Legislative Hearing | Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee
House Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries
2025-05-20
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Source: Congress.gov
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everyone's patience I want to welcome the members who are here the witnesses and our guests in the audience at today's hearing without objection the chair is authorized to declare a recess of the subcommittee at any time under committee rule 4f any oral opening statements at hearings are limited to the chair and the ranking member I therefore ask unanimous consent that all other members opening statements to be made part of the hearing record if they are submitted in accordance with committee rule 3o Without objection, so ordered. I also ask unanimous consent that the Congressman from Texas, Dr. Babin, and the Congressman from North Carolina, Dr. Murphy, be allowed to participate in today's hearing. Without objection, so ordered. We are here today to consider four legislative measures, HR 1885, the Town of North Topsail Beach Coastal Barrier Resources System Amendment Act of 2025, sponsored by Representative Murphy of North Carolina, hr 2294 to reauthorize the integrated coastal and ocean observation system act of 2009 sponsored by representative vizel of mississippi hr 2860 the northwest straits marine conservation initiative reauthorization act of 2025 sponsored by Representative Larson of Washington and H.R. 3179 to rename the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge located in the state of Texas as the Jocelyn-Nungary National Wildlife Refuge sponsored by Representative Babin of Texas. I now recognize myself for a five-minute opening statement. Today the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries will examine four bills. Our first bill, sponsored by Congressman Babin, would honor the life of Jocelyn Nungary by codifying the renaming of the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge in Chambers County, Texas to the Jocelyn Nungary National Wildlife Refuge.
This is an exciting day. It is important to note that just last week the Senate passed companion legislation by voice vote, and it's my hope that the House moves quickly to pass this important legislation to honor Jocelyn. We are honored to have her mother with us here today. The second bill, sponsored by Congressman Murphy, promotes responsible development of coastal communities by fixing errors made in the administration of the Coastal Barriers Resources Act, or COBRA, in North Topsail Beach, North Carolina. This legislation would remove approximately 590 acres of the 5,865 acres that encompasses Cobra Unit L06 in North Topsail Beach. The areas being removed by this legislation are some of the most developed areas in the entire COBRA system. And given the success of COBRA in disincentivizing development elsewhere and the clear evidence of longstanding full complement of infrastructure, it is clear these lands should have never been a part of the COBRA system in the first place. The Town of North Topsail Beach has been working with Congress for many years to address this issue, and I hope this hearing is a significant step towards finally coming to a resolution. The third bill under consideration is sponsored by Congressman Ezell, and it would reauthorize the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act. administered by NOAA, the Integrated Ocean Observation System, or IOOS, equips local decision-makers with the most up-to-date science and data, ensures that coastal communities are protected from and prepared for disasters, and supports the many industries that operate in our marine waters. Our last bill, sponsored by Congressman Larson, reauthorizes the Northwest Straits Advisory Commission. The Commission was first authorized by Congress in 1998 to respond to public resistance to a national marine sanctuary that was proposed in the region.
Since its creation, the Commission has made efforts to protect and restore marine resources in the Northwest Straits. Unfortunately, our colleagues across the aisle have once again decided to ignore one of their own bills. And with that, I want to take time to thank our witnesses for being here today. And I look forward to a robust conversation. I now recognize the ranking member for her opening statement.
Thank you, Madam Chair. And while I appreciate the subcommittee for considering the bills before us on the development of coastal communities and reauthorization of programs at NOAA, there's a much larger and more urgent conversation this subcommittee needs to have with the representatives of the administration here today on the extreme overreach of the executive branch. My district is home to the Mid-Atlantic Fish and Wildlife Office and the Fish and Wildlife Services. The work that these dedicated civil servants, scientific experts, and leaders in environmental protection conduct at these sites and around the nation is critical not just to my district, but obviously ecosystems and communities across this nation. It's also required by law. Federal statute clearly outlines the responsibilities of agencies like Fish and Wildlife to comply with and implement laws passed by Congress. Further, Article I of the Constitution makes clear that Congress holds the power of the purse, and the executive branch's job is to allocate the funding that Congress duly appropriates. The framers of the Constitution intended for each branch to hold a healthy level of distrust with the other branches of government in order to prevent any concentration of power in a single branch and to ensure balance of authority. As such, it is the responsibility of Congress to provide oversight and accountability to branches that overstep boundaries of their power, and we've seen this administration overstep time and time again. I am open to having any honest conversation about how we can collectively make government more effective and efficient at delivering key services for the American people, but that's not what's happening in this moment. This administration has taken a sledgehammer to agencies without any strategy or reason when the American people would have been better served by a scalpel and a clear plan. In one of his first directives this term, President Trump ordered a wide-sweeping freeze of federal funds in January. This applied to money already appropriated by Congress, which is, as we've established as well, beyond the scope of the President's authority. In another executive order, the President directed agencies to eliminate existing grants and deny future applications that in any way address the very real
challenges of climate change and environmental justice. Some of the funds frozen from the Department of Interior under this administration include youth conservation programs that provide opportunities for young people to experience our natural resources hands-on, invasive species programs that protect habitats and native species from predatory invasive wildlife, historic preservation programs that ensure the unique stories of our cultures and communities are told for generations to come. And the list goes on, full of projects that this committee and our constituents care deeply about. And that's not all. In February, the Department of Interior unilaterally and illegally fired over 2,000 federal employees, including hundreds of civil servants at Fish and Wildlife. In March, we learned that Interior intends to close 150 field offices across this country. displacing even more dedicated public servants and irrevocably harming the department's ability to do its statutory duties.
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