Statement by Congresswoman Jane Harman

Congresswoman Jane harman - Press Release

CONGRESSWOMAN HARMAN'S STATEMENT
IN SUPPORT OF THE COAST GUARD AND MARITIME TRANSPORTATION ACT OF 2004

November 5, 2003

Madam Chairman, I rise in support of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2004.

As the former representative of the Port of Los Angeles, and currently the representative of the communities neighboring the Port, I know the critical role the Coast Guard plays in protecting the nation's ports and sea-borne commerce.

Indeed, even before the events of September 11, the women and men of the Coast Guard worked tirelessly to ensure safe and secure operations in and around the Port of Los Angeles and Santa Monica Bay. Since that date, the role of the Coast Guard has increased in pace and intensity.

The bill before us recognizes the operational tempo of the Coast Guard and helps ensure that it has the assets and personnel to do its critical job.

I also want to point out the bill's endorsement of the Marine Exchange of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Since 1923, the Marine Exchange has maintained a continuous 24-hour operation providing detailed records of all vessel arrivals and departures of the busiest habor complex in America. Jointly with Coast Guard , the Marine Exchange operates a Vessel Traffic Information Service. This program uses state of the art electronic tracking equipment and radar and radio systems to manage all commercial vessels that travel through San Pedro Bay. The Marine Exchange VTS is the first public-private VTS partnership operation in the country that is funded by industry.

This bill notes that it is a national model for other ports to study, evaluate, and emulate and authorizes the Coast Guard to enter into similar cooperative agreements elsewhere in the nation. The VTS keeps the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach safe, more efficient, and environmentally protected by assisting with the movement of over 35,000 vessel transits annually and I commend its executive director, Capt. M.H.K. ``Manny'' Aschemeyer, and all those associated with the Marine Exchange for a job well done.

Lastly, I want to express my gratitude to the Chairman and Ranking Member for including in the manager's amendment a proposal first suggested to me by the City Council of Torrance, California. That proposal recognizes the linkage between the critically important roles of both the Coast Guard and the nation's cities in the fight against terrorism and recommends the Coast Guard name a class of vessels in its Deepwater program in honor of specific U.S. cities.

It is my hope that the Coast Guard will respond favorably to the sense of Congress language included in the bill and, in fact, name one of its new ships in honor of the city of Torrance, which has been on the forefront of honoring our Armed Forces and is strategically located on the shore of the Pacific Ocean.

Madam Chairman, I urge passage of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act.