Budget constraints and congressional opposition also remain obstacles for the administration. During a panel last week for Capitol Hill Ocean Week, Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.) said NOAA might have to consider “changing its name to NAA” because of cuts to its “wet side.”
William Ruckelshaus, a co-chair of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative, who served as the Environmental Protection Agency administrator under Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Ronald Reagan, said the new flurry of activity on maritime issues could represent an important shift.
“These kinds of issues only get elevated if the president puts it high on his priority list,” he said.
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