Rick Larsen: “I support Mr. Cummings' amendment striking the provision in the underlying bill that would eliminate the requirement for…”

“I support Mr. Cummings' amendment striking the provision in the underlying bill that would eliminate the requirement for the Coast Guard to establish ombudsmen in Coast Guard districts around the country. In committee, Mr. Cummings offered and subsequently withdrew his amendment in the hope that some compromise could be reached. Because the program is little more than a year old, I suggest that it might be premature for Congress to repeal this new program. But I certainly do want to recognize the work that Mr. Cummings and Mr. LoBiondo did to try to find some accommodation. But I do encourage people to support this amendment to allow the ombudsman program to continue so that we might be better able to get a fair evaluation of the program in the future.”