On the recordJuly 7, 2015
I thank Chairman Calvert for his work on this bill. Madam Chair, I want to set the record straight. In the year 2000, Congress did pass a bill during the 106th Congress to create an ocean commission to review and to make recommendations. Yes, President Bush did appoint persons to that commission. They did make those recommendations, and those recommendations were submitted to Congress. Since then, those recommendations have been reviewed by the 108th, the 109th, the 110th, and the 111th Congresses, and each of those Congresses decided that no action should be taken. What happened here is the President decided to go into the Article I powers, which are reserved for Congress, and to do what Congress does not intend to have done, which is to have an ocean zoning commission built from dozens of agencies. They have never asked for an appropriations for this activity, and there is no lawful basis for the activity to exist. The President's executive order is basically violating the statutes that have been passed by Congress, and it is also violating the Constitution. The language that is in the appropriations bill should remain as it is. Congress has voted seven times on this language, and it has passed all seven times on a bipartisan basis. The other side is that of basically trying to undo what Congress has said it wants to do seven times on a bipartisan basis.
