The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure marked up and ordered reported favorably to the House of Representatives several bills and resolutions today, including legislation to improve the U.S. Coast Guard’s safety and acquisition programs. All of the bills and resolutions on today’s agenda passed by voice vote.
The committee approved an amended version of H.R. 3619, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2009, which contains several provisions passed previously by the Committee or the House and strengthens the Coast Guard’s ability to implement its mission responsibilities. H.R. 3619 authorizes $10 billion in fiscal year 2010 -- $200 million above the President’s budget -- and includes provisions addressing marine safety, Coast Guard management structure, acquisition reform, and workforce development.
To improve marine safety, H.R. 3619 establishes safety equipment standards for all commercial fishing, fishing tender, and fish processing vessels operating beyond three nautical miles of the coast, and it requires safety management systems on certain passenger vessels. The bill also reforms the Coast Guard’s acquisition procedures.
“We must ensure that the Coast Guard has the funds, resources, and personnel to carry out the missions that we have mandated the service to conduct. To accomplish that goal, we need to improve the Coast Guard’s acquisition process,” said Rep. James. L. Oberstar (Minn.), the Committee’s Chairman. “This legislation requires the Coast Guard to conduct comprehensive testing and evaluation of all major assets to ensure that they meet the highest standards of quality and all contractual requirements; and it directs the Coast Guard to develop independent cost estimates for the service’s largest acquisitions.”
“H.R. 3619 creates an ombudsman in each Coast Guard District to serve as a liaison between the Coast Guard and the port community,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.), Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Coast Guard and Maritime. “To ensure that the Coast Guard's officer corps -- and future leadership - reflects the diversity of America, the bill establishes a minority recruiting program for prospective Coast Guard Academy cadets and alters the academy’s admission process to include a nomination procedure that is similar to the other service academies.”
Additionally, the bill authorizes $153 million for the design and construction of a new replacement icebreaker for the Great Lakes, and it significantly upgrades cruise vessel safety.
“H.R. 3619 requires cruise ships to comply with design and construction standards, such as specific rail heights, peep holes, warning devices, and cabin security measures. The bill also requires that vessels are equipped with a video surveillance system to assist in documenting and prosecuting crimes, and it requires vessels to maintain a log book to record reports on specified complaints,” said Oberstar. “Finally, the H.R. 3619 requires vessels to contact the nearest Federal Bureau of Investigation office as soon as possible to report incidents involving homicide, suspicious deaths, missing U.S. nationals, kidnapping, assault, and other serious occurrences.”
H.R. 3619 includes the text of several bills on which the Committee has previously acted. These include: H.R. 1747, the Great Lakes Icebreaker Replacement Act, and H.R. 1665, the Coast Guard Acquisition Reform Act of 2009, which passed the House in April and July 2009 respectively; H.R. 2650, the Coast Guard Modernization Act of 2009; H.R. 2651, the Maritime Workforce Development Act; H.R. 2652, the Marine Safety Act of 2009; H.R. 3360, the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety of 2009; and H.R. 3376, the U.S. Mariner Protection and Vessel Protection Act of 2009.
Also approved today was H.R. 3618, the Clean Hull Act of 2009, which brings the U.S. into compliance with the International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems on Ships.
“The sale or application of paints containing Tributyltin, or TBT, was banned in the U.S. by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2000,” said Cummings. “However, foreign-flag ships continue to enter our ports with TBT paint, and this legislation will give the Coast Guard and EPA the authority to ban foreign-flag ships from entering the U.S. if they have their hulls covered with paint containing the banned substance.”
The committee passed other legislation, including H.R. 1700 as amended, the National Women’s History Museum Act of 2009, which authorizes the sale of federal land to establish the nation’s first museum dedicated to honoring the accomplishments of women.
In H.R. 3305, the committee designates a federal building and U.S. courthouse in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as the H. Dale Cook Federal Building and United States Courthouse. The committee also approved General Services Administration Capital Investment Program Resolutions for fiscal year 2010, H. Con. Res. 138, which recognizes the 40th anniversary of the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, H. Res. 465 as amended, which recognizes the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association on its 10th anniversary, and H. Res. 719 as amended, which commends Russ Meyer on his induction into the National Aviation Hall of Fame.
Summary of H.R. 3619, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2009
Summary of H.R. 3618, the Clean Hull Act of 2009
View T&I Committee members' floor statements on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/user/HouseTransInf
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