Political Quotes

“The executive order on National Ocean Policy is an Obama administration policy. It lacks clear statutory authority. Instead of streamlining Federal management, it potentially adds layers of additional bureaucracy and Federal overreach. The National Ocean Policy has the potential to harm both terrestrial and marine economic values by affecting sectors such as agriculture, fishing, construction, manufacturing, oil, gas, and renewable energy, among others. This body has taken the position in the past to pause the implementation of the executive order on the National Ocean Policy as this uncertainty continues around the meaning of the policy, how will we implement it, and the unintended consequences. The policy was developed unilaterally by the prior administration without involving or consulting with Congress. Additionally, the Natural Resources Committee has expressed concern about the policy, as did a letter signed by over 80 groups supporting the provision in the underlying bill. We are not saying that ocean policy in general does not make sense or is something that we could not support. My home State of Alabama is a coastal State. All I am saying is that I think we need to revisit this policy, take a bottom-up approach by working with stakeholders, and have something work its way through Congress.…”