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Press Releases |
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Senate Commerce Committee Reports Coast Guard Authorization Act
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation unanimously reported S. 1892, the Coast Guard Authorization Act, today. The bill, which authorizes approximately $8.2 billion for fiscal year 2008, would create new programs and grant additional authorities that increase the Coast Guard’s ability to protect homeland security, marine safety, fisheries, and environmental resources.
“Each day, the men and women of the Coast Guard awake with the same mission – to save lives. This bill reflects our commitment to providing the tools these men and women need to succeed at this critical mission and to do so much more, including protecting our nation’s ports and natural resources,” said Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and a cosponsor of the Coast Guard Authorization Act.
Introduced on July 26, 2007 by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine), the Chair and Ranking Member of the Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard Subcommittee, respectively, and also cosponsored by Committee Vice Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), and Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.), and Trent Lott (R-Miss), S. 1892 would:
- Clarify and strengthen the Coast Guard’s ability to bolster the security of U.S. ports-of-entry and the coast against unlawful entry, including increasing criminal penalties to any person (including an alien) engaged in illegal alien smuggling in the maritime environment.
- Strengthen federal protections to prevent terrorist attacks on facilities and vessels that transport, handle, and store especially hazardous cargoes (EHC’s) to ensure the safety and security of the U.S. economy from the potential hazards of high risk cargo transported by ship.
- Authorize the Coast Guard to align its senior command structure with that of the other armed forces, and improve the quality of life for servicemen and women through reimbursement of medical-related travel expenses, legal assistance, and emergency leave.
- Enhance humanitarian relief and protection for seafarers abandoned in the United States, and provide support to seafarers who are witnesses to maritime-related crimes, including those who are witnesses in Coast Guard investigations and subsequent proceedings.
- Encourage international efforts and improve coordination with tribal governments to prevent oil pollution and create a more efficient response to oil pollution incidents.
- Require the Coast Guard to acquire or construct two new polar class icebreakers and, if they are not operational by enactment, to return to operation the existing polar class icebreakers the Coast Guard maintains.
- Ensure that port facilities provide procedures for facilitating shore leave for ship personnel or personnel changes for crew members, including representatives of seafarers’ welfare and labor organizations.
- Establish rules for future legislative vessel conveyances including a requirement that the conveyance recipient not sell the vessel without first offering it back to the government, and establish civil penalties for violation of the terms of a vessel conveyance.
· Require the Coast Guard to maintain the LORAN-C navigation system, which is used by general aviators, recreational boaters, commercial fisherman, and the military as a back up to the satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS).
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18th - |
Senator Hutchison Calls for Improved Bus Safety Standards
- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today called for improved safety of over-the-road buses and enhanced National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations governing bus safety during a Senate Surface Transportation Subco...
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18th - |
Commerce Committee Announces Witnesses for DTV Transition Hearing
- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces the witnesses for the Full Committee hearing on Oversight of the DTV Transition: Countdown to February 2009, scheduled for Tuesday, September 23, 2008, at 2:30 p.m. The full witness list is below.
With February 17, 2009 less than five months away, the Committee will assess the Federal Communication...
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18th - |
Commerce Committee Announces Witnesses for U.S.-Korea Automobile Trade Imbalance Hearing
- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces the witnesses for the upcoming Interstate Commerce, Trade, and Tourism Subcommittee hearing on The Imbalance in U.S.-Korea Automobile Trade, scheduled for September 24, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. A full witness list is below.
The hearing will examine the reasons for the imbalance in U.S.-Korea bilateral ...
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17th - |
Commerce Committee to Examine Consumer Privacy Issues Related to Broadband Service Providers
- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces a Full Committee hearing on Broadband Providers and Consumer Privacy, scheduled for Thursday, September 25, 2008, at 10:00 a.m.
The Committee will examine broadband provider practices with respect to consumer privacy.
Broadband Providers and Consumer PrivacyFull CommitteeDate: Thursday, Septemb...
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16th - |
Senator Hutchison Commends Dept. of Commerce for Helping Nursing Homes with DTV Converter Box Program
- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) today commended the U.S. Department of Commerce and Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez for allowing residents with post office boxes and those living in nursing homes to participate in the digital television (DTV) converter box coupon program. Previously, only residents with physical addresses could participate. This meant that those who ...
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16th - |
Inouye Calls for Immediate Passage of S.1492, the Broadband Data Improvement Act
- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) delivered the following statement at today’s hearing on why broadband matters.
“In our hearing today we explore why broadband matters. Broadband matters because broadband communications have become the great economic engine of our time. Broadband deployment drives opportunities for business, education, ...
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16th - |
Commerce Committee Announces Witnesses for Bus Safety Hearing
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12th - |
Commerce Committee to Hear Testimony from Corporation for Public Broadcasting Nominees
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12th - |
Commerce Committee to Review Progress of DTV Transition with FCC, NTIA
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12th - |
Commerce Committee Announces Witnesses for Hearing on Consumer Benefits of Broadband
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11th - |
Commerce Committee Releases MARAD Bill Financial Disclosure Certification
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation today filed its report on S. 2997, the Maritime Administration Act for Fiscal Year 2009. In accordance with Senate Rule XLIV, the Committee provides the attached financial disclosure certification.
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11th - |
Commerce Committee Cancels Hearing to Examine Marine Protected Areas
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10th - |
Senator Hutchison Cosponsors Calling Card Legislation to Help Consumers
- WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today signed on as a cosponsor to legislation that would assist consumers with pre-paid calling cards and ensure that fees and terms are easier to understand. The bill, S. 2998, would require pre-paid calling card providers and distributors to disclose the numbe...
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9th - |
Commerce Committee to Hold Hearing on Consumer Benefits of Broadband
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8th - |
Commerce Committee to Examine Marine Protected Areas
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8th - |
Commerce Committee Announces Witnesses for Prepaid Calling Card Hearing
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