James Oberstar: “Those of us who live on or along the Great Lakes or within the Great Lakes basin know what a great resource this…”

“Those of us who live on or along the Great Lakes or within the Great Lakes basin know what a great resource this extraordinary collection of individual bodies of fresh water is. It is 20 percent of the fresh water on the face of the earth. We think of it as a great fresh water resource, but it is also a highway of commerce, and we recognize today that in this highway of commerce there are dangers for those who ply the waterways. The story of today's legislation begins in 1871, when a young lawyer from Maine named Sumner Kimball was appointed chief of the Treasury Department's Revenue Marine Division. Not many people know, or if they knew recall, that the Coast Guard we know today started out as a revenue cutter service. It was the main source of revenue for the fledgling U.S. government. So the Revenue Marine Division leader began a review of the Department's life-saving network. He found equipment old, rusty, in need of replacement and that the Department's lifesaver employees were too old for life-saving missions, few were competent, and that their selection depended more on politics than qualifications in handling boats.”