Washington, DC—The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure has advanced the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022. The bill authorizes a level of support that enhances Coast Guard operations and helps the Service replace and modernize its cutters, and shoreside and cyber infrastructure.
“Today was a good day for the men and women of the Coast Guard,” Chair Peter DeFazio (D-OR) said. “The passage of this bipartisan legislation will ensure they have the resources they need to accomplish their critical missions and protect our nation, including keeping coastal communities safe, maintaining the security of our ports and waterways, carrying out critically important drug interdictions, and responding to emergencies and disasters. I am particularly proud that the committee passed key provisions of my ‘Safer Seas Act,’ which implements important reforms to prevent sexual violence while also building protections for survivors. No seafarer should have to tolerate sexual harassment or assault in the maritime industry, and I look forward to the House considering this legislation.”
“Given the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, we need to ensure our armed forces, including the Coast Guard, are prepared and have the assets they need to carry out their missions. The Coast Guard has national defense responsibilities, as well as port security and commercial vessel safety and security oversight missions which are of particular importance during this time of heightened international tension. The Coast Guard also helps keep maritime commerce moving, even when other parts of the supply chain are bogged down. Overall, this bipartisan bill will provide the resources to help them more effectively carry out their vital missions of ensuring maritime safety and commerce, stopping the flow of illegal drugs and migrants into the country, enforcing U.S. laws at sea, and protecting our Nation’s borders,” Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO) said.
“Today, I joined my colleagues to continue the bipartisan legacy of support for our Coast Guard in their broad and critical missions. As Chairman of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee and Representative for multiple Coast Guard installations in the Central Coast of California, I’m committed to ensuring that all members of the Coast Guard have the resources they need to respond to emergencies from sea to shining sea,” Chair Salud Carbajal (D-CA) said. “Thanks to the work our subcommittee, Chair DeFazio, and Ranking Members Graves and Gibbs, reforms that I have fought for – including better protections for small vessel passengers like those we lost in the Conception Boat Fire as well as survivors of sexual violence – are one step closer to becoming law.”
“Given the unique nature of the Coast Guard’s missions and multiple crises the United States is confronting, it is essential Congress provides them with the funding, equipment, and training needed to complete those missions. The Coast Guard is critical to our national security as they are part of the ‘front lines’ in border security and drug interdiction. Their efforts in port security and maritime safety play a large role in ensuring safe American commerce and maritime activity. The bipartisan Coast Guard Authorization Act will help the Coast Guard maintain the readiness necessary in these troubling times of international turmoil,” Ranking Member Bob Gibbs (R-OH) said.
For more information on the Committee’s markup, click here.