committee on transportation infrastructure will come to order today we consider the airline safety and pilot training improvement acts of two thousand and nine the us army corps of engineers survey resolutions courthouse at thirteen hundred victoria street laredo texas as george p kazan federal building and u s courthouse in the jury room in that federal building as the marcello c notes and jury room unit of the smithsonian institution to plan design and build a vehicle maintenance facility at the maintenance branch of the smithsonian institution in soups and merriment to provide for a transfer of federal property to the galveston historical foundation the u s mariner and vessel protection act of two thousand and nine the cruise vessel security and safety act of two thousand and nine i now recognize  gentleman from illinois mr costello for a motion mr chairman pursuant to rule one a one the rules of the committee on transportation and infrastructure and move the chairman be authorized to declare recess is during today's markup questions on the motion all those is recovering wonderfully from a stroke and you're looking at him you never know anything that happened welcome back john i'm glad to have you our first order of business is a chair thirty three seventy one diligent work that he has undertaken in the hearings and in developing the legislative language and mr p tries partner public and side in crafting this legislation our committee staff on both sides who have worked so hard i chairman thank you and i want to thank you mr mike and mr p try far working together in a bipartisan way to craft this legislation mr chairman today is an important day for aviation safety h r thirty three seventy one the airline safety and pilot training improvement act of two thousand and nine will go a long way to improve aviation safety as members know the f a a is examining aviation industry best practices to address many of the concerns raised in our on the  february twelfth two thousand and nine colgan air flight thirty four zero seven crash in buffalo while i commend unsupported ministre her babbitts commitment to strengthen pilot training standards and improve aviation safety voluntarily we cannot rely on voluntary compliance by the airlines at the june eleventh aviation subcommittee hearing on regional air carriers and pilot workforce issues we heard testimony on the need for higher minimum training standards from the national transportation safety board the department of transportation's inspector general the f a a pilot groups airlines and members of congress as well as the families of the victims who perished on flight thirty four zero seven at the end of the hearing we announced our intention in a bipartisan way to pursue legislation today we are marking up legislation to fulfill the bipartisan commitment to address the safety issues regional airlines have been involved in the last six fatal us airline accidents and pilot performance has been implicated in at least three three of those accidents it's time for us to strengthen pilot training requirements and qualifications and that's exactly what we are doing along with other issues that we are dressing that issue in this legislation to address pilot qualifications the bill increases the minimum flight hours required to be hired as an airline pilot currently a person only needs a commercial pilot's license to be a commercial pilot which is a minimum of two hundred fifty flight hours based on witness testimony in our herring meetings and roundtable discussion with their line pilots there is a consensus that two hundred fifty are simply is not enough experience to be an airline pilot in that safety would be improved by raising the standards under this legislation all airline pilots must obtain an airline transport pilot license which is currently needed to be a captain which requires a minimum of fifteen hundred fl our goal is to ensure that both the first officer and the captain have the same minimum level of experience training and skills to transport passengers and crew safely the a t p license also requires additional aeronautical knowledge crew resource management training and greater flight proficiency testing in addition the bill mandates several outstanding n t s b recommendations related to pilot training that were discussed at the hearings such as stalin upset recovery and remedial training we require the to convene a multi disciplinary panel on sticker pusher training and for the f a a to act on that panel's recommendations we also mandate that the secretary secretary of transportation provide to congress with an annual report on each open n t s b recommendation to address the concerns regarding profession standards the bill requires regional in the major airlines to create piler mentoring programs pairing highly experienced pilots with junior pilots new her pilots and pilots in command are required to receive readers leadership training and must undergo instruction on compliance with sterile pilot cockpit regulations also the bill creates a task force of experts to evaluate best practices in the airline industry regarding mench mentoring pilot training and inner carrier information sharing the task force will report to congress every one hundred eighty days on progress in implementing these best practices to ensure that the airlines make informed hurrying decisions the bill also requires the f a a to create and maintain an electronic electronic pilot records database the database will allow airlines to quickly access a pilot comprehensive record of for hiring purposes the database will have records on the pilot's license aircraft ratings check rides notice of disapproval and other flight proficiency test fatigue has been on the n most wanted list since one thousand nine hundred the bill directs the f a a to implement a new pilot flight and duty time rule an updated rule will more adequately reflect the operating environment of today's pilots and will reflect scientific research on f in addition the bill requires air carriers to create fatigue risk management systems to proactively mitigate the t many of us are concerned about the relationship between pilot communing and fatigue that certainly was an issue that was discussed at the n t s b hearing concerning the colgan tragedy this is an issue that needs to be looked at more closely and therefore the bill directs the national academy of science to conduct a study on the impact of commuting on pilot finally the bill requires that all internet websites that sell airline tickets that they must show on the first page displayed on their web site which air carriers operating the flight including multiple plights segments this is a comprehensive bill that takes important steps to address many of the safety concerns raised in our hearings issues that were discussed and roundtable discussions in various meetings with those involved in the industry m chairman i want to in particular thank the families of those who perished on the call going to accident in buffalo for their input their cooperation and their persistence and i want to thank you and mr mike and mr p tried for working in a bipartisan manner to bring this legislation before the full committee today mr chairman i thank you and i urge my colleagues to support this important legislation and thank you mr chairman for that spun the detailed analysis of the bill i think it  covers legislation very thoroughly and i particularly appreciate your reference to the families of the victims i think we all have to keep them in mind the purpose for which we take these safety initiatives is so th tragedies do not occur again or that we minimize their possibility of occurrence and i wanted to recognize distinguished gentleman from florida as to mike thank you i want to thank you and mr your leadership also the strong bipartisan effort that went into this and i appreciate both staffs working together very closely i think when we recognize that there is a problem in this  committee that we join together in trying to find positive solutions we have for the most part i've always said this have a very safe commercial passenger aviation  however had at least a half a dozen commuter airlines and you could say one is an accident two is an accident but as mr costello pointed out we do see that there are problems in the operation of the so we put together some strong measures both for pilot qualifications for access to information about the pilot's background and their training and also for i think most importantly for recommendations of the n t s b to move forward not sit on the show again when we had when we've had the last six fatal accidents kill one hundred fifty five people congress must act in our committee best act finally that you know you do your work sometimes in congress and you we do affect people's lives and mr chairman these are letters that we received and their letters thanking us all of us for our efforts they're all from members of families  messages touch our hearts and also even photographs that they sent us of their their loved ones well i don't want to put the letters and i'd like to at this point answered in the record and ask unanimous consent that the names of those who sent us these letters and also the names of their those that they lost in this crash be entered into the record without objection sort of like you and i yell back that's a very touchy very thoughtful  recommendations from the entity n t s b on a number of the issues contained in this legislation and i'm pleased that we are going to wait no longer using the committee might remember that i a key role in stripping the f a of its promotional responsibility as relates to the airlines but it took another tragedy to get to that point the value jet crash and unfortunately there are those in the f a a and particularly depending upon which it who governs the country and who the president is who more or less still don't realize that they are not there to promote the industry but they are there to protect the traveling public that is their highest responsibility and this bill will make it clear to the f a a that we find that their foot dragging a number of these areas is going to  and in particular the hours of training required i pointed out in one thousand nine hundred three that it took three times as many hours of training to become a hairdresser in the state of oregon as to  be a copilot in a life or death situation on an airplane absurd then you know clearly it has led to some very very sad circumstances so that  and a number of the other changes in this bill are essential the key thing is for those in the industry who might whine about this the point i've been making since ninety three is there are good operators there are bad operators we want to raise the floor so that the good operators are not add a competitive advantage and drug down by the shoddy sub standard operators that's what we're doing here today go to fifteen hundred hours everybody's going to have fifteen hundred hours yet maybe ticket prices go up a buck or two bucks to have a pilot up there knows what they're doing in bad weather or when there's that where there's an incident guess what there's no one in the back of the plane to wouldn't pay one or two dollars to survive that incident  more comfortably although i try to avoid the shoddy operators but the ones generally the commuter lines i fly on have higher standards already now they won't be at a competitive disadvantage thank you mr chairman job and for his persisten september eleventh when airlines were allowed to fly and i was at a conference in st louis cons travel agents and  resort operators who are worried about the future of aviation and i ask the question how many of you would be willing to pay the price of a latte to travel safely to this  destination all the hands went up so how many of you would be willing to pay the price of a competent to get back to washington or to your home destination it's all the hands went up people are willing to pay for safety and in this committee we crafted the transportation security act with that initial two dollar fifty cent passenger fee for security mr p try thank you for your splendid contribution to thank you very much mr chairman and i'd like to add a nice voice in strong support of the bill before us transportation safety is our committees as you've often remarked our committee's highest priority and even the most well funded technologically advanced transportation system is worthless if it cannot move its users from point to point in the safest manner possible that we are currently in the safest year an aviation history recent events as has been pointed out offer proof that this legislation is needed since two thousand and three there have been six fatal commercial air carrier accidents each one involved regional airlines four of the accidents the national transportation safety board cited pilot performance as a potential factor the most recent accident of clothing flight thirty four zero seven was again a stark reminder that we must remain ever vigilant in our pursuit of aviation safety in response to these accidents the has made several important recommendations pertaining to pilot pertaining to pilot training the availability of pilot records voluntary safety reporting programs the bill before us takes an important step toward improved safety by implementing the n t s b training requirements including those related to stall and upset training this is significant as delayed stall an upset recovery actions by the pilot and copilot may have contributed to the tragic  flight thirty four zero seven crash in buffalo new york this bipartisan legislation contains several provisions that will help mitigate the dangers associated with pilot fatigue it directs the f a a administrator to update an issue noop pilot flight and duty requirements also requires the f a a to coordinate with the national academy of sciences in order to conduct a joint study on the effects of pilot community the bill creates an air carrier accountability by mandating that all commercial air carriers submit a risk management plan to the f a a within ninety days of enactment pilot fatigue poses a significant risk to air transportation and i am glad this bill takes measures to eliminate its dangerous consequences bill will improve access to private records by creating a secured consolidated f a a managed database the database will contain all part one twenty one pilots performance training and testing records and will enable air carriers to get a more accurate and complete perspective when making hiring decisions all commercial carriers will be required to access this database and prescreen an applicant's comprehensive records before making a final decision on hiring just a few of the provisions included in this important and timely legislation i'd like to again express my appreciation for the open bipartisan manner in which this bill was put together a collective effort demonstrates that aviation safety is as it should always be a nonpartisan issue i'd also like to join in thinking the so do other members mr bush thank you mr chairman and i think chairman costello in congress and to try for their contributions to this very important legislation as you may know this is a very this issue is very near and dear to my heart i've been steeped in pilot training aircraft safety issues for the last fifteen years now a personal interest in seeing that we address these issues fully and comprehensively to avoid the expletive exploitation of loopholes sometimes caused by the vagaries in legislative language this bill is a bold step and i commend the authors for their diligence in crafting this comprehensive legislation to address the issues for too long the regional the regional airlines and major carriers have been on divergent vectors with regard to safety experience and training standards this bill in the details here and should should have been addressed by the f a a previously after numerous n recommendations the bill goes a long way toward bringing standards together and i believe that some point congress will in ought to force the f a a to follow through on recommendations by the n t s b which have for too long collected dust on the shelf i would also hope that we can work to tighten language regarded stall training that would specify the use of simulators as you may recall mr chairman colgan air stressed only stall recognition and not stall recovery in their training procedures full stall recognition stall recovery unusual attitudes as addressed in this should not be tabletop briefings as colgan illustrated in their training manuals but should be comprehensively done in flight training and simulated in simulation through various machines additionally i feel very strongly that icing conditions present that february night played a significant role in the fatal stall and while this crash was tragic it was also completely avoidable while it was a pilot's lack of situation awareness and attention to detail and their inability to recover from a full stall that caused this crash it was also their ignorance of the aircraft's required airspeed under those conditions that led to the stall in the first place i've been told that the committee might address this issue separately in the fall and i can't stress enough how important it is that we do so we're approaching yet another winter season and i don't want to find us here again god forbid six or eight months holding hearings on another crash that could have been avoided through the proper training of these air crews on stall recognition in icing conditions i hope that we can work together to address these issues and move together towards a floor this is a bipartisan bill a bipartisan effort and we have recognized that safety is paramount with respect to how we approach safety issues in our airline industry i thank you mr chairman thank you mr costello mr peachey for this bold step and i yield back but i thank the gentleman for his contribution for his demonstrated skill i thank you mr chairman and i also would like to add my krishi ation to you and to all the committee leadership in putting together this air carrier and pilot workforce safety bill this is a good bill and i'm especially pleased with the creation of a pilot records database as i stated when this bill came before us i represent two wonderful parents robert and denise perry of loveland ohio whose twenty seven year old son jonathan was among the passengers on flight thirty four zero seven but he also used to represent another great family the will in skis and even though they left loveland ohio the same town eight years ago our community came together and mourned their death of the death of their loving husband when that plane crashed into the house these are just two of the families that were affected by this tragedy these were just two of the great people our country now misses and it is with deep sorrow for the losses experienced by these families and all aboard that fatal flight and that i am pleased that we are represented here today to make sure that we're putting together a legislative package that will improve the safety for the flying public i can't thank you enough for putting this bill before us and i yield back i thank the gentleman for sharing with us those very touching personal memories very important for us to keep in mind when we are not dealing just with numbers and figures and words on paper but with lives families and  others that brought us back to the reality for which we take these actions thank you very much for that contribution but the other members wish to be heard on that just nation its provisions have been very galaxy airlines killed or killed ninety four people from the state of minnesota because bad operator company that  crew and of the cabin crew and for years we've tried in this committee with bipartisan support in both democratic and republican executive and we have many experiences of the flight crew cabin crew who case of emergency were were just so numb they couldn't respond instantly to a tragedy at hand remember that the cabin crew safety personnel are not there principally to serve food and drink and shuffle luggage around they're there for the safety of the passengers they have to be at their peak operating efficiency and incrementally we've made changes that we've shortened flight time and stablish parameters for duty time returning from my district in the twin city metro area hotel i catch the earliest next morning flight where flight crews overnight and i hear them sees i'm dragon oh my gosh  fourth flight two days and i had just had a long lag and i think any rest last night and they're talking to each other i don't necessarily know who's sitting next to them and listening in this bill makes a really significant step in correcting those situations we can't let that happen safety in aviation begins in the corporate boardroom doesn't begin in the f a a the f a a that sets th minimum standards those should be exceeded by the companies so the that that issue and then this the second that that i think it's so important sparing in the flight deck having a very senior captain and a very junior first officer is often a formula for failure especially if personalities don't match and i on a case and it happened in my own district where the pilot in command was a very  forceful domineering individual who had a record of first officers big afraid to speak up to him and that was evident in the voice data recorder in that incident where he descended too rapidly came in too low it crashed into a hillside before getting to the airfield and if this is the for the first officer was hesitant to say the best to and speaking up to him well if you have people who are evenly matched or closely matched in the flight deck those kinds of things aren't going to happen and that's what that's important step this among the important steps this legislation makes so also but the other comments for the record question now is the chair invites those who have amendments questions on any the consideration of three corps of engineers survey resolution i ask unanimous consent to call up the resolutions and block they be considered as read and open to a member at any point without objection sort of not recognize  under consideration is included in each of the members folders as well as a copy of the resolutions themselves these survey resolutions for had the core with the necessary authorization to investigate potential water projects throughout the nation including projects for flood damage reduction navigation environmental restoration the following a survey resolutions outstanding before the committee a study absolute damage reduction for the black rascal creek inmarsat county california requested by representative cardoza a study for flood damage reduction and eco system restoration in lincoln nebraska requested by represent berry a study of had way electric energy a potential in the upper mississippi river requested by representative carnahan in the interest of full disclosure and transparency all of the survey resolutions requests under this consideration this morning have earmarked certification forms on file with the committee i am unaware of any controversy concerning these resolutions and recommend that the committee adapt the survey resolutions on the consideration respond to specific water resources needs in the congressional districts of mr fortenberry of nebraska mr carrados of california and mr carnahan of missouri these resolutions will authorize the corps of engineers to undertake a tooth a study of water resources needs for an impacted area and to develop solutions for the existing problems i fully support adoption of these resolutions and recommend to my colleagues that the committee approve them i yell back i thank the gentleman the other members wish to be heard i would just point out the this is a very important role of our committee we  many members think i don't understand the role of the corps of engineers in the process and there is a problem and say well we've had flooding and we need florida for the court of build a levee you don't start with above you start with the survey resolution that is the the study to determine whether project is needed how it should be constructed and whether there's enough evidence for positive benefit cost ratio and that this is the first step in that process once studied the coral returned to the committee for additional authorization should the project prove valid or prove necessary and and significant and the core of the federal government will be responsible for the initial cost of the study if a more detailed feasibility study is required then the comes back to us and to the local sponsor for fifty five the cost sharing i also want to emphasize that at the beginning of the previous projects in the surface transportation bill so all members all three members who requested these initiatives have filed certification forms with the committee signed and they're on  something of significance for the national interest but they have to go through our committee for use of the capitol grounds september seventeenth is one of those the anniversary ratification of the constitution it's called constitution and citizenship day so designate that time to on of the constitution and learn more about our foundational document  this event also recognizes those who quote by coming of age or by naturalization have become citizenship because quote the day is intended to encourage quote complete  citizens and their responsibilities and opportunities as citizens of the united states and of the state look out of the in which they reside they resolution also authorizes a national korean american service an education consortium to sponsor a free public event on the capitol grounds to celebrate citizenship day september seventeenth the other members wish to be heard on the resolutions the gentleman well  list of co sponsors of the legislation indicating broad bipartisan and geographic support for the initiative to other members wish to be heard on the  resolution not to consider the resolution for amendment other amendments to the house of current resolution if not i move the resolution be agreed to and reported favorably to the house those in favor say aye aye those pows kno economic development etc and call up the following bills and block that the bill be considered as read and open to amendment at any point h r thirty one ninety three to designate the u s courthouse at one zero one south u s route one s courthouse and h r twenty four twenty three designate the federal building and u s courthouse at thirteen hundred victoria street in laredo texas and the george p kaizen federal building and u s courthouse and the jury room in that this is a preeminent state jurist began his legal practice in florida in one nine hundred twenty four a state circuit judge and two terms on the florida supreme court active member of the st lucie community its courthouse the judges roots go deep in the history of southern florida his father was the founder of the knives congregation the oldest jewish synagogue in the state of florida mr run of it's just a run of it's graduated from local public high schools bashur degree from the university of florida was appointed by president ford to the federal bench served until nineteen ninety seven it's been active in dade county civic and religious organizations the third was sponsored by mr clay  kazan was nominated in the federal bench by president carter in seventy nine service chief judge from the southern district of texas until two thousand and three a long and be debated yes that that is all they were going to do today the gentleman has a resolution that requires some refinement i think it needs it's a very significant to designate and sell and recognize the tenth anniversary of the plan take intracoastal waterway committee but i think the resolution should include more information about the historic nature of the atlantic intracoastal waterway and discuss it with the gentleman on the floor yesterday and we have requested details from the corps of engineers the waterway was initiated in the mid ninety's early nineteen century and some two thousand miles long and has a very very significant history of movement of goods and people and fishery in the waterway that i think this is an appropriate time to to include that history and when that data is received from the court we'll make sure the gentleman has it promptly and then we also have asked for further information on the committee itself to include in the resolution i think  will make for a more robust resolution and one that truly celebrates the significance of this great waterway i know you have a real interest in this german i appreciate you making those statements i know the shortline ship in the future markups and in this committee and in another committee i was detained by i certainly appreciate that a chairman played two roles he is capable of playing the role of all of us but paid two roles as chair question is on the amendment offered by the judge wanted from the district of columbia those in favor say aye aye aye aye those oppose no the eyes have at the moment as agreed to are there other amendments to the bills if not chair recognizes on economic development public buildings emergency management a call of the bill h r thirty two twenty four that the bill be considered as read in open to a member at any point out of jackson's order and i recognize ms norton to explain the service services building however there are several environmental and occupational safety concerns associated necessary for the zoo operations such as this is animal nutritional commissary exhibit production shop horticultural storage fans merchandise where house and professional office functions absented opportunities for leasing space or contracting out the function in term of that it was most economical to keep the maintenance function in house and build a facility on land so i have the pleasure of representing the area where this facility will be constructed in certain maryland i've also the visited the facility visited the the facility the smithsonian there and you know there are deep needs for infrastructure  in that at that facility and i'm very pleased that this vehicle maintenance building will be placed at the at the suitland facility i think it's going to be a much more efficient building and a real asset for the smithsonian it's going to truly save money for the taxpayers in the long run it's really important in these facilities nationwide that the government also do its do its part on energy and the environment and government facilities i think should reflect these priorities and i think this building is going to be of the type and design that it addresses the numerous concerns for efficiency inefficiency and waste and in addition for the chairwoman i just appreciate her leadership in looking at all of our veteran federal facilities and improving efficiencies the energy efficient technologies that i believe are going to be incorporated into this into this building the natural  gas facilities and particular attention to how the design and construction will address some of our national priorities is very important and i'm strongly supportive of the resolution and look forward to  i would like to supplement the comments made by the smithsonian such a great treasure a national treasure the british have the british museum arguably the world's largest museum i think there is a dispute with the louvre in paris for distinction of being the largest but it's just one structure the louvers one structure there are many other great museums in paris and by the way we pay a substantial fee to get into any of those museums both in france and in britain and in elsewhere in europe ours are open to the public great treasure and we all have such a scum does this great national cap of ours and they all want to see one time another the smithsonian the smithsonian does so many things that we kind of lose sight of that much of their vehicle maintenance is conducted at the national zoo with general services building smithsonian has a fleet of seven hundred eighty vehicles seventeen million dollar investment these operations though become incompatible with the other needs of that general services building and after a good deal of thought that given to the issues they felt that the most in barton or the most beneficial way to deal with their fleet needs management operations is to  move them to the simplest site that will have great benefits for the smithsonian also give them the opportunity to convert their fleet as the gentleman has already noted at highly technical operation in and very important for the future of transportation this is transportation to look like in the future and use that hydrogen and compressed natural gas and propane for eccles in the feeling of them is a very it can be very dangerous operation requires highly skilled personnel to undertake that work the smithsonian will also do  to take advantage of the smithsonian when they come to visit the nation's capital are they are will are considered the bill for amendment other amendments if not  bill is approved and ordered reported favorably to the house next door to business is h r twenty one twenty one providing for the transfer of federal property to the galveston storable foundation i ask unanimous consent to discharge subcommittee on economic development public buildings and emergency management call up the bill h r twenty one twenty one to be considered as read or open to members at any point without objection so word now recognize chair norton to explain the bill chairman the committee and its our h r two one two one introduced by representative paul provides for the transfer of federal property located five o two twentieth street in galveston texas to the galveston historical foundation the building is the u s customs house and is currently occupied by the start a foundation which has a long term lease on the fire facility in one thousand nine hundred eighty eight the historical preservation the building is not well suited to federal tenants and needs for modern office space today was a challenge yes it is not opposes legislation and i urge support for this i would just add a footnote that the customs house which was built in eighty six is the oldest nonmilitary federal facility in texas we now deposited with the federal building fund and further the amendment standardizes the bill's title are there any member members which we recognized on the amendment to bill was approved and ordered reported favorably to the house our next order of business is the u s mariner and vessel protection act of two thousand and nine i  any aggression search restrain depredation what seizure which shall be attempted upon such vessel or upon any other vessel so owned by the commander or crew of any on vessel whatsoever not being a public on vessel of some nation in amity with the united states of america the legislation before us today would ensure that those who use was authorized the use of force to defend a u s flagged vessel from piracy pirates the attack against america alabama left an american captain richard phillips hostage to virus he was freed only through the decisive intervention of the united states military forces incidents up higher sea in the  of africa region are increasing in two thousand and eight there were one hundred eleven actual and attempted somali pirate attacks that number had already been surpassed by many of this year and as the monsoons in the one of africa region begin to subside there is concern that pirate activity may again resume it is my belief mr chairman that the united states military should embark security team to defend u s flag vessels that are risk of attack by pirates the defense of our merchant shipping has historically been one of the central missions assigned to our united states navy thus u s thirty three u s c three eighty one and  also dating from eighteen nineteen authorize a president to and i quote employ so many of the public on vessels as in his judgment disservice may require in protecting the merchant vessels of the united states and their crews carrying government impel impels cargo for that reason i offered an amendment to the national defense authorization act with the school year twenty ten h r twenty six twenty seven that would require the department of defense and foreign military security personnel on u flag vessels care and u s government argonne when they transit pirate infested waters if they are deemed to be at risk of being boarded by pirates this amendment was adopted by the house and it is my hope that it will be included in the final defense authorization act that emerges from conference that said i strongly support h r thirty three seventy six as offered today because no mariner who exercises his or our right of self defense should be worried about being committee for your help with this legislation and for that of mr cummings it's been a great working relationship we've had on the subcommittee but i also like to thank mr michael mr young the mr coble for their help and interest on this particular legislation h r three three seven six the united states mariner and vessel protection act of zero nine makes an important amendment to u s law to reinforce the traditional right of self defense for mariners operating aboard u s vessels over the past year there's been a significant increase in the rate of piracy in the gulf of aden and off the coast of somalia the u s flag vessels the maersk alabama and the liberty sun were attacked and but due to the heroics of the crews  navy no american lives were lost in order to prevent future attacks vessels operating at a higher security posture and many operators are examining the use of armed security teams on board in hearings before the subcommittee on guard maritime transportation representatives from all segments of the maritime community shared concerns that while the provisions of armed personnel was were necessary to safeguard the vessels crew and cargo the arming of the v el may potentially exposed vessel operators and crew to increase liability for actions taken in defense of the ship clearly we do not want to expose u s mariners to potential lawsuits for the actions they take to defend themselves and their vessels from pirates and response we work closely with mr cummings and others to put together h r three three seven six under the bill mariners who use force in individuals who authorize the use of force to defend a vessel against pirate attack would be shielded from liability for damages or injuries that result from their defensive actions this is a comments it's approach with legislation that will enhance the capabilities of masters and crews to protect themselves as they carry out their duties i think this bill represents a good first step that we can all agree to help deter piracy we will continue to work with the shipping industry maritime labor coast guard and other federal agencies on other issues affecting our ability to respond effectively to acts of piracy mr chairman i want to again to especially thank you for including this important bill on the committee schedule today and for your continued work and assistance   really thoroughly explained but i just want to emphasize we've been engaged with piracy or defending against piracy since the origins of our nation remember the barbary pilots remember thomas jefferson something forces out to deal with them and it's been an issue throughout our history and now it's reared its ugly head again and the cargoes that are at risk in the in somalia and  is well pointed out and as chairman cummings has pointed out so i think we've got a very very important piece of legislation here and one that will be significant to those who are at risk in these  areas of the world a merchant marine is always had this unique role it's caring vital cargo not armed and during world war we know how many hundreds of thousands of tons of shipping were sunk by nazi submarines and japanese submarines and there's a merchant marine memorial which we honor those who sacrificed themselves in support of our world war two mission so this takes takes us further steps would not consider the bill for amendment are there members of the bill not the chair recognizes maritime transportation call of the bill h r thirty three sixty eight the building considered as read an amendment and open to amendment at any point without objection so ordered not recognize chairman cummings to explain the bill thank you very much  the cruise ship industry during the first hearing convene in march two thousand and seven subcommittee considered the unique circumstances around the travel of transient population and what a foreign cruise ship far from land that may the prosecution by united states authorities a crime committed against americans in such circumstances very difficult we also examine the lack of government data on extent of crimes on cruise ships as well as the availability of measures including physical infrastructure retrofit that could increase security and safety on cruise vessels following that hearing and at my request the cruise industry and the victims families of victims of alleged crimes on cruise ships out a series of meetings to assess ways of improving security and safety for passengers on such vessels the meetings identified some important potential improvements but not all of the cruise lines have been in agreement about which potential measures should be implemented and how quickly they should be implemented the legislation that congresswoman mentioned we has introduced reflects some of the commonsense measures that have been discussed by the cruise lines and crime victims and that were considered during our su hearings for example h r thirty three sixty will require reasonable alterations in vessel designs equipment and construction standards to help strengthen passenger security and safety by the date by the date that is eighteen months after the date of an act of the act whose vessels much have railings that are at least forty two inches high as well as people's similar features to allow passengers to know who is at their cabin door before they actually open the door new vessels constructed after the date of the enactment of the act must equip passengers staterooms in cabins with security latches and time sensitive key technologies h r thirty three sixty would also require cruise ships to have on board train medical personnel who can meet the specific treatment needs of the victims of sexual assault including and ministering anti retroviral medications which this legislation always require requires to be able to perform examinations that gather evidence of possible assaults and results of such exams and all information obtained during the counseling of an assault victim must be treated confidentially and cannot release to the owner or legal representatives of a cruise line without the victim's consent thirty three sixty also establishes formal reporting requirements that specify when crimes must be reported to the federal bureau of investigation and which crimes must be report additionally thirty three sixty this and this thirty three sixty the secretary of transportation is required to maintain one internet site a numerical accounting of alleged crimes aggregated by cruise line and cruise lines must provide a link when coombes cruise ships to our attention and to address these issues through constructive legislation those who cruise must understand that they are entering a voting world where u s laws do not directly reach but we in congress a responsibility to the millions of our citizens whose annually to ensure that cruise ships are as safe as they can be given their unique circumstances i believe firmly that h r thirty three sixty takes important steps  chairman the subcommittee on coast guard maritime transportation is closely examine the factors that are impacting the safety and security of american citizens aboard cruise ships that operate in and out of u s ports i'm pleased to see that the committee is moving forward with these efforts through the consideration of h r three three six the cruise ship safety and security act of two thousand and nine the bell makes several common sense improvements which you will enhance safeguards for passengers during their cruises well no level of procedural or structural modifications can prevent all this and this from occurring i believe that this bill will significantly enhance the capabilities of both passengers and cruise lines in the future the bill will also cause a fire agreement between the i and cruise lines which will require cruise operators to immediately notify federal law enforcement agencies of major incidents that occur aboard the vessel i support the bill i commend the sponsor  congresswoman matsui and other members for their willingness to work with the industry and victims groups to develop legislation that can be supported by all parties i urge all members to support the bill and i yield back the balance of my time  changes to each of the bills and resolutions or to reported today perfect actions of the committee of jackson so were to ask unanimous consent that the chair after consultation with the ranking member have authority to strike to revise any provisions of any of the committee authorize a chair is designated to offer such motions as may be necessary in the house to go to conference with the son of on the following bills and resolutions order reported by the committee or similar senate bills h r thirty three seventy one each conrad one thirty r twenty twenty nine thirteen h r twenty four twenty three is amended h r thirty two twenty four h r twenty one twenty one as amended h r thirty three seventy six the major thirty three sixty members may wonder and and some enterprising the lawyer for one or the other side would find that there was a discrepancy in the action of the committee so now we have this very carefully crafted script that mr just or follow through follow