The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation approved a bill on Thursday authorizing $2 billion in annual acquisition funding for the U.S. Coast Guard in fiscal years 2018 and 2019.
The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2017 (S. 1129), sponsored by Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), John Thune (R-S.D.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), provides a multi-year contract authority to acquire the Coast Guard’s 10th, 11th and 12th National Security Cutters (NSCs).
The bill also calls for updated reports on the Coast Guard’s current fleet of NSCs, Offshore Patrol Cutters and Fast Response Cutters.
The bill received several amendments before it was approved by the committee, including a provision proposed by Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) to fund the design and construction of another icebreaker for the Great Lakes. The amendment requests a ship on par with the ability of the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw, the only current icebreaker deployed in the Great Lakes.
Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Sullivan added another amendment calling for a report to be submitted to the committee detailing a plan to extend the service life of the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star for the next 7 to 10 years. The Polar Star, the Coast Guard’s only heavy polar icebreaker, was constructed in 1976.
In total, the bill provides the Coast Guard with $9.2 billion in funding in FY ’19 and $9.6 billion in FY ’19.