RESOLUTION HONORING THE LATE HON. LARRY P. McDONALD The CHAIRMAN. I now offer for adoption by the committee a resolution. The clerk will read. Mr. HOGAN. Resolution in Memoriam to Larry McDonald, U.S. Representative from the State of Georgia and member of the Committee on Armed Services, U.S. House of Representatives. Whereas, the late Honorable Larry McDonald served on the Committee on Armed Services since 1975 with honor, devotion, and distinction until his recent untimely and tragic death, when a Soviet military aircraft shot down an unarmed commercial airplane on which he was a passenger enroute to Seoul, Korea; Whereas, during his service on the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman McDonald was a valued and loyal member of several subcommittees, including the Subcommittees on Research and Development, Seapower and Strategic and Critical Materials, and Readiness, and the special Subcommittees on the Middle East and NATO; Whereas, during his years in Congress, he repeatedly voiced and documented his views on the nature of the Communist threat to the free world, a cause to which he was firmly committed without qualification or excuse; Whereas, his unswerving dedication to a strong national defense, and his ability, expertise, and determination contributed materially to the enhancement of our national security posture; Whereas, his unique expertise as an outstanding physician, and his service to the Navy and his country as a flight surgeon were particularly useful to the committee during his 9 years of membership thereon; Whereas, he earned the trust and respect of his colleagues in the House of Representatives and particularly the members of this committee and the committee staff; and whereas, we, his colleagues, his friends, and members of the staff will miss his friendship and counsel; Now thereby be it: Resolved, that in recognition of his outstanding service to his country, the Congress and to his constituents in the Seventh District of Georgia, we, the members of the Committee on Armed Services offer this Resolution in Memoriam to the late Honorable Larry McDonald; and Now, thereby, be it: Further resolved, that this Resolution in Memoriam be spread on the record of the Committee on Armed Services and that a copy thereof be transmitted to his wife, Kathryn McDonald, and his family, along with the sincere and heartfelt condolences of the committee membership and staff. The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the passage of the resolution. Those in favor vote aye. [A vote was taken.] The CHAIRMAN. The resolution is unanimously adopted. STATEMENT OF HON. CHARLES E. BENNETT, A REPRESENTATIVE FROM FLORIDA, CHAIRMAN, SEAPOWER AND STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL MATERIALS SUBCOMMITTEE Mr. BENNETT. I ask unanimous consent that it be in order to consider the report of the Seapower Subcommittee on H.R. 3289, a bill to establish a commission to study defense-related aspects of the U.S. merchant marine. Mr. Chairman, on Thursday, September 15, 1983, the Seapower Subcommittee, by a unanimous voice vote, agreed to report H.R. 3289, a bill to establish a commission to study defense-related aspects of the U.S. merchant marine, to the full committee with the recommendation that the bill be reported to the House without amendment. During hearings held in the spring, the subcommittee heard testimony detailing the continuing decline of the U.S. merchant marine and the contraction of the commercial shipbuilding and repair industry. The concept of a commission grew out of those hearings. H.R. 3289 would create a mechanism whereby informed and interested representatives of the maritime community could come together to develop specific proposals that the Congress could act upon to maintain a merchant marine capable of satisfying national security requirements during war or national emergency. A provision similar to H.R. 3289 was included in the fiscal year 1983 defense authorization as reported by the committee, but was subsequently deleted during floor consideration as a result of an agreement with Chairman Jones of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee that the matter contained within H.R. 3289 should be addressed through separate legislation. During the hearings on Thursday, the subcommittee heard testimony or received written statements from Members of Congress, the Department of Defense, and from public witnesses. The testimony received was strongly supportive of the need for action to address the decline of the merchant marine and, with the exception of the Department of Defense, strongly supportive of the prompt establishment of a commission as provided in H.R. 3289. The Deputy Secretary of Defense, Mr. Thayer, asked that consideration of H.R. 3289 be postponed until the Department has completed ongoing study efforts and a subsequent interagency review of those studies. The bill would provide for a five-member commission to be composed of: (1) the Secretary of the Navy-or his delegate-who shall be the Chairman of the Commission, (2) the Administrator of the Maritime Administration—or his delegate—and (3) three members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, one of whom shall represent operators of U.S. merchant ships, one of whom shall represent shipbuilders, and one of whom shall represent maritime labor unions. The subcommittee heard several recommendations that the membership of the commission be expanded, but chose to recommend a commission of five members in the belief that a commission composed of representatives of all the numerous groups involved in maritime affairs would be unworkable. The subcommittee further reasoned that a commission of five highly qualified and respected individuals could consider the views of all interested parties. Mr. Chairman, a copy of the bill is before each member, and at the appropriate time it would be my intention to move that the committee report the bill to the House. [H.R. 3289 is as follows:] To establish a commission to study defense-related aspects of the United States IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 14, 1983 Mr. BENNETT introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the I A BILL To establish a commission to study defense-related aspects of 1 2 2 PURPOSE OF COMMISSION SEC. 2. The Commission shall study problems relating 3 to transportation of cargo for national defense purposes in 4 time of war or national emergency and the capability of the 5 United States merchant marine to meet the need for such 6 transportation. Based on the results of the study, the Com7 mission shall make such specific recommendations, including 8 recommendations for legislative action, action by the execu9 tive branch, and action by the private sector, as the Commis10 sion considers appropriate to foster and maintain a United 11 States merchant marine capable of meeting national security 12 requirements. The recommendations of the Commission shall 13 be included in the report of the Commission under section 7. 14 15 MEMBERSHIP SEC. 3. (a) The Commission shall be composed of five 16 members, as follows: (1) The Secretary of the Navy (or his delegate), who shall be the chairman of the Commission. (2) The Administrator of the Maritime Adminis tration (or his delegate). (3) Three members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, one of whom shall represent operators of United States mer chant ships, one of whom shall represent shipbuilders, HR 3289 IH 3 . and one of whom shall represent maritime labor 1 2 unions. 3 (b) A vacancy in the Commission shall be filled in the 4 manner in which the original appointment was made. Ap5 pointments may be made under subsection (a)(3) without 6 regard to section 5311(b) of title 5, United States Code. 7 Members appointed under such subsection shall be appointed 8 for the life of the Commission. 9 (c) Three members of the Commission shall constitute a 10 quorum, but a lesser number may hold hearings. The Com 11 mission shall meet at the call of the chairman. 13 SEC. 4. Members of the Commission appointed under 14 section 3(a)(3) shall each be paid at a rate equal to the daily 15 equivalent of the rate of basic pay payable for level IV of the 16 Executive Schedule for each day (including traveltime) 17 during which they are engaged in the actual performance of 18 the business of the Commission. Other members of the Com19 mission shall receive no additional pay, allowances, or bene20 fits by reason of their service on the Commission. 21 22 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND STAFF SEC. 5. (a) The Commission may (without regard to sec 23 tion 5311(b) of title 5, United States Code) appoint an execu24 tive director, who shall be paid at a rate not to exceed the HR 3289 IH |