Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment, which seeks to allocate $100 million to procure additional ships for our Coast Guard to interdict drugs headed to the United States by sea.

Last year was a record-breaking year for the U.S. Coast Guard in its fight against drug trafficking. It seized 416,000 pounds of cocaine worth almost $6 billion. This was the result of more than 250 individual interdictions in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and eastern Pacific Ocean.

Even with this record-breaking year, however, all of the cocaine that was seized represents less than 10 percent of all attempted shipments; and, of course, cocaine interdictions, cocaine shipments, are on the rise.

I do commend the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard for the great work they do to stop drug trafficking to our country, yet the Coast Guard lacks the resources to stop the known drug shipments into our mainland.

During a Homeland Security hearing this year, the U.S. Coast Guard commandant admiral, and I paraphrase him, said: Last year there were almost 600 events that we just did not have enough ships or enough planes to track or stop them in the seas. The admiral said: There were almost 600 shipments in the high seas. They knew these ships were carrying drugs, yet we did not have the ships or the assets to stop them.

Vice Admiral Charles Ray went further to say: We need more cutters on the water to help us do our job.
The Coast Guard, like many other government agencies, has endured tough budget situations over the years, and they need to replace and add new ships to fulfill their drug interdiction mission. This $100 million would allow the Coast Guard to procure two additional fast- response cutters.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support my amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. Chairman, I would say that, on the contrary, this money, this allocation of $100 million, represents additional support for our border security, our high seas.

Back in my district, like across the country, we have a major spike, an increase, in drug overdoses, deaths as a result of drug overdoses.

Our children are being harmed by these drugs that are coming into our country. Our Coast Guard, our admirals of the Coast Guard, are saying this is where the chinks in the armor are in terms of our national defense of our country, of our borders, the high seas. This is not speculation; these are facts.

Ships are coming into our high seas loaded with drugs. We do not have the assets to stop them. Nothing could be further from the truth. On the contrary, this $100 million, an additional two ships for the Coast Guard, represents tons and tons of drugs to be intercepted in the years to come, billions and billions of dollars stopped before they reach our land.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. Chairman, again I would say that those folks that are piloting those ships full of drugs coming into our country do not deserve the opportunity to reach our shores. We have to stop them in the high seas.

Just a few months ago, the Coast Guard was proposed for budget cuts.

Now they are barely--barely--keeping balance, meaning no budget cuts.

All I want to do with this amendment is give them additional resources to stop drug shipments, known drug shipments, on the high seas before they reach our shores.

Mr. Chair, I don't want to go back to California and say that I am not doing everything we can do to stop those drugs from reaching our children.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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