[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 85 (Tuesday, June 27, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1294-E1295]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 889, COAST GUARD AND MARITIME TRANSPORTATION 
                              ACT OF 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 26, 2006

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this 
conference report.
  It was my pleasure to serve as a conferee on the Fiscal Year 2006 
Coast Guard authorization bill.
  I am a strong supporter of the Coast Guard men and women who 
valiantly serve our nation.
  Through their hard work and dedication, 33,000 people were saved in 
the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
  This will not be the last time that we will turn to the Coast Guard 
for help.
  Congress must provide the Coast Guard with the support it needs to 
perform its security and life-saving missions.
  The Coast Guard's current assets are deteriorating quickly, and the 
Administration has clearly failed to realize that there is a problem.
  The Administration's request for the Deepwater program, which will 
provide the Coast Guard with more modern equipment, was $32 million 
less than last year.
  Congress, recognizing the problem, authorized funds in this bill that 
will help accelerate the purchasing of Deepwater assets.
  I had hoped that even more funds would be authorized for the 
Deepwater program. In the Homeland Security Committee's mark-up of H.R. 
4954, the SAFE Ports Act, I supported an amendment offered by Rep. 
Donna Christensen (D-VI) that would have provided enough funds to 
complete the Deepwater program in ten years rather than the current 
twenty years. I wish that provision had been accepted in this bill.
  Nonetheless, the funding level in this bill is a good first step.

[[Page E1295]]

  Finally, this bill establishes a review process before an 
Administrative Law Judge for individuals denied a Transportation Worker 
Identification Credential (TWIC).
  TWIC cards will be required for all port workers.
  If a person is denied a TWIC, he or she will not able to work.
  Therefore, it is critically important that a neutral party be 
involved in deciding whether or not an individual should be denied this 
card.
  Every person deserves the opportunity to work and the government 
cannot arbitrarily inhibit this right.
  I thank the other conferees on both sides of the aisle for working 
with me on this conference report, and I recommend my colleagues 
support it.

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