The House on Monday unanimously approved a two-year authorization bill for the Coast Guard that allows for the appropriation of up to $1.5 billion annually for acquisition funding each of the next two fiscal years and requires the service to submit to Congress a new analysis of its fixed-wing aircraft needs by the end of September.
The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 1987) also requires the service to provide a long-term acquisition plan for each fiscal year out to 20 years for the numbers and types of cutters and aircraft to be acquired and commissioned. The plan would also include C4ISR systems, shore side infrastructure, and capability gaps.
Another provision of the bill requires the Department of Homeland Security to report within nine months on the materiel condition of the Polar Sea heavy icebreaker, which is currently inactive, and compare whether it is cost effective to reactivate the ship versus other options for icebreaking services.
“Tonight’s House passage of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015 is an important step in ensuring the men and women of the Coast Guard have the necessary resources needed to carry out their vital role in supporting maritime safety and security,” Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Transportation Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, said in a statement. “As the process moves forward, I look forward to working with the Senate to ensure a strong final product.”
The bill also encourages the Coast Guard to explore commercial-off-the-shelf technologies to solve problems affecting mission performance and requires the service to establish a pilot program at two or more command centers to test the effectiveness of a radio gateway that provides for multiagency collaboration and interoperability.