Bill Text: NJ SJR70 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Designates first week in August of each year as "Coast Guard Week" and honors Cape May as U.S. Coast Guard's enlisted accession point and recruit training center.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-12-07 - Substituted by AJR100 [SJR70 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-SJR70-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JEFF VAN DREW
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
SYNOPSIS
Designates first week in August of each year as "Coast Guard Week" and honors Cape May as U.S. Coast Guard's enlisted accession point and recruit training center.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Joint Resolution designating the first week in August of each year as "Coast Guard Week" and honoring Cape May as the United States Coast Guard's enlisted accession point and recruit training center.
Whereas, The United States Coast Guard is a versatile, highly adaptive force that carries out an array of civil and military responsibilities touching every facet of the maritime environment of the United States; and
Whereas, Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, proposed an economic plan, relying heavily on income generated by custom duties and tonnage taxes, which depended on the nation's ability to safely guide foreign ships to ports with collectors to succeed; and
Whereas, On August 4, 1790, the First Congress of the United States established the Revenue Marine (later renamed the Revenue Cutter Service), a small maritime law enforcement component within the Treasury Department to assist in the collection of custom duties and tonnage taxes and the suppression of smuggling operations; and
Whereas, In 1848, Congressman William Newell of New Jersey sponsored legislation to establish unmanned lifesaving stations along the New Jersey coast to aid distressed navigators and set in motion a series of legislative maneuvers that led to the formation of the United States Life-Saving Service; and
Whereas, Revenue Marine cutter, Harriet Lane, is credited with firing the first naval shots of the Civil War, during which Revenue Marine vessels performed blockade duty, patrolled shipping lanes to safeguard Union traders from Southern privateers, and aided distressed vessels at sea; and
Whereas, On January 28, 1915, President Woodrow Wilson signed into law "The Act to Create the Coast Guard," which combined the Revenue Cutter Service and the Life Saving-Service into a single military service, the Coast Guard; and
Whereas, The Coast Guard expanded during Prohibition as efforts to deter rum-runners at sea led to expanded civil responsibilities and an overall improvement in the service's tactics, techniques, communications equipment, procedures, and intelligence methods; and
Whereas, During World War II, the Coast Guard performed extensive convoy protection and antisubmarine duties in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, rescuing the survivors of torpedo attacks off of the United States coast while Coast Guard "coast-watchers" maintained beach patrols and guarded ports; and
Whereas, The Coast Guard played a pivotal role in "Operation Market Time" during the Vietnam War, through which the Coast Guard boarded nearly a quarter of a million vessels to prevent the re-supply of enemy forces; and
Whereas, In the post-Vietnam War era, the Coast Guard's civil duties expanded to include drug enforcement, undocumented migrant interdiction, and environmental protection responsibilities; and
Whereas, In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Coast Guard personnel were among the first responders to the World Trade Center tragedy and assisted in evacuating more than half a million people by water from lower Manhattan; and
Whereas, The Coast Guard joined with local police and fire agencies in responding to emergency and mayday calls, and deployed helicopters, boats, and other vessels to help in the recovery efforts during Superstorm Sandy in 2012; and
Whereas, The Coast Guard responded to 19,790 search and rescue cases and saved over 3,500 lives in 2012; and
Whereas, Coast Guard Training Center Cape May is the fifth largest base in the Coast Guard, the sole accession point for the entire enlisted workforce, and the only recruit training center; and
Whereas, The Coast Guard stations nearly 2,000 active-duty men and women, 175 reservists, and approximately 2,000 auxiliary personnel in New Jersey who serve in a variety of job categories, including operation specialists, small-boat operators, maintenance specialists, electronic technicians, and aviation mechanics; and
Whereas, The Coast Guard has been responsible for the security of the ports and waterways of the United States during times of both war and peace since its inception and it is altogether fitting and proper to designate the first week in August of each year as "Coast Guard Week," celebrating the birth of the Coast Guard on August 4, 1790, and to honor Cape May, New Jersey, as the United States Coast Guard's enlisted accession point and recruit training center; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The first week in August of each year is designated as "Coast Guard Week" in New Jersey.
2. The State of New Jersey honors the city of Cape May, New Jersey, as the United States Coast Guard's enlisted accession point and recruit training center.
3. The Governor is respectfully requested to issue a proclamation calling upon public officials and citizens of this State to observe "Coast Guard Week" with appropriate activities and programs.
4. This joint resolution shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This joint resolution designates the first week in August of each year as "Coast Guard Week" and honors Cape May as the United States Coast Guard's enlisted accession point and recruit training center.
The United States Coast Guard began as the Revenue Marine (later renamed the Revenue Cutter Service) on August 4, 1790, to suppress smuggling operations and collect custom duties and tonnage taxes. In 1848, Congressman William Newell of New Jersey set in motion a series of legislative maneuvers that led to the formation of the United States Life-Saving Service to assist distressed navigators. On January 28, 1915, President Woodrow Wilson signed into law "The Act to Create the Coast Guard," which combined the Revenue Cutter Service with the Life Saving-Service to create the United States Coast Guard. Since its inception, the Coast Guard has been responsible for the security of the ports and waterways of the United States during times of both war and peace. In addition to the Coast Guard's wartime contributions, the service aids mariners in jeopardy, patrols shipping lanes, and engages in drug enforcement, immigration, and environmental protection operations.
The Coast Guard maintains several bases in New Jersey. Coast Guard Training Center Cape May is the fifth largest base in the Coast Guard and the sole accession point for the entire enlisted workforce. It is the only recruit training center in the nation. Additionally, nearly 2,000 active-duty men and women, 175 reservists, and approximately 2,000 auxiliary personnel are stationed in New Jersey. Recently, the Coast Guard led rescue efforts from the sea as Superstorm Sandy devastated the New Jersey coast in 2012.
This joint resolution designates the first week in August of each year as "Coast Guard Week," celebrating the birth of the Coast Guard on August 4, 1790, and honors Cape May as the United States Coast Guard's enlisted accession point and recruit training center.
