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December 9, 2009

BoatU.S. Testifies Regarding Maritime Domain Awareness

BoatU.S. testifies before the House Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation Subcommittee regarding Maritime Domain Awareness and potential requirements that boats carry airplane style transponders

Airplane transponders allow air traffic controllers to "see" who is in the sky. In speaking before the US House of Representatives Coast Guard Subcommittee, BoatU.S. testified that any potential requirement for this type of technology on boats is not practical, nor would it reduce the threat of a waterborne attack.

BoatU.S. believes the U.S. Coast Guard would have better results addressing the small boat threat if the agency's own America's Waterway Watch program (AWW) had better funding and infrastructure support. Similar to a neighborhood watch program, America's Waterway Watch treats boaters as part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

Click here to view a copy of BoatUS's testimony.

Click here to view a video of the full hearing.