REAUTHORIZATION OF THE OCEAN AND 

 COASTAL PROGRAMS OF NOAA 



WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1993 



House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Oceanog- 

 raphy, Gulf of Mexico, and the Outer Continental 

 Shelf, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisher- 

 ies, 



Washington, DC. 

 The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 2:40 p.m., in room 

 1344, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Solomon P. Ortiz 

 [chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding. 

 Present: Representatives Ortiz, Green, Eshoo and Weldon. 

 Staff present: Sheila McCready, Staff Director; Robert Wharton, 

 Senior Professional Staff; Terry Schaff and Chris Mann, Profession- 

 al Staff; John Aguirre, Clerk; Lisa Pittman, Minority Counsel; 

 Richard Russell, Minority Professional Staff; and Margherita 

 Woods, Minority Professional Staff. 



Mr. Ortiz. The Subcommittee will come to order. 



STATEMENT OF HON. SOLOMON P. ORTIZ, A U.S. REPRESENTA- 

 TIVE FROM TEXAS, AND CHAIRMAN, SUBCOMMITTEE ON 

 OCEANOGRAPHY, GULF OF MEXICO, AND THE OUTER CONTI- 

 NENTAL SHELF 



Mr. Ortiz. Good afternoon. I would like to welcome all of you 

 here today on behalf of the Subcommittee on Oceanography, Gulf 

 of Mexico and the Outer Continental Shelf. 



Today the Subcommittee meets to discuss the reauthorization of 

 the ocean and coastal programs of the National Oceanic and At- 

 mospheric Administration. 



One year ago, after several years of effort, the first comprehen- 

 sive NOAA authorization was signed into law. This legislation pro- 

 vided specific authorization for many of NOAA's activities for the 

 two-year period ending October 1, 1993. We are now faced with the 

 task of reauthorizing most of these activities before the next appro- 

 priations cycle. I have been working for some time now on legisla- 

 tion to extend the authorizations under this Committee's jurisdic- 

 tion through fiscal year 1998. 



Before this legislation is introduced, there are several issues 

 which I feel must be addressed. Most important is the strategic 

 review which NOAA has undertaken of its mission and the plan 

 which has resulted. In order to authorize specific accounts and ac- 

 tivities for an extended period of time, the Subcommittee needs to 

 understand any changes to NOAA's priorities. If there are plans 



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