Sponsors (8)
The bill strengthens U.S. maritime capacity, regional cooperation, and congressional transparency in the Indo‑Pacific—but does so at the cost of higher taxpayer spending, added administrative burdens, and potential security, diplomatic, and privacy risks that will require careful management.
Coast Guard, partner countries, and regional institutions will gain a coordinated set of tools—training center, expanded attachés, base-positioning planning, and analysis of a potential standing Indo‑Pacific maritime group—that strengthen maritime security, search-and-rescue, fisheries enforcement, and diplomatic cooperation across the Indo‑Pacific.
Congress, the Coast Guard, and the public get improved transparency and oversight through required annual unclassified plans, detailed budget displays, and specified committee notifications, enabling clearer review of Pacific missions and needs.
Mandated analyses, timelines, and cost estimates for shore infrastructure, logistics gaps, and personnel shortfalls give Congress and planners a basis to target investments and improve mission readiness in the region.
Taxpayers face new and potentially substantial costs to create and operate a training center, expand attachés, build or support overseas bases, and fund increased Coast Guard activities in the Indo‑Pacific.
Required reporting and some public disclosures (plans, timelines, locations) risk revealing sensitive operational posture or creating diplomatic tensions if classification and notifications are mishandled.
Preparing multiple reports, plans, and budget displays will impose administrative burdens that could divert Coast Guard staff time and resources from frontline operations and readiness.
Based on analysis of 7 sections of legislative text.
Directs the Coast Guard to create an Indo‑Pacific Center, produce annual Pacific plans and budget displays, and report on a standing maritime group, forward bases, and attachés.
Official title: To amend title 14, United States Code, to require the establishment of the Center of Expertise in Indo-Pacific Maritime Governance, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 14, 2025 by Trent Kelly · Last progress May 14, 2025
Creates a Coast Guard-led Indo‑Pacific posture by establishing a Center of Expertise in Indo‑Pacific maritime governance, requiring annual unclassified Pacific operational plans and budget displays, and directing multiple reports on a standing regional maritime group, forward operating bases, and embassy attaché allocations. Sets deadlines for those plans and reports and identifies which congressional committees will receive them. The measure focuses on planning, coordination, and capacity-building — both within the U.S. government and with foreign partners — to strengthen humanitarian, law‑enforcement, maritime domain awareness, and other Coast Guard activities across the Indo‑Pacific. It does not itself appropriate funds but asks for detailed budget displays and feasibility/cost estimates for proposed posture changes and facilities.