It was a magnificent bipartisan effort, really, that came out of this Committee, 21 to nothing.
States contribute and carry out more than $5.6 billion in conservation efforts.
States--not Federal agencies--have primacy over wildlife management.
Without objection, it is entered into the record.
Today the Committee will examine the issues of man-made trash that is polluting the oceans, also known as marine debris.
Plastic takes at least 450 years to degrade completely; sometimes much longer than that.
You can see the love and the look in Senator McCain's eyes and the deep feelings he had to making sure the children... had the opportunities...
He cared deeply about the issue we will be discussing today.
We must continue to make positive reforms to help these young people chart a different course.
No issue is more important across tribal communities than those affecting children.
This was clearly an issue that was incredibly important not just to us, but to Senator McCain.
Some people see ocean plastic as a looming catastrophe worth mentioning in the same breath as climate change.
It is estimated that around 8 million metric tons of plastic waste ends up in the world's oceans each year.
I defer to my colleague from Rhode Island.
I want to thank them for their leadership on this issue.
Experts believe that about 90 percent of all plastic pollution flows into the oceans from just ten rivers.
By now, many Americans have heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
I think that's one impediment we have, even for visiting doctors to come.
