Coast Guard
January 24, 2023
The First Woman to Lead Any U.S. Military Branch:
Admiral Linda Fagan is the 27th Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard and the first woman and the first mother to lead any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. The Committee passed Adm. Fagan’s nomination in May 2022, and she was sworn in by President Biden as Commandant on June 1, 2022.
“From her career beginnings as a deck watch officer on the Seattle-based icebreaker Polar Star, Admiral Fagan has shown strong leadership and a commitment to service that make her an outstanding choice as the Coast Guard’s 27th Commandant. Upon confirmation, she will become the first woman and mother to lead any branch of the Armed Forces. This nomination proves the value of enacting laws that provide family leave, child care, and health care access to support talented women in the Coast Guard who have dual roles as service members and parents. Admiral Fagan’s nomination will inspire generations of American women to strive to serve at the highest level in the Armed Forces.” – Sen. Cantwell
Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan with a bipartisan group of women senators
(Top left to right: Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Lisa Murkowski, Marsha Blackburn, Deb Fischer, Shelley Moore Capito, Maria Cantwell, Jacky Rosen, Elizabeth Warren and Debbie Stabenow. Bottom left to right: Dianne Feinstein, Adm. Linda Fagan, Tammy Baldwin and Tammy Duckworth)
| Read Sen. Cantwell’s article in the Seattle Times lauding Admiral Fagan’s career milestone: “Breaking the U.S. Military’s Glass Ceiling.” |
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Investing in Coast Guard Members and Missions:
“From expanding our presence in the Arctic, to replacing new heavy surf boats in Southwest Washington that will help our Coast Guard save lives -- the crucial investments included in this law will keep our ports and waterways secure while ensuring that the maritime economy in Washington state continues to thrive.” - Sen. Cantwell
The Coast Guard safeguards our coasts from national security and maritime threats while supporting maritime commerce and safety for our ports. With more than 50,000 Coast Guard members, the Coast Guard facilitates on an average day the movement of $15.6 billion worth of maritime commerce, saves dozens of lives and conducts more than 40 search and rescue cases.
In September 2022, Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Wicker and Oceans Subcommittee Chair Baldwin introduced the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022. The bipartisan Act was reported out of the Committee in September 2022 and passed the Senate as part of the National Defense Authorization Act in December 2022.
The Coast Guard Authorization Act reauthorizes the Coast Guard for fiscal years 2022 and 2023 and makes core investments needed to support the Coast Guard’s missions and workforce. In addition, the Act includes requirements to further crackdown on illegal fishing and forced labor at sea, improves oil spill response and bolsters our nation’s presence in the Arctic and Great Lakes by authorizing new ships, such as the Polar Security Cutter and the Great Lakes Icebreaker.
Sen. Baldwin hosts a Coast Guard oversight hearing
In August 2022, Sen. Cantwell toured Cape Disappointment on a Coast Guard 47-foot motor lifeboat with Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan. On the trip, Sen. Cantwell saw the mouth of the Columbia River, the jetties and the Columbia River Bar and discussed the importance of replacing the highly capable 52-foot motor lifeboat with Commandant Admiral Fagan. The Act authorizes $172.5 million for a fleet of 52-foot motor lifeboat replacements, a critical platform to protect lives and property at sea in the harsh surf found in the Pacific Northwest region. In addition, the Act authorizes funding to obtain a third Polar Security Cutter, one of three new polar icebreakers that will be homeported in Seattle.
Sen. Cantwell with Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Fagan
Photo credit: PAC Jetta Disco
Sen. Baldwin included her Great Lakes Winter Commerce Act, which improves the icebreaking capacity of the Great Lakes Fleet by requiring a Government Accountability Office report on updated and strengthened icebreaking standards on the Great Lakes and an assessment of the economic impact of vessel delays and mission needs for the Great Lakes Icebreaker program.
“Our United States Coast Guard members protect and secure our Great Lakes and are a crucial piece to keeping Wisconsin’s maritime economy moving forward. Inadequate icebreaking capacity in the Great Lakes costs us thousands of American jobs and millions in business revenue, and this bipartisan legislation invests in the icebreaking resources needed to support our maritime industry and our Made in America economy. This critical legislation will help mitigate devastating climate-related events, invest in climate resilient Coast Guard infrastructure at places like Sturgeon Bay and will increase support for child care, housing, and education needed to do right by our service members and veterans.” - Sen. Baldwin
Subcommittee Chair Sen. Baldwin breaking ice on the Great Lakes
aboard the Coast Guard icebreaker Mackinaw
Investing in Coast Guard Families: Sens. Cantwell, Baldwin and Duckworth led investments to help Coast Guard families pay for child care services. It authorizes $25 million and expands eligibility so families are able to use the subsidy for additional types of child care, such as in-home care. Sen. Baldwin improved the child care subsidy program to cut red tape and provides the in-home childcare subsidy directly to Coast Guard families. In addition, Sen. Cantwell led the additional authorization of $67.5 million for the construction of new Coast Guard child development centers.
Investing in Education Training: The Act invests in the Coast Guard’s people and expands training and education opportunities intended to help the Coast Guard recruit and retain a thriving and diverse workforce.
Sens. Cantwell, Wicker, Cruz, Baldwin and Capito included the Military to Mariners Act, which improves the application and credentialing process for veterans transitioning to join the maritime industry workforce. The Act also expands the Coast Guard’s Junior ROTC Program to include partnerships in each Coast Guard District across the nation.
Investing in Technology: Sen. Blumenthal and Sen. Duckworth pushed for improvements to maritime search and rescue through a data-sharing initiative and several provisions that expands the use of advanced technologies, machine learning and artificial intelligence to improve Coast Guard operations.
Reducing Harm to Marine Animals and the Environment: This Act boosts collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, states and Tribes to help reduce the impact of shipping traffic on marine life, including Southern resident orcas in Puget Sound and North Atlantic right whales along the Eastern Seaboard.
Sen. Cantwell authored a new pilot program to establish a whale desk within the Coast Guard Puget Sound Vessel Traffic Center to expand and improve near real-time monitoring of whales to bolster the conservation and management of orcas. Sen. Cantwell and Sen. Markey also worked to increase the protection of marine mammals, including the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales and orcas. These amendments afford better opportunities for research and near real-time monitoring efforts, a new grant program to improve mitigation of vessel impacts on whales, and innovation and data sharing to develop new vessel quieting technologies.
Fisheries: The Coast Guard Authorization Act makes investments important to our nation’s fishermen, including evaluating the impact of offshore wind on fishing communities, expanding shipbuilding programs to include assets important for search and rescue, and providing tools to help fishermen stay safe and fish sustainably. The Act also improves intergovernmental coordination to catch illegal fishermen on the high seas, as well as train NOAA and Coast Guard personnel to identify instances of forced labor and oppressed child labor at sea.
Combating Sexual Assault and Harassment in the Maritime Industry and within the Coast Guard: Sens. Cantwell, Wicker and Blumenthal led provisions that improve oversight and investigations of sexual assault and harassment in the maritime industry and within the Coast Guard. The Act expands penalties for failure to report, strengthens Coast Guard policy to ensure victims deployed and in remote locations receive expedited care and improves oversight and investigations of sexual assault and harassment in the maritime industry and within the Coast Guard.
