Whereas

[ollie]

SRES 246 ATS


109th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. RES. 246
To express the sense of the Senate regarding the missions and performance of the United States Coast Guard in responding to Hurricane Katrina.


IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

September 21, 2005
Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. LOTT, and Ms. MURKOWSKI) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to


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RESOLUTION
To express the sense of the Senate regarding the missions and performance of the United States Coast Guard in responding to Hurricane Katrina.

Whereas the United States Coast Guard has been charged by Congress with missions central to protecting the lives and well-being of individuals and communities in the United States, including protecting homeland security, conducting search and rescue of lives in danger, protecting marine environments from pollution, maintaining maritime safety and aids to navigation, enforcing Federal fishing laws, and intercepting illegal drugs and migrants before they reach our shores;

Whereas the Coast Guard anticipated the potential for significant loss of life and property as Hurricane Katrina approached Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama and made landfall on August 29, 2005, and, in advance of the storm, relocated its personnel, vessels, and aircraft out of harm's way;

Whereas Hurricane Katrina made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with winds reaching 175 miles per hour and massive storm surges, the combination of which left a trail of devastation unprecedented on United States soil, as it leveled countless homes, businesses, and other structures, displaced millions of people from their communities, and otherwise made coastal urban and rural areas unliveable;

Whereas the Coast Guard immediately deployed nearly 1,000 personnel, including captains, crew, pilots, rescue swimmers, pollution response teams, and other specialists and reservists, from stations all over the country, to coastal areas affected by the hurricane, for a total regional force size of approximately 3,619 personnel;

Whereas Coast Guard personnel who had never personally worked together before began to work as teams to conduct and coordinate search and rescue operations while Hurricane Katrina continued to bear down on the central Gulf of Mexico shoreline;

Whereas the Coast Guard rescued or evacuated 33,544 individuals as of September 21, 2005, a number that represents eight times the number of lives saved by the Coast Guard in an average year;

Whereas three Coast Guard pollution response Strike Teams responded to 1,129 pollution incidents as of September 20, 2005, which include total discharges of more than 7 million gallons of oil, unknown amounts of sewage, and unknown quantities of other toxic chemicals, and the Coast Guard has contained or otherwise closed 426 of these cases;

Whereas Coast Guard buoy tenders have responded to 964 discrepancies in buoys and other aids to navigation and have restored 39 of 48 critical aids to navigation as of September 21, 2005;

Whereas the costs of responding to Hurricane Katrina have depleted the Coast Guard's operations and maintenance budget for fiscal year 2005 and are rapidly depleting its budget for fiscal year 2006, and the Coast Guard's costs associated with this hurricane are anticipated to exceed $500 million;

Whereas the Coast Guard performed its hurricane response missions largely with outdated legacy assets, increasing the wear and tear on these assets while foregoing regularly scheduled maintenance activities in the interest of sustaining its surge in life-saving operations;

Whereas the Coast Guard already conducts its missions with the 40th oldest fleet of the 42 nations with Coast Guard or naval fleets;

Whereas the Coast Guard's program, known as Deepwater, for modernizing its fleet of vessels and aircraft, is vital for increasing the capabilities in performing its missions in the face of ever-increasing natural and human threats;

Whereas the Deepwater program requires sustained Federal funding commitments in order for the citizens of the United States to realize the benefits of the Coast Guard having state-of-the-art vessels, aircraft, technologies, and interoperable communication equipment;

Whereas in addition to covering operation and maintenance costs of a rapidly aging fleet, the Coast Guard needs to rebuild several Coast Guard facilities in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, including Station Gulfport which was completely destroyed and where personnel are now working in trailers amidst the ruins of that station;

Whereas the Coast Guard needs a strong Federal funding commitment to ensure that all of its unexpected expenditures during its response to Katrina are reimbursed;

Whereas more than 700 Coast Guard personnel stationed in the Gulf region lost their homes and all personal property and are now living on overcrowded Coast Guard vessels and in makeshift shelters;

Whereas before, during, and after the landfall of Hurricane Katrina, Coast Guard personnel exhibited determination and a full commitment to their missions, and the Coast Guard has proven to be one of the most resourceful and capable services in the United States government;

Whereas before, during, and after the landfall of Hurricane Katrina, Coast Guard personnel performed their missions with the highest level of bravery and self-sacrifice, and their effectiveness in performing their missions is unparalleled in the United States government;

Whereas the Coast Guard has an operational and command structure that allowed it to quickly take a leadership role in saving lives, without waiting for instruction or permission to act;

Whereas the Coast Guard's operational and command structure continues to serve as a model for other agencies that need to respond quickly to large-scale natural and man-made disasters; and

Whereas the Coast Guard's effective leadership in responding to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and the appointment of Vice Admiral Thad Allen as the primary Federal officer in charge of this response, is helping to restore the public's confidence in the Federal response effort: Now, therefore, be it


Resolved, by the Senate, That it is the sense of the Senate that--

(1) the United States Coast Guard should receive Congress's highest commendation for its tremendous and highly effective response to the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina;

(2) the United States Congress should commit to providing the Coast Guard with the resources it needs to modernize and maintain its fleet of vessels and aircraft; and

(3) the Administration should ensure that the Coast Guard receives sufficient funding to cover its unexpected operational and capital costs associated with Hurricane Katrina.
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ollie

[Snowden]

This had me worried for a bit, Ollie. I'm glad Congress is commending the Coast Guard. If all else fails, I think we will always be able to turn to them for help. They were a bright light in this hurricane season.

Three cheers! A nasty job well and timely done!

[Woodmonkey]

Originally Posted by ollie

Resolved, by the Senate, That it is the sense of the Senate that--

(1) the United States Coast Guard should receive Congress's highest commendation for its tremendous and highly effective response to the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina;

(2) the United States Congress should commit to providing the Coast Guard with the resources it needs to modernize and maintain its fleet of vessels and aircraft; and

(3) the Administration should ensure that the Coast Guard receives sufficient funding to cover its unexpected operational and capital costs associated with Hurricane Katrina.

Talk is cheap. I am glad that they are commending the Coast Guard for their heroic, excellent, efforts in saving thousands of lives.

They will now need to follow through with that resolve and actually provide the funding necessary to modernize and maintain the vessels and aircraft. We will see with the next budget and authorized funding.

The Coast Guard has more then proven its worth over the years. Oregonians already knew how invaluable it is. Every year, Oregonians are saved by the Coast Guard. Now the entire nation knows about the Coast Guard.