John B. Breaux: “I rise today to support S. 1259, the United States Coast Guard Authorization Act. As many of my distinguished colleagues…”

“I rise today to support S. 1259, the United States Coast Guard Authorization Act. As many of my distinguished colleagues know, I have a great deal of admiration for the Coast Guard, as well as for Coast Guard men and women that carry out critical missions for our country. Before going into greater detail on the importance of the Coast Guard, I wish to discuss an amendment that Senator Ford and I intended to offer to this bill, but have withdrawn in order to address certain concerns raised by my colleague from Rhode Island, Senator Chafee. Our amendment would have eliminated the unjustified use of strict criminal liability statutes that do not require a showing of criminal intent or even the slight negligence in oil spill incidents. Through comprehensive congressional action that led to the enactment and implementation of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, commonly referred to as ``OPA90,'' the United States has successfully reduced the number of oil spills in the maritime environment and has established a cooperative public/private partnership to respond effectively in the diminishing number of situations when an oil spill occurs.”