[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 19 (Wednesday, January 31, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H1119]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             COAST GUARD AND MARITIME TRANSPORTATION ISSUES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss some important 
issues that confront the 110th Congress regarding the structure and 
missions of the United States Coast Guard and the broader field of 
maritime transportation.
  I am deeply honored to have been selected by Chairman James Oberstar 
and by my colleagues on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee 
to chair the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee and 
to move on an ambitious agenda that will address these critical issues.
  I look forward to implementing the three policy objectives that 
Chairman Oberstar has laid out for the Transportation Committee, which 
include ensuring the safety and security of our transportation 
infrastructure; supporting expanded investment in transportation 
infrastructure to relieve congestion and enhance mobility; and ensuring 
environmental stewardship, including combating global warming.
  In the area of safety and security, the subcommittee will diligently 
oversee the implementation of the Coast Guard's $8.3 billion fiscal 
year 2007 budget, including the more than $1.1 billion appropriated to 
fund the rehabilitation and modernization of the Coast Guard's fleet 
through the Deepwater procurement program.
  The United States Coast Guard is a critical part of our homeland 
security system, and is the lead agency responsible for ensuring the 
security of all ports in our Nation, including the more than 150 ports 
that handle the bulk of our Nation's foreign and commercial commerce.
  The Coast Guard is also a vital part of our emergency response 
system, as demonstrated when it was the only Federal agency that could 
come to the rescue of thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims left 
stranded in the Gulf.
  Our subcommittee will closely examine whether the Coast Guard has 
adequate resources to enable it to implement its significant new 
Homeland Security responsibilities while also fulfilling its other 
critical missions, including drug interdiction, search and rescue, and 
maritime safety oversight.
  We began that effort just yesterday with an oversight hearing on the 
Coast Guard's $24 billion, 25-year Deepwater procurement, through which 
the Coast Guard is acquiring the ships, planes and helicopters that the 
service will utilize for decades to come to ensure the safety and 
security of the American people, United States ports, and our maritime 
industry.
  Importantly, our subcommittee will also balance oversight of the 
Coast Guard with our responsibility to strengthen maritime 
transportation.
  The United States Maritime Administration estimates that the total 
volume of trade handled by U.S. ports will double in the next 15 years, 
Mr. Speaker. To prepare our Nation to handle such cargo growth, we will 
examine how U.S. ports can more fully be integrated into a multi-modal 
transportation network.
  We will also work to foster a pragmatic dialogue between the members 
of the commercial maritime community and the United States Coast Guard 
to ensure that each group understands what the other needs to succeed 
in what should be their complementary pursuits.

                              {time}  1645

  Security of the United States ports and cargo transported through 
them will be a major priority of the subcommittee. The House of 
Representatives has already passed H.R. 1, which not only implemented 
the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission but exceeded these 
recommendations by phasing in requirements that will lead to the 
scanning of all cargo bound for United States ports.
  The Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation will work 
closely with the Committee on Homeland Security, led ably by Chairman 
Bennie Thompson, to examine the gaps that remain in port security and 
to fill these gaps in ways that protect our Nation from emerging 
threats while not unduly slowing commerce to our ports.

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