Sponsor
Richard Blumenthal
Senator · D-CT
Senator · D-CT
The bill keeps experienced Coast Guard enlisted members on active duty longer to protect readiness and secure near-retirement pay/benefits for service members and families, at the cost of modestly higher taxpayer expense, potential bottlenecks to junior promotions, and some added administrative complexity.
Coast Guard operational commands and communities that rely on them retain experienced enlisted personnel longer, supporting readiness and mission capability by keeping trained, seasoned members on active duty.
Coast Guard enlisted members within two years of retirement are more likely to reach retirement without interruption, preserving earned retirement benefits.
Coast Guard members nearing 20 years of service and their families experience greater continuity of pay and benefits during the retention period, reducing financial disruption for households.
Junior enlisted Coast Guard personnel may face delayed promotions and fewer assignment opportunities because retained senior members delay separations that would otherwise open billets.
Taxpayers could bear modestly higher personnel costs from retaining members longer, including additional pay, benefits, and increased retirement accruals.
Coast Guard personnel and administrators may face administrative complexity determining who is eligible because separations for cause or physical disability are excluded, creating borderline applicability cases.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires the Coast Guard to retain enlisted members within two years of retirement eligibility from involuntary separation until they qualify for retirement or a short specified anniversary for Reservists.
Official title: Amend title 14, United States Code, to require the retention of certain enlisted members of the Coast Guard who have completed 18 or more, but less than 20, years of service, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 22, 2025 by Richard Blumenthal · Last progress May 22, 2025
Requires the Coast Guard to retain certain enlisted members who are within two years of qualifying for retirement when they otherwise would be involuntarily separated or denied reenlistment. Regular enlisted members scheduled for discharge who are within two years of retirement eligibility must remain on active duty until they become eligible for retirement (unless lawfully retired or discharged earlier). Reserve enlisted members on active status who would have between 18 and 20 years of service at separation may not be involuntarily separated, denied reenlistment, or removed from active status without their consent until they reach 20 years or a short specified anniversary date.