Coast Guard

Today's News about the Coast Guard

Chairs DeFazio, Maloney, Reps. Garamendi, Larsen, Young Applaud Major Step Forward in Coast Guard’s Plan to Build New Polar Security Cutter
Source: Rick Larsen (D-WA, 2nd)
April 23, 2019
The Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Chair of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA), Congressman Rick Larsen (D-WA), and Congressman Don Young (D-AK) applauded the U.S. Coast Guard’s announcement that it has awarded a contract for the detail design and construction of the first Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter, the first of six planned polar icebreakers. Chairs DeFazio, Maloney, Reps. Garamendi, Larsen, and Young have long championed efforts to address a substantial gap in the Coast Guard’s operational capability in the High North, citing the importance of heavy icebreakers to ensure national security, facilitate commerce, and conduct scientific research and maritime safety missions. Most recently, the members worked successfully to ensure that Congress included $655 million in the Fiscal Year 2019 Consolidated Appropriations Act to begin work on the first icebreaker, as well as $20 million to begin acquiring long lead time materials for a second icebreaker.

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Bergman Co-Sponsors Pay Our Coast Guard Act

Washington, D.C. - January 22, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- Congressman Jack Bergman has announced his support of a bipartisan bill to pay U.S. Coast Guard members during the partial government shutdown. H.R. 367, the Pay Our Coast Guard Parity Act of 2019, would provide all pay and benefits for members of the Coast Guard as well as the roughly 50,000 Coast Guard military retirees who will not receive a paycheck on February 1st if the shutdown continues. Congressman Bergman issued the following release:

"Michigan's First District is home to Coast Guard Station Sault Ste. Marie and Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City. From Ice-breaking to life-saving search and rescue efforts, the men and women of the Coast Guard continue their work despite Congress' failure to appropriate money to pay them. I appreciate my colleagues from both sides of the aisle who recognize this, and have come together among many disagreements to ensure our Coast Guardsmen and women receive the pay they've earned," said Bergman.


The Pay Our Coast Guard Parity Act of 2019 includes:

Pay and allowances for active duty and reserve members of the Coast Guard;

Pay and allowances for civilian employees of the Coast Guard;

Pay and allowances for contractors of the Coast Guard;

The payment of death gratuities with respect to members of the Coast Guard;

The payment or reimbursement of authorized funeral travel;

The temporary continuation of a basic allowance of housing for dependents of members of the Coast Guard dying on active duty; and

Coast Guard retired pay and benefits.

Rep. Bergman also co-sponsored legislation which would prohibit Members of Congress from receiving pay in the event of a government shutdown, saying "If Congress fails to do its job resulting in a shutdown, then we should forfeit our pay as well. American citizens sent us to Washington to solve problems, not cause them. If we can't do that, we don’t deserve to get paid.”