Whereas the ocean covers more than 70 percent of our planet’s surface; Whereas the ocean generates the oxygen we breathe, regulates our climate and weather patterns, supplies food, is a source of cultural value, supports tourism and trade, and is an untapped energy resource; Whereas Indigenous people have stewarded our oceans and are deeply connected to the oceans as a key component of culture, food security, and spirituality; Whereas scientists estimate more than 80 percent of the ocean remains unexplored, and the United States has committed to advance a National Strategy on Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization; Whereas the health of our ocean is a reflection of the health of our planet; Whereas the United States has joined the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy and committed to advancing a national sustainable economy plan by 2026; Whereas the White House Ocean Policy Committee has committed to advancing coordinated Federal action on ocean and coastal management, science, technology, and advancing an ocean climate action plan; Whereas 2023 marks the third year of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (in this resolution referred to as the Decade ); Whereas the Decade will help accelerate research to address gaps in ocean science, strengthen international cooperation, and improve ocean management; Whereas a scientific priority of the Decade is to create a comprehensive digital atlas of the ocean and strengthen ocean observations; Whereas changes in ocean chemistry, temperature, and biodiversity pose a very real threat to marine resources, industries, and jobs; Whereas approximately one-fourth of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere dissolves into our ocean, causing water chemistry to change and become more acidic; Whereas ocean acidification harms oysters, mussels, lobsters, clams, corals, and other species building shells and skeletons and reproducing