Political Quotes

“I wish to express my appreciation to the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Mica, who made a very elaborate statement about the provisions of the bill. I will not elaborate on it, except to concur with him that we are getting the best bargain perhaps in all of government--although he didn't put it this way, I do--in supporting the missions of the Coast Guard. They are extraordinarily frugal and economical in carrying out their missions. When I was elected to Congress in 1974 and started my service on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee as well as the Public Works Committee, the Coast Guard's authorized personnel limit was 39,000. Today, we increase it to 47,000. But in that almost 36 years, we have added 27 new missions to the Coast Guard without commensurately increasing their personnel. The Coast Guard has proudly held itself up as a multimission agency, able to carry out numerous overlapping missions without adding personnel. We recognize, however, that there is a limit to how much you can stretch your existing personnel. By a modest increase in the Coast Guard's personnel limit, we give them the personnel resources they will need to carry out the mission of the future for safety and for security.”