Barbara Lee Supports Coast Guard Reauthorization Act
Press Release
For Immediate Release: April 23, 2008
Contact: Cleve Mesidor, (202) 225-2661
Barbara Lee Supports Coast Guard Reauthorization Act
(Washington, DC) – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-9) entered the following statement into the Congressional Record to support, H.R. 2830, the Coast Guard Reauthorization Act:
I rise today in support of H.R. 2830, the Coast Guard Reauthorization Act of 2007, which makes significant strides in supporting the invaluable work of the United States Coast Guard.
I applaud the many improvements that this legislation will make to federal policy in protecting our coastal environment, strengthening security in our nation’s ports, and providing the tools and resources necessary for rapid emergency response and coordination.
The collision of a containership with the San Francisco Bay Bridge near my district, and the resulting oil spill that spread throughout the Bay, raised many questions about maritime policy in our nation’s coastal waters and ports.
Commendably though, the Committee field hearing examining the federal response to the oil spill also provided potential answers to these questions.
I am pleased to see that many important provisions were included in H.R. 2830 to improve our water vessel traffic systems, sharpen incident response, and tighten environmental and security requirements.
H.R. 2830 will mandate double hulls for new container vessels with large oil capacities, reducing the risk of spills and contamination, and protecting animals, plant life, and local economies from the harmful impact of such disasters.
I also strongly support the provision added by my colleague, Rep. Tauscher, which authorizes the Coast Guard to issue regulations that require bar pilots to carry portable navigational devices when they are navigating large container and tanker ships.
These portable devices provide pilots accurate and necessary information to safely navigate their ships, and are critical to preventing future accidents like the one that occurred in the San Francisco Bay.
As a longtime advocate of bringing common sense to our national security priorities, I am also pleased to acknowledge the important steps this legislation takes to securing our ports and the safety of communities that live around them.
H.R. 2830 takes critical steps to safeguard nuclear materials by establishing a pilot program to employ preventive radiological/nuclear detection equipment on Coast Guard vessels.
Madam Speaker, it is important to note that many states, including California, have been at the forefront of efforts to more effectively protect and manage our coastal waters.
For instance, the Port of Oakland in my district was the first port in the United States to require that ships exchange their ballast water with seawater before entering the bay – a regulation that is now widely considered a critical measure of defense against invasive and non-indigenous species.
Moving forward, we must work to ensure States can successfully complement federal regulations in the future, to enhance coordination, and to provide a more comprehensive policy for protecting our waters.
Madam Speaker, I am also pleased that this bill will support Coast Guard efforts to diversify its workforce, by helping to build valuable partnerships between the Coast Guard and minority serving institutions.
In 2006, just 16 percent of the Coast Guard Officer Candidate School graduates were minorities.
Programs such as the Minority Serving Institution Management Internship Program, will recruit students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and tribal colleges, among others, and help to develop a new and diverse generation of civilian managers and Coast Guard Officers.
The establishment of a Coast Guard Laboratory of Excellence- MSI Cooperative Technology Program at three minority-serving institutions will assist in modernizing the Coast Guard’s security programs while increasing the number of minority graduate degree holders in science, engineering, mathematics, and information technology – all fields that are critical to the mission of the Coast Guard.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-9) is Co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a member of the Appropriations Committee, where she serves on the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Subcommittee.
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