Sponsors (5)
The bill strengthens Coast Guard capacity, maritime safety, victim protections, and oversight while modernizing workforce and operations — but it raises significant costs, privacy and administrative burdens, and some legal/operational risks that must be managed to avoid undermining readiness or individual rights.
Coast Guard personnel and U.S. maritime security: authorizes higher end strength (50,000–60,000) and multi‑year increases in operations and procurement funding through FY2029, enabling more missions, faster responses, and planned acquisitions.
Coast Guard members and survivors: establishes comprehensive sexual assault and harassment reforms (stronger evidence retention, faster transfer/temporary separation options, victim support, training, and oversight) that improve survivor safety, access to care, and accountability.
Taxpayers and Congress: increases transparency and external oversight through GAO reviews, new reporting requirements, Inspector General and Chief Prosecutor roles, and mandated implementation plans, improving accountability for Coast Guard programs and major organizational changes.
Taxpayers and federal budgets: the package substantially increases authorized personnel levels, procurement, program expansions, training, and compliance requirements—raising near‑term and ongoing federal costs that will need appropriations or reallocation.
Cadets, service members, mariners, and applicants: expanded data collection, long evidence/record retention, electronic access logs, eMMC data sharing, and broader reporting risks exposing personally identifiable information or sensitive operational data if protections are inadequate.
Coast Guard leadership and frontline operations: many new reporting, briefing, and oversight mandates plus new offices and GAO/IG priorities increase administrative burdens and could divert staff time and resources away from operational missions.
Based on analysis of 15 sections of legislative text.
Updates FY2025–2029 Coast Guard authorizations and end strength, reforms mariner credentialing, strengthens Academy and personnel misconduct policies, expands maritime cyber and safety authorities, and orders GAO reviews.
Introduced July 2, 2025 by Samuel Graves · Last progress July 23, 2025
Updates and extends Coast Guard funding authorizations and raises authorized personnel levels for fiscal years 2025–2029 while adding multiple operational, personnel, safety, credentialing, and oversight reforms. It increases yearly authorized funding levels across major Coast Guard accounts, raises end strength targets up to 60,000, requires reporting if Operations & Support funding is not requested to match higher personnel levels, and creates or revises a range of maritime safety, cyber, academy, and credentialing authorities and requirements. Imposes new protections and procedures for cadets and service members on sexual assault, domestic abuse, expedited transfers, evidence retention, and behavioral health; reforms merchant mariner credentialing and medical/drug standards; authorizes Coast Guard coordination with foreign partners on maritime cyber prevention and response; directs GAO reviews and reports on firefighting, sexual-misconduct mitigation, R&D, and behavioral health resources; and makes many technical legal fixes across titles 14, 33, and 46 U.S.C.