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Congressional Daily Record
This section is a tribute, commemoration, or district-facing statement. It mentions members such as Brian Jeffrey Mast. Extensions of Remarks are statements submitted for the official record, even if they were not spoken live on the floor.
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September 15, 2026
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Extensions of Remarks
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Download official Extensions PDFReturn to issue contextHON. BRIAN J. MAST
of florida
in the house of representatives
Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize National Estuaries Week and our communities that are truly blessed with one of the most unique ecosystems in the world. The Everglades and our coastal estuaries, such as the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon, provide both environmental and economic benefits, and we all must do our part to keep them clean.
(NOAA), estuaries play a huge role not just in the Sunshine State but to our Nation as a whole. 40 percent of Americans live in estuary regions, and those regions contribute nearly half of the Nation's economic output, despite taking up only 13 percent of the land area of the continental United States.
has never been higher. Boating, fishing, hunting, kayaking, paddle boarding, and birding are all major economic drivers and represent unique ways to interact with estuaries. Boating and fishing combined was the largest recreational activity for the Nation in 2024, coming in at $36.8 billion in current-dollar value added.
American economy and to the millions of Americans who enjoy them every year. For communities in Florida, these waterways are not just places to enjoy the outdoors, they are part of our way of life and support local economies across our state.
manatees dying across our estuaries, the problems facing places like the Indian River Lagoon, the Caloosahatchee, the St. Lucie, and the Lake Worth Lagoon have shown over and over again that we must do more to conserve and protect our state.
that formally recognizes September 19, 2026, to September 26, 2026 as National Estuaries Week. The resolution reminds all of us that these habitats are critical and that Florida cannot wait around for help. We must work every day to preserve this environment.