USCG Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1845 To provide for pay and allowances for members of the Coast Guard during a funding gap, to provide full funding to address the shoreside facility maintenance and recapitalization backlog of the Coast Guard, and to diversify the Coast Guard, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 26, 2021 Mr. WICKER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To provide for pay and allowances for members of the Coast Guard during a funding gap, to provide full funding to address the shoreside facility maintenance and recapi- talization backlog of the Coast Guard, and to diversify the Coast Guard, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Unwavering Support 4 for our Coast Guard Act’’ or the ‘‘USCG Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress makes the following findings: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1845.IS S1845 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1845 IS (1) The Coast Guard saves individuals in peril, 1 thwarts illicit and coercive maritime activities, and 2 fosters economic prosperity and environmental stew- 3 ardship. 4 (2) The Coast Guard is at all times a branch 5 of the Armed Forces of the United States. 6 (3) Additionally, the Coast Guard is a Federal 7 law enforcement agency, a regulatory body, a first 8 responder, and a member of the United States intel- 9 ligence community. 10 (4) With its unique mission set and authorities, 11 the Coast Guard has a key role in addressing emerg- 12 ing national priorities in the United States and 13 across the globe. 14 (5) The Coast Guard is deployed worldwide. 15 The white-hull diplomacy of the Coast Guard is es- 16 sential to United States security. 17 (6) Domestically, the Coast Guard keeps the 18 waterways of the United States open and commerce 19 moving smoothly by ensuring marine safety and 20 maintaining aids to navigation. 21 (7) Last year, the Coast Guard responded to 22 16,845 search and rescue cases and saved 4,286 23 lives. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1845.IS S1845 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1845 IS (8) The Coast Guard has admirably performed 1 its missions with a fleet of aging vessels, aircraft, 2 and facilities. The Coast Guard deserves Congress’s 3 strong and full support for the recapitalization of its 4 assets. 5 SEC. 3. PAY AND ALLOWANCES FOR CERTAIN MEMBERS OF 6 THE COAST GUARD DURING FUNDING GAP. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—During a funding gap, the Sec- 8 retary of the Treasury shall make available to the Sec- 9 retary of Homeland Security, out of any amounts in the 10 general fund of the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 11 such amounts as the Secretary of Homeland Security de- 12 termines to be necessary to continue to provide, without 13 interruption, pay and allowances to members of the Coast 14 Guard, including reserve components thereof, who perform 15 active service during the funding gap. 16 (b) FUNDING GAP DEFINED.—In this section, the 17 term ‘‘funding gap’’ means any period after the beginning 18 of a fiscal year for which interim or full-year appropria- 19 tions for the personnel accounts of the Coast Guard have 20 not been enacted. 21 SEC. 4. FULL FUNDING FOR SHORESIDE FACILITY MAINTE- 22 NANCE AND RECAPITALIZATION. 23 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It shall be the policy 24 of the United States to provide, on the earliest date prac- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1845.IS S1845 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1845 IS ticable, full funding to address the shoreside facility main- 1 tenance and recapitalization backlog of the Coast Guard. 2 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 3 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Home- 4 land Security to eliminate the shoreside facility mainte- 5 nance and recapitalization backlog of the Coast Guard 6 $2,600,000,000 for fiscal years 2022 through 2030. 7 SEC. 5. FLEET MIX ANALYSIS. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant of the Coast 9 Guard (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Commandant’’) 10 shall conduct an updated fleet mix analysis that provides 11 for a fleet mix sufficient, as determined by the Com- 12 mandant— 13 (1) to carry out— 14 (A) the missions of the Coast Guard; and 15 (B) emerging mission requirements; and 16 (2) to address— 17 (A) national security threats; and 18 (B) the global deployment of the Coast 19 Guard to counter great power competitors. 20 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 21 of the enactment of this Act, the Commandant shall sub- 22 mit to Congress a report on the results of the updated 23 fleet mix analysis required by subsection (a). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1845.IS S1845 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1845 IS SEC. 6. SHORE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT PLAN. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant shall develop 2 an updated shore infrastructure investment plan that in- 3 cludes— 4 (1) the construction of additional facilities to 5 accommodate the updated fleet mix described in sec- 6 tion 5(a); 7 (2) improvements necessary to ensure that ex- 8 isting facilities meet requirements and remain oper- 9 ational for the lifespan of such fleet mix, including 10 necessary improvements to information technology 11 infrastructure; 12 (3) a timeline for the construction and improve- 13 ment of the facilities described in paragraphs (1) 14 and (2); and 15 (4) a cost estimate for construction and life- 16 cycle support of such facilities, including for nec- 17 essary personnel. 18 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 19 on which the report under section 5(b) is submitted, the 20 Commandant shall submit to Congress a report on the 21 plan required by subsection (a). 22 SEC. 7. PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM TO DIVERSIFY THE COAST 23 GUARD. 24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Commandant shall es- 25 tablish a program for the purpose of increasing the num- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1845.IS S1845 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1845 IS ber of underrepresented minorities in the enlisted ranks 1 of the Coast Guard. 2 (b) PARTNERSHIPS.—In carrying out the program es- 3 tablished under subsection (a), the Commandant shall— 4 (1) seek to enter into 1 or more partnerships 5 with eligible entities— 6 (A) to increase the visibility of Coast 7 Guard careers; 8 (B) to promote curriculum development— 9 (i) to enable acceptance into the Coast 10 Guard; and 11 (ii) to improve success on relevant 12 exams, such as the Armed Services Voca- 13 tional Aptitude Battery; and 14 (C) to provide mentoring for students en- 15 tering and beginning Coast Guard careers; and 16 (2) enter into a partnership with an existing 17 Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps for the pur- 18 pose of promoting Coast Guard careers. 19 (c) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION DEFINED.—In this sec- 20 tion, the term ‘‘eligible institution’’ means— 21 (1) an institution of higher education (as de- 22 fined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 23 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1845.IS S1845 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1845 IS (2) an institution that provides a level of edu- 1 cational attainment that is less than a bachelor’s de- 2 gree; 3 (3) a part B institution (as defined in section 4 322 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 5 U.S.C. 1061)); 6 (4) a Tribal College or University (as defined in 7 section 316(b) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b))); 8 (5) a Hispanic-serving institution (as defined in 9 section 502 of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1101a)); 10 (6) an Alaska Native-serving institution or a 11 Native Hawaiian-serving institution (as defined in 12 section 317(b) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1059d(b))); 13 (7) a Predominantly Black institution (as de- 14 fined in section 371(c) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 15 1071q(c))); 16 (8) an Asian American and Native American 17 Pacific Islander-serving institution (as defined in 18 such section); and 19 (9) a Native American-serving nontribal institu- 20 tion (as defined in such section). 21 SEC. 8. COAST GUARD YARD RESILIENCY. 22 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 23 ings: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1845.IS S1845 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1845 IS (1) For over a century, Coast Guard vessels 1 have been built, repaired, and renovated in the Coast 2 Guard Yard (referred to in this section as the 3 ‘‘Yard’’) in Baltimore, Maryland. 4 (2) As 1 of only 5 remaining public shipyards 5 in the United States, the Yard provides a unique ca- 6 pability to support the Coast Guard and the national 7 fleet, including the National Oceanic and Atmos- 8 pheric Administration, the Navy, the Army, and 9 other Government agencies. 10 (3) The Yard is an essential component of the 11 core industrial base and fleet support operations of 12 the Coast Guard, and its primary mission is to ren- 13 ovate, maintain, and repair Coast Guard vessels. 14 (4) The Coast Guard is in the midst of recapi- 15 talizing its surface fleet by replacing smaller vessels 16 with larger, more capable assets. Until recently, the 17 Yard provided the Coast Guard with the organic ca- 18 pacity to service every vessel in the Coast Guard 19 fleet, except polar icebreakers. 20 (5) With the acquisition of the National Secu- 21 rity Cutter and the projected acquisition of the Off- 22 shore Patrol Cutter, the Coast Guard will no longer 23 have the organic capacity to service every vessel in 24 the Coast Guard fleet. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1845.IS S1845 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1845 IS (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 1 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Home- 2 land Security to improve the infrastructure of the Coast 3 Guard public shipyard $350,000,000. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1845.IS S1845 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS