Date: 2011-11-04
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chair. I rise today to support H.R. 2838. "Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2011." This legislation authorizes funding for the Coast Guard through fiscal year 2014. and authorizes service strength of 47.000 active duty personnel. In 1787. Alexander Hamilton. in Federalist Paper Number 12 laid the foundation for the modern Coast Guard when he noted that "[a] few armed vessels. judiciously stationed at the entrances of our ports. might at a small expense. be made useful sentinels of our laws." As a senior Member on the Committee on Homeland Security. and the Border and Maritime Security Subcommittee. I understand the importance of protecting our maritime borders. In our post9/11 climate. homeland security continues to be a top priority for our nation. I believe protecting our country by air. land. and sea to be critical to our national security interests. The security mission of the Coast Guard is beneficial to our maritime interests. and consequently. our national security. In the aftermath of September 11. 2001. the role of many agencies. including the Coast Guard. began to focus on Homeland Security. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 allocated a number of security missions to the Coast Guard. the first being the protection of ports. waterways and coastal security. There are more than 350 major ports in the United States. including 23 in Texas. where I represent the 18th Congressional District. The Port of Houston is one of the busiest in the nation. More than 220 million tons of cargo moved through the Port of Houston in 2010. and the port ranked first in foreign waterborne tonnage for the 15th consecutive year. The port links Houston with over 1.000 ports in 203 countries. and provides 785.000 jobs throughout the state of Texas. Maritime ports are centers of trade. commerce. and travel along our nations coastline. protected by the Coast Guard. As a Representative from Texas. a border state. I am extremely concerned with curtailing the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. The Coast Guard is the lead federal agency for maritime drug interdiction. Houston is classified by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. and in a 2009 report. the ONDCP expressed concern that "the sheer volume of maritime traffic and foreign cargo that passes through the port offers another avenue for drug smuggling." The Coast Guard coordinates closely with other federal. state. and local agencies and countries within the region to disrupt and deter the flow of illegal drugs into Houston and other ports. decreasing the supply of illicit substances being transported all over the country. The Coast Guard protects the interests of American citizens and American commerce abroad. Last year. 73.2 million tons of exports left the Port of Houston to be sold to countries around the world. These exports represented $70.8 billion dollars. and countless American jobs. The international counterpiracy efforts of the Coast Guard focus on preventing attacks of piracy that threaten American commercial vessels and cargo. The Coast Guard also performs vital counterterrorism measures in ports abroad to ensure the safety of Americans across the globe. In Houston. the Coast Guard routinely conducts integrated operations with the city. county. state and Federal Law Enforcement partners. The joint agency Houston Area Maritime Operations Center is a prime example of the type of coordination directed in the Maritime Operations Coordination Plan recently signed by the U.S. Coast Guard. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Port of Houston is one of the worlds busiest ports and the Coast Guard bears the ultimate responsibility for its smooth operation. In terms of maritime traffic and cargo. the Port of Houston ranks first in the United States for number of ship arrivals and second in total cargo tonnage. Houston handles over 50 percent of all containerized cargo arriving at Gulf of Mexico ports. Additionally. more than 50 percent of the gasoline used in the United States is refined in this area. With more than 100 petrochemical waterfront facilities. Houston is the second largest such complex in the world. Major corporations such as ExxonMobil. Shell. Saudi ARAMCO. Stolt Nielson. Odfjell USA Inc.. Sea River and Kirby Marine have national or international headquarters in Houston. These operations typically involve the Harris County Sheriffs Office and local city Police Department marine divisions as well as CBP. ICE. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Bureau of Alcohol. Tobacco. Firearms. and Explosives and other Federal partners. Efforts are underway with The Coast Guards processes with neighboring sectors to align and streamline their operations across all jurisdictional boundaries. They need funding to continue to serve our country. The Coast Guard relies on their port partners to act as both their eyes and ears on the water. With an average of 350 daily tow movements in the Houston Ship Channel and more than 100 waterfront facilities with a vigilant security presence. marine industry stakeholders are well positioned to recognize when things are out of the ordinary and serve as a valuable resource by diligently reporting breaches of security and suspicious activity. We also receive reports on fraudulent use of the Transportation Worker Identification Card. and work closely with our local enforcement and legal agencies such as the Harris County District Attorney to ensure these cases are prosecuted. In recognition of the significance of Houstons shipping activity. the State of Texas formally established the Houston Ship Channel Security District (HSCSD) in 2010. The HSCSD represents a unique publicprivate partnership formed to improve security and safety for facilities. employees and communities surrounding the Houston Ship Channel. The Coast Guard played an instrumental role in the formation of the HSCSD. and continues to work closely with the HSCSD to ensure alignment of priorities and unity of effort. As Sector Commander. I am a member of the HSCSD Advisory Council and Sector Port Security specialists attend HSCSD board meetings. The district provides oversight of comprehensive and costeffective security solutions. leveraging more than $30 million in Federal Port Security grants along with $4 million in annual member assessments to install technology and security infrastructure and provide funds for specific security projects. maintenance and operational services. The Port of Houston accommodates a large number of tankers carrying crude oil. refined products and chemical cargoes. With approximately 9.600 deep draft ship arrivals each year. the Coast Guard maintains a very extensive Port State Control program in the HoustonGalveston area. The Port State Control program ensures the safe carriage of hazardous materials in bulk. Because over 90 percent of cargo bound for the United States is carried by foreignflagged ships. this national program prevents operation of substandard foreign ships in U.S. waters. The Sector also makes excellent use of its robust Vessel Traffic Service (VTS). The VTSs primary role is facilitating safe vessel transits in the waterways and ports along the Houston Ship Channel. The VTS cameras. Automatic Identification System (AIS) feeds. remote radar observation capability. and radio communications also provide an additional layer of security. In addition to the VTS resources in the Houston Ship Channel. Sector HoustonGalveston has access to feeds from three AIS receivers mounted on offshore oil platforms. which provide heightened awareness of activities in the maritime domain. With a homeland security mission of this magnitude. it is essential that the Coast Guard be fully funded. This bill will authorize $8.49 billion in 2012. $8.6 billion in 2013. and $8.7 billion in 2014. It is certainly the duty of this Congress and the Administration to ensure the brave men and women who serve in the Coast Guard have the resources necessary to perform the wide range of duties assigned to them. This measure contains a privatesector mandate as defined in Unfunded Mandate Reform Act (UMRA). The bill would require operators to locate a standby vessel within 3 nautical miles of offshore oil and gas facilities when certain activities are being performed and within 12 nautical miles of facilities at all other times. The cost of that mandate would depend on several factors. The bill would allow operators to share one standby vessel among multiple facilities and to use standby vessels for other purposes. For operators that can use those measures. the cost of the mandate would tend to be lower. At the same time. the bill would authorize the Coast Guard to require standby vessels to be located closer than 3 or 12 nautical miles to offshore facilities if necessary to address delays caused by weather or other conditions. Reducing the minimum distance from facilities would increase the number of vessels necessary for compliance and increase the cost of the mandate for some operators. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the aggregate cost of the mandate would probably exceed the annual threshold established in UMRA for privatesector mandates ($142 million in 2011. adjusted annually for inflation). However. I do have some reservations about some of the provisions in this legislation. At the request of President Obamas Administration. Congress has appropriated funding to reactivate the USGC Polar Star. a heavy icebreaking vessel. The ship is to be reactivated by December 2012 for 7 to 10 years of service. The Polar Star is deployed to assist researchers throughout the Polar Regions. and is essential to United States icebreaking capabilities. Ice breaking vessels create pathways through which supply ships can travel. facilitating important research. In its current form. the bill decommissions the Polar Star within 3 years. creating a gap in the nations icebreaking abilities. As a senior Member on the Homeland Security Committee. I have a deep commitment to creating a stronger and more secure America. I have worked with my colleagues. on both sides of the aisle. to pass legislation that ensures that our nation is receiving the security that our citizens deserve. As the potential threats and vulnerabilities along our coast line may always exist. we rely upon Coast Guard and their active involvement with hundreds of partners who are directly involved with or impacted by the maritime industry in the HoustonGalveston area of responsibility. This sector is committed to deterring incidents before they happen and is wellprepared to respond to them should they occur. The Coast Guard is vital to the protection of our national security. Both sides of the aisle have a strong respect for the Coast Guard as well as for the men and women who work on manned stations off of our shores. I understand that Representative MICA has agreed to honor the purpose of an amendment offered by Representative OLSON that would have required the Commandant of the Coast Guard. in consultation with appropriate representatives of industry. to conduct a feasibility study to determine the capability. cost. and benefits of requiring the owner or operator of a manned facility. installation. unit. or vessel to locate a standby vessel nearby. I would have supported this amendment because although a properly designed and equipped standby vessel in the immediate vicinity of manned outer continental shelf facilities may. in some cases. improve safety on the outer continental shelf. In the event of a major casualty to an offshore installation. the immediate presence of a properly designed and equipped standby vessel. manned by a specially trained crew. might in some cases increase the chances of survival of the installations crew members. We must not. however. forget the fact that historically the main cause of rig and platform abandonment has been due to severe weather. Unless these standby vessels are designed to withstand those severe conditions. requiring them to remain on scene could place the vessels and their crews in jeopardy. In addition. it is severely risky to board a standby vessel in severe weather conditions. For these reasons I would support a feasibility study to determine the effectiveness of using standby vessels for manned stations. In addition. I support the amendment offered by Representative THOMPSON that would add a new section to the end of Title II in the bill to open admissions to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy to eligible candidates nominated by Congress. Specifically. the amendment would require the U.S. Coast Guard to ensure that. beginning in academic year 2014. half of the incoming class is composed of eligible candidates nominated by the Vice President or. if there is no Vice President. by the President pro tempore of the Senate. Senators. Representatives. and Delegates to the House of Representatives. This will help to ensure that the Coast Guard has an even more diverse pool of candidate from across the United States. The Coast Guard has a proud legacy and their role in our national strategy is vital to keep our homeland secure. The safety and security of our nations and its citizens must be our highest priority. despite difficult economic circumstances. We need to make sure the Coast Guard is fully funded. and have the resources they need.