mr. speaker , as the saying goes , it is time for a lot less talk and a lot more action . 
the other side of the aisle talks a good game on protecting our oceans , but they control the resources committee . 
they control the house floor schedule . 
they control this congress . 
and what have they done ? 
at any time , they can use the house resources committee to bring up legislation to protect the oceans , but they have yet to have hearings or move legislation on marine protected areas , regional governance or coastal management . 
instead , they have continually tried to open up our coasts to offshore drilling . 
i have introduced h.r. 1712 to protect the coast of sonoma county , california , as part of the national marine sanctuary program , but there have been no hearings on this bill or any other bill to protect our oceans . 
let us be clear with the american people : this task force that this bill creates will have no ability to truly affect policy . 
mr. speaker , i would ask that instead of talking a good game , that they start bringing up bills , such as h.r. 1712 , that would truly protect our oceans . 
