House of Representatives Passes Coast Guard Reauthorization Bill

By Aaron Poehler

Published on April 28, 2008

The Act would provide $8.4 billion for the U.S. Coast Guard to carry out its missions to protect homeland security and marine safety as well as train, prepare, and equip an additional 1,500 Coast Guard personnel over the next year.

The bill also includes provisions requiring that ships incorporate ballast water treatment technology to reduce invasive species, require double hulls around fuel tanks on large cargo ships to prevent spills, tighten safety requirements for commercial fishing vessels, and require cruise lines to report crimes onboard their ships to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

However, the bill’s most controversial provision would require Coast Guard ships to enforce security zones around liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and arriving tankers. The White House has objected to this provision of the bill, claiming it would divert Coast Guard resources away from other priorities.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has stated that a terrorist attack on a tanker arriving at an LNG terminal could create an explosive force so violent that people over a mile away would be burned. The agency says the Coast Guard lacks the necessary resouces to protect such tankers.

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