Congress Congratulates Auxiliary on its efforts for National Safe Boating Week
The U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary is receiving kudos from Congress for its efforts in promoting National Safe Boating Week.
(PRWEB) May 28, 2005
The U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary is receiving kudos from Congress for its efforts in promoting National Safe Boating Week.
The U. S. House of Representatives has approved a resolution recognizing the Auxiliary, along with the Coast Guard and the National Safe Boating Council, for greater public awareness about the annual campaign, which began May 21 and ends May 27.
Resolution 243, introduced by Rep. Tim Cooper (D-Tennessee), proclaims that the House "supports initiatives for recreational boating, safety education and accident prevention to minimize the number of annual recreational boating fatalities." The resolution, which had 22 bipartisan co-sponsors, lauds the Coast Guard, the Auxiliary and the National Safe Boating Council for their annual efforts to highlight the importance of safe recreational boating. It was approved by a voice vote on May 23.
Auxiliarists from Division 11 in District 8E in Tennessee worked with Rep. Cooper to propose and the resolution and help securing its passage.
The United States has an estimated 78 million recreational
Boaters in the United States and nearly 13 million registered recreational vessels. As HR 243 notes, while the number of recreational boating fatalities has declined by more than half since 1970, thanks to the increased use of life jackets, improved boating safety education, enforcement efforts and safer vessels and equipment manufactured in accordance with Coast Guard standards. But more than 700 people died in recreational boating accidents in 2003. It is estimated more than half those lives could have been saved with the proper use of a personal flotation device.
The North American Safe Boating Campaign began in 1957 as a small, grassroots outreach program. It has evolved into a targeted media effort, stretching across the United States and into Canada. Working with partner organizations, such as the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators and the Canadian Safe Boating Council, the campaign aims at spreading a message of boating safety, encourages boater education, and helps to save lives.
The campaign produces a variety of safe boating information intended to enhance and supplement the individual campaigns that take place through groups, associations and organizations across the United States and Canada during National Safe Boating Week.
Boaters desiring a free vessel safety check by the Coast Guard Auxiliary or enrolling in a boating safety course can visit www. cgaux. org.
The complete resolution can be found at http://www. auxpa. org/releases/rbs/HRes243.pdf (http://www. auxpa. org/releases/rbs/HRes243.pdf)
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is composed of uniformed, non-military volunteer civilians who assist the Coast Guard in all of its varied missions, except for military and direct law enforcement. These men and women can be found on the nation's waterways, in the air, in classrooms and on the dock, performing Maritime Domain Awareness patrols, safety patrols, vessel safety checks and public education.
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary was founded in 1939 by an Act of Congress as the U. S. Coast Guard Reserve and re-designated as the Auxiliary in 1941. Its 30,000 members donate millions of hours annually in support of Coast Guard missions.
Contact: Aux. Wayne Spivak
Division Chief - External Communications
Public Affairs Department
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
Http://www. auxpa. org (http://www. auxpa. org)
516-353-9155
Media@auxpa. org
The release is available at: http://www. auxpa. org/releases/rbs/052605.html (http://www. auxpa. org/releases/rbs/052605.html)
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