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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

STATEMENT OF SENATOR ERNEST F. HOLLINGS,SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE AND TRANSPORTATION, HEARING ON U.S. COMMISSION ON OCEAN POLICY

WASHINGTON D.C., April 22, 2004 --/WORLD-WIRE/-- Mr. Chairman, thank you for convening today's hearing on the Preliminary Report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. It is only fitting we hold this hearing on Earth Day since the oceans comprise fully seven-tenths of our planet. That's a lot of water - and more than you would find with a Mars Rover, let me assure you. We ought to set aside extra-terrestrials - even terrestrial species - and reaffirm our national priorities by declaring today as "Ocean Day."

We really needed to take stock of how well our oceans are doing, and how well we are doing by our oceans. It has been well over 30 years since the Stratton Commission recommended a comprehensive ocean policy for the Nation. The Stratton Commission's report and recommendations led to the creation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and passage of major marine conservation statutes such as the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, and the Coastal Zone Management Act. Since then, no other report has generated as much talk and anticipation in the ocean community as this report. This is because our oceans and coasts are at a crossroads.

Throughout history, our society has turned to the oceans and coasts for food, transportation, commerce and recreation. It is no coincidence that today, over 50% of the U.S. population lives in the coastal zone, and this number is expected to increase to 75% by 2025. Hundreds of millions of Americans spend their vacations along the coasts each year and more than 13 million jobs stem from trade along our Nation's marine transportation system. Our oceans are inextricably linked to our personal and economic well-being.

But increasing pressures threaten our oceans and coasts. Our coral reefs and wetlands are disappearing or being degraded at an alarming rate. Increased use has lead to increased pollution of our oceans. In 2002, more than 12,000 beach closings and swimming advisories were issued nationwide due to fecal bacteria or other pollution. Just last month, over 100 dolphin carcasses were found along Florida's panhandle beaches and bays. Preliminary test results point to one or more biotoxins that are associated with red tides. We have also over-used some of our ocean bounty - 25 percent of the Nation's major fish stocks are over-fished or experiencing over-fishing, causing millions of dollars in economic losses.
While we are making some progress here at home, the Committee knows that global overfishing - and bycatch - caused by foreign fleets is posing serious risks to marine ecosystems worldwide. Other costs are closer to our homes - coastal storms and El-NiZo related events pose increasingly serious and costly risks to human health and coastal property.

Despite our dependence on oceans and coasts, the Nation surprisingly spends only 3.5% of its federal research budget on oceans. The oceans are home to 80% of all life forms on Earth, holding incredible promise of new medicines, technologies, and ecological resources, but 95% of the deep ocean remains unexplored.

Our country needs a new vision for ocean policy and management. This is why I sponsored the Oceans Act of 2000, along with several of my distinguished colleagues. The Oceans Act created a Commission of national experts who we asked to conduct a rigorous assessment of ocean and coastal issues and offer their recommendations for a coordinated national ocean policy.

The release of the Ocean Commission's Preliminary Report this week presents state Governors and others with the opportunity to offer comments before a final report is issued to Congress and the President. I urge the Governors of every state to take the report's recommendations very seriously and offer their comments to the Commission. Following the release of the Ocean Commission's final report, the President will have 90 days to submit to Congress his proposals for implementing or responding to the Commission's recommendations.

The Preliminary Report includes some important new directions for our oceans policy. It appropriately places a premium on strengthening our ocean science and research base, calling for a doubling of the annual federal investment in ocean research, for instance. The Commission's report also highlights the importance of deepening our understanding of oceans and coasts through investments in ocean exploration, ocean observing systems, and ocean education.

The Report also reaffirms the importance of coastal zone management, and the role that states must continue to play in this regard. It upholds the need to carefully manage our living marine resources, and notes growing concerns from land and vessel-based sources of pollution as well as other risks such as invasive species to our oceans. I am particularly pleased to find that the Commission has devoted an entire chapter to the need to understand the connection between our oceans and human health - we need to bring these connections to the attention of all Americans, whether they live or work by the sea, or could one day benefit from medicines developed from the immense diversity of marine life we are still discovering.

I commend the Commission too for recognizing that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is the Nation's premier civilian ocean agency, and that it needs to be strengthened to lead the Nation toward a more prosperous and healthy era for our oceans and coasts. This leadership role was envisioned by the Stratton Commission but has been marred by underfunded mandates, overlapping jurisdictions, and lack of coordination between programs and agencies. I hope the Commission will elaborate today on precisely how its recommendations will strengthen NOAA as well as address critical gaps in federal ocean funding. The recommendations describe numerous investment needs but provide little detail about the precise funding estimates and sources.

I am encouraged that our Committee and the Commission seem to be thinking along the same lines on many of these issues. Members of the Commerce Committee have already acted on a number of important legislative proposals to address the challenges facing our oceans and coasts - and I am sure we will see more bills introduced in the coming weeks.

Senator Snowe has demonstrated leadership on these issues by sponsoring S. 1400, the Coastal and Ocean Observing System Act, which calls for the establishment of a coordinated coastal and ocean observing system - a bill that recently passed the Senate, and which I am proud to cosponsor. In addition, the Senate recently passed S. 1218, the Oceans and Human Health Act, legislation I introduced with Sen. Stevens, and which is supported by many of my Senate and Committee colleagues. The Committee also unanimously reported S. 861, the Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection Act, a bill I introduced with Senator Gregg and cosponsored by many Committee members. I hope to see that pass the Senate very soon. I am particularly proud to cosponsor, along with Senator Inouye, Senator Stevens' National Ocean Exploration Act (S. 2280), a bill that will strengthen and enlarge NOAA's Ocean Exploration Program.

All of these initiatives are supported by the Ocean Commission's recommendations. I also am pleased that Sen. McCain and I will be working together on the Commission's recommendation to pass an "organic" act to affirm NOAA as the lead ocean agency in the U.S.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome and publicly thank Admiral Watkins for his leadership on the Commission. Admiral Watkins, you and the other commissioners have done a great service for this country. Thank you for your hard work and for engaging us in a critical dialogue about the future of our oceans and coasts. This spring, Bob, NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration, and other partners will conduct an exciting expedition to the Titanic on the NOAA Ship RON BROWN. Bob never ceases to capture our imaginations when he embarks on one exciting voyage of discovery or another. We wish him much success.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for this opportunity to comment on the Preliminary Report. I look forward to hearing Admiral Watkins' testimony.

CONTACT: Ilene Zeldin at (202)224-6654

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