The House on Monday unanimously approved a two-year bill that authorizes the Coast Guard and Federal Maritime Commission through FY ’17, sending the legislation to President Barack Obama for his signature.
The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 4188) was approved by the Senate in December.
The bill authorizes $9.1 billion for the Coast Guard in both FY ’16 and FY ’17 and allows the service to spread the cost of a potential new heavy icebreaker over multiple fiscal years. In January the Coast Guard released a draft data package outlining the requirements for a new heavy icebreaker along with a notional schedule showing that a draft Request for Proposals is expected to be released in the first quarter of FY ’17.
“This bipartisan bill authorizes the Coast Guard for two years and strengthens its ability to recapitalize an aging fleet of cutters and aircraft that are decades past their prime,” Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Transportation Coast Guard Subcommittee, said in a statement.
The bill also directs the service to explore commercial technologies to solve problems affecting mission performance, report on life-cycle cost estimates for new capital assets, conduct a fleet mix analysis of its fixed-wing aircraft, and produce a 20-year acquisition plan.