[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16836-16837]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 WAIVING POINTS OF ORDER AGAINST CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 2443, COAST 
             GUARD AND MARITIME TRANSPORTATION ACT OF 2004

  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee 
on Rules, I call up House Resolution 730 and ask for its immediate 
consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 730

       Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be 
     in order to consider the conference report to accompany the 
     bill (H.R. 2443) to authorize appropriations for the Coast 
     Guard for fiscal year 2004, to amend various laws 
     administered by the Coast Guard, and for other purposes. All 
     points of order against the conference report and against its 
     consideration are waived. The conference report shall be 
     considered as read.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Lincoln 
Diaz-Balart) is recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, 
I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Hastings), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. 
During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the 
purpose of debate only.
  Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 730 is a rule that provides for the 
consideration of the conference report for H.R. 2443, the Coast Guard 
and Maritime Transportation Act of 2004. This is a standard rule for a 
conference report providing for 1 hour of general debate, evenly 
divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of 
the Committee on Transportation and the Infrastructure.
  The legislation before us authorizes over $8 billion for the Coast 
Guard, including a commitment to 45,500 active duty personnel in fiscal 
years 2004 and 2005. This is extremely important legislation to 
strengthen the Coast Guard in its ever-increasing role of defense of 
our homeland.
  This bill makes a new commitment to the long-term effectiveness of 
the Coast Guard. The Department of Homeland Security has called on the 
Coast Guard to be the defender of American ports while at the same time 
sending needed resources, soldiers and vessels to the battles against 
terrorism far away.
  I am pleased to highlight the Integrated Deepwater Acquisition 
Program. This program provides the needed capital to carry out 
effective acquisition of the cutters, computer equipment and other 
resources that the Coast Guard so desperately needs. The Deepwater 
System has not received the funding outlined in 1998, but this bill 
makes up for the delay. The conference report authorizes over $1 
billion for the program, accelerating the Deepwater System 5 years 
ahead of the original 20-year completion time line.
  The Coast Guard is particularly important to the community and 
constituents that I am honored to represent in south Florida. The Coast 
Guard Integrated Support Command in Miami is essential to the safety 
and security of residents. The Coast Guard in south Florida coordinates 
integrated plans aimed at hurricane safety, recreational boater safety 
and, obviously, protection of our coastline.
  The conference report before us was signed by every member of the 
conference. It is a good bill, essential really to our continued 
commitment to the security and safety of all citizens and residents of 
the United States.
  I would like to thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young), the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo), as well as the ranking 
member, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) and the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Filner) for their important work.
  I urge my colleagues to support both the rule and the underlying 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1145

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume, and I thank my colleague, my friend from south Florida 
(Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart), for yielding me the time.
  While the two of us, my colleague and I, may have ideological 
differences from time to time, we are united in our support for the 
Coast Guard and the sometimes thankless work that they do every day to 
protect the ports and shores in our home State of Florida, as well as 
throughout this Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the conference report to the 
Coast Guard Reauthorization Act.
  As my colleague from the majority previously mentioned, the 
conference report authorizes nearly $8.2 billion in fiscal year 2005 
for the Coast Guard. This amount is $169 million more than originally 
approved by the House last October and more than $400 million above 
what was approved by the other body. These increases are clear 
indications of this body's commitment to the Coast Guard's pressing 
needs.
  The conference report also includes $1.5 billion for the Coast 
Guard's acquisitions, construction and improvements account, a $550 
million increase above what was requested. This increase is to be used 
by the Coast Guard to improve its Integrated Deepwater System, as well 
as assist the Coast Guard to reduce the list of unfunded shore 
facilities that has grown significantly over the past 5 years.
  Furthermore, the conference report increases the number of 
commissioned officers and includes significant authorizations which 
will assist the Coast Guard to better meet our port and maritime 
security needs.
  The Department of Homeland Security is also directed in the 
conference report to provide Congress with reports regarding joint 
operational centers for

[[Page 16837]]

port security and port compliance with security standards.
  I mention these two reports because of the great work that is being 
done in my home county, Broward County, at Port Everglades. There are 
few ports in the country as innovative as Port Everglades when it comes 
to security. The Port of Palm Beach, located in the district I 
represent, has also made significant security improvement as a direct 
result of the port security grant authorized by this conference report.
  Mr. Speaker, the Coast Guard is responsible for patrolling the more 
than 12,400 miles of coastline in the United States. Nearly 2,000 of 
these miles are located in mine and my colleague's, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart), home State of Florida where the 
Coast Guard plays an integral role in patrolling our shores and 
protecting our citizens. The increase in funding provided in the 
underlying legislation for this important grant of the United States 
Armed Forces serves as a statement about the role of the Coast Guard in 
our global war on terrorism.
  Reports have shown that America's ports remain susceptible to attack 
and infiltration by America's enemies. In the last year alone, south 
Florida's three major ports handled more than 13.2 million tons of 
cargo. In all, well over 1.5 million shipping containers were processed 
by south Florida longshoremen during the last year.
  Certainly, these statistics highlight the pressing need to increase 
the number of Customs agents working in America's ports, but they also 
suggest that the roles of the Coast Guard and Federal Maritime 
Commission in protecting our ports are greater than ever.
  Mr. Speaker, when Congress created the Department of Homeland 
Security, it recommitted itself to the security of America. The 
conference report for the Coast Guard Authorization Act is an extension 
of that commitment.
  I urge my colleagues to support the underlying conference report.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the 
balance of my time, and I move the previous question on this resolution 
that is very important and urge my colleagues to vote favorably on the 
underlying legislation as well.
  The previous question was ordered.
  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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