James Traficant: “Mr. Chairman, as an original cosponsor of this bill, I rise in strong support. It represents a commonsense approach to a…”

“Mr. Chairman, as an original cosponsor of this bill, I rise in strong support. It represents a commonsense approach to a wide range of issues that face our Coast Guard. The bill was drafted in a bipartisan fashion, and I commend the distinguished Chair of the subcommittee, the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Coble], for his efforts. Nobody in the Congress is better prepared to lead this subcommittee than the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Coble] who is in fact a veteran of Coast Guard affairs. I am sure the other person in here, the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Studds], who is not present, after the wealth of knowledge he gained on that committee for years, also I think is a valuable resource. I commend the chairman. I am proud to work with him. I want to also commend the chairman of the new Transportation Infrastructure Committee, the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster]. He has done a tremendous job. I am proud to support him, and our ranking member, the gentleman from California [Mr. Mineta]. I want to commend the Coast Guard and also the administration for their assistance. Many of the provisions before us were proposed by the Coast Guard. They had merit and were, in fact, thus incorporated into this bill.”