[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 5862-5863]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    COAST GUARD AUTHORIZATION--2003

  (At the request of Mr. Daschle, the following statement was ordered 
to be printed in the Record.)
 Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, the Coast Guard Authorization Act 
authorizes nearly $15 billion in funding for the Coast Guard to carry 
out its mission for 2 years. This represents a significant increase in 
funding over previous years, and will go far to support an agency that 
has both civilian and homeland security responsibilities. The bill also 
includes funding for the Deepwater program, funding for port security 
measures, provisions aimed at preventing oil spills and helping 
fishermen, and protections for marine resources.
  Let me begin by discussing the authorization included in the bill. 
The fiscal year 2005 budget authorization is 4 percent higher than what 
the President has requested. This difference represents $327 million, 
and the authorization itself is a $700 million increase over what the 
Congress appropriated for the current fiscal year. The funding 
increases in the bill will help the Coast Guard meet all of its 
missions. The Coast Guard has stretched its resources dramatically 
since September 11, and traditional missions such as enforcement of 
fishing and marine resource laws as well as search and rescue missions 
are still below pre-September 11 levels.
  This legislation includes over $700 million for both fiscal year 2004 
and fiscal year 2005 for the Coast Guard's Deepwater program, well over 
the $500 million in fiscal year 2004 and the $678 million in fiscal 
year 2005 requested by the President. Deepwater is an important program 
that will allow the Coast Guard to purchase new ships, planes, and 
navigation equipment and integrate those resources into its existing 
infrastructure.
  This legislation also addresses security at our ports. Unfortunately, 
many of our Nation's ports and waterways remain vulnerable to terrorist 
attacks. Implementation of the Maritime Transportation Security Act is 
expected to take years. Therefore, it is important that the Coast 
Guard, the main Federal agency charged with port security, have 
adequate resources to meet current homeland security responsibilities. 
The bill includes $70 million to assess port security plans as well as 
$100 million for expenses that the Coast Guard incurs when the 
Government issues homeland security alerts. The bill also authorizes 
$36 million for three new maritime safety and security teams, MSSTs. 
The MSSTs have already become a vital security force for many of the 
Nation's busiest ports. Major port cities such as New York, Boston, and 
Los Angeles have benefitted from the deployment of MSSTs, and I am 
pleased that this legislation will allow other ports to receive the 
same level of protection. The bill also includes $40 million for the 
automatic identification system, AIS. Mandated by the Maritime 
Transportation Security Act, the AIS will allow the Coast Guard to 
track and monitor certain vessels that could pose a threat to port 
security. It is essential that this system operates at full capacity. 
The fiscal year 2005 authorizations include an overall 10-percent 
increase for

[[Page 5863]]

operating expenses and general capital costs to ensure that port 
security priorities continue to be funded at appropriate levels.
  I am pleased that the bill includes a number of environmental 
provisions, aid for fishermen affected by oilspills, and protections 
for living marine resources. In response to last year's oilspill in 
Buzzards Bay, MA, we included in this bill a provision that requires 
the Coast Guard to study the feasibility of speeding up the deadline 
for companies to start using double-hull tankers to transport oil. Also 
in the bill is a mandate for the Coast Guard to issue a report 
outlining the cost and benefits of requiring vessels to have electronic 
navigational equipment on board. In addition, to ameliorate the effects 
of oilspills on fishermen, we added language to the bill that will 
allow fishermen to receive loans from the oilspill liability trust 
funding during the period immediately following an oilspill.
  The bill also addresses the issue of ship strikes of one of the most 
endangered whales in the world--the North Atlantic right whale. There 
are only about 300 individuals left in this entire species, and ship 
strikes are the No. 1 cause of mortality. While lobstermen and other 
fishermen in the Northeast have shouldered significant regulatory 
requirements to avoid entanglement of these whales in fishing gear, no 
actions have been taken to address the risks from ship strikes. The 
bill would require the Coast Guard to undertake studies to examine 
options for minimizing vessel strikes of North Atlantic right whales in 
accessing ports where this is an issue. In addition to these studies, 
the bill would require the Coast Guard to submit a report to Congress 
on the effectiveness and costs of such measures.
  In conclusion, we have crafted a balanced bill that will benefit the 
Coast Guard and enhance our domestic security. The Congress has a 
responsibility to oversee the Coast guard and provide it with direction 
and resources. With this bill, we have met that responsibility. I urge 
my colleagues to support it. Mr. President, I would like to acknowledge 
the hard work of Senator McCain, Senator Hollings, and Senator Snowe in 
helping to draft this legislation. I respect and appreciate their 
dedication to these issues. Thank you.

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