Statement of Administration Policy: S. 1459 - Coast Guard Authorization for FY 1988 and FY 1989
(Senate)
(Hollings (D) South Carolina)
The administration opposes passage of S. 1459 unless it is amended to:
— Delete section 11, which would prohibit Coast Guard vessels from being constructed in foreign shipyards. (This requirement (1) interferes with the Secretary of Transportation's existing authority to determine, based on current information provided by the Department of Defense, whether industrial mobilization considerations dictate that Coast Guard vessels be constructed in U.S. shipyards and (2) would restrict the Coast Guard's ability to seek and accept the most cost effective bids for vessel construction.); and
— Delete section 8, which would require the Coast Guard to establish a helicopter base at Charleston, S.C.. The Charleston area is already adequately served by the existing base in Savannah, Georgia, and this provision would unnecessarily divert resources required for higher priority purposes.
In addition, the administration believes that the bill would be improved if section 2 were amended to authorize appropriations of "such sums as may be necessary" for FY 1989, and section 7 (related to housing assistance for certain employees) were amended to conform to section 14 of H.R. 2342 as passed by the House. The use of "such sums" language would preclude any need to amend the FY 1989 authorization levels next year, and addressing housing assistance for Coast Guard personnel in the same statute governing other military personnel will facilitate improved administration of the law.
Ronald Reagan, Statement of Administration Policy: S. 1459 - Coast Guard Authorization for FY 1988 and FY 1989 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/328675