*EPF407 05/22/2003
Text: Coast Guard Asks for Shore Authority to Counter Terrorists
(Seeks powers to make arrests, use local law enforcement, agency's chief says) (2130)

The Bush administration has asked Congress to permit the U.S. Coast Guard to make arrests on shore to help the agency meet new terrorism-related security challenges.

Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thomas Collins said the enhanced law enforcement authority provisions in the Coast Guard authorization bill for fiscal year 2004 would also allow the agency to use state and local law enforcement agencies in enforcing security zones around ports and critical coastal infrastructure such as nuclear power plants and refineries.

In May 22 testimony before a House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee, he said that the $6,655 million bill would relax the current requirement that Coast Guard units fire warning shots in all situations before they deliver disabling fire against vessels refusing to stop when ordered. Collins said that in some instances it may be dangerous or impractical to fire warning shots.

In addition, the bill would give the agency mandate to prohibit maritime use of electronic devices that interfere with critical communication and navigation systems, he said.

In response to a question Collins commented on a report by the congressional General Accounting Office (GAO) that said some Coast Guard responsibilities other than maritime security have suffered as a result of the agency's increased vigilance against the terrorist threat after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Collins did not question the GAO's contention but said his agency is trying to make up for reduced drug interdiction and fisheries enforcement activities through resource allocation based on perceived risk of illegal activities and local, state and international partnerships. For example, he said, in the Caribbean U.S. Coast Guard units cooperate with Dutch, French and British law enforcement vessels.

Collins said that, ultimately, the Coast Guard will "get back to better balance" between different parts of its mission when it builds greater capacity.

"We are not there yet," he said but added he is encouraged by the budget trend toward increasing Coast Guard resources.

The GAO report said that Coast Guard resources devoted to fisheries enforcement and drug interdiction dropped "sharply" after the September 11 events and "remain substantially below historic levels." It said that homeland security and military demands make it "unlikely" that the agency, in the short run, can increase efforts in areas other than security.

But Collins said GAO should have used in its assessment the period directly preceding the events of September 11, 2001, rather than the years 1998 through 2000. Compared to pre-September 11 levels, Collins said, Coast Guard resources spent on drug interdiction and fisheries enforcement are down by no more than 5-20 percent.

He promised to submit to Congress by the end of 2003 a strategic blueprint that would lay out the agency's priorities and chart actions necessary to balance the use of resources among various Coast Guard missions.

Following is the text of Collin's testimony as prepared for delivery:

(begin text)

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
UNITED STATES COAST GUARD
STATEMENT OF ADMIRAL THOMAS H. COLLINS
ON THE
COAST GUARD & MARITIME TRANSPORTATION ACT OF 2003
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON COAST GUARD AND MARITIME TRANSPORTATION
COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 22, 2003

Introduction

Good morning, Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the Coast Guard's Fiscal Year 2004 Authorization Bill. The bill is an important step toward enhancing our ability to serve the American people and meet the myriad of challenges we face in this new century.

The Coast Guard remains the world's premier maritime, multi-mission, military force. We are the lead Federal agency for Maritime Homeland Security. We enforce our nation's maritime laws and treaties; we protect human life at sea through search and rescue and maritime safety; we are guardians of the marine environment; and we defend freedom throughout the world, from our own shores to the faraway shores of the Persian Gulf. We are proud to be America's shield of freedom.

To this end we continue seeking to improve the tools we have available to perform our missions. In this spirit, we have submitted to Congress our 2004 Authorization Bill. It represents a significant team effort on the part of the Coast Guard, the Department of Homeland Security, our former home, the Department of Transportation, and the Administration. We believe it is well designed to help the Coast Guard accomplish its many missions.

I would like to highlight some of the important Coast Guard missions and how our proposed authorization bill will help fulfill those missions:

Maritime Homeland Security

The President has clearly indicated that protecting the homeland is free government's number one priority, and the Coast Guard has a critical role iii that effort. The Coast Guard's continuing homeland security mission is to protect the U.S. Maritime Domain and the U.S. Marine Transportation System by denying their use anal exploitation by terrorists.

Threats to the security of the United States extend beyond overt terrorism. Countering illegal drug and contraband smuggling, preventing illegal immigration via maritime routes, preserving living marine resources from foreign encroachment, and preventing environmental damage and responding to spills of oil and hazardous substances are all critical elements of national and economic security.

In response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our nation, the Coast Guard quickly refocused our homeland security missions by establishing new port security zones, placing Sea Marshals on inbound merchant ships, conducting additional patrols off America's coasts, establishing Maritime Safety and Security Teams to protect major ports, and implementing new procedures to monitor vessel and crew movements within ports and coastal approaches.

The authorization bill submitted to Congress by Secretary Ridge is aligned with the President's National Strategy for Homeland Security and will enhance our abilities to accomplish the broad range of maritime homeland security missions. Some examples of proposed changes:

-- Changing the current statutory mandate requiring warning shots as a condition precedent to the delivery of disabling fire in all situations against vessels that refuse to stop when ordered. This change will reduce the danger to third parties in situations where warning shots may pose a danger to innocent bystanders. This provision would also extend the authority to use warning shots and disabling fire against noncompliant vessels from DOD {Department of Defense] aircraft carrying Coast Guard members.

-- Especially critical to our homeland security efforts are the enhanced law enforcement authorities. These provisions would increase our law enforcement authority ashore and allow the Coast Guard to use state and local law enforcement agencies to enforce Coast Guard security zones. The authorities will help protect America by leveraging scarce resources and partnering with local law enforcement, and have been carefully considered by all elements of the Administration. I hope you will consider including these important provisions in the final bill.

Every provision of the proposed authorization bill reflects a careful balance between our safety and security missions, protecting our citizens and their rights, and promoting the needs of our service members. In addition to enhancing our maritime homeland security missions, the authorization bill reflects my priorities as Commandant - Readiness, People, and Stewardship.

Readiness

Readiness means being capable, competent, and vigilant in all of our mission areas. It means being ready now, even as we build our capabilities for the future. Our Authorization bill enhances Coast Guard readiness in several ways:

-- Increased law enforcement authority ashore would allow a Coast Guard member who detects a violation of Federal law to arrest the suspect, instead of having to rely on other Federal, State or local law enforcement authorities. This change would also give explicit authority for appropriate Coast Guard members to carry firearms in performance of their official duties.

-- Amending the statutory prohibition on acceptance of voluntary services would allow personnel from non-governmental maritime organizations to assign personnel to the Coast Guard to engage in "exchange tours" enhancing readiness by significantly increasing cooperation and understanding between the Coast Guard and maritime industry.

-- Allowing the Coast Guard to require communications equipment on certain types of vessels and allowing us to prohibit maritime use of electronic devices that interfere with critical communications and navigation systems would greatly improve vessel safety and security in certain maritime sectors.

The Integrated Deepwater System (IDS) is an integral part of every element of the Coast Guard's maritime homeland security (MHS) strategy and in balancing our non-MHS missions. MHS necessitates pushing America's maritime borders outward, away from ports and waterways so layered, maritime operations can be implemented. IDS provides a network-centric system of Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) that is critical for enhancing maritime domain awareness. Through common systems and technologies, common operational concepts, and a common logistics base, new and modernized IDS assets and equipment will provide increased capabilities, multi-mission readiness and availability, and interoperability with the Department of Defense and other Department of Homeland Security agencies.

President Bush has asserted that our aging assets and infrastructure must be re-capitalized. Based on the organization's current capacity levels and the required capabilities immediately needed for Homeland Security and the other missions the American public expects, the continued funding of Deepwater is imperative and the Coast Guard's highest capital priority.

People

My priority is the Coast Guard's people, who, every single day accomplish the Coast Guard's many critical missions. We must continue to attract, develop, retain, and deploy a diverse, highly capable and flexible workforce. We must also emphasize training, education and professional development, and constantly improve the quality of life of our employees. Our Authorization bill supports the Coast Guard's people in several ways:

-- Critical skills training bonuses for enlisted personnel will allow us to encourage enlisted members to enter critical skill specialties where we have experienced shortages such as Electricians Mate, Machinery Technician, and Telecommunications Specialist.

-- Increases to the authorized number of officers allowed on active duty reflects the growth of the Coast Guard and will allow us to better carry out all our traditional missions and successfully respond to the demands of maritime homeland security.

-- Improving housing authorities will allow us to enhance the quality and quantity of housing available to our members and their families.

Stewardship

Stewardship is embracing innovation, technology, and effective management practices to achieve measurable outcomes. It is striving to be the best managed and best led organization in the federal government. I t is creating a culture of innovation and process change to enhance productivity and reduce workload while driving toward quality outcomes. Our Authorization bill supports stewardship in several ways:

-- Additional authority for travel card management that will reduce delinquencies with Federal contractor-issued travel charge cards and will correct an oversight which gave this same authority to DoD last year, but inadvertently excluded the Coast Guard.

-- New authority for Coast Guard nonappropriated fund activities such as the Coast Guard Exchange System and our morale, welfare and recreation programs that will make those programs more efficient by allowing them to enter into contracts with the Coast Guard and other Federal agencies. This same authority was given to Department of Defense programs in 1996.

-- Changes to the law regarding the property of Coast Guard Auxiliary units, exempting Auxiliary elements from taxation, and designating as Federal property for liability purposes, property owned by Auxiliary elements. This change will reduce financial burdens on Auxiliary units and encourage donations to the Auxiliary by making those donations tax deductible. The proposal will also remove the threat of liability to the Auxiliary from owning property, all of which is used for the safety and protection of the American public.

-- Modifications to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 ("OPA 90") will allow us to improve environmental stewardship in several significant ways, and I hope you will consider including these important provisions in the final bill.

Conclusion

The Coast Guard faces many challenges. Among these are executing our homeland security missions, maintaining a high level of performance of our traditional missions, such as search and rescue and fisheries enforcement, and retaining and expanding our skilled workforce to execute these varied and complex missions. Our Authorization Bill builds upon the existing foundation and will help the Coast Guard maintain operational excellence across all mission areas to meet America's future maritime safety and security needs.

Operational excellence depends upon Readiness, People, and Stewardship of resources. The Coast Guard always strives towards operational excellence. This is no less than what the American people expect and deserve. I, along with the men and women of the Coast Guard, am honored to work with Congress to meet the challenges and fulfill the expectations of the American people.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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