Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I am pleased to join Chairwoman SNOWE to introduce the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2005.

Those of us from coastal States are especially aware of the important role of the U.S. Coast Guard in maritime security, marine safety, and search and rescue of mariners. In addition, the Coast Guard is instrumental in protecting our ocean resources through fisheries enforcement and response to oil spills.

We ask a lot of the Coast Guard, and I am grateful to the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard for their dedication and hard work. In this bill, I believe we have provided the Coast Guard with direction and authorizations that will help them better serve the public and meet the growing demands of the future.

The bill includes authorizations for Fiscal Year 2006 and 2007 appropriations that are approximately 8 percent higher than for each preceding year. The bill also authorizes a number of important new programs including recommendations of the United States Commission on Ocean Policy, makes a number of changes sought by the Coast Guard for personnel and property management, and makes necessary technical corrections resulting from the Coast Guard's move from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Homeland Security.

I am especially pleased that the committee legislation authorizes $47,500,000 for the Coast Guard's continued operation and maintenance of the Nation's only Polar Ice Breaker fleet. The administration's budget for fiscal year 2006 proposed transferring the funding for operation and maintenance of these vessels to the National Science Foundation, while leaving operational responsibility with the Coast Guard. No other Coast Guard asset is funded in this manner. Subjecting the icebreaker program to the budgeting decisions of another federal agency would definitely lead to an uncertain future for the Coast Guard's three icebreakers, ultimately undermining the ability of the Coast Guard to maintain these assets, and threatening the ability of the United States to maintain a presence in the polar regions over the long term. Section 203 of this legislation specifically calls on the Coast Guard to take all necessary measures to maintain its current fleet of polar icebreakers, rather than transferring this responsibility to the NSF.

This bill includes important funding for additional Coast Guard capital improvement priorities including $10,000,000 for the completion of the vessel traffic system upgrade for Puget Sound, one of two regions nationwide that has not yet benefited from this important upgrade in maritime traffic management and safety. This upgraded vessel traffic system will improve vessel traffic efficiency and safety throughout Washington's coastal waters. This funding also includes $3 million for completion of a Coast Guard administrative building on Pier 36 in Seattle that was badly damaged in the Olympia earthquake in 2001. This building is the Command Center for the Coast Guard's Puget Sound search and rescue and homeland security activities and these funds will greatly improve the Coast Guard's capabilities in this area.

I am also pleased that the bill directs the Coast Guard to report to the Commerce Committee on opportunities for, the feasibility of, co-locating Coast Guard assets and personnel at facilities of other armed services branches, and entering into cooperative agreements for carrying out various Coast Guard missions. One such facility where co-location may prove beneficial to both the Coast Guard and the Navy is Naval Station Everett, which will be included in the Coast Guard's evaluation.

In addition, the bill promotes the use of alternative fuels by requiring the Coast Guard to evaluate the feasibility, costs, and potential cost savings of using bio-diesel fuel in new and existing Coast Guard vehicles and vessels, with a focus on ports such as the Port of Seattle with very high vessel traffic density. Bio-diesel and other alternative vehicle fuels are already used by the Army at Fort Lewis, King County Metro Transit, and several school districts and cities in Washington State.

We have included in the bill a provision that would extend a requirement for non-tank vessels of over 400 gross tons, operating in waters out to 12 miles from the U.S., to prepare emergency response plans for oil spills. As we have learned with unfortunate oil spills in the past, such as the recent Daleo Passage Spill, every second matters. Requiring large vessels operating in coastal waters to have an emergency response plan will help prevent oil spill disasters and, in the event of a spill, mitigate their effects through preparedness.

Finally, the bill makes several important changes to the Coast Guard's management of personnel. One of these changes modifies current Coast Guard rules regarding recalling reservists for acts of terrorism and for longer periods of time. This provision ensures that the clock for the length of the recall begins to run on the first day that a reservist reports to active duty, including for training. Another provision ensures that the director of the Boating Safety Office remains a uniformed officer at the level of captain, in response to concerns from the boating safety community that the Coast Guard was eliminating this billet.

Effective Coast Guard operations are important for the State of Washington and for the Nation. I am pleased to join Senators SNOWE, STEVENS, and INOUYE in introducing this legislation and I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Commerce Committee and with the Coast Guard to move this legislation quickly through the Committee and the Senate.

http://thomas.loc.gov/