This week, Florida congressmen left their marks on the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act which is moving through the U.S. House.
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Curt Clawson, R-Fla., introduced an amendment “to increase funding for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Operations, Research and Facilities by $2 million and reduce funding for Legal Services Expenses of the U.S. Parole Commission by a similar amount which passed on a voice vote.
Clawson’s amendment would send most of the $2 million to the NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service, Habitat Conservation and Restoration Initiative which has projects all across the Sunshine State, including the “Galt Preserve Restoration Project in St. James City; the Clam Bayou Oyster Reef Restoration and Evaluation of Seagrass and Water Quality on Sanibel Island; the Ding Darling Mangrove Restoration Project on Sanibel Island; Florida’s Bay Scallop Metapopulation Stabilization at Pine Island Center; the Everglades Oyster Reef Restoration Phase II on Cape Coral; and the Mangrove Conservation Initiative in Naples.”
Taking the House floor on Tuesday, Clawson noted that fisheries add more than $70 billion to the American economy and noted more than 28 million Americans are employed in coastal industries. “We must prioritize our limited government resources, and investing and protecting our natural habitats is not only good environmental policy, it’s good economic policy, as so much of Southwest Florida depends on ecotourism,” Clawson said on Tuesday.
Clawson was not the only congressman from Florida who successfully amended the act. U.S. Rep. Rich Nugent, R-Fla., offered an amendment “to reduce funding for the Bureau of the Census Current Surveys and Programs by $4 million and increase the Office of Justice Programs State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance by $4 million” which passed by voice vote on Tuesday.
U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., offered an amendment “to prohibit the use of funds to enter into a contract with any offeror or any of its principals if the offeror certifies, as required by Federal Acquisition Regulation” which was agreed to on voice vote on Wednesday.
Grayson also proposed an amendment “to prohibit the use of funds to compel a person to testify about information or sources that the person states in a motion to quash the subpoena that he has obtained as a journalist or reporter and that he regards as confidential” on Wednesday, which is still pending.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
