House Approves Coast Guard Authorization

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Frank A. LoBiondo (NJ-02), Chairman of the House Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, today applauded House passage of H.R. 2838, the “Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation Authorization Act of 2012,” a two-year authorization of the Coast Guard’s budget which includes a number of provisions important to South Jersey.
Conscious of finding taxpayer savings and reducing redundancies wherever possible, the “Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation Act of 2012” authorizes $8.6 billion for Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 and $8.7 billion for FY 2014. It would also reform Coast Guard administration while improving operations and reducing inefficiencies by consolidating reporting requirements on Coast Guard acquisitions; mandating performance milestones prior to acquisition of new assets; and, repealing out-of-date authorities deemed unnecessary by the Service.
Housing & Parity Issues:
Chairman LoBiondo previously led the effort to eliminate discrepancies in benefits between members of the Coast Guard and members of the Armed Services, including in the areas of expanded child care services, improved housing, Chaplain-led family programs, enhanced retention and medical travel reimbursement. The bill builds on those efforts by making several other changes that will give the Coast Guard and its personnel greater parity with the Department of Defense (DoD). It also requires the Coast Guard to report to Congress on the condition of service member housing – a significant issue for those stationed at the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May.
“Better housing for members of the Coast Guard continues to be a high priority for me and those stationed in Cape May. While the Coast Guard has been hesitant to dedicate the necessary resources, it remains unacceptable that our service men and women and their families are forced to live in outdated, substandard and sometimes nearly dilapidated housing,” said LoBiondo. “I continue to explore available options that will assist the Coast Guard in making the right choice for our service members.”
Commercial Fishing Provisions:
The legislation preserves jobs by providing important regulatory relief for New Jersey fishermen. It delays the deadline on dockside examinations for commercial fishing vessels to the standards and timeframes of other sea-worthy vessels. Under current law, all 35,000 commercial fishing vessels in the United States were required to be inspected by the Coast Guard by October 15, 2012 or they would not be able to leave the dock. Given the Coast Guard’s public statements that it would not be able to meet the October 2012 deadline, this legislation pushes the deadline to 2015 while extending the license’s validity from two (2) years to five (5) years.
H.R. 2838 also delays the implementation of senseless and costly EPA regulations that could leave fishermen on the hook for over $36,000 in daily fines if they fail to get a permit from the EPA to discharge such things as rain water runoff and air conditioner condensate from their vessels.
“At my direction, the Coast Guard subcommittee has fully focused on strengthening our nation’s maritime sector, a critical source of jobs and economic output. In South Jersey, commercial fishing operations have long been one of the leading employers, making Cape May the second-largest port by commercial value on the East Coast. My legislation ensures that thousands of fishermen – already reeling from Hurricane Sandy – are not put out of work because of a discriminatory timeline and costly process,” said LoBiondo.
Piracy Provisions:
LoBiondo’s “Piracy Suppression Act of 2011” (H.R. 2839), which was previously approved by the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, was included in the “Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2012” passed by the House today. Among the key provisions of the legislation are authorizing armed security aboard U.S. flagged vessels carrying federal government cargoes; expanding the existing training program to help mariners prepare and utilize acceptable means of defending themselves in the event of a pirate attack.
LoBiondo previously authored legislation to provide civil liability protection to U.S. merchant mariners who use force to defend a U.S. vessel against a pirate attack. Those provisions were signed into law by President Obama in 2011.
Originally introduced in Sept. 2011 and approved by the House in November 2011, the “Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation Act of 2012” (H.R. 2838) incorporates Senate-approved changes with additional amendments of the House. It was passed by voice vote today in the House and sent back to the Senate for their consideration.