[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 18909-18910]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                      COMMENDATION OF COAST GUARD

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SOLOMON P. ORTIZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 4, 2001

  Mr. ORTIZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the men and women of 
the United States Coast Guard who have come to the rescue of South 
Texas communities of South Padre Island, Port Isabel and Brownsville.
  Very early Saturday morning, Sept 15th, the Queen Isabella Causeway, 
the bridge that connects South Padre Island to the mainland was hit by 
a barge, resulting in sections of the bridge falling into the Gulf 
Intracoastal Waterway. Nine cars crashed into the water of the Laguna 
Madre, rocking the community with the fear that terrorists had struck 
in South Texas since it occurred the weekend following the World Trade 
Center and Pentagon attacks.

[[Page 18910]]

  The Coast Guard Group of Corpus Christi, South Padre Island and the 
Marine Safety Office arrived at once and worked tirelessly--around the 
clock--to recover the victims, and retrieve the vehicles and debris 
from the water in the canal so commercial traffic could move again 
through the canal.
  No one was surprised by the instant response from our Coasties. They 
are amazing people. They began as soon as the tragedy was reported and 
worked with our local and state officials in providing further 
protection and emergency assistance for citizens in the area. They 
worked tirelessly around the clock.
  They brought assets to the Valley from the Coast Guard, Corpus 
Christi Group to help with search and recovery. They were focused on 
recovering victims. They are well-trained and ready to perform 
brilliantly in a time of crisis like the bridge collapse.
  The Coast Guard provided tremendous support to the local and state 
officials, which was a huge logistical chore. They helped ensure the 
re-opening of the canal so the Rio Grande Valley would receive fuel 
supplies, food and other necessities, which arrive via the Intracoastal 
canal, closed to such traffic while the recovery is in progress.
  One of the most satisfying things about watching these men and women 
do the work that they do is understanding the love they have for their 
job. They simply love what they do, and they are very good at it.
  While we always appreciate the good work of the Coast Guard in South 
Texas and around our nation, we particularly want to thank them today 
for the hard work they did when they came to the rescue when our 
community needed them.
  The Coast Guard has a wide range of responsibilities . . . in 
peacetime, they are law enforcement; in times of war, they are 
soldiers. Right now they are working extended hours to carry out a host 
of responsibilities: search and rescue, enforcing our fisheries 
regulations, enforcing boating regulations, drug interdiction and other 
national security missions.
  I ask my colleagues to join me today in commending these great 
Americans for their dedicated service to South Texas and our nation.

                          ____________________