Washington, D.C. — The following are opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, from Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Salud Carbajal (D-CA) during today’s hearing titled, “America Builds: Coast Guard Acquisitions and Infrastructure.”
Video of Ranking Members Larsen’s and Carbajal’s opening statements can be found here and here.
More information on the hearing can be found here.
Ranking Member Larsen:
Thank you, Chairman Ezell and Ranking Member Carbajal.
Today’s hearing provides an opportunity for this Subcommittee to take a closer look at how the Coast Guard is balancing its asset needs across mission sets and the budget crisis impacting the Coast Guard. It further provides an opportunity to discuss how this administration views the future of the service.
For example, under Admiral Fagan’s leadership, the service boldly advocated for $20 billion in funding by 2030.
When Admiral Fagan took the helm, the Coast Guard was experiencing major recruiting shortfalls. Just prior to her ouster, the Coast Guard announced that it had fully reversed the trend, had surpassed recruiting goals and set in place the foundation to keep meeting these goals. I am concerned that recent actions by the Administration will undo that progress.
Admiral Fagan also inherited from former Coast Guard leadership a disaster of accountability and trust in the form of Operation Fouled Anchor. Instead of pointing fingers, she conducted the Accountability and Transparency Review, which included a comprehensive path toward addressing sexual assault and sexual harassment at the Coast Guard.
This administration has the opportunity to build upon the strong foundation left by Admiral Fagan, and today I expect to hear its plan.
The Coast Guard is underway on multiple major acquisitions, including the National Security Cutter, Offshore Patrol Cutters, Polar Security Cutters and Waterways Commerce Cutters.
Unfortunately, every one of these acquisition programs has experienced significant delays and budgetary issues.
Since our last hearing, the service now projects the first Polar Security Cutter will not be delivered until 2033 and may cost three times more than the original contract award.
As the Coast Guard continues to work with Bollinger Shipyards to chart a path forward, I am interested to hear how we can leverage the ICE Pact agreement to cut costs and reduce the timeline.
The HC-130J aircraft has been an essential asset to the Coast Guard aviation fleet—providing better range, speed, and technology than its predecessor. Unfortunately, the program has stalled at 19 airframes due to a lack of funding even though the program of record calls for 22.
This, coupled with the unplanned retirement of the C-27 fleet, and a reduction in the lifespan of H-60 helicopters, creates a significant gap in Coast Guard aviation capabilities. This gap will continue to grow if we have aircraft diverted away from essential missions.
Recent Executive Orders have diverted Coast Guard personnel and C-130’s to the southern border to relocate migrants from California to Texas and move people and cargo to Guantanamo Bay. I am concerned that the Coast Guard is making haphazard operational decisions without regard to the impact on its other missions.
As Congress funds the construction of assets, we need to ensure appropriate funding for shoreside infrastructure. This includes piers, workstations, housing, healthcare and childcare.
People are the Coast Guard’s greatest asset, and their experience in the service must be prioritized.
In 2019, the GAO reported that the infrastructure project backlog was nearing $3 billion. Six years later, that backlog has grown to $7 billion. Without immediate investments, the problem will worsen.
I have visited numerous Coast Guard stations across the country. I’ve seen firsthand the unacceptable living and working conditions. No servicemember should be asked to live with mold or asbestos nor should they have to work with a tarp over their head. They all deserve better.
I understand that additional funding for the Coast Guard is under consideration in the reconciliation package. While I support giving the Coast Guard additional funding, I won’t support funding that comes at the cost of everyday Americans.
We can and should fund the Coast Guard while also supporting American families.
The Coast Guard is facing a pivotal moment. Its budget and workforce are strained, acquisitions are delayed, assets are aging and infrastructure is crumbling.
I expect to hear today how the Coast Guard will move forward and build upon Admiral Fagan’s work to create a legacy for years to come.
Thank you, Chairman Ezell and Ranking Member Carbajal. I yield back.
Ranking Member Carbajal:
Good Morning, and thank you, Chair Ezell, for calling today’s hearing.
The U.S. Coast Guard has been undergoing a significant recapitalization effort for almost two decades—the largest of its kind since World War II. Congress’ attention on this issue is timely and imperative to the future success of the Coast Guard.
Unfortunately, before I can move to the topics of the hearing, I must address serious concerns I have with recent decisions.
The Coast Guard has decided to gut internal programs in the spirit of cancelling initiatives promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. Unfortunately, what they’ve actually done is limit the service’s ability to promote leadership, honor, respect, and camaraderie.
As a veteran, I know the importance of these programs.
The Coast Guard has decided that even though they have exceeded their recruitment numbers this past year—thanks to the former Commandant—outreach to minority communities is no longer important.
This administration seems more interested in scoring political points instead of taking care of the people who drive the boats, fly the planes, and run the command centers. While I still recommend a career in the Coast Guard, I am very concerned that recent actions and ongoing uncertainty is going to affect recruiting and retention.
Turning to the matter at hand, over the past five years, in almost every case, procurement efforts have been over budget and over schedule. We must address the ongoing production issues, the service’s long-term planning, and the consistent underfunding of programs to ensure timely and cost-effective procurement.
The Offshore Patrol Cutter Program has essentially stagnated, suffering significant delays and cost overruns, including a bailout to a shipyard which the Coast Guard could never truly afford. The incredible lack of foresight and planning for these issues leaves us with more bills instead of ships.
At this point, there is still no real beginning in sight for the Polar Security Cutter.
With respect to air assets—the Coast Guard operated a fleet of almost 200 aircraft—146 helicopters and 47 fixed-wing aircraft in January 2024.
Currently, the Coast Guard is in the process of phasing out the short-range MH-65 helicopters in favor of the medium-range MH-60 helicopters. At the same time, the Coast Guard also reduced the service life of the MH-60’s and reduced the overall fleet to 127. We seem to be going backwards here.
Further still, due to a lack of support from Appropriators, the service has ended the program to missionize 12 C-27 airplanes.
With the administration’s excessive focus on diverting and over-taxing Coast Guard resources for maritime border security, I fear the Coast Guard’s aging assets are going to fail at an exponential pace with no fallback plan. This will affect the Coast Guard’s ability to execute missions, including search and rescue, across the country.
Just last week, the Coast Guard testified in a Senate hearing that while underway, a 42-year-old cutter conducting maritime security operations was actively taking on water through a rusted hole in the hull. How is this acceptable—to risk the lives of our Coasties and those they serve in ways that are completely preventable?
The Government Accountability Office, issued a report that estimated the Coast Guard’s $7 billion estimate for the shoreside infrastructure backlog is actually higher. Over 200 projects still have no cost-estimates, and none have been adjusted for inflation. The shoreside infrastructure backlog directly impacts coasties and their families.
We must do better.
I have said it before, and I will say it again, we must fund the Coast Guard at levels significantly higher than requested and appropriated in recent years. I fully support the service’s push to be a $20 billion agency, including the need to more than double the procurement, construction and improvements account.
Congress and Coast Guard leadership owe it to the personnel to deliver this.
With that, I yield back.
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