Business Before the Senate

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, now, on to the work that is currently before us: We voted yesterday to advance important legislation that will preserve our national security, ensure our readiness, and expand economic opportunity. The bill before us to reauthorize the Coast Guard funding will ensure that the brave men and women who put themselves in harm's way every single day have access to the resources they need.

America calls on our Coast Guard to protect our ports, to protect our coasts, to safeguard the shipping lanes that enable American commerce, to stem the tide of illegal drugs before they reach our shores, and to brave even the fiercest natural disasters that save American lives. They always answer the call. They are always ready. So it is our obligation as a Congress to keep the Coast Guard authorized and adequately resourced to do the job.

When we pass the legislation before us, we will do just that, and we will do even more because this bill also includes important reforms that will streamline needlessly complicated government regulations and help communities and small businesses harness the great resource that is America's waterways.

In my home State of Kentucky alone, we have 1,900-plus miles of navigable waterways. They support 13,000 jobs. This bill includes a major victory for those Kentuckians and for Americans in a number of other States.

The Vessel Incidental Discharge Act will unwind the confusing, redundant tangle of rules and regulations that States, the EPA, and the Coast Guard have all piled on to vessel owners and barge operators who are, frankly, just trying to make a living. With this legislation, that tangled mess will go away. It will be replaced by a single, efficient, and uniform standard, which the Coast Guard will enforce. It is a commonsense step, and it is something that has been thoroughly bipartisan.

This legislation passed the Commerce Committee on a voice vote. It has actually been reported out several different times, including when the Senate was controlled by Democrats. So I look forward to delivering these important measures for the Coast Guard, for Kentuckians, and for many more Americans when we pass this legislation later today.

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