mr. speaker , i want to thank mr. hastings  for helping bring this legislation to the floor , and i want to thank him for yielding the time .  i will speak now for a few minutes explaining the legislation , and i would hope , mr. speaker , that we can have a bipartisan vote to move this task force along so that the myriad of issues that cover a broad range of committee assignments , both on the house and the senate side , and a broad array of federal departments and agencies can be viewed with a single entity , this task force , between now and june to understand the comprehensive magnificent work of the people under admiral watkins that put together this commission report .  the members on the commission are people who have represented and continue to represent the oceans , aquariums around the country , the port authorities , coastal studies , offshore oil drilling , the u.s. navy , shipping and marine transportation , ocean ecology and fisheries , environmental interests and the banking industry , a broad array of individuals that were appointed by the president , the house and the senate .  the scientists that represent the ocean commission report that worked to develop the recommended policies are scientists from universities all across the country .  their expertise and diverse fields are in marine economics , coastal and estuarine issues , atmospheric issues , gulf of mexico issues and the whole array of problems with hurricanes , fishery science , coastal development , physics of ocean currents , oceanography .  the list goes on and on and on .  they presented this report to the u.s. congress in september of 2004 .  in this report , there are 31 chapters .  seven of the 31 chapters come under the jurisdiction of the fisheries and oceans subcommittee on resources .  seven of the 31 chapters come under my jurisdiction in this ocean subcommittee .  we have held hearings on our part of the ocean commission report .  but 24 chapters lie outside the jurisdiction of that fisheries subcommittee .  and it is important to get this task force so that all those other committees in this house can view this commission task force from the specific recommendations that the task force will assume from the ocean commission report .  what i would like to do is explain to my colleagues , the ocean commission task force makes recommendations in the following areas , which are outside the jurisdiction of the ocean subcommittee .  those are : the congress should establish for better leadership and coordination a national ocean council and a non-federal ocean council of advisors to view the full range of issues in the departments , the agencies and the executive branch and what goes on in the states and the tribes and the international arena regarding oceans .  they make recommendations to improve noaa , epa , the corps of engineers , the department of interior , usda and the states in their regional coordination .  right now it is severely fragmented .  they make recommendations to clarify offshore responsibilities as far as leasing oil and gas , aquaculture , bioprospecting , wind energy , fisheries , just to name a few .  they recommend structural changes in nasa , the corps of engineers , the coast guard , the u.s. navy , the national science foundation , aquaculture , health and human services , department of justice , department of state , department of labor , department of transportation and the united states agency for international development .  can all of this be done with one subcommittee or fragmented throughout the course of this congress ?  promote lifelong better financial technical institutional support for watershed management initiatives through existing federal and state laws linking coastal and offshore ecosystems .  better financial technical institutional support for all these issues .  something that is dear to our hearts right now as a result of this past hurricane season , several chapters dealing with guarding people and property against national hazards such as hurricanes and floods .  and a year ago , a year and a half ago , in the commission report they predicted , right down to the letter , what could and eventually did happen to new orleans , to coastal louisiana , to mississippi .  a vast array of information .  managing sediment flows : 30 states contribute sediment in the mississippi river that eventually goes through louisiana , mississippi and the gulf of mexico .  how do we manage those sediment flows ?  techniques for cost benefit analysis is in this report .  marine commerce and transportation across the oceans , the estuaries , and the rivers in this country .  addressing coastal and water pollution , three major laws , statutes .  the national pollutant discharge elimination system , total maximum daily load program , clean water state revolving loan fund , those are outside the jurisdiction of resources entirely .  their recommendations are for dealing with wastewater treatment plants , septic tanks , industrial facilities , agriculture , urban and suburban runoff .  addressing the atmospheric deposition problem : the single biggest issue with many estuaries including san francisco and the chesapeake bay is air deposition .  thirty percent of the problem with degrading the chesapeake bay is air deposition .  watershed monitoring : in 1974 we had 500 stations across the country that monitored the quality of water .  today there are 32 , from 500 down to 32 .  the lack of coordination between the state , the federal government , and the institutions is appalling .  limiting vessel pollution and improving vessel safety : that is the epa , the coast guard , and the international maritime association .  how to deal with invasive species with ballas water , marine organisms , major problems in the great lakes , the mississippi river , and many estuaries around the country .  connecting the oceans and human health : biomedical research , marine bacteria , contaminated seafood , harmful alga blooms , recommendations that can be gleaned from a single perspective with a single entity such as this task force and then legislative recommendations to the myriad committees that deal with these issues .  creating a national strategy for increasing scientific knowledge in ocean science , technology , and understanding the oceans ' ecosystem .  collaborating with the international community and funding recommendations for how long this is going to work .  the ocean subcommittee under the resources committee does not have the time or the resources or the people or the jurisdiction to do this .  we have dealt in that ocean subcommittee with our jurisdiction regarding the ocean commission report , which is marine debris , fisheries management , marine mammals , coral reefs , agriculture , ocean observing system , coastal habitats , and so on .  this report by admiral watkins and many scientists around this country deserve to have the united states congress , this institution , take a comprehensive view of this report , study it for several months , and then make legislative recommendations to this body .  i urge my colleagues to vote for the task force .  mr. speaker , i reserve the balance of my time .  