08.03.07

Coast Guard Bill Unanimously Passes Commerce Committee

Provisions Including Oil Pollution Prevention and Environmental Safeguards Will Move to Senate Floor

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), chair of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Fisheries and the Coast Guard, praised the passage of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2008 by the full Commerce Committee on Thursday.  This comprehensive legislation, introduced by Sen. Cantwell, authorizes the Coast Guard’s funding levels for fiscal year 2008 and creates new programs to improve the Coast Guard’s homeland security, marine safety, fisheries, and environmental protection missions. 
“From saving lives during natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina to protecting our shores in a post-9/11 world, the men and women of the Coast Guard serve America with courage and distinction,” said Cantwell.  “This bill will give them the tools they need to carry out their missions, including minimizing the risk to our nation from natural disasters, keeping our ports safe and secure, and protecting our marine environment.  I’m pleased that the Committee worked together quickly and in a bipartisan way to pass this important legislation, which also contains provisions critical to Washington State.”
Cantwell’s bill includes many provisions from her Oil Pollution Prevention and Response Act of 2007--introduced on June 14--to improve oil spill prevention and response and to implement environmental safeguards to protect America’s waterways from contamination.  The Coast Guard authorization bill would also provide a mechanism for a year-round, user-funded response tug stationed at Neah Bay, a key element of the oil spill prevention safety net for Washington State’s Olympic coast. 
 
“A major oil spill in the Puget Sound would be devastating for Washington state’s economy, tourism, and quality of life,” said Cantwell.  “We are now one step closer to strengthening our oil spill prevention safety net.”
 
The bipartisan bill, cosponsored by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Ted Stevens (R-AK), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Trent Lott (R-MS), was passed unanimously by the Commerce Committee and will now go to the full Senate. 
 
To see an entire list of the provisions in the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2008 visit: http://cantwell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=f79eb2ab-de82-4e65-995d-6a32b700f190
 
 
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