Date: 2008-07-29
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. H.R. 6295 is a bill on which Congressman POE of Texas and I have worked to address a serious problem relating to the use of submersible and semisubmersible vessels to transport drugs and potentially other contraband which pose a threat to our communities and our national security. The language in the amendment before us reflects an agreement reached with Chairman CONYERs and the majority on the Judiciary Committee. and we thank him and them for their willingness to work with us to address this very serious challenge. Submersibles and semisubmersibles are watercraft of unorthodox construction capable of putting much of their bulk underneath the surface of the water. This makes them very difficult to detect. These submersible and semisubmersible vessels are typically less than 100 feet in length and usually carry between 5 and 6 tons of illicit cargo. everything from drugs. guns. people. and potentially weapons of mass destruction. The range of these vessels is sufficient to reach the southeastern United States from the north coast of South America without refueling. According to recent press reports. in order to cover even longer distances. some of these vessels have been caught while being towed by larger ships with the idea that they would be released for the final approach to the shores of California or off the northeast coast of the United States. Now. were talking about stateless vessels that are built in the jungles of South America. They have no legitimate use. They are built for stealth and are designed to be rapidly scuttled. Their crews often will abandon and sink the vessels and contraband when detected by U.S. law enforcement in order to avoid prosecution. According to the Coast Guard. when you scuttle a vessel and all of the evidence ends up at the bottom of the ocean. it makes prosecution difficult. if not. in most cases. impossible. As a July 9 article in Politico reported: "On June 16 U.S. forces encountered one of newfangled drug boats northwest of the ColombianEcuador border. But before the Americans could get to it. the four Colombians aboard scuttled it. along with the estimated 5 to 10 tons of cocaine they were carrying... So what started as a major drug bust ended up as a rescue mission. And with no evidence the government could not prosecute the four drenched sailors." This adds a new dimension to the notion of "submarine warfare." and its critical that our prosecutors be equipped with the tools necessary to adapt to -this new challenge facing Federal law enforcement authorities. Although these new vessels are being used to evade detection and prosecution for drug trafficking. my own interest actually in this issue is even broader. The potential that someone might seek to transport a weapon of mass destruction into the United States is further reason for concern and why we need an aggressive response to alter the calculus of deterrence with respect to the use of these vehicles. In testimony before our Crime Subcommittee of the Judiciary Coinmittee. the U.S. Coast Guard testified that these semisubmersible vessels present "one of the emerging and most significant threats we face in maritime law enforcement today." In making the case for legislation. the Coast Guard testified that: "If operation and embarkation in an SPSS were illegal. U.S. interdiction forces and U.S. Attorneys would have the necessary legal tools to combat the threat even in the absence of recovered drugs or other contraband. So criminalizing -the operation of these vessels on international voyages would improve officer safety. deter the use of these inherently dangerous vessels. and facilitate effective prosecution of criminals involved in this treacherous and emerging trend." The Coast Guard has asked us for help on what they deem to be one of the most significant emerging threats to their mission. Language similar to that before us passed this body by a vote of 4081 as an amendment to the Coast Guard authorization offered by