which I am an original cosponsor.

Those of us who live on the coast understand that the coast is an essential part of our lives. In my own State of Florida, approximately 80 percent of the population lives along the coast. About 6 million people work in our coastal communities and produce nearly $280 billion a year in wages and contribute over $700 billion in gross domestic product.

Today, we face uncertainty about the sustainability and the resilience of our coasts. Parts of our coast have come under assault from the ocean itself, even before anyone imagined anything about sea level rise.

Acidification presents uncertainties in the ocean and could pose severe effects to the biodiversity of our marine wildlife.

Along the Space Coast, we have seen a recent plague of algal blooms that foul our estuaries and threaten our economy. It is serious and it is heartbreaking.

The message is clear: We need to take care of our precious coast so that we can continue to enjoy the lifestyle and the economic well-being that we all cherish.

We must work with the Federal Government in the interest of improving our coastal resilience. That is why I have joined Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici in directing NOAA to pick up the role of leading research for coastal acidification.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record four letters of support for the COAST Research Act from the following organizations: the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, the Surfrider Foundation, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the Northwest fisheries groups.

Consortium for Ocean Leadership,

Washington, DC, March 1, 2019.

Hon. Suzanne Bonamici,

Washington, DC.

Dear Congresswoman Bonamici: On behalf of the Consortium

for Ocean Leadership (COL), which represents our nation's

leading ocean science, research, and technology organizations

from academia, industry, and aquariums, I am writing to

express support for the Coastal and Ocean Acidification

Stressors and Threats (COAST) Research Act (H.R. 6267).

America relies on our ocean and coastal communities for our

basic individual needs as well as our overall security and

prosperity. Keeping these environments, and therefore their

communities, safe from the myriad threats associated with

ocean acidification is paramount to our ocean security. COL

applauds the COAST Research Act in its mission to strengthen

existing ocean acidification initiatives and introduce new

strategies to better understand and manage this environmental

stressor.

Ocean acidification, which occurs as the ocean absorbs

higher concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide,

threatens the health of the entire ocean. As corals,

shellfish, and many types of plankton struggle to create and

maintain their shells or exoskeletons in more acidic waters,

ocean food webs are disrupted. This, in turn, threatens the

crucial balance in many ecosystems, as well as our own food

security, and jeopardizes the stability of those whose

livelihoods depend on a healthy ocean. Combatting the causes

and mitigating the effects of ocean acidification requires

sustained congressional support and interagency

collaboration, as well as engagement from stakeholders in the

private sector and academia. I strongly commend the COAST

Research Act's commitment to advancing ocean acidification

research and monitoring efforts, as well as promoting

cooperation among stakeholder groups.

I offer my sincere thanks to you, Congresswoman Bonamici,

along with Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and Congressmen Don

Young and Bill Posey, for your bipartisan efforts to help us

better understand ocean acidification and improve overall

ocean health by strengthening federal investments in the

research and increasing monitoring of changing ocean

conditions. Our lives and our future may well depend on it.

Respectfully,

Jonathan W. White,

RADM (Ret.), USN,

President and CEO.

Mr. Speaker, we must not fail to preserve the sustainability and resilience of our coastal resources, our environments, and our economies.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support the COAST Research Act.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1237, the COAST Research Act of 2019. This bipartisan legislation would reauthorize and modernize ocean acidification research and monitoring programs.

Ocean acidification is the result of a gradual decrease in pH in ocean chemistry. A small shift in pH can have a serious effect on marine ecosystems, including shellfish habitat, coral reefs, and fisheries habitat.

Congress recognized the need for a better understanding of the cause and the effects of ocean acidification by passing the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2009. This legislation created a framework for science organizations such as NOAA and the National Science Foundation to dedicate resources to studying the phenomenon. This program provided valuable information to the scientific community to better understand what caused ocean acidification and how to begin addressing this issue.

H.R. 1237 reauthorizes and modernizes those efforts by updating the strategic plan governing the Federal Government's research efforts, strengthening cooperation among scientific agencies. It designates NOAA as the lead agency for coordinating Federal efforts for addressing the Federal response to ocean acidification. Additionally, the bill clarifies that all federally funded research conducted in connection with the program is to be made publicly available.

This bill is the result of years of work in building a consensus among stakeholders, ranging from ocean conservation groups and sportsmen to coastal communities, about how best to address this problem moving forward.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Posey), my colleague not only on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, but on the Financial Services Committee, ever thoughtful and ever strong spirited.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.