Save Our Seas Amendments Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bipartisan bill, the Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act.

Marine debris is a serious problem. Unfortunately, much of marine debris is made up of plastic pollution. The ocean is littered with plastic bottles, straws, grocery bags, cigarette butts, fishing gear, and abandoned vehicles. Additionally, there are tiny pieces of plastic, microplastics, that make their way into marine life, blocking digestive tracts, altering growth, and, in some cases, killing marine mammals and threatening fisheries.

We still don't know how long it takes for plastic to biodegrade completely. Estimates range from 500 years to never. A 2020 study from The Pew Charitable Trusts found that, every year, more than 11 million metric tons of plastic garbage enter the ocean, harming marine life and destroying ecosystems.

If we do nothing to minimize ocean plastic pollution, it will nearly quadruple by 2040. We need to fundamentally change our reliance on plastics. Not only do they pollute the ocean, but they also exacerbate the climate crisis. The fossil fuel and plastics industries are connected, and plastics contribute to industrial emissions in the United States.

A global challenge of this magnitude cannot be solved with a single bill. We should not limit our action to removing existing plastic from the ocean, and we cannot recycle our way out of plastic waste that ends up on our shores.

We need comprehensive action, but today, we have the opportunity to build on our strong, bipartisan foundation of bicameral efforts to strengthen the NOAA Marine Debris Program and enhance the work of the Marine Debris Foundation.

The bipartisan SOS 2.0 Act, which I worked on and authored with the late Congressman Don Young and Senators Sullivan and Whitehouse, is the most comprehensive legislation Congress has passed to address marine debris that threatens coastal communities and ecosystems.

The bill created a Marine Debris Foundation to support NOAA's work; advanced the removal and prevention of debris, including plastic waste; and established a pilot program to provide incentives for the proper disposal of marine debris collected at sea.

Despite these important policies, current law does not effectively permit NOAA through the Marine Debris Program to assist and collaborate with foreign governments, international organizations, Tribal groups, and other organizations that may have the specific skills required to achieve the Marine Debris Act's goals.

As co-chairs of the House Oceans Caucus, Representative Gonzalez- Colon and I introduced the Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act. This bill would amend the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act and the Marine Debris Act to provide NOAA with greater flexibility to deliver Federal resources and enter into cooperative agreements to conduct marine debris prevention and cleanup.

The ocean is resilient. We can help it heal, but we cannot afford to wait. We have significant work ahead of us to clean up and prevent marine debris, and the Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act continues to build on our bipartisan foundation to protect the ocean.

I thank the gentlewoman and co-chair of the House Oceans Caucus, Representative Gonzalez-Colon, for her partnership on this bill. I thank our Senate colleagues, Senator Dan Sullivan and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. I also thank Chairman Graves and Ranking Member Larsen, as well as Chairman Westerman and Ranking Member Grijalva.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill to strengthen the Federal response to marine debris and to continue to make ocean health a priority for future generations.

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