On the recordJuly 24, 2019
The Coast Guard is one of the Nation's five armed services, and this bipartisan bill is going to provide the resources to help them carry out their vital missions more effectively. These missions are critical to ensuring maritime safety, stopping the flow of illegal drugs and migrants into the country, enforcing U.S. laws at sea, and protecting our Nation's borders. In order to carry out the tens of thousands of operations each year, the Coast Guard must also replace and modernize their assets--from cutters to icebreakers to helicopters. This bill is going to help them do that. This legislation also takes steps necessary to provide the men and women of the Coast Guard, as has been pointed out, parity with other servicemembers in the Department of Defense. The Coast Guard is the only one of the armed services that is not in the Department of Defense, and the only armed service with law enforcement authority. I agree with the chairman on the bipartisan nature of this bill and how it was put together. I commend Chairman DeFazio and Subcommittee Chairman Maloney, and Subcommittee Ranking Member Gibbs for working diligently and coming up with a very good piece of legislation and a very good bipartisan agreement that we have here today. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson), who is the chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security.
