[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 246 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 246
To express the sense of the Senate regarding the missions and
performance of the United States Coast Guard in responding to Hurricane
Katrina.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 21, 2005
Ms. Snowe (for herself, Ms. Cantwell, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Inouye, Mr.
Stevens, Mr. Martinez, Mr. Lott, and Ms. Murkowski) submitted the
following resolution; which was considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
To express the sense of the Senate regarding the missions and
performance of the United States Coast Guard in responding to Hurricane
Katrina.
Whereas the United States Coast Guard has been charged by Congress
with missions central to protecting the lives and well-
being of individuals and communities in the United States,
including protecting homeland security, conducting search
and rescue of lives in danger, protecting marine
environments from pollution, maintaining maritime safety
and aids to navigation, enforcing Federal fishing laws, and
intercepting illegal drugs and migrants before they reach
our shores;
Whereas the Coast Guard anticipated the potential for significant
loss of life and property as Hurricane Katrina approached
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama and made landfall on
August 29, 2005, and, in advance of the storm, relocated
its personnel, vessels, and aircraft out of harm's way;
Whereas Hurricane Katrina made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane
with winds reaching 175 miles per hour and massive storm
surges, the combination of which left a trail of
devastation unprecedented on United States soil, as it
leveled countless homes, businesses, and other structures,
displaced millions of people from their communities, and
otherwise made coastal urban and rural areas unliveable;
Whereas the Coast Guard immediately deployed nearly 1,000
personnel, including captains, crew, pilots, rescue
swimmers, pollution response teams, and other specialists
and reservists, from stations all over the country, to
coastal areas affected by the hurricane, for a total
regional force size of approximately 3,619 personnel;
Whereas Coast Guard personnel who had never personally worked
together before began to work as teams to conduct and
coordinate search and rescue operations while Hurricane
Katrina continued to bear down on the central Gulf of
Mexico shoreline;
Whereas the Coast Guard rescued or evacuated 33,544 individuals as
of September 21, 2005, a number that represents eight times
the number of lives saved by the Coast Guard in an average
year;
Whereas three Coast Guard pollution response Strike Teams responded
to 1,129 pollution incidents as of September 20, 2005,
which include total discharges of more than 7 million
gallons of oil, unknown amounts of sewage, and unknown
quantities of other toxic chemicals, and the Coast Guard
has contained or otherwise closed 426 of these cases;
Whereas Coast Guard buoy tenders have responded to 964
discrepancies in buoys and other aids to navigation and
have restored 39 of 48 critical aids to navigation as of
September 21, 2005;
Whereas the costs of responding to Hurricane Katrina have depleted
the Coast Guard's operations and maintenance budget for
fiscal year 2005 and are rapidly depleting its budget for
fiscal year 2006, and the Coast Guard's costs associated
with this hurricane are anticipated to exceed $500 million;
Whereas the Coast Guard performed its hurricane response missions
largely with outdated legacy assets, increasing the wear
and tear on these assets while foregoing regularly
scheduled maintenance activities in the interest of
sustaining its surge in life-saving operations;
Whereas the Coast Guard already conducts its missions with the 40th
oldest fleet of the 42 nations with Coast Guard or naval
fleets;
Whereas the Coast Guard's program, known as Deepwater, for
modernizing its fleet of vessels and aircraft, is vital for
increasing the capabilities in performing its missions in
the face of ever-increasing natural and human threats;
Whereas the Deepwater program requires sustained Federal funding
commitments in order for the citizens of the United States
to realize the benefits of the Coast Guard having state-of-
the-art vessels, aircraft, technologies, and interoperable
communication equipment;
Whereas in addition to covering operation and maintenance costs of
a rapidly aging fleet, the Coast Guard needs to rebuild
several Coast Guard facilities in Louisiana, Mississippi,
and Alabama, including Station Gulfport which was
completely destroyed and where personnel are now working in
trailers amidst the ruins of that station;
Whereas the Coast Guard needs a strong Federal funding commitment
to ensure that all of its unexpected expenditures during
its response to Katrina are reimbursed;
Whereas more than 700 Coast Guard personnel stationed in the Gulf
region lost their homes and all personal property and are
now living on overcrowded Coast Guard vessels and in
makeshift shelters;
Whereas before, during, and after the landfall of Hurricane
Katrina, Coast Guard personnel exhibited determination and
a full commitment to their missions, and the Coast Guard
has proven to be one of the most resourceful and capable
services in the United States government;
Whereas before, during, and after the landfall of Hurricane
Katrina, Coast Guard personnel performed their missions
with the highest level of bravery and self-sacrifice, and
their effectiveness in performing their missions is
unparalleled in the United States government;
Whereas the Coast Guard has an operational and command structure
that allowed it to quickly take a leadership role in saving
lives, without waiting for instruction or permission to
act;
Whereas the Coast Guard's operational and command structure
continues to serve as a model for other agencies that need
to respond quickly to large-scale natural and man-made
disasters; and
Whereas the Coast Guard's effective leadership in responding to the
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and the appointment of Vice
Admiral Thad Allen as the primary Federal officer in charge
of this response, is helping to restore the public's
confidence in the Federal response effort: Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved, by the Senate, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) the United States Coast Guard should receive Congress's
highest commendation for its tremendous and highly effective
response to the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina;
(2) the United States Congress should commit to providing
the Coast Guard with the resources it needs to modernize and
maintain its fleet of vessels and aircraft; and
(3) the Administration should ensure that the Coast Guard
receives sufficient funding to cover its unexpected operational
and capital costs associated with Hurricane Katrina.
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