Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chair, I rise today to offer a simple amendment to address an overreach by the executive branch of our government.

My amendment bans the use of Federal funds for the implementation of Executive Order No. 13547. Executive Order No. 13547, signed in 2010, requires that 63-plus bureaucracies essentially zone the ocean and the sources thereof.

This amendment addresses a critical executive branch encroachment into the powers of Congress as set forth in our Constitution. The activities being conducted under E.O. 13547 have not been authorized by Congress, nor have appropriations been made by Congress to fund these activities.

Mr. Chair, since 2010, this body has voted several times in support of this amendment in a bipartisan manner. Today, I am offering this amendment, again, because concerns have been raised that the effects of the recently created National Ocean Policy may extend well beyond restricting the ocean and inland activities.

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Mr. Chairman, first of all, I think now that you have heard the arguments against my amendment, it is important to set the record straight as far as what the real history was.

Congress did pass an act to establish a National Ocean Commission. That Commission was appointed by President Bush. And it made recommendations, but it did nothing else.

Those recommendations were considered by the 108th, 109th, 110th, and 111th Congresses, and Congress elected to take no action on those recommendations. Therefore, it is the intent of Congress that no further activity take place.

The President has wired around Congress by signing this executive order to establish a commission to empower 63 agencies to go spend money for which no funds have been appropriated and under which it has no statutory authority.

I have got 93 interests that include fishing, agricultural, farming, energy, and other industries that are concerned about the impact of this Federal overreach.

Again, this is a simple amendment that just stands up for the constitutional rights of this Congress to create the statutes under which this activity can be conducted.

We may not be against ocean planning. What we are for, though, is for the Constitution and to stand up for our congressional rights to enact the statutes related to this activity.

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