Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman from Hawaii for yielding. Madam Chair, I rise today in support of the en bloc amendment. The ocean covers more than 70 percent of the planet. It supplies much of the oxygen that we breathe, it regulates our climate, it is linked to the water we drink, and it is home to more than half of all life on Earth. But despite our intrinsic connection to our ocean, we know very little about what is beneath its surface. As co-chair of the House Oceans Caucus, I have worked with my fellow co-chair for the caucus, Congressman Don Young from Alaska, to improve ocean data and monitoring efforts through the introduction of our BLUE GLOBE Act. My amendment parallels those efforts and would direct the NOAA administrator to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to assess the potential for, and feasibility of, an Advanced Research Project Agency-Oceans, or ARPA-O. Coastal communities, like those I represent in northwest Oregon, rely on accurate ocean data and monitoring for information on ocean acidification, forecasting of harmful algal blooms and hypoxia, tsunami preparedness, navigation, and port security. And after the stark findings in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on ``The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate,'' we know that ocean data and monitoring are more important than ever in adapting to the climate crisis.…”