Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I support H.R. 2830, not only for what it does to enhance port security, but also for what it does to get the Deepwater program back on course. As someone who cares about the Coast Guard, it has been disturbing to see the mismanagement of the Deepwater program. This year, a $24 billion effort to modernize the Coast Guard's fleet has suffered delays, cost increases and design flaws that ultimately culminated in the idling of eight patrol boats. By the time that these problems were discovered by both the Inspector General of DHS and the Comptroller General, $88 million had been wasted. Both Federal watchdogs have said that program failures were due to the excessive leeway given the program contractors. H.R. 2830 includes provisions that protect American taxpayers by forcing the Coast Guard to, for the first time, manage this contract. Regrettably, the administration in its Statement of Administration Policy denounced the Deepwater provision, which, incidentally, was approved by the House on a vote of 426-0 on July 23, 2007. We cannot allow the Coast Guard to continue on a poorly navigated course. H.R. 2830 will steer the Deepwater procurement process in the right direction. Mr. Chairman, for this reason and dozens of others, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 2830.”