Coastal Communities Ocean Acidification Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Ms. PINGREE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Johnson), the committee chairwoman, for yielding me the time and for supporting this bill, as well as the ranking member from Oklahoma, both of whom have shown a true willingness to address the impact of climate change and the impact that it has had on our oceans.

The increased carbon absorbed by our oceans has presented a crisis that has touched coastal communities in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, as well as the connected water bodies in between. That is why it is encouraging to see the health of our oceans finally receive the attention from this Chamber that they have long deserved, with the four bipartisan bills before us today.

Despite congressional inaction, the Federal Government has done its best to address ocean acidification through existing programs and budgets.

I would particularly like to recognize the work of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, better known as NOAA, which has never shirked its responsibility to safeguard our seas in the face of climate change, even though the agency did not receive additional resources to meet this complex challenge. It is due to NOAA's research that we know that our oceans have increased in acidity by approximately 30 percent since the industrial revolution and could experience increases up to 150 percent by the end of the century.

Let's be clear. That data isn't just frightening on an environmental level. It also spells disaster for our economy.

America's coastal communities produce 45 percent of the Nation's gross domestic product, and nearly 3 million American jobs are directly dependent on the resources of our oceans and the Great Lakes. If we let this problem intensify, the financial implications will ripple across all of our communities.

I remember hearing about the issue of ocean acidification taking hold in Maine during the summer of 2012. Maine had experienced a big spike in ocean temperatures that summer. Triggerfish, seahorses, and a lot of invasive species started showing up that year.

A little fishery for squid popped up in Penobscot Bay. Black sea bass, which are common south of Cape Cod, migrated north and became a major predator of small crustaceans, such as baby lobsters. In a State renowned for its lobster, you can imagine that the impacts on our economy were significant.

Meanwhile, our clammers and shellfish growers have reported similar impacts.

Bill Mook, an oyster farmer on Maine's Damariscotta River, told me that he has had to adjust operations to mitigate for ocean acidification and worries how future oyster production will be affected.

According to a recent study by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, the Gulf of Maine is more susceptible to pressures of ocean acidification than any other region on the East Coast.

These are only a few of the reasons why I introduced the bipartisan Coastal Communities Ocean Acidification Act, which is one of the four bills under consideration today. My bill would direct NOAA to study the socioeconomic impacts of ocean acidification on coastal communities nationwide and, better yet, finally provide the agency with the additional authorized funding needed to do this essential research.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the four bipartisan bills before the House today, including my own. It is critical that we protect our coastal economies and our oceans so that they are here for the next generation.

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