Our subcommittee is interested in helping you build the Coast Guard we need for the country.
We have already made it clear that the need is there. The budget, as we have been budgeting, is not going to meet that need.
I am going to help you fix that, and I am going to put language in my bill to make sure that when you sell surplus property, you get to keep...
Aren't they amazing?
The challenge for leaders in this town is we are consumed by people whose vision only goes from year-to-year.
I have gone on record saying that I think the Coast Guard needs closer to $2 billion per year to recapitalize, do proper recapitalization.
I was there in April with others to commission the first fast response cutter, the Bernard C. Webber.
We need some more funding in our society, in our budget, and that is where the problem is.
It's like deja vu, all over again.
Every year, Presidents submit budgets that are inadequate for the Coast Guard, and every year, Congress steps in to fortify them.
It has been a very good hearing, and I thank the members for coming and paying such close attention to this important budget.