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On April 24, the House of Representatives passed the Coast Guard Authorization Act, H.R. 2830, by a resounding 395 to 7. 

 

As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, I was very pleased to see the Members of the House of Representatives express their overwhelming support for increasing the Coast Guard’s authorized end-strength to 47,000.  The House also supported significant policy changes that respond directly to many of the issues that I have led the Subcommittee in examining during the 110^th Congress. Some of these changes are detailed below.

 

During the week that H.R. 2830 was considered by the House, President Bush threatened to veto this legislation over Section 720, a section that strengthens waterside security around liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and tankers. Specifically, the Administration’s position letter stated that requiring the Coast Guard to provide security around LNG operations constituted an “unwarranted and unnecessary subsidy to the owners of private infrastructure” and “would divert finite Coast Guard assets from other high-priority missions.” 

 

Section 720 simply requires the Coast Guard to enforce Coast Guard-imposed security zones. Subsection B allows state and local law enforcement units to be involved in providing security if they have the training, resources, personnel, equipment and experience necessary to combat a terrorist attack. Subsection C requires the Coast Guard to determine that the Service has available to the sector in which the terminal will be located the resources needed to implement the risk mitigation measures the Coast Guard has said is necessary for the terminal in the waterway suitability report for that terminal. 

 

An amendment offered by Congressman Steven LaTourette (R-Ohio) and Congressman Charles Boustany (R-La.) and accepted during debate of H.R. 2830 requires the Coast Guard to expand the assessment of the adequacy of security measures in the sector to encompass state and local law enforcement (which must meet the preparedness standards discussed above) as well as Coast Guard resources.

 

Contrary to media reports and the White House’s shrill claims, Section 720 as written and amended will not impede the development of any LNG project. It will only ensure that adequate security is provided around every new LNG terminal and the tanker ships serving them. Coast Guard patrols around LNG operations are not an “unwarranted and unnecessary” subsidy for private industry. They are security measures provided by our nation’s maritime security agency to protect our communities from the risks that LNG operations bring to them.

 

H.R. 2830 also responds directly to the critical concerns that have been raised by many parties—including Admiral James Card, the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General, and many members of the maritime industry—concerning the declines that have threatened the ability of the Coast Guard marine safety program to continue to effectively ensure the safety of life, property, and the environment at sea. 

 

Title XI of H.R. 2830 creates the position of Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety and will ensure marine safety personnel prepare for what are highly technical jobs by meeting appropriate training and qualification standards, such as those established by the American Bureau of Shipping. This Title will also ensure that appeals and waivers are decided by trained marine safety professionals.

 

Title X transfers the appeals of suspension and revocation decisions to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Mariners who are unsafe should not be on our nation’s waterways, but fair treatment must be assured to all individuals in any legal proceeding. The transfer of the Coast Guard’s ALJ function to the NTSB will avoid even the potential appearance of unfairness.

 

Title V sets as a national goal the elimination of the discharge of invasive species from ballast water by January 1, 2015. Beginning on January 1, 2009, all ships must install ballast water treatment equipment that meets the standard of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The U.S. standard will then be increased after that initial implementation date as treatment system technologies improve so that by 2012, ships must install a treatment system that meets a federal standard 100 times higher than the IMO standard.

 

Additional provisions in H.R. 2830 make policy changes specifically intended to address some of the problems that mariners have brought to the Subcommittee’s attention.

 

Section 719 requires that maritime facilities must provide seamen and representatives of seamen’s welfare and union organizations with access to vessels in a timely matter at no cost to these individuals. 

 

Section 715 will allow individuals applying for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) to have their fingerprints taken at any facility that currently records fingerprints for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), rather than restricting fingerprints to be taken only at a TWIC enrollment center.

 

An amendment added during floor consideration of the bill will allow DHS to use a secondary authentication system to issue TWIC cards to workers whose fingerprints cannot be read. Another amendment adopted during debate requires DHS to assess the adequacy of current TWIC enrollment services, including assessing expanded service hours at enrollment centers.

 

We now await action by the Senate on a Coast Guard Authorization Act, and I will look forward to working with my colleagues to craft a final Act that can be sent to the President.