Protect and Restore America's Estuaries Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support as well of H.R. 4044, the Protect and Restore American's Estuary Act.

I also want to thank my colleague from New Jersey (Mr. Malinowski) for introducing this legislation; our chairwoman, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Graves, and everybody who has worked on this outstanding bill that we want to see move forward here that has moved forward so many other times.

H.R. 4044, reauthorizes the National Estuary Program which focuses on estuaries of national significance across the Nation, including one in my own backyard, very literally, the Indian River Lagoon, the heart and soul of my district.

Estuaries are not just critical natural habitats that provide enormous economic benefits, but they are a part of our way of life for those of us who live anywhere near them or around them. They are where we go fishing, where we see our children recreate and wade in the waters. It is where we see dolphin and manatee. That is where we see people spend their summers, travel to come see the blue waters and the fish and everything else that thrives in those ecosystems.

The National Estuary Program is pivotal to the preservation of these very unique ecosystems, and it provides an enormous return on the taxpayer's investment. On average, the estuary program raises $19 for every $1 provided by the Environmental Protection Agency.

It is because of this and many other reasons that I see on a day-to- day basis with the estuaries in my backyard that I want to urge support of this legislation.

Miss GONZALEZ-COLON of Puerto Rico. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Mast for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4044, the Protect and Restore America's Estuaries Act, of which I am a proud cosponsor.

The National Estuary Program is an initiative committed to protecting and restoring the water quality and ecological integrity of 28 estuaries across the country, including the San Juan Bay Estuary Program in my congressional district.

This estuary is the only tropical estuary in the program and the only one outside the continental U.S. It also provides habitat to 160 species of birds, 200 species of wetland plants, 124 species of fish, and 20 species of amphibians and reptiles, including endangered animals such as the Antillean manatee and the hawksbill and leatherback turtles.

The San Juan Bay annually receives 80 percent of imports for Puerto Rico through docks and ports throughout the system, playing a crucial role for the island's economy. Last year alone, the estuary received 9.5 million visitors, numbers only expected to increase as the island recovers from past hurricanes. The estuary aids in flood prevention for the island's metropolitan area, which is located within the boundaries of the estuary.

I thank the chairman and the ranking member for bringing this bill forward. Of course, I am going to be for it, and I think it is a great initiative not just to protect but also care for all our wetlands in the Nation.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4044 will have a profound impact on districts across America. That is a fact. It is why I am here to support it today. It includes my own district, by increasing public education and awareness around the health conditions of estuaries.

The Indian River Lagoon I spoke about is one of the most biologically diverse estuaries in all of North America and a major economic driver for the five counties that it borders. The lagoon faces enormous challenges year after year and summer after summer, but through the National Estuary Program, there has been a pilot-scale demonstration of seagrass restoration, which is one of the biggest challenges that we face. The destruction of our seagrass each year is like a forest fire underneath the waters of our estuary.

Storm water quality improvement projects, septic-to-sewer projects, and many other projects and initiatives that are vital to our estuary are all implemented here.

With the Protect and Restore America's Estuaries Act, we will build on the enormous success of the National Estuary Program. It is why I couldn't be more proud to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support and adoption of this bipartisan piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source