Frank LoBiondo

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Chairman, I strongly, strongly, strongly oppose this amendment. This current regulatory nightmare will shut down our shipping lanes. It is unworkable, and I hope our colleagues understand the consequences if this amendment were to pass. I urge opposition to the amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill, H.R. 2838.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Commander Rob Warren of the U.S. Coast Guard for his exemplary service over the past two years as the Coast Guard's Liaison to the House of Representatives. Commander Warren, a 1992 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy, has personified public service throughout his operationally distinguished nineteen year career. Having served on three Coast Guard Cutters, including a tour as the Commanding Officer of TYBEE, Commander Warren arrived here in Washington in the summer of 2009, having just completed a successful assignment as the Chief of Response Operations in Sector San Juan, Puerto Rico. He quickly learned to navigate the rocky shoals of Capitol Hill and has become a trusted voice on all things pertaining to both the Coast Guard and the maritime domain. His passion, candor, and intellect are second to none and earned him a coveted seat at the Army War College's Senior Service School, where he will spend the next year studying National Security Strategy and the principles of senior command. I would like to thank him for his service to both the Congress and the nation and wish him and his family fair winds and following seas in their future endeavors.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the underlying bill and in strong support of the en bloc amendment. Specifically, I want to speak on the Rogers-LoBiondo amendment, No. 51, that helps repatriate the heroes that were killed in 1804 in the fight against piracy in Tripoli, Libya. They were led by Commander Richard Somers with the Intrepid when he was attempting to fight the pirates at that point in time. They have unceremoniously been buried in mass graves without the formal military tradition that we have in foreign countries. This amendment seeks to right a wrong that has been in place for more than 200 years. And Somers Point, New Jersey, a town in my district, is where Commander Richard Somers hailed from. So it's extremely important to all of the United States of America. The American Legion of the United States has endorsed this amendment, and I urge all the Members to strongly support it.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. I would like to start out by thanking you, Chairman Rogers and Mr. Ruppersberger, for refocusing the efforts of the Intel Committee on that which is critically important with the authorization and oversight for our intelligence community. We have incredibly dedicated men and women who are putting their lives on the line every day in a way that almost all of America will never know. These individuals deserve nothing less than the full attention and help from Congress in the authorization and helping them with the programs that are necessary to continue the dramatic successes such that we've seen with Osama bin Laden.

Mr. LoBIONDO

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 would like to start by thanking Chairman Mica. I'd like to also thank Mr. Petri and Mr. Costello. This is a very simple amendment. It allows the FAA to assist in establishing a NextGen Research and Development Center of Excellence. The center would leverage the FAA's existing Centers of Excellence Program, a program that relies on university partnerships to address ongoing FAA research and development challenges. The NextGen Research and Development Center of Excellence would provide educational, technical, and analytical assistance to the FAA and other agencies involved in the development of NextGen. In essence, it would be a force multiplier. NextGen is a complete revamping of our National Airspace System from the current radar-based system to a state-of-the-art satellite, or GPS- based, technology. Once fully implemented, NextGen will provide a host of benefits for the more precise tracking of aircraft, fuel savings, and noise reduction. As a result, the entire aviation community would be benefited, as would the Nation. I believe the Centers of Excellence model could be extremely beneficial to the FAA's NextGen efforts. Centers of Excellence allow the FAA to partner with universities and industry on important aviation research issues. Since 1990, 8 Centers of Excellence have been formed with more than 60 university partners and over 200 industry and government affiliates. These Centers have fueled innovative research in a variety of areas such as noise and emissions mitigation, airworthiness, and the use of advanced materials. I believe the FAA would benefit by applying the Centers of Excellence model to the challenges of NextGen. My amendment would give the FAA the authority to move in this direction. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. LoBIONDO. I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin, the chairman of the subcommittee.

Mr. LoBIONDO. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to engage the chairman of the subcommittee, Mr. Latham, in a colloquy. As the gentleman knows, I believe the implementation of the next generation of air traffic control is a very necessary and critical step in bringing our aviation system into the 21st century. The Nation's aviation transportation network is currently based on an outdated, outmoded, decades-old, land-based radar system. Our cell phones have better capability than our air traffic control system. The next generation of air traffic control reflects an approach to move forward while making our aviation system much safer, much more efficient, and much more cost-effective by moving it to a satellite-based system that will benefit all Americans. Once fully implemented, the next generation system will reduce flight delays, saving Americans billions of dollars in lost productivity. Aircraft will be able to operate more efficiently, resulting in less fuel consumption. Congestion at some of our Nation's busiest airports will be significantly reduced, freeing up much needed airspace to accommodate growth in the aviation sector. And I'm particularly proud that most of the work that is being done to validate the FAA's next generation of air traffic control is being done at the Federal Aviation Administration's Technical Center in my district in New Jersey that will help develop this and implement it. That is why I rise today, and while I strongly support the House's effort to reduce wasteful government spending, I am also very concerned about programs that could be affected unintendedly, and this measure includes a slight reduction in the FAA's facilities and equipment account, an account which could provide some of the funding for the work associated with NextGen. Can the gentleman assure me that this reduction will not negatively impact the critical work that is taking place on the next generation of air traffic control.

Mr. LoBIONDO. I yield to the gentleman from Iowa.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Thank you, Mr. Latham, for sharing that information and for your commitment to the next generation of air traffic control, and I look forward to continuing to work with you and the committee and this body to see that accomplished.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. ``Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill.''

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The gentleman from Michigan has adequately described the critical importance of this bill on pipeline safety. We support the bill. H.R. 6008--the Corporate Liability and Emergency Accident Notification Act--makes three changes to the Federal pipeline safety law. The bill requires that the Department of Transportation maintain a database on its website of all reportable pipeline incidents and make the database available to the public. The bill also increases the civil liability caps for violations of pipeline safety laws. H.R. 6008 also requires that pipeline operators notify the National Response Center not later than 1 hour after the discovery of a release of natural gas or hazardous liquids. Pipeline operators are currently required to notify the NRC not later than 2 hours after the discovery of a leak. The Federal pipeline safety programs are set to expire in one week. Recent pipeline accidents in San Bruno, California; Romeoville, Illinios; and Marshall, Michigan have brought pipeline safety to the forefront. While this bill addresses some of the issues that should be addressed in a comprehensive pipeline safety reauthorization bill, it does not address all of them. I hope that Congress considers a comprehensive pipeline safety reauthorization bill that addresses all of the relevant pipeline safety issues in the very near future. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.

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

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Oberstar has been very passionate on this issue, along with a number of other issues. The critical importance of NTSB has been outlined over and over again. I urge all Members to look very carefully at this. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This is a commonsense good government bill which I support. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from New York did an excellent job of explaining how important this legislation is. It is a commonsense approach to solving a problem, and I support the bill.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica).

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I want to again thank Mr. Oberstar for his diligent work on this, and Mr. Mica. A lot has been said by both Mr. Oberstar and Mr. Mica, but a couple of points need to be reiterated, I believe. I think the men and women of the Coast Guard are some of the most under-recognized and under-appreciated patriots that we have in our country. For far too many years a message was sent to them as we increased their mission that it was acceptable for them to be expected to do more with less. We send a very clear signal with this legislation that that is not the case. I am very appreciative of the majority's position in rejecting the President's very misguided direction to cut the Coast Guard with personnel and funding, exactly the wrong message at the wrong time. We can look to some other things that are in this bill that maybe aren't quite as high profile, but there is a housing provision in this bill that the Master Chief of the Coast Guard, Mr. Bowen, Master Chief Bowen, came and talked about, the horrendous conditions that we are expecting men and women of the Coast Guard to live in, and this helps to correct that. Another issue that is not at the forefront right now but certainly was a very short time ago, and that was the piracy issue. We are taking steps to allow the captain and crew of U.S. vessels to be able to defend themselves and their cargo. This is a good step in the right direction. Overall, this bill is very, very much past due, and I am very pleased that we are going to be able to move forward with that. I want to thank Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Mica and all staff on both sides for so much in their doing. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady).

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