[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 22692-22702]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            INTEGRATED DEEPWATER PROGRAM REFORM ACT OF 2008

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 6999) to restructure the Coast Guard Integrated Deepwater 
Program, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6999

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

                 TITLE I--INTEGRATED DEEPWATER PROGRAM

     SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Integrated Deepwater 
     Program Reform Act of 2008''.

     SEC. 102. PROCUREMENT STRUCTURE.

       (a) In General.--
       (1) Use of lead systems integrator.--Except as provided in 
     subsection (b), the Secretary may not use a private sector 
     entity as a lead systems integrator for acquisitions under, 
     or in support of, the Integrated Deepwater Program after the 
     end of the 180-day period beginning on the date of enactment 
     of this Act.
       (2) Full and open competition.--The Secretary and the lead 
     systems integrator for the Integrated Deepwater Program shall 
     utilize full and open competition for any acquisition for 
     which an outside contractor is used under, or in support of, 
     the Integrated Deepwater Program after the date of enactment 
     of this Act, unless otherwise excepted in accordance with the 
     Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 and the Federal 
     Acquisition Regulation.
       (3) No effect on small business act.--Nothing in this 
     subsection shall be construed to supersede or otherwise 
     affect the authorities provided by and under the Small 
     Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.).
       (b) Exceptions.--
       (1) Completion of acquisitions by lead systems 
     integrator.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Secretary 
     may use a private sector entity as a lead systems integrator 
     for the Coast Guard--
       (A) to complete any delivery order or task order that was 
     issued to the lead systems integrator on or before the date 
     that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act 
     without any change in the quantity of assets or the specific 
     type of assets covered by the order;
       (B) for acquisitions after the date that is 180 days after 
     the date of enactment of this Act of, or in support of, the 
     HC-130J aircraft, the HH-65 aircraft, and the C4ISR system if 
     the requirements of subsection (c) are met with respect to 
     such acquisitions;
       (C) for acquisitions after the date that is 180 days after 
     the date of enactment of this Act of, or in support of, 
     National Security Cutters or Maritime Patrol Aircraft under 
     contract or order for construction as of the date that is 180 
     days after the date of enactment of this Act, if the 
     requirements of subsection (c) are met with respect to such 
     acquisitions; and
       (D) for the acquisition, or in support, of additional 
     National Security Cutters or Maritime Patrol Aircraft if the 
     Secretary determines that--
       (i) the acquisition is in accordance with the Competition 
     in Contracting Act of 1984 and the Federal Acquisition 
     Regulation;
       (ii) the acquisition and the use of a private sector entity 
     as a lead systems integrator for the acquisition is in the 
     best interest of the Federal Government; and
       (iii) the requirements of subsection (c) are met with 
     respect to such acquisition.
       (2) Awards to tier 1 subcontractors.--The Secretary may 
     award to any Tier 1 subcontractor or subcontractor below the 
     Tier 1 level any acquisition that the Secretary could award 
     to a lead systems integrator under paragraph (1).
       (3) Report on decision-making process.--If the Secretary 
     determines under paragraph (1)(B), (1)(C), or (1)(D) that the 
     Coast Guard will use a private sector lead systems integrator 
     for an acquisition, the Secretary shall notify in writing the 
     appropriate congressional committees of the Secretary's 
     determination and shall provide a detailed rationale for the 
     determination, at least 30 days before the award of a 
     contract, delivery order, or task order using a private 
     sector lead systems integrator, including a comparison of the 
     cost of the acquisition through the private sector lead 
     systems integrator with the expected cost if the acquisition 
     were awarded directly to the manufacturer or shipyard.
       (c) Limitation on Lead Systems Integrators.--Neither an 
     entity performing lead systems integrator functions for an 
     acquisition under, or in support of, the Integrated Deepwater 
     Program, nor a Tier 1 subcontractor, for any acquisition 
     described in subsection (b)(1)(B), (b)(1)(C), or (b)(1)(D) 
     may have a financial interest in a subcontractor below the 
     tier 1 subcontractor level unless--
       (1) the subcontractor was selected by the Secretary through 
     full and open competition for such procurement;
       (2) the procurement was awarded by the lead systems 
     integrator or a subcontractor through full and open 
     competition;
       (3) the procurement was awarded by a subcontractor through 
     a process over which the lead systems integrator or a Tier 1 
     subcontractor exercised no control; or
       (4) the Secretary has determined that the procurement was 
     awarded in a manner consistent with the Competition in 
     Contracting Act of 1984 and the Federal Acquisition 
     Regulation.
       (d) Rule of Construction.--The limitation in subsection 
     (b)(1)(A) on the quantity and specific type of assets to 
     which subsection (b) applies shall not be construed to apply 
     to the modification of the number or type of any subsystems 
     or other components of a vessel or aircraft described in 
     subsection (b)(1)(B), (C), or (D).
       (e) Termination Date for Exceptions.--Notwithstanding 
     subsection (b), the Secretary may not use a private sector 
     entity as a lead systems integrator for acquisitions under, 
     or in support of, the Integrated Deepwater Program after the 
     earlier of--
       (1) September 30, 2011; or
       (2) the date on which the Secretary certifies in writing to 
     the appropriate congressional committees that the Coast Guard 
     has available and can retain sufficient contracting personnel 
     and expertise within the Coast Guard, through an arrangement 
     with other Federal agencies, or through contracts or other 
     arrangements with private sector entities, to perform the 
     functions and responsibilities of the lead system integrator 
     in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

     SEC. 103. REQUIRED CONTRACT TERMS.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary shall ensure that any 
     contract, delivery order, or task order for an acquisition 
     under, or in support of, the Integrated Deepwater Program 
     executed by the Secretary after the date of enactment of this 
     Act--
       (1) provides that all certifications for Integrated 
     Deepwater Program procurements will be conducted by the 
     Secretary or an independent third party, and that self-
     certification by the contractor or subcontractor is not 
     allowed;
       (2) provides that the Commandant shall conduct a technical 
     review of all proposed designs, design changes, and 
     engineering changes and requires that the contractor address 
     all design and engineering concerns identified in the 
     technical reviews;
       (3) requires that the Commandant shall maintain the 
     authority to establish, approve, and maintain technical 
     requirements;
       (4) requires that any measurement of contractor and 
     subcontractor performance be based on the status of all work 
     performed, including the extent to which the work performed 
     met all cost, schedule, and mission performance requirements;
       (5) specifies that, for the acquisition or upgrade of air, 
     surface, or shore assets for which compliance with TEMPEST 
     certification is a requirement, the standard for determining 
     such compliance will be the air, surface, or shore asset 
     standard then used by the Department of the Navy for that 
     type of asset; and
       (6) for any contract issued to acquire an Offshore Patrol 
     Cutter, includes provisions specifying the service life, 
     fatigue life, and days underway in general Atlantic and North

[[Page 22693]]

     Pacific Sea conditions, maximum range, and maximum speed the 
     cutter will be built to achieve.
       (b) Prohibited Contract Provisions.--The Secretary shall 
     ensure that any contract, delivery order, or task order for 
     acquisition under, or in support of, the Integrated Deepwater 
     Program executed by the Secretary after the date of enactment 
     of this Act does not include--
       (1) provisions that commit the Secretary without express 
     written approval by the Secretary; or
       (2) any provision allowing for equitable adjustment that 
     differs from the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
       (c) Extension of Program.--Any contract, contract 
     modification, or award term extending the existing Integrated 
     Deepwater Program contract term, as signed in May 2006 and 
     modified in June 2007--
       (1) shall not include any minimum requirements for the 
     purchase of a given or determinable number of specific 
     assets; and
       (2) shall be reviewed by the Under Secretary of Defense for 
     Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics through the Defense 
     Acquisition University and the results of that review shall 
     be submitted to the appropriate congressional committees at 
     least 60 days prior to the award of the contract, contract 
     modification, or award term.

     SEC. 104. TESTING AND CERTIFICATION.

       (a) Early Operational Assessment.--
       (1) For any major asset type acquired for the Coast Guard 
     after the date of enactment of this Act other than the 
     National Security Cutter and the Maritime Patrol Aircraft, 
     the Secretary shall cause an early operational assessment to 
     be completed on the design for that asset type.
       (2) The early operational assessment shall be conducted by 
     an independent third party with relevant expertise in 
     conducting early operational assessments on the asset type 
     for which the assessment is being performed or by the Coast 
     Guard acting in collaboration with an independent third party 
     with relevant expertise in conducting early operational 
     assessments on the asset type for which the assessment is 
     being performed.
       (3) The result of this assessment shall be submitted to the 
     appropriate congressional committees at least 90 days prior 
     to the initiation of any construction activity utilizing the 
     proposed design.
       (4) The Secretary shall also submit a report describing the 
     steps taken to mitigate the risks identified by the early 
     operational assessment conducted under this section in the 
     design on which construction is to begin at least 30 days 
     prior to the initiation of any construction utilizing the 
     proposed design.
       (b) Assessment of Operational Capability.--
       (1) The Secretary shall cause the first in class of a major 
     asset acquisition of a cutter or an aircraft by the Coast 
     Guard to be subjected to an assessment of operational 
     capability conducted by an independent third party with 
     relevant expertise in the asset type or by the Coast Guard in 
     collaboration with an independent third party with relevant 
     expertise in the asset type.
       (2) The result of the assessment conducted under this 
     subsection shall be submitted to the appropriate 
     congressional committees at least 45 days prior to acceptance 
     of the asset.
       (c) Cutter Classification.--The Secretary shall cause each 
     cutter, other than a National Security Cutter, acquired by 
     the Coast Guard and delivered after the date of enactment of 
     this Act to be classed by the American Bureau of Shipping, 
     before acceptance of delivery.
       (d) Tempest Testing.--The Secretary shall cause all 
     electronics on all aircraft, surface, and shore assets that 
     require TEMPEST certification and that are delivered after 
     the date of enactment of this Act to be tested in accordance 
     with TEMPEST standards and communication security (COMSEC) 
     standards by an independent third party that is authorized by 
     the Federal Government to perform such testing and certify 
     that the asset meets all applicable TEMPEST requirements.
       (e) National Security Cutter.--The Secretary shall cause 
     the design and construction of each National Security Cutter, 
     other than National Security Cutter 1 and 2, to be certified 
     by an independent third party with expertise in vessel design 
     and construction certification.
       (f) Aircraft Airworthiness.--The Secretary shall cause all 
     aircraft and aircraft engines acquired by the Coast Guard and 
     delivered after the date of enactment of this Act to be 
     certified for airworthiness by an independent third party 
     with expertise in aircraft and aircraft engine certification, 
     before acceptance of delivery.
       (g) Certifications.--
       (1) After the date of enactment of this Act, a contract, 
     delivery order, or task order exceeding $10,000,000 for an 
     acquisition under, or in support of, the Coast Guard's 
     Integrated Deepwater Program may not be executed by the Coast 
     Guard until the Secretary certifies that--
       (A) appropriate market research has been conducted prior to 
     technology development to reduce duplication of existing 
     technology and products;
       (B) the technology has been demonstrated to the maximum 
     extent practicable in a relevant environment;
       (C) the technology demonstrates a high likelihood of 
     accomplishing its intended mission;
       (D) funding is available to execute the contract, delivery 
     order, or task order; and
       (E) the technology complies with all relevant policies, 
     regulations, and directives of the Coast Guard.
       (2) The Secretary shall transmit a copy of each 
     certification required under subsection (g) to the 
     appropriate congressional committees within 30 days after the 
     completion of the certification.
       (h) Limitation.--Nothing in this section shall prevent the 
     Secretary from executing contracts or issuing delivery orders 
     or task orders for research and development or technology 
     demonstrations under, or in support of, the Integrated 
     Deepwater Program.

     SEC. 105. NATIONAL SECURITY CUTTER.

       Not later than 90 days before the Coast Guard signs any 
     contract, delivery order, or task order to strengthen the 
     hull of either of National Security Cutter 1 or 2 to resolve 
     the structural design and performance issues identified in 
     the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General's 
     report OIG-07-23 dated January 2007, the Secretary shall 
     submit to the appropriate congressional committees all 
     results of an assessment of the proposed hull strengthening 
     design conducted by the Coast Guard, in conjunction with the 
     Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, including--
       (1) a description in detail of the extent to which the hull 
     strengthening measures to be implemented on those cutters 
     will enable the cutters to meet contract and performance 
     requirements;
       (2) a cost benefit analysis of the proposed hull 
     strengthening measures for National Security Cutters 1 and 2; 
     and
       (3) a description of any operational restrictions that 
     would have to be applied to either National Security Cutters 
     1 or 2 if the proposed hull strengthening measures were not 
     implemented on either cutter.

     SEC. 106. IMPROVEMENTS IN COAST GUARD MANAGEMENT.

       (a) Integrated Product Teams.--Integrated product teams, 
     and all teams that oversee integrated product teams, shall be 
     chaired by officers, members, or employees of the Coast 
     Guard.
       (b) Deepwater Technical Authority.--The Commandant shall 
     maintain or designate the technical authority to establish, 
     approve, and maintain technical requirements for the 
     Integrated Deepwater Program. Any such designation shall be 
     given in writing and may not be delegated to the authority of 
     the Chief Acquisition Officer established by section 55 of 
     title 14, United States Code.
       (c) Ensuring Adequate Personnel.--The Secretary shall 
     ensure that sufficient contracting officers, contracting 
     specialists, and technical and financial management 
     specialists (including earned value experts) are available to 
     execute each contract issued under the Integrated Deepwater 
     Program.
       (d) Acquisitions Workforce Policy.--The Secretary shall 
     review all policies established for the Coast Guard's 
     acquisitions workforce to ensure that they are designed to 
     provide for the selection of the best qualified individual 
     for a position, consistent with other applicable law, and 
     promote the establishment and maintenance of a balanced 
     workforce in which women and members of racial and ethnic 
     minority groups are appropriately represented in Government 
     service.
       (e) Career Paths.--The Secretary shall ensure that 
     appropriate career paths for civilian and military personnel 
     who wish to pursue careers in acquisitions are identified in 
     terms of the education, training, experience, and assignments 
     necessary for career progression of civilians and members of 
     the Coast Guard to the most senior acquisitions positions. 
     The Secretary shall make available published information on 
     such career paths.
       (f) Balanced Workforce Policy.--In the development of 
     acquisition workforce policies with respect to any civilian 
     employees or applicants for employment, the Secretary shall, 
     consistent with the merit system principles set out in 
     paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 2301(b) of title 5, United 
     States Code, promote a balanced workforce in which women and 
     members of racial and ethnic minority groups are 
     appropriately represented in Government service.
       (g) Guidance on Tenure and Accountability of Program 
     Managers.--
       (1) Issuance of guidance.--Not later than one year after 
     the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
     issue guidance for major systems acquisition programs to 
     address the qualifications, resources, responsibilities, 
     tenure, and accountability of program managers for the 
     management of major systems acquisitions. The guidance issued 
     pursuant to this subsection shall address, at a minimum--
       (A) the qualifications that shall be required of program 
     managers, including the number of years of acquisitions 
     experience and the professional training levels to be 
     required of those appointed to program management positions;
       (B) authorities available to the program manager, 
     including, to the extent appropriate, the authority to object 
     to the addition of new program requirements that

[[Page 22694]]

     would be inconsistent with the parameters established for an 
     acquisitions program; and
       (C) the extent to which a program manager who initiates a 
     new program will continue in management of that program 
     without interruption until the delivery of the first 
     production units of the program.
       (2) Strategy.--
       (A) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop a 
     comprehensive strategy for enhancing the role of Coast Guard 
     program managers in developing and carrying out acquisition 
     programs.
       (B) Matters to be addressed.--The strategy required by this 
     section shall address, at a minimum--
       (i) the creation of a specific career path and career 
     opportunities for program managers, including the rotational 
     assignments that will be provided to program managers;
       (ii) the provision of enhanced training and educational 
     opportunities for program managers;
       (iii) the provision of mentoring support to current and 
     future program managers by experienced senior executives and 
     program managers within the Coast Guard, including through 
     rotational assignments to the Department of Defense;
       (iv) the methods by which the Coast Guard will collect and 
     disseminate best practices and lessons learned on systems 
     acquisitions to enhance program management throughout the 
     Coast Guard;
       (v) the templates and tools that will be used to support 
     improved data gathering and analysis for program management 
     and oversight purposes, including the metrics that will be 
     utilized to assess the effectiveness of Coast Guard program 
     managers in managing systems acquisitions efforts;
       (vi) a description in detail of how the Coast Guard will 
     promote a balanced workforce in which women and members of 
     racial and ethnic minority groups are appropriately 
     represented in Government service; and
       (vii) the methods by which the accountability of program 
     managers for the results of acquisition programs will be 
     increased.
       (3) Report by comptroller general.--Not later than 2 years 
     after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 
     General shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
     committees a report on the actions taken by the Secretary to 
     implement the requirements of this subsection, including the 
     strategies that are required to be developed by this 
     subsection.

     SEC. 107. CHIEF ACQUISITION OFFICER.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 3 of title 14, United States Code, 
     is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 55. Chief Acquisition Officer

       ``(a) Establishment of Agency Chief Acquisition Officer.--
     There shall be in the Coast Guard a Chief Acquisitions 
     Officer selected by the Commandant who shall be a Rear 
     Admiral or civilian from the Senior Executive Service (career 
     reserved) and who meets the qualifications set forth under 
     subsection (b). The Chief Acquisitions Officer shall serve at 
     the Assistant Commandant level and have acquisition 
     management as that individual's primary duty.
       ``(b) Qualifications.--The Chief Acquisition Officer shall 
     be a certified acquisition professional with a program 
     manager level III certification and must have at least 10 
     years experience in an acquisition position.
       ``(c) Authority and Functions of the Chief Acquisition 
     Officer.--The functions of the Chief Acquisition Officer 
     shall include--
       ``(1) monitoring the performance of programs on the basis 
     of applicable performance measurements and advising the 
     Commandant, through the Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, 
     regarding the appropriate business strategy to achieve the 
     missions of the Coast Guard;
       ``(2) increasing the use of full and open competition in 
     the acquisition of property and services by the Coast Guard 
     by establishing policies, procedures, and practices that 
     ensure that the Coast Guard receives a sufficient number of 
     sealed bids or competitive proposals from responsible sources 
     to fulfill the Government's requirements, including 
     performance and delivery schedules, at the lowest cost or 
     best value considering the nature of the property or service 
     procured;
       ``(3) making acquisition decisions in concurrence with the 
     technical authority of the Coast Guard, as designated by the 
     Commandant, and consistent with all other applicable laws and 
     decisions establishing procedures within the Coast Guard;
       ``(4) ensuring the use of detailed performance 
     specifications in instances in which performance based 
     contracting is used;
       ``(5) making acquisition decisions consistent with all 
     applicable laws and decision making procedures within the 
     Coast Guard;
       ``(6) managing the direction of acquisition policy for the 
     Coast Guard, including implementation of the unique 
     acquisition policies, regulations, and standards of the Coast 
     Guard;
       ``(7) developing and maintaining an acquisition career 
     management program in the Coast Guard to ensure that there is 
     an adequate professional work force; and
       ``(8) as part of the strategic planning and performance 
     evaluation process required under section 306 of title 5 and 
     sections 1105(a)(28), 1115, 1116, 10 and 9703 of title 31--
       ``(A) assessing the requirements established for Coast 
     Guard personnel regarding knowledge and skill in acquisition 
     resources and management and the adequacy of such 
     requirements for facilitating the achievement of the 
     performance goals established for acquisition management;
       ``(B) in order to rectify any deficiency in meeting such 
     requirements, developing strategies and specific plans for 
     hiring, training, and professional development; and
       ``(C) reporting to the Commandant, through the Vice 
     Commandant, on the progress made in improving acquisition 
     management capability.''.
       (b) Application of Qualification Requirement.--Section 
     55(b) of title 46, United States Code, as amended by this 
     section, shall apply beginning October 1, 2011.
       (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:

``55. Chief Acquisition Officer.''.

       (d) Special Rate Supplements.--
       (1) Requirement to establish.--Not later than 1 year after 
     the date of enactment of this Act and in accordance with part 
     9701.333 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, the 
     Secretary shall establish special rate supplements that 
     provide higher pay levels for employees necessary to carry 
     out the amendment made by this section.
       (2) Subject to appropriations.--The requirement under 
     paragraph (1) is subject to the availability of 
     appropriations.

     SEC. 108. INTEGRATED DEEPWATER PROGRAM PLANS.

       (a) In General.--
       (1) Revised integrated deepwater program plans and 
     acquisition program.--The Secretary shall--
       (A) revise and update the Integrated Deepwater Program's 
     project management plan within 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, in accordance with the requirements of 
     subsection (d);
       (B) issue new or updated acquisition plans and acquisition 
     program baselines for each asset class under the Integrated 
     Deepwater Program, in accordance with the requirements of 
     subsection (e); and
       (C) transmit copies thereof to the appropriate 
     congressional committees.
       (2) Use of alternatives analysis.--The Secretary shall base 
     the revisions and plans on the February 2008 Integrated 
     Deepwater System Alternatives Analysis prepared for the 
     United States Coast Guard by an independent consulting 
     organization.
       (b) Alternatives Analyses.--
       (1) In general.--No acquisition of an experimental, 
     technically immature, or first-in-class major asset may be 
     made under the Integrated Deepwater Program unless an 
     alternatives analysis was conducted for such asset during the 
     concept and technology development phase. Such analyses shall 
     be conducted by a federally funded research and development 
     center, a qualified entity of the Department of Defense, or a 
     similar independent third party entity that has appropriate 
     acquisition expertise. Such alternatives analyses shall 
     include--
       (A) an examination of capability, interoperability, and 
     other advantages and disadvantages;
       (B) an evaluation of whether different quantities of 
     specific assets could meet the Coast Guard's overall 
     performance needs;
       (C) a discussion of key assumptions and variables, and 
     sensitivity to changes in such assumptions and variables;
       (D) an assessment of technology risk and maturity;
       (E) an evaluation of relevant safety and performance 
     records;
       (F) a calculation of costs, including life cycle costs;
       (G) a business case of viable alternatives;
       (H) an examination of likely research and development costs 
     and the levels of uncertainty associated with such estimated 
     costs;
       (I) an examination of likely production and deployment 
     costs and the levels of uncertainty associated with such 
     estimated costs;
       (J) an examination of likely operating and support costs 
     and the levels of uncertainty associated with such estimated 
     costs;
       (K) if they are likely to be significant, an examination of 
     likely disposal costs and the levels of uncertainty 
     associated with such estimated costs;
       (L) an analysis of the risks to production cost, schedule, 
     and life-cycle cost resulting from the experimental, 
     technically immature nature of the systems under 
     consideration; and
       (M) such additional measures the Secretary determines to be 
     necessary for appropriate evaluation of the asset.
       (c) Future Revisions.--The Secretary shall--
       (1) notify each of the appropriate congressional committees 
     whenever an alternatives analysis or revision of an 
     alternatives analysis under the Integrated Deepwater Program 
     are initiated under this title;
       (2) transmit a copy of the Integrated Deepwater Program's 
     project management plan, acquisition plans, or acquisition 
     program baselines to each of the appropriate congressional 
     committees whenever any such document is created or revised; 
     and

[[Page 22695]]

       (3) maintain a historical file containing, and make 
     available to each of the appropriate congressional 
     committees, upon request, copies of each version of those 
     documents as they are revised.
       (d) Project Management Plan.--The revised project 
     management plan required by subsection (a)(1) shall include 
     the following:
       (1) An analysis and risk assessment of the technology risks 
     and level of maturity for major technologies used on all 
     classes of asset acquisitions under the Integrated Deepwater 
     Program, including the National Security Cutter, fast 
     response cutter, offshore patrol cutter, the vertical 
     unmanned aerial vehicle, maritime patrol aircraft, HC-130J 
     aircraft, and C4ISR systems.
       (2) A description of how the Coast Guard plans to utilize 
     arrangements with the Department of Defense for support in 
     contracting and management of acquisitions under the 
     Integrated Deepwater Program and to seek opportunities to 
     leverage off of Department of Defense contracts, and 
     contracts of other appropriate agencies, to obtain the best 
     possible price for Integrated Deepwater Program assets.
       (3) A life-cycle cost estimate for the Integrated Deepwater 
     Program which shall include asset acquisition and logistics 
     support decisions and planned operational tempo and 
     locations.
       (4) Any other information the Secretary deems necessary.
       (e) Acquisition Program Baseline.--
       (1) In general.--The new acquisition program baselines 
     required by subsection (a)(1) shall include--
       (A) a plan for the acquisition, and the schedule and costs 
     for delivery of such acquisitions;
       (B) a lifecycle cost estimate that includes asset 
     acquisition and logistics support decisions and planned 
     operational tempo and locations; and
       (C) such other information as the Secretary deems 
     necessary.
       (2) Offshore patrol cutter.--When an acquisition program 
     baseline is completed for the offshore patrol cutter 
     following an alternatives analysis for that asset class, the 
     acquisition program baseline shall include a detailed 
     statement of the service life, fatigue life, maximum range, 
     maximum speed, and number of days underway under general 
     Atlantic and North Pacific Sea conditions the cutter will be 
     built to achieve. The offshore patrol cutter's acquisition 
     program baseline shall be completed and transmitted to each 
     of the appropriate congressional committees not less than 90 
     days before the Secretary issues a request for proposals for 
     construction of an offshore patrol cutter.

     SEC. 109. REPORTS.

       (a) Annual Report.--
       (1) In general.--Within 45 days after the end of each 
     fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit a comprehensive 
     annual report on the progress of the Integrated Deepwater 
     Program to the appropriate congressional committees.
       (2) Scope.--At a minimum, the report shall include--
       (A) an outline and description of all changes to the 
     Integrated Deepwater Program's project management plan during 
     the previous fiscal year;
       (B) an outline and description of all changes to 
     acquisition plans and acquisition program baselines for all 
     Integrated Deepwater Program asset acquisitions during the 
     previous fiscal year, including all updates to life cycle 
     cost estimates, acquisition cost estimates, schedule changes, 
     and changes in asset performance requirements;
       (C) a summary of findings of all alternatives analyses 
     completed or revised during the previous fiscal year under 
     the Integrated Deepwater Program;
       (D) an updated development schedule for each asset and 
     asset class, including estimated annual costs until 
     development is completed;
       (E) an updated acquisition schedule for each asset and 
     asset class, including estimated annual costs and units to be 
     procured until acquisition is completed;
       (F) an updated projection of the remaining operational 
     lifespan of each legacy asset and projected costs for 
     sustaining such assets;
       (G) a breakdown of the percentage of the total amount of 
     funds expended on acquisitions under the Integrated Deepwater 
     Program during the previous fiscal year that has been paid to 
     each of small businesses, socially and economically 
     disadvantaged small business concerns eligible for assistance 
     under section 8(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
     637(a)), minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, 
     and service disabled veteran-owned businesses;
       (H) information on the status of agreements and progress of 
     other arrangements with the Department of Defense for support 
     in contracting and management of acquisitions under the 
     Integrated Deepwater Program required by section 110 of this 
     Act and the updated project management plan as required by 
     section 108(a) of this Act;
       (I) an update on the Secretary's progress in meeting goals 
     for the development of the acquisition program described in 
     the Blueprint for Acquisition Reform, and required by this 
     title, including staffing levels and professional 
     development;
       (J) a financial accounting of the Integrated Deepwater 
     Program as of the end of the fiscal year, which shall include 
     a balance sheet, statement of net cost, statement of changes 
     in net position, and statement of budgetary resources of the 
     Program;
       (K) an update on the status of efforts to enhance the role 
     of Coast Guard program managers in developing and carrying 
     out acquisitions programs and efforts to promote a balanced 
     workforce in which women and members of racial and ethnic 
     minority groups are appropriately represented in Government 
     service; and
       (L) such additional information as the Secretary deems 
     necessary for updating Congress on the progress of the 
     Integrated Deepwater Program.
       (b) Cost Overruns and Delays.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary shall submit a report to the 
     appropriate congressional committees as soon as possible, but 
     not later than 30 days, after the Deepwater Program Executive 
     Officer becomes aware of the breach of an acquisition program 
     baseline under the Integrated Deepwater Program by--
       (A) a likely cost overrun greater than 8 percent of the 
     acquisition program baseline total acquisition cost for that 
     individual asset or a class of assets;
       (B) a likely delay of more than 180 days in the delivery 
     schedule for any individual asset or class of assets; or
       (C) an anticipated failure for any individual asset or 
     class of assets to satisfy any key performance threshold or 
     parameter under the Integrated Deepwater Program acquisition 
     program baseline.
       (2) Content.--The report submitted under paragraph (1) 
     shall include
       (A) a detailed description of the breach and an explanation 
     of its cause;
       (B) the projected impact to cost, schedule and performance;
       (C) an updated total acquisition cost and the complete 
     history of changes to the original cost estimate described in 
     the plan submitted under section 108(e);
       (D) the updated acquisition schedule and the complete 
     history of changes to the original schedule described in the 
     plan submitted under section 108(e);
       (E) a full life-cycle cost analysis for the asset or class 
     of assets;
       (F) a remediation plan identifying corrective actions and 
     any resulting issues or risks; and
       (G) a description of how progress in the remediation plan 
     will be measured and monitored.
       (3) Substantial variances in costs or schedule.--If a 
     likely cost overrun is greater than 20 percent or a likely 
     delay is greater than 12 months from the schedule and costs 
     described in the acquisition program baseline total 
     acquisition cost for that individual asset or class of 
     assets, the Secretary shall include in the report a written 
     certification, with a supporting explanation, that--
       (A) the asset or asset class is essential to the 
     accomplishment of Coast Guard missions;
       (B) there are no alternatives to such asset or asset class 
     which will provide equal or greater capability in both a more 
     cost-effective and timely manner;
       (C) the new acquisition schedule and estimates for total 
     acquisition cost are reasonable; and
       (D) the management structure for the acquisition program is 
     adequate to manage and control costs, schedule, and 
     performance.
       (4) Certified assets and asset classes.--If the Secretary 
     certifies an asset or asset class under paragraph (3), the 
     requirements of this sub-section shall be met based on the 
     new estimates of cost and schedule contained in that 
     certification.
       (c) Report on Integrated Deepwater Program C4ISR.--
       (1) Independent assessment.--Not later than 3 months after 
     the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall enter 
     into an arrangement with the National Research Council of the 
     National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study to assess the 
     Coast Guard's Integrated Deepwater Program C4ISR systems and 
     acquisition plans. This study shall include an examination 
     of--
       (A) the Coast Guard's current and planned Integrated 
     Deepwater Program C4ISR capabilities and architecture;
       (B) the adequacy of the Integrated Deepwater Program C4ISR 
     acquisition's Information Technology requirements;
       (C) whether the planned Integrated Deepwater Program C4ISR 
     systems are sufficiently adaptable to meet the needs of the 
     Coast Guard's mission requirements;
       (D) whether the planned Integrated Deepwater Program C4ISR 
     systems facilitate future upgrades as C4ISR technology 
     advances; and
       (E) the adequacy of the Coast Guard's organizational, 
     personnel, and training systems for acquiring, utilizing, and 
     sustaining Integrated Deepwater Program C4ISR systems.
       (d) Patrol Boat Report.--Not later than 120 days after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 
     the appropriate congressional committees a report on how the 
     Coast Guard plans to manage the annual readiness gap of lost 
     time for 110-foot patrol boats from fiscal year 2009 through 
     fiscal year 2015. The report shall include--
       (1) a description of the mission performance gap detailing 
     the geographic regions and Coast Guard capabilities affected;

[[Page 22696]]

       (2) a summary of the patrol hours that will be lost due to 
     delays in replacing the 110-foot cutters and lost 
     capabilities of the 110-foot cutters that have been 
     converted;
       (3) an analysis of factors affecting the mission 
     performance gap that are unrelated to the Integrated 
     Deepwater Program, including deployment of Coast Guard assets 
     overseas and continuous vessel shortages;
       (4) an identification of assets that are being used or may 
     be used to alleviate the annual readiness gap of lost time 
     for such patrol boats, including any acquisition or lease 
     considered and the reasons they were not pursued;
       (5) in cases where Coast Guard assets are used more heavily 
     to alleviate the readiness gap, an assessment of the 
     estimated additional maintenance costs incurred and asset 
     lifespan lost due to the increased use of such assets;
       (6) a projection of the remaining operational lifespan of 
     the 110-foot patrol boat fleet;
       (7) a description of how extending through fiscal year 2015 
     the transfer agreement between the Coast Guard and the United 
     States Navy for 3 Cyclone class 179-foot patrol coastal ships 
     would affect the annual readiness gap of lost time for 110-
     foot patrol boats; and
       (8) an estimate of the cost to extend the operational 
     lifespan of the 110-foot patrol boat fleet for each of fiscal 
     years 2008 through 2015.
       (e) Acquisitions Workforce Report.--Within 4 months after 
     the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall report 
     on the development of the acquisitions office within the 
     Coast Guard, describing the specific staffing structure for 
     that directorate, including--
       (1) identification of all acquisitions positions proposed 
     as part of the office, the functions that each managerial 
     position will fill, and the number of employees each manager 
     will supervise; and
       (2) a formal organizational chart and identification of 
     when managerial positions are to be filled.
       (f) Elevation of Disputes to the Chief Acquisition 
     Officer.--Within 30 days after the elevation to the Chief 
     Acquisition Officer of any design or other dispute regarding 
     the Integrated Deepwater Program contract or an item to be 
     acquired under that contract, the Secretary shall provide to 
     the appropriate congressional committees a detailed 
     description of the issue and the rationale underlying the 
     decision taken by the Chief Acquisition Officer to resolve 
     the issue.
       (g) Amendment of 2006 Act.--Section 408(a) of the Coast 
     Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2006 is amended--
       (1) by striking paragraphs (1) and (3); and
       (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (4) through (8) as 
     paragraphs (1) through (6), respectively.

     SEC. 110. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CONSULTATION.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary shall make arrangements as 
     appropriate with the Secretary of Defense for support in 
     contracting and management of acquisitions under the 
     Integrated Deepwater Program. The Coast Guard shall also seek 
     opportunities to leverage off of Department of Defense 
     contracts, and contracts of other appropriate agencies, to 
     obtain the best possible price for Integrated Deepwater 
     Program assets.
       (b) Inter-Service Technical Assistance.--The Secretary may 
     enter into a memorandum of understanding or a memorandum of 
     agreement with the Secretary of the Navy to obtain the 
     assistance of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the 
     Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition, including 
     the Navy Systems Commands, with the oversight of Coast Guard 
     major acquisition programs. Such memorandum of understanding 
     or memorandum of agreement shall, at a minimum, provide for--
       (1) the exchange of technical assistance and support that 
     the Coast Guard Chief Acquisition Officer, Coast Guard Chief 
     Engineer, and the Coast Guard Chief Information Officer may 
     identify;
       (2) the use, as appropriate, of Navy technical expertise; 
     and
       (3) the temporary assignment or exchange of personnel 
     between the Coast Guard and the Office of the Assistant 
     Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and 
     Acquisition, including Naval Systems Commands, to facilitate 
     the development of organic capabilities in the Coast Guard.
       (c) Technical Authorities.--The technical authority 
     established under section 106(b) shall adopt, to the extent 
     practicable, procedures that are similar to those used by the 
     Navy Senior Acquisition Official to approve all technical 
     requirements.
       (d) Assessment.--Within 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall transmit 
     a report to the appropriate congressional committees that--
       (1) contains an assessment of current Coast Guard 
     acquisition and management capabilities to manage 
     acquisitions under or in support of the Integrated Deepwater 
     Program;
       (2) includes recommendations as to how the Coast Guard can 
     improve its acquisition management, either through internal 
     reforms or by seeking acquisition expertise from the 
     Department of Defense; and
       (3) addresses specifically the question of whether the 
     Coast Guard can better leverage Department of Defense or 
     other agencies' contracts that would meet the needs of the 
     Integrated Deepwater Program in order to obtain the best 
     possible price.

     SEC. 111. DEFINITIONS.

       In this title, the following definitions apply:
       (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
     ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committees 
     on Transportation and Infrastructure and Homeland Security of 
     the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
     Science, and Transportation of the Senate.
       (2) Integrated deepwater program.--The term ``Integrated 
     Deepwater Program'' means the Integrated Deepwater Systems 
     Program described by the Coast Guard in its Report to 
     Congress on Revised Deepwater Implementation Plan, dated 
     March 25, 2005, including any subsequent modifications, 
     revisions, or restatements of the Program. The Integrated 
     Deepwater Program includes the procurement, development, 
     production, sustainment, modification, conversion, and 
     missionization of C4ISR and of cutter and aviation assets 
     that operate more than 50 miles offshore.
       (3) Life-cycle cost.--The term ``life-cycle cost'' means 
     all costs for development, procurement, construction, and 
     operations and support for a particular asset, without regard 
     to funding source or management control.
       (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating.

     SEC. 112. ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES IN THE RECREATIONAL MARINE 
                   INDUSTRY.

       Section 2(3)(F) of the Longshore and Harbor Workers' 
     Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. 902(3)(F)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``, repair or dismantle''; and
       (2) by striking the semicolon and inserting ``, or 
     individuals employed to repair any recreational vessel, or to 
     dismantle any part of a recreational vessel in connection 
     with the repair of such vessel;''.

       TITLE II--SUBMERSIBLE VESSELS AND SEMI-SUBMERSIBLE VESSELS

     SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Drug Trafficking Vessel 
     Interdiction Act of 2008''.

                    Subtitle A--Criminal Prohibition

     SEC. 211. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.

       Congress finds and declares that operating or embarking in 
     a submersible vessel or semi-submersible vessel without 
     nationality and on an international voyage is a serious 
     international problem, facilitates transnational crime, 
     including drug trafficking, and terrorism, and presents a 
     specific threat to the safety of maritime navigation and the 
     security of the United States.

     SEC. 212. OPERATION OF SUBMERSIBLE VESSEL OR SEMI-SUBMERSIBLE 
                   VESSEL WITHOUT NATIONALITY.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 111 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     section:

     ``Sec. 2285. Operation of submersible vessel or semi-
       submersible vessel without nationality

       ``(a) Offense.--Whoever knowingly operates, or attempts or 
     conspires to operate, by any means, or embarks in any 
     submersible vessel or semi-submersible vessel that is without 
     nationality and that is navigating or has navigated into, 
     through, or from waters beyond the outer limit of the 
     territorial sea of a single country or a lateral limit of 
     that country's territorial sea with an adjacent country, with 
     the intent to evade detection, shall be fined under this 
     title, imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both.
       ``(b) Evidence of Intent to Evade Detection.--For purposes 
     of subsection (a), the presence of any of the indicia 
     described in paragraph (1)(A), (E), (F), or (G), or in 
     paragraph (4), (5), or (6), of section 70507(b) of title 46 
     may be considered, in the totality of the circumstances, to 
     be prima facie evidence of intent to evade detection.
       ``(c) Extraterritorial Jurisdiction.--There is 
     extraterritorial Federal jurisdiction over an offense under 
     this section, including an attempt or conspiracy to commit 
     such an offense.
       ``(d) Claim of Nationality or Registry.--A claim of 
     nationality or registry under this section includes only--
       ``(1) possession on board the vessel and production of 
     documents evidencing the vessel's nationality as provided in 
     article 5 of the 1958 Convention on the High Seas;
       ``(2) flying its nation's ensign or flag; or
       ``(3) a verbal claim of nationality or registry by the 
     master or individual in charge of the vessel.
       ``(e) Affirmative Defenses.--
       ``(1) In general.--It is an affirmative defense to a 
     prosecution for a violation of subsection (a), which the 
     defendant has the burden to prove by a preponderance of the 
     evidence, that the submersible vessel or semi-submersible 
     vessel involved was, at the time of the offense--
       ``(A) a vessel of the United States or lawfully registered 
     in a foreign nation as

[[Page 22697]]

     claimed by the master or individual in charge of the vessel 
     when requested to make a claim by an officer of the United 
     States authorized to enforce applicable provisions of United 
     States law;
       ``(B) classed by and designed in accordance with the rules 
     of a classification society;
       ``(C) lawfully operated in government-regulated or licensed 
     activity, including commerce, research, or exploration; or
       ``(D) equipped with and using an operable automatic 
     identification system, vessel monitoring system, or long 
     range identification and tracking system.
       ``(2) Production of documents.--The affirmative defenses 
     provided by this subsection are proved conclusively by the 
     production of--
       ``(A) government documents evidencing the vessel's 
     nationality at the time of the offense, as provided in 
     article 5 of the 1958 Convention on the High Seas;
       ``(B) a certificate of classification issued by the 
     vessel's classification society upon completion of relevant 
     classification surveys and valid at the time of the offense; 
     or
       ``(C) government documents evidencing licensure, 
     regulation, or registration for commerce, research, or 
     exploration.
       ``(f) Federal Activities Excepted.--Nothing in this section 
     applies to lawfully authorized activities carried out by or 
     at the direction of the United States Government.
       ``(g) Applicability of Other Provisions.--Sections 70504 
     and 70505 of title 46 apply to offenses under this section in 
     the same manner as they apply to offenses under section 70503 
     of such title.
       ``(h) Definitions.--In this section, the terms `submersible 
     vessel', `semi-submersible vessel', `vessel of the United 
     States', and `vessel without nationality' have the meaning 
     given those terms in section 70502 of title 46.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The chapter analysis for chapter 
     111 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
     after the item relating to section 2284 the following:

``2285. Operation of submersible vessel or semi-submersible vessel 
              without nationality.''.

     SEC. 213. SENTENCING GUIDELINES.

       (a) In General.--Pursuant to its authority under section 
     994(p) of title 28, United States Code, and in accordance 
     with this section, the United States Sentencing Commission 
     shall promulgate sentencing guidelines (including policy 
     statements) or amend existing sentencing guidelines 
     (including policy statements) to provide adequate penalties 
     for persons convicted of knowingly operating by any means or 
     embarking in any submersible vessel or semi-submersible 
     vessel in violation of section 2285 of title 18, United 
     States Code.
       (b) Requirements.--In carrying out this section, the United 
     States Sentencing Commission shall--
       (1) ensure that the sentencing guidelines and policy 
     statements reflect the serious nature of the offense 
     described in section 2285 of title 18, United States Code, 
     and the need for deterrence to prevent such offenses;
       (2) account for any aggravating or mitigating circumstances 
     that might justify exceptions, including--
       (A) the use of a submersible vessels or semi-submersible 
     vessels described in section 2285 of title 18, United States 
     Code, to facilitate other felonies;
       (B) the repeated use of a submersible vessel or semi-
     submersible vessel described in section 2285 of title 18, 
     United States Code, to facilitate other felonies, including 
     whether such use is part of an ongoing criminal organization 
     or enterprise;
       (C) whether the use of such a vessel involves a pattern of 
     continued and flagrant violations of section 2285 of title 
     18, United States Code;
       (D) whether the persons operating or embarking in a 
     submersible vessel or semi-submersible vessel willfully 
     caused, attempted to cause, or permitted the destruction or 
     damage of such vessel or failed to heave to when directed by 
     law enforcement officers; and
       (E) circumstances for which the sentencing guidelines (and 
     policy statements) provide sentencing enhancements;
       (3) ensure reasonable consistency with other relevant 
     directives, other sentencing guidelines and policy 
     statements, and statutory provisions;
       (4) make any necessary and conforming changes to the 
     sentencing guidelines and policy statements; and
       (5) ensure that the sentencing guidelines and policy 
     statements adequately meet the purposes of sentencing set 
     forth in section 3553(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code.

                     Subtitle B--Civil Prohibition

     SEC. 221. OPERATION OF SUBMERSIBLE VESSEL OR SEMI-SUBMERSIBLE 
                   VESSEL WITHOUT NATIONALITY.

       (a) Finding and Declaration.--Section 70501 of title 46, 
     United States Code, is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``that''; and
       (2) by striking ``States.'' and inserting ``States and (2) 
     operating or embarking in a submersible vessel or semi-
     submersible vessel without nationality and on an 
     international voyage is a serious international problem, 
     facilitates transnational crime, including drug trafficking, 
     and terrorism, and presents a specific threat to the safety 
     of maritime navigation and the security of the United 
     States.''.

     SEC. 222. OPERATION PROHIBITED.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 705 of title 46, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following:

     ``Sec. 70508. Operation of submersible vessel or semi-
       submersible vessel without nationality

       ``(a) In General.--An individual may not operate by any 
     means or embark in any submersible vessel or semi-submersible 
     vessel that is without nationality and that is navigating or 
     has navigated into, through, or from waters beyond the outer 
     limit of the territorial sea of a single country or a lateral 
     limit of that country's territorial sea with an adjacent 
     country, with the intent to evade detection.
       ``(b) Evidence of Intent to Evade Detection.--In any civil 
     enforcement proceeding for a violation of subsection (a), the 
     presence of any of the indicia described in paragraph (1)(A), 
     (E), (F), or (G), or in paragraph (4), (5), or (6), of 
     section 70507(b) may be considered, in the totality of the 
     circumstances, to be prima facie evidence of intent to evade 
     detection.
       ``(c) Defenses.--
       ``(1) In general.--It is a defense in any civil enforcement 
     proceeding for a violation of subsection (a) that the 
     submersible vessel or semi-submersible vessel involved was, 
     at the time of the violation--
       ``(A) a vessel of the United States or lawfully registered 
     in a foreign nation as claimed by the master or individual in 
     charge of the vessel when requested to make a claim by an 
     officer of the United States authorized to enforce applicable 
     provisions of United States law;
       ``(B) classed by and designed in accordance with the rules 
     of a classification society;
       ``(C) lawfully operated in government-regulated or licensed 
     activity, including commerce, research, or exploration; or
       ``(D) equipped with and using an operable automatic 
     identification system, vessel monitoring system, or long 
     range identification and tracking system.
       ``(2) Production of documents.--The defenses provided by 
     this subsection are proved conclusively by the production 
     of--
       ``(A) government documents evidencing the vessel's 
     nationality at the time of the offense, as provided in 
     article 5 of the 1958 Convention on the High Seas;
       ``(B) a certificate of classification issued by the 
     vessel's classification society upon completion of relevant 
     classification surveys and valid at the time of the offense; 
     or
       ``(C) government documents evidencing licensure, 
     regulation, or registration for research or exploration.
       ``(d) Civil Penalty.--A person violating this section shall 
     be liable to the United States for a civil penalty of not 
     more than $1,000,000.''
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--
       (1) The chapter analysis for chapter 705 of title 46, 
     United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
     relating to section 70507 the following:

``70508. Operation of submersible vessel or semi-submersible vessel 
              without nationality.''.

       (2) Section 70504(b) of title 46, United States Code, is 
     amended by inserting ``or 70508'' after ``70503''.
       (3) Section 70505 of title 46, United States Code, is 
     amended by striking ``this title'' and inserting ``this 
     title, or against whom a civil enforcement proceeding is 
     brought under section 70508,''.

     SEC. 223. SUBMERSIBLE VESSEL AND SEMI-SUBMERSIBLE VESSEL 
                   DEFINED.

       Section 70502 of title 46, United States Code, is amended 
     by adding at the end thereof the following:
       ``(f) Semi-Submersible Vessel; Submersible Vessel.--In this 
     chapter:
       ``(1) Semi-submersible vessel.--The term `semi-submersible 
     vessel' means any watercraft constructed or adapted to be 
     capable of operating with most of its hull and bulk under the 
     surface of the water, including both manned and unmanned 
     watercraft.
       ``(2) Submersible vessel.--The term `submersible vessel' 
     means a vessel that is capable of operating completely below 
     the surface of the water, including both manned and unmanned 
     watercraft.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota.


                             General Leave

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on 
the pending bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Minnesota?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, this legislation in a previous form passed

[[Page 22698]]

the House last year by a vote of 426-0. The Senate passed a comparable 
bill by unanimous consent. The bill before us is a bipartisan 
compromise between our Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
in the House and the Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation 
in the Senate.
  It is a complicated piece of legislation that took a great deal of 
time to work out. The objective of this legislation is to reform the 
Coast Guard acquisition program.

                              {time}  1115

  Stories began creeping out of mistakes and cost overruns and serious 
problems within the Coast Guard's Deepwater Program. A closer look by 
our committee investigative staff found that there were serious flaws 
in the conduct of this program, and we began an extensive inquiry and 
investigation into those flaws and into the consequences thereof, the 
most serious of which was that the first article of the cutter 
extension program went to sea and cracked in three places, predicted to 
be problem areas by the chief naval architect of the Navy, in 
consultation to a whistleblower within the Deepwater Program.
  I need not go back and unravel all of the details that led up to 
that. Suffice it to say that the core of the problem was a self-
certification initiative undertaken by the Coast Guard at the direction 
of the Department of Homeland Security that led to serious flaws, not 
only in the program but in the construction of these vessels and the 
extension initiative. The result was that taxpayers have lost over $100 
million, the Coast Guard has lost the service of some 49 cutters, and 
frankly, I think there should have been criminal investigations 
undertaken by the Justice Department of those engaged in these 
practices.
  Thanks to the leadership of the gentleman from Maryland, the Chair of 
the Coast Guard Subcommittee, Mr. Cummings, and the staff's relentless 
pursuit of the facts of the causes of the problems, we held a hearing 
that went till 11:30 at night, nearly 10 hours of investigative 
hearing, drew fact after fact out and established causality problems 
and led the way to solutions. It's not enough just to conduct 
oversight, to find the flaws, to find the problems; it's important to 
correct them.
  And in that process, we had this blended participation with the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) who has proven himself to be a 
devotee of the Coast Guard and mastered the issues of the Coast Guard 
and of this particular contractual undertaking of the Coast Guard.
  The result of those hearings was substantial reform of the Coast 
Guard's acquisition program. The details of the program I will call on 
the Chair of the subcommittee, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. 
Cummings), and ask him to explain the details and how we frankly intend 
and are going to cure this problem for the future.
  It took a great deal of negotiation with the other body and with the 
Coast Guard to come to the resolution that we bring to the House today, 
and for that progress, I thank the gentleman from Ohio and the ranking 
member of the full committee, Mr. Mica, for their patience over many 
weeks of negotiating out these terms and conditions that we bring to 
the House today to cure this program, save the taxpayers money, put the 
Coast Guard on a sound footing, and assure to the greatest extent that 
we can that these problems don't extend into the future.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6999, as amended, the 
``Integrated Deepwater Program Reform Act of 2008''. I would like to 
congratulate the distinguished Chairman of the Subcommittee on Coast 
Guard and Maritime Transportation, Mr. Cummings, as well as Ranking 
Member Mica and Subcommittee Ranking Member LaTourette for their work 
on this landmark acquisition reform bill.
  Last year, the House passed H.R. 2722, the ``Integrated Deepwater 
Program Reform Act'', by a vote of 426-0. The Senate subsequently 
passed its Deepwater Reform bill, S. 924, by unanimous consent. H.R. 
6999 is the bipartisan compromise agreement of these two bills of the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.
  The Integrated Deepwater Acquisition Program is a $24 billion program 
to replace all Coast Guard aircraft and cutters that primarily operate 
more than 50 miles offshore. The Coast Guard has never attempted to 
replace its whole fleet under one long-term program. The Committee has 
conducted numerous oversight hearings on this program to understand why 
there have been cost-overruns and why the Coast Guard spent $100 
million to renovate and replace eight of its 110-foot patrol boats--
only to have these renovated boats tied to the dock as unseaworthy.
  As I have said many times, if I were adrift in the ocean, there is no 
one I would want to save me but the U.S. Coast Guard. What they do at 
sea to save lives is second to none. However, when it comes to managing 
an acquisition program--the Coast Guard has serious challenges. Just 
because you can fly an aircraft or drive a cutter, doesn't mean you 
know how to manage an acquisition to buy that aircraft or cutter. As a 
result, the Coast Guard's acquisition programs are hundreds of millions 
of dollars over budget and years behind schedule--including the 
Deepwater Acquisition program and the Rescue-21 program to install new 
search and rescue communications systems.
  In the past week, we have seen firsthand what happens on Wall Street 
when there is a lack of oversight, accountability, and standards. But 
Wall Street doesn't want to be regulated. Neither does the Coast Guard. 
The Coast Guard wants to have Congress continue to write the checks--
while they say ``trust us'' to spend the taxpayers' money wisely. While 
I would trust them with my life at sea, I don't think we should 
continue to write blank checks without demanding standards and 
accountability.
  H.R. 6999 reforms the Coast Guard acquisition program. Specifically, 
the bill:
  terminates the use of lead systems integrators beginning on October 
1, 2011;
  requires that the Commandant, and not the contractor, retain the 
technical authority to determine when the contract specifications have 
been met;
  requires Early Operational Assessments to be made for all aircraft 
and cutters after they are designed--but before they are built--to 
ensure that they will meet the mission requirements of the Coast Guard;
  requires all new cutters and aircraft and their engines to be 
certified by an independent 3rd party to ensure they meet design and 
performance requirements;
  requires the development of workforce policies to ensure that the 
best qualified individuals are assigned to the acquisition program;
  requires the Commandant to establish career paths for military and 
civilian personnel who wish to pursue careers in acquisition programs;
  requires the Commandant to establish a balanced workforce policy to 
promote a workforce in which women and members of racial and ethnic 
minorities are appropriately represented in Government service;
  establishes a Chief Acquisition Officer for the Coast Guard. The CAO 
may be a civilian or military officer, but must have a level III 
acquisition program manager certificate and 10 years of experience in 
an acquisition position;
  requires the Coast Guard to report to Congress when there are cost 
overruns or program delays; and
  requires the Coast Guard to use the Department of Defense's contract 
management expertise and contracting, where appropriate, to obtain the 
best possible price for Coast Guard assets.
  H.R. 6999, as amended, also contains a provision that makes it 
unlawful to operate a stateless submersible or submersible vessel on 
the high seas. Use of submarines has become a new trend with the 
international drug runners operating out of Columbia. When the Coast 
Guard interdicts these vessels the smugglers pull a lever to flood and 
sink the submarine--and then wait for the Coast Guard to ``rescue'' 
them. However, all of the drugs are on the bottom of the ocean and it 
makes a prosecution more difficult. So Coast Guard personnel are 
risking their lives to enter the sinking submarine to get some of the 
cocaine as evidence. H.R. 6999 will obviate the need to enter the 
submarine. The Coast Guard can arrest the smugglers and they can be 
prosecuted for operating these pirate submarines.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a landmark bill that will significantly improve 
the management of the multi-billion dollar acquisition program of the 
Coast Guard. It is the direct result of the Committee's in-depth 
investigation of the Deepwater Program. Like H.R. 2722, it deserves the 
support of every Member of the House.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 6999, the 
``Integrated Deepwater Program Reform Act of 2008''.
  Finally, I insert in the Congressional Record an exchange of letters 
between

[[Page 22699]]

Chairman Bennie G. Thompson, Chairman of the Committee on Homeland 
Security, and me.

                                         House of Representatives,


                               Committee on Homeland Security,

                               Washington, DC, September 26, 2008.
     Hon. James L. Oberstar,
     Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
         Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing to you regarding H.R. 6999, 
     Integrated Deepwater Program Reform Act of 2008 introduced by 
     Mr. Cummings on September 23, 2008.
       H.R. 6999 contains provisions that fall within the 
     jurisdiction of the Committee on Homeland Security. I 
     recognize and appreciate your desire to bring this bill to 
     the full House expeditiously. Accordingly, I will not seek a 
     sequential referral of the bill. However, this decision 
     should not be construed as the Committee on Homeland Security 
     waiving, altering, o diminishing its jurisdiction over this 
     legislation.
       Additionally, the Committee on Homeland Security reserves 
     the right to seek the appointment of conferees during any 
     House-Senate conference convned on this legislation or on 
     provisions of this or a similar bill that are within the 
     jurisdiction of the Committee on Homeland Security. I ask for 
     your commitment to support any such request by the Committee 
     on Homeland Security for the appointment of conferees on H.R. 
     6999 or similar legislation. Finally, I respectfully ask that 
     you place a copy of your letter and this letter in the 
     Congressional Record during floor consideration of H.R. 6999.
       Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. I look 
     forward to working with you as we prepare to pass this 
     important legislation.
           Sincerely,
                                               Bennie G. Thompson,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

                                       Committee on Transportation


                                           and Infrastructure,

                               Washington, DC, September 26, 2008.
     Hon. Bennie G. Thompson,
     Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Thompson: Thank you for your September 26, 
     2008 letter regarding H.R. 6999, the ``Integrated Deepwater 
     Program Reform Act of 2008''.
       I agree that provisions in H.R. 6999 are of jurisdictional 
     interest to the Committee on Homeland Security. I appreciate 
     your willingness to waive rights to further consideration of 
     H.R. 6999 to ensure the timely consideration of this 
     legislation, and I acknowledge that through this waiver, your 
     Committee is not relinquishing its jurisdiction.
       This exchange of letters will be placed in the 
     Congressional Record as part of the consideration of H.R. 
     6999 in the House.
       I value your cooperation and look forward to working with 
     you as we move ahead with this important Coast Guard 
     legislation.
           Sincerely,
                                                James L. Oberstar,
                                                         Chairman.

  I now yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Cummings).
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank our chairman for yielding 
and for all of his hard work and help in making this happen, this 
legislation happen today.
  As chairman of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime 
Transportation, I rise today to urge the adoption of the Integrated 
Deepwater Program Reform Act of 2008, H.R. 6999, as amended. As 
Chairman Oberstar has stated, this legislation is based on Deepwater 
reform legislation, H.R. 2722, which passed the House by a vote of 426-
0 last year, and on S. 924, which passed the Senate by unanimous 
consent.
  The manager's amendment amends the underlying bill by making it a 
crime to operate a submersible vehicle that is not registered in any 
country. Such vessels are often used to smuggle illegal drugs into the 
United States. In fact, just this month the Coast Guard worked with the 
United States Navy to seize two such submersibles, carrying a combined 
total of 14 tons of cocaine.
  As a representative of the City of Baltimore, I know that every gram 
of illegal drugs we keep off our Nation's streets is a gram that cannot 
destroy a life or a community. Therefore, as smugglers develop new ways 
to bring drugs to our shores, our laws must be updated to enable law 
enforcement personnel to prosecute these new types of crimes, and this 
bill does precisely that.
  I recognize and I want to thank again Chairman Oberstar, chairman of 
our full committee, and also thank the vice chairman of our 
subcommittee, Mr. Bishop, and Mr. Taylor for their hard work; and I 
give special thanks, too, to Mr. Mica, to Mr. LaTourette, our ranking 
member of our subcommittee; Chairman Thompson, the chairman of the 
Homeland Security Committee, and certainly Representative King, who is 
the ranking member of Homeland Security; Senators Inouye and Hutchison 
and Senator Snow; and we want to give special thanks to Senator 
Cantwell, who has worked very, very hard on this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, since my appointment in January 2007 as chairman of the 
Subcommittee on the Coast Guard, the subcommittee has exercised careful 
oversight over the Coast Guard's $24 billion, 25-year Deepwater 
procurements, through which the Coast Guard is replacing or 
rehabilitating its cutters and aircraft. Senator Cantwell has been 
leading a similar aggressive oversight effort on the Senate side.
  Unfortunately, many of the acquisitions conducted under Deepwater 
have miserably failed, including the nearly $100 million effort to 
lengthen the 110-foot patrol boats, which yielded eight unseaworthy 
vessels that have been removed from service.
  The early Deepwater procurements failed because the Coast Guard did 
not have the systems and personnel necessary to manage large 
acquisitions. They failed because the Coast Guard left private sector 
contractors to police themselves. And they failed because Congress did 
not require of the Coast Guard full accountability for the billions, 
the billions of taxpayer dollars appropriated to support such 
acquisitions.
  I'm very pleased that our committee and our subcommittee wrote H.R. 
6999 to ensure that all Coast Guard acquisitions meet three key 
requirements. One, in basic contract law, that we get what we bargain 
for as a Nation. That we get what we bargain for. That was number one. 
Number two, that the equipment that we buy would enable the Coast Guard 
to fulfill its many missions to protect our homeland and to do all the 
other things that they have to do. And number three, and very 
interestingly, we wanted to make sure that the equipment that we were 
purchasing with taxpayers dollars could not bring harm to our very 
personnel. Those were the three principles that we wrote this 
legislation on, and I was glad to see that our subcommittee and our 
committee pretty much adopted them as we went through this legislation.
  The Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Thad Allen, has moved to 
strengthen the service's ability to manage acquisitions, including 
creating a new acquisitions directorate, and I applaud his efforts.
  Under his leadership, the service has taken conditional delivery of 
the first National Security Cutter, the Bertholf. Having joined the 
Coast Guard in commissioning the Bertholf this summer, I know it is a 
fine ship, and it will greatly enhance the service's mission 
capabilities.
  However, the Bertholf experienced significant cost overruns, and the 
Coast Guard continues to face procurement challenges and not only 
within Deepwater. For example, the Rescue 21 program, which is intended 
to upgrade the systems the Coast Guard utilizes to locate those who are 
distressed at sea, is now hundreds of millions of dollars over budget 
and years behind schedule.
  American taxpayers, who are now being asked to rescue our financial 
system from the consequences of failed oversight, have already 
shouldered the burden for the Coast Guard's earlier failed procurements 
and for failed procurements throughout the Department of Homeland 
Security, which according to a tally compiled by the Homeland Security 
Committee have wasted approximately $15 billion.
  As a representative elected by the citizens of Maryland's Seventh 
Congressional District and as subcommittee chairman, I believe that one 
of our most critical duties at this time is to implement every 
available measure to ensure that Federal agencies are effective and 
efficient stewards of the taxpayers' dollars. The legislation before us 
today implements such measures with regard to the United States Coast 
Guard.
  Specifically, H.R. 6999 requires the Coast Guard to eliminate the use 
of all

[[Page 22700]]

private-sector lead systems integrators by October 2011, the same date 
on which their use is phased out in the Department of Defense.
  This bill creates in statute the position of Chief Acquisitions 
Officer. It requires that it be filled with a fully qualified 
individual who can, at the Commandant's choosing, be a civilian member 
of the senior executive service or a uniformed member of the Coast 
Guard but who must have Level III Acquisitions qualification and 10 
years of experience managing acquisition efforts.
  The bill requires independent, third-party certification of assets 
and requires that appropriate testing be performed on asset designs so 
that problems can be identified before construction of an asset begins.
  It also requires a regular submission of acquisition program reviews 
to Congress, including notification of cost overruns and schedule 
delays, so that Congress is aware of emerging issues before they become 
crises.
  In short, this bill brings commonsense oversight and management 
reform measures, many of them based on current practices within the 
DOD, to the Coast Guard. It also requires strict and appropriate 
accountability from the service and demands that it be an effective and 
efficient steward of our taxpayers' hard-earned dollars.
  All of these measures are critical to ensure that through the 
remaining Deepwater procurements, the nearly 42,000 men and women, who 
I call our thin blue line at sea, will be equipped with state-of-the-
art assets equal to the missions they perform and the challenges they 
will face in the 21st century.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6999, and I thank the minority 
for their wonderful participation in making this happen. I thank all of 
those, our staffs, who have worked so hard to make this happen.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  First, Mr. Speaker, let me tell you what a pleasure it is to see you 
on a Saturday morning, rather than Monday through Friday.
  This is a good bill. It is an important bill. We have some 
reservations that I'm going to talk about in a moment, but I think the 
fact that you and I are here together with the full committee chairman 
and subcommittee chairman on a Saturday morning--and I've been advised 
we'll be here after 1 o'clock tomorrow afternoon on a Sunday, certainly 
a rare occurrence in the proceedings of the United States Congress. And 
I was just talking to my colleague, Mr. Lungren from California, and we 
wouldn't be here doing this important bill if we had permitted 
Secretary Paulson and some Members of the other body to perform the bum 
rush and get us to approve $700 billion of taxpayers' money to bail out 
people that made bad decisions on Wall Street.

                              {time}  1130

  So this is really what we call in Ohio a two-fer, in that we have the 
opportunity to continue to negotiate in a bipartisan way to attempt to 
resolve these differences. And, at least from my perspective, those 
differences need to be resolved, that those who created the mess should 
clean the mess up and private capital should recapitalize the markets 
rather than the taxpayer. So hopefully those discussions--you know, 
we're doing important work here today, but those are on a much higher 
level, I'm sure.
  But, you know, the interesting thing, from just a political 
standpoint for me today, is there's a commercial running back in 
northern Ohio--where I happen to be from--condemning me for wanting to 
write a $700 billion check to Secretary Paulson in this matter. And 
here, when I woke up this morning and I watched the news, the national 
media and the national Democratic Party is condemning me and my 
colleagues for standing in the way of giving $700 billion to the 
Treasury. So I'm really at a loss for how these things work.
  But I am glad to be here on this bill. And I'm glad that we're here 
on a Saturday to get this bill done. I have run out of superlatives to 
talk about the chairman of the full committee, Mr. Oberstar, and I 
would add to that the chairman of the subcommittee, Mr. Cummings. It is 
beyond a pleasure to work with these gentlemen.
  And I think this piece of legislation is an example of why the 
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is far and above better 
than any other committee in the United States Congress, because I don't 
love everything in this bill, I'm sure that the chairmen don't love 
every piece of this bill, but they have always and consistently 
approached negotiations on legislation in a way that I think that we 
would be better served if we practiced in all legislation, and that is, 
they have their ideas, and as the majority party they are certainly in 
the position to have more of their ideas than we're permitted to have 
our ideas, but they welcome our ideas.
  And the negotiations on this bill not only began as the hearings that 
Mr. Oberstar detailed and Mr. Cummings detailed, but we were 
negotiating this bill, this final product, just a couple days ago 
because they are still willing to listen to suggestions, and I think 
that that's a credit to the leadership of Mr. Oberstar and Mr. 
Cummings. And if, in fact, more committees operated like that, we would 
be a better place.
  As I indicated, Mr. Speaker, I support many of the provisions in this 
bill, H.R. 6999, the Integrated Deepwater Program Reform Act of 2008. 
This bill will make significant changes to the Coast Guard's Deepwater 
program and the way the Coast Guard oversees, manages and carries out 
the program as the service takes on the lead systems integrator 
responsibilities.
  I do have some concerns, as I mentioned, relative to the requirement 
over the lead system integrator responsibilities being assumed by the 
Coast Guard within 180 days of enactment. But I'm going to tell you 
that that really was the last piece of our negotiations. And again, as 
for the chairman of the full committee and the chairman of the 
subcommittee, we could have gone to that meeting and they could have 
said, that's nice that you have concerns, but too bad. And they 
acquiesced in doubling that time from 90 days to 180 days, and I am 
more than grateful for that. With the help of Chairman Oberstar and 
Chairman Cummings, H.R. 6999 will provide more time for the Coast Guard 
to build up its own staff, resources, and capabilities than was 
proposed under the Senate bill.
  I fully support the inclusion of the language that would give the 
Coast Guard enhanced authorities to interdict stateless submersibles 
and semi-submersibles at sea. And a little bit later we're going to 
hear from our colleague from California (Mr. Daniel E. Lungren) who has 
been a champion of this issue for a number of years.
  In recent years, the Coast Guard has been highly successful in 
stopping the importation of drugs by sea. I think last year they had a 
record year. These successes have forced the drug cartels to look at 
better ways for them to avoid Coast Guard assets on their way to the 
United States.
  Recently, the Coast Guard has witnessed a sudden and dramatic 
increase in the use of submersibles and semi-submersibles by would-be 
drug importers. This language will allow the Coast Guard to apprehend 
and prosecute these individuals without forcing Coast Guardsmen to risk 
their lives to pull out the bales of illegal drugs from a sinking 
submarine, as is the case now.
  And that's a lot of fancy language, but basically, Mr. Speaker, 
what's going on is these drug dealers are towing submersibles behind 
boats that have no flag, that have no certification. And when the Coast 
Guard is about to close in, they pull the plugs, basically, sink the 
submarine to the bottom of the Earth, and the way that our laws are 
currently written is the only way you can prosecute these drug dealers 
that want to poison our society with cocaine and other drugs is for the 
Coast Guardsmen to jump on board the sinking submarine and try and pull 
out a little cocaine so that we can prosecute them. This language--and 
you will hear from some of the champions of this bill in a minute--is 
important, and I'm glad it's in the bill today.

[[Page 22701]]

  Lastly, I do want to note that the Coast Guard has concerns that the 
independent review requirements may lead to increased costs and delays 
in the delivery of some deepwater assets. I know that we will continue 
to work with the majority to closely oversee the impacts of the bill on 
the Coast Guard and acquisitions as we move forward next year and 
beyond.
  I support this bill and, with the comments that I've made, ask all 
Members to do the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I thank the gentleman for those very thoughtful comments.
  I was listening with great interest as he moved from deepwater to 
deep finance and was worried that he was going to suggest that the 
powers on high give that problem to our committee. Well, we'll build a 
fence around it, we'll build a bridge over it, we'll build a tunnel 
through it, we will encapsulate it and subject it to the funding out of 
the highway trust fund and the problem will be behind us. I think in 
the end we would have a solution to that problem that everybody could 
sign onto, but that's not our domain.
  And of course we both have reservations about the legislation before 
us in similar spirit, but I think we go forward with this legislation, 
hope that the other body moves it through without further--how shall I 
say? I'll be kind about it--without further changes, and that the bill 
will move on to enactment, and that someday soon the Lorain Shipyard 
will build vessels for the Coast Guard. It will be good for the Great 
Lakes, it will be good for Lorain, Ohio, it will be good for the 
gentleman from Ohio, and it will be good for the country.
  The Lorain Shipyard is one of the great assets of this Nation, built 
extraordinarily successful vessels that are still plying the lakes 
today, the thousand-footers that carry iron ore from northern Minnesota 
in my district to the lower lake steel mills, and that have borne the 
brunt of the forces of nature on the Great Lakes. It was a great 
shipyard, I've been there several times. It built the Mesabi Miner, by 
the way, a thousand-footer that is still active, carrying 60,000 tons 
of iron ore. But, unfortunately, that vessel, if I may digress a 
moment, and others have had to go out 7,000 tons light because of the 
drought in the Great Lakes and the failure of the Corps of Engineers to 
dredge the harbors and the channels of the Great Lakes, meaning that 
our lakers have to travel three or four extra voyages a year to meet 
the tonnage requirements, raising the cost of tactonite, and therefore 
raising the cost of steel production in lower lake steel mills, and why 
passage of our Water Resources Development Act of last year and the 
veto override is so critically important and why funding of those 
projects is so critical. And I'm delighted that the stimulus 
legislation we passed yesterday has some $5 billion for the Corps of 
Engineers to undertake projects that can be underway within 90 days. 
And we all know very well that there are dredging projects all 
throughout the Great Lakes--and the lower lake harbors, particularly--
that could benefit from that investment.
  As Mr. Cummings said moments ago, we didn't get here on our own. Our 
staffs on both sides of the aisle have worked rigorously in shaping in 
legislation and in laying the groundwork for the investigation. Clay 
Foushee, who led the investigative team on our side. And Lucinda 
Lessley, on Mr. Cummings' committee staff, who championed both the 
oversight hearings and the legislative hearings. And our chief council 
on the Coast Guard Maritime Subcommittee, John Cullather--for my money, 
the finest mind in maritime legislation in the country. And John 
Rayfield, who is a storehouse of knowledge on the subject, and Eric 
Nagel on the minority side, all deserve our appreciation and gratitude 
for the many hours of labor invested in bringing us to this point of 
the legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume before I yield to the gentleman from California just to say 
that the chairman has hit the nail on the head when it comes to Great 
Lakes shipping. And he, again, deserves great credit for, after 7 
years, moving the Water Resources Development Act.
  And I would just add to that, the gentleman from Michigan sitting 
behind me and to my right, Vern Ehlers, and the chairman's work on the 
Great Lakes Legacy Act, which has the opportunity to clean up the 
contaminated hotspots within the Great Lakes. And as a result of that--
and I'm not trying to be a pig about it or anything--but as a result of 
that, one of the first major cleanups was in the Ashtabula Harbor; $53 
million, and the Ashtabula Harbor was dredged for the first time in 
over 35 years.
  So when the chairman talks about shallow drafts and the cost that it 
increases to shipping and having to make three trips instead of one 
trip, the chairman is exactly right. And I look forward to continuing 
to work with him in a bipartisan way to move this along.
  It is now my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to one of our experts on 
submersibles, the gentleman from California (Mr. Daniel E. Lungren).
  Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. I thank the gentleman for 
yielding. I feel like I am intruding on a legislative committee 
lovefest here, but I understand the camaraderie that surrounds your 
committee, and I appreciate the work that you are doing on this issue, 
particularly making sure that the Deepwater program works and works 
well.
  I would just like to take a moment to comment on the portion of the 
legislation referred to earlier relating to the semi-submersible 
vessels. Language addressing this issue has passed this House on two 
occasions, in connection with the Coast Guard authorization, as well as 
a freestanding bill on suspension.
  Congressman Ted Poe of Texas and I sought to enact criminal penalties 
for the use of these stateless vessels which, as you examine them, have 
no legitimate use other than to transport illegal vessels and perhaps 
other threats to our national security.
  The only substantive difference in the language before us today is 
that it also includes a Senate provision which would provide the option 
of civil penalties of up to $1 million, which would give the Federal 
prosecutors additional flexibility to end this illicit commerce.
  Let's understand what we're talking about. Self-propelled 
submersibles and semi-submersibles are watercraft of unorthodox 
construction capable of putting much of their bulk under the surface of 
the water, which makes them very difficult to detect. The self-
propelled submersible and semi-submersible vessels are typically less 
than 100 feet in length, usually carry between five and six tons of 
illicit cargo. Now, we found that they carry drugs, guns and people, 
but we also should be concerned that they could potentially be vessels 
to carry weapons of mass destruction.
  The range of these vessels is astonishing; it's sufficient to reach 
the southeastern United States from the north coast of South America 
without refueling. According to recent press reports, in order to cover 
even longer distances, some of these vessels have been caught while 
being towed by larger ships with the idea that they would be released 
for the final approach to the shores of California or off the northeast 
coast of the United States. In the last 2 weeks alone, the Coast Guard 
has seized two of these vessels carrying over 14 tons of cocaine. Now, 
to put that in perspective, the value of one of these loads was nearly 
$200 million.
  Mr. Speaker, it's time to shut down these new seaborne threats to our 
Nation's communities and to our overall national security. And I would 
urge support of this bill for many reasons, but particularly for this 
as well.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, at this time it is my pleasure to yield 
3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas, a member of the subcommittee, 
Mr. Poe.

                              {time}  1145

  Mr. POE. I want to thank the ranking member for yielding and thank 
the

[[Page 22702]]

chairman for bringing this legislation to the floor, and also my good 
friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lungren) who has been 
helping relentlessly to get some legislation passed to stop this 
criminal endeavor into the United States.
  Mr. Speaker, the drug dealers find new ways to bring this cancer, 
cocaine, into the United States. And now what they're doing in the 
hills and jungles of Colombia is they build these fiberglass boats, 
submarines, that are about 100-foot long that can bring in several 
hundred million dollars worth of cocaine into the United States. They 
float them down the river into the Pacific Ocean. Here is one of these 
vessels here. It is about 100 feet long. It's fiberglass.
  These vessels can go all the way from Colombia to the United States 
without refueling. They are built with stealth technology so they're 
very difficult to find by our Navy and our Coast Guard. They go very 
slowly so they can't create a wake. And they bring this stuff into the 
United States.
  The problem is that when our Navy and our Coast Guard find one of 
these ships on the high seas, these ships have no flag, they're not 
under any flag of any nation, the crew members on the ship, usually 
five to six members, will scuttle the submarine. It will sink to the 
bottom of the ocean, taking with it the cocaine. Then the five or six 
crew members that are on this submarine have to be rescued by our Navy 
and then taken back where they came from, usually Colombia or Guatemala 
or whatever nation they came from. And they can't be prosecuted because 
there is no crime of the high seas to have one of these in your 
possession.
  And what this legislation does is basically says ``no more.'' You 
cannot be a crew member of one of these submersible subs and if you are 
captured, whether the boat is captured or not, you have committed a 
criminal offense, and now a civil penalty can be imposed on you as 
well. The Coast Guard tells us that at any given time, Mr. Speaker, 
there are 100 of these on the high seas working their way to the United 
States. And it doesn't take much common sense to realize that these 
same vessels that use and bring in cocaine can bring in other material 
into this country, things that will do us harm, like explosive devices. 
And they're so shallow they can go up our ports and our seaways and 
cause damage. So this legislation is important for two reasons. It is a 
national security issue. And second, it's a way of keeping that cancer, 
cocaine, out of the United States. I applaud this legislation to make 
it a criminal offense and a civil offense to be in possession of one of 
these subs on the high seas.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas as well 
as the gentleman from California.
  At this time we are without additional speakers, and I would yield 
back the balance of my time and urge passage of the bill.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. I yield myself the remaining time to thank the 
gentleman from California, my colleague in the informal Hip Replacement 
Caucus, for raising the issue of submersibles and for introducing the 
bill that he champions that we are happy to incorporate, and which is 
important to do in this legislation. Again I express my profound 
respect, appreciation and admiration to the gentleman from Maryland for 
his leadership of the Coast Guard subcommittee, the gentleman from Ohio 
for his superb management of the issues on the minority side of the 
committee on this issue and for the constant communication that we've 
had. As long as we keep the communications going, as we have done over 
these 2 years and over the previous years, we will do good work for the 
country and for the Congress.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I ask for a unanimous vote on this 
legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6999, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________