MARCH 11, 1968.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. GARMATZ, from the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H.R. 15224]

The Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 15224) to authorize appropriations for procurement of vessels and aircraft and construction of shore and offshore establishments for the Coast Guard, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill do pass.

The amendments are as follows:

On page 1, line 7, delete "$38,904,000." and insert in lieu thereof "$67,904,000.".

On page 1, line 9, delete "one" and insert in lieu thereof "three". On page 1, line 9, delete "cutter;" and insert in lieu thereof "cutters;".

On page 2, line 12, delete "tracing" and insert in lieu thereof "tracking".

PURPOSE OF the Bill

The purpose of the bill is to authorize appropriations for the capital requirements of the Coast Guard for ships, planes, shore facilities, aids to navigation, and bridge reconstruction for the fiscal year 1969.

BACKGROUND

The original request contained in the bill was for $107 million as compared with the request for $107,014,000 of last year. Of this amount, $5,800,000 was requested for alteration of five railroad bridges to remove obstacles to permit free navigation. This item represents an expenditure first appearing in last year's authorization bill which had previously been funded by the Corps of Engineers.

90-760 - 74-44

The bill as presented to the committee provided for the construction of one high-endurance cutter. The Coast Guard is presently operating 33 high-endurance cutters, and during previous years funds have been made available for the replacement of 10 of these vessels. Of this number, one is in actual operation and two will be available in the near future. Of the remaining 23 vessels, six were built in or about 1936, and five are converted World War II seaplane tenders. All of these vessels are overage. At the present rate of replacementone per year-the last one will not be replaced for another 20 or so years. In the light of the rigorous service to which these vessels are subjected, maintaining weather stations in the Atlantic and Pacific, and service with the Navy in Vietnam, the rate of replacement appears to be unreasonably slow. Under the circumstances, the committee, while it is conscious of the many demands upon the budget, believes that the addition of two more cutters to the present authorization is fully warranted.

In addition to its other duties, the Coast Guard is required to conform to certain Navy requirements with respect to antisubmarine warfare, ocean station duties, and search and rescue functions in time of emergency. In addition, the high-endurance cutters are required to have certain capabilities with respect to balloon tracking radar and communications equipment to permit coordination with Navy vessels in time of emergency. The fact that these vessels are available for such service permits the Navy to cut down on its own requirements in this field, since these vessels can be deployed on relatively short notice.

The bill as introduced provides for construction of an oceanographic cutter to replace an overage buoy tender presently serving in this field. The Coast Guard has been assigned very substantial responsibilities in connection with the oceanographic program of the United States, and it is essential that it have proper equipment to support its activities. In the course of its hearings, Dr. Edward Wenk, Jr., of the National Council on Marine Resources and Engineering Development, testified in support of the request for this vessel. He pointed out that the vessel presently in use is not capable of supplying information on certain ice conditions in the far north because its construction is not such as to enable it to approach and remain in the necessary areas of study during certain periods of the year. The new vessel would be ice strengthened and would be specifically designed for the service to which it would be assigned. There can be no question of the fact that the study of oceanography is rapidly assuming major importance in our Government, and it is essential that those charged with the collection of knowledge have the proper equipment to perform their functions.

The Coast Guard historically has been engaged in the collection of knowledge from the sea and it is peculiarly fitted to assume a major role in this field. However, it cannot perform its functions properly with totally inadequate equipment, and hence, the committee strongly endorses its request for this new vessel.

In this connection, there is also a request for procurement and installation of eight sensor systems and three monitor buoys in the amount of $450,000. The purpose of these systems and buoys is to provide oceanographic and meteorological data in support of the national oceanographic program. Each sensor system will make

temperature, salinity, and current observations and record the information. At unmanned stations it is necessary to provide, in addition to the recording devices, a telemetering capability to forward the data to a collecting point. This expenditure can clearly be justified on the ground that it is relatively inexpensive but at the same time a vitally important element in the entire oceanographic program, and the data secured by this means are obtained at substantially less cost than other data-collecting devices such as ships.

A request is made for construction of a coastal buoy tender. This is designed to operate in and about Chesapeake Bay as a replacement for two overage vessels. This vessel, when constructed, will mit the rendering of necessary service to aids to navigation with 35 men as compared with the 56 presently operating on the two vessels

in use.

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A number of the requests for funds made by Coast Guard are virtually mandatory. In this classification the committee places the construction of a buoy tender, barge depot, and moorings to permit assumption of its statutory responsibility with respect to navigation aids on the lower Mississippi. The area from Baton Rouge, La., to Natchez, Miss., a distance of 118 miles, has been under the control of the Corps of Engineers which has maintained the navigation aids on a reimbursable basis. This function can no longer be continued by the Corps of Engineers and in consequence it is ncessary to provide appropriate facilities for Coast Guard operation.

Some 4 years ago, the Coast Guard acquired Governors Island, N.Y., from the Army and over the years has been maintaining an improvement program at that site to adapt the location for its needs.

The island is located immediately south of Manhattan Island, New York City, and ferry service is required to transport men and materiel from Manhattan. The Army maintained this service with three ferryboats each with about a 30-car capacity. These vessels were taken over by the Coast Guard at the time of its acquisition of the island. The smallest was a steam ferry built in 1929 which is reaching the end of its useful life. It was testified that a surplus ferry can be obtained from the city of New York for $150,000 which would be substantially less than the cost of repairing and rebuilding the existing ferry. In addition, the new vessel will permit the elimination of one crewmember, and the committee recommends approval of this item.

Other work planned for the New York base at Governors Island is the construction of a sewage system to connect with the municipal system. At the present time, sewage is dumped in the New York Harbor and this condition must be corrected. This proposal would result in a system meeting Federal standards and will eliminate the pollution condition by pumping the sewage underwater to the municipal system.

Chiefly by reason of the failure of a vessel replacement program to keep pace with Coast Guard needs, a continuing program of upgrading existing vessels must be maintained. These include modernization of five buoy tenders presently engaged in servicing, floating aids to navigation and icebreaking. Because increased duties require increased manning, it is proposed to enlarge berthing areas on two coastal tenders, install high-capacity generators on five tenders, and air-condition living spaces on six tenders.

Along the same lines, similar improvements are scheduled on three of the eight icebreakers operated by the Coast Guard, by way of rearrangement of working areas, improving berthing areas, sanitary facilities, and ventilation. Installation of secure communications on one icebreaker will facilitate communication with the Navy, as required. These vessels are, with one exception, overage now and will be required to operate for some 10 more years under the present program. The ships were designed to accommodate 111 men and over 170 men are now quartered in these same spaces. No major changes have been made in arrangements of working and storage spaces since the vessels were designed in 1940. These vessels are the last of the fleet to receive these improvements, and in view of the necessity for keeping the vessels in operation for a long period of time, there can be no question of the necessity of this expenditure. In the same situation are six high-endurance cutters built in 1936. Accommodations considered adequate in those days are much lower than desirable under present conditions, and the expenditure of a million dollars appears to be completely justified to increase space allowance per man and generally improve living conditions for the

crews.

Over the years balloon tracking radar equipment has been installed on a number of these vessels to meet requirements of the Department of Defense and the International Civil Aviation Organization. Installation of this equipment eliminates the only recreation area on this particular group of cutters and necessitates rearrangement of space to find substitute areas.

Request for replacement of aircraft for the coming fiscal year is limited to procurement of nine medium-range recovery aircraft at a total cost of $14,636,000. These nine will replace nine aircraft which are presently overage. As a matter of fact, 41 of the type of aircraft to be replaced will be overage during the coming year. The committee hopes that the necessary request will be forthcoming from the Coast Guard for fiscal 1970 for the replacement of the remaining 32 of these aircraft.

A very considerable number of shore facilities are over 50 years of age and their replacement is imperative both in the interests of safety and efficiency. It is the committee's view that this program has been moving at too slow a pace, but in view of present fiscal consideration, there is little opportunity to speed it up at the moment. The improvements and replacements are to be made at a number of stations around the country and consist of construction of family quarters and operational buildigs, as well as improvements to piers and moorings.

The small stations to be funded during the current year include the Siuslaw River Station at Florence, Oreg.; the station at Hobucken, N.C.; Juneau, Alaska; Port Allerton Station at Hull, Mass.; Grays Harbor, Westport, Wash.; Port Aransas, Tex.; Cape San Blas loran station, Gulf County, Fla.; and Bayfield, Wis. The establishment of a station at Cape Charles City, Va., and construction of a new station at Annapolis, Md. As a part of a major plan a station is to be established in New Haven, Conn., Fort Totten, N.Y., and Eaton's Neck Station is to be modernized to serve the needs of western Long Island Sound.

In addition, the Coast Guard base at San Juan, P.R., requires extensive renewal, and the contemplated work includes replacement

of existing bulkhead, dredging, paving, and the construction of a barracks, galley, and messhall basically to serve the needs for the air station personnel.

The same situation with respect to the need for the replacement of dock facilities and piers exists at the Coast Guard base in Honolulu, Hawaii, and requires construction of a new dock and mooring facilities. In many of these cases, the construction of new facilities, in fact, represents a substantial saving by reason of the fact that the existing installations are requiring increasing maintenance merely to prevent their total collapse. Among the larger items required for continued proper functioning of the Coast Guard are the construction of buildings at the Coast Guard air station at Mobile, Ala. This station was commissioned in December 1966 by utilizing a previously decommissioned Air Force facility. Since the closing of the Bermuda station and the training station at Savannah, Ga., the plan is to base and train helicopter crews for icebreakers and other functions at the Mobile site. It has become necessary to construct barracks and various other facilities to accommodate the additional men. It is proposed to increase the personnel from the present total of 188 to 354 as required by the expanded functions to be administered at that base.

It is proposed to construct a new major base at Portsmouth, Va., to replace and consolidate existing facilities. The piers presently in use for mooring large cutters are in very poor condition and will be inadequate for the new and larger cutters presently being placed in operation. In addition, the barracks are substandard and do not justify rehabilitation. While the present bill does not provide for replacement of these barracks, as the various facilities in the area are consolidated, it will be necessary in the near future to construct an industrial base, supply depot station, and family housing area as well. The effect of this development will be to consolidate various scattered facilities in the Portsmouth area.

A similar development is being undertaken at the base at Yerba Buena Island in California. It is proposed to combine units presently located in San Francisco and the surrounding area, and to this end it is proposed to construct piers, barracks, and industrial facilities. This particular development will facilitate the efficient handling of search and rescue cases and will permit the use of larger vessels.

The request for construction of a sewage disposal facility at Galveston, Tex., needs no comment except to point out that it will eliminate the flow of raw sewage into Galveston Harbor and will meet Federal standards. The total cost of the plant will be $100,000 and in view of the gains to be achieved it is extremely desirable.

A further development of the Portsmouth Harbor Station at New Castle, N.H., will entail dredging the construction of a pier and small buildings. At present, two medium-endurance cutters are based there and construction of a new pier is necessary to permit mooring of the two vessels without the prospect of damage because of inadequate facilities.

The major repair facilities maintained by the Coast Guard is the yard at Curtis Bay, Md. Since 1964, a program has continued to replace and consolidate facilities of that yard to permit greater efficiency. The present program calls for modification of certain buildings and consolidation of metalshop, paintshop, and relocation of machinery. It is expected that additional improvements will be made