House passes bill that CG, Bush oppose

[unhappycamper]

House passes bill that CG, Bush oppose
By Philip Ewing - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Apr 24, 2008 17:28:32 EDT

The House of Representatives on Thursday ramped up the possibility of a confrontation with the White House and the Coast Guard by passing a Coast Guard authorization act for the fiscal year that began last October — over the objections of Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen and President Bush, who threatened to veto the bill if it reached him as originally written.

The bill would authorize $8.7 billion in spending for the Coast Guard and grow the service to about 47,000 people, but the Coast Guard and the White House cited several objections, most notably its requirement that Coast Guardsmen provide security for ships and terminals that handle liquefied natural gas, known as LNG. Today, the Coast Guard shares responsibility for guarding LNG ships and equipment with state and local law enforcement agencies, but it doesn’t have enough people or gear to always secure each one, top service officials said.

A statement from the White House Office of Management and Budget called the LNG guarding provision “an unwarranted and unnecessary subsidy to the owners of private infrastructure” that would siphon away finite Coast Guard’s resources from other important missions. A statement from Allen said he was “deeply concerned” that the bill’s passage “would have a detrimental effect on the Coast Guard’s ability to carry out our many vital maritime safety, security and environmental protection missions.”

The Coast Guard’s legislative overseers didn’t see it that way. Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat who chairs a subcommittee that oversees the Coast Guard, issued a statement saying that he was “simply appalled” at Bush’s veto threat. “Vetoing this bill would be the equivalent of vetoing the safety and security of American families, vetoing safe air and water, and vetoing the rights of the men and women working in our marine industry,” Cummings said.

Rep. James Oberstar, a Minnesota Democrat who chairs the main committee that oversees the Coast Guard, said during the debate on the House floor that the plussed-up Coast Guard created by the bill would mean “there would be no excuse” about insufficient Coast Guardsmen to patrol LNG ships and sites.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/04/coastguard_authorizationbill_042408w/