NEAR Act of 2021

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.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2533) to provide for a study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine examining the impact of ocean acidification and other stressors in estuarine environments.

Mr. 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. 2533, the bill now under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Congressman Posey's National Estuaries and Acidification Research Act. I am an original cosponsor of this bipartisan bill, which would direct the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study that examines the science of ocean and coastal acidification in estuaries and provide recommendations to improve future research and management to inform mitigation decisions.

As co-chair of both the House Oceans Caucus and Congressional Estuary Caucus, I know that acidification is not only affecting the open ocean, estuaries and nearshore waters are also absorbing tremendous amounts of carbon pollution and becoming more acidic.

Our understanding of ocean acidification and its interactions with other environmental stressors, such as hypoxia, harmful algal blooms, and warming waters, is rapidly evolving, but is still limited in scope.

Ocean and coastal acidification are often present in the context of other coastal processes, like runoff, erosion, and upwelled water from the oceans, making it difficult to measure its individual effects on estuaries.

Our estuaries and nearshore waters are also experiencing the consequences of our inaction to address the climate crisis, and research has not kept pace with the needs of coastal communities. The NEAR Act will help address significant research gaps and the urgent need to improve our understanding of the ecological and socioeconomic effects of ocean and coastal acidification.

I thank Congressman Posey for his leadership on this bipartisan bill and his efforts to preserve our Nation's estuaries. I also thank Chairwoman Johnson and Ranking Member Lucas for making this bill a priority.

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

House of Representatives, Committee on Science, Space,

and Technology,

Washington, DC, April 16, 2021.

Chairman Raul M. Grijalva,

Committee on Natural Resources,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Grijalva: I am writing to you concerning H.R.

2533, the ``National Estuaries and Acidification Research Act

of 2021,'' which was referred to the Committee on Science,

Space, and Technology as lead committee and sequentially

referred to the Committee on Natural Resources on April 14,

2021.

I appreciate your willingness to work cooperatively on this

bill. I recognize that the bill contains provisions that fall

within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Natural

Resources. I acknowledge that your Committee will waive

further consideration of H.R. 2533 and that this action is

not a waiver of future jurisdictional claims by the Committee

on Natural Resources over this subject matter.

I will make sure to include our exchange of letters in the

Congressional Record and will support the appointment of the

Committee on Natural Resources conferees during any House-

Senate conference. Thank you for your cooperation on this

legislation.

Sincerely,

Eddie Bernice Johnson,

Chairwoman.

Mr. Speaker, this is a commonsense bill to address the urgent need for research on ocean and coastal acidification in estuaries.

I appreciate the partnership and leadership from Chairwoman Johnson, Ranking Member Lucas, and Congressman Posey to protect the health of our oceans and estuaries.

Mr. Speaker, I once again urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bipartisan bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2533, the National Estuaries and Acidification Research Act of 2021, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Congressman Bill Posey, my esteemed colleague on the Science Committee.

This legislation directs the Secretary of Commerce to coordinate a study with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to examine the effects of ocean acidification on estuary environments, and to submit that report to Congress within 2 years.

Specifically, this study will be led by the Ocean Studies Board of the National Academies and provide Congress a better understanding of the biological and economic impacts of ocean acidification on inland marine environments.

Estuaries are economically important water ecosystems that occur when inland rivers meet oceans. This mix of fresh and salt waters is a delicate balance of nature that possesses unique biological characteristics. To date, there have been few studies on the effects ocean acidification has on these ecosystems.

We can't manage and mitigate the effects of something we don't fully understand. That is why H.R. 2533 is still needed today to bridge our knowledge gaps by utilizing the best expertise and resources to gain a better understanding of this important issue.

While Oklahoma is a landlocked State without estuaries, I recognize the economic and environmental effects acidification has on all of our Nation's waterways and other natural treasures. The waters of Oklahoma's rivers, streams, and tributaries feed into larger systems and eventually make it to the ocean. At the end of the day, being a conservationist doesn't stop at geographic barriers. It is a nationwide effort.

Mr. Speaker, this important word-for-word bill passed the House last Congress with the same bipartisan support it has here today. Unfortunately, it didn't move further in the Senate. So, 1 year later, we still need to improve our knowledge of coastal acidification and estuaries.

I thank Mr. Posey for leading this important legislation. I know his constituents and the Indian River Lagoon community appreciate his efforts to protect their surrounding environment. I also thank my Science Committee colleague across the aisle, Ms. Bonamici, for leading the effort on the majority side.

Mr. Speaker, as the saying goes, knowledge is power. This simple bipartisan bill advances our knowledge and gives us the power to quantify the effects estuary communities face when faced with coastal acidification.

The National Academies are a tremendous resource. Their studies are thorough, informative, and world class. I look forward to seeing the final product directed by this bill.

By preserving our Nation's estuaries, we are saving businesses from closing, ecosystems from dying, and people from getting sick. I, again, thank Representative Bill Posey and the entire Congressional Estuary Caucus for leading on this important topic.

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

Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to rise in support of H.R. 2533, The National Estuaries and Acidification Research (NEAR) Act.

I want to thank Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici and Congressman Brian Mast for working with me to advance this important legislation.

I also want to thank the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for their valuable input.

The NEAR Act is a national proposal with a very special personal connection. People in my district--the 8th district of Florida-- understand in a very deep way, the economic and environmental importance of the ocean and our estuary--the Indian River Lagoon.

This bill focuses on estuaries--those wondrous nurseries and homes for sea life.

Unfortunately, the Indian River Lagoon, and other valuable estuaries throughout the country, are being threatened by ocean acidification, along with other stressors.

Scientists tell us that when carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, about one third of that carbon dioxide is absorbed by seawater, creating carbonic acid.

Shellfish and other marine organisms don't do well in acidic waters. We know that.

We have over a decade of research on the impacts of acidification in the open ocean. Unfortunately, we don't have the same kind of knowledge about acidification in estuaries and waters near our shores.

We need to deepen our investment in research in our estuaries so we can protect and restore our estuaries and defend our environment and coastal economy.

The story of my district and the Indian River Lagoon plays out along our entire national coastline. More than half of the U.S. population lives in coastal areas.

Five years ago, Congresswoman Bonamici and I cofounded the bipartisan Congressional Estuary Caucus to preserve and restore our estuaries. Coastal watershed counties provide an estimated 69 million U.S. jobs and contribute an estimated $7.9 trillion to the GDP annually.

The National Academy study authorized by the NEAR Act is a great step toward filling in the gaps in our knowledge of how acidification affects our estuaries--both environmentally and economically.

Mr. Speaker, when we take care of our environment, we take care of ourselves, and therefore, I ask my colleagues to join me in taking this important step toward understanding how ocean acidification affects our precious estuaries and support this bill today.

Madam Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 145, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 146, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 147, and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 148.