Politics Tuesday: Would You Like A Napkin With That Democracy?

Posted by Dr. David Wilmot, dave@oceanchampions.org

When I returned from Washington, DC last weekend, my son told me he will learn (8th grade social studies) how we make laws. I can imagine his textbook will have a neatly drawn two-page diagram of the process, with each step fitting precisely in a box.

As we all know, our process is neither neat nor precise. Democracy is messy. A bill may travel through the process but instead of fitting into boxes, it spills over the edges, through the halls, and out in the streets.

Enter the Ocean Conservation, Education, and National Strategy for the 21st Century Act (OCEANS-21). OCEANS-21 is a bi-partisan bill and the product of an effort to craft comprehensive legislation based on key recommendations from the Commission reports (U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and Pew Oceans Commission). While several members of Congress have been involved in the formulation, Representative Sam Farr (my Congressman in the Monterey Bay area and "Ocean Champion" extraordinaire) is OCEAN-21's primary author and champion.

OCEANS-21, which would among other things establish a clear national ocean policy and rationalize government decision making in an attempt to protect and restore our oceans and coasts, did not even see the light of day in previous sessions of Congress (thank you Richard Pombo and how is the ranching treating you?!).

This year, OCEANS-21 has received a hearing and is scheduled for a "mark up" by the sub-committee later this month. This is important progress. We can thank the new leadership in Congress, key committee members & staff, and some of our own "ocean champions" in the House for this progress. Not to be altruistic, some of us in the ocean conservation community have also helped create this new momentum.

Of course, the process hasn't been quite as neat as I have described, and it will get messier as we move forward. For example, we still have to persuade quite a few folks that reforming ocean governance is a good idea (the system is broken but even in this mess there are "winners" who don't want change). Certain House members, some who often lead on ocean issues, must be persuaded. We also have to counter old and new opponents. And then there may be negotiations. I'll keep you posted on progress and where is that diagram when I need it?!