House appropriators on Wednesday approved a $2.1 billion procurement budget for the Coast Guard for fiscal year 2025, a substantial increase above the Biden administration’s request but still well below what the service says it needs to timely recapitalize its assets.
Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan in late May told another House panel that the service needs at least $3 billion annually and up to $4 billion for its procurement account (Defense Daily, May 23). At the same hearing, she said the Coast Guard needs a $20 billion budget overall by 20230 to meet the demands being placed on it.
In the markup of the FY ’25 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill, the committee recommended $14.2 billion for the Coast Guard, $651.8 million above the request. Most of the increase was in the acquisition account, $563.9 million.
Beneficiaries of the proposed increase to the acquisition account include the fast response cutter program for which the committee recommends $335 million to purchase four vessels built by Bollinger Shipyards versus the requested $216 million for two boats, and the purchase of one HC-130J long-range surveillance aircraft for $153.5 million versus none requested.
The committee wants the Coast Guard to include future HC-130Js in the FY ’26 budget request. So far, 19 of the planned 22 aircraft are on order. Lockheed Martin [LMT] makes the C-130J and L3Harris Technologies [LHX] is missionizing the aircraft for the Coast Guard.
The committee also proposes to increase the budget for the waterways commerce cutter by $40 million to $175 million, and recommends $98 million for long-range unmanned aircraft, which was not requested. The committee says it supports the Coast Guard using long-range UAS more based on its success flying the General Atomics MQ-9 with Customs and Border Protection.
A Coast Guard spokeswoman on Thursday told Defense Daily that the service “plans to explore options” for how the $98 million “might be used in line with the committee’s intent as well as existing law and policy governing Coast Guard acquisitions.”
The Shore Facilities and Aids to Navigation portion of the Coast Guard’s acquisition account would also receive a strong increase from House Appropriators, who recommend $297.8 million versus the requested $167.8 million.
The House must still approve the committee’s markup. Senate appropriators have yet to mark up their version of the homeland security bill.