[House Hearing, 109 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
U.S. COAST GUARD LICENSING AND DOCUMENTATION OF MERCHANT MARINES
=======================================================================
(109-91)
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
COAST GUARD AND MARITIME TRANSPORTATION
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON
TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
JULY 20, 2006
__________
Printed for the use of the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
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COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
DON YOUNG, Alaska, Chairman
THOMAS E. PETRI, Wisconsin, Vice- JAMES L. OBERSTAR, Minnesota
Chair NICK J. RAHALL, II, West Virginia
SHERWOOD L. BOEHLERT, New York PETER A. DeFAZIO, Oregon
HOWARD COBLE, North Carolina JERRY F. COSTELLO, Illinois
JOHN J. DUNCAN, Jr., Tennessee ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of
WAYNE T. GILCHREST, Maryland Columbia
JOHN L. MICA, Florida JERROLD NADLER, New York
PETER HOEKSTRA, Michigan CORRINE BROWN, Florida
VERNON J. EHLERS, Michigan BOB FILNER, California
SPENCER BACHUS, Alabama EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas
STEVEN C. LaTOURETTE, Ohio GENE TAYLOR, Mississippi
SUE W. KELLY, New York JUANITA MILLENDER-McDONALD,
RICHARD H. BAKER, Louisiana California
ROBERT W. NEY, Ohio ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland
FRANK A. LoBIONDO, New Jersey EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon
JERRY MORAN, Kansas ELLEN O. TAUSCHER, California
GARY G. MILLER, California BILL PASCRELL, Jr., New Jersey
ROBIN HAYES, North Carolina LEONARD L. BOSWELL, Iowa
ROB SIMMONS, Connecticut TIM HOLDEN, Pennsylvania
HENRY E. BROWN, Jr., South Carolina BRIAN BAIRD, Washington
TIMOTHY V. JOHNSON, Illinois SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada
TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania JIM MATHESON, Utah
SAM GRAVES, Missouri MICHAEL M. HONDA, California
MARK R. KENNEDY, Minnesota RICK LARSEN, Washington
BILL SHUSTER, Pennsylvania MICHAEL E. CAPUANO, Massachusetts
JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas ANTHONY D. WEINER, New York
JIM GERLACH, Pennsylvania JULIA CARSON, Indiana
MARIO DIAZ-BALART, Florida TIMOTHY H. BISHOP, New York
JON C. PORTER, Nevada MICHAEL H. MICHAUD, Maine
TOM OSBORNE, Nebraska LINCOLN DAVIS, Tennessee
KENNY MARCHANT, Texas BEN CHANDLER, Kentucky
MICHAEL E. SODREL, Indiana BRIAN HIGGINS, New York
CHARLES W. DENT, Pennsylvania RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri
TED POE, Texas ALLYSON Y. SCHWARTZ, Pennsylvania
DAVID G. REICHERT, Washington JOHN T. SALAZAR, Colorado
CONNIE MACK, Florida JOHN BARROW, Georgia
JOHN R. `RANDY' KUHL, Jr., New York
LUIS G. FORTUNO, Puerto Rico
LYNN A. WESTMORELAND, Georgia
CHARLES W. BOUSTANY, Jr., Louisiana
JEAN SCHMIDT, Ohio
(ii)
?
SUBCOMMITTEE ON COAST GUARD AND MARITIME TRANSPORTATION
FRANK A. LOBIONDO, New Jersey, Chairman
HOWARD COBLE, North Carolina BOB FILNER, California, Ranking
WAYNE T. GILCHREST, Maryland Democrat
PETER HOEKSTRA, Michigan CORRINE BROWN, Florida
ROB SIMMONS, Connecticut GENE TAYLOR, Mississippi
MARIO DIAZ-BALART, Florida JUANITA MILLENDER-McDONALD,
DAVID G. REICHERT, Washington,Vice- California
Chair MICHAEL M. HONDA, California
CONNIE MACK, Florida ANTHONY D. WEINER, New York
LUIS G. FORTUNO, Puerto Rico BRIAN HIGGINS, New York
CHARLES W. BOUSTANY, Jr., Louisiana BRIAN BAIRD, Washington
DON YOUNG, Alaska JAMES L. OBERSTAR, Minnesota
(Ex Officio) (Ex Officio)
(iii)
CONTENTS
TESTIMONY
Page
Autin, Shull, Chief Operating Officer, SEACOR Marine, LLC....... 10
Bone, Rear Admiral Craig E., Assistant Commandant for
Prevention, U.S. Coast Guard................................... 3
Davis, Ronald, President Marine Engineers' Beneficial
Association and Executive Board Member, Maritime Trades
Department..................................................... 10
Gedney, Captain Elizabeth, Director of Safety Security and Risk
Management, Passenger Vessel Association....................... 10
Sause, Dale, President, Sause Brothers, Coos Bay, Oregon, and
Chairman of the Board, the American Waterways Operators........ 10
PREPARED STATEMENT SUBMITTED BY A MEMBER OF CONGRESS
Filner, Hon. Bob. of California.................................. 42
PREPARED STATEMENTS SUBMITTED BY WITNESSES
Autin, Shull.................................................... 26
Bone, Rear Admiral Craig E...................................... 31
Davis, Ronald................................................... 36
Gedney, Captain Elizabeth....................................... 44
Sause, Dale..................................................... 54
U.S. COAST GUARD LICENSING AND DOCUMENTATION OF MERCHANT MARINERS
----------
Thursday, July 20, 2006
House of Representatives Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee
on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation,
Washington, D.C.
The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:10 a.m., in room
2167, Rayburn House Office Building, Honorable Frank LoBiondo
[Chairman of the committee] presiding.
Mr. LoBiondo. Good morning. The Subcommittee will come to
order.
Today we are having an oversight hearing on the United
States Coast Guard's Merchant Mariner Credentialing Program.
This program helps ensure mariners have the experience,
training, physical ability and character to serve on vessels.
Since September 11th, the program has another important role:
helping our Nation to know who is working on our waterways.
The Coast Guard has had the responsibility for
credentialing of merchant mariners for decades. However, the
Service has recently been given substantially more duties to
carry out the program. For example, the Oil Pollution Act of
1990 introduced a drug testing program for applicants, as well
as a requirement that applicants submit a check of the National
Driver Register, so that a mariner's driving record could be
examined.
After September 11th, additional safety and screening
procedures were put into place. There is now strict enforcement
of the regulations concerning verifying the identity and
nationality of applicants. Also, the merchant mariner document
was replaced with a new card incorporating tamper-resistant and
anti-counterfeiting features. It is apparent the evaluation
process for mariner credential applications has become
significantly more elaborate and time consuming for all
involved, especially the Coast Guard. The Service has
experienced a 25 percent increase over the past 10 years in the
number of applications received annually.
In fiscal year 2004, over 84,000 credentials were processed
by the regional examination centers, which also had to collect
and account for $7 million in user fees. Despite this increased
workload, staffing levels have changed little since 1982,
except for the addition of some contract employees in recent
years. The lack of an increase in personnel commensurate with
the increase in workload is very troubling. Mariners and
industry rely on the Coast Guard to process mariners'
applications quickly, because a mariner is not permitted to
work without a valid credential. Any backlog could have a
serious, in fact almost devastating effect, on the hard-working
men and women, as well as our economy.
Although the program does not have as high a profile with
the public as the Service's search and rescue or port security
missions, it is nevertheless just as important and very
critical.
I would like to thank the witnesses for coming this
morning, and I look forward to your testimony. I am
particularly interested in learning about the current status of
the program, how the implementation of the TWIC card will
affect the process and whether it will aggravate current
backlogs. I also want to hear about the possible solutions to
the problems.
Admiral Bone, it is great to see you once again. I am sure
your experiences as Captain of the Port in New York and New
Jersey have served you extremely well. Congratulations and best
of luck on your new job.
I would note that given the extensive concerns of the
witnesses on the second panel and their intent to express their
concerns today, you clearly have your work cut out for you at
this time. I would urge either you or a senior member of your
staff to stay and to listen first-hand to what the second panel
has to say. The Subcommittee will attempt to track this very
carefully. Their concerns are longstanding and have a serious
impact on the U.S. maritime industry.
Mr. Taylor, would you like to say anything in opening up?
Mr. Taylor. No, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. LoBiondo. Mr. Boustany?
Mr. Boustany. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this
very important hearing. Admiral Bone, welcome. It is good to
see you again. I want to thank you, Admiral Allen and the Coast
Guard for the fine work that you continue to do.
I am pleased also that in the second panel we are going to
have Mr. Shull Autin, who is COO with SEACOR Marine, to testify
before the Subcommittee today. SEACOR operates one of the
world's largest fleets of diversified marine support vessels
and provides vital services to the offshore oil and gas
industry in the Gulf of Mexico. SEACOR has facilities located
in my district, and I am proud to have Mr. Autin testify on
behalf of the Offshore Marine Service Association this morning.
Ensuring that the Coast Guard's mariner licensing and
documentation program works efficiently is vital to maritime
commerce in the Gulf of Mexico. Backlogs and delays in the
processing of merchant mariner credentials not only impact
those mariners who make their living in the Gulf of Mexico, but
also the Nation as a whole that relies on the Gulf's offshore
energy resources. One-third of our Nation's energy comes
through Louisiana and our oil and gas industry is dependent on
these supply vessels. They are the lifeline to our offshore
energy supply.
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita dealt a major blow to our oil
and gas infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico. The Coast Guard's
New Orleans Regional Examination Center was all but destroyed,
forcing lengthy delays in the processing and renewal of
hundreds of mariner credentials, adding stress to a system that
was already facing major backlogs before these storms.
I can tell you, I dealt personally with a number of
companies in Louisiana that were forced to operate in a state
of flux for months, wondering if their mariners' licenses would
expire. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for acknowledging
this problem and including language in the 2006 Coast Guard
authorization bill to accommodate the licensure of Gulf Coast
mariners through the end of this year. I am eager to hear from
Admiral Bone today regarding the Coast Guard's plan to take
advantage of this provision and the impact it will have to help
alleviate stress on the MLD program.
I am told, however, that the New Orleans REC has received
nearly double the number of applications this June as compared
to last June. Yet they only have about half the staff necessary
to process them. It is no secret that the U.S. Coast Guard was
the shining star in an otherwise dismal sky in the immediate
days after both these hurricanes.
I have full faith and confidence in Admiral Thad Allen and
Admiral Bone and the rest of the Coast Guard and the leadership
that you all provide as we wait to see what the 2006 hurricane
season will deliver. I am eager to work with the Coast Guard to
address the delay in processing the merchant mariner
credentials, so that we can make sure that maritime commerce
continues to thrive in the Gulf of Mexico.
Mr. Chairman, thank you, and I yield back.
Mr. LoBiondo. Thank you, Mr. Boustany.
Master Chief Coble.
Mr. Coble. Thank you for the promotion, Mr. Chairman, but
no opening statement.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Coble. It is good to have you all with us today.
Mr. LoBiondo. Mr. Fortuno.
Mr. Fortuno. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for today's
hearing. Welcome, Admiral Bone.
As you know, for the insular areas, including Puerto Rico,
the constant presence of the Coast Guard is of the utmost
importance for our livelihood. So in that sense, I do have a
keen interest in today's hearing and I welcome you again.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
Mr. LoBiondo. Thank you, Mr. Fortuno.
Admiral Bone, welcome. We are glad you could join us today.
Please proceed.
TESTIMONY OF REAR ADMIRAL CRAIG E. BONE, ASSISTANT COMMANDANT
FOR PREVENTION, UNITED STATES COAST GUARD
Admiral Bone. Good afternoon, Chairman LoBiondo, Ranking
Member Filner and distinguished members of the Committee. I am
Rear Admiral Craig Bone, Assistant Commandant for Prevention.
It is a pleasure to appear before you today to discuss the
mariners' credentials and Coast Guard plans for improving the
mariner licensing and documentation program.
Over the past 15 years, the demand for services and the
complexity of the mariner licensing and documentation program
has grown and our mariners have not been provided the timely,
efficient service they deserve when applying for mariner
credentials. Based on several studies and discussions with
various stakeholders, including the Merchant Marine Personnel
Advisory Committee, maritime labor unions, Towing Safety
Advisory Committee, National Offshore Safety Advisory
Committee, committees which witnesses at today's hearing belong
to, and with whom the Coast Guard has collaborated with on many
safety, security and credentialing issue, it was determined
that the public would be better served if processing all of the
application for merchant mariner credentials were centralized.
Accordingly, the Commandant approved a plan in March 2005
to centralize most functions related to the issuance of
credentials. The existing 17 regional exam centers will be
reduced in size and limited in their responsibilities. The RECs
will focus on providing direct customer services, such as
testing, fingerprinting, identity verification, acceptance of
application packages and verifying all the paperwork is in
order, and then conducting oversight of approved training
courses.
The new centralized facility will be located in
Martinsburg, West Virginia, and the first steps toward
centralization, a 24 month process culminating in the summer of
2008, have already begun. A temporary space with 42 Government
and contractor personnel will begin operations next month. This
detachment of the Coast Guard National Maritime Center will
initially focus on processing all applications received in New
Orleans. A second temporary space located in the Martinsburg
area will begin operations in November and will be devoted
toward expanding the centralized processing of applications.
These actions alone should provide for a smoother transition
with the least disruption and inconvenience to the public.
The centralization effort has been fully funded and the
Coast Guard is working with TSA to procure a permanent
facility. Construction of the permanent facility is expected to
be completed in August of 2007. REC New Orleans will be the
first to relocate. As an interim step in the relocation, all
existing applications held in backlog at REC New Orleans have
been distributed to other RECs for processing.
We have also directed the RECs to give the highest priority
to processing applications from applicants who are currently
employed in the industry and are renewing their credentials.
Applications for upgrades of mariner qualifications or for
entry level qualifications are given similar high priorities to
ensure continued supply of credentialed mariners is available
to the maritime industry.
In an attempt to improve services, we will add additional
contract personnel to augment the staffs of some RECs. To
further assist RECs we are seeking to expand our capabilities
through the use of Coast Guard auxiliarists and reservists.
Specifically, they will be providing fingerprinting services,
ensure identification of applicants and administer oaths in
remote locations, thus reducing the need for some applicants to
travel extensive distances to RECs.
Along with the centralization of REC functions, we are also
planning for the implementation of the Transportation Worker
Identification Card, or TWIC. TWIC is a common biometric
credential for maritime workers, including all merchant
mariners requiring unescorted access to secure areas of port
facilities and vessels. TWIC includes intelligence-based
vetting upon enrollment, with perpetual vetting conducted to
dynamically identify threats after card issuance.
The Coast Guard is working with the Transportation Safety
Administration, TSA, to develop a unified process for issuing
credentials to reduce the burden on the public.
In closing, the Coast Guard is actively taking steps to
improve the merchant marine licensing and documentation
program. I can tell you that I am personally committed to this
and have the full support of the Commandant on this effort.
Centralization of the application processing provides the
ability to focus our efforts and gain economies of scale.
Centralization will offer uniformity in interpretation of the
regulation and help reduce backlogs and make certain that
credentials are only issued to qualified persons. The
implementation of TWIC will further strengthen our security
efforts and help ensure the integrity of maritime credentials.
I thank you for the opportunity to testify today. As
requested, Captain Fink, the CEO of the National Maritime
Center, will be staying to hear the second panel. I will be
happy to answer any questions that the members have. Thank you,
sir.
Mr. LoBiondo. Mr. Coble, do you have questions?
Mr. Coble. I have to go to another meeting.
Mr. LoBiondo. You have to go to another meeting.
Mr. Boustany?
Mr. Boustany. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Admiral Bone, as I mentioned in my opening statement, our
2006 Coast Guard authorization bill provided the authority to
extend licenses that were up for renewal for our mariners in
the Gulf Coast who were impacted by the hurricanes. As a
conferee, I pushed for this provision. It was our intent to
help to make sure that no mariner loses his or her job while
the application is being processed. I know it has been a tough
situation. The Coast Guard has really performed admirably
throughout this hurricane effort.
Is the Coast Guard utilizing this new authority, and if
not, when do you expect to do so, or do you expect to do so?
Admiral Bone. First, Congressman, we appreciate the
flexibility that Congress did provide, and we are going to
exercise that. We are drafting the guidance out to the field
and the direction to the mariners and to the organizations.
Just as you put it, the surety of, while there is a backlog and
while there is this transition, allowing to make sure that our
mariners can be and remain employed is of highest priority as
well. This will be coming out shortly. We will notify you both
the notifications as well as put it on Home Port, and the
procedures that mariners will use to be able to identify
themselves as being eligible for this.
Mr. Boustany. Thank you, Admiral. It has been 10 months
since the hurricanes, and I still have mariners back in my
State who are telling me that the system is plagued with delays
and I know you are working hard to address this. We will
continue to work with you and hopefully we can get some
resolution to this.
I know Coast Guard is moving forward, as you said, with the
plan to centralize. Mariners in Louisiana have expressed the
concern to me that the Coast Guard is going to get wrapped up
in the details of the move and they are going to end up having
customer service sacrificed in the process. Can you talk a
little bit more about what assurances you can give to the
mariners so that they will continue to receive that kind of
quality service that they have come to know from the Coast
Guard?
Admiral Bone. Yes. What I would like to say, too, is that
the quality of service will restore itself in the Coast Guard
when it comes to merchant mariner documents. First off, we are
reopening the storefront in New Orleans on the 9th of August.
The personnel will be back in there and providing those
services as I discussed before, really focused on the
application process, the fingerprinting, the training centers,
et cetera.
At the same time, by the middle of August, the National
Maritime Center will be moving 42 people, of which 20 or 30 are
additional contract staff, to assist in the processing of
applications and the evaluation of those applications. The
backlog has already been distributed to other RECs and they
will also assist in any other backlog that RECs would have as
time would permit. The focus initially, to take care of New
Orleans which has the most severe backlog, and as you said, has
experienced the most disruptive costs and is also experiencing
significant growth in the maritime environment at the same
time.
Mr. Boustany. Thank you.
In industries where customer service is important, some
companies have created advisory boards that provide inputs
regarding levels of service and quality. Have you considered
working with industry representatives in this sort of fashion?
Admiral Bone. In fact, we work all the time with MERPAC,
and actually the Advisory Committee for merchant personnel. And
again, what the union says well, it is with the industry,
different sector components. I can tell you that industry is
not short of mentioning the issues and concerns, and quite
often it is not what we are asking to be done, it is how we
execute it. We absolutely need that continued dialogue, and we
need to continue to hear and be responsive to the industry's
issues.
Mr. Boustany. Thank you. Maritime industry has indicated
that they do not feel that they have adequate time to provide
input on the TWIC proposal. I have heard from a number of
Louisiana companies and their employees, I joined my colleagues
from the Louisiana delegation and sent a letter to Secretary
Chertoff and the Commandant seeking an extension of the comment
period and to request a hearing in New Orleans so that more of
the industry could voice their concerns.
Our request on this was denied. Does this open the Coast
Guard up to criticism that you are not willing to listen to
industry concerns?
Admiral Bone. Well, first off, the TWIC, we have received
over 1,800, maybe even 1,900 comments on the record. We are
still evaluating all those comments. I don't think the
Administration has taken a position yet with regard to the next
course of action.
We want to make sure there is full consideration of those
comments that are already received before a determination of
next steps have been put in place. So I am not aware that TSA
has made a statement in any way of where they are going with
that regulation process. We continue to work with them, and we
are examining all of these comments that we have received to
date. So I wouldn't say that a determination has been made what
the next step would be.
Mr. Boustany. I see my time has expired. Admiral, thank you
very much for your answers. I look forward to continuing the
work with you as we try to resolve some of these issues.
Admiral Bone. Thank you, Congressman.
Mr. LoBiondo. Thank you. Mr. Taylor.
Mr. Taylor. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Admiral, I also want
to really compliment the Coast Guard; what they did in the
immediate aftermath of Katrina and the quick response and the
leaning forward decisions that were made by a lot of people to
get assets in the area where it needed to be, from places where
it is less likely to be needed in those days.
But to that point, I think it is fair to say the failure to
reestablish your Eighth Coast District documentation office, to
take this long, that is not where you want to be. And I have
had some charter boat captains in the Mississippi Gulf Coast,
and I would imagine the folks down in the bayou country are
probably experiencing some serious problems. And again, let's
try to put ourselves in those shoes. Those guys are offshore
for two weeks, they are home, they want to see their family.
The last thing they want to do is squander what little time
they have on shore at an office that isn't set up. So I cannot
encourage you enough to follow up on the great work you did in
the immediate aftermath of Katrina on the documentation side.
It is important.
There are opportunities, unfortunately because of the BRAC
Commission, I don't want to hear anybody say we need money for
military construction. Because there are a lot of very nice
buildings, some of which are brand new, available for you all
to move into. I would be certainly willing to work with you on
that. We have to get those offices up and running. If we are
going to require those people to have those documents, then we
need to be in a position to make the filling out of the forms
and the taking the tests, it has to be easily accessible to the
public.
It does lead to an interesting question. My other committee
is the Armed Services Committee, and I really, through my many
years of association with some very smart people in the Defense
Department, I am convinced that it is just a matter of time
until there is an attack on the homeland, of some sort, a
weapon of mass destruction, chemical, biological, maybe
electromagnetic pulse. All of which could jeopardize, and I
think what we saw in Katrina, an attack on the homeland is
going to look a lot like Katrina. We are going to lose
communications, electricity is going to be out.
Which goes to my question, what sort of backup do you have
for your data? I am told that your records in New Orleans East
were destroyed. Well, there should have been a backup
somewhere, and it should have been readily accessible in a much
shorter period than 310 days that we have seen. Again, I am
going to give you full credit. Your guys did the right thing in
the aftermath of Katrina, when you had yeoman who normally are
bookkeepers are rescuing people. You did the right thing then.
But we have to get back to work now. So what kind of backup
did you have available for those records that were in New
Orleans East? And if you didn't have a backup, what kinds of
plans are in place so that we don't get stung by this again?
And again, I am probably oversensitive to the whole idea of an
electromagnetic pulse and how it is going to fry everything
electronic. And I am even aware, and it was in the Discovery
Channel last night, there are folks out there who have the
limited ability to do an EMP in this room. And so I am not
talking out of shop. I am convinced we are going to see that.
So how are you hardening your records for that inevitable
scenario?
Admiral Bone. First off, we do have the commitment to
restore those services, just as you asked. We are going to
begin that process again in August. We have in fact distributed
those personnel in Memphis, Houston and I think that in order
to support, but we know that is a long way to go from New
Orleans, and even Morgan City.
But in regard to your other question, which really comes to
bear on was the backup, the reality for the licenses is the
paper licenses were at the RECs. There was no imaging system
and no other record, other than a data record. I am talking
about a formal record of the documents. We are in fact putting
into place an imaging system and we are starting with the New
Orleans records in that imaging process as part of this, again,
as we move forward and we utilize technology as part of the
centralization process.
Mr. Taylor. Is that effort funded?
Admiral Bone. Yes. In the funding that Congress has
provided us, this will be done. Again, over a period of time.
It is not immediate.
Mr. Taylor. What is your target date for implementation?
Admiral Bone. Again, by 2008, as we move the RECs through
and we move the work out, we will in fact be conducting the
imaging on those licenses. The documents themselves, the MMDs
themselves already have imaging being done centrally. But the
licenses, which are again, a large number of documents, and the
paperwork that went with those documents, were not provided
that imaging background.
So it is one of those, as you move from systemically, we
are looking to do it as time allows and as resources allow. But
initially, it makes sense to us to do it as part of that
transition of the REC.
Mr. Taylor. OK. Mr. Chairman, if you will permit.
Mr. LoBiondo. Yes.
Mr. Taylor. I was fortunate enough to attend the Military
Times awards last week. I have to tell you, I had the
opportunity to meet Petty Officer Jackson, I believe he is a
yeoman second class. Any kid who is going to jump into the
Industrial Canal in New Orleans to save a drowning policeman
who asks for the opportunity to go to office candidate school,
my two cents is, you guys would be crazy not to give that young
man that opportunity. So that is my two cents.
Admiral Bone. Thank you, sir.
Mr. LoBiondo. Admiral Bone, let me pick up a little bit on
questions that Mr. Boustany started with on the TWIC card. Once
TWIC is implemented, and we are assuming that is going to
happen some time in this century, merchant mariner credentials
will not be issued until the mariner has a valid TWIC card.
When is it estimated that the requirement will start? Do you
have any idea?
Admiral Bone. In fact, it is being done in parallel. As the
TWIC card is put into place, when the TWIC card is put into
place, there will be a parallel processing with the merchant
mariner documents, so that in fact, a person can make
application for a merchant mariner's document at the same time
they make the application for the TWIC card. One doesn't have
to follow the other in the processing.
But the actual issuance of the merchant mariner document,
that credential won't be actually issued to an individual until
we are assured that that person has cleared the security
background. They are interlinked, I guess, in that regard.
Until then, we will continue to provide the security background
checks on MMDs that we currently do. I think one of the things
that may be of interest is, prior to this we used the old
fingerprinting system. We now use live scan, which moves it
from six to eight weeks to process fingerprints now to
basically two days maximum to get the results back. So there is
no reason that these, if someone is cleared well, that we
shouldn't be able to process in a reasonable period of time.
Mr. LoBiondo. Are you talking at all about a grace period
planned after that date, so that mariners seeking renewal won't
suddenly be surprised and unable to work? Or are you going to
take that under advisement or assess it as it comes along?
Admiral Bone. I think again, the merchant mariners
themselves, all the current merchant mariners that have already
had the background check done, they have had the background
completed, that more than satisfies the TWIC card. So in that
regard, those members themselves are already found to be in
compliance with the background check. I guess I am not, the
issue is new mariners are going to be fit into a different
profile, because they haven't had that extensive background
check completed yet. In the fact of a merchant mariner, they
also have, as you said, the NDR check as well, being completed,
as well as medical.
Mr. LoBiondo. Any other panel members have any follow-ups
for Admiral Bone?
Admiral, we thank you very much. As some of you may have
been able to tell, we have a series of votes that have been
called. So we are going to go into recess until after the
votes, then we will pick up with the second panel. The
Committee is in recess.
[Recess.]
Mr. Boustany. [Presiding] The Subcommittee will now resume
proceedings. We will call forth the second panel of witnesses.
Gentlemen and ladies, if you will please come forward.
Welcome. It is good to see you all. We are pleased to have
a very good panel here of four witness. I would like to welcome
Mr. Shull Autin, Chief Operating Officer with SEACOR Marine,
LLC, testifying on behalf of the Offshore Marine Service
Association. Mr. Baird, would you like to proceed?
Mr. Baird. Mr. Chairman, I would like to welcome Dale
Sause, head of Sause Brothers Marine, who is from Coos Bay,
Oregon, and also Captain Gedney, who happens to be the mother
of one of my former staff members. So I have two good friends
here, and I look forward very much to their testimony. I have
promised them softball questions.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Boustany. We also have Mr. Ron Davis, President of the
Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association.
I am sure most of you, or all of you, are aware of the
process. We will have a five minute period of time for each of
you to give your testimony. You can submit extended statements
into the record. I ask you to keep to that five minute period,
and then we will go into questioning.
You have a light in front of you which will be green. When
you get down to yellow it is one minute, and then when it turns
red, your time is up. So I will ask you to try to observe that
five minute rule.
With that, Mr. Autin, you may begin.
TESTIMONY OF SHULL AUTIN, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, SEACOR
MARINE, LLC; DALE SAUSE, PRESIDENT, SAUSE BROTHERS, COOS BAY,
OREGON, AND CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS
OPERATORS; RONALD DAVIS, PRESIDENT MARINE ENGINEERS' BENEFICIAL
ASSOCIATION AND EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER, MARITIME TRADES
DEPARTMENT; CAPTAIN ELIZABETH GEDNEY, DIRECTOR OF SAFETY
SECURITY AND RISK MANAGEMENT, PASSENGER VESSEL ASSOCIATION
Mr. Autin. Good morning. Thank you first for giving us the
opportunity to testify today.
My name is Shull Autin. I am the Chief Operating Officer of
SEACOR Marine. I am also representing the Offshore Marine
Service Association.
We share the Coast Guard's belief that the human factor is
critical to maritime safety and that licensing is one of the
most important ways that we ensure that our managers are up to
the task. Unfortunately, ever since the hurricanes, problems
with the licensing and documentation process on the Gulf Coast
have hurt our ability to attract the best into our business.
We have surveyed OMSA members and we have found out that
first, it can take up to three to five months for a newly hired
crew member to receive an entry level merchant mariner
document. Obtaining an upgrade in a license can also take up to
five months. A license renewal, which should be a very simple
process, may take six weeks to four months to complete.
Anything involving a medical waiver may take up to a year from
nine months.
This creates some terrible obstacles for American workers
and for our companies. How can we hope to attract the best in
our industry if we can't actually put them to work for five
months after they have been hired? How can we tell our long-
term employees they can't work because their licenses have
expired while they were waiting for them to be renewed?
We believe that the Coast Guard has worked energetically to
overcome the logistical challenges caused by the loss of the
New Orleans Regional Exam Center and the destruction of
thousands of mariner files. However, given the extreme delays
in processing applications, it does not appear that the RECs
have received the level of resources that they need to make the
minimal levels of customer service for the American mariners.
The Coast Guard's plan to reorganize the licensing process
should help in the long run. But we really need to go into that
process with our eyes open. Even the most successful private
sector reorganizations frequently produce six months of
disruption before the benefit emerges. And I can attest to
that.
We have three suggestions. First, Congress gave the Coast
Guard the authority to extend mariners' licenses that are up
for renewal. We think the Coast Guard should use this power to
help keep mariners on the job and to help clear up the backlog
in other applications.
Second, we feel that an expansion of a program called the
Streamline Evaluation Process, or SEP, should be done
nationwide. This has been very successful in a pilot project of
the Houston REC. Under SEP, companies take responsibility for
making sure that their mariners' applications are error-free
and letter perfect before they are ever sent into the Coast
Guard. The Coast Guard is then able to expedite these
applications and process them with a minimal amount of delay.
Third, we feel that the application itself needs to be
simplified. The Coast Guard has reported that between 50 and 80
percent of all applications that come in directly from mariners
contain errors or omissions that slow down the process.
Clearly, our industry needs to do what it can to cut down on
mistakes. But if nearly eight of out ten mariners can't
successfully complete the application, maybe the application
needs to be simplified.
In closing, let me also say that the proposed plan for the
Transportation Worker Identification Cards is of great concern
to the entire maritime industry. We suggest that Congress
mandates that there will be one application, one background
check and one reasonable fee for both the TWIC and the Coast
Guard documents.
We also urge the agencies to phase in TWIC so the Coast
Guard National Maritime Center reorganization can be
successfully completed before mariners are required to obtain a
TWIC. This can be done without threatening security, because
mariners already undergo a background check that is more
thorough than the proposed TWIC process. This would have the
added benefit of reducing the total number of American workers
that would be in the initial implementation of TWIC.
We consider the Coast Guard to be our close partners in
safety, and we share their view on the importance of licensing
and documentation. But we feel that the U.S. mariner needs to
maintain a high level of professionalism and the ability that
has allowed us to operate safely and securely is also
important.
I very much appreciate having this opportunity to testify
today, and I would be happy to answer any questions that you
may have.
Mr. Boustany. Thank you very much, Mr. Autin. We appreciate
your testimony.
Mr. Sause, you may proceed. Thank you.
Mr. Sause. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and members of the
Subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before
you this afternoon in my capacity as Chairman of the Board of
the American Waterways Operators.
In my day job, I am President of Sause Brothers,
headquartered in Coos Bay, Oregon. We are a family towing
company, carrying forest products, building materials and
petroleum to and from Alaska and Hawaii and up and down the
U.S. west coast. We employ over 500 people, including 300
mariners who crew our vessels. My family has been in the marine
transportation business since 1937.
Although I am testifying today on behalf of AWO member
companies, I feel that I am here to speak also on behalf of the
more than 30,000 mariners who work in our industry. These
dedicated individuals are quite simply indispensable, both to
our companies and to our Country. The licensing issues that we
will discuss today affect not only the ability of AWO companies
to operate vessels, but more importantly, the ability of these
men and women to do their jobs and to provide for their
families.
Mr. Chairman, this hearing is very timely. The towing
industry is facing a critical shortage of vessel personnel. We
are actively seeking ways to address and solve this personnel
shortage, because the stakes are very high. Quite simply,
without crews to man our vessels, we are out of business.
It is true the Coast Guard licensing system did not create
this personnel shortage. However, it can and does exacerbate a
situation that is reaching crisis proportions. The lengthy
delays, bureaucratic quagmires and enormous backlogs at the
Coast Guard regional examination centers are not just
unpleasant statistics to us. They are the difference between
working and not working, operating a vessel or tying it up.
When I talk to AWO members around the Country about this
issue, I am struck by the emotional intensity of their
response. People are frustrated, they are angry, they feel
devalued. They wonder, if our work is as important as we say it
is, why can't we establish a simple, efficient system for
processing the documents that mariners need to do their jobs?
In many parts of the Country, delays have gotten so bad
that the Coast Guard routinely advises mariners to submit
renewal applications a full year before their licenses expire.
The system is broken. A fix is desperately needed and long
overdue.
My formal statements detail the difficulties that AWO
members are experiencing as their crews engage in the licensing
process. As those examples demonstrate, Mr. Chairman, the
current licensing system is in dire need of better processes,
better technology, better staffing and more uniform application
of licensing requirements and medical standards. We believe
that there are several actions that can be taken.
First, the Coast Guard has begun to implement a plan to
consolidate the processing of licenses in one national center.
This overhaul has been a long time coming, and AWO is pleased
that the agency is finally moving forward to implement these
needed changes.
Second, in May the Coast Guard issued a notice of proposed
rulemaking that would consolidate and streamline the process
for obtaining the merchant mariner credential. AWO believes
that many of the features of the proposed rule will have a
positive impact on the licensing system.
Third, the Coast Guard should move quickly to make common
sense changes to the licensing regulations for towing vessel
officers as recommended by the Towing Safety Advisor Committee
in their October 2005 report, so that the pipeline of future
wheelhouse personnel coming into the towing industry is not
shut off.
Fourth, we should address license creep. A mariner should
be able to submit an application for renewal up to 12 months
before his existing license expires and the renewal should
become effective at the expiration of the full term of his
existing license.
Mr. Chairman, if we can accomplish all four of these
things, we will have gone a long ways toward improving the
Coast Guard licensing system and reducing the deep frustration
to so many in our industry feel today. But we will still be
facing a vessel personnel shortage that threatens the viability
of a critical segment of our Nation's transportation system.
We would ask Congress and the Coast Guard to recognize this
and evaluate all of the proposed legislation and regulation
that comes before you through the prism of personnel shortage
problems. We would ask that you ask yourselves how would this
proposal impact the ability of individuals to work in the
maritime industry or maritime employers to crew their vessels.
Will this action help the situation or make it worse? At a
minimum, our goal should be to do no harm.
I can think of no clearer example of the need for this kind
of harm analysis than the TWIC regulations recently proposed by
the Coast Guard and TSA. The new proposal is devastating. AWO
has characterized it as a blunt instrument that will impose
substantial hardship on mariners and the companies that employ
them. Its worst impact will be the serious barriers that it
erects to bringing new mariners into the industry in a timely
way.
We have therefore proposed that the final rule include an
interim work provision for new hires, allowing new employees to
work aboard a vessel on a probationary basis until the TWIC
application is either granted or denied. This would address the
need of companies to crew their vessels in a timely manner and
the need of mariners to begin earning a living. It would also
avoid the serious disruptions to the flow of commerce that
could result if companies were forced to lay up vessels because
of the delays in obtaining TWICs.
In summary, Mr. Chairman, the current state of mariner
licensing, with lengthy delays and burdensome requirements on
the mariners themselves, is exacerbating an already difficult
personnel shortage situation facing the maritime industry. The
Coast Guard is taking some steps to alleviate this. AWO and its
member companies stand ready to work with this Committee and
the Coast Guard to ensure high standards of safety and security
while keeping mariners working, vessels moving and the commerce
of the United States flowing.
Thank you very much.
Mr. Boustany. Thank you for your testimony, Mr. Sause.
Mr. Davis, you may proceed.
Mr. Davis. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and distinguished
members of the Subcommittee, for offering maritime labor the
opportunity to discuss the unique issues that our members face
in regard to mariner credentialing. I ask that our written
statement be submitted into the hearing record.
My name is Ron Davis, and I am President of Marine
Engineers' Beneficial Association. Today I am speaking on
behalf of maritime labor as an executive board member of the
Maritime Trades Department of the AFL-CIO. MTD represents 5
million workers in the maritime trades. These comments reflect
the opinions of the seagoing maritime unions, including MEBA,
the Seafarers' International Union of North America and its
affiliates, as well as the International Organization of
Masters, Mates and Pilots and the American Maritime Officers.
On a personal note, I come from a long line of merchant
seaman, with family members sailing in both licensed and
unlicensed capabilities. I have been a licensed mariner for
almost 30 years. I originally began my seagoing career in the
U.S. Navy, where I served during Vietnam. Following my service,
I attended the MEBA Engineering School, where I sailed as an
unlicensed seaman, then earned my license. I continued my
career for the next 20 years, moving up through the various
billets. I currently hold a chief engineer steam and motor
license, which coincidentally is up for renewal as we speak.
My comments today can be briefly summarized in five major
points. First, the current process for credentialing mariners
can be improved by increasing funding to the Coast Guard
specifically for credentialing, allowing them to continue their
efforts to centralize data and systems to speed up mariner
document processing.
Second, in regards to future changes in mariner
credentialing and the creation of the Transportation Worker
Identification Credential, the Department of Homeland Security
should allow the existing U.S. merchant mariner document to
serve as both the TWIC and a mariner credential for the purpose
of identification and qualifications held by the mariner.
Essentially, we propose keeping the MMD as is with the
exception of adding a biometric identifier as mandated in the
MTSA Act of 2002.
Third, licensed deck and engine officers should receive a
license that can be displayed onboard vessels for inspection
purposes. Fourth, the U.S. Coast Guard should continue to be
the sole agency responsible for vetting and credentialing
merchant mariners. And fifth, our proposed revised MMD should
allow mariners access to their vessels docked at any port
facility in the United States.
The members of our maritime unions serve in all aspects of
the merchant marine. As a result, we work very closely with the
Coast Guard on nearly every maritime issue. Without the
dedication, hard work and patriotism that the Coast Guard
demonstrates, the job would be much more difficult. I am
pleased to say that maritime labor and the Coast Guard enjoy a
very professional partnership.
The primary concerns seafarers have regarding the current
credentialing process is the time factor. The Coast Guard has
taken steps to address this concern. Recently, they have begun
allowing credentials to be processed in regional exam centers
outside the mariners' immediate area. This has been helpful in
dealing with the backlog of MMDs.
In addition, in August the New Orleans REC will reopen. It
is the largest and busiest center in the Country. We feel that
increased funding for the Coast Guard and a focus on increasing
the speed of the credentialing process through the hiring of
more personnel, the encouragement of document and data
centralization and the development of best practices would go a
long way to removing any inefficiencies in the current system.
DHS recently issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to
streamline and consolidate the current merchant mariner
documents into one merchant mariner credential. Maritime labor
disagrees with the consolidation of merchant mariner documents.
We believe that any issues with the current MMD can be resolved
without requiring a complete revamping of the credentialing
process.
For instance, in order to comply with the requirements of
MTSA, a biometric identifier should be added to the current
mariner document, and an officer should still receive a license
for the purpose of displaying and verifying their
qualifications. The license will be posted and open for
inspection on any vessel.
Requiring members to obtain both an MMD and a TWIC adds an
unnecessary layer of bureaucracy to the current system. Two
background checks, one for an MMD and one for a TWIC, is
expensive, repetitive and wasteful. We strongly recommend that
the TWIC and MMD be combined so that mariners would generally
need only one document containing identification and
qualifications.
Maritime labor proposes there should be only one background
check that mariners need to go through. And as Admiral Bone
said earlier today, the Coast Guard background check now
exceeds the TWIC requirements. It is important to note that DHS
recognizes the proposed rule that credentialed mariners pose
less of a security risk due to successful completion of
security and safety background checks. They have been
identified as a population who could potentially be lower on
the priority list for the receipt of TWICs.
The Coast Guard already performs one of the most in-depth
background checks for civilian employment. We firmly believe
the Coast Guard should continue to perform this role. TSA
should not play a role in mariner vetting and credentialing.
They have no institutional experience with the unique issues
mariners face. The Coast Guard does. TSA will have its hands
full overseeing the documentation for port workers, who were
never required to obtain a Federal identification card in the
past.
There is also a problem with mariners gaining access to
their vessels through port facilities in some States. We
strongly urge Federal supremacy in regards to all mariner
identification documents. Notwithstanding rights of individual
States, the federally-issued MMD should be accepted for
entrance into any port in the United States. If a mariner is
thoroughly vetted and cleared by the Coast Guard to work aboard
a vessel, then it only makes sense the mariner should have
access to the vessel through the port facility.
Thank you.
Mr. Boustany. We thank you for that testimony, Mr. Davis.
Captain Gedney, you may now proceed.
Captain Gedney. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the
Subcommittee. I am Captain Beth Gedney, Director of Safety,
Security and Risk Management for the Passenger Vessel
Association. PVA is the national trade association for U.S.-
flag passenger vessels of all types.
PVA currently has more than 600 vessel and associate
members. Some of those members include Cape May Lewis Ferry,
Ship Island Excursions in Gulfport, Mississippi, Puerto Rico
Ports Authority and Washington State Ferries, for example. PVA
member vessels are operated by Coast Guard licensed officers.
In addition, the deck hands of many of our vessels have
merchant mariner documents.
The individuals who work on U.S.-flag small passenger
vessels must be able to rely on professional, courteous and
prompt service at the Coast Guard regional exam centers when
they seek to obtain or renew their Coast Guard credential. PVA
vessel member companies need a smooth functioning Coast Guard
licensing process so that they can put their employees to work
quickly and keep them working. Many of our members rely heavily
on summer or temporary employees who they frequently hire with
very short lead time.
For too many years, our members have reported the quality
of service at many RECs has been unacceptable. At too many
RECs, processing time takes weeks and months. Applications and
supporting documents, far too often, are lost by REC employees,
and the burden is then placed on the applicant to supply
duplicates. Inquiries by phone are impossible because automated
phone systems sometimes tell the caller that the mailboxes are
full. If one is able to leave a message, calls are not
returned. Counter service to walk-in applicants is not customer
friendly.
These problems are not a function of increased emphasis on
security after September 11th, 2001, nor did they arise after
the hurricane flooded the New Orleans REC. These developments
have made the problems worse, but they are not the root cause.
My own effort to renew my license illustrates the deficiencies
of the process. I drove the 75 miles to apply in person to
renew my license at the Baltimore REC. The staff refused to
credit my extensive marine experience, even though it had
always been perfectly acceptable to the REC in Seattle, where I
had worked previously. Instead, a take-home test was required.
I subsequently mailed all required documents. There was no
special circumstances or complicating factors. I didn't need a
medical waiver and I didn't have a criminal record.
My licensing user fee was immediately collected, but over
the next eight months, I received no word from the Baltimore
REC and my many inquiries received no reply. Last November, I
described my experience to the head of the Charleston, South
Carolina, REC whom I happened to meet at a conference. Two days
later, my license arrived, dated November 1st, nearly eight
months after the completed application was submitted. I have to
assume the Charleston REC chief had communicated details of my
case to Baltimore.
But more than 16 months after my completed application, I
have never received the companion STCW documents. I still
cannot sail on ocean voyages.
Plenty of other mariners have their own horror stories. How
can such poor service be justified or tolerated, especially
when the lack of a license or document can result in a mariner
not being able to work? The basic problem is the Coast Guard
has never given licensing the priority it deserves. Coast Guard
has consistently failed to provide the funding, personnel and
training needed to make all RECs function well.
Licensing and documentation is simply too far down the
Coast Guard's list of priorities. This is a disgrace, because
this is the one Coast Guard function with which nearly every
mariner interacts. Compounding the problem, of course, of
quality service is the new Coast Guard policy requiring the
mariner to initiate all credential transactions by means of an
in-person visit to an REC. Under this policy, many mariners
must travel hundreds of miles to a distant REC to undertake the
credentialing process.
Attached to my written testimony is an article written by
the PVA's past president who writes of his 1,000 mile two day
road trip from northeastern Wisconsin to the Toledo, Ohio REC
to renew his captain's license.
Finally, proposed rules on TWICs and merchant mariner
credentials will add even more delays. A mariner will have to
first apply for and receive a TWIC from a TSA contractor with
an estimated wait of between 30 and 60 days, before the Coast
Guard will process the application for a merchant mariner
credential. These documents should be processed concurrently,
not sequentially.
To the individual mariner and the vessel operating
companies that want to hire an employee in a timely fashion,
the REC is the face of the Coast Guard. By failing to allocate
the necessary resources to enable better professionalism and
customer service, the Coast Guard, as an organization, has been
indifferent to, if not hostile to, the needs of American
citizens who work in the maritime industry. The Passenger
Vessel Association urges Congress to force the Coast Guard to
upgrade its performance.
The Subcommittee should ask the GAO to undertake a review
and analysis of the Coast Guard's mariner licensing and
documentation program, including an analysis as to whether the
program would be better if it were moved from the Coast Guard
to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Thank you.
Mr. Boustany. We thank you for your testimony, Captain
Gedney.
We will start the questioning now, and we are all aware
that one of the biggest challenges to the maritime industry is
obtaining mariners to operate the vessels. What is the average
delay for entry level mariners to get their credentials, and
how does this compare to before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita? I
welcome any of you to answer that.
Captain Gedney. In my experience, I spoke with Cape May
Lewis Ferry just this week. To get an entry level mariner in
right now it is taking from five to six weeks. They are saying
that in their very competitive employment market, which most of
us are experiencing, I believe, the applicant is long gone
before the six weeks are over and they are working for someone
else. Our employees are competing with restaurants and the
entertainment facilities more than with other maritime
employers. So it is I think particularly crucial for our
industry.
Mr. Boustany. Thank you, Captain Gedney.
Mr. Autin. In the Offshore Marine Services, we are seeing
in some cases as much from three to five months. We are
experiencing the same thing, people are not getting involved in
our industry, because the time restraints are too long to get
an entry level document, and they are going elsewhere, and we
are not breeding the future mariner that is going to run one of
our vessels.
Mr. Boustany. Mr. Sause?
Mr. Sause. Our experience on the west coast mirrors these
other examples. My son just went through a replacement
documentation process that took over 90 days just to simply
replace his MMD before he could go back. So we are seeing long,
long delay times, anywhere from six to eight to twelve week
periods to process.
Mr. Boustany. Mr. Davis, do you have any comments on that?
Mr. Davis. No.
Mr. Boustany. Thank you.
What other factors are contributing to the shortage of
mariners, besides this? Are there other factors that you all
see? What legislative changes might you propose that we
undertake?
Mr. Autin. As far as processing mariners through the
system?
Mr. Boustany. Yes.
Mr. Autin. Well, one of the things, besides the other areas
that we talk about, we feel that if the entire process of
documentation and licensing could be done quicker, then we
could get people through the system. Also, in looking
specifically at the problems that we are facing with the
renewal process, it should be very easy and efficient to renew
a license, and it is not. It is our understanding that looking
at the application between signatures and initials, there are
some 11 blanks that need to be initialized. So we think just by
simplifying that process that it could work.
Part of what Congress has done in the past has allowed the
Coast Guard to give extensions, but the Coast Guard really
hasn't relied on those extensions much.
Mr. Boustany. Thank you.
Captain Gedney. If I could, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Boustany. Yes, please.
Captain Gedney. I believe a temporary document would go a
long way to help, something where once an applicant has
applied, some way for that applicant to get to work while they
wait for the full process. And certainly as TWIC comes forward,
that will become more important.
Another issue that is a problem for mariners is what we
call license creep. You have heard the panel here say that
their mariners are applying up to a year in advance. Then what
happens is if your package does move through quickly, you end
up losing that year on your license. A statutory change that I
think the Coast Guard would appreciate as well would be the
ability to date the new license the day your old license
expires. Then you would get the full five year viability out of
every document.
Mr. Boustany. Could any of you highlight common errors made
by mariners when applying for their credentials? Is there a
common thread there?
Mr. Autin. One of them deals with the signature and the
initial process being 11 different areas are required. It is
our understanding from the Coast Guard, if any particular area
is not signed correctly or is not signed, that will stop the
process from going through. That is one example.
Mr. Boustany. Are there any application form changes that
you would recommend that might improve the process and reduce
errors?
Captain Gedney. I think the application could indeed be
renewed. Having to sign for every attestation on the document
is certainly a problem. But I know the Coast Guard tells us
that this is an 80 percent error rate. But mariners have been
presenting themselves in person. We haven't been doing mail-in
applications for over two years now. So I don't understand how,
if a mariner is at the counter with their documents and
everything is being checked before they leave the counter how
it can still be the mariner's fault that that form is
incomplete. I am hesitant that there are other issues.
Mr. Boustany. Thank you. Anyone else?
Mr. Davis. Yes. I don't disagree with that, but basically I
also have run into many people, including myself, in the
process of renewal, where you do leave out a form or a piece of
paper or something along those lines. And then the feedback or
the time spent basically of being informed by the Coast Guard
that there is something missing, there is a delay in that.
But I also think that it is important to focus on the TWIC
aspect here, in that with these problems that these people are
stating here, currently what is going on, if you add the TWIC
on top of that, I think that the problems are going to be
significantly more increased.
Mr. Boustany. Thank you, Mr. Davis.
Mr. Autin. One additional comment, if I may.
Mr. Boustany. Yes.
Mr. Autin. As a specific example, one of the requirements
on the application is that the individual applicant has to
attest that they do not have a past criminal record. This is
after the background check is conducted. So the information is
already available to the examiner at the time.
Mr. Boustany. Thank you very much. My time has expired.
Mr. Filner?
Mr. Filner. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I ask that my opening
statement be made part of the record.
Mr. Boustany. Without objection, so ordered.
Mr. Filner. As I listened to all of you, you have a common
testimony, basically. Common sense recommendations. I assume,
and they have been going on for some time. I am just wondering
what your reaction has been when you give these same
suggestions to the Coast Guard. I think you are on an advisory
committee, Captain. It just seems to me these should not have
to be talked about here. These are easy things to change. I
don't know if you want to respond to this. But I mean, they
either have a lack of resources or they are mismanaged or they
have no culture of customer service or some combination of all
those.
What has been your experience when you make these
suggestions, and what do you think we can do in the policy
matter of changing that?
Captain Gedney. I think that certainly the REC employees
are hard-working, diligent, subject matter experts. But there
is definitely a disconnect when the mariner is across the
counter. And I think the REC employees are doing the best they
can with the assets that they have available. But as I said in
my testimony, I don't believe that the highest level, the
licensing program is a priority. I think that it needs more
personnel and probably like everyone else, it needs more
funding.
Mr. Filner. How has the management responded to these
requests? I am sure you have made these before your testimony
today.
Captain Gedney. We certainly have.
Mr. Filner. What has happened to them?
Captain Gedney. As problem areas have come to our attention
and we discussed with the Coast Guard, the Coast Guard has
responded by adding auxiliary personnel. They have added what
they call tiger teams, so that extra personnel can go into
these problem RECs and assist. But the problem is, when the
extra personnel and the tiger team go away, the backup goes
right back up again.
Mr. Autin. One of the things, the Coast Guard has responded
in looking at reorganization and will reorganize. We really
feel that the reorganization is going to help when it occurs.
But from this point in the interim to the time that not only
the reorganization occurs, but the reorganization is effective,
that is the time period that we are looking at. Because we are
at a point now where mariners are sitting at home, after
picking this livelihood as their career, and unable to come to
work because of the application process or because of the
renewal process.
So we really feel that the work that is being put in by the
Coast Guard in the future is definitely going to pay off. It is
to get us from that point back to this point, or from this
point back to that point. One of the specific things that we
think can be done is the pilot program with the streamline
evaluation process that has worked well selectively in Houston.
But each REC has operated separately and there is not much
going on to expand that project throughout the RECs.
Mr. Filner. I missed the opening panel. Did the Admiral
show recognition that these were problems? Is there an
understanding that there are problems?
Mr. Davis. Congressman, if I could. In my conversations
with the Admiral, he recognizes to me basically that he
understands there are problems. But he feels that they are on
their way to some solutions with that.
I think we have seen some positive results of this. We have
seen essentially thousands of unlicensed seafarers that are
going to sea for the first time on cruise ships in Hawaii that
have, they were processing all their documentation through
Baltimore, because that is where the maritime union schools are
closest to, is the Baltimore REC. What the Coast Guard has done
to help out, basically, is they have changed their procedure,
and they have taken, when they have received these forms in
Baltimore, they have decided that they have other RECs around
the Country that are not as overwhelmed, and they are sending
them out to other ones in different parts of the Country.
In addition to that, I guess they are setting up a central
location in West Virginia, I believe, to begin processing at
all one place to get consistency. So my response to that would
be that we have seen some significant improvement and
significant cooperation from the Coast Guard in recent times.
Mr. Filner. Well, this is not rocket science. We ought to
be able to do this. Mr. Chairman, there is always a reluctance
to micromanage. But given the widespread complaints that have
taken place for so long, we may want to include in legislation
mandated response times. And enforce that. If your unit can't
do that, you don't get promoted or you don't get a pay raise.
You may not even be able to take a collector user fee unless
you get it back to people on time.
Captain, I hope you will take it back to the Admiral that I
have dealt with many bureaucracies at different levels of
Government. The only way a policy board has much effect is if
it mandates accountability standards. You find a way to do it
in a week or two weeks, or you are out. We have to say stuff
like that, I think, in our legislation. Because this stuff, it
is so reasonable.
All you are doing is asking for common sense stuff that any
organization should be able to handle. If they don't handle it
with the resources they have, tell us what resources they need.
I mean, they ask for $50 million less, I think, in that safety
budget than they did last year. Clearly, they are saying to us
that they don't need the resources.
But I think we have to look at some accountability
standards and time lines and reporting back here in a way that
helps these people who are just trying to do their job. The
working people, you are just trying to run a business. And it
depends all on the Government bureaucracy that we should be
able to mandate responsiveness to you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Boustany. Mr. Taylor?
Mr. Taylor. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Captain, would it be inappropriate to call on you? Are you
familiar with the licensing process? I know that not everyone
in Coast Guard--would you mind coming to the table for a
second? Please, these 53 year old eyes cannot read your name
tag.
Mr. Boustany. Mr. Taylor, he is not a witness in this
panel.
Mr. Taylor. I realize, sir, but I am a former Coast Guard
and I am going to be very respectful of the Captain. There are
some questions that I do think--if I may.
Captain, I am just curious, if you could pinpoint for the
Committee some of the things that you think are slowing down
the process, based on your experience? I think that is a very
fair question.
Captain Fink. There are many vacancies that
Mr. Boustany. Captain, let me ask you to refrain for a
moment until we resolve this. I hate to be a thorn in your
side, but the gentleman is not a witness in this panel. And we
should proceed with the questioning of the witnesses at this
time.
Mr. Taylor. Mr. Chairman, if I may, I have been granted
five minutes, the gentleman is here, the Coast Guard sent him
here. He may be familiar with the problem, and I think that
these gentlemen have outlined some problems. The Admiral
touched on some problems. If someone knows what in particular
is causing these problems, then I think we have a duty to the
taxpayer to try to address it right now.
Mr. Filner. If the gentleman would yield, I would support
Mr. Taylor's request.
Mr. Taylor. You and I have similar constituents. All of
them are finding that many of them lost their documents in the
storm, they lost their vessel documents in the storm, they are
having great frustration in replacing those documents. If there
is something the Captain can tell us to enlighten this
Committee, then heck, we have a responsibility to try to find
out what that is.
Mr. Filner. If I am not mistaken, Mr. Chairman, the Admiral
said that, I think explicitly, that the Captain would be here
to listen to things. And I assume that he knows, that he has
some expertise.
Mr. Boustany. Well, I think the appropriate thing would be
to have Admiral Bone at least notified of this intent.
Mr. Taylor. OK.
Mr. Boustany. And bring you back for questioning.
Mr. Taylor. OK. Mr. Chairman, we are not going to get into
a spitting contest here.
Captain, for the record, based on your professional
experience, for the record, I mean, in writing, when you get
around to it, I would like to request of the Coast Guard what
in particular can they point to as being a problem. Is it
manpower? Has it been exacerbated by the need to call up port
security units and send them to places like Kuwait? Were
certain computers destroyed as a result of the hurricanes or
other actions that have, we have taken too long to replace as a
Nation? Again, if there are some things you can point to.
I worked briefly in one of those offices in New York in
1971. One of the things I really would like to know from the
Coast Guard perspective, have we as Congress asked you all to
look into too many people? Are there people who are so far down
the food chain that maybe they don't need a full background
investigation?
I would welcome those suggestions. I know we did a lot of
things in the wake of 9/11 that we thought were prudent at the
time. Maybe we as a Nation overreacted. And if it is your
professional opinion that we did that, I would like to hear so.
So if the Chairman doesn't want to hear from you now, I am
asking for the record, and I would like an answer in writing in
a timely manner.
Mr. Boustany. Captain, we don't want to put you on the spot
here. I feel it is appropriate that Admiral Bone be part of
this, with all due respect to him, sir. And I think the
appropriate thing would be to relay those questions to Admiral
Bone and respond to Mr. Taylor and the Committee in writing.
Captain Fink. Yes, sir.
Mr. Taylor. And my second question, Captain, would be, what
other agencies, I would think that TSA has to perform similar
type checks on pilots and flight crew personnel. Just in
defense of the Coast Guard, I would be curious, how many people
do they have to run background checks on, how many people do
you have to run background checks on? What sort of resources do
they have people-wise, what sort of resources do you have
people-wise?
And again, the issue of the port security units, I know
that that mission has evolved a lot since the days when I did
it. But port security men used to do things like that, and now
I know you have got port security men doing things like running
Boston Whalers in Kuwait. Who has picked up that mission? Has
that been assigned to civilians primarily, with Coast Guard
oversight, uniformed personnel oversight? Is it still performed
by uniformed personnel?
Again, these gentlemen have outlined some very valid
concerns. And we want to help solve those problems. I believe
everyone wants to solve these problems. We just need to know
what we can do to help and where the bottlenecks are. So thank
you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Boustany. Thank you, Mr. Taylor.
I will ask unanimous consent if you all want another round
of questioning.
We are pleased to welcome Mr. Diaz-Balart from Florida, and
you are now recognized for five minutes for questioning.
Mr. Diaz-Balart. Actually, Mr. Chairman, I just wanted to
thank you for the hearing and at this point I have no
questions. Thank you, sir.
Mr. Boustany. I have one final question before we break up
here. Congress gave the Coast Guard authority to grant
temporary extension of existing merchant mariner credentials in
the Coast Guard Hurricane Relief Act of 2005. It expired on
February 28th of 2006. Similar authority allowing an additional
one year extension was included as part of the Coast Guard and
Maritime Transportation Act of 2006, which recently became law.
Did the authority to grant mariners an extension that expired
in February 2006 help reduce mariner shortage, the shortage of
mariners? I would welcome anyone to answer that.
Mr. Davis. Mr. Chairman, from organized labor's point of
view, we have been very fortunate in that we don't really have
a shortage of personnel, even with the Iraqi situation going on
and that sort of thing, we have always been able to find enough
seamen.
But if I could, since the gentleman from Florida came in,
if I could just raise one other additional point. That was in
regard to the fact that there are a couple ports in Florida
right now that require their own i.d. in order to get in and
out of the port. One of the things in my statement was
basically that we wanted to see the merchant mariner document
supersede that, basically, with a biometric i.d., so that
merchant mariners who go to various States, and sometimes could
go to 10 States in 20 days, don't have to have 20 different
i.ds, basically, to get through a port facility.
Thank you.
Mr. Boustany. Thank you. Mr. Autin, do you want to respond
to that?
Mr. Autin. Yes. It was such a short period of time that it
was in place that it was very difficult to truly get
quantitative numbers to see how effective it was. But just
simply looking at it, it appears that if that was extended, it
would give us help in the long run. We know of mariners, again,
in our own company, that are sitting at home right now because
they have extended beyond the grace period.
Mr. Boustany. Did you all receive notice of the new Coast
Guard authority when it was passed into law?
Mr. Autin. At the time?
Mr. Boustany. Yes.
Mr. Autin. Yes.
Mr. Boustany. You did, OK. How many mariners who wish to be
in the work force and have expired licenses would therefore be
affected by this extension? Do we have an estimate?
Mr. Autin. Well, just looking inside of SEACOR Marine,
figuring that approximately 20 percent of our fleet needs to
renew their licenses, our mariners need to renew their licenses
on an annual basis, we predict that right now, in looking
inside of SEACOR Marine, there is probably approximately six
people that could benefit.
Mr. Boustany. Thank you. Captain Gedney?
Captain Gedney. If I may, the hurricane not only has
affected the one REC, but because of the movement and
personnel, I believe it has affected all of the RECs. It would
be helpful if the Committee could consider expanding the
extension to assist all the mariners in the U.S.
Mr. Boustany. Thank you.
I have no further questions. Mr. Diaz-Balart.
Mr. Diaz-Balart. I want to thank Mr. Davis for bringing
that up. It is an issue that I have heard a lot back home. You
have longshoremen and others who, as you know, Florida has a
number of deepwater ports. Some of them are very close
together. Particularly, for example, if you look at Dayton-
Broward. They have to have, in many cases, different i.ds,
which, I am not an expert on these issues, but it would seem to
me that if it is good for one port, knowing the security
requirements that we have, it should be good for other ports,
at least other ports in the State and hopefully other ports in
the Country.
So it is an issue I think that is relevant. It is an
important issue. There are people who have to have multiple
i.ds. It would seem to me that there has to be a better way.
So I thank the gentleman for bringing that up, and thank
you, Mr. Chairman, for recognizing me on that point. Thank you,
sir.
Mr. Boustany. Thank you.
Mr. Taylor, any additional questions? No?
Well, we want to thank the panel. Mr. Baird just arrived.
Mr. Baird, do you have any questions for the panel?
Mr. Baird. Because I wasn't able to attend the rest of it,
I just want to say that the opening remarks I found very
troubling. I think we need to make sure, I am sure people have
addressed this already, but we need to take some action. If it
is harming our industry to the level that I think it may well
be, I think we need to do whatever we can to try to modify it.
One of the frustrations I often have about these things is,
what we really need is to have you folks here and the Coast
Guard on the same panel and say, so what about what they just
said, so we could do it the kind of problem solving way. But I
hope that we will follow up as a Committee and do just that,
based on what we have heard today. I thank the Chair and the
Ranking Member for holding the hearing and thank our witnesses.
Mr. Boustany. I thank the gentleman. That concludes the
questioning. I want to thank the distinguished panel for your
testimony and your wonderful answers. We appreciate your work
and we will look forward to working with you to resolve some of
these issues.
With that, the Subcommittee is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 1:30 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
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