S.Amdt. 2911

SA 2911. Mr. SCHATZ submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2026 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle D of title XII, add the following:

SEC. 12__. INDO-PACIFIC MARITIME SECURITY INITIATIVE.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary
of Homeland Security shall cooperate to develop and carry out
a program to strengthen maritime security partnerships in the
Indo-Pacific region using assets of the Department of Defense
and the Department of Homeland Security.
(b) Goals.--The goals of the program under paragraph (1)
shall be, to the extent practicable--
(1) to enhance interoperability between--
(A) Coast Guard and Navy personnel; and
(B) the maritime forces of allied and partner countries in
the Indo-Pacific region;
(2) to strengthen Coast Guard, and, as appropriate, Navy,
participation in, and coordination with, organizations in the
Indo-Pacific region dedicated to coordination and cooperation
in support of fisheries policies, ocean conservation,
maritime security, and related initiatives;
(3) to strengthen maritime domain awareness, enforcement of
exclusive economic zones, marine environment protection,
activities to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated
fishing, and disaster preparedness and resilience;
(4) to mature logistics delivery among countries in the
Indo-Pacific region to enhance the ability of the Department
of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security to supply
remote areas after extreme weather events and other major
natural disasters;
(5) to increase the presence of Coast Guard personnel and
capabilities to support law enforcement, maritime protection,
and capacity-building initiatives in the Indo-Pacific region;
and
(6) to conduct research and development in, and, as
practicable, deploy technologies or related capabilities to,
countries in the Indo-Pacific region that will--
(A) improve maritime domain awareness and the ability to
monitor fisheries and other marine resources; and
(B) strengthen disaster warning and response.
(c) Strategy.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense and the
Secretary of Homeland Security shall jointly submit to
Congress a strategy that includes the following:
(1) A review of ongoing United States efforts to promote
maritime security, environmental protection, and disaster
resilience and preparedness in the Indo-Pacific region.
(2) An assessment of the feasibility and advisability of--
(A) routine ports of call by the Navy and the Coast Guard
at ports in countries in the Indo-Pacific region;
(B) expanding shiprider agreements between the United
States and countries in the Indo-Pacific region; and
(C) developing joint and multinational exercises focused on
improving combined response and logistics delivery in support
of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.
(3) An assessment of ways in which the presence of Coast
Guard cutters and personnel in the Indo-Pacific region may be
increased to support law enforcement, maritime security,
disaster response, and related goals, which assessment shall
include--
(A) a review of challenges related to the deployment of
medium-range and long-range cutters, including personnel and
logistical requirements;
(B) a review of budgetary constraints that would limit the
deployment of additional Coast Guard cutters and resources to
the Indo-Pacific region; and
(C) any other consideration the Secretary of Homeland
Security, in coordination with the Commandant of the Coast
Guard, considers appropriate.
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