Vito Fossella: “I thank the chairmen of the subcommittee and the full committee for their efforts here. First at the outset, let me…”

“I thank the chairmen of the subcommittee and the full committee for their efforts here. First at the outset, let me commend the great men and women of the United States Coast Guard for what they do. In Staten Island and Brooklyn, we are privileged that they are watching the Port of New York and the hundreds, if not thousands, of personnel who dedicate their lives to helping us and saving many and protecting us. And after a very aggressive summer boating season, many of them have been redeployed to the gulf region and serving once again with honor and distinction and rescuing many and really serving full support to the United States Coast Guard. The amendment I have offered today deals with what happened several years ago in Staten Island. On October 15, 2003, the Staten Island Ferry boat, the Andrew J. Barberi, was on a regularly scheduled trip from Manhattan to Staten Island, as it does 365 days a year; but on that day, it collided with the maintenance pier at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. The tragic accident resulted in the death of 11 people, 11 innocent people with over 70 injured, many severely. Despite the exceptional report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board, which conducted a very thorough investigation, we still do not know the full story of what happened on that tragic day. The N.T.S.B.…”