Frank LoBiondo

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would like to begin by thanking Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Mica and Mr. Cummings. I think the model that this subcommittee works with could be an example for the entire Congress, the bipartisan nature in which we proceed. The opinions and ideas of all are respected and acted upon, and that is reflected in H.R. 3619, this Coast Guard Authorization Act. However, I do have some serious concerns about a few matters--Mr. Mica touched on some of them--in the underlying bill, and some others that are being proposed in the manager's amendment. I hope the chairmen of the committee and the subcommittee will work with Ranking Member Mica and myself to address these concerns, if they are not cleared up today, as we move forward to a conference bill with the Senate. This bill has been a long time in coming, as has been noted by Mr. Mica and Mr. Oberstar and Mr. Cummings. We have worked on many of these provisions starting in the 109th Congress. Over that time, the absence of an authorization bill has had a real and negative impact on the Coast Guard. Let me just stop for a minute and say I think we should all take a step back and recognize the tremendous job that the men and women of the Coast Guard have been doing, are doing, and will continue to do. They are true unsung heroes. They put themselves in harm's way, whether it is on a drug interdiction mission, whether it is in search and rescue, whether it is maritime antiterrorism, or in the global war on terrorism, which they have also been involved in. We owe them a great debt of gratitude. We should continue to recognize the many sacrifices they are making on behalf of our country. I thank Admiral Allen and the leadership team, but especially the men and women of the Coast Guard. But to carry on with my statement, despite the addition of several new missions and focus areas, the service has been capped at an end- strength number that has not been increased since 2004. The lack of an authorization bill has also prevented the Coast Guard from moving forward with a planned reorganization of its senior staff, from receiving expedited hiring authorities to bolster its acquisition staff--something that is desperately needed in this time when they are replacing assets--and from exercising strengthened authorities to apprehend and prosecute alien smugglers by sea. The smugglers continue to try to improve their methods and the Coast Guard continues to respond. These are vital tools we are giving them with this authorization legislation. This is an important bill, and I only hope our action this week will provoke an equal and prompt response from our counterparts in the United States Senate. We sometimes joke about it, we sometimes talk about it, but our ability to act on this side on an important measure like this should be followed up with the Senate. This is not the naming of a post office. There are literally lives that can be at stake here, and I hope the counterparts in the Senate will understand the severity of dealing with this in a timely manner. In addition to authorizing much-needed funding for the Coast Guard in the coming fiscal year, the bill includes several important provisions which will improve the organization and capabilities of the Coast Guard. Under the bill, Coast Guard officers will enjoy improved flexibility to specialize in high-need mission areas without fear that they will be passed over for promotion in the process, something that is not true today. The bill also includes the Coast Guard's proposed reorganization of its senior command structure, which will improve overall coordination of personnel, resources and capabilities to carry out all of their missions. This is increasingly important because of the needed flexibility of the changing of the mission, of the changing of the threat that the Coast Guard is protecting against, and this will be a vital component that will help them do their job. H.R. 3619 also includes bipartisan language to overhaul the Coast Guard's acquisition program, something that Chairman Oberstar, Chairman Cummings and Ranking Member Mica have worked on very closely, to make sure that we can fine-tune this and make it much better as they recapitalize their major assets through the Deepwater program. On balance, this is a very good bill, but it does include some provisions that need to be improved prior to enactment or signing by the President. The bill continues to include language that would place unnecessary barriers in the way of approving and operating facilities that receive important energy and agricultural resources. While I understand this provision will be amended by the manager's amendment, we should look closely at whether the manager's amendment, the language therein, really improves the security, or merely sets up additional regulatory hurdles to the use of domestic energy resources, something that I don't think our country can afford. I am likewise concerned with the proposal in the manager's amendment which would weaken language which was adopted on a bipartisan basis in the committee to provide protection from liability for vessel owners, operators, captains and crewmembers who take action to defend themselves from a pirate attack. I want to spend just a couple more minutes talking about this. While I have an amendment on it, I think Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Mica and Mr. Cummings were very thorough in helping us work out the language in a bipartisan way to deal with this liability issue with the pirates. I had an opportunity at the end of August and beginning of September to visit the East Coast of Africa and to visit a Navy SEAL team on the Manda Bay, which is in Kenya, just across from Somalia where the pirates are doing most of their activities. Our SEAL team is training Kenyans. They are doing a magnificent job, but they pointed out that the threat is very real and the pirates, because of some successes, are expected to pick up their activity. Little did we realize that this activity was going to pick up today. For those who did not hear my remarks earlier during the debate on the rule, we had two pirate attacks today. One pirate attack took 26 hostages, took them from a Panamanian-flagged cargo vessel, as I understand it, something that gives us all great concern. There was another attack on an Italian ship. Fortunately, there was a Belgian warship that was close enough to be able to get involved and thwart that effort. An attack on a U.S. flag vessel happened barely 6 months ago. We all watched with great anxiety how our very heroic captain and crew of a U.S.-flagged vessel conducted themselves and the heroics of a Navy SEAL team to save the lives of Americans. The language that was worked out that was in the underlying bill, before the majority on the Judiciary Committee decided to change this, was something that will work, that will give the protection from liability to our crewmembers that they need. The language that was put in the manager's amendment by the Judiciary Committee will set up a legal tangle and a horrific situation for a crewmember trying to thwart an attack by pirates who may be firing upon them with automatic weapons or grenade launchers. Whatever the ammunition and firepower they have, this crewmember has to go through a legal tangle in their mind of five, six or seven things to understand what they can and can't do. This is an attack on U.S. interests. So I hope Members pay particular attention to the piracy amendment as we move forward with that. Lastly, I am concerned with our inability to include language that would establish uniform national standards for vessel discharges, including ballast water. I have spoken on numerous occasions with Mr. Oberstar, and I want to take particular note to thank Mr. Oberstar once again for his keen interest in solving this problem and bringing so many interested parties to the table. I know that Mr. Oberstar shares my concerns and that of many of my colleagues, both on the committee and in Congress, to address this issue through legislation this year. I thank him for his offer to work with us, and I look forward to bringing the bill to the floor in the very near future. I plan to support the bill, even though I have a few reservations. I think it is a very important piece of legislation that we need to move forward, and I hope we will continue to improve the bill as we move through the process with amendments made in order today and as we move in a conference with the Senate. But I will continue to urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this legislation. It's good for the Coast Guard and it's good for America. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Madam Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers).

Mr. LoBIONDO. Madam Chairman, once again I would like to thank Chairman Oberstar, Chairman Cummings, Ranking Member Mica and our colleagues who have worked so hard on this. I want to reiterate how important this is for the men and women of the Coast Guard, who are putting their lives on the line every day for us, and to repeat what I said earlier, where I believe that this is one of those rare situations where we find a double win: It is very good for the Coast Guard, and it is very good for the United States of America.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Madam Chair, I rise to claim time in opposition to the amendment although I am not in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. LoBIONDO. On balance, this amendment does more good than harm, and for that reason, as I mentioned, I will not oppose the amendment or the adoption thereof. I do, however, want to raise several concerns I have with the amendment. The amendment before us now overhauls several important provisions that passed with wide bipartisan support in the committee. The language was added despite the continued objections of the minority. The manager's amendment rewrites language that would confer protections against liability for U.S. mariners that act in self- defense against a pirate attack on U.S.-flagged vessels. We have all read the accounts on the attacks of the Maersk Alabama and the Liberty Sun. Do we really want future mariners to hesitate in the face of a pirate armed with automatic weapons while they determine whether or not their actions will be deemed by a court reasonable with a check-off list in their minds as an attack is taking place? I don't think so And with the two pirate attacks today, while they weren't U.S.- flagged vessels, they could have been, and we certainly don't want to have that kind of a situation. So I strongly oppose this section of the amendment. And a little bit later in the debate, I'll offer an amendment to replace the language with the bipartisan agreement that we worked out within our committee. I want to once again thank Chairman Oberstar for his acceptance of the language that would extend an existing exemption for fishing vessels and small commercial vessels from complying with certain vessel discharge requirements. This action will allow this segment to continue operations while Environmental Protection Agency surveys the magnitude of discharges from the vessels and whether regulations are necessary. And I very much appreciate the chairman's commitment to continue to work with us on the goal of setting a single national standard, which makes the most sense of all, to regulate the discharge of ballast water and other incidental discharges from vessels. It simply is unacceptable to require our maritime sector to comply with two Federal standards and with as many as 30 different State standards and, often, conflicting State standards for vessel discharges. So it is a situation, I think, we are all looking forward to trying to solve. I also want to thank, once again, Chairman Oberstar for improving language regarding the security of the vessels and of the facilities handling certain dangerous cargos. While I still believe too much of this provision is unnecessary and duplicative to current requirements under the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, the language, Mr. Chairman, is a very marked improvement over the committee-reported amendment, and I thank you for your consideration. I also thank Chairman Oberstar for his willingness to work with us on a variety of issues that we have encompassed in this bill, and I look forward to further consultation as the bill moves further down the line to enactment. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Chairman, I claim time in opposition, but only to say we have no objection to the chairman's amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Chairman, I am offering this amendment, along with Mr. Coble of North Carolina, to conform Coast Guard authorities to provide child care in development services, to support chaplain-led activities, and to issue medicals and commendations on a par with those available to the other branches of the military. The Coast Guard is unique within the military community because it is located outside of the Department of Defense. While these authorities have been made available to the other military services, this amendment is necessary to provide the Coast Guard similar capabilities. This is a commonsense amendment which will improve services to servicemembers and their families. The amendment also directs the Coast Guard to conduct a comprehensive study of military housing currently available to members of the Coast Guard and their families. While we had initially intended to reinstate authorities necessary to construct new Coast Guard housing--which I might add is desperately needed--through public-private partnerships, a scoring issue with the CBO has presented us from better addressing the deplorable condition of Coast Guard housing. I know all Members want to provide the finest housing to these servicemen and -women who are giving so much to their country and who put their lives on the line each and every day to protect us. It is my hope that we will be able to work out a solution with Chairman Oberstar and the CBO to provide the service with the authority to improve their housing. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer this amendment with my colleague, Mr. Michaud. This is a simple amendment which would require that the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Department of Transportation, report to Congress on the decommissioning of the LORAN- C system. LORAN-C is a radio-based navigation and positioning system which many mariners use as a backup to GPS. It is also a primary means of navigation for bush pilots in Alaska. At the request of the Obama administration, the FY10 Homeland Security Appropriations Act does not include funding to continue the system's operation. This is being done despite the fact that the Department of Homeland Security came to the conclusion in February of 2008 that a backup system to GPS is needed. I am very concerned about the impact this will have on the safety of our waterways. In many regions around the country, the GPS can be found unreliable. I do not believe, as some in the administration have suggested, that we should go back to the days of navigating by sextant and lighthouse. Our amendment would simply require the two departments to study the issue of whether a backup to the GPS is needed for safe navigation and report the findings to Congress. Mr. Chairman, I urge all Members to support this commonsense amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Chairman, I seek to claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Chairman, we have no objection to the gentleman's amendment. The amendment would require the Coast Guard to establish the American Waterways Watch Program, which I understand is already in operation today. The language is identical to language that was offered by former Transportation Committee member from the State of Washington, Dave Reichert, as an amendment to the bill in the 110th Congress. So we have no object to its inclusion once again. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Madam Speaker, as per the requirements of the Republican Conference Rules on earmarks, I secured the following earmarks in the Conference Report to accompany H.R. 2997: Requesting Member: Congressman Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02) Bill Number: H.R. 2997 (Conference Report) Account: National Institute of Food and Agriculture--SRG Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Rutgers University Marucci Center for Blueberry and Cranberry Research and Extension Address of Requesting Entity: 125A Oswego Road, Chatsworth, NJ 08019 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $550,000 for the Cranberry/Blueberry Disease Project for research on breeding and pest management to provide continued support for the $50 million a year industry. Past research has found bacterial anti-adherence mechanisms helping to fight urinary tract infection and dental caries, and other antioxidant properties. A major effort within the breeding program aims to enhance these health beneficial properties. Requesting Member: Congressman Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02) Bill Number: H.R. 2997 (Conference Report) Account: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service--Salaries and Expenses Legal Name of Requesting Entity: State of New Jersey, Department of Agriculture Address of Requesting Entity: 369 S. Warren Street, P.O. Box 330, Trenton, NJ 08625 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $500,000 for the New Jersey Gypsy Moth Pest Management Program to support and enhance gypsy moth control on effected communities and public lands. Funds will be used to cost share aerial treatments borne by local municipalities; for outreach in developing a web-based interactive online map showing the distribution of the gypsy moth in New Jersey and proposed treatment areas; and for technical support for salaries for field scouts and vehicle operation.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Madam Speaker, as per the requirements of the Republican Conference Rules on earmarks, I secured the following earmarks in the Conference Report to accompany H.R. 2467. Requesting Member: Congressman Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02) Bill Number: H.R. 2467 (Conference Report) Account: Army--Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Legal Name of Requesting Entity: (1) Drexel University; (2) Waterfront Technology Center Address of Requesting Entity: (1) 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104; (2) 200 Federal Street, Suite 300, Camden, NJ 08103 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $3.8 million for Applied Communications and Information Networking (ACIN). ACIN enables the warfighter to rapidly deploy state-of-the-practice communications and networking technology for warfighting and National Security. This funding will build on funding from previous years to fully develop this technology. Requesting Member: Congressman Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02) Bill Number: H.R. 2467 (Conference Report) Account: Air Force--Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Accenture Address of Requesting Entity: 200 Federal Street, Suite 300, Camden, NJ 08103 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $4.0 million for Distributed Mission Interoperability Toolkit (DMIT). DMIT is a suite of tools that enables an enterprise architecture for on-demand, trusted, interoperability among and between mission-oriented C4I systems. This spending will build on funding from previous years to allow DMIT to be extended to Joint and coalition requirements, and address current weaknesses in Air Force management years ahead of current schedules. Adoption by major programs and commercial entities would lead to savings in the $100 millions on current and future DOD programs. Requesting Member: Congressman Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02) Bill Number: H.R. 2467 (Conference Report) Account: Navy--Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Absecon Mills Inc. Address of Requesting Entity: Vienna and Aloe Avenues, PO Box 672, Cologne, NJ 08213 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $2.5 million for Force Protection--Non-Traditional Weaving Application for Aramid (Ballistic) Fibers and Fabrics. By reevaluating standard Industry design and manufacturing techniques for force protection technology, we believe Non-Traditional weave designs of Aramid (ballistic) fiber coupled with new applications of microwave plasma treatments can enhance the strength of the fiber and result in enhanced individual mobility, ease of medical access, reduced weight, increased ballistic protection, cost effective savings and weight reduction of ballistic materials currently used. Requesting Member: Congressman Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02) Bill Number: H.R. 2467 (Conference Report) Account: Air Force--Advance Procurement Legal Name of Requesting Entity: L-3 Communications Systems Address of Requesting Entity: 1 Federal Street, Camden, NJ 08103 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $3.75 million for Senior Scout COMINT (Communications Intelligence) Capability Upgrade. As part of the Senior Scout ongoing mission, there is an immediate need to add improved COMINT capability to detect and characterize new, modern, low-power radio signals at extended standoff ranges in the presence of interference. The current systems are not able to detect these specific signal sets, which limits intelligence collection capabilities.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Madam Speaker, as per the requirements of the Republican Conference Rules on earmarks, I secured the following earmarks in HR 3326: Requesting Member: Congressman Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02) Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Army--Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Legal Name of Requesting Entity: (1) Drexel University, (2) Waterfront Technology Center Address of Requesting Entity: (1) 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104; (2) 200 Federal Street, Suite 300, Camden, NJ 08103 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $3.8 million for Applied Communications and Information Networking (ACIN). ACIN enables the warfighter to rapidly deploy state-of-the-practice communications and networking technology for warfighting and National Security. This funding will build on funding from previous years to fully develop this technology. Requesting Member: Congressman Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02) Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Air Force--Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Accenture Address of Requesting Entity: 200 Federal Street, Suite 300, Camden, NJ 08103 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $4.0 million for Distributed Mission Interoperability Toolkit (DMIT). DMIT is a suite of tools that enables an enterprise architecture for on-demand, trusted, interoperability among and between mission-oriented C4I systems. This spending will build on funding from previous years to allow DMIT to be extended to Joint and coalition requirements, and address current weaknesses in Air Force management years ahead of current schedules. Adoption by major programs and commercial entities would lead to savings in the $100 millions on current and future DOD programs. Requesting Member: Congressman Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02) Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Navy--Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Absecon Mills Inc. Address of Requesting Entity: Vienna and Aloe Avenues, PO Box 672, Cologne, NJ 08213 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $2.5 million for Force Protection--Non Traditional Weaving Application for Aramid (Ballistic) Fibers and Fabrics. By re-evaluating standard Industry design and manufacturing techniques for force protection technology, we believe Non Traditional weave designs of Aramid (ballistic) fiber coupled with new applications of microwave plasma treatments can enhance the strength of the fiber and result in enhanced individual mobility, ease of medical access, reduced weight, increased ballistic protection, cost effective savings and weight reduction of ballistic materials currently used. Requesting Member: Congressman Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02) Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Air Force--Advance Procurement Legal Name of Requesting Entity: L-3 Communications Systems Address of Requesting Entity: 1 Federal Street, Camden, NJ 08103 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $3.0 million for Senior Scout COMINT (Communications Intelligence) Capability Upgrade. As part of the Senior Scout ongoing mission, there is an immediate need to add improved COMINT capability to detect and characterize new, modern, low- power radio signals at extended standoff ranges in the presence of interference. The current systems are not able to detect these specific signal sets, which limits intelligence collection capabilities.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, we are rapidly coming up on the 6-month anniversary of the stimulus bill. The question all across America, the question in New Jersey, and the question in my district in south Jersey is, Where are the jobs? We had jobs that were promised, good jobs that were promised, jobs that were going to be available. The unemployment rate was going to come down. The families in New Jersey are hurting. The families in south Jersey are hurting. Our unemployment rate in the State of New Jersey is 9.2 percent; and in most of my counties, it's well above 11 percent. Most of the stimulus money has been financed by the Chinese. And people are asking, Where is the help going to come from? But there is one category that has had a dramatic rise in employment, and that is in the category of czar. So if you are a czar, make application. Your day is coming.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 1665, the Coast Guard Acquisition Reform Act of 2009. I'd like to thank the chairman of the full committee, Mr. Oberstar. I'd like to thank Mr. Cummings and Mr. Mica for their help in moving and developing this important legislation. H.R. 1665 builds upon several provisions which passed the House during the 110th Congress and includes new language which I believe greatly improves the legislation. Like those bills in the previous Congress, the bill would reform the service's acquisition programs and procedures, prohibit the continued use of private-sector lead systems integrators, and establish a Chief Acquisition Officer to oversee all the Coast Guard's acquisition projects. H.R. 1665 would also require the Coast Guard to take several steps during the planning, production and acceptance period to enhance the Coast Guard's control over all parts of the process. Under the programmatic changes made by this bill, the Coast Guard will be able to use all of its many technical authorities to ensure that assets delivered meet the service's specifications and needs. Lastly, the bill includes two new provisions which will improve the Coast Guard's ability to staff acquisition positions with the most qualified candidates. The first is limited direct hiring authority which is based on existing authority available to the other Armed Services. Under this language, the Coast Guard will be able to directly hire civilian personnel with the needed acquisition expertise. The second will allow Coast Guard promotion boards to consider the need for specialized skills and qualifications of Coast Guard officers in areas like acquisitions. This language will provide Coast Guardsmen with the opportunity to specialize in limited duty areas, such as acquisition, without negatively impacting their promotional potential in the future. Mr. Speaker, I support this bill and urge other Members to do the same. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO. We have no additional speakers, Mr. Speaker, so I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Resolution 508 offered by my colleague from Nebraska, Mr. Fortenberry. The resolution expresses the sense of the House that the general aviation community be recognized for numerous contributions to the United States. I'd like to yield to Mr. Fortenberry such time as he may consume.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, in closing, the aviation industry is a vital part of small business. They rely on their fleets to provide the efficient and cost-effective transportation of goods and personnel. It is very appropriate that we are considering this resolution today. The Experimental Aircraft Association is holding its annual convention this week in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, known as the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. It is referred to by many simply as ``Oshkosh.'' It is the world's largest general aviation fly-in. A healthy and productive general aviation industry is important to both our Nation's economy and to the American way of life, and I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.