IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1423 
Expressing support for the designation of the week of September 21 through 
September 28, 2024, as ‘‘National Estuaries Week’’. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 6, 2024 
Mr. POSEY (for himself, Mr. MAST, Ms. BONAMICI, and Mr. LARSEN of Wash-
ington) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing support for the designation of the week of Sep-
tember 21 through September 28, 2024, as ‘‘National 
Estuaries Week’’. 
Whereas estuary regions cover only 13 percent of the land 
area in the continental United States but contain nearly 
40 percent of the population, 39 percent of the jobs, and 
47 percent of the economic output of the United States; 
Whereas the oceans, estuaries, and Great Lakes of the 
United States continue to fuel economic growth across 
the United States, with employment from the estuarine 
and ocean economy growing at 5 percent in 2022, com-
pared to the national average employment growth of 3.9 
percent; 
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•HRES 1423 IH 
Whereas the estuary, ocean, and Great Lakes economic sec-
tors created 88,000 new jobs between 2018 and 2019, 
employed 
3,500,000 
people, 
and 
contributed 
$476,200,000,000 to the gross domestic product; 
Whereas the commercial and recreational fishing industries 
support over 2,300,000 jobs in the United States; 
Whereas, in 2022— 
(1) commercial and recreational saltwater fishing in 
the United States generated $321,000,000,000 in sales; 
(2) 
angler 
trip 
expenditures 
totaled 
nearly 
$13,412,000,000; and 
(3) saltwater recreational fishing supported over 
691,693 jobs, generated $138,000,000,000 in sales im-
pacts 
across 
the 
economy, 
and 
contributed 
$45,100,000,000 in income impacts and $74,900,000,000 
in value-added impacts to the United States; 
Whereas estuaries provide vital habitats for— 
(1) countless species of fish and wildlife, including 
more than 68 percent of the commercial fish catch in the 
United States by value and 80 percent of the recreational 
fish catch in the United States by weight; and 
(2) many species that are listed as threatened or en-
dangered species; 
Whereas estuaries provide critical ecosystem services that 
protect human health and public safety, including water 
filtration, flood control, shoreline stabilization, erosion 
prevention, and the protection of coastal communities 
during hurricanes, storms, and other extreme weather 
events; 
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•HRES 1423 IH 
Whereas, by the 1980s, the United States had already lost 
more than 50 percent of the wetlands that existed in the 
Thirteen Original Colonies; 
Whereas some bays in the United States that were once filled 
with fish and oysters have become dead zones filled with 
excess nutrients, chemical waste, and marine debris; 
Whereas harmful algal blooms are hurting fish, wildlife, and 
human health and are causing serious ecological and eco-
nomic harm to some estuaries; 
Whereas changes in sea level can affect estuarine water qual-
ity and estuarine habitats; 
Whereas section 320 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 
Act (33 U.S.C. 1330) (commonly known as the ‘‘Clean 
Water Act’’) authorizes the development of comprehen-
sive conservation and management plans to ensure that 
the designated uses of estuaries are protected and to re-
store and maintain— 
(1) chemical, physical, and biological integrity; 
(2) water quality; 
(3) the balanced indigenous population of shellfish, 
fish, and wildlife; and 
(4) recreational activity; 
Whereas the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 
U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) provides that the policy of the 
United States is to preserve, protect, develop, and, if pos-
sible, restore or enhance the resources of the coastal 
zones of the United States, including estuaries, for cur-
rent and future generations; 
Whereas 34 coastal and Great Lakes States and territories 
of the United States operate or contain a National Estu-
ary Program or a National Estuarine Research Reserve; 
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•HRES 1423 IH 
Whereas scientific study leads to a better understanding of 
the benefits of estuaries to human and ecological commu-
nities; 
Whereas the Federal Government, State, local, and Tribal 
governments, national and community organizations, and 
individuals work together to effectively manage the estu-
aries of the United States; 
Whereas estuary restoration efforts restore natural infra-
structure in local communities in a cost-effective manner, 
helping to create jobs and reestablish the natural func-
tions of estuaries that yield countless benefits; and 
Whereas the week of September 21 through September 28, 
2024, is recognized as ‘‘National Estuaries Week’’ to in-
crease awareness among all people of the United States, 
including Federal Government and State, local, and Trib-
al government officials, of the importance of healthy estu-
aries and the need to protect and restore estuaries: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) expresses support for the designation of 
‘‘National Estuaries Week’’; 
(2) supports the goals and ideals of National 
Estuaries Week; 
(3) acknowledges the importance of estuaries to 
sustaining employment in the United States and to 
the economic well-being and prosperity of the United 
States; 
(4) recognizes that persistent threats under-
mine the health of estuaries; 
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•HRES 1423 IH 
(5) applauds the work of national and commu-
nity organizations and public partners that promote 
public awareness, understanding, protection, and 
restoration of estuaries; 
(6) supports the scientific study, preservation, 
protection, and restoration of estuaries; and 
(7) expresses the intent of the House of Rep-
resentatives to continue working to understand, pro-
tect, and restore the estuaries of the United States. 
Æ 
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