The Administration supports House passage of H.R. 1243, which reauthorizes
for five years the National Marine Sanctuaries Act and the National
Estuarine Reserves program of the Coastal Zone Management Act. While the
Administration supports the provisions concerning the National Estuarine
Reserves program in H.R. 1243, the Administration continues to recommend
that the program be reauthorized as part of a broader reauthorization of
the Coastal Zone Management Act.
The Administration will continue to seek improvements to H.R. 1243 as the
legislation progresses through the legislative process. These improvements
include:
- Streamlining procedures for changing a term of designation of a
sanctuary.
- Strengthening the natural resource damage assessment provisions and
reflecting current practices that emphasize a restoration-based
approach.
- Conforming the out-year authorizations to those proposed by the
Administration.
Pay-As-You-Go Scoring
H.R. 1243 would affect receipts and direct spending; therefore, it is
subject to the pay-as-you-go (Paygo) requirements of the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1990. OMB's estimate is that the bill's Paygo impact
would not be significant.
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