Senate Appropriations Committee denies Coast Guard request to close the facility Measure now progresses to the full Senate
WASHINGTON, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–May 22, 2012. At the urging of Senators Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) the Senate Committee on Appropriations today voted on a U.S. Department of Homeland Security funding measure which included language denying the President’s 2013 budget request to close seasonal Coast Guard air facilities in Waukegan, Ill. and Muskegon, Mich. The 2013 Homeland Security Appropriations bill, which includes the Kirk-Durbin language, will now advance to the full Senate.
As part of its 2013 budget request, the Administration recommended replacing the five HH-65 helicopters based out of Air Station Traverse City in Michigan and the seasonal air facilities with three HH-60 helicopters. According to documents provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, the closure plan would have increased Coast Guard air rescue response times to southern Lake Michigan from the current 14 minutes to one hour and 21 minutes.
According to the U.S. Search and Rescue Response Force, individuals lose consciousness in 40-50 degree water after 30-60 minutes and have an expected survival time of 1-3 hours.
“Each year, thousands of Illinois residents swim and boat in southern Lake Michigan with a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter only minutes away in Waukegan,” said a spokesperson for Senator Kirk. “Under the Coast Guard’s proposal, the closest helicopter would have been in northern Michigan – over an hour away. We will continue to work with Senator Durbin and Congressman Robert Dold to stop this misguided plan.”
“The Coast Guard helicopters stationed in Waukegan are critical to the safety of Illinoisans who use the Great Lakes for both recreation and business,” said Durbin. “Moving the station to Michigan would more than quadruple the time needed to respond to emergencies near Chicago. For a stranded boater, the move could literally be the difference between life and death. I am committed to seeing that this provision is approved by the full Senate and signed into law.”
The HH-65 helicopters used at the air facilities at Waukegan and Muskegon have consistently contributed to operations that result in saved lives. In May 2008, AIRFAC Waukegan saved seven individuals when a 36-foot charter boat, the Fin Seeker, sank more than three miles off the coast. Since 2005, the Waukegan air facility participated in operations saving or assisting a total of 14 lives. The Muskegon air facility assisted or saved 28 lives since 2004.
A copy of the Coast Guard’s 2013 request, which includes the recommendation to close the Waukegan air facility, can be found here.
The language accompanying the 2013 Homeland Security Appropriations bill denying the closure is below:
Seasonal Air Facilities
The Committee denies the request to replace five HH-65 helicopters in operation at Air Station Traverse City with three HH-60 helicopters and to close two seasonal Air Facilities at Muskegon, MI and Waukegan, IL. The request proposes to eliminate immediate air support during the summer months from areas where there is heavy boat traffic and significant search and rescue requirements. The helicopters stationed at these seasonal Air Facilities along Lake Michigan are critical to the safety of Great Lakes mariners and recreational users. In addition, the Committee is also concerned that two of the HH-60 aircraft proposed to be transferred to Air Station Traverse City would be taken from Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, resulting in a loss of 470 annual hours dedicated to drug and migrant interdiction and search and rescue in that area of responsibility.
Source: kirk.senate.gov
