The Administration-appointed U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy’s final report called for a greater U.S. investment in the management and protection of our marine resources. In light of this report, the President’s Ocean Action Plan and the Administration’s FY 2006 budget for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) ocean and coastal programs is extremely disappointing, slashing almost $400 million from NOAA’s ocean-related budget.

     "Just think about this: for what it costs to fight the war in Iraq for just 9 days, this Administration could have fully funded the Oceans Commission’s first year recommendations and thus begun the process of restoring our coastal waters, beaches and fisheries," Pallone said.

     Resources Committee Ranking Member Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) added, "In its report to Congress and the President, the Commission wrote, ‘meaningful change requires meaningful investment.’ But the Administration’s so-called Action Plan would leave our nation’s fisheries and the people who depend upon them dangling in a vacuum of empty promises, adding sea salt to the gaping wounds threatening our oceans and coastal communities."

     Another program suffering a devastating cut of 63% is the National Ocean Service (NOS) division of Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment, which funds State and regional monitoring systems for the safety of recreational and commercial fishing vessels.

     Drastic cuts to NOAA, combined with this Administration’s stealth attempt to undercut a State’s right to review Federal activities on their coastlines under the Coastal Zone Management Act, do not live up to the intention of Congress or the will of the citizens of coastal States.

     The Administration’s budget for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also zeros out State grants for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a popular program that provides scarce financial support to States to protect shoreside open spaces.

     "I am very concerned about the deep impact the president’s cuts will have, especially on the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Fisheries Habitat Restoration program and on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Fish Hatcheries," said Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI), a member of both the House Resources and Budget Committees. "As a sportsman who lives on the Mississippi River, I see firsthand how important these programs are to the continued health and vitality of fishery resources and aquatic ecosystems, now and for the benefit of future generations."

     The Fish and Wildlife Service programs addressing endangered species and marine mammal needs are also shortchanged in this budget request. Funds that are critical to the recovery of endangered species are reduced by $4.7 million from what Congress appropriated for this year. Marine mammals are similarly out of luck, with the NOAA program budgets cut by 53%, while the FWS program gets whacked by 46%.

     And the Marine Sanctuary Program, which protects and conserves nationally and globally significant marine environments, will be axed by 30% despite the fact that NOAA is moving ahead with the designation of a new 1,200 square nautical mile sanctuary in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands.

     "These short-sighted cuts pose a serious threat to Hawaii’s ocean environment. They jeopardize the ability of the Humpback Whale Sanctuary to protect these magnificent creatures. They also put a crimp in our ongoing efforts to protect the fragile coral reef ecosystems in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands," said Subcommittee Member U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI).

     Pallone added, "In reference to this subcommittee, the Administration's policies hurt fish and wildlife resources the most. I'm mystified that only two years after this Administration released a national strategy to put the 'fish' back in the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Service's 2006 Fisheries Program budget request contains across the board cuts for all program accounts except one."