Secretary of the Coast Guard Act of 2025

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4275) to authorize appropriations for the Coast Guard, to establish the Secretary of the Coast Guard, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record on H.R. 4275.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4275 which is the Coast Guard Reauthorization Act of 2025. The bill before us provides the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard with the authorities and resources that they need to carry out their missions which are critical to ensuring maritime safety, enforcing the United States laws at sea, and protecting our Nation's borders.

The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 authorizes Coast Guard funding for the fiscal years 2025 through 2029. The bill will support Coast Guard operations and enable the service to continue its efforts to recapitalize its cutter fleet, shoreline facilities, and IT capabilities. The legislation builds upon the One Big Beautiful Bill Act which was signed into law by President Trump earlier this month which provides historic investments for new air and sea assets and upgraded shoreside infrastructure.

Additionally, the legislation establishes a Coast Guard service secretary providing the Coast Guard parity with other military services and ensuring the service has a voice to advocate for its needs.

The bill also advances the administration's vision to strengthen our domestic maritime sector by facilitating an increase in the pool of qualified United States merchant mariners.

I very much appreciate Ranking Member Larsen, Subcommittee Chair Ezell, and Subcommittee Ranking Member Carbajal for working to reach a bipartisan agreement on this bill.

Madam Speaker, I urge support for this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Committee on Armed Services,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC, July 23, 2025.

Hon. Sam Graves,

Chairman, House Committee on Transportation and

Infrastructure, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Westerman: I write concerning H.R. 4275, the

Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025. As a result of your

having consulted with us on provisions within H.R. 4275 that

fall within the Rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on Armed

Services, I agree to forego any further consideration of this

resolution so that it may proceed expeditiously to the House

floor for consideration.

The Committee on Armed Services takes this action with our

mutual understanding that by foregoing consideration of H.R.

4275 at this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction over

subject matter contained in this or similar legislation and

that our committee will be appropriately consulted and

involved as this resolution or similar legislation moves

forward so that we may address any remaining issues in our

jurisdiction.

This legislation contains provisions that may require

further modification prior to final consideration to ensure

the support of the House Committee on Armed Services.

Finally, I ask that a copy of our exchange of letters on

this matter be included by House Committee on Transportation

and Infrastructure in the Congressional Record during floor

consideration, to memorialize our understanding. Thank you

for the cooperative spirit in which you have worked regarding

this matter and others between our respective committees.

Sincerely,

Michael D. Rogers,

Chairman, House Committee on Armed Services.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Ezell) who is also the chair of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Webster).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McDowell).

Madam Speaker, I don't have any further speakers. I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, this legislation provides support for the men and women of the Coast Guard to be able to do their jobs. As we know, these servicemembers often go above and beyond the call of duty, including when responding to emergencies and disasters.

That fact was clearly demonstrated during the response to the tragic flooding in Texas over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Petty Officer Scott Ruskan and the Rescue 6553 aircrew were first on the scene at Camp Mystic, the historic girls' camp that was caught in the catastrophic flooding, and helped save 165 lives.

The men and women who serve in the Coast Guard carry out heroic acts each and every day, and it is our responsibility to make sure that they have the resources that they need to carry out their missions.

I will take just a moment to thank my subcommittee staff who worked tirelessly on this legislation: John Rayfield, Reed Linsk, Lindsay Sakal, Spencer Thompson, Nicole Bredariol, as well as Matt Dwyer and the ranking member's team.

Madam Speaker, I urge support of the bill on both sides of the aisle, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak in support of H.R. 4275, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025.

This bipartisan legislation reauthorizes funding for the U.S. Coast Guard through 2029, updates and restructures Coast Guard programs and policies, and supports the commercial maritime industry. It is the result of good faith, bipartisan negotiations between Chair Graves and Chair Ezell, myself, and Ranking Member Carbajal, and it includes important contributions from members on and off the committee.

This bill is the latest example of bipartisanship on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and I am very proud to support it.

Coast Guard operational readiness is at risk due to years of underfunding. A lack of investment has led to a $3 billion shoreside infrastructure backlog, a lack of icebreaking capacity in the

Arctic and Great Lakes, and reduced capacity across several essential missions, such as mariner safety and mariner credentialing.

The committee recognized this need, and H.R. 4275 begins to address the shortfall by authorizing the Coast Guard far beyond the administration's request. It increases Coast Guard funding levels to $21 billion by 2029, ensuring that the Coast Guard remains ``always ready''; ``semper paratus.''

These funding levels will give the Coast Guard the resources needed to execute its missions and deliver a basic standard of living for its servicemembers.

In addition, the bill increases procurement, construction, and improvements funding by 100 percent over current funding levels. These new resources should enable the Coast Guard to maintain its ongoing recapitalization programs, including Polar Security Cutters and Offshore Patrol Cutters.

Last Congress, we enacted substantial improvements to safety for mariners and passengers aboard vessels. This legislation builds upon that work by addressing additional safety risks on vessels and increasing the penalties for bad actors.

This bill fights oil spill pollution by bolstering vessel response plans and ensuring timely, robust firefighting responses when vessel incidents do occur.

It also requires the Coast Guard to evaluate international oil spill coordination and ensures robust protections and response capacity in environmentally sensitive locations like the Puget Sound. Maritime commerce cannot come at the expense of the environment.

This bill includes provisions that begin addressing the mariner shortage by updating mariner requirements, updating the merchant mariner credentialing exam, and expanding the pool of eligible mariners.

Finally and importantly, the bill includes numerous provisions to address sexual assault and sexual harassment within the Coast Guard. These new requirements, directives, and oversight were developed because the Coast Guard deliberately hid Operation Fouled Anchor and decades of sexual misconduct within the Coast Guard.

Former Commandant Admiral Fagan worked hard to repair that lost confidence that resulted from Operation Fouled Anchor, and this legislation builds on her work.

Again, I thank Chair Graves, Chair Ezell, Ranking Member Carbajal and others for their cooperation in crafting this critical legislation. I look forward to our continued collaboration as this legislation moves forward, and I urge all Members to support this bill.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of H.R. 4275, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025.

This bill is a prime example of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's bipartisanship under the leadership of Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Larsen, and Chairman Ezell.

As ranking member of the subcommittee, I am proud of all the good work that we have done on this bill to ensure that we reauthorize, enhance, and support the critical missions of the U.S. Coast Guard to save lives, protect our maritime environment, and prioritize servicemembers both in and out of the workplace.

These significant investments in the service signal our confidence in the capability of the Coast Guard to conduct each of their diverse missions to better serve the American people.

This bill puts coasties first by addressing the need for more affordable and quality housing. It also provides enhancement of our coasties' quality of life, such as family leave policies, career flexibility, tuition assistance incentives, and behavioral healthcare.

Equally important, this bill capitalizes on the extensive work that former Commandant, Admiral Fagan, did to make institutional changes to address sexual assault and sexual harassment.

Our coasties deserve better, and this legislation provides oversight and the tools needed for the Coast Guard to prevent these crimes, protect victims, and hold perpetrators accountable.

Moreover, I am proud that this bill includes several provisions that I sponsored regarding U.S. merchant mariners. This bill tackles long outdated methods for processing mariner credentials by investing in and revamping the Coast Guard's process.

This bill also improves merchant mariner credentialing tests by ensuring the most relevant and technologically critical elements are included. We want the best mariners in the industry, and by removing outdated entry barriers, we will help ensure steady, long-term employment opportunities.

Madam Speaker, I, once again, thank Chairman Graves for his leadership and bipartisan collaboration in crafting this bill. I am proud to have worked with my colleagues on this important legislation, and I look forward to seeing it pass into law.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Larsen).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. DeSaulnier).

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Gillen).

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I support H.R. 4275, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025. I encourage all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the same.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4275, the bipartisan Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025, which includes my provision to improve navigation in the East Rockaway Inlet off the South Shore of Long Island and to strengthen maritime drug enforcement in our waters.

Madam Speaker, East Rockaway Inlet is a critical Federal navigation channel, which Long Islanders rely on for both commercial and recreational boating and fishing. While the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for maintenance dredging of the inlet, the Coast Guard maintains the markers and the buoys to aid in navigation and to keep boaters safe.

Unfortunately, I have heard from many of my constituents that due to shoaling, the water is too shallow in many parts of the inlet, and the buoys there are missing or misplaced, making it difficult for boaters and fishermen to safely navigate the channel. Incorrectly placed buoys and markers could cause boats to run aground in the sand, threaten commercial towing through the channel, and undermine safe navigation for all.

My amendment, which is included in section 283 of this bill, would require the Commandant of the Coast Guard to examine this issue and report to Congress with concrete recommendations to address hazards in the East Rockaway Inlet and present a plan to update the aids to navigation there to keep boaters safe.

I am grateful to Chairman Graves and Ranking Member Larsen for including this amendment, and I look forward to working together with the Coast Guard on this important issue.

Madam Speaker, this bill will also strengthen our national security and support the men and women I met at the Coast Guard Station in Jones Beach. This bipartisan bill will ensure

that the Coast Guard has the resources that it needs to keep our shores and our communities secure.

I am especially glad that this legislation includes a commonsense, bipartisan bill I cosponsored with my Republican colleague from North Carolina, Representative Addison McDowell, to help the Coast Guard respond to opioid overdoses.

Our brave Coast Guardsmen are the first line of defense against illegal drug trafficking on our waters, and this legislation will ensure that they have the tools that they need to combat opioid overdoses and close loopholes that drug traffickers seek to exploit.

Madam Speaker, in closing, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this important bill.

Madam Chairman, I rise today to support this legislation which was introduced by Chairman Graves along with myself and Ranking Members Larsen and Carbajal.

This bill supports the efforts of the Coast Guard to protect the United States' waters, interdict drugs, stop human trafficking, and promote maritime safety.

The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 authorizes funding for the Coast Guard through fiscal year 2029 and makes critical investments to enable the service to meet its growing mission demands.

As the Coast Guard works to implement the service's future vision of Force Design 2028 and procure new vessels, aircraft, and shoreside infrastructure with the historic investments made in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, this legislation includes accountability for those investments and modernizes the contracting process within the service.

As the Coast Guard looks to grow its forces, this legislation will support the Coast Guard's efforts to boost recruiting and retention while supporting President Trump's vision to strengthen the domestic maritime base and boost the pool of qualified United States merchant mariners who can mobilize during times of crisis to operate sealift assets.

The legislation also gives the service an important voice by establishing a Coast Guard service secretary, as envisioned in my legislation, H.R. 2546, the Secretary of the Coast Guard Act of 2025.

This measure also makes important reforms following the revelations of Operation Fouled Anchor, which was a report detailing improper handling of sexual assaults within the service. As a sheriff and a firsthand law enforcement officer, I have seen the harmful effects that happens to these victims.

I am pleased that the bill before us strengthens protections for members of the Coast Guard from sexual assault, provides support to victims, and increases transparency within the service about the manner in which such cases are handled.

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the work of Chairman Graves on this legislation along with Ranking Member Larsen and Subcommittee Ranking Member Carbajal, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.