Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1447, the Coastal and Ocean Acidification Stressors and Threats, or COAST, Research Act of 2021. I also rise in support of H.R. 2533, the National Estuaries…
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1447, the Coastal and Ocean Acidification Stressors and Threats, or COAST, Research Act of 2021. I also rise in support of H.R. 2533, the National Estuaries and Acidification Resarch, or NEAR, Act of 2021.
These two bipartisan bills supporting ocean acidification research passed the House under suspension last Congress. The oceans have absorbed excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels. The resulting rise in ocean acidity levels has been shown to cause harm to marine life. Organisms like oysters, clams, and corals have difficulty building their shells and skeletons in more acidic environments. Higher acidity also alters the behavior of some fish. 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.
Congresswoman Bonamici's COAST Research Act reauthorizes and updates the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act. The bill supports the ocean acidification program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. The bill has several updates to improve the text from last Congress, with bipartisan agreement.
This year marks 10 years of ocean acidification research at NOAA. This next decade will be crucial for further understanding the impacts of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems and coastal communities. We must pass this crucial legislation to help support federal efforts to inform mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Congressman Posey's NEAR Act would require a study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. This study would examine the impact of ocean acidification and other stressors in estuarine environments.
I thank Congresswoman Bonamici for her leadership on this issue and Congressman Posey for his bill. I thank Ranking Member Lucas and our staffs for working together to prepare these bills for Floor passage. Finally, I thank the numerous experts who helped inform the development of both bills.
I urge my colleagues to swiftly pass these two bipartisan bills through the House. I look forward to working with the Senate to pass strong ocean acidification legislation into law.
I also want to include in the Record several letters of support we have received for H.R. 1447 from outside groups.
Ocean Conservancy,
Washington, DC, May 17, 2021.
Hon. Suzanne Bonamici,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Representative Bonamici: On behalf of Ocean
Conservancy, I am writing to express our strong support for
H.R. 1447, the Coastal and Ocean Acidification Stressors and
Threats (COAST) Research Act of 2021, and to urge your
colleagues to vote to pass the legislation when it is
considered on the House Floor. Americans depend on a healthy
ocean, and ocean acidification threatens millions of jobs and
livelihoods, cultures, and ways of life, from the Pacific
Northwest's shellfish industry to Florida's coral reef
tourism. The COAST Research Act will strengthen our nation's
investments in ocean and coastal acidification, and we
encourage Members of Congress to stand with coastal
communities, businesses, and our marine environment by
passing this important legislation.
From coast to coast, ocean acidification is having a broad
range of impacts on the health of our ocean and coastal
communities. Economically and ecologically important regional
species are suffering. Ocean acidification has attributed to
dissolving the shells of young Dungeness crab, an
economically valuable fishery in the Pacific Northwest, with
additional research suggesting that acidification also
impacts the crab's ability to navigate their environment.
Corals, such as the corals off the coast of Florida, grow
more slowly under acidification and are less likely to
recover from breakage or loss. However, ocean acidification
is not the only stressor facing our ocean, and the
combination of impacts can be more detrimental to our marine
environment. Ocean acidification, when combined with
increased ocean temperatures for example, have shown the
ability to impact the reproductive success of Pacific
herring, more than either change alone.
Since the first detrimental impacts of ocean acidification
in the Pacific Northwest in the mid-2000s, when acidification
caused widespread larval shellfish death in the region,
researchers and coastal industries have faced the reality of
an increasingly acidic ocean head-on. Oregon State University
researchers studying Netarts Bay, the initial hotspot for
documented ocean acidification impacts on the Pacific oyster,
have uncovered the complex interactions among local
circulation and biological activity, which is now informing
local shellfish farmers of when to begin particular
activities. From the Atlantic to the Pacific, ocean and
coastal acidification has had extensive biological and
socioeconomic impacts and research is accelerating to find
ways to offset those harms.
In 2009, Congress recognized the urgent need for federal
investments in ocean acidification research and monitoring,
and subsequently passed the Federal Ocean Acidification
Research and Monitoring (FOARAM) Act of 2009. FOARAM
established the federal government's work on ocean
acidification by creating the NOAA Ocean Acidification
Program and an interagency working group on ocean
acidification. Much of our knowledge and understanding of
ocean acidification that has emerged in the last decade can
be credited to the federal funding authorized by FOARAM. The
law's authorization, however, expired in 2012, and there are
changes that can be made to further improve our ability to
understand acidification in the open ocean as well as in the
coastal zone.
As the ocean continues to absorb carbon dioxide and the
ocean continues to acidify, we must take action to protect
our communities and wildlife from the impacts of
acidification. The COAST Research Act will help our nation
and coastal communities better prepare for the effects from
ocean and coastal acidification, strengthen investments in
research and monitoring, increase our understanding of the
impacts acidification has on our communities and bring
together ocean stakeholders to guide research and monitoring.
Thank you for your leadership on this issue, and we look
forward to working with you to craft solutions for our
changing ocean environment.
Sincerely,
Reggie Paros,
Director, Government Relations,
Ocean Conservancy.
