Quote

From protecting our natural resources to providing maritime security and national defense, the Coast Guard's duties are broad in scope, and the performance of those duties has never been more important.

Our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen volunteer to protect and defend this country and all its citizens, and do so with honor, integrity and excellence. Our nation continually asks them to do more and more, with less and less.

I think in the wake of Katrina, the Coast Guard may well have been the only entity or agency that came out of that exercise free of fault and free of blame.

First at the outset, let me commend the great men and women of the United States Coast Guard for what they do.

The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act is an important authorization for our country and for our citizens, as we have seen so vividly in the last few weeks.

In this ever-changing world, it's more important than ever that our top-notch military continues to receive the resources needed to serve and protect our country.

Over the last five years, the Administration and the majority in Congress have appropriated less than $900 million for port security grants - despite the Coast Guard's determination that $5.4 billion is needed over 10 years.

In my opinion, any navy less than that which would give us the habitual command of our own coast and seas would be little short of useless.

I think we look to the military as something that protects our shores.

I don't know how many people have ever seen the National Guard break in somewhere, but they mean business.