COAST GUARD AUTHORIZATION WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1964 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY, AND NAVIGATION OF THE COMMITTEE ON MERCHANT MARINE AND FISHERIES, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m., room 219, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Edward A. Garmatz (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Congressmen Garmatz, Bonner, Clark, Ashley, Lennon, Downing, Byrne, Vanik, Hagen, Rogers, Tollefson, Van Pelt, Goodling, Tupper, and Grover. Mr. GARMATZ. The meeting will come to order. Off the record. (Discussion off the record.) Mr. BONNER. Let the record show that the chairman of the full committee has asked the Speaker of the House that this committee be permitted to sit during general debate in the House today and tomorrow. Mr. GARMATZ. The purpose of the meeting this morning is to sit in executive session to consider the Coast Guard authorization bill for the year 1965 introduced by Mr. Bonner. (H.R. 9640 and executive communication No. 1538 follow:) [H.R. 9640, 88th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To authorize appropriations for procurement of vessels and aircraft and construction of shore and offshore establishments for the Coast Guard Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated, without fiscal year limitation, for the use of the Coast Guard, as follows: Construction For establishment or development of Coast Guard installations and facilities by acquisition, construction, conversion, extension, or installation of permanent or temporary public works, including the preparation of sites and furnishing of appurtenances, utilities, and equipment for the following projects: Atlantic coast: Offshore light platforms at Diamond Shoals and Chesapeake Bay entrance. Missouri River: Moorings for river tender. Air station, Elizabeth City, North Carolina: Replace runway. Air detachment, Annette Island, Alaska: Family housing units and support facilities. Detroit, Michigan: Operational facilities for helicopter detachment. Aircraft repair and supply base, Elizabeth City, North Carolina: Maintenance facilities. Air detachment, San Juan, Puerto Rico: Maintenance and operational facilities. Moorings, Mayport, Florida: Administrative, operational, and maintenance facilities. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Family housing units and support facilities. Base, Ketchikan, Alaska: Improve maintenance facilities. Base, Woods Hole, Massachusetts: Improve operational and maintenauce facilities. Academy, New London, Connecticut: Field house. [EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATION 1538] Hon. JOHN W. MCCORMACK, Speaker of the House of Representatives, THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY, DEAR Mr. SPEAKER: There is transmitted herewith a draft of a bill to authorize appropriations for procurement of vessels and aircraft and construction of shore and offshore establishments for the Coast Guard. That This proposal results from the recent enactment of Public Law 88-45. act provided that no funds could be appropriated to or for the use of the Coast Guard for the procurement of vessels or aircraft or the construction of shore or offshore establishments unless the appropriation of such funds had been authorized by legislation enacted after December 31, 1963. This is the first bill to be submitted since adoption of the authorization procedure. It would provide the necessary authorization of appropriations for fiscal year 1965 for procurement of vessels and aircraft and for the Coast Guard's major construction programs. The Department notes that there is general authorization in permanent law for appropriations to support Coast Guard activities. This legislation, therefore, is responsive only to the requirements of Public Law 88-45, which requires specific authorizations for procurement of vessels or aircraft or construction of facilities. There is attached a memorandum listing in summary form the procurement and construction programs for which appropriations would be authorized by the proposed bill. In further support of this legislation, the cognizant legislative committees will be furnished detailed information with respect to each program for which fund authorization is being requested in a form identical to that being submitted in explanation and justification of the budget request. Additionally, the Department will be prepared to submit any other data that the committees or their staffs may require. It would be appreciated if you would lay this proposed bill before the House of Representatives. A similar bill has been transmitted to the President of the Senate. The Department has been advised by the Bureau of the Budget that there is no objection to the submission of this proposed legislation to the Congress and that its enactment would be in accord with the program of the President. Sincerely yours, DOUGLAS DILLON. (See text of H.R. 9640 for draft of bill enclosed with transmittal letter to Speaker McCormack.) Summary of fiscal year 1965 U.S. Coast Guard program for procurement of vessels and aircraft and for construction of shore and offshore establishments 1. Procurement of vessels: Estimated obligations (a) 1 high-endurance cutter to replace large overage vessel. $14, 000, 000 (b) 5 medium-endurance cutters to replace overage patrol vessels.. (c) 1 medium-endurance cutter to enforce U.S. laws and (h) 1 river tender to service aids to navigation on the Mis- Total vessel procurement-- 2. Procurement of aircraft: (a) 9 helicopters to replace overage helicopters. (b) 5 helicopters to improve search and rescue protection in (c) 3 helicopters for proposed air detachment, Detroit, Total aircraft procurement.. 3. Construction of shore and offshore establishments: (e) Air detachment to be established at Naval Air Station, (f) Construct paint and dope shop at Aircraft Repair and (g) Improve operational and maintenance facilities at Air Detachment, San Juan, P.R.... (h) Continue construction of moorings at Mayport, Fla Buchanan, San Juan, P.R.. (5) Replace storm-damaged facilities at depot, Guam (1) Continue to improve facilities at base, Ketchikan, (m) Improve facilities at base, Woods Hole, Mass.. (n) Complete construction of fieldhouse at Academy, New (0) Improve runway at Loran Station, Sitkinak, Alaska Total shore and offshore establishments.. 18,750,000 3,750,000 2, 500, 000 2, 100, 000 795, 000 3, 375, 000 500, 000 45, 770, 000 4, 950, 000 2,750,000 1, 650, 000 9, 350, 000 3, 500, 000 135, 000 3, 000, 000 1, 140, 000 738, 000 630, 000 170,000 540, 000 3, 028, 000 450, 000 500, 000 178, 000 380, 000 1, 750, 000 540, 000 16, 679, 000 Mr. GARMATZ. Our first witness is the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Reed. STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES A. REED, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY; ACCOMPANIED BY ERNEST C. BETTS, Jr., DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF BUDGET AND FINANCE, TREASURY DEPARTMENT Mr. REED. Mr. Chairman, I just have a few informal remarks I would like to make. First of all, I would like to thank this committee very much for the promptness with which it is about to hear this testimony today on this bill. It is very helpful to us because, as you are all aware of the appropriation process and I want to thank you very much for giving us this opportunity to appear so early in the session. Admiral Roland is going to speak in greater detail about this bill and our support for it. We also have other officers of the Coast Guard who have detailed knowledge of everything in the bill and will be happy to testify with respect to any questions anyone of you might wish to ask. I would simply like to say that this bill is one which I have had a keen interest in, and indeed it is a bill in which Secretary Dillon also has a great deal of interest. So, we feel that it is going to be a highly beneficial form of annual work on the part of the Coast Guard to submit to you this request for our annual authorizations with respect to the procurement of vessels, aircraft, and construction of shore and offshore establishments. I am not going to say too much more although I will be happy to answer any questions anyone of you might wish to put to me. I think all of you would be interested to hear from Admiral Roland with respect to some details of these authorizations. Mr. GARMATZ. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. As we go through the bill, there will probably be some questions we will want to ask. Mr. Betts, Director, Office of Budget and Finance of the Treasury Department, do you want to speak before the admiral? Mr. BETTS. I believe not. Admiral Roland will cover the points. Thank you, Mr. Garmatz. Mr. GARMATZ. Admiral, you may proceed. STATEMENT OF ADM. E. J. ROLAND, COMMANDANT, U.S. COAST GUARD Admiral ROLAND. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am happy to be able to appear this early in the year in behalf of the Coast Guard's request for authorizing legislation for its 1965 program for procurement of vessels and aircraft and construction of shore facilities. I appreciate your courtesy in making this possible. The Coast Guard programs for construction of shore and offshore establishments and procurement of vessels and aircraft are based on three major plans which are documented in reports entitled "Report on Requirements for Coast Guard Vessels, June 1962," "Reevaluation of Requirements for Coast Guard Aviation, 1960," and "Report on Requirements for Coast Guard Shore Establishments, 1962." In the interest of brevity and clarity I should like hereafter to refer to these reports as the vessel plan, aviation plan, and shore units plan. The vessel plan was furnished your committee in January of last year, I believe. You have had the aviation plan since 1961. The shore units plan has not yet been transmitted to you. We do not expect to be in a position to ask authorizations for support of that plan until fiscal 1966. Accordingly, all shore units authorizations requested for this year are justified independently of the plan. I can assure you, however, that each of these requirements would still need to be satisfied whether the shore units plan is ultimately implemented or not. There will be no conflicts in either event. I would like first to discuss in detail our proposed vessel construction. The authorization which we request today is a step toward full-scale implementation of the vessel plan. The basic plan provides a construction schedule which would replace our aged, obsolete ships, offset the continuing obsolescence which will occur during the next few years, and by about 1975 put our fleet back in sound shape, with an inventory of serviceable and safe, modern ships. The program we propose for fiscal 1965 would almost double the 1964 shipbuilding program, bringing us to about 50 percent of the annual program we will need for full implementation of the vessel plan recommendations. The 1965 program will provide about one-fifth of the funds which would be required to replace overage and obolete vessels currently on hand. Due to a continuing heavy rate of obsolescence, however, this will amount to only about one-twentieth of our total needs between now and 1975. The replacement units we have programed for 1965 are in line with the vessel plan. One 350-foot, 2,700-ton high endurance vessel will be built. These are our largest and most versatile ships. Their basic employments are in long-range search and rescue and in ocean station duty, manning one of the six deepwater locations which we keep continuously manned along the transoceanic air routes. These ships are equipped to provide metorological observations, air navigation and communications services, and search and rescue assistance as part of a system of such stations established under the sponsorhsip of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Our ships are now outfitted to collect oceanographic data under the national oceanographic program as well, and are armed appropriately to act as escort vessels in case of war. We have 36 ships of 3 different types which we now class as high endurance vessels. Six are already over 25 years old and all of them will be at least 25 by 1971. All three types are suffering from deficiencies of age affecting equipment, machinery, and hull. One type, built by the Navy as seaplane tenders during the war years, although not yet at our 25-year average replacement age criterion for high endurance vessels, is beginning to suffer serious structural deterioration. Our first replacement units will be assigned to replace these vessels. Meanwhile we plan to refurbish six vessels of an older 327-foot class. Built before the war, specifically for Coast Guard service, they were originally stouter vessels and are in fact in better shape for restoration than their somewhat younger, but war-built, sisters. These prewar vessels, we believe, are worth a fairly substantial investment to extend their life several more years so that they can serve while the other vessels are being replaced. The 1964 27-810-64 |