Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2007

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2007

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Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment and oppose the gentleman's effort to try to eliminate the funding for this program.

Let me first begin by saying that the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO supports this effort as one that is strategic. Many of us on the committee also support it because it is educational.

Let me explain to the gentleman that the organizations that will carry out the undersea exploration in the Black Sea and in the eastern Mediterranean will do this working under the authority of NATO. There are very preeminent scholars who are involved in this, including Mr. Bob Ballard, best known for finding the wreckage of the Titanic.

The efforts in the Black Sea and the eastern Mediterranean will be to explore underwater in a cooperative effort with our friends in both Ukraine and in Russia. The Government of Greece will be involved as well, but the instrumentalities that you talked about in this country are only locations through which some of our talented people have been selected and will be coupled with those of Ukraine, Russia and Greece.

As you may or may not know, Russia has a base in Crimea, and as both Russia and Ukraine move towards NATO, I think it is important for the United States to find ways to work with them together so we can achieve a very progressive maturation and a set of relationships that include underwater exploration in which everyone feels they have a stake.

One of the side benefits of this particular effort, so you know, is that there will be educational programs relating to math and science. This particular scientific endeavor will be broadcast through a live network of museums, science centers, Boys and Girls Clubs, and aquariums, perhaps the one the gentleman mentioned. There are literally hundreds of them, including Department of Defense schools in all of the NATO countries. So there is also a benefit for education.

One of the goals is to take and broadcast through Ukraine and Russia so we work on this together. There is actually a term that they use, I might not have it exactly right, but it is like an instantaneous televideo connect where as they film underwater and begin to identify various undersea artifacts and conditions, and the oceanographers and the scientists involved will make this information available globally.

So the Institute for Exploration Project is designed not only to help our strategic relationships in the region, but it has a benefit for children across the world. And by working on a project focused on exploration of the maritime conditions in those locations, we engage strategically with countries where we need to develop friendships and a common agenda without engaging in any kind of overt military activity. That is a bit of an explanation.

Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons), who has been such a great colleague in helping the Ukrainian Caucus move this project forward.

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