Washington D.C. Today, leaders of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure applauded final passage of the Don Young Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022 as part of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023. The bill was named in honor of Rep. Don Young, Chair of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure from 2001 to 2007, and a longtime member of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation before sadly passing away in March of this year.
The bill authorizes a level of funding that will enhance Coast Guard operations and help the service replace and modernize its cutters, including a 12thNational Security Cutter, six Fast Response Cutters, and a commercially available icebreaker, and upgrade its shoreside and cyber infrastructure. It also includes provisions from the Safer Seas Act designed to fight sexual assault and harassment in the maritime industry.
“The final passage of the Don Young Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022 will ensure that the Coast Guard can carry out its critical missions,” Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Peter DeFazio (OR-04) said. “This bill will help the Coast Guard keep our coastal communities safe, support our ports and waterways, protect our marine environment, fight drug trafficking, and respond quickly to dangerous emergencies and disasters. Importantly, this bill also includes provisions from the Safer Seas Act, which takes necessary steps toward eliminating sexual violence in the maritime industry and better protecting survivors. Named after the late Don Young, former Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and one of my oldest friends in the House of Representatives, I look forward to President Biden signing this bill in his honor.”
“The Don Young Coast Guard Authorization Act ensures that this critical armed service has the resources needed to protect our borders, intercept illegal drugs and migrants, support navigation and commerce, and protect those at sea,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO). “Don Young, the late Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, was a longtime champion of the Coast Guard, and it’s fitting that Congress has named this measure in his honor.”
“As Chairman of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee and a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I’m proud to see our two committees work together to get our Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022 included and passed as a part of the final FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act today–putting it on track to become law by the end of this month,” Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Chair Salud Carbajal (CA-24) said. “In tandem with our defense policy bill that includes critical support for our servicemembers and military families, our bipartisan measure makes sure we have the backs of the Coasties who wake up every day with a broad range of critical missions that keep our seas and shores safe. I’m proud once again to see a bipartisan majority of the House come together to approve the resources needed to keep our Coast Guard functioning.”
“Given the unique nature of the Coast Guard’s missions and multiple crises the United States is confronting, I am glad the Coast Guard Authorization Act was included in this year’s NDAA,” said Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Ranking Member Bob Gibbs (R-OH). “It is essential Congress provides the Coast Guard with the funding, equipment, and training needed to keep our country safe. The men and women of the Coast Guard are 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. Our bipartisan efforts will help the Coast Guard maintain the readiness necessary in these troubling times of international turmoil.”
Find the full bill text here.
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