LEGAL AUTHORITY FOR TRANSPONDER STANDARDS

Question: Some individuals in the maritime community believe that a transponder based voiceless communication is the way any new vessel traffic service/navigation system should be developed and implemented. Does the Coast Guard have legal authority to prescribe standards for a voiceless communication system to ensure that there are uniform national standards for transponders on vessels?

Answer: Under the authority of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act, the Secretary of Transportation may require vessels to install and use specified "systems." This includes navigation equipment, communications equipment, or any other device necessary to comply with a vessel traffic service or which is necessary in the interests of vessel safety. However, the Secretary can not require fishing vessels under 300 gross tons or recreational vessels 65 feet or less to possess or use the equipment or devices required by this subsection solely under the authority of this Act.

International standards and guidelines for Automated Identification System (AIS) technology are not yet fully developed. The Coast Guard is leading the development and adoption of international standards at the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The Coast Guard will submit a functional AIS standard to the IMO Safety of Navigation SubCommittee at the next meeting in July 1997. The goal is to establish an international carriage requirement for AIS technology.

International, as well as national agreement over AIS equipment carriage, has not yet been achieved as differing views on technical characteristics of specific equipment types exists. Once functional AIS standards are approved by IMO, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) could draft technical standards that would prescribe the equipment that would meet the functional standard. As much as practicable, national standards should be compatible with existing international standards as well as international standards under development.

DRUG INTERDICTION IN PUERTO RICO

Question: Admiral Kramek, I am pleased to see your budget request for $34 million in additional funds for drug interdiction. With this additional funding will you be able to continue the same level of effort and resources in Puerto Rico that you used in Operation FRONTIER SHIELD?

Answer: The Coast Guard's fiscal year 1998 budget request for $34.3 million in additional Operating Expenses (OE) funds is intended to increase drug law enforcement capability to respond to an expanding drug trafficking threat in the transit zone - whether that threat is in Puerto Rico, the eastern Caribbean, or the Gulf of Mexico.

The 1998 budget request balances increased demands for interdiction under the National Drug Control Strategy, with the infrastructure necessary to sustain the increased tempo of operations. Interdiction resources will continue to be employed in the eastern Caribbean, including Puerto Rico, and other high threat areas to most effectively deny maritime drug trafficking routes to smugglers.

GPRA GOAL FOR DRUG INTERDICTION

Question: The Coast Guard's goal under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) is to detect 40 percent of all vessels engaged in or suspected of

Narcotrafficking and that this will deter 80 percent of the drugs from coming through this zone. What additional resources would it take to meet this goal?

Answer: In order to achieve the objectives of Goals 4 and 5 of the National Drug Control Plan through application of the Coast Guard's law enforcement program standards, the Coast Guard will require more cutter and aircraft resource hours, additional sensor technology to make existing cutters and aircraft more effective in their drug law enforcement mission, and a greater ability to collect and evaluate intelligence information. The Coast Guard's fiscal year 1998 request will provide additional resources in each of these key areas: resource hours, sensor technology, and intelligence capability. The Coast Guard is partnering with the Office of National Drug Control Policy to validate the deterrence model as a basis for setting outcome performance objectives to deny narcotics trafficking routes in the transit zone.

In the near term, the Coast Guard requests full support for the President's fiscal year 1998 budget request.

T-AGOS VESSELS

Question: I understand that you have some T-AGOS ships that you acquired from the Navy tied to a dock at the Coast Guard shipyard. What are your plans for using these vessels and why aren't they currently deployed in a place like Puerto Rico to help your drug interdiction efforts?

Answer: USCGC VINDICATOR (WMEC 3) and USNS PERSISTENT (T-AGOS6) are in a decommissioned, caretaker status at the Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay, Maryland. One of the highest priorities in the Administration's effort to combat drugs in America is to focus on drug enforcement funding to increase the operational hours of Coast Guard assets already active in drug enforcement activities; hence, these vessels are not currently deployed in the Coast Guard's drug law enforcement operations. The Coast Guard is currently evaluating the potential to employ the T-AGOS vessels in future operations.

COSTS OF PAYROLL PROCESSING

Question: Admiral Kramek, last week's U.S. News and World Report stated that it costs the Department of Defense (DoD) over $8 to process every monthly paycheck, compared to about $2.50 for firms in the payroll business. How much does it cost the Coast Guard to process every monthly payroll check, including personnel, facility costs, and other expenses directly related to the processing of these checks? As a GPRA goal for this particular program, do you believe that it would be a reasonable goal to get the cost of processing checks down to the level of a private payroll business?

Answer: The Coast Guard's cost per active duty payroll account is approximately $2.81 per month. This compares favorably with payroll processing by the civilian firms cited in U.S. News and World Report. Account costs for Reservists, retirees, and annuitants are even lower than the figure reported for firms in the payroll business. As a Government Performance and Results Act goal, the Coast Guard will continue to keep this cost at or below the level of a private payroll business. Coast Guard costs during fiscal year 1995 are as follows: