Subcommittee Hearing on “Recapitalization of the United States Coast Guard”

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I'll call the committee on transportation and infrastructure to order pursuant to committee Rule 6f and house rule 11 Clause 2 HF uh the chur May postpone further proceeding Stay on any question of approving any measure or

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matter adopting an amendment in which a recorded vote of the Y and days is ordered and I ask unanimous consent that the chairman be authorized to declare recess at any time during today's meeting and without objection that to is

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so ordered all roster text has been distributed electronically and paper copies are also available here in the in the hearing room today the committee is considering one order of business which is the approval of the revised

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subcommittee rosters due to membership changes on the majority side and the minority side so I call up the subcommittee rosters for consideration without objection The rosters will be considered as read and I recognize myself for five minutes pursuant to

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house resolution 1275 Congressman Vince Fong was appointed to the transportation infrastructure committee following the resignation of congressman John James from the committee representative Fong has a long career of public service and will bring

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that experience to the this committee where I am sure he will be a strong advocate for his constituents in his prior work Congressman Fong let a energy Independence issues LED on energy Independence issues in California and

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advanced many policies to prmit business expansion and enhance job opportunities for his local residents Additionally pursuant the house resolution 1276 Congressman Christopher delusio was appointed to the committee on transportation and infrastructure

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following the passage of our friend and colleague Donald Payne Jr of New Jersey the revised roster simply reflect the addition of both Congressman Fong and Congressman delusio to two subcommittees which are the subcommittee on Aviation

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and the subcommittee on railroads pipelines and hazardous materials Congressman Fong and Congressman delusio we look forward uh to having you join us I know you'll both be excellent uh additions to the uh uh to the committee

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and we're a little bit different committee as as uhu Rick and I like to point out we are a work committee not a show committee and we do get a lot of stuff done uh in this committee and uh both sides um work together and we also

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believe in old school legislating and that is the art of compromise so with that I'll turn it over to uh representative Larson thank you chair uh I I want to welcome the newest member of the committee on the Democratic side representative Chris

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delusio representative delusio brings a unique skill set the committee with a background as a US Naval Academy grad an Iraq war veteran a voting rights Advocate and Union organizer in his time here in the house he's been a tireless

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Champion for the people of Western Pennsylvania Fighting For the Working Families of the 17th District he's been a staunch advocate for rail safety and Following last year's devastating noric Southern derailment in East Palestine he

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acted swiftly to introduce bipartisan rail safety legislation to help prevent uh further tragedies his experience will be an ask set to this committee will help strengthen Transportation safety invest in our infrastructure and support

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transportation workers look forward to his contributions and working together to make America's infrastructure cleaner Greener safer and more accessible I I too also want to welcome representative Vince Fong to this committee and uh look

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forward to working with you and um hopefully get a few more West Coast members in here and counter some of this other stuff going on with that I thank the chair and you'll back so I'm going to let both of you say a few words but don't be discouraged by

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the fact that you're sitting at the very end of the the row on both sides um Rick and I were both there at one time uh as well a long long time ago um so with that any other members wish to be heard Mr delusio thank you Mr chairman I guess

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I'll call this the kids table down here it's a it's an honor to join you thank the ranking member as well I'd of course like to start by acknowledging uh the late uh congressman and all the work he did here in this committee and more

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broadly in the Congress I know he leaves uh very very big shoes to fill and I'll do my best on this committee my region Western Pennsylvania has got a rich history and a bright future powered by workers ready to power this country's

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transportation systems and our infrastructure I'm excited to join this committee from serving my community in the wake uh of the derailment in East Palestine just next to my district supporting the operations Pittsburgh

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International Airport the Commerce on my regions Rivers this work this committee is very important to my constituents so I look forward to working with all of you my fellow committee members make our transportation systems and

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infrastructure the Envy of the world with that I Y back Mr chairman thank you representative F uh thank you Mr chairman and the ranking member I want to thank you and your staff for helping me to prepare to hit the ground running and I want to

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thank the entire committee for the warm welcome uh serving in the California State Assembly Transportation committee before coming to Congress gives me great respect for the important work that has done here on the federal level and I

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know know that investing in our community's roads airports and infrastructure will help strengthen the critical supply chain needed to support the farmers ranchers and local businesses in the Central Valley of California and across our nation so I'm

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I'm eager to work with all of you especially my colleagues on the aviation subcommittee in the railroads pipelines and Hazards material subcommittee in a collaborative and bipartisan way to advance Common Sense Solutions I want to

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thank you again Mr chairman and I Y back is there any further discussion seeing none I'd ask unanimous sent for the approval of revised subcommittee rosters due to membership changes on the majority and the minority side without objection that is so

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ordered and the revised subcommittee rosters have been approved pursuant to rule six of the rules of the committee on Transportation infrastructure the chairman notes the presence of a quorum for actions taken on all committee business today without

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objection that is so ordered I'd ask unanimous consent that staff be authorized to make all necessary technical clarifying and conforming changes to each item adopted today to reflect the actions of the committee and without objection that is so ordered I

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will remind members that we are about to move into subcommittee hearing but the committee on Transportation infrastructure has completed its business for the day and the committee stands adjourned e

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spe for [Music] e e [Music]

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subcommittee on Coast Guard and Mer Maritime Transportation will come to order I ask unanimous consent that the chairman uh be authorized to declare a recess at any time during today's hearing without objection show that

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ordered I ask call unanimous consent that members not on this subcommittee be permitted to sit with the subcommittee on today's hearing and ask questions without objection show that ordered uh as a reminder if the members wish to

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insert a document into the record please also email it to documents TI mail.house.gov I now recognize myself for the purpose of opening statement for five minutes today as uh her subcommittee will receive testimony from the Coast

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Guard's efforts to recapitalize its surface air it and Shor side assets like to welcome the witnesses vice admiral Paul Thomas Deputy com commandant for Mission support and Shelby Oakley director of Contracting National

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Security at the United States government accountability office vice admiral Thomas understand this is the last time you'll be at this hearing which may be a a great joy to you and so we're we're thankful for you glad you did what you did during your

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40y year over 40y year near or maybe nearly 40-year career and we really appreciate it on behalf of the subcommittee I'd like to thank you for your service to the nation in the spirit of today's hearing we all wish you Fair

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Winds and following the Seas as you aark on this new chapter but before we let you go sail off into the sunset whatever uh we're here today to discuss a coast guard slow multi-decade recapitalization program campaign service can count

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significant successes including the near completion of its National Security cutter and Fast Response cutter programs though we hope to squeeze a few more Fast Response Cutters the Coast Guard has also made substantial Investments to the Shor side facility

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necessary to HomePort these new assets unfortunately the challenges remain despite clear uh articulated needs the administration yearly budget requests conveniently fall consistently fall short of the resources needed to carry

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out the services own recapitalization plans now the Coast Guard's left with lowest Appropriations for its procurement account in a decade and is facing a Grand Canyon sized hole in the future of yearly budgets this subcommittee has repeatedly warned that

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Coast Guard that it is uh approaching a physical cliff now we have now as have arrived the offshore Patrol cutter moves from one to two holes per year starting with in fiscal year 2026 and the substantial need to grow even more as

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soon as fiscal year 26 to keep the polar security cutter program moving forward current budget uh request cannot sustain the services program and the record without a significant increase in contrast to merger appropr meager

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Appropriations and budget requests this committee has consistently authorized levels to provide at least a bare minimum needed to keep the service from losing even more GR ground the commandant appeared before our subcommittee three weeks ago and

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while she was unable to commit to a timeline or cost for the polar security cutter the subcommittee commended her for recognizing the services requires at least three billion in procurement funding to move its programs

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forward why I don't expect you to commit to a polar security cutter timeline I do look forward to learning of what programs are being made on the progress are being made on the Coast Guard's major acquisition programs including the polar security cutter

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allshore Polar cutter and waterways Commerce cutter aside from surface assets the Coast Guard's aging Aviation Fleet requires modernization as a service phes out the c27 platform and replace it with no longer manufactured M65 with more capability than the

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[Music] m60sbs and cutter operations I assure you that the committee will continue to track these transitions very closely finally the Coast Guard's it and Shor side structure are in dire need of repair and modernization the Coast Guard's authorization Act of

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2024 provides 1.1 billion in fiscal years 2025 and 2026 to modernize the Coast Guard's Shor side structure including substantial Investments at the Coast Guard Academy and the Coast Guard Soul enlisted um assession point

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at Cape May both of which are literally cring to our Witnesses thank you for participating today vice admiral Thomas as this is your last hearing before us before you retire I encourage you to provide us with your full unvarnished

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view of how we ought to write the ship now recognize actually recognize the I recogniz sir well I think so okay so recogniz representative Larson you recognized thanks um thank you chair I want to start by recognizing Admiral

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Thomas's uh service and his retirement as well later this month congratulations and thank you for your service I also want to recognize Lieutenant IA Carter who's moving from the uh office of ledge Affairs or whatever youall call it the

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Coast Guard and will be the co at station La and so then you'll just have to deal with carbajal directly instead of all of us so today's hearing is an opportunity for this committee to receive an update on the Coast Guard's

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now 17-year-old cap recapitalization plan included in this plan the subsequent up update uh in 2017 is the acquisition of National Security Cutters Fast Response Cutters offshore Patrol Cutters polar security Cutters waterways

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Commerce Cutters and the hc13 J many of these acquisition programs have experienced significant delays and budgetary issues for instance the Coast Guard awarded the contract for the design and construction of three poer

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security Cutters in 2019 and now 5 years later the shipyard that won the contract has been sold the design is only 60% complete and the Coast Guard has not determined the delivery date or final costs for these vessels the Coast Guard

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awarded the contract for 25 offshore Patrol Cutters in 2016 and the program is currently behind schedule and over budget four Cutters are currently under construction and the service has amended the contract to move production to

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another Shipyard after these four delivered the contract to build 27 waterways Commerce Cutters was awarded in 2022 but has been delayed due to a small business administration determination further contractor has recently purchased a new Shipyard to

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complete complete construction these three acquisition programs are the largest currently underway in the Coast Guard utilizing nearly all all the procurement construction and improvements account and they have a few things in common

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they're all over budget delayed and construction will not be completed in the shipyard that was awarded the initial contract additionally while the delivery of hc130j aircraft has been well received by coard aviators providing better range speed and

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Technology than its predecessor the program is stalled at 19 airframes due to a lack of funding this coupled with the unplanned retirement of the c27 fleet creates a large gap and Coast Guard Aviation capabilities while it's appropriate to

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scrutinize the Coast Guard's decisions we in Congress must consider our own actions and the structural impediments based in the service service is dealing with the inadequate resources and an inadequate industrial base us shipyards

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are having a hard time competing in the global Marketplace this is not because our yards and workers are any less capable but because foreign shipyards receive large direct subsidies for instance between 2010 and 18 the Chinese

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government provided $ 32 billion to their to its shipping and ship building industry while I support the small ship air grant program the title 11 ship building program and the Capital Construction program collectively these programs pale

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in comparison to uh the support other nations provide to the ship building Industries government ship building becomes much more costly without a robust domestic commercial ship building industry I'm I'm pleased that Secretary

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deloro of the Navy has directed the Navy to lead the newly formed government ship builders council working with Coast Guard the maritime industry and Noah the council seeks to bolster the commercial ship building industry Congress must

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strengthen us shipyards The Merchant Marine and the Jones act to ensure the to ensure Commercial Business for us shipyards while I'm confident the Coast Guard will complete the ongoing recapitalization effort I'm concerned

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that Congress and the administration not prepared to provide the appropriate level of resources before this committee through subcommittee three weeks ago the comod testified that the Coast Guard pcni account would need to be funded in

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excess of $3 billion annually in order to adequately cover each acquisition program unfortunately that number does not include the Shor side infrastructure needs such as peers hangers and repair facilities to support those new

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assets finally uh we can't forget about the women and men who will be operating the new Cutters and aircraft once they are delivered the growing Shor side infrastructure backlog as real work real world consequences for the women and men

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of the Coast Guard I've visited numerous Coast Guard stations across the country and have seen firsthand unacceptable living conditions no service members should be asked to live with mold or asbest they deserve better Congress

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needs to do better as Congress funds the construction of assets we need to ensure that service members get the Shor side support that they deserve this includes workstations housing health care and child care so with that I want to thank

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the chair and the ranking member uh for holding this hearing and look forward to the testimony ahead thank you we back thank you now I recognize representative car Hall ranking member you recognize for five minutes thank you Mr chair and uh

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congratulations IIA Carter on uh your upcoming Post in the state of California what many call Paradise we only accept the best of the best so you're going to fit right in uh congratulations and to Admiral Thomas uh thank you for your

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service to our nation I wish you the best in your upcoming retirement and um really appreciate all the contributions you made to the Coast Guard over the years so congratulations on your upcoming retirement as well before we

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get started into the substance of today's hearing I'm compelled to express my disappointment again with the newest account of the Coast Guard's handling of operation F anchor the latest disturbing revelation by the former sexual assault

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and response coordinator at the Coast Guard Academy details a disturbing and blatant disregard for victims in an effort to protect the reputation of the Coast Guard the Coast Guard wants to mend its reputation and must commit to real transparency and real

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accountability which includes the senior leadership the Coast Guard is a great organization but those who have dedicated their life to service deserve better the Coast Guard is in the midst of recapitalizing Cutters boats airplanes helicopters shoreside

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infrastructure and information technology in recent years in almost every case the procurements have been over budget and over schedule while it is important to recapitalize and modernize Coast Guard assets we must address the ongoing

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production issues to ensure a timely and cost effective delivery the government accountability office or GAO has reported several times that the Acquisitions of new Coast Guard assets routinely come in delayed and over budget this is a concerning Trend

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particularly for a small and underresourced service that is forced to rely on aging and obsolete assets to conduct its missions improving the acquisition program requires Investments so the Coast Guard can bolster its oversight and create internal

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capabilities it also requires investing in US sheep ship building to to ensure we have shipyards capable of building the assets we need us shipyards depend on contracts from the Navy and Coast Guard to support their business but the

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Coast Guard is often times outbid by the size and value of Navy contracts recently this has forced the Coast Guard to rely on the lack or should I say on shipyards that lack experience with government contracts we cannot rely on the Coast

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Guard to be the the subsidize for the ship industry time is off of the essence to bring on new Cutters Shor side infrastructure and it systems not only do modern assets mean improved Mission Readiness but they also mean better

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quality of life for our our coties service members want their families to live in the best quality housing and want to work in buildings that are not falling down around them that starts with investing more in shorts side infrastructure and eliminating the

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estimated $3 billion backlog ultimately service members deserve to live and work in places that are not on the brink of failure Congress and Coast Guard Leadership owe it to the Personnel to deliver this I have visited countless Coast Guard stations where

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buildings are either damaged outdated or completely unusable I have said it before and I will say it again we must fund the Coast Guard at the level significantly higher than request and appropriated in recent years I welcome the Common's push to be a 20

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billion agency by 2030 including the need a need to more than double the procurement and construction and improvements account otherwise known as PCI and pcni even GAO has recognized that the funding typically requested by the coast

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guards underestimates underestimates their need for recapitalization by more than 800 million each year all signs point to the need to find the Coast Guard fund the Coast Guard at higher levels I was hared to see the house appropriation Mark include a $500

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million above the budget request for the pcni account that is a step in the right direction but future pcni funding must match or exceed three billion per year as reflected in the Coast Guard authorization Act and the Common's recent statements

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I hope this hearing continues to shed light on the growing resource Gap and this ser and this serves as a wakeup call with that I yield back with one second to spare with one second to spare yes I would now like to welcome our Witnesses and thank them for

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being here today uh briefly take a moment to explain our lighting system green means go yellow means slow down and red means stop that's it uh I ask man consent that the witnesses be the full statements be included in the record without objection

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so that ordered I ask you extent that the record of today's hearing remain open until such time as our Witnesses have provided answers to any questions they may have submitted to them in writing without objection show that

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ordered I also ask unanimous consent that the record remain open for 15 days that any additional comments or information submitted by members or Witnesses to be included in the record today's hearing without objection show that

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ordered so as your written testimony has been made a part of the record subcommittee ask that you limit your oral remarks to five minutes and with that we're going to stop and so we're going to adjourn till uh the votes are done if y'all can come

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back that would be fantastic and uh we're in recess for for e e

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subcommittee on Coast Guard Marine Transportation Maritime Transportation will reconvene previously uh recessed hearing we'll now turn to our Witnesses your written testimon has been made a part of the record subcommittee asks

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that you limit your oral remarks to 5 minutes and with that vice admiral Thomas you are recognized for five minutes uh well good good um afternoon chairman Webster and distinguished members of the subcommittee my um testimony I believe has been entered

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into the record um thank you for this opportunity to update you on the Coast Guard's ongoing activities to recapitalize the services assets and capabilities and continue to meet increasing Mission demands Across the Nation and around the world on behalf of

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the commona and the entire Coast Guard Workforce I express my sincere appreciation for your oversight and for your support of our service in response to ever increasing demand for the Coast Guard unique capability we anticipate a

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need over the next two decades to field New more capable assets and expand our enduring presence in critical areas like the Arctic and the indopacific without reducing our domestic capability we must also build new c5i

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infrastructure and grow our Workforce to operate and maintain these assets to do this the Coast Guard must continue investing in a multi-billion dollar acquisition portfolio to meet Mission needs of today and tomorrow the common

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requested that I reiterate the service's sincere thanks for this committee's support of her efforts to become the Coast Guard the nation needs with an authorization of $3.4 billion in pcni funding we greatly appreciate your

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support this subcommittee has been a great advocate for the polar security cutter one of our services top two acquisition priorities the PSC acquisition continues to move forward and I'm optimistic that the design will mature to the degree the service can

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authorize start of construction later this year the services other top acquisition priorities offshore Patrol cutter and the OPC celebrated a mil Stone last year with the launch of opc1 Coast Guard Cutter Argus there's still

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much work to be done before arus is delivered but we are eag eager to deploy these new Cutters to replace the Aging medium endurance Fleet in addition to those major Cutters our oldest Cutters are Inland tenders some of which were

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built during World War II and all of which need to be recapitalized the Waterway Commerce cutter will replace those ships and we recently ordered long lead time material for the initial WCC the service is also keenly focused

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on continued investment in our Aviation Fleet to meet the mission demands of today and tomorrow the expansion of the m6t fleet is critical as the M65 approaches end of service life the hc130j is the Coast Guard's largest and

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most capable aircraft and the service recently took delivery of our 17th c130j number 18 and 19 are still in the acquisition process and we need your support to complete our existing program of record of 22 aircraft as a

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subcommittee is well aware the Coast Guard has significant needs across our shore infr structure portfolio we are focused on conducting the planning necessary to make well-informed requests in future years to address concerns

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across the service including at our critical assession points Training Center Cape May and the Coast Guard Academy the service remains committed to building the fleet of the future and delivering systems capability that will

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maximize return on investment to advance the services Rec capitalization efforts and properly planed to meet the mission requirements we must have stable predictable funding our commant has stated our Coast Guard must be a 20

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billion organization by 2033 and in line with your recent 3.4 billion pcni authorization we need at least $3 billion annually in recapitalization dollars however we are constrained by fiscal limits and increasing operating

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and sustainment costs restrict our ability to invest in recapitalization as a commona has said most of our recent funding increases have gone to running the service of today not to building to service for tomorrow the Coast Guard

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recognizes your efforts to change that Paradigm and we look forward to working with you to ensure the service continues to feel the capabilities and the Personnel necessary to meet our nation's demands and Congressman car Hall

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mentioned yesterday's hearing and and the recent um Revelations by our former sexual assault response coordinating at the uh Coast Guard Academy and Congressman I just wanted to take this opportunity to speak directly to the

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victims who may be out there or folks who may know victims out there because the most concerning part of that report was the potential that some victims have not been able to access health care that they need uh through the VA and we have

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and we continue to stand ready to assist any victims Access to Health Care uh efforts um and I personally am ready to do that but we also have an Enterprise lifting Advocate that can help any victims out there so thank you for your

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support I appreciate appreciate the opportunity to testify and I look forward to your questions thank you for your testimony now we turn to uh Miss Oakley you're recognized for five minutes good morning chairman Webster

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ranking member carbahal and members of the subcommittee thank you for the opportunity to talk about challenges with Coast Guard's acquisition portfolio affordability my testimony today should not be a shock to anyone the Coast

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Guard's acquisition portfolio is unaffordable given historic and predicted budgetary levels we have been consistently reporting this for over 10 years the commod recently testified that while the Coast Guard's budget request included nearly 1.6 billion to

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recapitalized Assets in fact up to four billion is what is actually required while Coast Guard has the Lion's Share of responsibility for the budget predicament they are in others plan an important role too this includes om and DHS as well as Congressional

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decision makers as a result my statement today will focus on two main areas first I will cover the actions the Coast Guard can take to improve the port portfolio's affordability second I will raise key questions that decision makers need to

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address if they want to begin tackling these challenges from where I sit I see two main areas the Coast Guard needs to improve First Coast Guard needs to do better when it comes to managing cost growth and schedule delays on its major

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acquisition programs this includes the high high priority PSC and OPC programs these programs are now collectively costing 13 million more than initially planned and are four to four to five years behind schedule these outcomes

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make affordability challenges worse they extend the need for resources and prolong the wait for new and necessary capabilities second Coast Guard needs to better articulate the full scope of its funding needs and identify tradeoffs

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that will be necessary NE when and if those needs cannot be met the Coast Guard and DHS have consistently kicked the can down the road and have not taken steps to realistically lay out a plan for meeting its Mission needs outside of the constrained budget

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process 10 years ago we recommended that the Coast Guard develop a 20-year Fleet modernization plan that identifies all assets necessary to meet its missions and the funding needed for those assets similarly in 2019 we recommended the

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Coast Guard include supporting details about about trade-off decisions in Congressional budget requests and related reports Coast Guard has yet to address these recommendations in part because of limitations imposed by OMB and DHS I want to be clear I'm not

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suggesting that the Coast Guard operate in its planning without constraints that's necessary what I'm suggesting is that without the Coast Guard identifying what it needs to fund the ships aircraft and infrastructure it needs to meet its

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missions now and in the future decision makers are left with limited Insight this precludes them from making tough decisions to prioritize fund prioritize and fund programs essential to the Coast Guard missions or to advocate for additional

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resources speaking of decision makers that brings me to my next Point Coast Guard does not make budget requests in a vacuum it must align with the president's Topline budget numbers which are set by om and DHS Congressional

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decision makers have tried to help by consistent consistently funding programs on the Coast Guard's unfunded priorities list the Coast Guard has come to rely on this as a way to get more resources and this can take decisions about priorities

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out of the Coast Guard's hands decision makers will have to eventually address difficult decisions about the affordability of the Coast Guard's portfolio first what can the Coast Guard do to improve management of its acquisition programs and Achieve better

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cost and schedule outcomes second when will the co Coast Guard develop a long-term plan that can inform trade-off decisions third which programs may need to be cut reduced or deferred finally what gaps or reductions in Mission capability will operators and

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the public face due to these challenges we have 16 open recommendations to the Coast Guard that could help answer some of these questions and the Coast Guard should prioritize implementing them for example holding programs accountable to

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stabilizing ship designs before proceeding with construction is in lined with leading practices and will result in better cost and schedule outcomes that is a decision that is facing the PSC program in the near future again none of these questions are

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new but they are even more critical today as the Coast Guard's budget will be increasingly consumed by programs like OPC and PSC in the coming years chairman me chairman Webster ranking member carbajal and members of the subcommittee this completes my or

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statement I'm happy to answer any questions that you have thank you for your testimony uh really appreciate that and uh now comes uh questions I re myself five minutes for questions uh Admiral Thomas uh prior to the hearing this

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committee requested an updated uh five-year Capital Improvement plan uh but we were told basically don't don't expect it so I was wondering uh as a result we're kind [Music] of relying on an old one back in 2022 as we uh explore throughout this hearing

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circumstances have changed the uh since the physical year 2023 why can't the Coast Guard produce an updated capital investment plan Mr chairman we owe you an updated sip we are working through the department right now we expect to have

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the 24 sip to the committee by this summer and we've already begun work on the fy2 Sip um so we have that for Action sir will it be before you leave not much is going to happen between now when I leave but but it will happen this

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summer C anything you'd like to add why the CIP important to the acquisition planning process yeah I mean the Sip at least provides some information um beyond the current budget year in terms of what the Coast Guard's priorities are and what

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it's looking to fund but it doesn't provide the necessary information that matches what's realistically going to be attained in the budget and so the Sip is kind of the perfect example of looking at that that kind of bow wave of funding

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that's going to be required in the out years and so I think we have some open recommendations to the Coast Guard to really take a look at improving the information included in the Sip that includes better information on the risks

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that are being accepted um by the decisions and then identifying realistic resources that are needed to address the acquisition program priorities and I would encourage the Coast Guard to incorporate those as they're working on the future

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sips Admiral Thomas um Coast card reported challenges in meeting uh emission demands including the 1.77 billion uh uh that is there in the backlog uh what's what's the minimum amount of annual funding needed for the Coast Guard to prevent the growth of the

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total Shor side infrastructure back on Mr chairman thank you for this committee's continuous Focus on our shore infrastructure because it is as critical to our mission success as Anything That Floats or flies we have a

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Shore infrastructure portfolio valued at about $24 billion industry standards would say you need to invest two to 4% of your infrastructure portfolio each year to maintain it for us that would mean steady regular ons funding at

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around a half a billion dollars that would allow us to get after our maintenance back backlog and then of course we would need the pcni money to do the rec capitalization and new infrastructure that we need you have a long-term plan to to modernize your

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short side infrastructure Does it include efforts to modernize the process by which the Coast Guard plans uh designs and builds short side infrastructure we do we are currently in the midst of modernizing our civil engineering program and one of the key

1:42:14

aspects of that is to ask Congress for more money to do survey and Design work so that we can then come back with more realistic requests for what it's going to take to do our shore infrastructure um upgrades and maintenance you think

1:42:33

that will live within the confines of the president's uh overall total I'm sorry Congressman I didn't quite catch that do you think that the uh all you just said will live within the confines of the president's overall

1:42:51

request sure I I I think the our commant has said we need to be a 20 billion doll Coast Guard and until we're there we're not going to be able to get after any of these backlog numbers Oley uh would you like to respond to that

1:43:10

also I mean it 2.6 billion is quite a significant backlog and you know I think that only includes um uh costs of projects that have cost estimates um and there's about 200 plus more projects that are still to be estimated that

1:43:27

continue to add to that backlog um not to mention additional Shor side infrastructure that will be required for uh new Mission sets like in the Arctic um that need to be considered as they're making decisions about how to fund and

1:43:39

how to how to dig out of that hole and build for the future so it's important work and I know we're doing some work for you all to update some of our work from 2019 and provide you a new data on you know what those numbers are um from

1:43:53

a Shor side perspective so look for that um in the coming months well my time has run out so Mr carbal your recogniz thank you Mr chair Miss Oakley the polar security cutter and offshore Patrol cutter programs are both behind schedule and over budget on

1:44:13

both programs complications have Arisen due to an immature level of design while the Coast Guard generally follows the Navy standards for design complete before moving to production what is the effect of starting construction before obtaining a mature

1:44:29

design started excuse me um put simply you know the lack of knowledge um leads to decisions to move forward that aren't well informed about what the resources or risks are going to be associated with the effort and so when you think about

1:44:49

it from the perspective of you wouldn't start bu building your house before it's been designed right and so it very simply those are the kinds of decisions that we're talking about and so we've been recommending for many years to both

1:45:03

the Coast Guard and the Navy to put in that early effort put in that early time to really understand that basic and functional design what what the structure is going to look like where the major systems are going to be how

1:45:14

the piping is going to run through the ship to be able to then have confidence as you're stepping into the construction period um for the ships where it becomes more expensive to make changes that might be necessary as the design

1:45:28

continues to evolve and I think that unfortunately when you see bad outcomes it's a result of continuing instability in the design that's leading to changes um that you know become increasingly expensive as you move through the

1:45:42

construction process thank you it sounds like the F35 uh in the health arm Services Admiral Thomas uh each of the new assets we've discussed today will require experienced Coast Guard service members to operate and maintain them it

1:45:57

is critical that we pair these Investments with initiatives to address the 10% Personnel shortage that the Coast Guard is facing how will the new assets and investments in infrastructure further Coast Guard's efforts to recruit

1:46:11

and retain a diverse cadrea personnel and what else is the Coast Guard doing to ensure its Workforce is sufficient to manage these assets and carry out its missions well thank you for that question uh ranking member carb Hall absolutely the

1:46:28

workforce is what makes these assets come to life and get the mission done um you know one of the one of the things that we can do to improve our retention and recruiting is to provide worldclass short infrastructure for our forces to

1:46:40

to work in I think Congressman Larson mentioned he's visited a number of areas where the conditions that are we're asking our people working are just substandard that doesn't help us retain our Workforce we I'm happy to report

1:46:52

we're making progress with the recruiting we are at record numbers this year numbers we haven't seen since prior to covid uh and our retention is up as well so we're working on closing that Workforce Gap but the fact of the matter

1:47:04

is we do not currently have the capacity at our session points to meet the future Workforce demands of our service we cannot get enough people through Kate May each year without building infrastructure there and we cannot get

1:47:16

enough people through the Coast Guard Academy each year for our future needs without improving the infrastructure there thank you Miss Oakley the polar security cutter program is now uh over five years behind its initial schedule in part due

1:47:32

to challenges associated with its ship building programs these delays are associated with a two billion dollar in cost increases how important are investments in commercial us shipyards and ship building to ensure cost

1:47:47

efficiency for the Coast Guard and the Navy and how else can the Coast Guard improve it ship building outcomes well in general uh supporting the US ship building industrial based is critical given what both the Coast Guard

1:48:04

and the Navy are trying to do in terms of building up their fleets to meet their increasing Miss Mission demands um one thing that I would like to comment on that is that I see this as needing to be a whole of government approach um to

1:48:17

supporting that industrial base and in preparing for this hearing I'm reviewing the Navies um 30-year Fleet ship building plan and it talks a lot about industrial base and supporting the naval industrial base and the commercial

1:48:31

industrial base but the Coast Guard isn't mentioned in there at all and so I think that's one thing that the Navy and the Coast Guard need to think about is how they can kind of approach and attack this holistically because there is a lot

1:48:43

of money right now being thrown at the ship building industrial base um through the Navy and through the Department of Defense in particular and so I think that the Coast Guard will benefit from that but I'd like the Coast Guard to be

1:48:54

a little bit more strategic in directing those benefits to things that will support them in the long run and then just to quickly answer your question about improving outcomes um the the Coast Guard should really look toward

1:49:07

the practices that we've identified by going out and looking at commercial ship Builders and buyers and how they go about um getting ships done on time and on budget and on predictable cycle and I don't mean done in 10 years I mean done

1:49:21

designed to launched in less than four years sometimes for very complex ships um there's a reason why they can do that because they take disciplined approaches they put in place the right kinds of tools they have the right kinds of

1:49:35

expertise to be able to oversee these programs and execute these programs and that's where I'd direct both the Coast Guard and the Navy to begin looking to to improve their outcomes thank you and I'll be following up sitting on house arm services on on

1:49:50

this collaborative ship building issue thank thank you Mr chair I he back Mr AEL you recognize for five minutes thank you Mr chairman thank you both for being here today we appreciate it our priorities are the same uh they

1:50:05

were the last time we had our hearing here Congress must do all it can to help ship building industry by ensuring efficiency and transparency bolstering the workforce incentivizing domestic ship building Miss Oakley what are the

1:50:20

three top actions that Congress can take to help address the affordability challenges the Coast Guard is facing now there's a couple of things um first the Congress should really enforce what it's asked the Coast Guard to do develop

1:50:35

a 20-year Fleet modernization plan so that you all have the ammunition to be able to advocate for additional resources for the Coast Guard to be able to meet its increasingly um it's it's increasing Mission needs um so that's one thing the

1:50:51

Coast Guard has yet to develop that type of plan the Navy develops one every year um so I don't see that there should be any reason why the Coast Guard couldn't follow a suit to provide y'all with that information the second thing I would say

1:51:03

is that the co the Congress should demand um the Coast Guard to push forward with disciplined programs and when I say discipline programs I mean following those practices that I was talking about from the commercial ship

1:51:16

buyers and Builders not making decisions to proceed with construction um with a a design that's not even remotely finished um to be able to support informed decisions in that regard and really push the Coast Guard to think about um what

1:51:31

it needs and how it's going to effectively prioritize and assess the risks associated with its future portfolio and it can do that in that long-term plan or it can do that in that sip that we talked about earlier that um

1:51:45

capital investment plan so those are just some quick things that I think you all could do thank you very much Admiral Thomas uh how do you how do you respond to the claims that the Coast Guard has a lot of red tape and can you describe

1:51:59

what some of the changes you are making uh to make this more uh people want to bid on these on these contracts you know help help us get here uh Congressman I would say that the red tape in the Coast Guard is the red tape that's in federal law regulation

1:52:20

and requirements from our Department the Coast Guard is one of the pr Premier agencies in all of government that does business with small businesses um and and I am proud of that fact we work hard to ensure that we can send our business

1:52:36

to small businesses very good how can this committee better equip the Coast Guard with the tools it needs to provide detailed and accurate information relating to communication and transparency in the acquisition process how can we help you

1:52:53

I I would I would have to have a conversation with you Congressman to understand where you think there's a a lack of communication and transparency I think the the the key is in U our budget requests okay and that's where your

1:53:08

frustration lies and uh you know our budget request for fy2 24 particularly in our PC and I was you know we asked for a lot more than we got okay got it and your testimony you mentioned the rec recent acquisition of the nation's

1:53:26

first heavy Polar Ice Breakers in over four decades how do you plan to navigate this process and meet deadlines uh since no Shipyard has built an icebreaker in all these decades yeah so that's a very key point and I'm glad that you brought it

1:53:41

up the polar Icebreaker is not like any commercial vessel ever built uh and it's not like any vessel built in the United States ever so it's a complex vessel and it's a complex we're currently working with the uh Shipyard they've put in a what's called

1:53:56

a request for Equitable adjustment to kind of rate siize the contract that combined with the work we're doing to understand their over Target budget over Target schedule analysis uh I think will allow us to report to this committee a a

1:54:10

good estimate in both cost and schedule by this fall thank you yeah we uh toured down there recently a few months ago and it it was really neat to see the uh Innovation that's going on in that in Binger down there so U thank you very

1:54:27

much for that uh the last question is for the panel if we have time this committee has heard that one of the challenges in building PSC is the support of the local industrial base that is finding enough workers um what what can we do to try to help uh

1:54:45

you know everybody I guess you'd say you know because we hear that all over the place we're having problems finding people what can we do help that so I think there's two things that we need to do one is we need to invest in our

1:54:58

shipyards and we need to understand that the polar security program will result in ships that our nation needs but it will also result in a shipyard that our nation needs and the second is we need to really invest in stem education we

1:55:10

are finding that they the engineers the scientists the technicians that are required to put a ship that complex together both in terms of design and construction just don't exist in our nation so we need to focus on that thank

1:55:22

you and thank you for all your testimony and your hard work Mr chairman I yield back thank you and now I'd like to recognize the G woman from Michigan Miss Shulton thank you so much sir and thank you to our Witnesses for being here vice

1:55:37

admiral Thomas uh for your service to our country I have a number of questions today so I'm going to get right into it uh first the Great Lakes play a vital role not only in our local communities but uh and and back home in West

1:55:50

Michigan but within the US economy as a whole these waterways are critical to ensuring reliability of Supply chains and the Integrity of our country's Maritime border as such I want to be as helpful as I can to support adequate ice

1:56:04

breaking in the Great Lakes to allow for free movement of cargo in the region year round uh while we've had minimal ice this particular year next year uh is a different story vice admiral despite receiving 20 million in FY 24 and over

1:56:19

19 million in previous years the Coast Guard has not officially designated a new heavy Great Lakes Icebreaker as acquisition in this program uh of of record given the importance of the region is there anything preventing the

1:56:33

Coast Guard sir from accelerated acquisition of an additional ice breaker Beyond access to funding Congressman I share your passion for the Great Lakes it is a National Treasure and we are committed to recapitalizing our system

1:56:46

of ice rakers there we think we need two Heavies about 11 mediums and about seven of the smaller ones so we can essentially plow the highways uh the side roads and the parking lots um we are moving forward uh we're at ad1 ACC

1:56:59

incision one with the the glib the Great Lakes Icebreaker uh the money that was appropriated in FY 24 will allow us to move forward with the analyze and select phase we're going to need additional Appropriations to to move forward with

1:57:13

that particular acquisition but it is a program a record uh we have a program office and we're moving forward thank you I appreciate that sir um I I appreciate this discussion and frankly I had a lot more uh questions

1:57:27

today that I was hoping to to talk about with respects to the glib program but unfortunately uh the the US Coast Guard is once again in the headlines for horrible mishandling of sexual assault cases related to operation fouled anchor

1:57:43

I would be remiss if I didn't ask some questions here um first and foremost you know sir while the the Coast Guard has been before this committee and other committees many times talking about the tragedy of the the and and the the

1:58:00

impact on these victims sir is is the Coast Guard Leadership aware of the impact on everyday citizens that distractions like these continue to have over and over again you know the the subject matter of today's hearing is you

1:58:15

know where we are behind on so many of these different programs and I can't help but notice we're not able to get get to the questions that we need today because we are also talking about yet another Scandal is the co does the Coast

1:58:28

Guard appreciate the the lack of uh fiscal responsibility as well that that scandals continue to have uh on on the program itself first congresswoman let me just offer you an inperson brief on glib so we can answer all your questions

1:58:43

thank you I I appreciate your recognition that the the uh ongoing disclosures regarding sexual assaults and unacceptable Behavior and the Coast Guard can be a distraction not just for our service and our service members for

1:58:56

for the nation because they lose focus on all the goodness that is in our service that's why we are really focused hard on improving and strengthening our service culture providing all the support that we can to victims I mentioned earlier that I stand

1:59:08

personally ready to help victims access the health care that they need at the VA uh and we have an Enterprise victim Advocate to do that but you're absolutely right it can be a distraction and it can it can take away from the

1:59:18

good story of the Coast Guard and Sor right I I appreciate your comments you know as as everyone here knows and as we heard in the testimony in the Senate unfortunately these most recent allegations were about how you know

1:59:31

these these instances are continuing to be ongoing and I'm wondering what the Coast Guard is doing to ensure transparency in the process so that the American public can trust that what you're saying now is true you know that

1:59:47

even as we speak that there are not coverups like this happening you know our comant has testified and you can choose to assess the verocity of her testimony that we are she is absolutely committed to being transparent I personally am responsible

2:00:04

for a sexual self- prevention and response program I spend a lot of time working on it um and you know we are being as transparent as we possibly can I don't mean to interrupt you sir I have one more very important question and I

2:00:15

just I would ask you that you know we have heard a lot of words and I think the American public in this committee I know I personally am going to need a lot more than than words to assure us uh of of the veracity of these assurances that

2:00:28

there will these these will continue to be taken seriously um one of the most horrifying details I think to come out of this is that victims uh were not provided with the CG 695 that would ensure access to VA health benefits I think it goes without saying

2:00:44

so that survivors should never be denied benefits in an attempt to help the Coast Guard protect its reputation what are you doing to ensure that every Survivor both in the past and in the future even those we don't yet know about is

2:00:58

provided with a CG 695 ensuring their access to benefits so I have a CG 695 right here we do provide do the survivors have it sir is the question so so we have Enterprise victim Advocate that's available to survivors who can

2:01:15

get access to this form our sexual assault response coordinators around the Coast Guard have access to the form and and this week I will

2:01:52

country are the most precious resource that the Coast Guard has sir and we ask you to look out for them in every possible way I yield back the remaining it's my greatest priv to thank you very much uh I want to thank the witnesses uh

2:02:06

for being here today and first off I'd like to say how much the Southeast Texas where I my district is appreciates all the hard work that the Coast Guard has been doing and responding to our recent storms in Southeast Texas I have five or

2:02:20

six of my Counties have been declared disaster as well as several other uh congressional districts my question is to you Admiral as the Coast Guard looks to transition to the m860 rotary Wing Fleet I understand that the Coast Guard

2:02:34

is slowly phasing out many of its aging M65 with the intention of reducing uh the overall rotary Wing Fleet air station Houston currently hosts Three m865 dolphin helicopters and understand that the current plan is to phase these

2:02:50

three helicopters out and replace them with just two m60sbs and rescue missions storm responses or providing support to the Houston chip channel uh given that a single helic opter can only be in one place at one time with the reality that individual

2:03:26

helicopters are often stuck in the hanger dealing with maintenance issues in addition for air station Houston I understand there may be some issues regarding the hanger size and space and ability to facilitate the 60s do you

2:03:38

have any information uh available on the plan moving forward at AirStation Houston's air air assets briefly if you would yeah so Congressman I I'll just say I'm familiar with high water events in Southeast Texas I was in command of

2:03:52

gallon when Allison hit I was in command of the eth district when Harvey hit and we saved tens of thousands of people using aircraft from air station Houston and surged in aircraft from in the most recent event um you know air station

2:04:05

Houston was able to metac a 12-hour year old baby to neonatal care care who was isolated by the flood so air station Houston is is an asset for that area uh and we will continue to fly our aircraft out of there we will have to make some

2:04:22

modifications across the country to our hangers in order to accommodate the 60s it's another reason why we need a three to 3.4 billion um pcni budget so we can build the aircraft and the hangers so it's a it's a funding issue it's ABS you

2:04:38

just don't have the funds to to get more than three right now we have a program of record of 12760 if we're going to grow that it's going to require more funds uh considering the pending polar Icebreaker construction program I understand the

2:04:52

construction contracts for the polar program and the Great Lakes program require all United States laws to be followed has the question of uh propulsion Arrangement and patent rights uh been resolved in the case of the

2:05:06

Polar program and if not why not and how do you propose to resolve that question so that lawsuits and further delays do not occur so to date there has been no official raising of Aton issues associated with the polar Icebreaker so

2:05:21

we haven't taken any actions to resolve those because they they just haven't made any claims okay as the Coast Guard explores ways to make the most of its limited funding operation and procurement of long range air assets

2:05:34

presents a significant challenge the Coast Guard currently collaborates with CBP regarding the use of longrange autonomous systems including the use of Coast Guard pilots and the use of systems in key areas of Coast Guard

2:05:47

operation given the ability of these systems to expand the Coast Guard 's ability to monitor large areas in a costeffective manner the fact that the hc13 130j program appears stalled at the at 19 airframes and the apparent shift

2:06:03

away from the c27 program does the Coast Guard plan to explore the acquisition of its own Long Range uas Systems and what sort of unmanned systems could provide the Coast Guard with more complete persistent Marine domain awareness yeah

2:06:19

we absolutely need to uh move into to unmanned systems particularly for our Maritime Patrol missions um we have an fy2 budget we have about $100 million aimed just at doing that uh we do operate the mq9 with CBP we think that's

2:06:34

probably the platform that we need as we build out our Fleet but we're also going to need to build more than our current program a record of c130s uh because we are sunsetting the c-27s okay thank you and uh I appreciate

2:06:47

you very much uh we certainly need to up our Annie on uh I know you need the funding but we've got to have enough airframes to get things done uh so with that I I will yield myself back and recognize the gentle woman from Alaska Miss

2:07:03

pela thank you Mr chairman uh my first questions are for Admiral Thomas thank you for being here thank you for your service to our country um the Coast Guard has previous previously said that the acquisition of the Polar security

2:07:15

cutter which you've mentioned a little bit ago is the Coast Guard's top acquisition priority and ensuring that the program stays on track and that the Coast Guard has the resourcing it needs to oversee that program while staying on

2:07:28

top of recapitalization priorities in all your other places is one of my top priorities as well as a member uh of the house um in a Homeland Security hearing a few weeks ago the Coast Guard indicated that the design for the polar

2:07:42

security cutter was about 65% completed and I'm wondering when you estimate being able to begin the construction phase and do you have an updated estimate for when the first polar security cutter will be off the assembly

2:07:54

line in the water and ready to go so we we're in the process of getting much greater Clarity on both cost and schedule and I think we'll have that this fall we're working with the contractor both in terms of renegotiating portions of the contract

2:08:08

but also at at analysis there during the look at their cost and schedule um that said you know we have seen a a increase in design maturity that leads us to be optimistic about being able to authoriz start a construction by the end of this

2:08:25

year um I will say that um I don't think we'll be a 90% design maturity that term design maturity is defined differently in different places but we'll certainly be at the level of maturity that we need to start the modules that we start um so

2:08:43

we're optimistic we'll start this year okay that that is good news and are you able to provide an update on the acquisition of the commercially available able Icebreaker that the Coast Guard received funding for in the fy4

2:08:55

appropriation cycle yeah well first of all we appreciate the support of Congress to uh get the money to acquire a commercial Icebreaker that will increase our ability to be present and to match presence with presence in the

2:09:06

Arctic so uh and particularly off of Alaska you know the next step is a request for proposal that we're working on there's one you know one sole source uh we're going to see what we can actually buy for the 125 million that we

2:09:19

got but critical we asked for about 20 million in on funding so that we can outfit and operate that vessel and in FY 24 that was reduced to 1 million so we're going to need an additional appropriation FY 25 so that we can operate what we

2:09:34

buy okay that is a very good heads up and one of the things my office is tracking are the three major home porting projects currently in Alaska and I like to remind people that if Alaska were a country we'd be the 18th largest

2:09:47

country so uh and we have more coastline then all of the lower 48 combined um at low tide Alaska could fit through this uh three texases inside of us um so we're enormous and really you are our our presence and we know that we've had

2:10:08

um foreign adversaries practicing W drills in our Waters off our Shores and we really appreciate you being there and and the presence of the Coast Guard and that's not even to mention the the search and rescue operations that you

2:10:22

provide seems like every week or multiple times a week um we're as alaskans we're very dependent on you our fishing industry is dependent on you our tourists are very dependent on you so um regarding the the three major home

2:10:37

porting projects there's a fast response cutter headed to Seward there's a fast response cutter headed to Sitka and the commercially available Icebreaker will be homeported in Juno and I'm wondering if you could give us an update on how

2:10:52

those projects are going absolutely I've been focused on our Alaska projects our crews love to work and live in Alaska uh and so in Seward in particular um we have acquired the property that we need we uh requested about $42 million to

2:11:09

build out the F FRC facility there we were we've been appropriated about $25 million we think we can put a peer there we probably can't put the support buildings there that we need for that so we're going to need additional

2:11:19

appropriation there um the the challenge in Seward is that we need to build housing as well and although we've gotten appropriated about $13 million to do that that will get us property and utilities it won't actually build us

2:11:32

homes we're working with the community there and Community Builders um in uh in Sitka um we have enough money to build the F FRC pier and recapitalize the buoy tender Pier but not enough yet to build the uh buildings ashore and we're still

2:11:50

working our way through negotiations with regard to acquiring the land with regard to Juno there's not been any Appropriations To Build a Home Port in Juno uh and so we we haven't even begun the planning process there okay thank you for that update um

2:12:06

in Admiral Fagan stated the Coast Guard speech last year she said that the American taxpayer won't find a better return on investment than the US Coast Guard and I I agree with her and um I I have a continued frust ation um by the

2:12:23

size of the Coast Guard's budget year after year I am a big proponent of making Investments where they need to be made um I've heard some say that the Coast Guard should be about a 20 billion do organization as you mentioned earlier

2:12:36

in a world where the Coast Guard were to receive a major uptick in funding what are some of the Acquisitions or initiatives that the additional funding would be spent on so I've said that the Coast Guard is a 20 billion organization on a$ 13

2:12:50

billion D diet the space force is a $40 billion budget the space force has a $10 billion pcni budget if we had a $3.4 billion pcni reliable current year dollars we could get after all the Home Port work that we just talked about all the uh

2:13:10

Shore infrastructure recapitalization and our current program of record with regard to ships and aircraft okay and I apologize for going over time Mr chairman thank you very much thank you vice admiral train Training Center

2:13:35

Kate May has many projects in urgent need of completion as you know especially the barracks I'm glad to see that 225 million is authorized in FY 25 for the improvements to facilities at the training center and an addition 60

2:13:51

million for the barracks for Phase 2 however I've been getting mixed messages about the status of phase one and I'd really like to clarify that vice admiral Thomas thank you again for being here today we do appreciate you even when

2:14:06

we're giving you tough questions that's part of the deal right it's part of the deal you didn't expect to come here for the easy questions could you provide an update of the progress of phase one of the barracks are there any problems in

2:14:19

the bidding the Contracting process and when can we expect construction to actually begin so we have not encountered any problems we are just about to issue the request for proposal I I think just to be you know honest with you we asked for

2:14:35

money in fy22 and it's a totally different Market than what we have now um so we will do a a a design bid build RFP and we will get what we can get for the $55 million that we have I um I I think that the phase two will be more

2:14:54

than $60 million if we are truly going to build what we need to build there and then we need to continue to invest in Kate May because as I said earlier the size of our future Workforce we cannot support it right now with the capacity

2:15:06

that we have at K May so I'd love to know those numbers uh and and I understand what you're saying about phase one and originally actually I understand it was going to be enough inflation God knows we know what inflation is doing to the country in

2:15:19

general but secondly um we then had approached you all and said do you need more money originally yes and then you said no we're going to be okay we're going to live with this amount we're going to live under that budget and I assume

2:15:34

that's where you are now as I said we're going to do a a a design bid build and we're going to get what we get for the money that we have okay I I have to think on that a little bit um and you assume well obviously you're

2:15:51

going to get what you're going to get but it has to be adequate it has to be appropriate it has to fulfill the needs that we have Congressman if we can't if we can't get um if we can't get something that will be functional and

2:16:03

and suitable then we will come back and ask for more money right which we we had approached you on that and you said you didn't think you would so I just want to be clear but if if it's not good and it's not the right thing uh and believe

2:16:15

me I don't like spending money we're got a lot of debt but we also have to take care of what's most important which is our military which includes the Coast Guard which includes you all which includes the biggest training center in

2:16:27

the country which is Kate May if we need to do that then we need to know that we need to open those lines vice admiral we need to open those lines of communication I'm I'm committed to keeping you informed Congressman on

2:16:41

where we stand and we will know more as we put out that RFP this summer okay so I'm really looking forward to the RFP and then we should know a lot more period uh whether we need more money Etc and the real time frame we'd love to

2:16:54

really get a start date here um and we hope to have that definitely by this summer training center Kate May has prepared a draft strategic development plan which identifies potential projects over a 25-year Horizon and I know you're

2:17:08

familiar with it I've previously requested this information and the Coast Guard has referred me to the traditional budget process to the Office of Management and budget OMB which is fine but let's be clear Congress is a co-equal branch of government it is

2:17:25

essential as the oversight branch and that we are that we're able to communicate directly with agencies and we absolutely appropriate to do so on the budgetary matters that this Congress overseas for my and this committee's

2:17:40

legislative goals it's important that we're able to see this plan as 25-year plan and work to provide for the proposed projects as the Coast Guard outlines them it's a relatively simple request I'm making vice admiral it

2:17:54

highlights quite frankly what's wrong with this government not with you the government in general we have to plan more we can't just plan for the year or two years it's good to have a 25y year plan doesn't mean that it doesn't change

2:18:07

but we need a plan Congress has been missing a long-term Outlook and it's why we're in a terrible fiscal position we as Congress should be able to see what such a critical asset as the training center Kate May needs over the next

2:18:22

quarter of the century and it's unclear to me this is what's unclear why the Coast Guard deflected this request to om I want to make this real simple I do will you commit to me and this committee because it's important to the committee

2:18:37

as well that you will provide a copy of the Strategic development plan of training center Kate may as soon as possible we need to look at it I know there will be changes in a quarter of century but it gives us overview it

2:18:51

gives us a vision please respond I can commit to providing you our area development plan for training center Kate May and all the planning documents that go that go with it which would include that 25 year plan well it's an are part of it it's

2:19:06

there we know for a fact so can you commit to that you know for a fact that we have a 25y year plan that is my understanding yes that's what we've been told when we asked yes not we didn't make that up we asked you folks and

2:19:20

that's what I was told yeah absolutely I if we have it I don't know why we wouldn't share it I I'm not personally aware of it this is what I would ask if you could personally look into that if you have it share it and you've made

2:19:33

that commitment already and if you don't have it please explain to me what planning documents you do have and why we receive that incorrect information so that we know how to move forward right specific to Kate May how you do that

2:19:46

specific to Kate may I think it's a good idea in general but I am going to be a little parochial here so we're going to start with Kate May and hopefully expand it on I'll just tell tell you Congressman that I kind of I share your

2:19:59

frustration one of the last decision memos that I've signed is one that will establish a Shore infrastructure project office in our Contracting shop so that we start buying Shore infrastructure like we buy ships and and airplanes and

2:20:12

that will give us the level of discipline that we need and that you expect and I hope that's a great goal it's a great goal for you for this committee for all of us I thank you I thank you for being here I yield back

2:20:25

are there any further questions from any members of the subcommittee who have not been recognized okay seeing none that concludes our hearing for today I would like to thank both of you for being here I appreciate it I would like to thank

2:20:38

each of the witnesses which are you all for your testimony this subcommittee stands adjourned thank you very much for [Music]