[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 10325-10326]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                 H.R. 1699, COAST GUARD REAUTHORIZATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2001, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WATSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak to a 
bill that has already passed this House, H.R. 1699, by the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. 
Brown). It had to do with the reauthorization of the Coast Guard 
budget.
  I just returned as a U.S. ambassador from the Federated States of 
Micronesia; 607 islands stretching across a million miles of ocean. 
Without the United States Coast Guard, we would have lost many citizens 
and many visitors.
  We found a package of white substance being handled by a group of 
children on the beach of Yap. We found it to be cocaine. It was the 
Coast Guard that moved in. Right after that, we found a headless, 
armless, legless body. A torso. It was the Coast Guard that my embassy 
called to contact the FBI and DEA to investigate.
  We had many, many occasions to call on the Coast Guard for search and 
rescue. Many of the native boats would go out, and in these shabby 
craft would end up missing. The motor broke down, the boat came apart, 
there were high waves. Without the Coast Guard being called in for 
search and rescue, we would have lost many of our countrymen there in 
the Federated States of Micronesia.
  Boat safety training was something that was done often on the request 
of the embassy, and we went to the Islands of Chuuk, where we trained 
19 young people to go back to their respective islands and to train 
others to do boat safety.
  There were so many occasions on which I had to request the services 
of the United States Coast Guard. Their services were done 
courageously, bravely, and effectively, saving the lives and crafts of 
many, many people,

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many islanders, but most of all serving our country well and with 
distinction.
  I am very pleased and proud to have my first vote recorded on this 
particular bill, H.R. 1699. I commend the authors, and I also commend 
the House for their support of the reauthorization and for 
supplementing the budget of the United States Coast Guard.

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