Article/Column

In January of this year, when I became Chairman of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, I committed myself and our Subcommittee to accomplishing two objectives.

 

Our first objective is to be the number one advocate for the United States Coast Guard.   Importantly, I believe that this means not only working to ensure that the service has all the resources and personnel it needs to accomplish its missions, but also holding the service to account for achievement of the highest professional standards.

 

My second objective as Chairman is to promote the continued success of the United States maritime industry. Our maritime industry is essential to the creation of a truly multi-modal transportation network in our nation but is too often invisible to those who do not live or work around ports.

 

Working toward the achievement of these goals over the past 8 months, the Subcommittee has already convened 10 hearings and passed two major pieces of legislation on the floor of the House of Representatives, including legislation to reform the Coast Guard’s management of the Deepwater acquisitions program and legislation that would bring the United States into compliance with the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL ANNEX VI).

 

Further, both the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation and the full Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure have marked up the 2008 Coast Guard Reauthorization. 

 

The Reauthorization includes an innovate provision to create an ombudsman to serve as a liaison between the maritime community and the Coast Guard. The Reauthorization also introduces measures to improve the Coast Guard’s operations, to protect our waterways from the risks posed by invasive species, and to improve safety in the fishing industry.

 

Following a hearing convened to examine what can be done to support the growth of short sea shipping in our nation, I also introduced the Short Sea Shipping Promotion Act of 2007, H.R. 1499, which would exempt short sea shipments from the Harbor Maintenance Tax. I am working closely with Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY), Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means – which has jurisdiction in the House of Representatives over all tax-related legislation – to advance this measure.

 

Importantly, however, achievement of the two goals I have set for the Subcommittee will not rest solely on the enactment of legislation. Achievement of these complementary goals will also require a strengthening of the relationship between the Coast Guard and the domestic maritime industry – and several of the Subcommittee’s recent hearings have been convened specifically to begin this process.

 

In early August, the Subcommittee held a hearing to examine the Coast Guard’s implementation of its marine safety functions – including the inspection of vessels and the issuance of credentials to mariners. As the Coast Guard has taken on significant new homeland security responsibilities following 9/11, it has not devoted the attention and resources to marine safety functions that it previously did – and the Subcommittee fears both that technical expertise is being lost and that the service will be unable to complete the more than 80 pending rulemakings in a timely fashion.

 

I was heartened by Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen’s candid assessment of the challenges the program faces – and I commend his decision to name Rear Admiral Brian Salerno to serve as the Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety, Security, and Stewardship. It is clear, however, that the effort to ensure effective implementation of the program will also rely on effectively integrating an increased number of expert civilians in the program. 

 

The Commandant has committed to providing the Subcommittee within the next 60 days a report that lays out the concrete steps he will take to improve the marine safety program – and I look forward to receiving a detailed blueprint for reform.

 

The Subcommittee also recently examined serious and troubling allegations that the administrative law judges who hear suspension and revocation cases brought by Coast Guard officers are operating in an environment that may not support their exercise of judicial independence. 

 

While our investigation of the allegations continues, I have concluded that the best way to ensure that even the appearance of unfairness in this critical law system is avoided is to separate the system from the Coast Guard. We are now considering how best to achieve this separation.

 

Our Subcommittee has also convened a hearing to consider the impact that the implementation of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) will have on the industry. The roll-out of the TWIC, which was created by Congress to ensure that those who pose a security risk do not have access to transportation infrastructure, has been attended by delay and confusion. 

 

While I strongly support the security objectives embodied in the TWIC, I know that businesses need clarity on timelines and requirements to ensure that TWIC will not unduly interfere with the flow of commerce – and too many essential questions remain unanswered to ensure that businesses have that clarity.

 

Critically, issues such as improving the Coast Guard’s marine safety program, ensuring fairness in the conduct of suspension and revocation cases, and obtaining clarity regarding the introduction of new security measures are too complex to be effectively addressed by the conduct of single hearings. For that reason, it will continue to be our practice to hold timely follow-up hearings to assess the progress that has been made on resolving problems as they are uncovered. I hope that by now, all who appear before our Subcommittee know that we mean business.

 

In the coming months, our Subcommittee will continue to lay a course to support the critical changes necessary to ensure that both the Coast Guard and our maritime industry are the very best that they can be – and that they move together toward the achievement of what should be common and complementary objectives. 

 

I deeply appreciate the support I have received from the maritime industry – and look forward to continuing to address the concerns of this critical segment of our transportation network.