House committee presses Coast Guard on oversight of $25 billion modernization plan

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Coast Guard modernization oversight

Highlights

Congress pressures the Coast Guard to justify spending after obligating a major portion of the historic $25 billion One Big Beautiful Bill Act modernization funds.
The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 funds major asset procurements, including a twelfth National Security Cutter, and mandates stricter accountability tied to homeporting and acquisition planning.
Force Design 2028 drives Coast Guard workforce expansion, with over 1,100 new positions and added infrastructure, but congressional skepticism persists due to overdue long-term acquisition plans.

Hearing centers on funding execution and planning

As reported by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Chairman Mike Ezell says at a hearing that the service has already obligated a large portion of the funds provided under the law, raising pressure on Congress to verify that the money is spent as intended.

Ezell describes the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as a historic $25 billion investment in Coast Guard modernization, equivalent to roughly 15 years of annual procurement funding and the largest single investment in the service's history. He says the funding is meant to help recapitalize aging shoreside, surface and air assets and build a force capable of meeting modern operational and security threats.

The chairman says lawmakers need greater clarity on where newly procured assets will be homeported and how the Coast Guard plans to build the supporting shoreside infrastructure. He adds that housing and related facilities for service members assigned to those platforms are a key part of the oversight discussion.

The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 authorizes appropriations for assets including a twelfth National Security Cutter, three Fast Response Cutters, a commercial icebreaker and the Arctic Security Cutter program, including evaluation of foreign shipyards in Finland and Sweden. Ezell says the legislation also includes accountability measures tied to homeporting, maintenance and acquisition planning.

Force Design 2028 shapes workforce and operational changes

Ezell says the Coast Guard's modernization is unfolding under Force Design 2028, a plan that calls for broad changes to leadership, organization, technology, contracting and acquisition processes. He says the service has so far added more than 1,100 positions, realigned 68 percent of headquarters positions and adjusted its top acquisition projects.

To support future personnel growth, the Coast Guard has also purchased an additional training center in Birmingham, Alabama, according to Ezell's prepared remarks. He says the authorization legislation provides operations, support, procurement and investment funding through fiscal year 2027 at levels intended to help increase both uniformed and civilian staffing, while also strengthening maritime safety capacity.

Ezell says the hearing is meant to examine how far the Coast Guard has progressed in meeting Force Design 2028 goals and whether it can fully implement them. He also points to the Government Accountability Office's long-running review of Coast Guard programs and management practices, saying its recommendations can help define proper stewardship of appropriated funds.

The chairman closes by criticizing the Coast Guard for failing for years to provide the committee with statutorily required long-term acquisition planning documents. He says that lack of transparency raises concerns over spending decisions and could affect the level of continued congressional support for the service's long-term growth.

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