Coordination among federal agencies, departments, and offices enables many things to be done that no single agency can approach. We know that ocean scientists, engineers, and decision-makers struggle to synchronize their ocean observing efforts. Due to the transboundary nature of the ocean, close coordination with global earth observing systems is a committee priority. By linking global, national, and regional ocean observations, the Interagency Ocean Observing Committee (IOOC) enables powerful new scientific approaches for understanding, predicting, and managing our ocean resources.