World Ocean Day
Floor Speech
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Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1330, recognizing June 8, 2010, as World Ocean Day.
It is particularly fitting that today this resolution gives us the opportunity to take some time and appreciate the beauty of our oceans and to think about ways that we can work to protect our oceans for generations to come.
All Americans, as well as people from around the world, realize the importance of oceans. Millions of people enjoy playing, boating, surfing, fishing, or simply being along the beachscape and along our oceans. Oceans fascinate many children who learn about the interesting aspects of the oceans and the animals that live under the sea.
Certainly, in light of the national crisis that is currently occurring in the gulf with the oil leak, this resolution gives us context in which to understand the risks from the delayed response that is occurring to stop the leak in the gulf.
We rely on oceans every day for our regular way of life. Oceans provide thousands of jobs for fishermen, sailors, and many other professions. All Americans are served by oceans in numerous ways, including for food and transport for the vast array of goods that are transported by cargo ships across oceans.
Mr. Speaker, our oceans are an incredibly precious resource, and we should protect them for the future. I ask that my colleagues join in support of this resolution.
I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, as Congress takes this time to recognize World Ocean Day, I think it is absolutely appropriate for us to ask the administration for answers on the gulf oil leak and the tragedy that is occurring there. I think the American people are outraged, and they want to know how did this happen, they want to know how is it going to be stopped, and how is it going to be cleaned up. I think the administration needs to tell us what their game plan is and what their actions are.
Currently, it is as if the administration is merely telling what BP is saying. And I think the American people want to know, and as Congress takes this action, it would be appropriate for the administration to step forward and say how did this happen, how are we going to stop this, and how are we going to clean it up, and how are we going to make certain this doesn't happen again. I know that in Ohio people look down to the gulf with just outrage of the risk that is occurring to wildlife, our beaches. And they want to know what is this administration going to do, what is the plan, and how is this going to be stopped.
I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, again as we take up this resolution for World Ocean Day, America has questions for this administration on how they are going to stop this leak, how we are going to protect our oceans and the wildlife, and how this is going to be cleaned up.
You know, most administrations when they take office say, We are ready for the job day one. Well, day one was a year-and-a-half ago, and we still have a crisis in the gulf, and people want to know, Well, where is the administration? We are on day 51 of the leak down in the gulf. Day 51.
Perhaps in addition to World Ocean Day, every day Congress should pass a resolution proclaiming a day in honor of the tragedy that's occurring down in the gulf. Day 51 and we still don't have an answer, we don't know how this is going to be stopped, we don't know what the administration's plans are, and we don't know what the administration's plans are for cleaning this up.
I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate Mr. Kucinich from Ohio's comments on the issues of how we need to look at how we are treating the environment. And as we are into day 51 of this crisis in the gulf, Congress has begun to have hearings, the House and the Senate, asking questions about what happened. But I think the administration needs to come forward and give some serious answers to the American people. As people look to the news and to the Web cams of the leak, they want to know from this administration what's the answer. How is this going to be stopped? How is this going to be addressed? How is it going to be cleaned up?
Fifty-one days into this, we don't know yet how this is going to be stopped or what manner by which it should be stopped. We are still listening to BP give us the answers instead of the administration telling us, well, what is the standard? What should be happening? How should we be protecting the coast?
And it makes you wonder, a year-and-a-half into this administration, well, how are we doing on the other oil rigs that are there? Is this administration prepared in determining whether or not the other oil rigs currently represent a threat? What inspections are they doing? What compliance are they doing?
As Congress passes World Ocean Day, the administration should pause and turn to the American people and give us some answers as to what their response is going to be to this 51 days into a terrible crisis down in the gulf.
I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. TURNER. With all due respect to the gentleman from Oregon, since the Democrats have been in charge of the House for the past 3 1/2 years, if there were any regulatory or legislative issues or resolutions that needed to be passed, certainly we would have seen those and they would have moved forward out of this House. Unfortunately, what we see out of this House is a resolution for World Ocean Day, a resolution for World Ocean Day while we have this crisis going on down in the gulf and the administration is still not giving us answers as to how is this going to be addressed.
The big question that everybody has in the news is not what is BP doing or what is it going to be doing next or is the fix that they currently are pursuing going to work, but what is this administration's answer to how this should be addressed, what should be done. This administration has been in office for 1 1/2 years. This crisis has been going on for 51 days. Surely in the past 51 days the administration should be able to step forward and give the American people a clear answer as to how did this happen, how is it going to be stopped, and how are we going to clean this up. This is something that I think everyone, as we pause for World Ocean Day, would certainly pause for those answers.
I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, the prior speaker indicated that the President has pulled together a task force for a national ocean policy and is looking for public input. I think we know what that public input is. It's, Mr. President, tell the American people how this leak is going to be stopped. Tell us how this cleanup is going to occur, and tell us how this is going to be avoided in the future. The public input is, Stop the leak.
I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, as Congress takes up World Ocean Day, we are 51 days into a crisis in the gulf where this administration, 1 1/2 years into this administration, still has not provided the American people with answers as to how will this leak be stopped, how will this be cleaned up, how will this be avoided in the future. The American people, as we take up World Ocean Day, pause, looking at the 51 days of the continuing crisis in the gulf, and look for answers.
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