[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 119 (Wednesday, September 21, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10325-S10326]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        UNITED STATES COAST GUARD RESPONSE TO HURRICANE KATRINA

  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
now proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 246, which was submitted 
earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 246) to express the sense of the 
     Senate regarding the missions and performance of the United 
     States Coast Guard in responding to Hurricane Katrina.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 246) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 246

       Whereas the United States Coast Guard has been charged by 
     Congress with missions central to protecting the lives and 
     well-being

[[Page S10326]]

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

                          ____________________