Snowe, Cantwell Praise Coast Guard for Heroic Service

SNOWE, CANTWELL PRAISE COAST GUARD FOR HEROIC SERVICE

Thursday, September 8, 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Fisheries and Coast Guard Chairwoman Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA) today praised the Coast Guard for their heroic efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The Coast Guard launched their search and rescue teams within hours of Katrina's landfall, and have to date rescued over 32,000 people from the air and from the water, including hospital evacuations.

In addition to the search and rescue efforts, the Coast Guard has also been at the core of the effort to restore commerce to the area, clearing navigation channels littered with sunken ships and barges and replacing aids to navigation which were displaced throughout the Gulf. The Coast Guard has also been integral in securing oil rigs uprooted in the storm and minimizing additional damage potentially caused by these structures.

"The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina has displaced thousands of people throughout the Gulf region. Yet despite the insufficient and paltry governmental response to this crisis, the Coast Guard has done its job tremendously providing relief and rescuing thousand. I would like to thank the selfless commitment of the Coast Guard, whose brave and resourceful servicemen and women carried on successful operations despite the destruction of their stations in Gulfport and Pascagoula. Their efforts have been essential and will be remembered always," said Senator Snowe.

"I am proud to see our Coast Guard respond so quickly and ably in the face of such tremendous human disaster," Senator Cantwell said. "The devastation left in the wake of Katrina is almost unimaginable, and I am deeply concerned about the hardships that will continue to challenge the people of this region. The many Americans who have already contributed to relief efforts deserve our utmost thanks. However, the job is just beginning, and I am committed to working with my colleagues to rebuild the area, reunite families, and help victims of this tragedy get back on the path to a bright and successful future. We must act immediately to alleviate suffering and aid the plight of those rendered homeless so that the citizens of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and other hard hit areas can go on with their lives."

Although now part of the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard has core non-security missions, such as those that it is bringing to be bear on the aftermath of Katrina."The Coast Guard's swift and capable reaction to the needs of the region after being hit with Katrina underscores the need to maintain the Coast Guard's non-security missions, which are so critically important to Americans, and to the country," Cantwell noted.

The Coast Guard's emergency response effort is unprecedented. Despite extensive storm damage to their facilities in the region, the Coast Guard has mobilized all of its available forces, bringing in cutters, small boats, and aircraft from all over the country. As of Thursday morning, approximately 4,000 Coast Guard personnel were in the Gulf responding to the hurricane disaster with approximately 60 aircraft, 25 cutters, and hundreds of small boats. Cutters are being used as floating platforms to land and refuel planes as well as to assess the condition of waterways and reopen ports. Two specialized communication units, in Mississippi and in Louisiana, are also operating around the clock to coordinate and facillitate communication for the multi-agency response. Additionally, the Coast Guard Auxiliary, a volunteer force with over 35,000 members nationwide, has responded and is aiding the Coast Guard in supporting the incident management team.

To address the increasing threat to human health from waterborne chemicals, all three Strike Teams, specialists in emergency and chemical response, have deployed units to coordinate pollution and environmental response. Numerous oil leaks have been detected, including an oil leak in a tank at the Murphy Oil Refinery in Meraux, Louisiana. The tank holds 85,000 barrels (approximately 3.5 million gallons) of medium grade crude oil and it is not known how much has spilled. The Coast Guard has deployed booms around the area to contain the oil and was scheduled to assess the extent of the spill by air this morning.

"The $10.5 billion emergency aid bill the Senate passed on Friday was just a first step. Most of this funding will go to FEMA, which is dangerously close to running out of funds. The Coast Guard has done a commendable job living up to their motto, "always ready" and I will work tirelessly to assure that the Coast Guard will receive additional funding in the next emergency supplemental," said Senator Cantwell.

http://snowe.senate.gov/pressap/record.cfm?id=245383