James Oberstar

Mr. OBERSTAR

Mr. OBERSTAR. I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished Chair of the subcommittee, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings).

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 10 seconds. Does the gentleman from Ohio have any further speakers?

Mr. OBERSTAR. If the gentleman is concluding, I will conclude on our side.

Mr. OBERSTAR. We accept the amendment on this side, and urge all Members to vote for it. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition to the amendment, although I don't intend to oppose it.

Mr. OBERSTAR. The amendment of the gentlewoman arises out of a very tragic case on which the committee held an extensive hearing, and attempted to address the issue in language within the pending bill. Her amendment would go to the heart of this issue, establishing a Web site, updated quarterly, aggregated by cruise line, and providing a link to the site on their own Web site. These requirements will allow passengers to review the safety record of a cruise line before booking their cruise. I think that is a very important protection, especially for women who are often alone and can be subjected to violence, as we have seen in the course of these hearings. I support the amendment.

Mr. OBERSTAR. I am delighted to yield to the gentleman from Ohio.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguish Chair of the Rail Subcommittee, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine Brown).

Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays).

Mr. OBERSTAR. I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings).

Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, though I do not intend to oppose the amendment.

Mr. OBERSTAR. I thank the gentleman from Texas, a member of our committee, for offering this amendment. The Coast Guard in the past 4 months has had 23 cases involving semi- submersible vessels, and the Coast Guard intelligence sector predicts that 85 cases will occur this year, possibly a projection of 120 such cases next year. This amendment deals with stateless submersible or semi-submersible vessels on international voyages, and makes it a finding of Congress that they are a serious international problem that facilitates transnational crimes, including drug trafficking and terrorism, a serious threat to U.S. maritime security navigation, and I appreciate the gentleman offering the amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OBERSTAR. I yield to the gentleman from Maryland, Chair of the Coast Guard Subcommittee, the balance of our time.

Mr. OBERSTAR. I will reserve the balance of our time. I will yield to the gentleman from Maryland to close on our side. So the gentleman may proceed with his speakers.

Mr. OBERSTAR. The gentleman may close and we will close on our side.

Mr. OBERSTAR. I thank the gentleman for yielding time. It was our purpose from the very outset of crafting the marine safety provisions of this bill to delineate clearly the responsibilities of the Coast Guard on safety, on its safety mission, and on the new emphasis within the Department o Homeland Security on their security responsibilities. In fact, this was an issue, I would say to the gentleman from Ohio, that then Chairman Young and I raised with the President at the White House some 6 plus years ago when he first proposed the Department of Homeland Security, that the bill, as proposed, the proposition set forth by the administration, did not distinguish between search, rescue, safety responsibilities of the Coast Guard and these new emphasis duties on security. We do that now in this legislation. The amendment of the gentleman from California will further delineate that distinction. I thank the gentleman for yielding this time, and I thank the gentleman for his amendment.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition, though I do not intend to oppose the amendment.

Mr. OBERSTAR. I do support the amendment offered by the distinguished gentleman from Florida with whose father I had the pleasure to serve, a person of great personal distinction who served this body very well and with whom I had a delightful personal relationship. And I always appreciated that friendship. I thank the gentleman for offering this amendment which requires biometric identification of suspected persons, including terrorists, to strengthen border security. Fingerprinting, digital photos, and other technology can be used to identify illegal migrants, smugglers, and terrorists. It will be useful in establishing a database. It parallels what we do in the TSA for aviation security and in other areas of security. It will be a valuable asset in the ongoing struggle against terrorism, and I appreciate the gentleman offering the amendment. I am happy to yield to the gentleman from Ohio.

Mr. OBERSTAR. I yield to close on our side to the gentleman from Maryland.

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

Mr. OBERSTAR

Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, though I do not intend to oppose the amendment.

Mr. OBERSTAR. It was truly delightful to hear the discourse of the gentleman from Massachusetts, perspicacious, omniscient. It is rare that tediological inquiries occur in this body. And for that reason, it is rare to hear such felicitous language used in discourse on the floor, especially important on this aftermath, the day after the 444th celebration of the birth of Shakespeare. I thank the gentleman for his distinguished presentation. Madam Chairman, I would be happy to yield to the distinguished gentleman from Ohio.

Mr. OBERSTAR. I thank the gentleman for those thoughtful remarks. I yield the balance of our time to the distinguished Chair of the Coast Guard Subcommittee, Mr. Cummings.

Mr. OBERSTAR. I thank the gentleman for yielding. And I share those concerns. Lockheed Martin, which has the contractor responsibility for issuance of TWIC cards, has reported that fingerprint rejection rate due to poor print quality has been in the range of 2 percent. If you happen to be one of those 2 percent, then you really have a problem. And so that requires those who are rejected to keep coming back to an enrollment center. And the amendment would alleviate mariners from having to make several trips. I remember myself, when I was working my way through college, I was working at a concrete block factory. I eventually wore out gloves and I said I can't afford any more gloves, so I just moved the concrete blocks with my hands until eventually I had such thick calluses I had no fingerprint whatever, no markings on any of my fingers. It took months afterwards, back in college, to shed those calluses. So I can imagine workers on the docks and all having similar problems. And I think this relief for mariners will be very, very beneficial. I thank the gentleman for yielding.