Rep. Gabbard Calls for Protection of Our Oceans

In honor of World Oceans Day, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard called on the people of Hawai‘i and across the country to take action to protect and preserve the world’s oceans for generations to come.

Rep. Gabbard joined colleagues earlier this week in introducing bipartisan legislation to increase federal funding and strengthen protections for coral reefs in Hawai‘i and across the country. The Coral Reef Conservation Reauthorization Act (H.R. 5996) would improve the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) coral reef program, and expand federal grant making for local coral reef projects, community-based coral reef conservation planning, and scientific research on coral reefs. Hawai‘i is home to 410,000 acres of living coral reef in the main islands alone – more than the landmass of O‘ahu.

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard will also be participating and speaking at the March for the Ocean (M4O) in Washington DC this Saturday, June 9.

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard said:

“Water is life. Growing up in Hawai‘i, we have a unique appreciation for the protection of our resources – our mountains, all the way down to our oceans. And it’s something that we grow up with – that we have a responsibility to take care of our home and to keep it clean not only for us, but for future generations.

“Today is World Oceans Day, and we have the opportunity to celebrate the beauty of our world’s oceans and also commit to keeping them clean. Right now, we see all over the world that our oceans are under siege: temperatures are rising, pollution riddles our water and beaches, coral reefs are dying off, and marine life is being killed. As we recognize World Oceans Day, we can think about how in our own lives individually, as families, as communities, we can do our part to take care of our planet by making sure we’re not using toxic sunscreens that kill off our coral reef or the single-use plastics that pollute our waters. We cannot wait for the tide to change. We’ve got to take action and make sure that our oceans and our planet are safe and clean for all life for generations to come.”