"The Administration’s budget request for ocean conservation doesn’t have the sea legs to ensure continued public access to economic and recreational opportunities. The priorities laid out by this proposal illustrate that the divide between this Administration’s words and its actions is as wide as the Atlantic Ocean," stated Rahall, the Ranking Democrat on the House Resources Committee which has jurisdiction over ocean policy.

     In September 2004, the Commission submitted its final report to Congress and the President. The report contained over 200 policy and funding recommendations for improving U.S. oceans governance to benefit all Americans. In response, the Bush Administration released its mandated U.S. Ocean Action Plan in December 2004, which lacked concrete dollar figures to address the pressing needs of the Nation’s coastal resources.

     As shown in the attached chart, the disparity between the Commission’s recommendations, what the Administration called for in its Ocean Action Plan, and its Fiscal Year 2006 budget is striking.

     While the Commission sees the need to increase ocean funding by over $1.5 billion in 2006, the Administration’s budget would cut funding to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) ocean and coastal programs by more than $391 million below the level Congress appropriated in 2005. The chart also includes the Commission’s recommendations for funding in 2007 and thereafter, a looming need the Administration chose to ignore in its response document.

     The Fisheries and Oceans Subcommittee will hold an oversight hearing on the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2006 budget request for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA on Thursday, March 10, at 2pm in 1324 Longworth House Office Building.

     "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," said Rahall.

     For example, the National Ocean Service (NOS), which administers the bulk of NOAA’s coastal and ocean science, will be slashed by 40%. This agency’s technological expertise is responsible for protecting our coastlines from disasters like the tsunami that hit South Asia in December.

     In the opening statement of the Commission’s report, Chairman Admiral James Watkins stated, "The urgent need for action is clear. It is equally clear that, by rising to the challenge today and addressing the many activities that are affecting our continent at its edges, our Nation can protect the ocean environment, create jobs, increase revenues, enhance security, expand trade, and ensure ample supplies of energy, minerals, food, and lifesaving drugs."

     "As the House Resources Committee assumes its duty to study these recommendations and the financial commitment Congress needs to ensure their success, I will work toward making waves in ocean policy. The status quo has proven to be disastrous for our resources," declared Rahall.