McNerney Amendment Reaffirms Coast Guard's National Security Mission

Press Release

Congressman Jerry McNerney (CA-11) today joined with a large bipartisan majority to provide the Coast Guard the resources to secure our waterways and ports, strengthen marine safety, and enhance environmental protection. In addition, due to an amendment that Rep. McNerney offered, unanimously supported on the House floor, the Coast Guard's critical homeland security mission was reaffirmed and it was made clear that mission should not be impaired.

The support for the Coast Guard came as a result of a vote on H.R. 2830, the Coast Guard Authorization. It passed the House this afternoon by a vote of 395-7.

"The Coast Guard, as our nation's oldest seagoing service, has a proud history of ensuring marine safety, conducting search and rescue operations and maintaining marine navigation aids. Since the terrible events of September 11th, 2001, we have increasingly relied heavily on the brave men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard to be our eyes and ears against terrorism along our coastal borders and at more than 300 of our nation's ports," said Rep. McNerney.

"I am proud to support this legislation to provide additional resources to enable the Coast Guard to carry out its mission," Rep. McNerney continued. "My amendment simply clarifies that the Coast Guard's homeland security missions are strengthened by the legislation we are considering today."

The Coast Guard Authorization increases the authorized end-strength of the Coast Guard by 1,500 members to 47,000 and increases funding for the Coast Guard to $8.4 billion in order to ensure that the Coast Guard can successfully execute all of its missions.

The bill reinforces the national security missions of the Coast Guard, including:

-Protecting ports (such as the Port of Stockton), waterways, coastal security, and the marine transportation system from an act of terrorism;
-Securing our borders against aliens seeking to unlawfully enter the United States; illegal drugs; firearms; and weapons of mass destruction at ports, waterways, and throughout the marine transportation system;
-Preventing human smuggling operations at ports, waterways, and throughout the marine transportation system; and
-Maintaining defense readiness to rapidly deploy defensive port operations and security operations and environmental defense operations.

It also takes a number of steps to bolster the Coast Guard's missions to secure waterways and ports, including:

-Establishing an Assistant Commandant for Port and Waterways Security who will be a security specialist responsible for all regulations and policies regarding security in our nation's ports and waterways;
-Authorizing additional maritime security response teams. They give the Coast Guard a rapid force capability to provide protection for strategic shipping, high-interest vessels, and other critical infrastructure;
-Authorizing additional canine detection teams to help the Coast Guard interdict illegal drugs, humans and explosives that smugglers try to bring onto our shores; and
-Requiring cruise ship owners and operators to notify DHS of security incidents involving a U.S. person that include death, serious bodily injury, and sexual assault that occur on a cruise ship.

The bill also requires that U.S. vessels carrying more than 600 cubic meters of oil have double hulls around their fuel tanks. This is intended to prevent the disastrous consequences of accidents such as the one that occurred last November when the COSCO BUSAN released 53,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil into San Francisco Bay following its collision with the Bay Bridge.

The text of the amendment Rep. McNerney offered to H.R. 2830 appears in its entirety below.

The provisions of this bill governing the Marine Safety Mission of the Coast Guard shall not impair the legal authority of the Coast Guard to carry out its homeland security missions including:

(A) protecting ports, waterways, coastal security, and the marine transportation system from an act of terrorism;
(B) securing our borders against aliens seeking to unlawfully enter the United States, illegal drugs, firearms, and weapons of mass destruction at ports, waterways, and throughout the marine transportation system;
(C) preventing human smuggling operations at ports, waterways, and throughout the marine transportation system;
(D) maintaining defense readiness to rapidly deploy defensive port operations and security operations and environmental defense operations; and
(E) coordinating efforts and intelligence with Federal, state, and local agencies to deter, detect and respond to the threat of terrorism at ports, on waterways, and throughout the marine transportation system.
(F) preventing Osama Bin Laden, al Qaeda, or any other terrorist or terrorist organization from attacking the United States, or any United States person;
(G) protecting the United States or any United States person from threats posed by weapons of mass destruction or other threats to national security.

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