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LoBiondo Statement from Hearing on Coast Guard, MARAD, FMC Budget Requests

May 13, 2009

Washington, D.C. - The following is the opening statement of U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Ranking Member, from today's hearing on the fiscal year 2010 budget requests for the U.S. Coast Guard, the Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC).

"This afternoon, the Subcommittee is reviewing the President's requests for the Coast Guard, the Maritime Administration, and the Federal Maritime Commission. As of today, there are only 170 days remaining in the current fiscal year, giving us very little time to act on this request. However, I appreciate the speed with which the Subcommittee is considering the budget given how late it was submitted to us.

"I have to start by expressing my frustration with the Coast Guard's continued refusal to provide the Subcommittee with a detailed explanation of how it plans to utilize the stimulus funding that was provided by the Congress earlier this year. Subcommittee staff requested this information more than 3 weeks ago, and we have been informed the service is not authorized to make this information available. I don't know how keeping us in the dark fits in with the new way of doing things in an open and transparent manner.

"The service has, however, submitted a full justification for its fiscal year 2010 budget request. The Coast Guard's scope of responsibilities seems to grow each year, and it is vital Congress provide the service with the resources necessary to support all of its missions. The request includes funding for the recapitalization of the Coast Guard's deteriorating assets. These assets are increasingly unreliable, often suffering major failures while in operation, and are having a significant impact on the service's operational capabilities.

"However, I remain concerned the Coast Guard's plans to replace these legacy assets can not be carried out in a timely manner at the current funding level of roughly $1 billion per year. For the foreseeable future, the acquisition budget is fully committed to the National Security Cutter, Fast Response Cutter, Maritime Patrol Aircraft, and sustainment of the Medium Endurance Cutters. Unfortunately, that leaves little room for the acquisition of the Offshore Patrol Cutter, unmanned aerial systems, Inland River Tenders, polar icebreakers, and what I expect will be a frighteningly large and as yet unbudgeted amount to keep the High Endurance Cutters afloat.

"The Coast Guard needs to look at all these planned acquisitions, and determine what mix of assets the acquisition budget can support. And if more funding is needed, the service needs to tell us that. I hope our witnesses will speak to the Coast Guard's strategies to overcome these challenges.

"The Coast Guard has also proposed to terminate operation of the LORAN-C system, which provides positioning information to commercial, recreational and government aircraft and vessels. I am extremely concerned this decision will leave us without any backup to the Global Positioning System. Has the federal government determined that no supplemental navigation system is necessary? What happens if GPS becomes temporarily or permanently unavailable? Furthermore, although the administration has touted the $36 million in savings they expect from shutting down LORAN-C, the Coast Guard has not developed an estimate of the costs associated with environmental clean up at existing LORAN sites, nor has the service determined what work would be necessary to use existing infrastructure to support eLORAN or some other supplemental navigation system. I think these questions need to be addressed before any action to dismantle LORAN-C is taken.

"I am also perplexed by the Administration's request of zero dollars for construction and major maintenance of the Coast Guard's shoreside facilities. The service currently has a shoreside backlog of over $1 billion. Coast Guard stations, housing, hangars, and other support buildings are deteriorating as we speak, yet no funding has been targeted for these projects. I hope the service has a good answer for us on how they intend to manage this serious situation.

"We will also welcome witnesses from the Maritime Administration and the Federal Maritime Commission this afternoon. I am pleased to see the President included funding to enhance infrastructure at our ports to improve the security and efficiency of cargo as it moves among different modes of transportation. Our nation's marine highways are a vastly underutilized asset, and I look forward to hearing more about MARAD's efforts to increase the use of our inland rivers and coastal routes as an alternative to our overloaded roads and rails.

"I am also interested to hear more about the FMC's ongoing efforts to level the playing field internationally for U.S. shipping interests and monitoring activities which impact commerce at U.S. ports."