
Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz on Wednesday said he is “guardedly optimistic” that Congress will appropriate the requested funds for the service’s first new heavy polar icebreaker in over 40 years, adding that he was surprised that House appropriators didn’t include funding for the ship in their markup in July of the fiscal year 2019 homeland security bill.Schultz said the appropriations process is “long” and said the Trump administration is supportive of the new icebreaker as are Senate appropriators,…