Marine Debris Act Amendments of 2012

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

I rise in support of the resolution introduced by my colleague from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo), the chairman of the subcommittee.

Before I begin my remarks, I want to join the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica), and of course the many others, in offering my condolences to the entire Coast Guard family for the tragic loss of one of their shipmates during a drug interdiction operation in the waters off of southern California this past weekend. We all recognize that the servicemen and -women of the Coast Guard willingly and routinely expose themselves to highly dangerous conditions on behalf of our Nation. Nevertheless, it is a profound tragedy when a servicemember makes that sacrifice, and our thoughts and prayers are with the Coast Guard at this time.

The legislation I stand in support of today has been developed as a compromise over the past 2 months during negotiations with the Senate. It would amend H.R. 2838, the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2012, that passed the House last November, and it also incorporates numerous provisions from the amendments to H.R. 2838 that cleared the Senate in September. And I appreciate the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo) for his willingness to work with me on this legislation in a bipartisan and open manner. I'm confident in saying that this bill embodies a fair and bipartisan compromise for everyone involved and that we can feel proud of this work.

As the ranking member of the Coast Guard Subcommittee, it's been a high priority for me to advance policies to revitalize and expand our domestic maritime industries, and this legislation marks a significant achievement in doing just that. It creates jobs in the

shipbuilding industry by taking vital steps towards improving our icebreaker fleet and finishing the program of record for Response Boat- Medium.

Earlier this year, I had a chance to visit job-creating shipyards that will be a part of the modernization effort of the Coast Guard. These shipyards provide good-paying jobs for hardworking engineers, welders, electricians, and mechanics all over the Northwest and throughout the country. The reauthorization of the Maritime Administration will improve the fortunes of those shipyards, and I am pleased that that is included in this bill as well.

But we've also, in authorizing the Coast Guard, reformed a number of key programs. The Coast Guard has one of the most expansive missions in the Federal Government. This multimission maritime military service is responsible for a broad range of activities, including mariner licensing, emergency oil spill response, vessel inspections, and navigation safety. The Coast Guard remains indispensable to the maintenance of a reliable and secure marine supply chain that supports maritime cargo operations, which contribute $649 billion annually to the U.S. GDP, sustaining more than 13 million jobs.

This legislation authorizes funding levels for both the Coast Guard and the Reserve that provide for increased funding levels in fiscal years `13 and `14 over the fiscal year `12 level.

I believe the funding levels in the bill remain insufficient to address the documented needs of the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has been asked to do more with less, and I'm afraid that their only choice during this time of budget uncertainty is to do less with less, and that's just wrong. So while I would prefer these levels to be higher, I understand that these funding levels are likely the best that can be provided under the constraints.

We must be aware, however, that funding levels in this legislation are absent any consideration of what will be needed to address the estimated $260 million in damages to Coast Guard facilities in the Northeast as a result of Hurricane Sandy. These costs will be addressed in the future, I assume.

And I want to highlight, as well, that this legislation contains several provisions that will improve the Coast Guard's readiness and capabilities in the increasingly important Arctic region. Specifically, this bill directs the Coast Guard to complete a business case analysis to assess the cost-effectiveness of reactivating its heavy icebreaker, the Polar Sea. This analysis is overdue and it is vitally important.

At present, the Coast Guard has only one icebreaker, the Healy. Although the Coast Guard expects, in 2013, to reactivate the other heavy icebreaker, the Polar Star, the plain fact remains that the Coast Guard's icebreaker fleet remains severely undercapitalized and overextended. As it will be years before a new icebreaker can be delivered, it's essential that we make informed decisions on the Polar Sea now in order to have a balanced assessment of Coast Guard polar icebreaker capabilities in the near term.

This legislation also advances provisions that address many administrative, personnel, procurement, and regulatory issues affecting the Coast Guard; specifically, several new authorities to bring the Coast Guard into parity with the other armed services have been included. Additionally, this legislation contains new authorities that will improve the efficiency and oversight of the Coast Guard's major acquisition programs, especially new advanced procurement authority and development of multiyear capital investment programs.

The bill includes language I authored that requires the Coast Guard to complete the procurement of 180 Response Boat-Mediums, or RB-Ms, as originally planned in the program of record for this vessel. This is a critical piece of maritime security, and the completion of these boats will lead to additional job creation in small shipyards.

Besides addressing the needs of the Coast Guard, this legislation also advances several important initiatives to support the U.S. Merchant Marine:

Title III of the legislation protects the Jones Act by strengthening the review and notice requirements for future administrative waivers. This provision, originally called for in H.R. 3202, the American Mariner Jobs Protection Act, should help preserve more opportunities for U.S. carriers and seafarers. The title also provides for a formal authorization for the Committee on the Maritime Transportation System;

Title IV of the legislation includes several provisions that will improve the Maritime Administration's ability to accept, manage, and recycle vessels held in the National Defense Reserve Fleet;

I'm also pleased title VI reauthorizes the Marine Debris Research, Reduction, and Prevention Act. More and more marine debris from the 2011 Japanese tsunami continues to wash up on the shores of the Pacific coast, including in my State of Washington. Japan, in the midst of a recovery from this disaster, though, has shown extraordinary leadership and friendship with the United States by recently announcing that they will donate directly $5 million to debris cleanup.

It is important that we reauthorize the Marine Debris Act to ensure that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has the authority it needs to work with States to address this threat.

I very much appreciate the cooperation of Chairman LoBiondo for including this important environmental measure, and I also applaud my colleagues, Mr. Thompson and Mr. Farr, for their work to see this program reauthorized.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, this legislation reflects a fair and balanced compromise. We have an obligation to support the Coast Guard and support our U.S. merchant marine. A safe and secure maritime environment is good for job creation, good for the economy, and good for the American people. In my estimation, this legislation fulfills that obligation. I urge its passage today, and I just briefly want to thank once again Mr. LoBiondo for his incredible work to be bipartisan, open, and transparent in working to bring this legislation to passage.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

First, I want to take a moment to thank Mr. LoBiondo for his outstanding leadership of the Coast Guard Committee, and also Mr. Larsen, the ranking member from Washington. I know Frank LoBiondo has a great love for the United States Coast Guard. He has worked diligently, long, and tirelessly for one of our most important branches and most historic branches of government over the years and dedicated part of his time, but a full commitment, to the United States Coast Guard.

As we take up H.R. 2838 today, as we consider that reauthorization for the United States Coast Guard--and Congress must authorize every program. We create the Coast Guard by law. We must also set the policy and the programs and the funding levels through our committee, an important responsibility.

Now, we have an important responsibility, but we're reminded again, even in the last few days, of the death of one of our Coast Guard officers, Chief Mate Terrell Horne. He was killed protecting the United States. I think it was drug smugglers who took his life in southern California while a small boat was trying to stop their activities. Here again we are painfully reminded of the sacrifice of those men and women in service to the United States. So this morning, I really would like to dedicate this reauthorization to his memory and the memory of all the men and women who have served in the Coast Guard.

I had lost one young lady from St. Augustine in the Arctic. I remember that tragic loss of her life and so many others who have served us well in the United States Coast Guard, an important national security and safety agency that protects us day in and day out, 24/7. So we are reminded of their sacrifices and, today, of our responsibility.

To succeed at the many jobs that we assign members of the Coast Guard, they must have the resources on the water and the docks to complete their important mission. This bill authorizes the Coast Guard for fiscal years 2013 and 2014. It's a total of $8.6 billion. Of course, when you talk about trillions in our Federal budget and activities, it's a small amount for the more than 50,000 Coast Guard men and women and for the programs that they undertake again each day.

One of the things we've tried to do is make the regulatory burden on fishermen more reasonable by extending some of the time they undergo to have dockside examinations. Again, in addition to serving national security purposes and maritime safety, we also serve an important economic activity, and that's the fishing community.

This bill also looks towards helping others that we're responsible for in the maritime industry. One of the problems we've had is in developing a TWIC card. A TWIC card is a Transportation Worker Identification Credential. We've had great problems with trying to get that installed so that we could find out who is entering our ports and to ensure that is done safely and securely, particularly with the threats that we face, the huge coastline of ports, the exposure that we face from maritime threats. And I think we've, hopefully, lessened some of the burdensome time required by multiple trips to get folks that need these cards to go to these enrollment centers--again, trying to help those who we're supposed to serve and to help them do their job in an expedited fashion.

As you know, our committee published a report. When we were in the minority, we helped author it. The title of the report was, ``The Federal Government Must Stop Sitting on Its Assets.'' And in each of the categories and areas we're responsible for in the Transportation Committee, whether it's empty public buildings that have sat there, properties underutilized, we want to make sure that taxpayers' resources are used in the best possible way.

So this bill follows up our report by requiring the Coast Guard, which has currently sidelined one of our heavy icebreakers, to make a decision on either being reactivated or decommissioned. Again, we can't sit on valuable assets in any of our agencies.

Finally, this bill restricts the use of post-construction of future National Security Cutters until our National Security Cutters meet long-promised mission performance capabilities. We started producing a small number of National Security Cutters--bigger than 100-plus-foot cutters--after 9/11. We've had some problems with that program. It's our responsibility to straighten out those problems, to make certain that the long-promised mission performance capabilities are met, and this bill hopefully leads us in that positive direction.

Unfortunately, the bill does not restrict the ability of foreign seamen injured outside the United States on non-U.S.-flagged vessels from suing in United States courts, paid for by United States taxpayers. It was something we had hoped to achieve. We couldn't put it in this bill.

There are some other measures I would have liked to have had in this bill. It does not, unfortunately, establish--but we passed in the House--a uniform national standard for ballast water discharges. And that provision is supported by many in the House and by the U.S. and international maritime industries.

So we've done a good part of the job. I think we've met our responsibility, and I am pleased that we are here to authorize, for a period of 2 years, the United States Coast Guard, its operations and its programs, and support the men and women who support us. So, with that, I urge the passage of H. Res. 825.

Mr. Speaker, I truly appreciate the support we've seen in a bipartisan fashion here for this legislation known as the Marine Debris Act Amendments of 2012.

This bill was first carried and introduced in the United States Senate by Senator Inouye and the late Senator Ted Stevens. They recognized, Senator Inouye from Hawaii, the entire island surrounded by ocean, and so much washes up on the shores of the islands, and Alaska, with probably one of the longest coastlines in the United States, certainly impacts from the ocean on them. And that's why it's so nice and wonderful to have my colleague Don Young from Alaska, the only Representative in the House from Alaska, to be a strong proponent of this.

As he pointed out, Alaska has already seen the consequences of not having reauthorization when the Japanese tsunami has started to wash up. They've spent, in the first wave of the tsunami debris, Alaska's already spent over $200,000 of State money in just aerial monitoring of the local debris from the Japanese tsunami.

What this legislation does in reauthorization is allow States to receive grants from NOAA so that the States can deal with their coastline debris problems.

It is important we do this for an even bigger purpose, which is that, frankly, life on land is dependent on the quality of life at sea. We know that we have over the years and decades been dumping everything we don't like on land--and can't figure out where else to dump it--into the ocean. At the same time, we take whatever we want out of the ocean. Dumping and taking can upset the system so badly that you have oceans die; and, certainly, we have big parts of the ocean that are dying because of all the debris and waste that are in the oceans.

What this bill does is allow the Coast Guard, in working with NOAA, which is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to jointly look at, monitor and figure out ways to clean this stuff up. If we don't do that, we're going to suffer. It's like living in pollution in your own backyard. Eventually, there are consequences.

I think that those of us who have done ocean legislation over the years--and Don Young has been one of the greater ones to understand it--realize that, in solving the problem, it's going to require local action and that it's going to require national and international coordination. It's not our ocean alone. It goes all over the world, and things in the ocean go all over the world. Just think of the old stories about bottles and where they wind up. Now we see with the tsunami that all this Japanese land mass stuff that was washed into the sea is now showing up in Alaska and is showing up in Oregon and has shown up on the beaches in California--in Capitola, where I live.

This problem is also going to require some partnerships between the private sector and the fishermen community, in that it knows where some of these drift nets are, and between the public sector. It's going to require innovative technology. You have to detect it. We have found nets that have been left in Monterey Bay that are too heavy to lift out with conventional craft. We're going to have to go back to the fishing boats and to the families who lost those nets and use their fishing boats, which is a private enterprise supported by the public know-how of how to retrieve those nets. I think it's very exciting. It's certainly going to require education so that people don't keep dumping things they don't want into the ocean.

There are consequences for dumping. California is now addressing it in every local community by just storm water, the fact that all the water that falls on our streets and roads picks up oil and picks up other stuff that isn't compatible with ocean life and washes into it. We have done a lot to clean up sewers and to say we're not going to dump that stuff out into the ocean anymore, but we're still allowing other storm water to get out there. California is addressing this almost community by community, that being: How do we stop storm water and polluted storm water from getting into the ocean?

So this legislation of reauthorizing debris cleanup is much more than just giving NOAA some money to go out there and figure it out. It's really an entire program of figuring out how to keep oceans healthy.

I appreciate the bipartisan support. I appreciate the leadership of Mr. Young, and I appreciate the leadership on the committees. This bill went to two committees--to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and to the Natural Resources Committee. Both committees passed it out in bipartisan fashion, and now we have to pass it in the Senate. I hope it's not too late, and I hope Congressman Young will work with me in getting bipartisan support in the Senate so that we can get this bill to the President and get it signed before the calendar year runs out.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 825, a resolution providing for the concurrence by the House in the Senate amendments to H.R. 2838, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2012, with an amendment.

For many years I have directed my district staff in Huntington Beach, California, to organize regular briefings for me as well as public informational meetings about homeland and border security, particularly security of the coastline I have the honor to represent in Congress. On April 4 of this year, I had one such briefing in the American Legion Post in Newport Beach that featured presentations by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Border Patrol. The briefings were attended by police, sheriff, fire and marine safety personnel from San Diego to Los Angeles.

These briefings are always foremost in my mind when I urge my colleagues in Congress to summon the political will to stop giving our country away by failing to enforce our borders. The southern California shoreline is the destination for a brazen invasion of contraband and illegal labor smugglers by sea. The brazenness is exceeded only by the shocking multiplier effect of violent crime to persons and property that emanates from the ``stash'' (safe) houses and sweat shops that proliferate along a clandestine network extending north from San Diego.

The stakes have been rising in recent years as hundreds of ``panga'' boats ply the waters of Orange County's most treasured beachfront locations, looking for scouts and convoys forward positioned to make a pick-up of exploited workers or drugs shipments. Some panga boats are small, seating 6 to 8 passengers, and sometimes the boats are huge and hold up to 40 people. To suggest it is a sophisticated operation would be an understatement. That is why we enlist the public as well as our protective law enforcement services to spread the word of warning and alert the citizenry to the threat we face as individuals and as a society.

On December 2, 2012, we were tragically reminded of what is at stake when news from the U.S. Coast Guard reached my desk that a brave member of the United States Coast Guard, Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne III, was killed in action while defending our coastline from the wave of unlawful foreign incursions. As I did in my letter to Admiral Papp, Commandant of the USCG, I want to convey here the most heartfelt condolences from my family and me, as well as millions of Americans living on this coastline, to Chief Petty Officer Home's family, to the crew of the Cutter Halibut on which Petty Officer Horne served, and to the larger USCG community.

Reports indicate that Chief Petty Officer Horne was in a chase boat pursuing a panga when it turned and rammed his craft, killing him and injuring other USCG members doing

their jobs for us. This violence against our coastal defenders is yet another wake up call to America, sounding anew a warning that we must as a nation summon courage to defend our border equal to the devotion to duty Chief Petty Officer Horne exemplified. There was no price he was unwilling to pay to protect our nation, and we must honor him by rising in the same degree to the cause for which he died.

Every day courageous men and women of the USCG are on the front line of the struggle to restore the rule of law in the navigable waters of our nation. As the daily assault on our coastal communities escalates, the USCG stands between us and lawlessness on the open seas and along the shorelines where our very civil order now is under siege. This tragic loss of one of American's finest is the terrible price we pay to turn back those emboldened to violate our border security and threaten our homeland in desperate criminal enterprises, profiting from trafficking in drugs and human beings.

Unyielding in our vigilance against these modern day pirates and slave traders, we pause to mourn the loss of a fellow American whose service to our nation humbles us and deepens our resolve to prevail against the perpetrators of violence and crime making landfall on our coast from the sea.

That can and must be done to honor Chief Petty Officer Horne and all those who have sacrificed all so we may remain a sovereign nation and free people. We owe it to Terrell Horne and each and every one of our fallen heroes. I again urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 825 in honor of Terrell and all those who sacrifice so much for all of us.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 825) providing for the concurrence by the House in the Senate amendments to H.R. 2838, with an amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on House Resolution 825.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the chairman of the full committee, Mr. Mica, such time as he may consume.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Resolution 825.

H.R. 2838 reauthorizes the activities of the Coast Guard through the fiscal year 2014 at levels that will allow for the administration's requested 1.7 percent military pay increase for fiscal year 2013 and provide for a military pay increase for fiscal year 2014 at a level consistent with CBO's estimate on the rate of inflation. The bill provides funding for the Coast Guard at levels that will reverse the irresponsible cuts proposed by the Obama administration and will ensure the service has what it needs to successfully conduct its missions.

The legislation includes critical provisions that will give the Coast Guard, its servicemembers, and its dependents great parity with their counterparts in the Department of Defense, something that we've worked very hard to achieve. H.R. 2838 also contains reforms and improvements to the Coast Guard's acquisition program and activities. The bill encourages job growth in the maritime sector by cutting EPA, TSA, and Coast Guard regulatory burdens on small businesses. Finally, the bill enhances the security of U.S. vessels and crews transiting high-risk waters, reauthorizes the national security aspects of the Maritime Administration for fiscal year 2013, and makes several important improvements to NOAA's marine debris program, as noted by Mr. Larsen.

H.R. 2838 was put together in cooperation with the minority and with our counterparts in the Senate. I'd like to thank Mr. Mica, chairman of the full committee; I'd like to thank Mr. Rahall, the ranking member of the full committee; I especially want to thank Mr. Larsen. We've had, I think, a model for how a committee or a subcommittee should operate. We've been focused on results. We've been focused on incorporating good ideas. Rick, I very much appreciated your cooperation in moving forward on these very important issues for the Nation.

Finally, I would like to thank the staff on both sides for their work and their help in this legislation. We rely on them a great deal. They've worked in an extraordinary manner, and it's very much appreciated, and hopefully we get the results we need.

I also want to take a moment to underscore the very dangerous work that the Coast Guard does to keep our Nation and our shores safe. We were all shocked and very saddened to hear the news this weekend that a Coastie lost his life in the line of duty. This underscores how our Coast Guard men and women put their life at risk each and every day. They're really underrecognized and underappreciated for the work they do. And with drugs being such a great scourge in our country, it sounds like this Coastie was just brutally murdered. So our heart goes out to the men and women of the Coast Guard, his colleagues, his family, and his friends. Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne was serving his country and gave his life for his country. Again, our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. We're tremendously thankful for all the brave men and women of the Coast Guard and the work that they do each and every day.

I urge all Members to support H.R. 2838, and I reserve the balance of my time.

I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in this process. Again, I especially thank Mr. Larsen for the cooperative initiatives and efforts that we've been able to undertake. I hope that all the Members of the House of Representatives will think about the sacrifices that the men and women of the Coast Guard make and will vote affirmatively for this bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.