Peters, Colleagues Urge Trump Administration to Stop Cuts to Coast Guard

Press Release

U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI), Ranking Member of the Commerce Subcommittee overseeing the U.S. Coast Guard, helped lead a bipartisan group of 23 Senators in a letter urging Office of Management and Budget Administrator Mick Mulvaney not to make a $1.3 billion dollar cut to the budget of the U.S. Coast Guard. According to reports, the FY 2018 Presidential Budget Request could amount to almost 12 percent of the service's budget being cut. The U.S. Coast Guard plays a critical role in protecting our Northern border along the Great Lakes, conducting counterterrorism patrols and law enforcement operations, and ensuring the smooth flow of goods on Great Lakes year round.

"We are concerned that the Coast Guard would not be able to maintain maritime presence, respond to individual and national emergencies, and protect our nation's economic and environmental interests. The proposed reduction… would directly contradict the priorities articulated by the Trump Administration," wrote the Senators. "We urge you to restore the $1.3 billion dollar cut to the Coast Guard budget, which we firmly believe would result in catastrophic negative impacts to the Coast Guard and its critical role in protecting our homeland, our economy and our environment."

The Coast Guard is responsible for patrolling 721 miles of Michigan's Northern border to protect national security and combat drug and human trafficking. In Michigan, they operate a fleet of six cutters, three air stations and two Aids to Navigation teams that support critical icebreaking operations, conduct search and rescue missions and provide navigation support to ships on the Great Lakes.

In their letter, the Senators noted that Coast Guard funding has already been allowed to slip well below the levels necessary to fulfill its mission and maintain its equipment and infrastructure. Between 2010 and 2015, the service's acquisition budget fell by some 40 percent. The fleet of cutters and patrol boats that guard our nation's waterways are aging at an unsustainable rate with little prospect of replacement. Progress toward construction of a new heavy icebreaker for the Great Lakes, which Peters worked to include in the Coast Guard Reauthorization Act of 2015, could also be jeopardized by these across the board cuts.

The budget cut will also have a dramatic effect on Coast Guard members and their families. The Coast Guard has struggled to keep pace with the other Armed Services when it comes to family and support services such as education and training, childcare, and on-base support facilities such as commissaries and housing. Coast Guard families in rural areas often do not have adequate healthcare access and investments in family support services nationwide have been far below acceptable levels. The Ninth Coast Guard District is home to 6,000 active duty, reserve, and auxiliary servicemembers and civilians who are responsible for operations throughout Michigan and the Great Lakes.

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