{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/us-senate-passes-resolution-designating-national-estuaries-week", "U.S. Senate Passes Resolution Designating National Estuaries Week", "2016-11-17", "2016", "2016-11", "Democrat", "House", "RI", "Sheldon Whitehouse", "W000802", "www.whitehouse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.17.16\n\t\t\t U.S. Senate Passes Resolution Designating National Estuaries Week \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWashington, DC \u2013 Today, the Senate unanimously approved a resolution designating the week of September 17 through September 24, 2016 as National Estuaries Week. \u00a0Sponsored by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and 26 others, the bipartisan legislation recognizes the importance of coastal and estuarine regions to our national economy.\u00a0 It also reaffirms the Senate\u2019s continued support for protecting and restoring these vital resources.\r\nEstuarine regions of the United States contribute a great deal to the economy nationwide.\u00a0 According to National Ocean Economics Program, as much as 43 percent of United States gross domestic product is generated in coastal shoreline counties, and no fewer than 2.1 million American jobs are supported by marine tourism and recreation.\u00a0\r\nEstuaries currently face considerable threats.\u00a0 It is estimated that the United States has lost half of its total estuarine acreage since European settlers arrived. \u00a0In addition, many bays that once constituted important fisheries are now considered \u201cdead zones\u201d filled with nutrient pollution, chemical wastes, harmful algae, and marine debris.\r\n\u201cOur estuaries serve as the lifeblood of our tourism and fishing industries in Rhode Island.\u00a0 They protect our homes and businesses from winds and storm surge.\u00a0 And their beauty makes Rhode Island such a wonderful place to live,\u201d said Whitehouse, who serves as co-chair of the Senate Oceans Caucus.\u00a0 Whitehouse also sponsored legislation to reauthorize the National Estuaries Program, which was signed into law in May.\u00a0 \u201cI am pleased to recognize the contributions our estuaries make to our economy and way of life in the Ocean State.\u201d\r\nRhode Island has a long history of working to support healthy estuaries.\u00a0 In 1987 Senator John Chafee established the National Estuaries Program to protect and restore estuarine habitats threatened by pollution, overdevelopment, and other threats.\u00a0 Rhode Island\u2019s Narragansett Bay was one of the original six estuaries in the program, which has brought millions of dollars in federal funding to the state over the years.\r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/us-senate-passes-resolution-designating-national-estuaries-week"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7487570401281118, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}