HR 8 am: Requesting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to locate its Alaska-focused employees, programs, and assets in the state.
00 HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 8 am 01 Requesting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to locate its Alaska- 02 focused employees, programs, and assets in the state. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: 04 WHEREAS Alaska's coast stretches between the North Pacific and Arctic Oceans, 05 bordering the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea, and Beaufort Sea, for a length greater 06 than the coastlines of all other states combined; and 07 WHEREAS Alaska's fisheries generate approximately $4,500,000,000 a year; and 08 WHEREAS the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration dedicates many 09 assets, such as the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Alaska Regional Office, and the research 10 vessel Fairweather, to the study of the state's weather, water, and marine life; and 11 WHEREAS the Alaska Fisheries Science Center is located in Seattle, Washington, 12 even though its publicly stated mission is "to generate the scientific information and analysis 13 necessary for the conservation, management, and utilization of the [Alaska] region's living 14 marine resources and the environmental quality essential for their existence"; and 15 WHEREAS the Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute, part of the Alaska Fisheries 16 Science Center, is headquartered in Juneau, Alaska, and the institute's Auke Bay laboratories
01 facility is designed to accommodate up to 108 employees, the facility currently houses only 02 approximately 60 employees; and 03 WHEREAS the Alaska Regional Office is headquartered in Juneau, Alaska, and 04 maintains field offices around the state that employ approximately 400 individuals conducting 05 field and laboratory research; 06 BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives respectfully requests the 07 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to base its Alaska-focused assets in the 08 state so that the agency's study of the state's weather, water, and marine life can be best served 09 by personnel and infrastructure situated in the great state where their responsibilities lie; and 10 be it 11 FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Representatives respectfully requests that 12 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fully staff the Auke Bay laboratories 13 so that the facility may operate as designed; and be it 14 FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Representatives respectfully requests that 15 the director of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center be based full time in Juneau, Alaska. 16 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., United 17 States Secretary of Commerce; the Honorable Timothy Gallaudet, Ph.D., Acting Under 18 Secretary of Commerce For Oceans and Atmosphere and National Oceanic and Atmospheric 19 Administration Administrator, US Department of Commerce; and the Honorable Lisa 20 Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, 21 U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.