Washington, D.C.- Today, House Oceans Caucus Co-Chairs Tom Allen (D-ME), Sam Farr (D-CA), and Curt Weldon (R-PA) welcomed Congressmen Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD), Jay Inslee (D-WA), and Jim Saxton (R-NJ) to the
leadership of the caucus.
With the retirement of Congressman Jim Greenwood (R-PA) at the end of the 108th session, the remaining co-chairs choose to both fill the vacancy as well as increase the number of co-chairs. With expanded leadership, the House Oceans Caucus will be able to garner more attention for critical oceans issues.
The House Oceans Caucus is a bipartisan caucus formed in 1999 to provide timely information regarding ocean issues for Congress. The activities of the caucus include briefings, pushing for increased funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and most recently, supporting legislation like Ocean Conservation, Education, and National Strategy for the 21st Century Act (OCEANS-21), to protect our nation’s ocean resources for generations to come. The caucus is made up of more than 50 members who represent both coastal as well as interior states and territories.
During the 108th Congress, caucus co-chairs introduced the first bipartisan and comprehensive legislation within the House of Representatives based on recommendations from the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and Pew Oceans Commission reports. The expanded group of co-chairs see great promise for oceans legislation in the 109th Congress. Capitalizing on the momentum created by the release of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy’s final report last fall, the House Oceans Caucus will continue to tirelessly drive the oceans issues into
the limelight by expanding discussions and reintroducing legislation.
