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September 17, 2026
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Download official Senate Record PDFReturn to issue contextSENATE RESOLUTION 864—EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE DESIGNATION OF THE
WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 19 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 26, 2026, AS “NATIONAL
ESTUARIES WEEK”
Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. Cassidy, Ms. Alsobrooks, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Mr. Booker, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Coons, Ms. Hassan, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kim, Mr. King, Mr. Markey, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Murphy, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Reed, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Schiff, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Warner, Ms. Warren, Mr. Wicker, and Mr. Wyden) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works:
S. Res. 864
Whereas estuary regions cover only 4 percent of the land
area in the continental United States but contain nearly 40
percent of the population, 39 percent of the jobs, and 47
percent of the economic output of the United States;
Whereas the oceans, estuaries, and Great Lakes of the
United States continue to fuel economic growth across the
United States, with employment from the estuarine and ocean
economy growing at 4.5 percent in 2023, compared to the
national average employment growth of 2 percent;
Whereas the estuary, ocean, and Great Lakes economic
sectors created 111,000 new jobs between 2022 and 2023,
employed 2,600,000 people, and contributed $511,000,000,000
to the 2023 gross domestic product;
Whereas the commercial and recreational fishing industries
support over 2,100,000 jobs in the United States;
Whereas, in 2023—
(1) commercial and recreational saltwater fishing in the
United States generated $319,000,000,000 in sales;
(2) angler trip expenditures totaled approximately
$14,400,000,000; and
(3) saltwater recreational fishing supported over 694,041
jobs, generated $145,400,000,000 in sales impacts across the
economy, and contributed $47,100,000,000 in income impacts
and $78,400,000,000 in value-added impacts to the United
States;
Whereas estuaries provide vital habitats, nurseries, and
migration stopovers for—
(1) countless species of fish and wildlife, including more
than 68 percent of the commercial fish catch in the United
States by value and 80 percent of the recreational fish catch
in the United States by weight; and
(2) many species that are listed as threatened or
endangered, including birds integral to the health of
estuaries, such as the Snowy Plover and Saltmarsh Sparrow;
Whereas estuaries provide critical ecosystem services that
protect human health and public safety, including water
filtration, flood control, shoreline stabilization, erosion
prevention, and the protection of coastal communities during
hurricanes, storms, and other extreme weather events;
Whereas restored wetlands in the United States have been
shown to remove up to 80 percent of nitrogen and 70 percent
of phosphorus from runoff waters;
Whereas mangrove ecosystems in Florida are estimated to
reduce storm surge losses to properties by $67,500,000
annually;
Whereas coastal wetlands from Maine to North Carolina
prevented $625,000,000 in property damage during Hurricane
Sandy;
Whereas areas with healthy salt marshes in New Jersey
experience 16 percent lower annual flood losses than areas
without healthy salt marshes;
Whereas, by the 1980s, the United States had already lost
more than 50 percent of the wetlands that existed in the
Thirteen Original Colonies;
Whereas the degradation and loss of estuaries has led to
the collapse of some bays in the United States that were once
filled with fish and oysters and have now become dead zones
filled with excess nutrients, chemical waste, and marine
debris;
Whereas harmful algal blooms are hurting fish, wildlife,
and human health and are causing serious ecological and
economic harm to many estuaries;
Whereas changes in sea level can affect estuarine water
quality and estuarine habitats;
Whereas section 320 of the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act (33 U.S.C. 1330) (commonly known as the “Clean Water
Act”) authorizes the development of comprehensive
conservation and management plans to ensure that the
designated uses of estuaries are protected and to restore and
maintain—
(1) chemical, physical, and biological integrity;
(2) water quality;
(3) the balanced indigenous population of shellfish, fish,
and wildlife; and
(4) recreational activity;
Whereas the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C.
1451 et seq.) provides that the policy of the United States
is to preserve, protect, develop, and, if possible, restore
or enhance the resources of the coastal zones of the United
States, including estuaries, for current and future
generations;
Whereas 27 coastal and Great Lakes States and territories
of the United States operate or contain a National Estuary
Program or a National Estuarine Research Reserve;
Whereas scientific study leads to a better understanding of
the benefits of estuaries to human and ecological
communities;
Whereas the Federal Government, State, local, and Tribal
governments, national and community organizations, and
individuals work together to effectively manage the estuaries
of the United States;
Whereas estuary restoration efforts restore natural
infrastructure in local communities in a cost-effective
manner, generating an average of 17 jobs for every $1,000,000
invested and helping to reestablish the natural functions of
estuaries that yield countless benefits; and
Whereas the week of September 19 through September 26,
2026, is recognized as “National Estuaries Week” to
increase awareness among all people of the United States,
including Federal Government and State, local, and Tribal
government officials, of the importance of healthy estuaries
and the need to protect and restore estuaries: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate—
(1) expresses support for the designation of “National
Estuaries Week”;
(2) supports the goals and ideals of National Estuaries
Week;
(3) acknowledges the importance of estuaries to sustaining
employment in the United States and to the economic well-
being and prosperity of the United States;
(4) recognizes that persistent threats undermine the health
of estuaries;
(5) applauds the work of national and community
organizations and public partners that promote public
awareness, understanding, protection, and restoration of
estuaries;
(6) supports the scientific study, preservation,
protection, and restoration of estuaries; and
(7) expresses the intent of the Senate to continue working
to understand, protect, and restore the estuaries of the
United States.