Urging U.S. Action and International Agreement on Ocean Acidification
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Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
House Resolution 989 would urge the United States to adopt national policies and pursue international agreements to prevent ocean acidification to study the impacts of ocean acidification and to address the effects of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems and coastal economies.
As stated in the resolution, Congress passed the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act last year. This legislation authorized funding for research activities to better understand ocean acidification. This is to the tune of approximately $76 million.
I would stress that, prior to adopting national policies and international agreements which could adversely impact American jobs, the administration needs to continue its efforts to conduct research to better understand ocean acidification to ensure that efforts to address its effects do not necessarily harm the United States economy. We have dedicated significant money for this over the course of time.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, would the gentleman help me understand why this resolution is needed at this time. I don't want to try to debate--I appreciate your passion for this topic. It's evident and I appreciate that.
But given that we already passed the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act and authorized some $76 million, why the need for this additional resolution?
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Mr. CHAFFETZ. Thank you. And if the gentleman will respond to another question.
It talks in the very first sentence, ``Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should adopt national policies.'' By ``national policies'' does the gentleman mean the cap-and-trade?
What are national policies, in your mind?
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Mr. CHAFFETZ. Reclaiming my time, I concur with the gentleman and the idea that we need to pursue green technologies. In my opinion, that includes nuclear technologies, getting the regulatory bodies out of the way so that we can pursue the adoption of natural gas vehicles and other types of things and technologies that would truly help our environment.
I would simply also, Mr. Speaker, suggest that when the characterizations of where the scientific community is on this--I do personally object to the quote ``all scientists agree,'' end quote.
I don't think that is the case. From my purview and my perspective, I don't believe that, quote, ``all scientists agree.'' I do think there is still debate in the scientific community, and I think that's a healthy thing along the way.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, one of the concerns I have about this resolution is the vague nature of what these so-called national policies would be. Again, I would like to ask the gentleman if he would respond to a question.
Is H.R. 2454, the Waxman-Markey bill, one of the, quote, ``national policies''?
I yield to the gentleman.
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Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, there have been some assertion that this is a worse threat than what's going on in the gulf. The most immediate threat to the oceans, at least that we see, is what's going on with the oil spill in the gulf. And it is nothing short of shocking that this President has yet to even call the leader of British Petroleum. Why he can't even make a call after nearly 50 days is truly absolutely shocking.
Again, I think we need to continue to have a debate and talk about the need to address the acidification in the oceans, but I do find that this House resolution is ambiguous when it talks about adopting national policies, which I think is a thinly veiled attempt to say that we should be adopting the cap-and-trade bill.
Further, I find that this bill is redundant in terms of the fact that Congress passed the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act last year, authorizing money to the tune of some $76 million.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, again, I appreciate the gentleman who is presenting this bill and his clear passion for this. But, Mr. Speaker, when it says in the very first sentence that the United States should adopt national policies, in my mind, Mr. Speaker, this is clearly an attempt to try to say that we should be passing the cap-and-trade bill, which I am totally opposed to.
I would urge my colleagues to vote against this bill; I don't think it's needed. We have made a commitment, on behalf of the United States of America, with the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act that was passed in an omnibus bill last year. The money has been set aside. The administration needs to do its work, and I would encourage them to do that. This is an issue that does need to be addressed. We don't try to dismiss that in any way, shape or form; but, Mr. Speaker, this resolution is not needed at this time, and I urge my colleagues to vote against it.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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