The House passed its first fiscal 2013 appropriations bill today, voting 247-163 for the Commerce, Justice and Science spending plan that takes a bite out of Obama administration proposals for ocean- and fishery-management programs.

Lawmakers passed 36 of 63 proposed amendments to the $51.1 billion appropriations bill, including several that swipe at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's marine programs.

The spending plan would fully fund the administration's request for weather satellites, even though many lawmakers had chided plans for cutting other NOAA programs to pay for them.

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, has championed satellites' role in protecting lives and property from severe storms like hurricanes and tornadoes throughout the appropriations process.

"The bill passed today reflects a delicate balancing of needs and requirements," Wolf said in a statement. "We have focused limited resources on the most critical areas."

But an amendment from Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) diverted $18 million from NOAA weather forecasting, satellite and other operations and research programs to fund regional information-sharing systems for law enforcement agencies (E&E Daily, May 9).

NOAA water programs were hit by amendments that would block funding for fisheries- and ocean-management programs, including the administration's comprehensive National Ocean Policy, the reintroduction of salmon to the San Joaquin River and requirements for turtle-excluder devices in fishing nets (E&E Daily, May 8).

Some of the most heated debate came over Rep. Steve Southerland's (R-Fla.) amendment to prohibit funding for developing, approving and implementing new catch-share programs along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico (Greenwire, May 9). The amendment passed, 220-191.

Industry groups that back the new management system took comfort in the vote margin.

"The narrow vote margin on this amendment is evidence that Congress is hearing us," Matt Ruby, president of the South Atlantic Fishermen's Association, said in a statement. "We will now focus our attention on the Senate and urge them to support fishermen and coastal communities by voting down any ban on catch share for the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico."

The total House spending bill is $1.6 billion below last year's enacted levels and $731 million below the administration's request. It will have to be reconciled with the Senate version, which includes $731 million more in spending.