assembly of the california legislature, and we had a tough stretch in california and we worked very, very hard to sort things out. i won't go into any of the details but we worked it through and fred it's so nice to see you. and that you having undertaken that for 13 years, is a real service to all of us. it's a fabulous service. and this is a wonderful gathering. i thank you all for being here. as fred said, president obama, in order to greet you on behalf of him and the entire administration for this ocean week. it's great to see such a diverse community here from researchers

to businesses, to congressional staff, to the local, regional and nonprofit groups. and i want to thank the national marine sanctuary foundation for putting together such a great week, as well as for their input into the national ocean policy. which will soon enter its implementation phase. and i think all of you know, we should all stay tuned for more on that in the months ahead. so obviously this is a crucial moment for america's economy. you all know that as we emerge from the biggest recession since the great depression. our businesses have added over 4.3 million jobs over the last 27 months. that's good news. but we still have much more work to do.

i touched on that, that's what i'm most engaged in. and today what i want to do is speak to how our oceans play a key role in that critically important economic recovery. the fact is, america's waters have always been a strong economic engine. some call that the blue economy. sir walter raleigh, you know, sir walter raleigh, one of america's earliest explorers, and he said this, for whosoever commands the sea, he said, commands the trade. and whosoever commands the trade of the world, commands the riches of the world and subsequently the world itself. i'm sure that raleigh couldn't

have visioned planes or railroads or commerce. even centuries after he spoke those memorable words, there's an important link between america's rivers, lakes and coasts to american economy. more than half of people live in coastal water shed counties. even though this area makes up only 17% of our u.s. land area. those counties support about $66 million jobs. so it's along the coastal areas. so now more than ever, we need to ensure that the blue economy is strong and growing. this morning i'll touch on three ways he can do that. first, we need to show off america's waters.

so i grew up in portland, oregon, as a boy, i remember going with my father and my uncle down to the columbia river in the coast. while they would go out in the deep water to catch salmon, i would spend much of my day trying to fix the line on my little fishing pole. i was really into this. and then one summer when i -- in the years i was in high school, i got very excited about something and i worked as a camp counselor on the puget sound, and each week i took campers out, every week, campers out for three and four-day canoe trips. these were big trips, we thought. i'm sure that many of you have personal connections like that our waters and you cherish those memories that you made with friends and family.

today it's time that we share those experiences with the rest of the world. that's what noaa and the national marine sanctuary foundation are working towards every day. together they support 14 marine protected areas across the u.s. and these sanctuaries offer snorkeling, whale watching, fishing and much more. though all together noaa estimates that these communities and coastal businesses thrive about $4 billion in into our economy. and nationwide, we also see major impacts on our economy from things like recreational fishing. so when you add up the jobs and the boat sales and other economic drivers in fishing communities, that comes to more than 73 billi$73 billion suppor

hundreds of thousands of jobs. so let me talk for a minute however about a missed opportunity. our oceans, our coasts, our greats are sometimes almost entirely overlooked when both americans and international travellers plan their vacations. that's part of the reason why secretary salazar, the department of the interior and i are heading up the administration's new national travel and tourism strategy which was released just last month. we believe that showing off our oceans, rivers, lakes, and coast isn't just a nice thing to do. the fact is, that travel and tourism is america's number one services export. this is a big impact on our economy and jobs. so last year, for example, we

had an all-time record of 62 million international travelers to the u.s. and they supported 7.6 million good american jobs. we need to build on that momentum. that's why our new plan, the one that has just been put out, sets a goal of 700 -- i'm sorry, sets a goal of $100 mi1 hu00 million each year by 2010. the only way we're going to meet that goal is obvious live if all of us work together. many federal agencies for example are involved in this effort. i'll just give you one example, the state department is working to issue more tourist visas from countries that have a growing middle class. and then in addition, our private sector partners, on for

example the u.s. travel and tourism advisory board are working to ensure a great experience for our tourists. they want for example to make it easier for them to get through our airports and arrive at their final destinations and today we need your help. let's get the word out about the wonderful opportunities to discover and explore america's vast waters. i encourage you to check out the new travel and tourism strategy and thank you so much for helping reach its important goals. all right, that's one. and then the second way we can strengthen the blue economy is to maximize the potential of our oceans and water ways. i believe we can ensure that our oceans are healthy, while also leveraging their ability to drive the economy. and specifically, they could help increase u.s. exports.

so even with air cargo and high-speed trains, it's important to remember that shipping remains a corner stone of our export infrastructure. in fact, and this is to me a stunning fact. nearly 90% of our foreign goods trade as measured by volume, is transported by ship. so in 2011, over half a trillion dollars in u.s. goods were delivered all around the world because of shipping. there's no surprise i think that our water ways are a key part of president obama's national export initiative. it seeks to double u.s. exports by 2014, a very am beneficiary shus goal. but we're making progress toward

that ambitious goal. last year we hit and all-time u.s. record of $2.1 trillion in exports. and our folks at places like noaa are working harder than ever to build on that. for example, noaa's navigational services division uses high-tech positional tools combined with the latest weather data to ensure that our airports can live safely and efficiently. technological information that we provide to the private sector is particularly important at our nation's port. for example if a shipper knows that a port has an -- they can load more goods on to the boat. so with that one inch, this example as you can put 99 more chevy volts on the car carrier,

or enough wheat that to make 600,000 loads of bread. we will continue to do everything possible to empower our exporters who use the sea to send out good quality, made in america products. but today, today, we must do even more. and i'll give just one important and timely example. the senate, as i think all of you know is taking a hard look at having the u.s. join the law of the sea convention. this has the strong support of groups ranging from our military, the world wildlife fund, the american petroleum institute to the u.s. chamber of commerce. the economic erkts, the economic benefits of this treaty are clear. first it will ensure that we

continue to maintain those shipping routes. but it will give our energy companies the security they need to create towers and create jobs. and it will secure or access to rare earth minerals which we need for example to make computers and cell phones. importantly, it will also help us urge other countries to sustain, to support sustainability, protect their marine habitats and species and to promote healthy oceans. already over 160 countries have signed on to this treaty. republicans and democrats alike have voiced their support for many years. everyone from presidents clinton and bush, secretary of defense leon panetta, to james watkins, great figure in my life, the

former chief of u.s. naval operations and the chair of the commission on oceans policy. so it's clear that no country stands to gain more from this treaty than any other. the u.s. has an empty seat at the table. which need to fill it. after all americans have never been ones to sit back and let others make decisions that affect our security, our economy or our environment. the benefits of this treaty are too great to ignore, especially at this crucial moment in our recovery. we should act now. so finally, it's commencement season.

we all know that, and most of us know it, and are affected in some ways by it. i will say in closing that we need to inspire the next generation to understand, explore and protect our waters in the decades that lie ahead. about a mile from here in d.c.'s crime museum, noaa introduced a new exhibit on the anniversary of the marine animal protection act. as you know, this helps protect our marine life and marine ecosystems as we speak. it might be a young person wandering around that museum, looking at the pictures and thinking for the first time, this is what i want to do. many of you here today had the same ah-ha moment at some point early on and today you probably still have moments.

that really spark your interest and imagination. i'm sure that many of you know that noaa's telepresence technology allows us to send sea floor images to scientists around the world. as you may have seen on the news, this helped us uncover an incredible ship wreck deep in the gulf of mexico. looking forward and are going to do even more to spark the interest of those young people. for example, starting this weekend, we're teaming up with the national marine sanctuary foundation and the sports fishing conservancy, to launch what's called the sanctuary classic, through competitions and scholarships, the sanctuary

classic will -- what's clear is this, we need to find young people who share your curiosity and our interest in america's waters. maybe they want to be an oceanographer, or a researcher who works in this field. maybe they want to go into public service at a place like noaa. if they want to start a business, it helps people to enjoy and understand our water ways like that camp that i worked for that summer. taking canoe trips on the puget sound. we need to make sure they can make a difference just like all of you are making in your daily work. so what i want to do is conclude with a quote on a favorite

person of mine. mr. president, i have right now his portrait behind my desk at the commerce department. president kennedy once said, knowledge of the oceans is more than a matter of curiosity, our very survival may hinge upon it. i think everyone here would agree, our oceans and our waters are critical to our prosperity, to our quality of life and to the future of our nation. so let's show them off, let's maximize the potential and let's inspire that next generation to follow in our footsteps. thank you very much and have a great, great week. thank you. [ applause ]

coming up this wednesday, jamie dimon testifies before the banking committee. they'll also address the dodd-frank -- then the financial subcommittee will hold their hearing on jpmorgan's loss. we'll bring you that on cspan 3 and cspan are. >> with polity and public a235irs -- on american history tv, get our schedules and see past programs at our websites and you can join in the conversation on social media

sites. which expanded the government's ability to spy on foreign nationals. former homeland security security advisors to george w. bush and an aclu official are among the witnesses. the supreme court has agreed to hear a legal challenge to the law in its nec term. the law itself expires at the etched of the year. >> subcommittee will be in order. today's hearing examines the fisa amendments act which is set to expire at the end of the year. fisa was an act in 1978 to provide procedures for the domestic collection of foreign intelligence. in the 40 years since fisa's ann

actment -- the shift from wireless satellite communications, to fiber optic wire communications alter the manner in which foreign communications are transmitted. the use of wire technology inside the united states to transmit a phone call that takes place overseas has the unintended consequence of requiring the government to obtain an individualized fisa warrant by non -- bipartisan fisa amendments to update our former intelligence laws. the act -- target foreign persons reasonably believed to be located outside the u.s. to acquire foreign intelligence information. the act requires prior court approval of all government surveillance using these authorities, including court

approval of the government's targeting and minimization procedures. the fisa amendments act strengthens civil lib bers -- individualized court order from the fisa court to acquire foreign intelligence information. foreign surveillance under the fisa amendments act is subject to extensive oversight by the administration and congress. every 60 days, the justice department and director of national intelligence conduct on site reviews of surveillance pursuant to the fisa amendments act. in addition to the attorney general -- court approved targets and minimizization procedures and provide these assessments to congress twice a year. the administration is also now required to submit to the judiciary and intelligence

committees a copy of any fisa court order and the accompanying pleadings, briefs or other memorandum of law. the obama administration supports reauthorization of the fisa amendments act for fife years. dni james clapper and attorney general eric holder have reintroduced the legislation of the act as the top -- reauthorize the act without amendment. without objection, a february 8th letter from collector clapper and general holder and a march 26th letter from collector clapper will be made part of the record. hearing no objections, so ordered. foreign terrorists remain committed to the destruction of our country and their methods of communication are constantly evolving. it is essential that our intelligence community has the

necessary tools to detect and disrupt such attacks, we have a duty to ensure that the intelligence community can gather the information they need to protect our country and it's citizens. i look forward to -- participating in today's hearing. and it is now my pleasure to recognize for his opening statement the ranking member of the subcommittee, the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott. >> i want to thank you for holding this hearing on the fisa amendments act. the act established some parameters for the secret and in my view unconstitutional collection of intelligence information following the 9/11 attacks. however some gaping holes were left in what is required to protect the privacy of united states citizens. americans have the right to feel and be free in their persons

from unwarranted government intrusion and i'm -- the fisa intelligence surveillance act was passed in 1978 to cure abuses that had been used in the intelligence situation foreign and domestic. it was not passed for the purpose of excluding all foreign intelligence collection in the united states. but to regulate and -collection of foreign intelligence requires merely that there's collection of foreign intelligence requires merely that there's probable cause to believe that an actor is an agent of a foreign government. foreign intelligence collection is only a significant purpose of the collection. we're left to wonder what is the primary purpose of information gathering? and with the u.s. patriot act we have added members of terrorist

organizations and lone wolf -- foreign intelligence collection falls under the requirements of the fourth amendments when the rights of u.s. persons are dated. such a low fresh hold for collecting intelligence, diligent oversight and -- broader purpose than is necessary to achieve the goals. we should not be surveilling americans by this low standard without some significant oversight. that's why we need clear standards that are rig lousily enforced. the surveillance court bus buss ---foreign intelligence gathering and i suspect that the court is doing a good job and may be doing a good job within it's authority, but it operates in secrecy, i believe that the

public has a right to know from laws and policies and reports on their implementation that the government is being held accountable for the constitution and the laws, i do not believe that the faa provides sufficient assurance to the public in any of these areas. we -- meet the needs of technology, but seldom do we hear the likewise need to protect privacy when technology advances. in 1978 there was little american communication to and from foreign countries compared to today's constant barrage of e-mails, known calls and other electronic communications. what was rare in 1978 is now common place. the faa processes results in massive amounts of information being collected be an untold amount of it affecting americans in america.

when you talk about government collection of data, it's not just computers, it's the government officials, it may be your neighbors and when you spread it around to other agencies, you may be talking about other neighbors who are getting access to your private information, the primary requirements of the fourth amendment are probable cause, warrants and particularity is not clear that these standards are being met when required under the faa's current structure. we hear that it's too burdensome for the faa to go through -- give up some of our privacy for our -- those who would give up a little personal liberty to get a little safety need neither liberty nor safety.

in emergency procedures are provided under the constitution and under the faa, but the exception should not being the rule. i look forward to the testimony and when the faa drops lines during assurances, the -- thank you, mr. chairman. >> chair now recognizes the ranking member of the full committee, the gentleman from maine, mr. conyer. >> this is a sensitive discussion as we all know. but the fourth amendment is critical and i don't think that the supreme court, the courts have not finally ruled on ma's going on. and i come to this hearing

disturbed by how little we know and how much more we need to know. and i'm glad that we're going to have closed door hearings in the near future, and i hope they will be productive in terms of settling some of the lack of information that we have about the subject. and so i guess it's going to be legitimate for us to ask how much do we need to know, how much can we talk about publicly, and how do we make sure that, quite frankly fisa is not out of control? at this point we don't have any