West Florida News

U.S. Representative Greg Steube (R-Fla.) will introduce legislation tomorrow to designate the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the United States as the “Donald John Trump Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States.”

The bill requires any reference to the EEZ in law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the U.S. to be named the “Donald John Trump Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States.”

“Floridians know the great value of our coastal natural resources and how important it is to have a president who cares about the strength and resilience of our oceans. During his time in office, President Trump took several commendable actions for our oceans as part of his work to make America strong, secure, and economically prosperous,” said Rep. Steube. “I’m honored to introduce legislation that will rename our coastal waters after President Trump and serve as a reminder of his many contributions to our nation for generations to come.”

The EEZ is the zone where the U.S. and other coastal nations have jurisdiction over natural resources. The United States has the world’s largest EEZ at 4,383,000 square miles, which is larger than the total U.S. land mass.

President Trump’s actions include:

As President, he issued four Presidential Ocean Proclamations.

On June 19, 2018, President Trump signed Executive Order 13840 to coordinate and streamline Federal actions related to ocean science and technology and ocean resource management through the establishment of an interagency Ocean Policy Committee.

On November 19, 2019, President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum directing Federal agencies to develop a National strategy to map the United States’ EEZ and a strategy to map the Alaskan coastline to advance our understanding of our oceans and coastlines and promote efficient permitting related to ocean exploration activities.

On December 18, 2020, President Trump signed three bills into law benefiting oceans:

The National Sea Grant College Program Amendments Act of 2020 reauthorized the National Sea Grant College Program through fiscal year 2024 through which NOAA supports university-based programs focusing on studying, conserving, and effectively using U.S. coastal resources. It also modified the Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program.

The Digital Coast Act revised NOAA's Digital Coast program for critical coastal management and data tracking for oceanic and Great Lakes coasts.

The Save Our Seas 2.0 Act established a nongovernmental Marine Debris Foundation; created a prize competition for “Genius Prize for Save Our Seas Innovation”; increased efforts with governmental and nongovernmental entities on international awareness of plastic waste; combated marine debris; created infrastructure grant programs administered by EPA.

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