Washington, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed legislation instituting reforms to the U.S. Coast Guard’s Integrated Deepwater System program to modernize the service’s aging ships, aircraft and communications systems.
H.R. 6999, the Integrated Deepwater Program Reform Act of 2008, would prohibit the Coast Guard from using a private sector entity as the lead system integrator (LSI) for Deepwater 180 days after enactment. A similar bill that unanimously passed the House on July 31, 2007 (H.R. 2722), gave the Coast Guard until October 1, 2011, or sooner if the Commandant deemed the service ready, to assume the LSI role for all Deepwater assets.
“I support many of provisions that have been included in H. R. 6999, the Integrated Deepwater Program Reform Act of 2008,” said Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Ranking Member Steven C. LaTourette (R-OH). “The bill will make significant changes to the Coast Guard’s Deepwater program and the way the Coast Guard oversees, manages and carries out the program as the service takes on the lead systems integrator responsibilities.
“I do have concerns about the bill’s requirement that the Coast Guard take over lead system integrator responsibilities within 180 days of enactment,” LaTourette added.
Deepwater is a 25-year, $24 billion recapitalization of assets for use in the service’s offshore missions. While the Coast Guard has successfully acquired some capable assets under this program and the LSI, the contractor has also made some poor decisions that have lead to some failed acquisitions. The Coast Guard has since established its own acquisition team and announced a phase-out of the LSI.
The bill exempts certain asset classes that are currently being procured under an LSI until either October 1, 2011 or the date on which the Commandant of the Coast Guard certifies that the Coast Guard has the capability to carry out these responsibilities.
Additional reforms included in H.R. 6999:
- Requires that the Coast Guard ensure full and open competition for all Deepwater contracts and subcontracts.
- Establishes a Chief Acquisition Officer (CAO) for the Coast Guard who would report directly to the Vice Commandant.
- Includes reporting requirements on Deepwater asset costs, deliveries and contracts, as well as the implementation of the bill’s changes to the Deepwater program.
Drug Trafficking Provision
H. R. 6999 also includes a provision which would increase the Coast Guard’s authority to prosecute and penalties for crimes involving the use of a submersible or semi-submersible (SPSS) vessel in drug trafficking. The Coast Guard’s success in stopping the importation of drugs by sea have led drug cartels to look for other ways to get their products into the country.
The House unanimously approved similar language in H. R. 6295 on July 29, 2008, legislation on which Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Member Ted Poe (R-TX) is an original cosponsor.
“Recently, the Coast Guard has witnessed a sudden and dramatic increase in the use of submersible and semi-submersibles by would-be drug importers,” LaTourette said. “This language will allow the Coast Guard to apprehend and prosecute these individuals without forcing Coast Guardsmen to risk their lives to pull out bales of illegal drugs from a sinking submarine, as is the case now.”
“While we believe these SPSS vessels are currently only carrying narcotics, nothing prevents them falling into the hands of terrorists,” said Rep. Poe. “If these vessels can carry 13 tons of cocaine, they can carry weapons of mass destruction just as easily. The uncontrolled environment in which these vessels operate is prime for an act of terrorism off our coasts.
“It is imperative for the safety of the Coast Guard and the security of our nation that we close the loopholes and enact this law so that being in possession of these types of submarines is enough to prosecute them for crimes on the high seas,” Poe concluded.
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