[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 20873-20878]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       UNITED STATES COAST GUARD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 2005, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt) is 
recognized for 60 minutes.


                             General Leave

  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order this 
evening.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Massachusetts?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, more often than not, debates on public 
policy that take place in this Chamber are often characterized with a 
certain level of disagreement, thoughtful disagreement, and, hopefully, 
respectful disagreement. But tonight that is not the case. Tonight we 
put aside partisan disagreements to thank the men and women of the 
United States Coast Guard for a job well done.
  In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many Americans have come to 
know the Coast Guard and their personnel and their heroism and their 
professionalism. They have been made acutely aware about the services 
provided by this remarkable service, for it, I would suggest, has truly 
been one of the Coast Guard's finest hours. And I know I speak as well 
for my good friend and colleague from the Committee on the Judiciary, 
the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble), in expressing the 
profound gratitude of all Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to represent southeastern Massachusetts, 
I believe home of some of the most beautiful and pristine coastline in 
all of New England and, in fact, in all of the United States, and also 
the birthplace of the United States Coast Guard. I happen to be a very 
proud veteran of the United States Coast Guard, like my colleague, the 
gentleman from North Carolina. Of course, he was an officer and a 
gentleman, while I was a mere enlisted man.
  Back in 1997, my colleague and I, and another colleague, the 
gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Taylor), who also served in the United 
States Coast Guard, sat down and decided that it was time to bring 
together Members of Congress who are committed to lifesaving, law 
enforcement, and environmental protection missions that were conducted 
at sea. So we created the Congressional Caucus of the United States 
Coast Guard. We did this to advocate for this outstanding service and 
to increase its profile not just in this institution but among the 
American people.
  Well, their performance before, during, and in the aftermath of the 
tragedy which befell our Gulf States spoke volumes about the service 
that they provide to the American people. We learned a lot about the 
Coast Guard, or at least, and I am sure I speak for my friend who I 
will ask to say some words in a very few minutes, I know that for many, 
Hurricane Katrina increased their understanding of really what the 
Coast Guard is all about.
  But it is not just about search and air rescues. In fact, they are 
the de facto lead agency for homeland security, responsible for 
guarding 95,000 miles of American coastline and 361 ports. Every day, 
the Coast Guard interdicts, for example, drugs bound for the United 
States. In fact, just this past week, while performing their functions 
in the gulf and along the coastline of the Gulf States, the Coast Guard 
seized two tons of cocaine off the Colombian coast in South America, 
cocaine that undoubtedly would have been sold on the streets of our 
neighborhoods somewhere in this country.
  But before I proceed, let me introduce a dear friend, the gentleman 
from North Carolina (Mr. Coble), a veteran of the United States Coast 
Guard.

[[Page 20874]]


  Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman from 
Massachusetts, and I want to say a word or two about the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt).
  First of all, I want to thank him for having taken out this Special 
Order. And by the way, he was an enlisted man and a gentleman. I too 
was an enlisted man and, hopefully, a gentleman; but my colleague and I 
became good friends, Mr. Speaker, as a result of our both serving on 
the Committee on the Judiciary. I learned one day early in the session 
that he was a Coast Guard veteran, and there are not that many of us 
around, as you know, in the Congress, and so we became good friends. I 
guess ideologically he and I are probably light years apart, but that 
has in no way hampered our friendship.
  As my colleague knows, when Mother Nature rears her ugly head and 
devastation results therefrom, oftentimes accusatory fingers are 
forthcoming: Oh, it was not my fault; it was his fault or it was her 
fault. But that was not the case with the Coast Guard. I think in the 
wake of Katrina, the Coast Guard may well have been the only entity or 
agency that came out of that exercise free of fault and free of blame. 
The Coast Guard became America's hero.
  Now, as the gentleman from Massachusetts pointed out, this certainly 
may well have been one of our finest hours. The landing ship tanks that 
were manned by Coast Guardsmen in World War II has oftentimes been 
called America's finest hour, and of course the day-to-day search-and-
rescue operations that occur as a matter of fact are no big deal. 
Coasties go out and rescue distressed victims. No big thing for them. 
It is all in a day's work. But as my colleague pointed out, when we saw 
those heroic rescues by the Coast Guard air arm during Katrina, it was 
unbelievable.
  It is a shame that it took a 9/11 or a Katrina for many Americans to 
become personal friends with the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard was the 
forgotten service. It was the fifth armed forcement, but rarely was 
much said about it. Oftentimes, and I am sure my colleague has been 
addressed in this manner, as have I, where Coast Guardsmen were 
referred to as members of the Hooligan Navy, the shallow-water sailors.
  Oftentimes, when I was on Active Duty, which seems more like the dark 
ages, it was not uncommon for us to become beneficiaries of Navy hand-
me-downs, equipment the Navy was about to survey or to abandon, which 
we would warmly embrace.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Like an orphan.
  Mr. COBLE. Like an orphan, sure. Excellent example.
  So I am very pleased, Mr. Speaker, that my colleague, the gentleman 
from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt), took out this Special Order.
  Now, this has nothing to do with Katrina, and I see our friend from 
New London has joined us as well, but oftentimes back home, I would 
appear at Veterans Day or Memorial Day services and inevitably you 
would hear the hymns of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the 
Marines, but conspicuously absent was the most beautiful marching hymn 
of all, Semper Paratus, the Coast Guard's marching hymn.

                              {time}  1945

  I went to a music director once at a high school and I asked her why 
was ``Semper Paratus'' not played. She said, you get it for me, and I 
will play it next year. It was the first one played the next year. Now 
each time I have been since 9/11, even back home, ``Semper Paratus'' is 
always included in the musical renditions. Of course it always is up 
here, but even in the hinterland it is being done.
  Mr. Speaker, I say to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. 
Delahunt), as a fellow coastie, and as a fellow member of the Committee 
on the Judiciary, I thank you again for having taken out this Special 
Order.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from North Carolina 
(Mr. Coble). We have been joined by another friend and a strong 
advocate for the Coast Guard representing the coast of Connecticut, the 
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons).
  Mr. SIMMONS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time. It is a great pleasure for me to be here tonight to speak in 
support of our wonderful Coast Guard and the great things that they 
have done, not only in response to the terrible storm, Hurricane 
Katrina, but also the many things that they have done over the years to 
keep our people and our homeland more secure.
  It is also nice to gather in a bipartisan fashion not to point 
fingers of blame, but to speak words of praise, because I think that is 
very appropriate. The time will come when the various oversight panels, 
commissions and committees, our own oversight committees will do the 
job of looking into what has gone wrong; but I think it is easy for us 
to gather here tonight and point out some of the things that have gone 
right.
  The distinguished coastie to my left, the gentleman from North 
Carolina (Mr. Coble), a Coast Guard person many years ago, not too many 
years ago, but a few years ago, pointed out the motto is ``Semper 
Paratus,'' always ready. They prepare their young men and young women 
in one of the finest institutions we have in this country, which is the 
Coast Guard Academy in New London, and I quickly say that the number of 
applications for that fine academy, for positions available, exceeds 
the number of applications that you get for your very fine Harvard 
college in Massachusetts and my very fine university in Connecticut.
  In fact, of all colleges across the country, the Coast Guard Academy 
receives more applications for positions available than any other 
college in the country. It is a testament to the quality of education 
that they get there. It is a testament to the fine young men and women 
who graduate.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, I do not think that we can overstate and 
overemphasize the quality of education provided at the Coast Guard 
Academy. That is reflected really in the caliber and quality of the 
officers that it produces to serve in the United States Coast Guard and 
to have many of them go on to other careers in public service. It is a 
first-rate institution. With all due respect to the other services, 
clearly they also have service academies that are excellent, but the 
Coast Guard Academy in New London provides an education without equal.
  Mr. SIMMONS. Mr. Speaker, I think the gentleman is absolutely 
correct. When we talk about being prepared or always being prepared, 
that preparation does begin for many of our Coast Guard officers at the 
academy. Of course then you have the OCS, which is also located at the 
academy. You have senior officer training, and you have leadership 
training for the noncommissioned officers in the Coast Guard.
  So they are prepared. They are prepared to deal with difficult and 
dangerous situations. They are prepared to deal with fishermen at sea 
to make sure that our fisheries are regulated. They are prepared to 
deal with the recreational boaters that we have off the coast of 
Massachusetts, we have in Connecticut, and I suspect those are off the 
coast of North Carolina as well; and when those recreational boaters 
find themselves in difficulty, the Coast Guard is there.
  They were prepared on 9/11, and when I went to New York City a few 
days after the attacks of 9/11, it was a Coast Guard cutter in the 
harbor of the Hudson River and a Coast Guard helicopter that was flying 
overhead, so a very quick and immediate response.
  On Wednesday of the week of Hurricane Katrina, the day after the 
levees broke, I received a call from a friend of mine who lived in New 
Orleans, Louisiana, and he called to ask for my help to intervene in 
getting some Federal response down there as soon as possible. The next 
morning when I called him back, he said he had received a call from the 
Coast Guard, that he had called them and they called him back and that 
two Coast Guard vessels were in the process of clearing the channel up 
into Louisiana to provide supplies, food, fuel and all of the things 
that were necessary, and that they had done it within 24 hours of the 
breaking of the levees. So it was a Federal response

[[Page 20875]]

that was immediate and directed to assist people in distress.
  The results speak for themselves. There were 24,135 lives saved; 
33,544 individuals saved or evacuated. And 12,000 of those were saved 
by air resources. That means helicopters with long lines down into tree 
tops and roof tops, which is, by the way, a very dangerous undertaking 
not only for the individual on the end of the line but for the 
helicopter pilot and the crew because often they have to hover over 
power lines or trees where they can strike and crash. But none of those 
things took place.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to note that there 
is no training in any service to use a sledge hammer to break through a 
roof to rescue an individual while you are dangling from a helicopter. 
Some of our more recognized acts of heroism have been by rescue 
swimmers. I remember vividly that scene in the movie and also in the 
book ``Perfect Storm'' when those rescue swimmers from the United 
States Coast Guard, Air Station Cape Cod, I might add, went into seas 
of 80 and 90 feet. But here in New Orleans in the Gulf States, they do 
not have a specialty that involves breaking through roofs, walking 
through toxic water and being in the position where they are dealing 
with all sorts of very dangerous circumstances; but they did it, and 
they did it so well.
  Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, this is a good time for me to say this. The 
enlisted rate rescue swimmer was not known when I was in the Coast 
Guard.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Nor when I was.
  Mr. COBLE. It is probably the most unsung rate in the military. The 
Coast Guard has long been known as the armed service that gets more 
done for less. I do not mean this as an indictment against our sister 
services, by any means, but the orphan syndrome as has been pointed 
out. And this is a good time to mention the Deepwater Project because 
the Coast Guard needs additional appropriated moneys to address the 
antiquated equipment, the cutters, the helicopters, the aircraft that 
are in dire need of replacement.
  Mr. SIMMONS. Mr. Speaker, I certainly agree with the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Coble), and I thank the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt) again for raising these issues tonight.
  When we consider the flexibility of these men and women in addressing 
a problem that perhaps they had not seen before, and yet they did it 
successfully, they heard noises from the attics and rooftops, and they 
addressed those problems' need immediately. They broke through and were 
able to bring people out. It is a great testament to the service and to 
their willingness to risk their lives and their safety to save others. 
That always has characterized the Coast Guard.
  I think it is a testament to the excellence of this service that when 
it became clear that the Federal response was not producing the results 
that we all would have wanted in that circumstance, for reasons which 
will be determined at some future date, who was named to take over? It 
was Vice Admiral Thad W. Allen, chief of staff, third-ranking man in 
the Coast Guard, somebody I have met and known before, somebody who has 
had distinguished sea duties, somebody who actually headed up the Long 
Island Sound Station for a number of years. He is a highly educated, 
highly experienced, highly trained man with a somewhat low profile, but 
the capability to get the job done. That is so typical of our Coast 
Guard, that they are not out there with a lot of flash and a lot of 
pizzazz; but they get the job done, and that is so important.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, the point that the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Simmons) made about Admiral Allen being nominated by 
the President and put in charge, I think, went a long way to restoring 
the confidence of the American people in our ability to handle from 
that point on this emergency. I know that I share with both the 
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons) and with the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Coble) tremendous confidence in Admiral Allen.
  The gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons) made the point earlier 
about they responded so quickly to the disaster that the first rescue 
actually occurred as the eye of the storm passed; and in the midst of 
the eye they began operations, plucking people out of harm's way. It is 
truly remarkable because they had a plan. They did that prepositioning. 
They were ready. They honored their motto, ``Semper Paratus.''
  They knew what they were doing, and they are doing it again. I just 
read recently a memorandum, a Coast Guard memorandum, prepositioning 
and preparing for Hurricane Rita. If Members would bear with me for 
just a moment, let me read this so that maybe we can reassure some 
folks who feel threatened by what I understand is now a Category 5 
hurricane: ``The Coast Guard is preparing assets throughout the Gulf 
States for the arrival of Hurricane Rita which is expected to reach the 
gulf coast later this week. The Coast Guard is making strategic shifts 
in personnel resources while others are conducting overdue maintenance 
to aircraft used to support Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.''
  That goes to the admonition of the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
Coble) about the Deepwater Project and the need to provide assets so 
this can-do service can do it, because we cannot continue to ask the 
impossible. I think we have to understand that those helicopters, those 
cutters, those small boats, not only are they old and in some cases 
they are described as legacy assets, and I presume that is a euphemism 
for really, really, really old, maybe my age or something along those 
lines.
  But let me just cite one example of a legacy asset, and I think it 
really underscores the need for all of us, Democrats and Republicans, 
to come together and advocate for the assets that are necessary so the 
Coast Guard can continue to respond to these natural disasters, can 
continue to interdict drugs coming into our communities, can continue 
to respond to environmental disasters.

                              {time}  2000

  It is my understanding that they have responded in Louisiana and the 
Gulf States to over 240 fuel spills. Just imagine what that would mean 
if that preparedness, if that can-do attitude, if those resources were 
not there. I would believe it would be extremely dangerous and clearly 
wreak environmental ecological havoc in terms of the impacted and 
affected States. But they did it. They went out and they found a way to 
do it. But we cannot call upon them to continue to do it with legacy 
assets.
  I remember vividly the story of a cutter called the Storis, launched 
in 1942, that still is in operation, that while in the Bering Sea on a 
rescue mission, while a lifeboat was being lowered to effect a rescue, 
the davits on the superstructure ripped off, dumping nine Coast Guard 
personnel into the freezing waters of the Bering Sea. Fortunately, 
those Coast Guard personnel were rescued, and those whom initially they 
were to rescue were also rescued. But think of the tragedy because of 
an aging fleet. I think out of 40 fleets, it ranks number 39 in terms 
of age as far as major naval fleets are concerned.
  We are putting these heroes that are doing so much for us and for the 
American people at risk unless we accelerate the Deepwater Initiative, 
unless we provide the kind of assets that, when it comes time for such 
a crisis such as we have experienced and potentially could experience 
by this weekend, if we do not give them the assets, then we are asking 
them to do the impossible.
  Mr. SIMMONS. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. DELAHUNT. I yield to the gentleman from Connecticut.
  Mr. SIMMONS. Mr. Speaker, let me speak briefly to that. I have had 
the honor for the last 4\1/2\, 5 years, to serve on the Coast Guard and 
Maritime Transportation Subcommittee. We initially supported the 
recommendations that were made by Admiral Loy, when he was commandant, 
to initiate the Deepwater project, which was the most ambitious 
recapitalization project in

[[Page 20876]]

probably the whole history of the Coast Guard. And I am looking at the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble). We might consider him a 
legacy asset as well, because his historic knowledge of the Coast Guard 
is so substantial. But I will tell the Members he is just as sharp 
today as he has ever been; so some legacies are good. But one of the 
key considerations that we had when we bought on to the Deepwater 
project was, would the Coast Guard be able to implement this program 
successfully, and it was a very ambitious program, implement it 
successfully over a period of years? Certainly the subcommittee and the 
full committee under the leadership of the gentleman from New Jersey 
(Chairman LoBiondo) and the gentleman from Alaska (Chairman Young) have 
been extremely supportive. On occasions there has been some slippage in 
the funding, and we have tried to address that as a body. We know that 
the Coast Guard has to submit through OMB and that there are always 
challenges in doing that. But I think that this Congress has committed 
itself in a bipartisan fashion to the Deepwater project, and I think 
that we are beginning to see the phasing out of some of those legacy 
assets. My recollection is a year or so ago, we took over 100 small 
vessels out of the inventory and have been replacing them with more 
capable boats, which I think is tremendously important.
  But also something that many Americans do not focus on when it comes 
to the role of the Coast Guard in homeland security and in dealing both 
with natural disasters and manmade disasters like 9/11 is we anticipate 
that there may be a breakdown of civil order in an area that is hit by 
a disaster of this sort. That is just something that we expect. And the 
Coast Guard, unlike the military, is not restrained by posse comitatus. 
The Coast Guard has arrest powers. They exercise those arrest powers in 
the war on drugs, where they operate in the Caribbean and elsewhere, 
and they are allowed to board ships and to arrest. They can exercise 
those powers in issues such as smuggling or other illegal activities. 
But, in fact, the Coast Guard has the capacity to go into an area that 
has been devastated by a natural or a man-made disaster where civil 
order has broken down, where there is no communication, where police 
cannot talk to firemen, firemen cannot talk to police. They can 
actually go in and they can arrest those who are doing harm and save 
those who need to be saved. And that is a unique capacity for our Coast 
Guard, and it reflects a very important capability as we look to the 
future of homeland security.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, there is an additional 
task that I know that we are aware of, and our colleagues here and I 
think many Americans, that when we talk about port security on the land 
ready to deploy, particularly, for example, when an LNG tanker is 
coming into Boston Harbor or any harbor or any port in this country, 
that port security unit is there to ensure that there will be nothing 
untoward happen and that the vessel, the tanker, can unload without 
concern. And, again, those low profile, if you will, but absolutely 
essential critical tasks are performed every day.
  I can remember directly in the aftermath of 9/11, cruise liners being 
boarded in Boston Harbor. And it was the Coast Guard that conducted the 
search, that had their divers go and check the hulls, that were there 
to provide confidence to the American people and to those particular 
passengers that they could enjoy their hard-earned vacation that they 
were taking on the cruise liner.
  The Coast Guard implicates itself in so many different ways in our 
daily lives. The gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons) mentioned 
that if one is a recreational boater, there is nothing more assuring 
that, if they get themselves into some trouble, to know that they can 
get on that radio and they can call that Coast Guard; or if they are a 
commercial fisherman and they are out in tough waters and something 
should happen to their vessel, at least there is hope that they can be 
rescued.
  Mr. SIMMONS. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. DELAHUNT. I yield to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. 
Simmons).
  Mr. SIMMONS. Mr. Speaker, a very sad moment in our history, but a 
moment where, once again, the Coast Guard was there and got the job 
done, the gentleman may recall just a few years ago the son of the late 
President Kennedy was flying an aircraft along the New England Coast, 
accompanied by his wife and his wife's sister. And, tragically, the 
aircraft went down just to the west of Block Island at the mouth of 
Long Island Sound. And it was a terrible event for all of us who 
remembered his father and the terrible tragedy of his father's death, 
and now it seemed that once again this family was in distress and that 
something terrible had happened to them. But the Coast Guard from our 
New London station and the Coast Guard from the Long Island Sound 
station moved out there very quickly and very efficiently. They set up 
staging areas offshore. They were able to locate the aircraft and to 
recover the aircraft in what was a sad moment but an important moment 
in our history, and they did it in a fashion that was respectful, that 
respected the Kennedy family, and also respected the emotions of all 
Americans who followed that tragic case for a couple of days, and they 
did it without fanfare and without a lot of hoopla. They just went 
about their business and got it done.
  Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. DELAHUNT. I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina.
  Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, this is not unlike a family reunion. The 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt) and I are former Coast 
Guardsmen. The gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons) represented the 
Academy in his district.
  Let me share this with my colleagues. It has nothing to do with the 
recent problems in New Orleans, but it has much to do with the Coast 
Guard. Some years ago, I was having an evening meal in the home of a 
Coast Guardsman, who is the son of a former keeper at one of the 
lifeboat stations along the Carolina Coast. And my Coast Guardsman 
friend's mom, and the dad of the family had since expired, but she was 
almost in tears when she was recalling the decommissioning or the 
shutting down of the lifesaving stations along the Carolina Coast. She 
said it will never be the same again. The Coast Guard will never be 
able to function.
  Well, old habits die hard, as the gentlemen knows, and, of course, 
the Coast Guard continues to function. What was going on was they were 
streamlining. They were decommissioning four or five stations, making 
one great support center or a group station, if you will. But the Coast 
Guard will indeed function well.
  And this has been a very fine evening. I thank the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Simmons) for having joined the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt). The gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. 
Delahunt) was the lead dog. It was his idea, and I appreciate very much 
his having done it.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the lieutenant commander for his 
comments. I feel like I should salute at this point in time, given our 
respective histories in the Coast Guard.
  I would like to just make an observation in response to the gentleman 
from Connecticut's (Mr. Simmons) review of the tragedy that befell the 
Kennedy family. As they both know, I represent the South Shore of 
Boston, Cape Cod and Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, and obviously 
Hyannisport is on Cape Cod. I know Senator Kennedy well. I know the 
Kennedy family well. And everything that the gentleman from Connecticut 
(Mr. Simmons) said was so true, that the way the Coast Guard conducted 
itself in a respectful, professional, no fanfare manner meant so much 
to that family in a time of tragedy and crisis, as it does with every 
family in this country.
  We talked about aircraft. I happen also to have the Coast Guard 
airway

[[Page 20877]]

stationed at a military reservation on Cape Cod. So I am familiar with 
those helicopters that go out and those fixed-wing aircraft. And as 
both the gentlemen know, their main search-and-rescue helicopter, the 
Jayhawk, experienced inflight engine failures at a rate of 329 mishaps 
per 100,000. The FAA sets a safety standard that is acceptable in terms 
of an aircraft at 1, not 329, but 1 mishap per 100,000 hours of flight 
time.
  So what we have is not only do we have an aging fleet, and the 
Deepwater Initiative incorporates upgrading the air assets of the Coast 
Guard, and as the gentleman from Connecticut well knows, the First 
District extends from the Canadian border down to New York and that air 
wing is so important. And these failures limit the Jayhawk's ability to 
hover over a distressed vessel, for example, and places the lives of 
its crew and those that hopefully will be rescued in grave danger.
  The indisputable fact is that the demands on the Coast Guard have 
vastly outpaced the resources that are available to them.

                              {time}  2015

  I think it is our responsibility to give them those assets, because 
we want them to escort that LNG tanker. And when the parents of an 
overdosed teenager discover that the Coast Guard boats were not fast 
enough to catch the drug dealers, even though they had the 
intelligence, they could not respond because they did not have the 
vessel, we do not want to look them in the eyes and say that we failed 
them.
  Or when the family of a deceased fisherman discovered that the Coast 
Guard could not get there in time because that Jayhawk helicopter was 
grounded, we do not want that.
  Two centuries of experience has taught us that we can rely on the 
professionalism and the heroism and the commitment of the Coast Guard, 
whether it is hurricanes or airplane crashes or dealing with drug 
smugglers, or dealing with foreign factory trawlers that we had a 
problem with in terms of overfishing our territorial waters. The Coast 
Guard has always been there. They have been on call for some 200 years.
  Mr. Speaker, it is tempting sometimes to put things off. It is really 
easy here in Washington to do that. It is very tempting. But a long way 
from here, out in those waves and those white caps, when something is 
happening to people, that is what we have to keep in mind. We want to 
not just thank them for what they have done and honor them for what 
they have done; but we want, I know, to provide them with the 
wherewithal to continue to honor that wonderful motto of ``Semper 
Paratus, always ready.''
  Mr. SIMMONS. Mr. Speaker, are we getting close to the end of our 
time?
  Mr. DELAHUNT. I think we are winding down, and I just promised the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) that I would give her 5 minutes on 
some unrelated topic that I do not know what she is going to address.
  Mr. SIMMONS. Well, I have a concluding remark, and I think the 
gentleman from North Carolina does as well.
  Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, I just want the gentleman from Massachusetts 
to keep in mind that the gentlewoman from the Buckeye State is an 
appropriator, so she can appropriate some of these monies.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. That is right. So we will be very good to her tonight.
  Mr. SIMMONS. That is what we call a very ``appropriate'' comment.
  Two concluding remarks, and I thank the gentleman for this Special 
Order.
  The first is that approximately 2,200 active duty Coast Guard members 
and their families live and work in the area of Katrina, and many of 
those 2,000 families, Coast Guard families, active-duty Coast Guard 
families lost their homes and discovered that their families were 
evacuees, just as much as were citizens along the gulf coast. Yet in 
spite of that distress, they continue to perform in an outstanding 
fashion.
  The Coast Guard Foundation, which is located in my hometown of 
Stonington, Connecticut, put out a press release that all retirees and 
all folks who participate in supporting the Coast Guard Foundation are 
invited to provide financial assistance, and they hope to raise about 
$1 million of financial assistance to help those active duty families 
to recover with incidentals and costs that may not be covered as a 
routine matter.
  So once again, it is an example of the Coast Guard family reaching 
out to take care of their own, to provide assistance, which is so much 
a part of the tradition of the Coast Guard.
  Finally, I am most honored as an Army officer to be here with these 
distinguished Coast Guard officers and ``Coasties,'' but I will share 
with my colleagues a personal story. My wife's father was in the Coast 
Guard, was the captain of the New London Port for a period during World 
War II, and then did convoy duty across the Atlantic for about 3\1/2\ 
years. So I feel a little bit of the tradition of the Coast Guard; and 
as we work to assist and support the next generation of Coasties, I 
think back to my father-in-law and his generation and all of the great 
things that they did.
  Again, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts and the gentleman 
from North Carolina for inviting me to participate.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, let me acknowledge the gentleman's 
advocacy on the part of the Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Foundation. 
Does the gentleman have an address or a contact for that foundation?
  Mr. SIMMONS. Mr. Speaker, the foundation is located in Stonington, 
Connecticut, and their phone number is 860-535-0786, or they can call 
my office and we would be happy to put them in touch.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. And that would be Congressman Robert Simmons, and I am 
sure that people from all over the country would not have difficulty 
finding that number, and it would certainly be a wonderful 
acknowledgment of the Coast Guard personnel that are saving lives, are 
protecting people, and yet have experienced their own losses as a 
result of Katrina. I know right now, those helicopters and those fixed-
wing aircraft and those vessels of the United States Coast Guard are 
out there ready for Rita and any consequences that hopefully, God 
willing, will not be visited upon any of our American people.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to join my colleagues: 
the Gentleman from Massachusetts, Mr. Delahunt; the Gentleman from New 
Jersey, Mr. LoBiondo; the Gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. Coble; and 
the Gentleman from Mississippi, Mr. Taylor, to pay tribute to the U.S. 
Coast Guard. Let me also add a personal note to the Distinguished 
Gentleman from Mississippi, (Mr. Taylor) to express my deepest concerns 
for him and his family after the tragic events of Hurricane Katrina.
  Mr. Speaker, as the Ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee on the Coast 
Guard and Maritime Transportation, I have the privilege of working 
closely with our men and women who bravely serve in the Coast Guard.
  Mr. Speaker, on Friday September 16th, I had the privilege of joining 
my subcommittee's Chairman, Mr. LoBiondo, on a tour of New Orleans and 
the disaster area impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Mr. LoBiondo and I 
came together, put aside our political differences, and focused all of 
our attention on the needs of the Coast Guard. Even before we toured 
the Gulf Coast, Mr. LoBiondo and I, along with Chairman Young and 
Ranking Member Oberstar, added language to the Coast Guard and Maritime 
Authorization Act to honor and commend the Coast Guard for their 
valiant work in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
  During our visit, we had the opportunity to listen to crew members, 
pilots, and other Coast Guard personnel describe to us the horrific and 
tragic events that happened in the days following the hurricane.
  Upon the announcement that a category 5 hurricane was on a path for 
the Gulf Coast region, the Coast Guard acted diligently to activate a 
plan of redeploying their forces and resources so that they could be on 
the ground operating as soon as the path of the storm had cleared.
  The Coast Guard's plan exceeded expectations, and because of their 
resolve to respond to the country's needs, the Coast Guard was 
operational and in-place allowing the very first air rescue to take 
place within two hours of the hurricane passing the region.
  The numbers speak for themselves: since Katrina hit the Gulf Coast 
the Coast Guard has saved or evacuated 33,500 people. One helicopter 
crew rescued 150 during a single shift!

[[Page 20878]]

  Mr. Speaker, with incredible resolve and expertise, the U.S. Coast 
Guard brought order and infrastructure to the unstable region. Because 
of their strategic planning, training, and leadership the Coast Guard 
was able to implement and carry forth a plan of action that saved 
lives.
  Before, during, and after the events of Hurricane Katrina the Coast 
Guard clearly showed the nation that their motto, Semper Paratus--
Always Ready, is very well-earned.
  In addition to exceptional performance in the Gulf Coast, the Coast 
Guard continues to serve our nation across the seas and borders of U.S. 
waters. On a daily basis, the Coast Guard is intercepting drug 
smugglers, monitoring illegal immigration, and rescuing hundreds lost 
at sea.
  In recent years, the Coast Guard has been charged with some very 
difficult tasks. Since being moved to the Department of Homeland 
Security, their role has grown and expanded. To date, they have met 
many challenges, and exceeded every expectation.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my hope that my colleagues will join me in 
honoring the service men and women of the Coast Guard. They are the 
ones who foresaw the dangers that threaten our soil and they are the 
ones that responded.
  Let us never forget, that all of our service members, regardless of 
department, serve our nation bravely. They volunteer, without 
hesitation, and I join all Americans in gratitude for their service.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. 
Kaptur), my distinguished colleague and friend.


             Honoring the Life and Legacy of Barney Quilter

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my dear colleague, the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt), for yielding me the 
remaining time and thank our colleagues, the gentleman from North 
Carolina (Mr. Coble) and the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons), 
for participating in this great tribute to the Coast Guard, which we on 
the Great Lakes know so well.
  I am honored to add these words this evening as we close the House. 
That is, Mr. Speaker, summer's end has ushered in the end of an era to 
the region I represent of northwest Ohio. Our community's elder 
statesman, Barney Quilter, passed from this life on August 17, 2005, 
and he had achieved 86 years young. As husband, father, father figure 
for our community, kind and generous spirit, and political leader, he 
built a legacy that spanned more than 3 decades of service, even after 
his 1994 retirement from Ohio's General Assembly.
  His achievements were stellar. He championed the Maumee Bay State 
Park on Lake Erie as a lasting legacy to the future, the largest State 
park in Ohio. He sponsored worker protection laws, guiding into place 
in our State cornerstones to working men and women's rights. Barney 
Quilter left so much to all of us. His quiet diligence brought so many 
efforts to fruition. Improvements throughout our State may be laid to 
his credit. Former colleague Patrick Sweeney of Cleveland explained 
that Representative Quilter's legacy can really be found in all of the 
accomplishments that do not carry his name. He noted, it just got done. 
You never saw Barney's fingerprints on a news release; it was just the 
way he was. His influence is, and will be for many years, enormous.
  Born in 1919 to James and Helen Marie Quilter, James Barney Quilter 
grew up on Toledo's famous East Side. A boxer, his career ended when he 
was called into service in World War II where he served in the Army's 
167th Combat Engineering Battalion. In 1967, he was persuaded to run 
for State representative. Reluctant, he finally agreed, but only for 
one term. Toledo's voters decided differently and reelected him to 
successive 2-year terms until he retired at the end of his 14th term.
  Truly a statesman in the best sense of the word, Barney Quilter rose 
to power and prominence in the Ohio legislature, serving as its speaker 
pro tempore, leading the Ohio House in tandem with Speaker Riffe for 20 
years, an acclaimed and effective, powerful team. Partisanship was not 
Barney's goal. He worked side by side with legislators to move forward 
initiatives which benefited all the people of Ohio.
  Henry Clay said: ``Government is a trust, and the officers of the 
government are trustees; and both the trust and the trustees are 
created for the benefit of the people.'' This creed expressed by the 
19th century giant was exemplified in the tenure of Representative 
Barney Quilter. His example should be emulated by all of us in public 
life.
  A noble public servant, Barney shared his expertise and wisdom with 
any and all who asked. He was a real mentor to many, including myself; 
to his own son Bernie who also followed a path into public service. His 
daughter Mary Ann has devoted herself to her family and to educating 
the next generation. Barney and Mary's family are living testimonials 
to the dedication to others their stellar family exemplifies.
  Despite his legislative career, Barney Quilter never lost sight of 
his true happiness: his wife and his children. He and his wife Mary 
shared 52 loving years together until Mary's passing in 1996. For 
nearly 2 decades, Barney faithfully would minister to her, even reading 
to her regularly, as she bore gracefully a debilitating illness that 
made it impossible to communicate with her family. He loved her so 
much.
  Barney's own passing leaves his son Bernie and daughter Mary Ann and 
six grandchildren with our heartfelt condolences. We mourn the passing 
of this great American. We can celebrate his life and his service. May 
his strength and goodness guide us all as we seek to follow in his 
footsteps, always moving forward, no matter how steep the hill. Thank 
you, Barney Quilter. Onward.

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