Sponsors (4)
The bill funds planning, transparency, and a potential new Great Lakes icebreaker to improve navigation reliability and speed procurement, but it increases federal costs, risks diverting Coast Guard resources, and could produce recurring taxpayer expenses if performance targets are not met.
Shippers, local governments, and businesses — more reliable Great Lakes navigation (target: waterways open ~95% of the time) reduces shipping delays and economic disruption.
Local governments and taxpayers — a defined design and construction strategy with cost and timeline estimates enables faster procurement and shortens the time until a new Great Lakes icebreaker is in service.
Taxpayers and local governments — public reporting and congressional briefings increase transparency on icebreaker costs and performance, supporting oversight and better budget planning.
Taxpayers — building and operating a new icebreaker will increase federal spending and could require reallocating taxpayer funds or add budget pressure.
Taxpayers and local governments — if the 95%-open performance target is unmet, ongoing investments could produce recurring costs with limited navigation benefits.
Coast Guard personnel and other federal staff — the pilot program and new build effort could divert Coast Guard resources and staff time away from other missions during implementation and reporting.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires a 90-day Coast Guard plan for a Great Lakes icebreaker, a five-season pilot testing 95% waterway-open performance, and accelerated cost reports and briefings to Congress.
Official title: To direct the Commandant of the Coast Guard to submit to Congress a strategy detailing how the Coast Guard will complete design and construction of a Great Lakes Icebreaker, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 14, 2025 by Kristen McDonald Rivet · Last progress July 14, 2025
Requires the Coast Guard to produce a near-term plan to design and build a Great Lakes-capable icebreaker and to run a five-season pilot program testing icebreaking performance on tier one and tier two Great Lakes waterways. It also tightens reporting and briefing deadlines for Coast Guard cost estimates and requires public reports on costs to meet proposed icebreaking standards. The Commandant must deliver a design-and-construction strategy (with cost and timeline) within 90 days, operate the pilot for the first five ice seasons after enactment, report annually on pilot results and updated performance measures, and provide several specific briefings to Congress on FY2024–FY2026 costs.