Bill Posey: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. I, again, want to thank Congressman LoBiondo for his work on this National Estuary…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. I, again, want to thank Congressman LoBiondo for his work on this National Estuary Program and this legislation to reauthorize this important program for another 5 years. Thank you also for working with me on provisions for my bill, which I introduced with Representative Murphy of Florida--H.R. 5117, the Estuary Urgent Needs Priority Program. Our provision establishes a competitive awards program for estuaries to help prioritize funding to estuaries facing urgent needs. It does so without spending any additional money. We simply reprioritize and require all money appropriated from Congress for estuaries to actually be spent on estuaries. Mr. Speaker, the National Estuary Program encourages communities to work toward having healthy estuaries by providing annual base grants for projects to improve and to monitor the quality of their water and the species that live in them. Healthy estuaries provide a diverse home for flora and fauna. Estuaries also provide for countless hours of recreational enjoyment and billions of dollars in economic impact. My congressional district is home to one of the most diverse estuaries in the country, if not in the world--the Indian River Lagoon. Our lagoon's natural beauty has always been central to our community as a key to improving our quality of life, as a recreational area for fishing and boating with friends and family, and as a significant contributor to our local economy.…”