the committee on transportation and infrastructure will come to order with apologies for the delay due to votes on the floor  newspaper will pump the story about the highway and transit in bridge portions of the stimulus thrust of the story is that the federal government has not made good choices and investing these funds is not a time the worst first repair projects the story is misguided the federal government does not make those decisions federal highway administration does not make those decisions those choices are made by states and the states have been preparing for this since december of two thousand seven all to two thousand and eight state the o t s have had time to select projects that qualified under the stimulus and remember that the our portion of the stimulus i make no apologies for the rest of  it i don't i've never had a person come and say thank you for the tax cut that we gave them fact one person said yeah but we have to give it back when we have to pay it back you know i think that was a misguided  provision we should have put that three hundred billion dollars in the surface transportation and but that's history the point is that all through two thousand and eight we had hearings we discussed this issue we had bipartisan support in this committee on a thirty billion dollar infrastructure program and the purpose of it was to create jobs with limited period of time the states were to select those projects that were designed in generic completed right of way acquired down to final design and engineering all they needed was the money to go to bit and that is in fact what has happened and our every thirty day reporting and oversight hearings has but the blowtorch to the backside of the state the o t s and they've stepped up their act they've gotten their projects out they've got them under contract and our next week will show that there are hundred twenty thousand direct construction jobs underway on projects under contract being built all across this country the direct jobs but also those in the supply chain as i stated at the outset our fourth in the series of hearings will show those aggregate sand and gravel operators  pipe manufacturers the valve manufacturers the hydrant manufacturers all of those are stimulated because of this stimulus project so i just want to make that mr chairman opening statement yes the gentleman from michigan thank you for having to may i may just add to that i'm very pleased that usa today is beginning to pay attention to what the congress does and particularly what this committee does but it would be nice  would intelligently study the issue first and just last week they ran a story about general aviation and the money the funding that goes into airports it was badly mistaken and the circulating a dear colleague colleagues will realize that this was not accurate and it's very very disturbing when a major newspaper like that does not bother to take the time to get the facts straight before they write a major article like this especially with their nation wide circulation so i think we have to speak up against that and make them aware of the situation thank you for your very minute about that i spent about half an hour or so with the usa today reporter on that issue defending small airports and pointing out how important they are to the life blood of communities citing specific examples and several states not a single word appeared in that article of the committee today will consider the agenda before you i should go through and but i don't need to do that you have the agenda before you putting with the  coastguard authorization act again seems more we do this the better we get at it only the other body whatever passed that bill and and hopefully where we're going today's market questions on the motion those favor say aye no the eyes have it as much as grade two first order of business is consideration of eleven general services administration capital investment program resolutions norton thank you mr chairman i support the fiscal year two thousand and ten cap one proven leasing program which includes repair alteration construction projects prospect this is including the final funding for the san diego courthouse an i think it is important to note that this year's request also includes a request to authorize hundred million dollars to exercise a purchase option included in a large g s a lease here in washington d in june the chairman joined me and sending a letter to chairman i will be and and to chairman serrano supporting this request from the administration the fact that o m b has taken the unusual step to include this request for the option highlights the significance of this option and represents an excellent business opportunity for the federal government this request is an excellent use of funds and will allow g s a to purchase an asset valued at up at approximately two hundred fifty million dollars to one hundred million dollars not only is this an excellent business opportunity but it also adds much needed government owned space to the federal and in tory and revenue of the federal building sun and may i add was the chairman that we were paying to lease this building in perpetuity where none of that going to the building fund good price good move i might add that this project has the overwhelming bipartisan support of the san diego alteration projects submitted to the committee as part of the g s a capital investment and leasing program the resolution include the resolutions include the court house and i'm pleased that incorporates  policies on courtroom sharing by magistrate and senior judges while we are moving forward with these resolutions we have not taken actions on a number of least property prospectuses pending in our committee many leases are time sensitive and the government could encourage missional cost and penalties if we do not approve them in a timely manner unfortunately g s a delayed delivering the fiscal year two thousand and ten program to this committee and submitted most of its lease prospectuses just this month i'm concerned because these delays could cost the american taxpayers tens of millions of dollars rent discounts the commercial real estate market is a tremendous bargain for the government right now but those deals won't last i hope we can work on taking very detailed specific letter to the administration asking for justification of every single lease why what's the purpose of that describe it and put it in writing and stand by this we only yesterday received a response so we'll get both sides on further consideration of this issue as we move forward to other members wish to be heard  ill now consider the resolutions for amendment or other amendments to the resolution if not chair recognizes charles norton for a series of motions him to get away with this you're absolutely right if you've got some money to buy some property and only entity i know who has any today is united states government and i suppose we can't we don't have a lot of money in a bank in order to write a check so if you can take advantage of the lease market when they are down and if you can take advantage of what the administration has done here to its credit with buying a building that we were paying for over and over again by granting this is the time to do it we want the economy to come back but if it's down surely the federal government should take advantage of it to the to the to the degree that it can so mr chairman i move the adoption of the eleven general was a world war two over veteran serving as a flight instructor and later studied law at the university of oklahoma started his long career legal career and electoral politics politics running for chief prosecuting attorney in his county and being elected twice judge cook went on to serve as an assistant u s attorney and alternated between government and private practice with several years before  being nominated to the federal judiciary by president gerald ford in one nine hundred seventy four judge cook served as a district court judge for thirty four years until his death on september twenty third two thousand a moments comments that it's really unfortunate person served with such distinction that the person dies before we can pay proper recognition and  status and in declining health but was able to participate in the ceremony and he he just expressed such joy he never anticipated this being done but he had practice law in this courthouse i really don't care whether i'm dead or alive years as chief judge of the northern district of oklahoma the bill was introduced by representative cells of them and the entire oklahoma delegation including representative fallon who sits on the subcommittee i support favorably reporting this bill and you back to balance my time thank you the other members wish to be heard  it was also called particular particularly interest to the women of the house and the senate h r seventeen hundred as introduced directs the administrator of the general services administration to sell at fair market value property in southwest washington d c commonly known as the cotton annex site site that is a old industrial site to the national women's history museum and a district of columbia nonprofit corporation for the purpose of establishing the first museum on the mall or anywhere in the nation's capital dedicated to women's history the national women's history museum will have five years to raise to construct a museum as is customary for such transactions from this committee if after five years the fund raising has not been successfully successful there is the usual reversion because in general the museum will bear the cost of the sale including the appraisal  in the nation's capital dedicated to recognizing the significant contributions of women throughout american history we support favorably reporting this bill if there are no other no other members wishing to be heard on objection so ordered mr chairman my amendment limits the property transferred to the northern portion of the cotton annex only also due to scoring rules my amendment and lemonade the ability of the administrator to credit the cost incurred by any environmental cleanup to the purchase price of the property was chairman although they have done a number of hurdles because of the difficulty of disposing of property of the federal government to any party other than the federal government i am very very grateful for how the committee  has worked to bring this committee forward finally at this time the right the remainder of the bill is as introduced mr chairman and i urge my colleagues to support the amendment norton for a motion mr chairman i move that the bill h r seven hundred as amended be approved and reported favorably to the h on the asian dale cook building naming at this point no your statement was included in the record i just thought you might get the next order of business is consideration of house concurrent resolution h one thirty eight recognizing on the fortieth anniversary of the george bush intercontinental airport in chair of the aviation subcommittee mr costello thank you mr chairman conrad solution one thirty eight the bill recognizes the fortieth anniversary of the george bush intercontinental airport in houston texas and congratulates officials of the airport in the city of houston for the airport service to houston citizens and the national air transportation system houston intercontinental airport is the largest airport in houston serving over forty three million passengers in two thousand and eight and is the eighth largest airport in the united states the airport has grown to become a world class international gateway and is a regional and world leader in air cargo processing consolidation and distribution finally the airport supports more than one hundred fifty one thousand jobs and over twenty four million dollars to the houston regional economy mr chairman i urge my colleagues to join me in reporting count resolution one thirty eight favorably to the house t over forty three million passengers make it a very crowded busy airport and it was appropriate to designated for president george h w bush i would have liked to have some recognizes the fortieth anniversary of the george h w bush intercontinental airport in houston texas it's the largest airport in united states a valued part of our national airspace system and very important to the greater houston area with that i'd airport and i will echo some of the comments of my colleagues in june of this year george bush intercontinental airport in houston celebrated their fortieth anniversary intercontinental is the largest airport houston and serve more than forty three million passengers in two thousand and eight making it the largest airport united states in the sixteen largest airport the world with five terminals and twenty hundred twenty five gates intercontinental gives passengers the option to over one hundred seventy nonstop destinations and more than thirty countries around the world it is one of the few airports in the world with five air carrier and the ability to handle triple simultaneous landings or takeoff in all sorts of weather in or continental is a key driver for the greater houston area economy the airport supports more than one hundred fifty one thousand jobs and contributes more than twenty four billion dollars in economic benefits to houston region i asked my colleagues on the committee support this resolution and join me in recognizing the fortieth anniversary of george h w bush intercontinental airport and thank my colleagues back my t olson's and also for reminding of how many jobs mr mike and i were just commenting on the significance of job creation by aviation and our marketplace that's it accounts for eleven percent of the gross domestic product of the united states motion as agreed to the resolution is approved in ordered reported favorably to the house our next order business might add that we just got a notice from the floor and might have a vote around twelve fifteen be the last vote of the day that doesn't mean ation call of the resolution to be considered as read and open to amendment at any point without objection so ordered now recognize chairman costello to explain the resolution thank you mr chairman  raz seven nineteen the resolution recognizes russell w meier's jr for his achievements and a lifetime of service to the aviation industry and commend him on his induction into the national aviation hall of fame as a leading proponent of aviation rust demonstrated strong leadership as the farmer chairman and chief executive officer of cessna aircraft company he was instrumental in supporting innovative aviation related programs and played a key role in the development of the be a pilot program that resulted in tens of thousands of new pilots and contributed more than two hundred million dollars to the economy russ has served on three presidential commissions and was one of the principal anniversary of the wright brothers first flight mr chairman i urge my colleagues to join me in honoring one of the america's pioneers in aviation by supporting nature as seven one teen and reported favorably to the house thank the gentleman for those comments to my encounter with russ meyer was during this work to pass the aviation revitalization act as we called it for a discharge petition before we consider the bill in this committee so that it could not be held indefinitely by the judiciary committee with that with the two hundred seventy signatures about half and lasting role for general aviation but we join in recognizing and i'd like to try for additional comments thank my colleagues feeling and i'd like to offer my support for the resolution before us recognizes honors russell w myers jr on his induction into the national aviation hall of fame probably best known for his role as chairman and chief executive officer of cessna aircraft for twenty eight years mr development of the be a pilot program mr america's best to share his love of flying with others and when special olympics athletes face challenges and transportation to the games he organized the citation special olympics airlift partnering athletes with cessna citation owners and pilots to provide a ride to the games russ meyer was also an active philanthropist for local charities in around his hometown to name them all would take a long time here so i'd ask unanimous consent to include materials regarding his charity work journal work in the record for today's market order was accomplishments as both an air force and marine corps aviator a successful aircraft manufacturing executive and a philant go to he is a man of great integrity take his responsibilities as a business executive very seriously but perhaps more important than that takes his responsibilities to his community very seriously his philanthropic  endeavors have been mentioned but i would point out that he was able to combine good policy with good business when cessna aircraft created the twenty first street project in which they decided they were going to employ people in an area of wichita that were generally unemployable with very difficult background circumstances cessna went to work to find ways to train individuals who had long term unemployment and to change the nature of that area of that city and to put people to work in the aviation industry he is well known in special olympics i'm the honorary chairman of the the law enforcement torch run in our state russ meyer and cessna aircraft is a huge component of special olympics in kansas and across the country it's been mentioned his work in regard to revitalizing the aviation industry the chairman is absolutely right through numerous efforts and the number of failures of the revitalization act was passed congressman then kansas that employed a thousand people manufacturing single engine aircraft it was a change in our state that has made a tremendous difference in the aviation economy he's a very distinguished an educated man having graduated from both harvard has logged over fifteen thousand hours as a pilot if you look to somebody who is the epitome of a role model business executive and a role model citizen  and i congratulate mr meyer on his induction into the national aviation hall of fame it's a well deserved honor and i urge my colleagues to pass this resolution i thank the chairman for his time i thank the gentleman for that elucidation on russ meyer manufacturing had dropped from seventeen thousand aircraft produced and over two thousand five hundred export of the year and hundred thirty five million dollars in export business down to  less than one thousand aircraft we had lost thousands of domestic jobs and we're importing general aviation aircraft in danger of training and tire new generation of  biggest thing had happened to kansas and to his district so careful with his support there are no further members wishing to be recognizable nineteen to provide minor technical corrections to the resolution that mr mike and the minority they have reviewed the amendment and supported it and i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the amendment and the resolution are the ame resolution as amended is approved and ordered reported favorably to the house our next order of business is consideration of h raz four sixty five to recognize the atlantic intracoastal waterway association on without objection so order recognize chair of the subcommittee on water resources and environment's johnson to explain the resolution thank you very much mr chairman the atlantic in a coastal waterway was authorized by the nineteen thirty seven rivers and harbors act for the purpose of supporting and encouraging interstate commerce since then it has become a point of pride for many residents along the atlantic ocean and rich their lives in a multitude of ways the waterway currently runs one thousand eight hundred miles and stretches from norfolk virginia to key west florida originally many of the segments that make up the waterway have their own unique purpose purposes for instance the dismal swamp canal was a twenty two mile long can they all supported commercial flat bottomed vessels traveling between virginia north carolina in one thousand nine hundred men however the dismal swamp was purchased by the federal government for five hundred thousand dollars and incorporated into a larger transportation network to be maintained by the u s army corps of engineers of great importance is a role that the waterway provides and supporting great creational uses boaters in addition to photographers and bird watchers have found it to provide ample opportunities support their hobbies for the waterway is it ethical part of life in the south eastern united states it enables waterborne transportation to move smoothly any place it is fitting to recognize the importance of the waterway for the quality of life of the citizens of the united states and to the thousands of recreational commercial and military vessels that utilize this system annually is also fitting to recognize a tenth anniversary of the atlantic in a coastal waterway association gentlemen for all those very thoughtful comments explaining i'd like to take this opportunity to thank mr brown for his patience the author of the resolution the first offered it i said i needed some perfecting and he was very serve the other waterways had such association as advocates for the lot of b n the best interests of this most efficient means of moving people and goods to other members wish to be recognized if not we'll consider the resolution for amendment german from south carolina struck for his amendment mr and i believe it covers most of my points during my opening remarks so it was indulgence on this matter of makes minor technical changes to the resolution copy the amendment is available on every member's packet do other members wish to be recognized on the amendment into compliance with the international convention on the control of harmful anti fouling systems on ships in october two thousand and one after nearly a decade of work the international maritime organization adopted this convention primarily to ban the use of whole coke coatings that contain a compound called tribe you know gin in the maritime world the term falling is defined as the unwanted growth of biological material such as systems on tribune's and more commonly known as t b t would develop in the one nine hundred sixty s and seventy's when this compound was hailed as the best anti following agent ever developed unfortunately has so often happened in that period a product that showed promise was rushed to market before the full range of its impact on the environment were understood over the years it has become clear that t v tea is a highly toxic to marine life including crustaceans fish and even marine mammals to bt has caused alterations in the oyster shells and it's caused the male dog well it's a type of snail to begin developing male sexual characteristics there's even some evidence that t b t is bio a cumulative meaning that larger animal and animals can ingest it as they consume small animals on the food chain imo reports that traces of t v tea contamination has now been found even in wales convention on the control of harmful anti fouling systems on ships was drafting drafted to enter into force one year after twenty five states representing twenty five percent of the merchant shipping tonnage in use around the world opted the convention the convention came into force internationally on september seventeenth two thousand and eight united states senate gave its consent to the convention just also know that in order to prevent a compound like you'd like to be to gin from ever again entering the environment through an anti fouling coating the international convention on the control of harmful anti fouling systems on ships also establish a system under which new anti coatings can be tested to assess the aspect on the marine environment coatings can be added to the list of prohibited anti fouling systems under the convention if they are found to be harmful h r thirty six eighteen authorizes the environmental protection agency to participate in international tech technical bodies convene to assess the safety of new anti filing systems the subcommittee examine the issues pertaining to the international convention on the controlling awful anti fouling systems on ships at a hearing earlier this year and i strongly believe it is time for us to fully implement the convention of h r thirty six eighteen is a sensible step we can take to eliminate the introduction of t v t n t united states waters and thus protect our marine environment from another environmental threat and with that mr chairman i urge its adoption by the committee today and you'll back gemma's offered a very thorough explanation and i would just one footnote to this is yet another case where our  cities u s ships shipping companies maritime entities are playing by the rules and our foreign competitors are not this will equalize the playing field mr li the thank you mr chairman we strongly support h r thirty six eighteen and the subcommittee on coast guard maritime considered the topics discussed in this bill in june and i'm very pleased that you seen fit to bring this legislation  before the committee so rapidly mr cummings gave a very thorough explanation of the bell and were very happy to adopt the requirements of the international convention for the control of  on ships for the purpose of u s law and in the interest of time since we're down past the ten minute mark dispense with the reading of the rest of my statement and just say we support the bill and look forward to seeing it being implemented approved and ordered reported favorably to the house we have mon remaining it's a big one it's an eight billion dollar item please come back after the vote immediately after this vote the last vote of the day not the last vote of this com into the order of the master sergeant major jimmy miller committee will come to order and resume its setting all right next order of business as i said before the vote is consideration of h r thirty six nineteen the coast guard authorization act of two thousand and nine a biennial exercised by the committee to be doing for many many years under republican management democratic management and and hopefully this time we can get the other body the bill to thank him as i go slow beyond for their persistence dedicated work hearing after hearing hours and hours of effort on this bill to bring us to this point that's coming  the twenty ten is annual legislation authorizing appropriations for the coast guard in setting the number of military personnel permitted to be in the service fiscal year twenty ten  r thirty six one thousand authorizes ten billion dollars to fund the coast guard's activities two hundred million dollars above the president's budget and increases the authorized end strength by fifteen hundred members to forty seven thousand total personnel i've long said the coast guard is out then blue line at sea that's then blue line is now stretched as never before as it attempts to carry out its traditional missions and perform the new homeland abilities assumed after nine eleven it is past time that the coast guard size be equal to the demands made of it and therefore i strongly support the increase in the budget and authorize ensuring provided for the service by this bill h r thirty six one thousand know also contains a number of provisions to strengthen the coastguards implementation of its mission responsibilities for example the bill which create an arms budget and in each post card district to serve as a liaison between the coast guard and the port community and beyond budget would be empowered to consult with the coast guard personnel and review all relevant documentation while assessing an  issue thirty six one thousand also take significant new steps to ensure that our nation's seal the freedom resembles a nation it is defending the bill would create a process through which members of congress would nominate students to attend the u as is done and all other federal service academies this is a subject that the subcommittee has studied in great detail data provided by the coastguard show that only approximately fifteen percent of the incoming class of twenty thirteen which comprise a minority students i serve as a member of the board of visitors of the naval academy and invited the united states naval academy's dean of admissions stephen lada to testify before the subcommittee being a lot of share that the naval academy's class of two thousand and thirteen was the most diverse class in that institution's history with thirty five percent of the incoming class a midshipman being minorities in other words in a book adams class of twenty thirteen and more than double the number of incoming minority members as a percentage of the incoming class in the coast guard academy class of two thousand and thirteen i strongly believe that initiating a nominating process when able the members of congress to support and fully engage in the coastguards ongoing efforts to expand adversely at the academy in this way we can ensure that he can meet us students from all over our nations our communities and us that the services officer corps and future leaders truly would like to diversity of our great nation finally h r thirty six one team incorporates a number of bills previously had by the committee and indeed even by the house including h r seven hundred forty seven the great lakes ice breaker replacement act which passed the house by voice vote on april twenty seventh to the thousand and nine h r sixteen sixty five the coast guard acquisition we form act of two thousand and nine which passed the house on july twenty ninth two thousand and nine by boat up to four hundred twenty six to nothing h r twenty six fifty one the maritime workforce development act what it reported on june fourth two thousand and nine h r twenty six fifty arijit doctrine of h r thirty six nineteen by the committee today and i look forward to moving this legislation through the congress to the president's desk to provide an overdue authorization of our nation's coast guard and with that mr chairman were a series of hearings by the chair of the merchant marine subcommittee mr downing virginia on the five year record of the merchant personnel authorization and that here in one thousand nine hundred seventy five was thirty nine thousand fifteen years later it was still thirty nine thousand the congress had added twenty different new missions to the coast guard but didn't increase its personnel to handle those missions even when we finally did increase personnel number for the coast guard the funding was never there to support it was never adequate to sustain that level we've increased it now in this bill by fifteen hundred forty seven thousand but i implore members on both sides to join hands and make a concerted effort with the appropriations committee to provide the funding now of course they can't do it to meet new end strength that's not current law that's why we need to get this authorization bill passed every year and lay that marker down for the appropriations committee for the office of management budget they think we're not serious about these numbers we are serious we have to do this i want this bill to move  steps taken in this bill will increase minority will open the door to increasing minority participation but the coast guard has to also do outreach the navy does it army does that they have to do some outreach and encourage members of the minority community to see a career and a future in the service in the coast guard and then finally the several other bills that committee previously acted on chairman and thanks to chairman cummings for working on this bill together and for bringing it forward we think we have an improved bill i continue to be concerned about several provisions in thirty six nineteen but i plan to support the bell and look forward to continuing to work with the chairman as the bell heads to the floor as you have pointed out this bill has been a long time a very long time in coming we've been working on many of these provisions for the better part of four years now and i know the chairman has expressed on numerous occasions his frustration that joins with mine and i think many on this committee with our esteemed colleagues on the other side of the capitol on their inability to bring a bill forward to reauthorize the activities of the coast guard year after year so i know you're going to do your best to convince our senate colleagues in in the past couple of years i've given a statement like this i've talked about my optimism that we're going to be able to do it i think i'm only less pessimistic this year that the senate going to get it finally but we really do need to move forward in addition to authorizing  needed funding for the coast guard in the coming fiscal year the bill includes several important provisions which will improve the organization and capabilities of the coast guard under the bill the coast guard officers will enjoy improved flexibility to specialize high need mission areas without fear that they will be passed over during the promotion process the bell also includes the coast guard's proposed reorganization of its senior leadership which will improve overall coordination of personnel resources and capabilities to carry out all of the services missions the bill makes important amendments to general navigation laws to better prevent the possession and use of illegal drugs on our waters to maintain environmental protections in alaska and to continue the operation of the loran c system as we transition to a more capable backup navigation and positioning system and mr chairman i want to thank you for your help with that matter also want to thank you mr chairman for including the language of h r three three seven six the united states mariner and vessel protection act of zero nine as part of this bill we will help protect our mariners for potential lawsuits for the actions that they take to defend themselves and their vessels from pirates and after recently visiting with special forces in africa and asked about the sort of decline and incidents they said it was not because the pirates are less determine but only because the conditions of not been optimal that's changing rapidly and in that part of the world the sea conditions will change too back to the situation where the pirates will probably consider it  more advantageous for them to conduct their illegal operations so this is very timely and important that we continue with this lastly i'd like to bring up an issue that we were not able to resolve with the congressional budget office prior to the introduction of this bill but we all agree that the coast guard's current housing authorities are outdated and insufficient to provide for the men and women of the service who give so much of themselves i know all members want to provide the finest housing to these servicemen and women who put their lives on the line each and every day to protect us i hope we're going to be able to work together to address the c b s concerns before the bill goes to the floor before it can actually get settled so again mr chairman i want to thank you for your continued efforts on behalf of the to encourage my senators and i'm sure they will to get this passed i just talked to the commandant the other day yesterday and he's been a commandant for years and has been authorized if you think about that that's just not a real good thing so just for him we ought to do it  have a changing climate which will probably increase the capability of more shipping lanes more responsibilities for the coast guard and i had my amendment would have been  as we give more responsibility and you mention the fact that the thirty nine thousand level was and then we over the years we kept adding twenty and during your tenure my tenure we've added so many responsibilities but now we add another responsibility is the arctic ocean we are an arctic nation because of alaska there is going to be trapping from overseas ships going to close to our shores and we need to be stationed in proximity where they can respond to a threat to our waters and rescue those it possibly c and congratulate you i am the longest serving member on the coast guard committee you served as long as staffer and as member but i've been on this committee longer and anybody else and it's something i told dear to my heart it's a great organization they have good men good people m load bianco talked about the housing by working very hard to make sure that happens retention and having professionals and they are and we just want to continue and thank you mr chairman thank you lee i fondly remember our service together on kabaddi when the gentleman time and again say as alaska's only representative in congress and a lot of people needed to know that they did not go to alaska had only one but it seemed like two or three or four when he was on that committee we need to pay attention and also you consider the coast guard is now in its fifth department the authorizing language for the coast guard to take a look at the opening language of our bill the secretary of the department in which the coast guard is located there's no other authorization that has those words the secretary of the department in which the coast guard the book is because they move around like no man you know that they don't move congress moves them and i distinctly remember the time at the white house and then chairman of this committee mr young said to president bush don't mess with my coast guard  but we stood together to say don't move the coast guard into the department of homeland security all it's going to get more money and be more robust but that hasn't budged at all hasn't changed things at all mr chairman one moment if you remember in that meeting that they had the coast guard under the border patrol that's correct and i said mr president you're with me sitting right with me i says it is not parallels like the terry of homeland security you're not going to get a bill and we if you look at the structures ways that i had my way colleagues that were made as the dialogue and debate prior to four passing by the house like you all are recognizing important to this legislature the coast guard of the safety and security of our nation it is my hope that retirement age for flag officers to our colleagues in the o d addressing liability issues associated with piracy attacks on privately owned bus with that was previously mentioned but you all and recognizing the senior leadership of the coast guard  process to the coast guard academy now as we all know the coast guard academy is the only armed service academy that does not accept congressional nominations i understand and support the need for diversity at the academy and in the coast guard as a whole for that matter but i support the coast guard recently implemented diversity initiatives and believe it is an appropriate step that is working what concerns me my colleagues about changing the coast guard academy nomination think was a direct nomination process but it injects a component that removes the academy from the equation again i support the average to diversify but believe we can achieve that in ways other than alter the nomination nominat regulatory action can be questioned and presumably delayed while reviewed by the bugs but this mr chairman seems to me to be duplicative and i'm concerned that it may undermine the current regulatory structure they are committee has heard extensively from those who have complaints with the coast guard and reviewed the current process and records it provides while not perfect the point is there is ample opportunity  justice to ensure the integrity of our maritime borders currently there are enormous procedural and jurisdictional hurdles that protect and actually embolden alien smugglers adoption of this amendment will begin to tear and say that any humane seabag of smuggling by delivering the enhanced consequences to those who can r r flee from the federal law enforcement officers brother this would help ensure that those who seek to migrate here legally are not putting their lives at risk and we protect them in and women of the coast guard from those who hold no regard for the safety of others hope that as h r three  does not have an inspector general although it is within a department that has an inspector general and appealed for calm but in each of the districts rose from from that chairman i'm going to hold more of what i would say the extensive ness of my comments until we debate this on the floor but i could not sit by without having an opportunity to respond to the diversity question since i do sit on the postcard committe with the subcommittee chairman i'd like to bring out a couple of points that we did discuss in committee number one i would say that the only reason why we have seen the improvement that we see today is due to the focus of this committee and what this committee has done the coast guard did not willingly come and say oh we have this plan to suddenly start outreach efforts by subcommittee chairman and backed up by chairman oberstar where we talked about what was the current population and what was their process and what were they going to address it wasn't something they decided to do it was to the efforts of this committee of forcing the question the second thing i'd like to point out is when we asked the coast guard what is your process for outreach subcommittee chairman the ranking member for the good work on this bill i also want to add my comments about the staffing of the coast guard i live in michigan which borders on four of the five great could not do an adequate job particularly on lake michigan which is a heavily used lake and has a lot of emergencies the auxiliary saves the day but that's not good planning on our part or on the part of the administration or the coast guard i think they really need more staffing there and we had a huge dispute a few years ago when they took a helicopter away from the west michigan area station in chicago  now it's again creates problems because most of the capsize boats tend to be along the west michigan shore and i've obviously a person can easily drown before a helicopter comes all the way from chicago so this continues to be a continuing problem and i appreciate you bringing that up and i hope it's something that we can solve i also remember the promises of considerably better funding for the coast guard and homeland security and what areas along the california mexico coast and so they keep getting more responsibilities added to them and not the staff to do it so i just wanted to weigh in on that one also  representing the great lakes states i suspect everyone this community know so fought very hard for their all issues relating to the coast guard and one major issue are worried about us in the face of species coming in we have  mense costs in the great lakes area in trying to deal with the zebra mussels the lamprey eel and other invasive species we're terribly worried about the asian carp has been working its way up the mississippi river you've given me over the years we got it in last year but the senate did not take action again i had expected offer that amendment this year mr lowe beyond or has equal concerns equal to mine with a slightly different amendment and i will not be offering that amendment today simply because the chairman of the committee has offered to work with us and try to develop a good amendment based on  lowe beyond his amendment and mine and i appreciate that and we will be dealing with this in a manager's amendment on the floor and i appreciate your efforts and mr chairman in bringing us together and on tearing to resolve any up with the best possible solution so thank you very much and i would just i had other remarks prepared on the menu and i was going to offer without objection i would like to have this go on the record at this without objection sort of the remarks w will which is evident in abundance we can reach an understanding that will be workable thank you to other members wish to be h we hazardous materials the amendment allow state and local law enforcement to be engaged in providing waterside security for such terminals through contractual either or legal agreements but we choir's that if these entities are engaged in security activities they must have the training resources personnel and equipment and experience necessary to deter our transportation security incident the amendment would also authorize the coast guard additional maritime security response teams and canine detection teams to assist in detecting explosives and interdicting drugs further the amendment authorizes the coast guard to lend lease donate all either wise provide equipment and technical assistance to foreign ports and facilities to assist them in coming into compliance with the international ship and what facility code the amendment would require the department of homeland security to provide a report on the development of the interagency operational centers for port security required by section one zero eight of the say for now at these centers are anticipating to combine representatives from the coast guard and other federal law enforcement agencies including the f b i and the customs and border patrol agency as well as state and local law enforcement entities to increase domain awareness and facilitate the sharing of intelligence will also ensure that mariners have the ability to move through ports to accept its excess shoreside facilities the subcommittee has heard from a number of mariners and from the organizations that provide support services to mariners that individuals or vessels may be charged hundreds of dollars just to be escorted through a port facility when they board the part of vessel my amendment addresses this growing problem by requiring each facility security plan approved under section seven zero one zero zero three c of title forty six the united states code to provide a system of seamen pilots and ministers and lab organizations to pass through secure facilities to boy and depart vessels in a timely manner and no cost to the individual or the vessel the amendment i am offering addresses several issues we have studied i was just amazed to hear that they feel very strongly that because of the timing of the year and they're so close to the equator they are the way they respond differently than they do here and seven to nine foot seas are enough to keep the pirates away from trying to do their dirty work but they felt that was all going to be changing in the month of october as it does every year so they're expecting a spike  chairman i support many of the provisions that are included in the subcommittee chairman to report mr cummings i commend you for for working on it so hard but i have to tell you that i'm very concerned with the inclusion  of what i feel are the unnecessary restrictions that this language would place on facilities that handle important energy and agricultural resources under the amendment the coast guard would be placed in the impossible situation of guaranteeing the total security of vessels and facilities more than five years before any facility is even built these facilities like all shoreside facilities in the united states are already required operate in very strict compliance with a very comprehensive security plan or plans that are reviewed and approved by the coast guard the coast guard has implemented additional security requirements for facilities and vessels that handle potentially hazardous substances and these entities must comply with such rules i don't believe there is any indication that any vessel or facility is failing to comply with the requirements so i am very concerned that this amendment may simply seek to preclude the construction of new facilities to handle important energy and agricultural resources and mr chairman and tying in with what you said earlier with what we have asked the coast guard to do in increasing their mission scope i think this is an area we have to be very careful about where we're giving them increased mission responsibilities and i'm not sure that they have the ability with current funding situations to do that so i'm very hopeful as you have done on so many issues so brilliantly to work with us as this bill moves forward to try and i am concerned that if the coast guard or security not available mr chairman i'd like to engage with with the chairman if i could  about this how we deal with that for that add another burden i know safety is a we've got to take care of the safety but i wonder if we possibly takes a little more look at this to be sure we do number one the safety but we don't create a situation where we have the ports of entry where there is not the coast guard or whatever available that we might cause these vessels set out of sea and great expanse clear on what regard to the subcommittee is that we must strike a balance that is that we mice on number one priority certainly must be security but the heard me say many many times that we must not unduly burden the flow of commerce no word security first and so this is consistent with what you're talking about  there we don't see it that way you know right now the coast guard has a security zone and always saying is that in that security zone they are going to contract with a state a local government that those folks have to have the same capability that the coast guard has with regard to equip men training and expertise to protect that area now if there is something in here that goes to the concerns of the our agricultural community we're not really doing anything that we have not been doing but we certainly willing to take a look at that because you may have some information that we don't have but as late as about an hour ago when we checked again with the coast guard they said that there are no private entities that are currently enforcing coast guard impose security escorts around vessels containing either dangerous cargoes or the smaller subset of especially has its cargo so but if you've got some information  there is some information that we don't have that the agricultural community i just think that they i think that they think it's doing more than what it's doing but if you can we have provided some some information certainly we'll sit down and try to work it out but that's our intention was not to do any kind of harm and any expenses with regard to the agricultural community and i and all we want to do basically what we've been doing but making sure that if there is if they are going to be contracting out that this state and local folks be as well equipped as the  back thank you there will be probably a longer period of time then i would like before we bring this bill to the floor i was i said earlier that  discussion and greater length about your concerns of those that mr low beyond has raised and we will work to resolve these matters to other members wish to be heard let's go on not on the as states the repairs for the three tanks are just run of the ownership of a hell of a chemical performed in greenville mississippi another great mississippi river town other than memphis and the sole reason is barges are no longer cause was qualified is because a parent company is based in japan that another member raise a similar case in which a vessel was built in the united states operated by a us flag company sold to a foreign flying operator th interim foreign ownership it is technically in violation of the jones act i think there is a way to work this matter out in both cases you've cited and  by whom and where if any work will be done to retrofit the bessel for future operations in the us trade then we can deal with that issue thank you sir and as you well know all those all the waters in the world start min nesota come down by mathis and then they empty out a new office the rest of the world so thank you sir the other members wish to be heard on the cummings amendment text of h r one zero two nine the alien smuggling and protection terrorism prevention act of two thousand and nine to this legislation each year alien smugglers bring thousands of undocumented aliens to the shores of the united states and flaunt the laws of our great nation these illegal immigrants pay large sums to individuals and groups that operate dangerous and illegal criminal enterprises with little regard for the health and safety of the lives they transport the coast guard works closely with ice and customs and border patrol and with u s citizenship and immigration services to implement and enforce our nation's immigration laws and policies however the current jurisdictional evidentiary issues that arise on the seas often lead to smugglers who have been apprehended but are not prosecuted free to violate our laws again this amendment plug the loopholes in the current law which gives the coast guard a few option other than returning the alien smugglers to their countries of origin this m m it does not address the individuals who are carried aboard the vessels in the want us waters by alien smugglers rather this bill is targeted at those who show a reckless disregard for our laws and the safety of the passengers there smugly i deeply appreciate all the good work the coast guard does the stop smugglers from bringing illegal aliens to our shores this commonsense amendment will go a long way to help protect our borders and provide the coastguard and u s department of justice with the ammunition they need to prosecute these illegal smugglers and like to inform my colleagues that the text this bill passed the last congress as a standalone bill was included in the coast guard authorization act last year a it as we have done several other bills that this committee has reported that it passed the house but have not been considered by the other body and we will include it in that in that good company and to move it americans trying to get into canada to purchase lower cost pharmaceuticals the issues are different in various parts of the country but on the salt water coast especially the gulf coast this is a very big issue and and this highly profitable business of smuggling has just continued to increase we've got to provide coast guard the resources they need to deal with this issue the gentleman from new  jersey thank you mr chairman i would like to commend gentleman from texas for offering this language for the committee's consideration as everyone has noted we've supported this language several times over the past two congresses and i hope the committee do your gracious offer to host a meeting next week with along with mr cummings mr allard for us to attempt to resolve this issue but very briefly for those who might be paying attention vessels  sizes are currently struggling to comply with rules which require crews to manage incidental discharges like deck wash and builds water again deck wash under several sets of state regulations under current rules a vessel traveling the great lakes could potentially have to comply with eight different state standards for the discharge of built water or maritime industry is struggling in our economy it cannot sustain the current situation where one vessel traveling our coastal waters has to comply with a new confusing and often contradictory regulation regulatory scheme each time it enters the waters of another state in the next few months fishing fishing vessels and commercial vessels less than seventy nine feet will also have to comply with these confusing standards i represent the second largest commercial fishing port on the east coast and i think it's the fourth largest in the country and i've heard from many of my fisherman they are struggling and are desperately trying to make ends meet many are losing their boats to bankruptcy they simply cannot sustain another costly government regulation so mr chairman i very much welcome your offer to for us to delve into this and to see what we can come up with and i'm sure based on your track record we will come up with a solution that will be accommodating and fair to everyone thank you and i thank the gentleman and  just moving too quickly to the sailors having had his innings and i want to be sure that you had your opportunity explain the provisions we will work this out this will be done we won't move the bills that we do mr showers thank you mr chairman i speak in support of passage of h r thirty six thirty six nineteen i did want to comment on the ballast water management issue that has been raised by two of our colleagues including the other gentleman from michigan as a member of the michigan legislature i helped pass tough ballast water management protections for our state i'd like to work with you as you take up this issue and as we discussed this to make sure we don't supersede or we can in any way tough statutes that already exist in michigan or other states like michigan and i just want to make sure where we are doing something to address this on a national level but not compromising in any way strong statutes that may already exist in other states thank you i yield back we are going to deal with the needs of the great lakes needs of the east coast needs gulf coast west coast alaska fisheries we're going to get this resolved technical clarifying for me changes to each of the bills and resolutions order to part of they reflect the actions of the committee thought objections ordered i ask unanimous consent that the chair after consultation with the ranking member have authority to strike a review revise any provision of any bill or resolution order voted today that would cause a sequential referral to another committee or would cause the bill to be subject to a budget act or rules twenty one days ago point of order without objection so ordered  unanimous consent that the committee authorize the chairs designate offer such motions as may be necessary in the house to go to conference with the senate on the following bills and resolutions that were ordered reported by the committee or similar senate bills h r three three zero five h r seven hundred as amended h conrad's one thirty eight h r thirty six eighteen and a g r thirty six nineteen as amendment as amended pursuant to rule five a and b of the rules of the committee in transportation infrastructure the chair knows the presence of a car for each of the