A trio of Republican senators have introduced a bill to create Secretary of the Coast Guard and Undersecretary positions as the civilian head of the 43,000-member service, USNI News has learned.
According to the draft ‘‘Coast Guard Leadership Modernization Act’’ obtained by USNI News, the new Secretary of the Coast Guard position would report to the Secretary of Homeland Security and takeover many of the interactions the service had with the Pentagon, according to the bill text.
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and was introduced Wednesday.
“The Coast Guard has a unique and highly specialized mission to protect our country from threats posed by smugglers, drug traffickers, terrorists and other lawbreakers, and it deserves a service secretary to oversee and coordinate its operations, just like every other branch of the military,” Scott said in a statement to USNI News. “This bill creates a Secretary of the Coast Guard in federal law to ensure the service has the leadership it needs to take on the challenges of the 21st Century and beyond.”
The bill comes as leadership in both the Defense Department and DHS have called for a Coast Guard service secretary to in part coordinate the law enforcement functions of the service with the wider Pentagon. Now, that coordination with the Pentagon comes via DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
In September, then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued statements in support of a Secretary of the Coast Guard position as the U.S. military built up a broader presence in U.S. Southern Command. In particular, the legal authority for U.S. Navy ships to interdict suspected narcotics traffickers come from embarked Coast Guard law enforcement detachments. The Coast Guard also coordinates with other U.S. combatant commands.
“We recognize and deeply value the Department of Homeland Security’s stewardship of the Coast Guard’s multi-mission character and its unique homeland security capabilities,” Hegseth wrote in a letter of support to Noem. “The Department of War believes that the establishment of a Secretary of the Coast Guard can complement and reinforce these strengths while ensuring that, in times of peace or war, the service is postured to support the full spectrum of national security operations.”
Last year, Rep. Mike Ezell (R-Miss.) proposed a similar position for the service in a House bill that didn’t get much traction.
The current bill’s sponsors are pushing for a quick passage of the legislation.
“This is a matter of readiness and national security; Congress should pass this immediately so President [Donald] Trump can make his nomination, and the Senate can get to work on confirmation,” Scott said in the statement.
