Majority Statement

• Chairman Dan Sullivan
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  Majority Statement

  Chairman Dan Sullivan

  AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY
   
  The Subcommittee is meeting today to review the state of current Coast Guard missions, manpower, resources, acquisitions, and budgetary needs.  
   
  This is my first hearing as chairman of the subcommittee, and Senator Peters’ first hearing as the subcommittee’s ranking member.  I look forward to working with him, the Coast Guard, and the 115th Congress.  I am very honored to chair the subcommittee, as I have a great appreciation for the work that the Coast Guard does for this nation and my state of Alaska.
   
  Thank you, Admiral Zukunft, for being here this afternoon, and for your dedicated service to our nation for so many years.
   
  Maritime security and safety are issues of national security, and are essential to economic prosperity.  Global stability is dependent on safe and unfettered access to the maritime domain.
  Congress has given the Coast Guard a wide range of missions, from search and rescue, icebreaking, and marine environmental protection, to port security, drug interdiction, international crisis response, and readiness to support Department of Defense operations.
  
  With such an integral role in national security and global stability, it should not be overlooked by members of this committee that the Coast Guard is the fifth branch of the Armed Services.  By securing our maritime border, the Coast Guard acts as the front line of defense for our homeland.
   
  The Coast Guard combats transnational criminal organizations at the points of origin by pushing cutters and resources to intercept drugs and human smugglers off of foreign shores, prior to threats even getting close to our shores.  The Coast Guard operates on all seven continents including Antarctica and supports U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
   
  And, that is why today I would like the members of this committee to take off their Commerce hats, and put on their Armed Service hats.
   
  As the Coast Guard balances the wide range of public safety, stewardship and national security missions, the missions do not remain static.  New threats are constantly emerging.
   
  Increasing human activity in the Arctic; violence, terrorism, and drug trafficking in the Caribbean Basin, Central America, and Mexico; and overseas contingency operations demand an increased Coast Guard presence at home and increasingly around the globe.
   
  The mission requirements are also expanding in my home state of Alaska.  The area of responsibility assigned to Coast Guard units within Alaskan waters is the largest in the nation and encompasses an area of over three and a half million square miles.  This is an area with over half the coastline of the United States.  With the thawing of the Arctic there is heightened interest in the region’s future, with consequences for increased demands for search and rescue, vessel traffic safety and security, law enforcement, and fisheries resource management.  
   
  Giving us a view of vessel traffic to come, the Panamanian-flagged shipping vessel “Nordic Barents” sailed through Northern Sea Route in 2010 from Norway to China.  It saved 17.5 days vs. Suez Canal route.  That’s $300,000 in just fuel savings.  Since then, there has been continuous activity.  In August 2016, the passenger cruise ship Crystal Serenity, with more than 1700 passengers onboard, became the largest commercial cruise ship to navigate the Northwest Passage.
  America is lagging behind other countries when it comes to our ability to compete in the Arctic.  Over the last two years, Russia has continued its massive military build-up of the Arctic.
  
  The National Security Cutter (NSC) will be an asset in the Arctic region, as it has proven in its operations in other theatres.  The expanded capabilities of the NSC have had dramatic results in our fight against transnational criminal organizations in the drug transit zones of the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific.  Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton secured 26 metric tons of cocaine worth over $760 million on its maiden voyage.  I look forward to continued success, and continued delivery of all nine of this high performance vessel.
  
  As has been reported, the pre-decisional funding guidance proposed from OMB during formation of the President’s Budget recommendation contained a proposed 14% cut.  Ultimately, the proposed budget provides discretion to the Department of Homeland Security to allocate its department-wide budget in a manner of its choosing.
  
  This Subcommittee has a great deal of work to do to ensure that the Coast Guard is properly resourced to fund its priorities, modernize its assets, and successfully execute its missions.  Admiral Zukunft, I look forward to your testimony.  I hope this hearing is able to focus attention on the mission demands placed upon the Coast Guard, and the value the service provides to national security, national defense and prosperity of this nation.

Testimony

• Admiral Paul K. Zukunft

  Commandant

  U.S. Coast Guard
  Download Testimony (63.33 KB)