By a vote of 385 to 11, the House of Representatives today approved H.R. 3619, the Coast Guard Authorization Act for 2010, which strengthens the Coast Guard’s ability to implement its core mission of marine safety. H.R. 3619 authorizes $10 billion in fiscal year 2010, and includes provisions addressing marine safety, Coast Guard management structure, acquisition reform, and workforce development.
“Congress has added new missions for the Coast Guard, but without increasing personnel or funding, and the service has been working shorthanded and underfunded. H.R. 3619 is a comprehensive bill that will enable the Coast Guard to carry out its many missions with additional funding, new resources, and increased training standards. In August 2007, the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation held a hearing on the challenges facing the Coast Guard’s marine safety program. As a result of that hearing, there are safety provisions included in this legislation that will reduce marine casualties and loss of life,” said Rep. James L. Oberstar (Minn.), Chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. “H.R. 3619 will alleviate the concerns of industry and Congress that the Coast Guard’s marine inspectors have diminished technical expertise and that the Coast Guard has overall lost its focus on marine safety in response to its increased security responsibilities since September 11, 2001. The legislation sets minimum qualifications and training standards for personnel within the marine safety workforce to ensure that marine inspectors are technical experts, and have an established career path to succeed in the Coast Guard.”
Additionally, H.R. 3619 addresses commercial fishing, which has a high rate of injuries and fatalities and is noted as one of the most dangerous jobs in the United States. From 1994 to 2004, more than 641 fishermen lost their lives and approximately 1,400 fishing vessels were lost. H.R. 3619 requires training for fishing vessel operators, and enhances and clarifies the equipment requirements for these commercial fishing vessels.
“This legislation also incorporates the provisions of H.R. 1665, the Coast Guard Acquisition Reform Act of 2009, which I authored to respond directly to the shortcomings the Committee and Subcommittee examined in the Coast Guard’s implementation of several Deepwater procurements,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.), Coast Guard Subcommittee Chairman. “These provisions require the appointment of a Chief Acquisition Officer who can be a senior military officer or member of the senior executive service but who must be a trained acquisition professional. The legislation would also eliminate the use of private sector lead systems integrators and require the Coast Guard to develop tailored testing and evaluation programs and independent life-cycle cost estimates for its largest procurements.”
The legislation also sets new standards that enhance the safety and security of cruise ship passengers. Currently, there are no Federal statutes that explicitly require foreign-flagged cruise vessels to report alleged crimes to U.S. government officials, with the exception of foreign-flagged vessels operating in areas subject to the direct jurisdiction of the United States. For cruise vessels to which H.R. 3619 applies, owners will be required to keep a log book of certain crimes and theft of property valuing more than $1000, and will have to make that information readily accessible to law enforcement personnel. Owners will be required to modify the design and construction standards of applicable cruise vessels to increase the length of their railings to help prevent passengers from falling overboard. Also, vessel owners will be required to provide appropriate medical treatment to the victims of sexual assaults.
Specifically, H.R. 3619:
• increases the service’s total end strength by an additional 1,500 service
members to a total of 47,000 personnel and will permanently increase to 6,700 the allowable number of officers in the service;
• authorizes $10 million for the Secretary of Transportation to establish a maritime career recruitment, training and loan program to ensure a robust labor pool in the maritime industry;
• authorizes the Coast Guard to implement a reorganization of its senior leadership and overall structure;
• reforms the Coast Guard’s acquisition process by prohibiting the service’s use of a private sector lead systems integrator;
• prohibits contractor self-certification and requires the appointment of a Chief Acquisition Officer who is a qualified acquisition professional;
• requires the Coast Guard to develop life-cycle cost estimates for assets that are expected to cost more than $10 million and to have a service life of at least 10 years;
• authorizes $153 million for the design and construction of a new replacement icebreaker for the Great Lakes;
• creates a process by which Members of Congress may nominate individuals to attend the Coast Guard Academy, similar to the process used at the other service academies;
• requires training for fishing vessel operators, and enhances and clarifies the equipment requirements for commercial fishing vessels;
• enhances the safety and security of cruise vessel passengers by requiring owners to keep a log book of certain crimes, to make that information readily accessible to law enforcement personnel, to increase the height of railings, and to provide appropriate medical treatment to the victims of sexual assaults; and
• creates criminal penalties for those who smuggle unlawful aliens into the United States on land, by air, and at sea.
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Summary of H.R. 3619, the Coast Guard Authorization Act for 2010.
