III
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 131
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
JANUARY 28, 1998
Received and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Acknowledging 1998 as the International Year of the Ocean
and expressing the sense of Congress regarding the ocean.
Whereas the ocean, which comprises nearly three-quarters of
the Earth’s surface, sustains a large part of the Earth’s
biodiversity, provides an important source of food, and
interacts with and affects global weather and climate;
Whereas the ocean is critical to national security, is the com-
mon means of transportation among coastal nations, and
carries 95 percent of the United States foreign trade;
HCON 131 RFS
Whereas the ocean and sea floor contain vast energy and
mineral resources that are critical to the economy of the
United States and the world;
Whereas ocean resources are limited and susceptible to
change as a direct and indirect result of human activities,
and such changes can impact the ability of the ocean to
provide the benefits upon which the Nation depends;
Whereas the vast majority of the deep ocean is unexplored
and unknown, and the ocean is truly the last frontier on
Earth for science and civilization;
Whereas there exists significant promise for the development
of new ocean technologies for stewardship of ocean re-
sources that will contribute to the economy through busi-
ness and manufacturing innovations and the creation of
new jobs;
Whereas any nation’s use or misuse of ocean resources has
effects far beyond that nation’s borders;
Whereas it has been 30 years since the Commission on Ma-
rine Science, Engineering, and Resources (popularly
known as the Stratton Commission) met to examine the
state of United States ocean policy and issued rec-
ommendations that led to the present Federal structure
for oceanography and marine resource management; and
Whereas 1998 has been declared the International Year of
the Ocean, and in order to observe such celebration, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and
other Federal agencies, in cooperation with organizations
concerned with ocean science and marine resource,s have
resolved to promote exploration, utilization, conservation,
and public awareness of the ocean: Now, therefore, be it
HCON 131 RFS
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate con-
curring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—
(1) the ocean is of paramount importance to the
economic future, environmental quality, and national se-
curity of the United States;
(2) the United States has a responsibility to exer-
cise and promote comprehensive stewardship of the
ocean and the living marine resources it contains; and
(3) Federal agencies are encouraged to take advan-
tage of the United States and international focus on the
oceans in 1998, to—
(A) review United States oceanography and
marine resource management policies and pro-
grams;
(B) identify opportunities to streamline, better
direct, and increase interagency cooperation in
oceanographic research and marine resource man-
agement policies and programs; and
(C) develop scientific, educational, and re-
source management programs which will advance
the exploration of the ocean and the sustainable use
of ocean resources.
Passed the House of Representatives November 13,
1997.
Attest:
ROBIN H. CARLE,
Clerk.