Funding the Coast Guard for Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017 (H.R. 1987)
Do you support or oppose this bill?
What is H.R. 1987?
(Updated June 19, 2019)
This bill would authorize appropriations for the Coast Guard for the 2016 and 2017 fiscal years, providing funding for the Coast Guard to carry out its operations, modernize its equipment, and reform U.S. maritime transportation laws.
In each of the fiscal years 2016 and 2017, the Coast Guard would receive $8.7 billion — which is the full amount for what had been previously planned for those fiscal years. This would provide for military pay raises to make pay for service-members consistent with the other Armed Forces.
If passed, the Coast Guard would be required to outline manpower requirements for Congress, the same way other Armed Forces do. This budget allows for 43,000 active duty Coast Guard personnel in each of the fiscal years 2016 and 2017.
Under current law the Coast Guard is not required to provide a long-term plan for its shipbuilding acquisition needs. Under this bill, the Coast Guard would be required to give Congress a plan. Funding in fiscal years 2016 and 2017 would also facilitate the construction of an icebreaker capable of tending buoys on the Great Lakes. The Coast Guard would be given 270 days to assess the condition of its Polar Class icebreaker in order to determine if it is cost effective to reactivate the cutter.
Argument in favor
The Coast Guard plays an integral role in ensuring the safety of those who enjoy and work on the waters off America’s coastline, and it also provides essential military support. Fully funding Coast Guard enables it to effectively carry out its mission.
Argument opposed
In recent years the Coast Guard has suffered from a lack of funding in certain areas and increasing its funding rather than just funding it at the planned level would be very justified.
Impact
Members of the Coast Guard, Coast Guard communities, people who rely on the services of the Coast Guard, Congress, and the President.
Cost of H.R. 1987
The CBO estimates that implementing this legislation would cost $16.6 billion over the 2016-2025 period, or about $1.66 billion per year.
Additional Info
In-Depth: Since 2003 the Coast Guard has been under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security, after being under the Department of Transportation for the previous 36 years. The Coast Guard maintains its military, multi-mission, and maritime operational capability.
In late 2014 the Coast Guard was forced to consider closing air-rescue stations in Charleston, South Carolina and Newport, Oregon -- and while a temporary solution was found before the end of the 113th Congress, this legislation would keep both facilities open indefinitely.
This bill was unanimously approved by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
The process that certifies that merchant mariners (people who work on ships) are medically and physically fit would be reformed — requiring the Coast Guard to certify local physicians to make medical fitness determinations rather than having the mariner’s doctor fill out and submit forms. Other paperwork that merchant mariners must submit to work aboard vessels would have a harmonized deadline date for those credentials, including medical certificates and radar endorsements.
Changes in the personnel structure to bring the Coast Guard into greater alignment with the other Armed Services by changing the Vice Commandant’s rank from vice admiral to admiral, and the Coast Guard would also be able to reinstate the Chief of Staff position. The President would also be authorized to appoint Coast Guard vice admirals to positions in the executive branch, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff — which had been precluded because there were limits on the number of vice admirals.
A limitation on the ability of the Coast Guard to reassign certain aviation assets would be continued. Barriers that prevent the Coast Guard from recognizing communities that have supported the Service would be eliminated.
Media:
- House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Press Release
- CBO Cost Estimate
- House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Summary
- Military.com
- Defense Daily
- The World
Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: Flickr user DVIDS HUB)
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