Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank Chairman Calvert and his staff for working with me on this amendment. It simply seeks to decrease and then increase by the same amount within the $2.5 billion appropriation for the environmental programs and management account within the Environmental Protection Agency. More specifically, my amendment seeks to remove and then reapply $2.2 million from that account.

The intent behind my amendment is simple. It is to put the House on record of supporting a final funding amount of $27,310,000 for the National Estuary Program and coastal waterways.

Currently, the report accompanying this bill calls for $25,098,000 for the National Estuary Program and coastal waterways, which is $2,212,000 below both the Senate's proposed appropriations level and the President's request for fiscal year 2016. Hence, the amount specified in my amendment.

The National Estuary Program and coastal waterways subaccount within the EPA does important work, including work in my State, especially on the Atlantic Coast. It addresses ocean acidification, seeks to remove coastal watersheds, furthers the National Estuary Program's restoration goals, and assists in the implementation of the very important Gulf of Mexico hypoxia action plan.

Mr. Chairman, there is an area, a large area called the dead zone off of Louisiana that literally stinks. It has no fish. It has no recreational opportunities. It has no fishing. It is, in fact, a scar on the face of the Earth. Part of the funding for this program is used to try to overcome the hypoxia situation that has arisen off the coast of Louisiana that threatens to spread not only to Texas, Alabama, and Mississippi, but also to the coast of my State of Florida, eventually, if we do nothing about it.

The estuarine regions of the United States comprise just 12 percent of land area of the United States, but they contain 43 percent of the U.S. population and provide 49 percent of all U.S. economic output. The economic value of coastal recreation alone in the United States--beach going, fishing, bird watching, snorkeling, diving, and so on--has conservatively been estimated by NOAA to be between $20 billion and $60 billion annually.

Clearly, the $2.2 million increase in funding for the National Estuary Program and coastal waterways that I am seeking will result in dramatic returns for the American economy, an enhanced quality of life for the American people, and eliminate that scar on the face of planet Earth that exists off the coast of Louisiana and should never be allowed to spread.

Mr. Chairman, I know that you support this amendment, and I am thankful for your support. With that in mind, I will stop talking before I lose your support.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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