The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Thursday unanimously approved a two-year authorization bill for the Coast Guard that would require among other things the service to report on the estimated level of funding for the upcoming fiscal year and 20 fiscal years thereafter for every cutter, aircraft and C4ISR system it is buying.
The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 1987) also requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to report within nine months on the condition of its Polar Sea heavy icebreaker, which is currently inactive, and determine “whether it is cost effective to reactivate the Polar Sea compared with other options to provide icebreaking services as part of a strategy to maintain polar icebreaking services,” the bill says.
The committee is interested in exploring a range of cost options related to polar icebreakers.
The manager’s amendment approved as part of Thursday’s markup up also directs DHS to work with the National Academy of Sciences to prepare a report of alternatives on the costs to the federal government of transferring the Polar Sea to a non-governmental entity at no cost and leasing back the vessel, reactivating the icebreaker, acquiring and operating a new icebreaker through the Coast Guard’s acquisition process, leasing of a new icebreaker that is built by a non-federal entity and manned by a Coast Guard crew, leasing of a new icebreaker built by a non-federal entity that is operated by a crew of non-federal employees, and acquiring icebreaking services from a non-federal entity.
The Coast Guard currently operates two ocean-going icebreakers, the Polar Star and the Healy. As exploration activity in the Arctic region heats up there is increasing pressure from some members of Congress to recapitalize the nation’s icebreaker fleet or find alternative means to increase capacity.
The bill also authorizes the Coast Guard for fiscal years 2016 and 2017 at currently authorized levels, including $1.5 billion each year for acquisition activities. Operation and maintenance expenses are authorized at $7 billion for each year.
The bill also includes language to explore commercial off-the-shelf technologies to solve problems affecting mission performance, reform the Coast Guard acquisition process, and have the Government Accountability Office review the service’s mission performance and provide recommendations on ways to improve effectiveness.