More Coast Guard funds urged

Three top Massachusetts Democrats asked President Bush yesterday to ensure the US Coast Guard receives enough money for search and rescue after a report that three of the service's four Cape Cod-based helicopters, as well as a jet, malfunctioned the night the Northern Edge sank off Nantucket last month.

"We cannot know if any of these problems contributed to the tragedy of the Northern Edge, but they do highlight an aging infrastructure and raise questions about the Coast Guard's ability to respond effectively to its multiple missions," wrote senators Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry and US Representative Barney Frank, whose district includes New Bedford, where the boat was based. "It is clear that since the Sept. 11th attacks, the Coast Guard's responsibilities have increased far faster than its funding."

Five of the six crew members aboard the scallop boat were lost and presumed drowned in the sinking Dec. 20, which occurred as a storm blew threw the region. On the night of the accident, the first piece of Coast Guard rescue equipment, a high-flying Falcon jet, did not reach the location until more than two hours after the boat issued its first distress call. A helicopter that was initially launched from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod had to return immediately because of problems with its anti-icing equipment.

The jet and a second helicopter reached the scene and searched for about two hours, but after they returned to base, they were not replaced for more than three hours after two more helicopters and the jet experienced mechanical or weather-related problems.

Kennedy, Kerry, and Frank did not request a specific amount of money in their letter, and they acknowledged that overall, Coast Guard funding has increased in recent years. But they expressed concern that the service is being burdened with numerous missions, including port and coast security as part of the Homeland Security Department, and that those demands threaten funding for traditional search and rescue.

The Coast Guard is in the beginning stages of a $17 billion overhaul that will stretch past 2020. Nonetheless, Admiral Thomas H. Collins, commandant of the Coast Guard, said last March that helicopters, airplanes, and boats had mounting problems, declaring, "We are experiencing system failure at a steadily increasing rate." In the 2001 fiscal year, the Coast Guard had a budget of $3.8 billion. Last year, the budget totaled $6.3 billion, a more than 60 percent increase since the president took office.

Ken Lisaius, a White House spokesman, said, "We haven't had the opportunity to review that letter, but we always respond to them in writing after we've had a chance to review their concerns."

Glen Johnson can be reached at johnson@globe.com.