Sam Gejdenson: “I rise in support of H.R. 1361, the Coast Guard Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996. I want to thank Chairman Shuster…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 1361, the Coast Guard Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996. I want to thank Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member Mineta for bringing this bill to the floor today. This bill authorizes the important activities of the U.S. Coast Guard for fiscal year 1996. My district is home to the Coast Guard Academy and the Coast Guard Research and Development Center. I am pleased that the bill authorizes $22.5 million for R&D. The R&D Center serves the entire Coast Guard and is involved in wideranging research to improve maritime safety, aids to navigation, and oil spill detection. As everyone knows, the Academy is responsible for training the next generation of Coast Guard officers. I also support this bill because it includes language similar to legislation I have introduced, H.R. 1002, to provide relief to marinas from onerous financial responsibility requirements of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 [OPA 90]. Under section 1016 of OPA, offshore facilities handling petroleum products are required to demonstrate $150 million in financial responsibility to cover the costs of cleaning up oil spills. While I believe this is entirely appropriate for entities handling large volumes of heavy oil, the Minerals Management Service [MMS], which is writing the regulations governing this section, has interpreted it to apply to marinas. This interpretation would be devastating to marinas and detrimental to millions of boaters coast to coast.”