[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 17, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S10689]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KERRY:
  S. 2087. A bill to direct the Secretary of the department in which 
the Coast Guard is operating to provide rescue diver training under the 
Coast Guard helicopter rescue swimming training program; to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.


                 the rescue diver training act of 1996

  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Rescue Diver 
Training Act of 1996. This bill would provide required Congressional 
authorization for the Coast Guard to expand its current use of Coast 
Guard divers to form a broader search and rescue mission application.
  I want to acknowledge my distinguished colleague from Massachusetts, 
Congressman Gerry Studds, who is the author of the Coast Guard Rescue 
Swimmer Training Program which this legislation amends and with whom I 
have worked in developing this legislation which he will introduce in 
the House.
  The Coast Guard has used its divers, trained at the Naval Diving 
School in Panama City, FL, only for salvage operations associated with 
Coast Guard aids to navigation and ice-breaking missions. This bill 
would authorize the Coast Guard to develop and implement a program to 
extend the use of these highly trained divers to search and rescue 
efforts.
  Under current search and rescue procedures, the Coast Guard will 
dispatch a helicopter when a ship is reported to be in distress or a 
marine accident is reported. When it is anticipated that a diver may be 
needed to assist in a rescue, the Coast Guard uses contract personnel 
who usually are volunteer policemen, firemen, or local State marine 
policemen who have had specialized diver training. A call will be made 
to secure the services of a diver, and the helicopter will wait to 
depart until the diver reaches its station, or it will fly to another 
location to pick up the diver--all before it flies to the rescue scene. 
This often results in the helicopter being delayed--even if only a few 
minutes--in reaching the rescue scene. Sometimes no diver is available 
within a reasonable period of time, in which case the helicopter 
proceeds to the scene with no diver on board.
  The program that this legislation will establish is designed both to 
speed this process in the realization that, in rescue situations, 
minutes and even seconds can mean life or death--especially in the 
waters off our northern coasts, and to provide a pool of divers within 
the Coast Guard. Where a qualified diver is available at a Coast Guard 
station, a rescue helicopter can load that diver and immediately depart 
for the rescue situation without any delay.
  A recent episode in the North Atlantic off Massachusetts amply 
illustrates how the program this legislation would establish could make 
a vital contribution. In the early hours of September 5, the fishing 
vessel Heather Lynne II carrying a crew of three capsized. The rescue 
helicopter was unable to bring a diver with it because none was 
available when the emergency call was received. After reaching the site 
of the capsized vessel, and determining that a diver was needed, the 
helicopter had to return to the mainland to pick up a diver. A 
considerable amount of time was lost in this process.
  The Coast Guard is charged with maintaining constant vigilance--to 
protect lives and property on our waterways and to enforce our 
maritime, immigration, antidrug, and other laws. In my judgment, it has 
performed capably and honorably throughout its history, and Americans 
should take both considerable pride and comfort in that knowledge.
  It is the Congress' responsibility to provide the Coast Guard with 
the resources it needs to perform its missions. This legislation will 
enhance the service's resources for its search and rescue mission, and 
increase its ability to save lives and property. All who use our 
waterways and oceans will be safer as a result.
  Mr. President, this legislation should be approved by the Congress as 
soon as possible--I hope it will be this year.
  I ask unanimous consent that the full text of the legislation be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2087

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Rescue Diver Training Act of 
     1996.''.

     SEC. 2. RESCUE DIVER TRAINING FOR SELECTED COAST GUARD 
                   PERSONNEL.

       The Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is 
     operating may provide rescue diver training to selected Coast 
     Guard personnel, under the helicopter rescue swimming program 
     conducted under section 9 of the Coast Guard Authorization 
     Act of 1984 (14 U.S.C. 88 note).

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