As we’ve seen with the current cost of gasoline, rapid price increases can and do occur without warning and with little recourse. The pain we are feeling now at the pump could have been reduced if we had taken proactive steps to achieve energy independence and security. We must not make that same mistake with home heating costs. Thus, I am proud to support two bipartisan, common-sense proposals.

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Congressman LoBiondo joined with volunteer firefighters from across New Jersey at the annual State Firemen's Convention in Wildwood.

I am pleased to announce I will continue to serve on the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation in the 110^th Congress. The Subcommittee exercises jurisdiction over all Coast Guard programs and activities. We are responsible for ensuring that the Coast Guard's needs are met, its interests are served and its voice is heard.

The U.S. Coast Guard , the smallest of the nation's five armed services, has a demanding peacetime mission. Most notably, the Coast Guard is involved in homeland security actions to secure our borders, ports and waterways against threats. However, the traditional missions of the Coast Guard still remain vital and important to our region and nation. It undertakes more than 67,500 search and rescue missions annually but is roughly the same size it was in 1967. Currently, there are 35,000 people on active duty and 8,370 in the Coast Guard Reserve. From ice-breaking on the Great Lakes to patrolling the waters of the Carribean to their efforts to protect lives and property right off the Jersey Shore, the regular Coast Guard aided by the Reserves and Coast Guard Auxiliary have met the demands placed on them by their nation with determination and valor.

The Coast Guard is at sea every day and impacts the lives of every American, safeguarding 95,000 nautical miles of our coastline and patrolling 3.4 million square miles of U.S. exclusive economic zone, where only U.S. fishermen can harvest. These brave men and women put their lives on the line to save thousands of recreational and commercial mariners. They have contributed to a steady decline in oil spills over the past decade, set a record for cocaine seizures, and performed their duty with courage and dignity during incidents like the Egypt Air tragedy,the massive floods on the East Coast after Hurricane Floyd and evacuation and security and recovery operations in New York Harbor on September 11, 2001 and the weeks thereafter.

On an average day, the Coast Guard saves 10 lives, assists 192 people in distress, protects $2.9 million in property, interdicts 14 illegal migrants at sea, conducts 109 search and rescue cases, seizes $9.6 million worth of illegal drugs and responds to 20 oil and hazardous chemical spills.

I have been pleased to represent the officers and crew of the facilities right here in Southern New Jersey - the Training Center at Cape May, Air Station Atlantic City and the Loran Support Unit for the last six years. I now look forward to working with the entire Coast Guard, the new Chairman of the Transportation Committee and Congressional Members from around the country to ensure continued readiness in emergencies, every day duty and the overall success of all Coast Guard operations.