Senate Proceeding 07-29-08 on Jul 29th, 2008 :: 2:28:25 to 2:38:37
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2:15:03 to 2:28:25( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Jon Kyl

2:28:14 to 2:28:25( Edit History Discussion )

Jon Kyl: the presiding officer: the senator from washington. ms. cantwell: mr. president, i mr rise to speakse on an important issue relate ed to my responsibilities as chair of the coast gugud and fishery

2:28:25 to 2:28:38( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: subcommittee of commerce, but i see several of my colleagues here on the floor and i would ask unanimous consent following my remarks senator dorgan be recognize ed for 10 minutes, senator murray for

2:28:25 to 2:38:37( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Maria Cantwell

2:28:38 to 2:28:46( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: 10 minutes and senator salazar for 10 minutes, knowing that my colleague senator specter is expected to show up and when he shows up, we'll fit him in the sequence back and forth, depending on when he shows

2:28:46 to 2:29:03( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: up. so i ask unanimous consent --se the pres iding officer: without objection. ms. cantwell: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, last week over 4 400,000 gallons of fuel spilled into the mississippi

2:29:03 to 2:29:16( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: river near new orleans after a chemical tanker collide ed with a fuel barge and literally split the barge in half. this is a picture detecting basically the coast guard and looking at the two halves

2:29:16 to 2:29:29( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: of this barge that was split in half, right in the heart of new orleans ukes cause , causing serious damage in the area of diesel and diesel fumes, even that i think can be impacting the french

2:29:29 to 2:29:40( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: quarter. now, the second chart shows the impact of that spill right on downtown and the seriousness of that spill in that region. this major spill has closed the mississippi river from new orleans to

2:29:40 to 2:29:52( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: the river's mouth choke ing off one of the nation's most important major commercial arteries and even know now a week later only a few ships can get through on this 100-mile stresm of the lower mississippi.

2:29:52 to 2:30:08( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: as the picture shows, from the night of the accident, the migh mississippi was covered with this erie sheen right into the downtown area of new orleans and now a week later some of the heavy fuel oil has

2:30:08 to 2:30:22( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: turned into tar balls bounce ing and stick and contaminate ing this very essential waterway.| this spill has slowed down new orleans' normally thriving waterfront and the economic pwabgt is being felt.

2:30:22 to 2:30:35( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: to put this into perspective, the economic loss of a total shutdown of the port is costing our nation's economy around $270 million a day. while the coast guard has begun to allow limited essential

2:30:35 to 2:30:51( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: vessels back into the traffic of this area, at one point over 800 tugs and barges were impacted by this spill and many ships are still waiting to return to this vital transportation corridor that needs

2:30:51 to 2:31:12( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: to be reopened. and we are only now beginning to understand fully the economic and environmental impacts that this spill has caused. unfortunately, many of my colleagues know these sorts of spills,

2:31:12 to 2:31:39( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: and we know that they are becoming all too frequent. just last november the costco busson cargo ship spilled 54,000 gallons of highly toxic bunker fuel into san francisco bay costing nearly $ million in cleanup

2:31:39 to 2:31:54( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: costs. hurricanes katrina and rita caused nearly 8 million gallons. in 2004 the sulendane broke off, pouring 350,000 gallons of oil into the waters off the aleutian island, killing thousands of birds.

2:31:54 to 2:32:08( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: in 20041,000 gallons of crude oil spilled into puget sound. the dalco passage cost millions of dollars to clean up and it was a real wake-up call to many of my washington constituents. as i know,

2:32:08 to 2:32:18( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: the presiding officer, senator lautenberg knows well, because he's been a great champion of strengthening the oil prevention safety net, the oil tanker athos spilled over a quarter million gallons

2:32:18 to 2:32:30( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: of crude oil into the delaware river and tributaries in november of 2004. as chair of the commerce subcommittee with jurisdiction over oil spill issues and the coast guard, i wt my colleagues to

2:32:30 to 2:32:44( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: know that the commerce committee has been working hard to try to give the coast guard the tools that it needs to prevent these spills and to respond quickly and effectively when a spill happens. over

2:32:44 to 2:32:58( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: the last few years, the committee has held several hearings, asked and received information from the coast guard and the government accountability office and reports and worked to help understand

2:32:58 to 2:33:13( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: how to update the nation's oil spill prevention safety net. we worked hard to develop a thoughtful and balanced piece of legislation and to help prevent more of these tragic spills from happening again.

2:33:13 to 2:33:24( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: and almost exactly a year ago, after months of bipartisan negotiations, the commerce committee unanimously reported the 2007 coast guard authorization bill which contained many of these oil prevention

2:33:24 to 2:33:38( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: -- provisions in them and out of the committee. and i'd like to thank ranking member stevens for his thoughtful improvements and his strong support of this vital provision which updated the oil

2:33:38 to 2:33:50( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: pollution act of 1990. but even though we have this bipartisan bill before us that's come out of the conrence -- commerce committee and even though it's critical to our national security and emergency

2:33:50 to 2:34:07( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: preparedness, it is still being subject to the same kind of obstructionism of a hand full of senators who don't want to move forward on this legislation. a situation that we are becoming all too familiar with

2:34:07 to 2:34:21( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: here on the senate floor. in this case, the bill is being held hostage by just one or two senators who seem interested in stopping its progress. they don't seem to care that it's had support by the bush

2:34:21 to 2:34:38( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: administration's department of homeland security, saying how much the coast guard strongly supports this legislation. and if i could enter this into the record for my colleagues, the department of

2:34:38 to 2:34:48( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: homeland security letter to the chairman, senator stevens, and vice chairman -- i'm sorry, the chairman, danny inouye, and the vice chair ted stevens, from donald kent, assistant secretary office

2:34:48 to 2:34:59( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: of legislative affairs. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. cantwell: i thank the president. mr. president, i also want to make sure that people understand the coa guard and its commandant

2:34:59 to 2:35:14( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: have been working hard to see this legislation passed. in fact, admiral allen has made in statement -- quote -- "the swift enactment of these provisions would significantly improve the safety, security,

2:35:14 to 2:35:27( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: and stewardship in the maritime domain." end quote. but these senators refuse to meet with the coast guard commandant, who want to make sure that at least the commandant has a chance to explain the needs

2:35:27 to 2:35:46( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: of this legislation. so to make sure that this legislation passes and they can do their job in critically securing our nation's waterways. and let me take a moment to describe why this bipartisan legislation

2:35:46 to 2:36:00( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: is so important. first, it would require the coast guard to have rules that would be in place for how the coast guard needs to respond to any kind of wreckage or any kind of salvage and wreckage in areas

2:36:00 to 2:36:12( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: like the mississippi river and the commerce incident weust saw. because of the fact that no strict guidelines are in place, the amount of time that it takes to respond to this wreckage means that

2:36:12 to 2:36:27( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: such a barge could be left, as this one is, for many, many days in the middle of the river. another section addresses human error. we don't know what caused this spill yet. and although we know there

2:36:27 to 2:36:41( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: was not a properly licensed pilot, the tug pulling the barge on this incident, we do know that human error is the cause of many spills. in fact, the bill requires the coast guard to take into

2:36:41 to 2:36:55( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: consideration human error causes of spills and how to best address them. and the coast guard would also benefit from the fact that noaa oil spill response program would get up to an additional $15

2:36:55 to 2:37:07( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: million per year for the oil spill liability trust fund. this program is currently on the ground and helping with the oil spill in louisiana, but they are limited in their ability because of the severe budget

2:37:07 to 2:37:18( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: constraints. so certainly having this bill passed would he helped in the response in new orleans. and there are other significant measures that will help in improving our nation's oil spill prevention

2:37:18 to 2:37:31( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: safety net. so, mr. president i hope my colleagues can help us get this legislation over the genome line, because it is kreut -- over the goal line, because it is critically important that we do so

2:37:31 to 2:37:42( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: before we leave for the august recess. it provides the coast guard with the critical resources and authority that it needs in other areas as well to fight terrorists, to capture drug runners and to

2:37:42 to 2:37:54( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: defend our homeland security. and isn't it time to help push the coast guard into the 21st century and begin planning for the challenges of tomorrow rather than continuing to struggle with the challenges

2:37:54 to 2:38:06( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: of today? and isn't it time that we pass this legislation that might actually help prevent another oil spill like the one in louisiana from happening again and to give the coast guard the tools that

2:38:06 to 2:38:16( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: it needs? so, mr. president, tomorrow i will be asking my colleagues for unanimous consent request to pass this legislation. i hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that believe in strong

2:38:16 to 2:38:37( Edit History Discussion )

Maria Cantwell: tools for the coast guard will talk to their colleagues and ask them to stop blocking this legislation so we can get on with preventing another incident like this from happening again. i thank the president,

2:38:37 to 2:38:50( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: and i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. dorgan: mr. president a week from friday we will see the start of the olympics held every four years in this planet of

2:38:37 to 2:49:03( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Byron Dorgan