John Garamendi

But my point here is----

I thought in your testimony you said there is $5 billion that would be available to the new organization.

So, ultimately, the Secretary of Transportation will have the responsibility and the authority to select the individual members from a list presented by the--by those stakeholder groups.

Mr. Chairman, my experience at the Department of the Interior is that there is a step in here, and that is the Office of Management and Budget sends to the agencies the parameters in which they must then develop their budget.

Without that information, we cannot do our job. That is the job of making choices.

We really need to know what the Coast Guard needs, unscrubbed, uncensored, and direct from the Coast Guard without OMB.

I think we understand OMB very clearly. Mr. Mulvaney at OMB has his own vision of Government.

So if the Defense Department wants 6, these are in addition to the 58? And so these would be available at some day in the future?

It is essential that we have good data and good information, because we are--it is our responsibility to make choices about where to spend the taxpayers' money.

But your budget proposal doesn't provide the money to do that. Is that correct?

We are looking at some additional ships being built, or else we are going to go short on the operational plans to protect our coasts.

I missed part of the testimony--I think you may have answered it--for the Great Lakes issue.

I am going to just quickly, if I might, Mr. Chairman--I am way over time, I am sorry, here.

Both the chairman and I are on the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, which deals with a lot of this IT stuff.

I have been beating this drum so many times, but yes, it is in the authorization--it is in the reauthorization, and we are going to try to make sure the money is there, also.

Give us the money and you can get it done, right?

I think we are going to need to put a clause in the NDAA to address that.

It has come to my attention that the Coast Guard is facing a major gap in funding to cover the healthcare expenses for retired Coast Guard personnel.

I believe the contract is similar to the Fast Response Cutter contract in which there is a warranty.

Right now these two are in competition, the result of which is something--it isn't going to work.

I think that we do have the obligation to demand from you the unvarnished, unscrubbed, and uncensored information necessary for us to adequately address the Coast Guard's acquisition needs, as well as its operational needs.

I think you fully understand the situation, but you are being reined in by the OMB, and not allowed at this point to fully express to us the full needs of the Coast Guard.

We have got a major problem here.

Apparently, the Office of Legal Counsel leaves it to the discretion of the agency.

The real wall, Mr. President, is the Coast Guard.