WASHINGTON - The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act
of 2012 (H.R. 2838), first introduced in the House by Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee Chairman John L. Mica (R-FL) and Coast Guard and
Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Chairman Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), passed the
Senate this week, a week after the House approved the bill. It will now head to
the president, who is expected to sign it, authorizing $8.6 billion in fiscal
year 2013 and $8.7 billion in fiscal year 2014 for the activities of the Coast
Guard.
It will also notably eliminate the Transportation Security
Administration requirement for maritime workers to make multiple trips to a TWIC
enrollment center to receive the TWIC ID card and extend the duration of
medical certificates so mariners can continue to work while the Coast Guard
reduces its backlog of applications.
“The Coast Guard is our nation’s first line of defense for
maritime safety and security,” Mica said in a statement. “This bill provides
the Coast Guard with the resources to continue to improve the ships, aircraft
and communications systems they need to do their jobs. That is little enough
reward for the service’s daily efforts to protect our shores from drug and
migrant smugglers and potential terrorist threats, and to keep the vessels
plying our waterways and their crews safe from harm.
The bill also includes provisions, according to a press
release, that will give the Coast Guard, its servicemembers and dependents “greater
parity with their counterparts in the other Armed Services.”
WorkBoat continues to report on this story.