The House 2019 Coast Guard Authorization Act received a major boost last week after gained passage from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Federal News Network reported.
The bill, authorizing funding through fiscal 2021, allocates about $12.9 billion for fiscal 2020 and provides funding $1.6 billion above the administration’s request. It also provides $13.3 billion in funding for fiscal 2021, according to Federal News Network.
The Transportation and Infrastructure panel’s bill would also guarantee the service’s active duty and civilian personnel are paid in the event of a federal government shutdown, according to a USNI News report. The panel added a Coast Guard pay amendment to the measure, which received broad support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
“The federal government may have been partially shut down earlier this year, but the brave men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard were still 100-percent on the job—in the dead of winter no less—carrying out life-saving rescues, interdicting drugs at sea, and doing whatever was necessary to keep our coastal communities safe,” Rep. Peter DeFazio, (D-Ore.) said during the bill’s hearing.
Coast Guard photo by Senior Chief Petty Officer NyxoLyno Cangemi