[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




 
  ENHANCING PERSONNEL RESOURCES TO SUPPORT A STRONGER, MORE RESILIENT 
                              COAST GUARD

=======================================================================

                                (117-56)

                             REMOTE HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                            SUBCOMMITTEE ON
                COAST GUARD AND MARITIME TRANSPORTATION

                                 OF THE

                              COMMITTEE ON
                   TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                               __________

                             JULY 27, 2022

                               __________

                       Printed for the use of the
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
             
             
             
             
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     Available online at: https://www.govinfo.gov/committee/house-
     transportation?path=/browsecommittee/chamber/house/committee/
                             transportation
                             
                             
                             ______
 
              U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 
 49-394PDF             WASHINGTON : 2022 
 
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             

             COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

  PETER A. DeFAZIO, Oregon, Chair
SAM GRAVES, Missouri                 ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON,
ERIC A. ``RICK'' CRAWFORD, Arkansas    District of Columbia
BOB GIBBS, Ohio                      EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas
DANIEL WEBSTER, Florida              RICK LARSEN, Washington
THOMAS MASSIE, Kentucky              GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California
SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania            STEVE COHEN, Tennessee
RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois               ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
JOHN KATKO, New York                 JOHN GARAMENDI, California
BRIAN BABIN, Texas                   HENRY C. ``HANK'' JOHNSON, Jr., 
GARRET GRAVES, Louisiana             Georgia
DAVID ROUZER, North Carolina         ANDRE CARSON, Indiana
MIKE BOST, Illinois                  DINA TITUS, Nevada
RANDY K. WEBER, Sr., Texas           SEAN PATRICK MALONEY, New York
DOUG LaMALFA, California             JARED HUFFMAN, California
BRUCE WESTERMAN, Arkansas            JULIA BROWNLEY, California
BRIAN J. MAST, Florida               FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida
MIKE GALLAGHER, Wisconsin            DONALD M. PAYNE, Jr., New Jersey
BRIAN K. FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania   ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California
JENNIFFER GONZALEZ-COLON,            MARK DeSAULNIER, California
  Puerto Rico                        STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts
TROY BALDERSON, Ohio                 SALUD O. CARBAJAL, California
PETE STAUBER, Minnesota              ANTHONY G. BROWN, Maryland
TIM BURCHETT, Tennessee              TOM MALINOWSKI, New Jersey
DUSTY JOHNSON, South Dakota          GREG STANTON, Arizona
JEFFERSON VAN DREW, New Jersey       COLIN Z. ALLRED, Texas
MICHAEL GUEST, Mississippi           SHARICE DAVIDS, Kansas, Vice Chair
TROY E. NEHLS, Texas                 JESUS G. ``CHUY'' GARCIA, Illinois
NANCY MACE, South Carolina           CHRIS PAPPAS, New Hampshire
NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS, New York         CONOR LAMB, Pennsylvania
BETH VAN DUYNE, Texas                SETH MOULTON, Massachusetts
CARLOS A. GIMENEZ, Florida           JAKE AUCHINCLOSS, Massachusetts
MICHELLE STEEL, California           CAROLYN BOURDEAUX, Georgia
Vacancy                              KAIALI`I KAHELE, Hawaii
                                     MARILYN STRICKLAND, Washington
                                     NIKEMA WILLIAMS, Georgia
                                     MARIE NEWMAN, Illinois
                                     TROY A. CARTER, Louisiana
                                     SHEILA CHERFILUS-McCORMICK, 
                                     Florida
                                ------                                7

        Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation

                  SALUD O. CARBAJAL, California, Chair
RICK LARSEN, Washington              BOB GIBBS, Ohio
JAKE AUCHINCLOSS, Massachusetts,     RANDY K. WEBER, Sr., Texas
  Vice Chair                         MIKE GALLAGHER, Wisconsin
SEAN PATRICK MALONEY, New York       JEFFERSON VAN DREW, New Jersey
ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California        NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS, New York
ANTHONY G. BROWN, Maryland           Vacancy
CHRIS PAPPAS, New Hampshire          SAM GRAVES, Missouri (Ex Officio)
PETER A. DeFAZIO, Oregon (Ex 
    Officio)





                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page

Summary of Subject Matter........................................     v

                 STATEMENTS OF MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE

Hon. Salud O. Carbajal, a Representative in Congress from the 
  State of California, and Chair, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and 
  Maritime Transportation, opening statement.....................     1
    Prepared statement...........................................     3
Hon. Bob Gibbs, a Representative in Congress from the State of 
  Ohio, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and 
  Maritime Transportation, opening statement.....................     5
    Prepared statement...........................................     5
Hon. Peter A. DeFazio, a Representative in Congress from the 
  State of Oregon, and Chair, Committee on Transportation and 
  Infrastructure, opening statement..............................     6
    Prepared statement...........................................     7
Hon. Sam Graves, a Representative in Congress from the State of 
  Missouri, and Ranking Member, Committee on Transportation and 
  Infrastructure, prepared statement.............................    27

                               WITNESSES

Admiral Linda L. Fagan, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, oral 
  statement......................................................     8
    Prepared statement...........................................     9

                       SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD

``Coast Guard: Increasing Mission Demands Highlight Importance of 
  Assessing Its Workforce Needs,'' Statement of Heather MacLeod, 
  Acting Director, Homeland Security and Justice, U.S. Government 
  Accountability Office, Submitted for the Record by Hon. Salud 
  O. Carbajal....................................................     5

                                APPENDIX

Questions to Admiral Linda L. Fagan, Commandant, U.S. Coast 
  Guard, from:
    Hon. Peter A. DeFazio on behalf of Hon. John Garamendi.......    29
    Hon. Salud O. Carbajal.......................................    30
    Hon. Sam Graves..............................................    35
    Hon. Mike Gallagher..........................................    41

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                             July 22, 2022

    SUMMARY OF SUBJECT MATTER

    TO:      LMembers, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime 
Transportation
    FROM:  LStaff, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime 
Transportation
    RE:      LHearing on ``Enhancing Personnel Resources to 
Support a Stronger, More Resilient Coast Guard''
_______________________________________________________________________


                                PURPOSE

    The Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation 
will hold a hearing on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. 
EDT in 2167 Rayburn House Office Building and via Zoom to 
examine the current state of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG or 
Coast Guard) workforce and highlight the investments and 
resources needed to support the servicemembers and civilian 
personnel executing the Coast Guard's diverse array of 
missions. The Subcommittee will hear testimony from the U.S. 
Coast Guard.

                               BACKGROUND

    The Coast Guard operates as the nation's premier maritime 
law enforcement agency, charged with primary responsibility to 
enforce or assist in the enforcement of all applicable federal 
laws in, under, and over the high seas and waters subject to 
the jurisdiction of the United States to ensure safety of life 
and property at sea; protect the marine environment; carry out 
icebreaking activities; and ensure the safety and security of 
vessels, ports, waterways, and related facilities.\1\ As one of 
the six Armed Forces, the Coast Guard also maintains defense 
readiness and may be called upon to operate as a specialized 
service in the Navy upon the declaration of war or at the 
direction of the president.\2\
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    \1\ 14 U.S.C. Sec.  102.
    \2\ 14 U.S.C. Sec.  103.
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    In fiscal year 2021, the Coast Guard responded to over 
16,400 search and rescue cases, saving 4,747 lives.\3\ 
Additionally, the Coast Guard conducted over 7,656 boardings of 
fishing vessels, issued 229,274 Certificates of Documentation 
to commercial and recreational vessels, maintained over 46,529 
aids to navigation, investigated 11,062 pollution incident 
reports, performed 4,555 hours of icebreaking, and detained 635 
suspected smugglers carrying over 380,000 pounds of cocaine.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ U.S. Coast Guard. Posture Statement: 2023 Budget Overview 
available at https://
www.uscg.mil/Portals/0/documents/budget/2023/
FY%202023%20Posture%20Statement.pdf?
ver=nSIvAr6imO5IsOC3m0PMsg%3D%3D&timestamp=1648484300591.
    \4\ Id.
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    As the second smallest branch in the military, the Coast 
Guard achieved these mission objectives on a modest budget with 
just about 40,456 active-duty military members, 8,034 
reservists, and 9,012 civilian employees.\5\ For fiscal year 
2022, the Coast Guard received an overall appropriation of 
$13.2 billion, of which $9.16 billion was dedicated to 
Operations and Support, a portion of which covers military pay 
and allowances for its servicemembers.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ Id. at 8.
    \6\ Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (Public Law 117-103), 
available at https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/
2471.
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    In 2004, the Coast Guard began its largest recapitalization 
effort since World War II, investing billions of dollars in 
updating its legacy assets to enhance its capability to respond 
to an unprecedented demand for Coast Guard services.\7\ By 
2038, the Coast Guard will have invested well over $26.8 
billion in its acquisition program.\8\ Alongside these 
extraordinary investments in Coast Guard assets, it's 
imperative that the concerns and needs of its servicemembers 
are equally addressed and resources are targeted toward 
enhancing their quality of life.
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    \7\ Congressional Research Service. Coast Guard Cutter Procurement: 
Background and Issues for Congress. https://www.crs.gov/reports/pdf/
R42567 Updated April 13, 2022.
    \8\ U.S. Coast Guard FY2022-2026 Capital Investment Plan, Fiscal 
Year 2021 Report to Congress, December 9, 2021.
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HOUSING

    Housing poses a unique challenge for members of the Coast 
Guard stationed in high-cost areas. Due to the nature of Coast 
Guard missions, Coast Guard installations are based near 
desirable coastal cities, which have higher than average living 
costs as illustrated in Figure 1.\9\ To offset the cost of 
housing, the Coast Guard provides a basic allowance for housing 
(BAH) to all active-duty servicemembers stationed in the United 
States. It helps cover a majority of monthly rent and utility 
costs for servicemembers.\10\ The amount of BAH a servicemember 
is entitled to depends on that member's pay grade, dependency 
status, and the geographic location the member is assigned 
to.\11\ The Secretary of the Department of Defense (DOD) sets 
the BAH rates for all uniformed services, including the Coast 
Guard, for the various military housing areas in the United 
States.\12\ The rates are based on ``the costs of adequate 
housing for civilians with comparable income levels in the same 
area'' and are designed to cover approximately 95 percent of a 
member's housing costs.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\ Trulia, ``Stationed in the Nation: Best Rental Markets for U.S. 
Military and Their Families,'' Trulia.com May 11, 2016, https://
www.trulia.com/research/military-rentals/.
    \10\ GAO, ``Military Housing: Actions Needed to Improve the Process 
for Setting Allowances for Servicemembers and Calculating Payments for 
Privatized Housing Projects,'' p. 17 GAO-21-137. https://www.gao.gov/
assets/gao-21-137.pdf January 2021.
    \11\ 37 U.S.C. Sec.  403.
    \12\ Id.
    \13\ Id.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
 Figure 1_Location of Coast Guard's nine Districts and 37 Sectors (GAO-
                                20-223)

    BAH is calculated by a concerted effort of military 
representatives and contractors who gather data on rental rates 
of various housing types (e.g. one-bedroom apartment, two-
bedroom townhouse, four-bedroom single-family home) in the 
private sector housing market one year in advance of each 
fiscal year for each of the 301 military housing areas in the 
U.S.\14\ The Military Compensation Policy directorate within 
the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for 
Military Personnel Policy reviews the data and makes 
adjustments where appropriate to calculate BAH rates for each 
of the 27 pay grades by dependency status.\15\ The directorate 
then briefs each of the services on the rates, and the services 
approve the final rates after review.\16\ During the process, 
each service is afforded the opportunity to provide ancillary 
information to be used in the BAH calculus, such as rental 
housing referral lists, apartment complex lists, and real 
estate contacts.\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \14\ GAO, ``Military Housing: Actions Needed to Improve the Process 
for Setting Allowances for Servicemembers and Calculating Payments for 
Privatized Housing Projects,'' p. 18 GAO-21-137. https://www.gao.gov/
assets/gao-21-137.pdf January 2021.
    \15\ Id. at 17.
    \16\ Id. at 18.
    \17\ U.S. Coast Guard. Coast Guard Housing Manual. p. 2-1 Available 
at https://media.defense.gov/2017/Mar/29/2001723590/-1/-1/0/
CIM_11101_13G.PDF.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    During its 2021 review of DOD's process for setting housing 
allowances, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) 
identified a few discrepancies in DOD's methodology for 
determining BAH rates. It found that for certain locations DOD 
did not collect enough data to adequately meet its sample size 
targets and it did not always rely on current-year rental 
housing data.\18\ Accordingly, there are concerns that these 
shortcomings could result in an insufficient housing allowance 
provided to members of the Coast Guard. For instance, an E-5 
rated servicemember with dependents stationed at USCG Station 
Golden Gate in Sausalito, California receives a housing 
allowance of $3,126 per month,\19\ but a two-bedroom apartment 
in this vicinity has an average monthly rental rate of $4,500, 
or $1,374 more than the housing allowance, and this does not 
include utilities which BAH is intended to cover.\20\ In 
contrast, the nearest DOD installation to USCG Station Golden 
Gate is Travis Air Force Base (Travis AFB) in Fairfield, CA, 
where an E-5 with dependents is entitled to $2,811 per month 
for BAH.\21\ The housing allowance provides that airman an 
excess of $421 over the average rental rate of $2,390 for a 
two-bedroom apartment in this area.\22\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \18\ GAO, ``Military Housing: Actions Needed to Improve the Process 
for Setting Allowances for Servicemembers and Calculating Payments for 
Privatized Housing Projects,'' p. 12 GAO-21-137. https://www.gao.gov/
assets/gao-21-137.pdf January 2021.
    \19\ Defense Travel Management Office. BAH Calculator. https://
www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm Accessed June 28, 2022.
    \20\ Rent.com Rental market trends in Sausalito, CA. https://
www.rent.com/california/sausalito-apartments/rent-trends Accessed July 
4, 2022.
    \21\ Defense Travel Management Office. BAH Calculator. https://
www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm Accessed June 28, 2022.
    \22\ Rent.com Rental market trends in Fairfield, CA. https://
www.rent.com/california/fairfield-apartments/rent-trends Accessed July 
4, 2022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Coast Guard policy states that the housing program strives 
to ensure access to adequate housing that is within two hours 
or less round-trip travel distance of a member's permanent duty 
station during peak commute times.\23\ However, there are 
concerns that in order to obtain housing within the BAH 
allotment, junior members must endure longer commutes. For 
example, the drive from Fairfield, CA, to Sausalito, CA, is 90 
minutes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \23\ U.S. Coast Guard. Coast Guard Housing Manual. p. 4-2 Available 
at https://media.defense.gov/2017/Mar/29/2001723590/-1/-1/0/
CIM_11101_13G.PDF.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Service members are provided alternative housing options so 
that they do not have to obtain private sector housing, such as 
military housing or leased housing, but housing on base is 
awarded based on rank and dependency status, driving more 
junior members to join a lengthy waiting list and endure 
housing expenses above the BAH allotment until a home becomes 
available.\24\ Moreover, many Coast Guard housing units are 
deteriorating and in dire need of recapitalization. According 
to GAO, the Coast Guard has 2,901 housing assets, 28 percent of 
which are past their service life and received a B- rating from 
the American Society of Civil Engineers.\25\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \24\ Id. at 7-3.
    \25\ GAO, ``Coast Guard Actions Needed to Better Manage Shore 
Infrastructure,'' p. 3 GAO-22-105513. https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-
22-105513.pdf November 2021.
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HEALTHCARE

    In the area of healthcare, the Coast Guard faces several 
challenges to meet the needs of its servicemembers. The Coast 
Guard has 43 clinics, 65 shore-based sickbays, and 57 vessel-
based sickbays which it staffs with enlisted members (health 
service technicians) and officers (physician assistants), as 
well as contractors, and physicians and dentists serving in the 
U.S. Public Health Service.\26\ In a recent study, GAO 
discovered that Coast Guard's current staffing approach is 
inadequate, as it fails to account for surge deployments of 
medical staff for disaster missions, which quadrupled from 
4,111 days in 2018 to more than 16,000 days in 2021.\27\
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    \26\ GAO, ``Coast Guard Health Care: Improvements Needed for 
Determining Staffing Needs and Monitoring Access to Care,'' p. 5 GAO-
22-105152. https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-22-105152.pdf February 2022.
    \27\ Id. at 13.
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    When healthcare staff are deployed to support surge 
operations, this exacerbates already strained staffing levels 
at Coast Guard clinics and sickbays. Clinics are forced to 
redistribute remaining staff to cover services, defer services, 
or reduce the number of patients they treat.\28\ In a report on 
Coast Guard healthcare released February 2022, GAO determined 
that the Coast Guard lacked the necessary health care staffing 
standards relied upon by other health care organizations to 
determine staffing levels and staffing types needed to provide 
adequate medical care to servicemembers.\29\ GAO assessed that 
the Coast Guard health services program's overall vacancy rate 
is seven percent as of July 2021.\30\ The paper health record 
system used by the Coast Guard handicaps its ability to track 
the necessary information that would inform health care 
staffing standards and needs.\31\ The Coast Guard is now 
transitioning to Military Health System (MHS) Genesis, an 
electronic health care record system used by the DOD, and aims 
to complete the initial rollout of the system by September 
2022.\32\ The Coast Guard hopes that the new system will enable 
it to determine appropriate medical staffing levels.\33\
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    \28\ Id. at 14.
    \29\ Id.
    \30\ Id. at 12.
    \31\ Id. at 15.
    \32\ Id.
    \33\ Id.
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    Equally concerning is the Coast Guard's inability to assess 
whether it is meeting its access-to-care standards as its 
current system wholly relies on manual estimates of wait times 
for available appointments.\34\ Coast Guard medical standards 
dictate that members needing specialty medical care, such as 
behavioral health care, should receive an appointment for such 
care within 28 days.\35\ However, the Coast Guard cannot 
accurately determine whether it meets this medical standard 
because its current process for collecting access-to-care data 
does not reliably track appointment timelines and wait 
times.\36\
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    \34\ Id. at 16.
    \35\ U.S. Coast Guard, Coast Guard Medical Manual, COMDTINST 
M6000.1F.
    \36\ GAO, ``Coast Guard Health Care: Improvements Needed for 
Determining Staffing Needs and Monitoring Access to Care,'' p. 16 GAO-
22-105152. https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-22-105152.pdf February 2022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    This is particularly concerning given the Coast Guard's 
role as a first responder and the impact that role has on 
mental health. The most common mental health conditions 
diagnosed in military servicemembers are posttraumatic stress 
disorder (PTSD) and depression.\37\ As mentioned previously, in 
2021 the Coast Guard responded to over 16,020 search and rescue 
cases.\38\ The search and rescue mission in particular levies a 
heavy burden on the mental wellness of Coast Guard personnel 
who not only save lives, but also face traumatic experiences of 
recovering lifeless bodies or witnessing firsthand the death of 
an attempted rescue. The Coast Guard has just 20 mental health 
providers servicing over 40,000 active duty members.\39\ In 
2021, RAND Corporation identified psychological distress 
(depression and PTSD) as having a ``strong association'' with 
military separation among all the services; servicemembers with 
depression or PTSD are 22.5 percent and 23.1 percent more 
likely to separate from service, respectively, than 
servicemembers who do not report having depression or PTSD.\40\ 
RAND opined that improved care for employees experiencing 
psychological distress could increase retention in the 
military.\41\
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    \37\ RAND corporation, ``Military Mental Health Care,'' August 14, 
2017 Available at https://www.rand.org/pubs/infographics/IG131.html.
    \38\ U.S. Coast Guard. Posture Statement: 2023 Budget Overview 
available at https://
www.uscg.mil/Portals/0/documents/budget/2023/
FY%202023%20Posture%20Statement.pdf?
ver=nSIvAr6imO5IsOC3m0PMsg%3D%3D&timestamp=1648484300591.
    \39\ GAO, ``Coast Guard Health Care: Improvements Needed for 
Determining Staffing Needs and Monitoring Access to Care,'' p. 10 GAO-
22-105152. https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-22-105152.pdf February 2022.
    \40\ RAND corporation, ``Symptoms of Depression and Posttraumatic 
Stress Disorder as Predictors of Separation from the U.S. Military,'' 
p. 4 October 26, 2021 Available at https://www.rand.org/pubs/
research_reports/RRA1520-1.html.
    \41\ Id. at 5.
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RECRUITING AND RETENTION

    Although the Coast Guard has the highest retention rate of 
all the services, it struggles with recruiting and retaining 
members in a tight job market as all military services are 
struggling to reach fiscal year 2022 recruiting numbers.\42\ In 
2020, the COVID-19 pandemic created significant obstacles to 
traditional recruiting mechanisms that all services had to 
navigate.\43\ Each military branch restructured its recruiting 
policies and procedures to acclimate to a virtual setting.\44\ 
DOD military branches actually achieved end-strength goals in 
fiscal year 2020 due to creative retention policy adjustments 
and recruiting strategies.\45\ For instance, the Army offered 
short-term extension contracts to its enlisted soldiers ranging 
from three to 23 months to retain its members who would have 
likely separated during the pandemic.\46\ End-strength is the 
number of individuals a service aims to have in its ranks at 
the end of the fiscal year and is approved by Congress.\47\ The 
Coast Guard is authorized an active-duty end-of-year strength 
of 44,500 for fiscal year 2021,\48\ but currently has a deficit 
of over 4,000 active-duty personnel.\49\ In April 2018, the 
Coast Guard reported to Congress that it did not have enough 
personnel to meet its mission needs.\50\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \42\ Boigon, Molly and Kube, Courtney, ``Every branch of the 
military is struggling to make its 2022 recruiting goals, officials 
say,'' nbcnews.com, June 27, 2022, https://www.nbcnews.com/
news/military/every-branch-us-military-struggling-meet-2022-recruiting-
goals-officia-rcna35078.
    \43\ RAND, ``What Happened to Military Recruiting and Retention of 
Enlisted Personnel in 2020 During the COVID-19 Pandemic?'' January 18 
2022 Available at https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1092-
1.html.
    \44\ Id. at 4.
    \45\ Id.
    \46\ Id. at 6.
    \47\ Id. at 4.
    \48\ 14 U.S.C. Sec.  4904.
    \49\ U.S. Coast Guard. Posture Statement: 2023 Budget Overview 
available at https://
www.uscg.mil/Portals/0/documents/budget/2023/
FY%202023%20Posture%20Statement.pdf?
ver=nSIvAr6imO5IsOC3m0PMsg%3D%3D&timestamp=1648484300591.
    \50\ GAO, ``Actions Needed to Evaluate the Effectiveness of 
Organizational Changes and Determine Workforce Needs,'' p. 1 GAO-20-
223. https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-20-223.pdf February 2020.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    A shortage of personnel not only leaves gaps in mission 
capability but also strains the physical and mental capacities 
of the workforce. When members go on surge deployments for a 
humanitarian mission, take parental leave, or go on extended 
medical leave, the workers left behind must absorb the duties 
of those on temporary leave.\51\ If that unit is already 
understaffed, this only exacerbates the stretched capacities of 
the workforce. In the major cutter community, the effects are 
especially onerous as RAND highlighted in its 2019 report, 
``Balancing Quality of Life with Mission Requirements.'' \52\ A 
major cutter is a large ocean-going vessel that spends 
significant amounts of time away from home port and includes 
the Coast Guard's high-endurance cutters (378 feet in length), 
medium-endurance cutters (270 feet or 210 feet in length), the 
polar ice breakers, and the 282-foot medium-endurance cutter 
known as the Alex Haley.\53\ These cutters are normally 
deployed out to sea for 60 to 90 days at a time under 
physically strenuous conditions.\54\ Every summer, these 
cutters lose approximately one-third to one-half of its crew 
during transfer season, and when the new crew reports to the 
vessel they have to get qualified, meaning they have to meet a 
set of professional qualification standards before they can be 
considered certified to perform their job.\55\ When there's a 
shortage of personnel or a shortage of qualified crew members 
aboard the cutter, the remaining workforce is required to stand 
watch more frequently and take on additional duties beyond 
their primary jobs. This can lead to severe sleep deprivation 
and overexertion, which in turn can adversely impact the Coast 
Guard's retention numbers.\56\ More manning for major cutters 
and other specialties and units is necessary to relieve members 
of the hefty workload, but the process the Coast Guard uses to 
assess manning needs is also understaffed, making it nearly 
impossible for the Coast Guard to develop a clear understanding 
of its manning requirements.\57\ As of February 2020, the Coast 
Guard had completed manpower requirements determinations for 
just two percent of its workforce.\58\
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    \51\ RAND, ``Balancing Quality of Life with Mission Requirements,'' 
July 29, 2019 Available at https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/
RR2731.html.
    \52\ Id.
    \53\ RAND, ``Balancing Quality of Life with Mission Requirements,'' 
p. 1 July 29, 2019 Available at https://www.rand.org/pubs/
research_reports/RR2731.html.
    \54\ Id.
    \55\ Id. at 60.
    \56\ Id. at 62.
    \57\ GAO, ``Actions Needed to Evaluate the Effectiveness of 
Organizational Changes and Determine Workforce Needs,'' p. 32 GAO-20-
223. https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-20-223.pdf February 2020.
    \58\ Id. at 24.
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    All the services, including the Coast Guard, offer 
enlistment bonuses of up to $50,000 for qualified active-duty 
recruits; the amounts and disbursement timeframes depend on the 
type of rating or specialty and service commitment length.\59\ 
However, it's clear that DOD is better resourced to offer these 
sizable incentives. In fiscal year 2022, DOD received $4.7 
billion allocated for Special and Incentive (S&I) pays, or 
bonuses, to aid with recruiting and retention.\60\ Earlier this 
year, the Navy offered a $25,000 signing bonus to any recruit, 
regardless of rating, who enlisted active duty in the Navy 
between April and June 2022; the highest offer of all the 
services.\61\ The Army provides a selective reenlistment bonus 
(SRB) in the form of a lump sum cash payment to soldiers who 
reenlist for approximately 120 military occupational 
specialties (MOS) (out of over 150 MOSs).\62\ SRB has been 
proven to increase the likelihood of reenlistment.\63\ 
Moreover, the Army alone boasts a robust recruiting program 
comprised of approximately 10,900 soldiers and civilians 
stationed at more than 1,400 recruiting offices not just in the 
United States, but overseas as well.\64\ Comparatively, just 58 
offices divided into four regions across America make up the 
Coast Guard's recruiting program as depicted in Figure 2. Due 
to its budget constraints, the Coast Guard judiciously offers 
SRB bonuses to only three of its 24 ratings identified as in 
critical need.\65\ To further aid it's recruiting efforts, the 
Coast Guard is currently offering $500 cash bonuses for the 
first time in its history to personnel, both military and 
civilian, who help recruit qualified members to the 
Service.\66\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \59\ Toropin, Konstantin, ``Navy offers $25,000 to All Recruits to 
Ship Out Quickly,'' Military.com, April 8, 2022, https://
www.military.com/daily-news/2022/04/08/navy-offers-25000-all-recruits-
ship-out-quickly.html.
    \60\ Department of Defense Budget Fiscal Year 2023 Available at 
https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/FY2023/
FY2023_m1.pdf.
    \61\ Toropin, Konstantin, ``Navy offers $25,000 to All Recruits to 
Ship Out Quickly,'' Military.com, April 8, 2022, https://
www.military.com/daily-news/2022/04/08/navy-offers-25000-all-recruits-
ship-out-quickly.html.
    \62\ U.S. Army, MILPER Message Number: 22-237 Selective Retention 
Bonus (SRB), June 23, 2022 Available at https://
armyreup.s3.amazonaws.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/23222247/
SRB_22_237_20220623.pdf.
    \63\ RAND, ``Increasing Efficiency and Incentives for Performance 
in the Army's Selective Reenlistment Bonus (SRB) Program'' p. v October 
5, 2021 Available at https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA803-
1.html.
    \64\ U.S. Army Recruiting Command. Recruiting. https://
recruiting.army.mil/about
USAREC/
#::text=There%20are%20approximately%2010%2C900%20Soldier,stations%20acr
oss
%20America%20and%20overseas Accessed June 30, 2022.
    \65\ U.S. Coast Guard, ACN 104/21--OCT 2021 FY22 Military Workforce 
Planning Team Results--Enlisted Monetary Interventions, Oct 19, 2021 
Available at https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCG/
bulletins/2f8314d.
    \66\ U.S. Coast Guard, Here's your chance to grow the Coast Guard's 
workforce, May 11, 2022 Available at https://www.mycg.uscg.mil/News/
Article/3028003/heres-your-chance-to-grow-the-
coast-guards-workforce/
#::text=The%20program%20called%20for%20all,%2C%20reserve%2C
%20and%20civilian%20employees.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

  Figure 2_Coast Guard Recruiting Offices (provided by the U.S Coast 
                                 Guard)

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

    In spite of the Coast Guard's efforts to improve 
representation of women and minorities within its workforce, 
the Service still struggles to reflect the demographics of the 
nation.\67\ This underrepresentation becomes more salient as 
members climb the upper echelons of military ranks.\68\ For 
instance, a RAND report published in 2021 examined the 
demographics of the officer ranks in the Coast Guard and found 
that representation of racial and ethnic minority groups is 32 
percent at the O-2 level, but drops to 11 percent at the flag 
officer level.\69\ For enlisted personnel, 35 percent of E-5s 
are of racial or ethnic minority groups, but only 18 percent 
are E-9s (master chief petty officer).\70\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \67\ RAND corporation, ``Improving the Representation of Women and 
Racial/Ethnic Minorities Among U.S. Coast Guard Active-Duty members,'' 
p. 1 August 11, 2021 Available at https://www.rand.org/pubs/
research_reports/RRA362-2.html.
    \68\ Id.
    \69\ Id.
    \70\ Id.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
Figure 3_Coast Guard racial and ethnic demographics among officers and 
                          enlisted personnel.
        https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA362-2.html

    Female representation in the officer ranks is equally low--
women comprise 33 percent of O-1s but just 11 percent of O-6s 
and 14 percent of flag officers.\71\ ``This representation 
problem is not only critical but also potentially growing, 
given that half the Coast Guard's future recruiting pool 
(Americans younger than 15) are members of racial or ethnic 
minority groups.'' \72\ As the U.S. population is expected to 
be ``minority white'' by year 2045, the Coast Guard's diversity 
problem will exist in perpetuity if it's not able to adjust to 
the country's changing demographics.\73\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \71\ Id. at 2.
    \72\ RAND corporation, ``Shaping Coast Guard Culture to Enhance the 
Future Workforce,'' November 1, 2021 Available at https://www.rand.org/
pubs/perspectives/PEA872-1.html.
    \73\ Frey, William, ``The US will become `minority white' in 2045, 
Census projects,'' Brookings, March 14, 2018 https://www.brookings.edu/
blog/the-avenue/2018/03/14/the-us-will-become-minority-white-in-2045-
census-projects/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In 2019, RAND published a report on ways that the Coast 
Guard can improve gender diversity in its workforce. The report 
notes female retention in the Coast Guard is 12.6 percent lower 
than males for officers and 12.3 percent lower for enlisted 
members at the tenth year of service mark.\74\ Female retention 
rates are highest in service or support ratings while 
operational ratings have the lowest retention rates for 
women.\75\ Female attrition in the Coast Guard may be 
attributed to several factors, but none more consequential than 
the impact having children has on a woman's career.\76\ 
Pregnancy and maternity leave can cause women to submit 
``sparse or noncompetitive'' performance evaluations compared 
to their peers making promotion acutely challenging because 
performance evaluations cannot indicate that a member was out 
due to pregnancy or parental leave.\77\ Furthermore, pregnancy 
can affect the opportunities for women to attain the necessary 
qualifications and experiences for certain specialties and 
ratings. For example, once a pilot becomes pregnant, she is 
grounded and can no longer achieve needed flight hours or a 
female in an afloat billet can no longer go underway while 
pregnant, sacrificing the requisite sea time needed to rise in 
rank.\78\ Not surprising, ``the most common family status for 
active-duty women is to be unmarried without children.'' \79\ 
Conversely, male active-duty members have the polar opposite 
status.\80\ In general, women in the afloat community face 
limited options for going underway due to berthing 
requirements.\81\ The conversion of the 210s (Reliance-class 
medium-endurance cutters) has made it difficult for women to 
serve on these vessels due to limited berthing spaces and Coast 
Guard requirements for female sleeping quarters to be separate 
``with privacy provided by rigid bulkheads.'' \82\ Some 
specific ratings require sea time, but if women are unable to 
acquire the necessary time underway to advance, they remain in 
lower ranks. In the study, RAND also identified lack of 
childcare availability and costs as major concerns for 
women.\83\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \74\ RAND, ``Improving Gender Diversity in the Coast Guard,'' p. 1 
March 29, 2019 Available at https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/
RR2770.html.
    \75\ Id. at xviii.
    \76\ Id. at 49.
    \77\ Id. at 50.
    \78\ U.S. Coast Guard, Military Assignments and Authorized 
Absences, COMDTINST M1000.8A, June 2019.
    \79\ RAND, ``Improving Gender Diversity in the Coast Guard,'' p. 61 
March 29, 2019 Available at https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/
RR2770.html.
    \80\ Id.
    \81\ RAND corporation, ``Improving the Representation of Women and 
Racial/Ethnic Minorities Among U.S. Coast Guard Active-Duty members,'' 
p. 32 August 11, 2021 Available at https://www.rand.org/pubs/
research_reports/RRA362-2.html.
    \82\ U.S. Coast Guard, Military Assignments and Authorized 
Absences, COMDTINST M1000.8A, June 2019.
    \83\ RAND, ``Improving Gender Diversity in the Coast Guard,'' March 
29, 2019 Available at https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/
RR2770.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHILD CARE

    Coast Guard families experience unique hardships when it 
comes to finding quality care for their children. Depending on 
their duties, military personnel may work duty shifts at odd 
hours, including overnight, and on weekends. Additionally, when 
changing duty stations, they may be challenged to find a child 
care provider, especially in remote or high-cost areas.\84\ The 
Coast Guard has a total of nine Child Development Centers (CDC) 
with a capacity to serve up to 704 children.\85\ As of March 
2022, the Coast Guard had 361 children on its waitlists for 
enrollment in a CDC, most of whom were infants and 
toddlers.\86\ By comparison, DOD has 761 CDCs with a capacity 
to serve approximately 104,000 children.\87\ The Coast Guard 
also provides a Fee Assistance program called ``Military Child 
Care in Your Neighborhood'' to help personnel pay for care by 
community-based providers and has a Family Child Care program 
whereby individuals certified by the Coast Guard residing in 
Coast Guard-controlled housing provide child care in their 
homes.\88\ The fee assistance program provides subsidies of up 
to $900 per month for full-time care and $450 per month for 
part-time care; in high-cost areas the subsidies are capped at 
$1,200 for full-time care and $600 for part-time care per 
month.\89\ The Fee Assistance program provides care for 82 
percent of the children enrolled in Coast Guard's child care 
programs; it is the ``most effective way'' for the Coast Guard 
to provide affordable child care for its members.\90\ Coast 
Guard personnel are also able to access DOD CDCs and vice versa 
through a memorandum of agreement formed in 2003.\91\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \84\ GAO, ``Military Child Care: Coast Guard is Taking Steps to 
Increase Access for Families,'' GAO-22-105262. https://www.gao.gov/
assets/gao-22-105262.pdf June 2022.
    \85\ Id. at 9.
    \86\ Id. at 10.
    \87\ Id. at 9.
    \88\ Id. at 4.
    \89\ Id. at 5.
    \90\ Id. at 12.
    \91\ Id. at 17.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Families receiving care from community-based providers 
encounter space limitations, especially in the nine locations 
the Coast Guard has dubbed ``child care deserts'': Alameda, 
California; Astoria, Oregon; Elizabeth City, North Carolina; 
Honolulu, Hawaii; Ketchikan, Alaska; Los Angeles, California; 
New London, Connecticut; Petaluma, California; and Valdez, 
Alaska.\92\ These are areas where only 33 percent or less of 
the total number of children from birth to age five were able 
to receive care in that community mostly due to lack of 
availability.\93\ As for the Family Child Care program, the 
number of certified families qualified to provide care in their 
homes dropped from 19 in 2019 to five in 2022 due to the 
pandemic.\94\ Normally, these are providers capable of 
providing care during non-traditional hours and are more 
heavily relied upon by personnel stationed in remote or 
geographically isolated areas.\95\ The Coast Guard plans to use 
$120 million authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and 
Jobs Act to build three new CDCs at bases that do not have 
them--Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Alabama; Astoria, 
Oregon; and Base Elizabeth City, North Carolina--and renovate 
existing ones.\96\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \92\ Id. at 13.
    \93\ Id.
    \94\ Id. at 14.
    \95\ Id.
    \96\ Id. at 16.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONCLUSION

    The newly appointed Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral 
Linda Fagan, indicates in the 2022 Commandant's Intent that the 
Coast Guard workforce is her highest priority and promises to 
deliver innovative tools, inclusive policies, and reliable 
technology to support Coast Guard personnel in their mission 
objectives.\97\ In this era of ``the Great Resignation,'' it is 
critical that the Coast Guard adapts to changing workforce 
dynamics to make it an employer of choice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \97\ U.S. Coast Guard, Commandant's Intent 2022, June 1, 2022 
Available at https://www.uscg.mil/Portals/0/seniorleadership/
alwaysready/2022-Commandant-Intent-Hi%20Res.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                              WITNESS LIST

     LAdmiral Linda L. Fagan, Commandant, United States 
Coast Guard


  ENHANCING PERSONNEL RESOURCES TO SUPPORT A STRONGER, MORE RESILIENT 
                              COAST GUARD

                              ----------                              


                        WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2022

                  House of Representatives,
                    Subcommittee on Coast Guard and
                           Maritime Transportation,
            Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:01 a.m. in 
room 2167 Rayburn House Office Building and via Zoom, Hon. 
Salud O. Carbajal (Chair of the subcommittee) presiding.
    Members present in person: Mr. Carbajal, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. 
Larsen of Washington, Mr. Auchincloss, Mr. Gibbs, and Dr. Van 
Drew.
    Members present remotely: Mr. Brown of Maryland, Mr. Weber 
of Texas, and Ms. Malliotakis.
    Mr. Carbajal. The subcommittee will come to order.
    I ask unanimous consent that the chair be authorized to 
declare a recess at any time during today's hearing.
    Without objection, so ordered.
    I also ask unanimous consent that Members not on the 
subcommittee be permitted to sit with the subcommittee at 
today's hearing, and ask questions.
    Without objection, so ordered.
    As a reminder, please keep your microphones muted unless 
speaking. Should I hear any inadvertent background noise, I 
will request that the Member please mute their microphone.
    And to insert a document into the record, please have your 
staff email it to [email protected].
    Good morning, and welcome to today's hearing on enhancing 
personnel resources to support a stronger and more resilient 
Coast Guard. Today, we are joined by Admiral Linda Fagan, the 
Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, who will provide 
insight on the state of the Coast Guard workforce, areas where 
more resources should be targeted for the benefit of its 
personnel, and challenges that exist in a time of shifting 
workforce dynamics.
    First, Admiral Fagan, congratulations on your new role as 
Commandant of the Coast Guard. I know you are going to do an 
amazing job. You have already been doing an amazing job. So, 
welcome and congratulations. I am confident that your wealth of 
knowledge and experience will make you an excellent leader, and 
I trust that the future of the Coast Guard is in good hands--
better than good hands--excellent hands.
    The Coast Guard is our country's primary maritime law 
enforcement agency. It oversees a diverse array of 
responsibilities including search and rescue; protecting the 
marine environment; securing vessels, ports, and waterways; and 
supporting the free flow of $5.4 trillion of goods through the 
maritime transportation system.
    Despite the critical role the Coast Guard plays in our 
national security, economy, and ensuring the safety of lives at 
sea, the Coast Guard is the second smallest branch in the 
military, and chronic divestment in the Coast Guard has forced 
them to do more with less. Unfortunately, this has resulted in 
deficiencies in the support and benefits offered to 
servicemembers and their families, including in housing, 
healthcare, and childcare. We must do more to improve the lives 
of these hard-working individuals by providing the quality care 
they deserve.
    Due to the nature of Coast Guard missions, Coast Guard 
stations are often based in coastal cities with higher-than-
average coastal costs. For some, the basic allowance for 
housing is insufficient, and servicemembers are forced to 
either make up the difference of costly rent prices with their 
personal funds or commute unacceptable distances.
    I have heard from many of my constituents that the basic 
allowance for housing has been insufficient to meet the high 
housing costs in the Central Coast of California. As a result, 
many have had to move to areas that can be over an hour 
commute. Most of the members stationed at United States Coast 
Guard Station Morro Bay are living outside the emergency 20-
minute recall area because housing costs are too expensive for 
their basic allowance for housing. I am looking forward to 
learning more about how the Coast Guard can address the lack of 
affordable housing for Coasties and their families.
    It also has come to my attention that much of the military-
provided housing is in dire need of renovation. I would like to 
hear more about the Coast Guard's plans to address these 
shortcomings.
    Additionally, I am very interested in how to improve 
healthcare access for Coast Guard personnel. Some Coast Guard 
stations are located in remote areas, some of which I have 
visited, with extremely limited access to basic healthcare 
services like dental or general practitioners. The Coast 
Guard's role in law enforcement and first response requires 
considerable mental and physical resilience. I am concerned 
that the Service only has 20 mental health professionals and is 
understaffed in its medical clinics and sickbays.
    The search-and-rescue mission places a heavy toll on the 
mental health of servicemembers, who often face traumatic 
experiences. One study showed that servicemembers with 
depression or PTSD were nearly 25 percent more likely to leave 
the Service. In order to sufficiently fulfill their duties in 
the Coast Guard, servicemembers must be able to access medical 
services to care for their own physical and mental health.
    Similarly, access to childcare is crucial for long-term 
retention of personnel and quality of life for both 
servicemembers and their families. Providing adequate childcare 
is especially important in retaining female personnel, who face 
unique barriers to promotional opportunities.
    Recruiting and retaining personnel is imperative for the 
success of the Coast Guard, as it is in all branches of the 
military. I am interested to hear about the Coast Guard's plans 
to recruit and retain personnel, with a particular focus on 
diversity and inclusion, in the coming years.
    Despite the Coast Guard's efforts to improve representation 
of women and minorities within its workforce, the Service still 
struggles to reflect the demographics of the Nation, and it is 
the least diverse branch of the military. We must build on the 
efforts being made to recruit and retain diverse personnel, as 
well as ensure that these demographics are representative in 
leadership roles.
    During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Coast Guard adapted by 
offering increased flexibility and remote work options. Many 
employees continue to want this flexibility moving forward, and 
it will be important to carefully consider how to recruit and 
retain diverse personnel in a modern work environment.
    Lastly, I want to highlight the great strides the Service 
has made in sexual assault and sexual harassment response, 
partly due to the insistence of Congress. However, this 
continues to be a pervasive problem. The annual sexual assault 
report from the Coast Guard was due over 6 months ago. We must 
hold the Coast Guard accountable, and I look forward to 
receiving this report in the near future.
    Servicemembers have always been at the core of the Service, 
and without them, mission success would not be possible. I look 
forward to hearing from Admiral Fagan about how we can best 
support personnel to strengthen our Coast Guard.
    [Mr. Carbajal's prepared statement follows:]

                                 
   Prepared Statement of Hon. Salud O. Carbajal, a Representative in 
Congress from the State of California, and Chair, Subcommittee on Coast 
                   Guard and Maritime Transportation
    Good morning, and welcome to today's hearing on ``Enhancing 
Personnel Resources to Support a Stronger, More Resilient Coast 
Guard''. Today, we are joined by Admiral Linda Fagan, the Commandant of 
the U.S. Coast Guard, who will provide insight on the state of the 
Coast Guard workforce, areas where more resources should be targeted 
for the benefit of its personnel, and challenges that exist in a time 
of shifting workforce dynamics.
    First, Admiral Fagan, congratulations on your new role as 
Commandant of the Coast Guard. I am confident that your wealth of 
knowledge and experience will make you an excellent leader and I trust 
that the future of the Coast Guard is in good hands.
    The Coast Guard is our country's primary maritime law enforcement 
agency. It oversees a diverse array of responsibilities including 
search and rescue, protecting the marine environment, securing vessels, 
ports, and waterways, and supporting the free flow of $5.4 trillion of 
goods through the Maritime Transportation System.
    Despite the critical role the Coast Guard plays in our national 
security, economy, and ensuring the safety of lives at sea, the Coast 
Guard is the second smallest branch in the military and chronic 
disinvestment in the Coast Guard has forced them to do more with less.
    Unfortunately, this has resulted in deficiencies in the support and 
benefits offered to servicemembers and their families, including in 
housing, healthcare, and child care. We must do more to improve the 
lives of these hardworking individuals by providing the quality care 
they deserve.
    Due to the nature of Coast Guard missions, Coast Guard stations are 
often based in coastal cities with higher-than-average housing costs. 
For some, the basic allowance for housing is insufficient, and 
servicemembers are forced to either make up the difference of costly 
rent prices with personal funds or commute unacceptable distances.
    I have heard from many of my constituents that the Basic Allowance 
for Housing has been insufficient to meet the high housing costs in the 
Central Coast of California. As a result, many have had to move to 
areas that can be over an hour commute.
    Most of the members stationed at USCG Station Morro Bay are living 
outside the emergency 20-minute recall area because housing costs are 
too expensive for their Basic Allowance for Housing.
    I'm looking forward to learning more about how the Coast Guard can 
address the lack of affordable housing for Coasties and their families.
    It has also come to my attention that much of the military-provided 
housing is in dire need of renovation. I'd like to hear more about the 
Coast Guard's plans to address these shortcomings.
    Additionally, I'm very interested in how to improve health care 
access for Coast Guard personnel. Some Coast Guard stations are located 
in remote areas, with extremely limited access to basic healthcare 
services, like dental or general practitioners.
    The Coast Guard's role in law enforcement and first response 
requires considerable mental and physical resilience. I'm concerned 
that the Service has only 20 mental health professionals and is 
understaffed in its medical clinics and sickbays.
    The search and rescue mission places a heavy toll on the mental 
health of servicemembers, who often face traumatic experiences. One 
study showed that servicemembers with depression or PTSD were nearly 25 
percent more likely to leave the Service.
    In order to sufficiently fulfill their duties in the Coast Guard, 
servicemembers must first be able to access medical services to care 
for their own physical and mental health.
    Similarly, access to child care is crucial for long-term retention 
of personnel and quality of life for both servicemembers and their 
families. Providing adequate child care services is especially 
important in retaining female personnel, who face unique barriers to 
promotional opportunities.
    Recruiting and retaining personnel is imperative for the success of 
the Coast Guard, as it is in all branches of the military. I'm 
interested to hear about the Coast Guard's plans to recruit and retain 
personnel, with a particular focus on diversity and inclusion, in the 
coming years.
    Despite the Coast Guard's efforts to improve representation of 
women and minorities within its workforce, the Service still struggles 
to reflect the demographics of the nation, and it is the least diverse 
branch of the military. We must build on the efforts being made to 
recruit and retain diverse personnel, as well as ensure that these 
demographics are represented in leadership roles.
    During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Coast Guard adapted by offering 
increased flexibility and remote work options. Many employees continue 
to want this flexibility moving forward, and it will be important to 
carefully consider how to recruit and retain diverse personnel in a 
modern work environment.
    Lastly, I want to highlight the great strides the Service has made 
in sexual assault and sexual harassment response, partly due to the 
insistence of Congress. However, this continues to be a pervasive 
problem. The annual sexual assault report from the Coast Guard was due 
over 6 months ago. We must hold the Coast Guard accountable and I look 
forward to receiving this report in the near future.
    Servicemembers have always been at the core of the Service and 
without them mission success would not be possible. I look forward to 
hearing from Admiral Fagan about how we can best support personnel to 
strengthen our Coast Guard.

    Mr. Carbajal. I ask unanimous consent to insert a statement 
from the Government Accountability Office into the hearing 
record.
    Without objection.
    [The information follows:]

                                 
   ``Coast Guard: Increasing Mission Demands Highlight Importance of 
 Assessing Its Workforce Needs,'' Statement of Heather MacLeod, Acting 
Director, Homeland Security and Justice, U.S. Government Accountability 
       Office, Submitted for the Record by Hon. Salud O. Carbajal
    The 23-page statement is retained in committee files and is 
available online at https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-22-106135.pdf.

    Mr. Carbajal. And now I will call on the ranking member of 
the subcommittee, Ranking Member Gibbs, for an opening 
statement.
    Mr. Gibbs. Thank you, Chairman Carbajal.
    Admiral Fagan, it is a pleasure to have you here today for 
your first testimony before the subcommittee as Commandant. 
Congratulations. I know you earned it, for sure.
    Much progress has been made, as you are first female 
Service Chief. However, I believe you are also the first 
Commandant with primarily a marine safety background, or at 
least the first such Commandant in a long time. I look forward 
to working with you to bring more attention to the Coast 
Guard's marine safety programs, which have gotten less 
attention over the last 15 years as attention has been focused 
on the crucially important recapitalization of the Service's 
oceangoing and air assets.
    In 2008, the Coast Guard undertook a structural 
reorganization called modernization. It established the Deputy 
Commandant positions for mission support and operations; 
logistics centers for ships, IT, and personnel; and sectors and 
bases. Unfortunately, the follow-on Coast Guard-wide manpower 
requirement analyses and determinations that were to complete 
the modernization process have lagged substantially behind the 
structural changes. I hope to hear today what actions, as the 
new Commandant, you plan to take to complete these analyses and 
determinations.
    I am also interested in what progress is being made on 
assuring that members of the Coast Guard with ship operating 
experience are able to convert that experience to receive Coast 
Guard-issued mariner licenses as part of the Military to 
Mariner initiative. Given our current shortage of mariners for 
national defense sealift, we should encourage Coast Guard and 
Navy mariners to get licenses if they wish to do so.
    Finally, I look forward to hearing whether the Coast Guard 
is having the same issues finding recruits that the other armed 
services are facing, and if the low unemployment rate is making 
it more difficult to retain servicemembers.
    [Mr. Gibbs' prepared statement follows:]

                                 
Prepared Statement of Hon. Bob Gibbs, a Representative in Congress from 
the State of Ohio, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and 
                        Maritime Transportation
    Admiral Fagan, it is a pleasure to have you here for your first 
testimony before the Subcommittee as Commandant. Much progress has been 
made, as you are the first female Service chief. However, I believe you 
are also the first Commandant with primarily a marine safety 
background, or at least the first such Commandant in a long time. I 
look forward to working with you to bring more attention to the Coast 
Guard's marine safety programs, which have gotten less attention over 
the last fifteen years as attention has been focused on the crucially 
important recapitalization of the Service's ocean-going and air assets.
    In 2008, the Coast Guard undertook a structural reorganization 
called modernization. It established the Deputy Commandant positions 
for Mission Support and Operations; logistics centers for ships, IT, 
and personnel; and sectors and bases.
    Unfortunately, the follow-on Coast Guard-wide manpower requirement 
analyses and determinations that were to complete the modernization 
process have lagged substantially behind the structural changes. I hope 
to hear today what actions the new Commandant plans to take to complete 
these analyses and determinations.
    I am also interested in what progress is being made on assuring 
that members of the Coast Guard with ship operating experience are able 
to convert that experience to receiving Coast Guard-issued mariner 
licenses as part of the `Military to Mariner' initiative. Given our 
current shortage of mariners for national defense sealift, we should 
encourage Coast Guard and Navy mariners to get licenses, if they wish 
to do so.
    Finally, I look forward to hearing whether the Coast Guard is 
having the same issues finding recruits that the other armed services 
are facing, and if the low unemployment rate is making it more 
difficult to retain service members.

    Mr. Gibbs. Thank you, Chairman Carbajal. I look forward to 
the Commandant's testimony, and I yield back.
    Mr. Carbajal. Thank you, Representative Gibbs. Now I would 
like to recognize the chairman of the Transportation and 
Infrastructure Committee, Mr. DeFazio.
    Mr. DeFazio. Thanks, Mr. Chairman. Thanks for this.
    And Admiral Fagan, welcome to your first formal 
presentation. Congratulations, again. And I am really pleased 
to see that your intention is to make the workforce your 
highest priority.
    And as the ranking member just mentioned, we have finally 
begun to invest in capitalization of assets that the Coast 
Guard needs. That has been quite a struggle, getting to the 
icebreakers and the other things. But we are still, obviously, 
in terms of our shoreside facilities, which impact your 
workforce dramatically, way, way, way behind. And that is 
something that Congress needs to do better in terms of finding 
funds for you.
    I mean, it is great when I go visit stations and I see, oh, 
yes, the crew here just renovated the station themselves. I 
mean, I don't think, if you go on to a Marine--I was in the Air 
Force--or Army base that you find that the troops are doing 
that kind of work. They bring in contractors. So, I mean, I 
love the attitude of the Coast Guard, but we have really got to 
do better by that.
    So, housing, issues about childcare, I am really going to 
be interested to hear how you are hoping to meet the recruiting 
challenges in this very difficult environment.
    According to what staff wrote here, in a survey, only 9 
percent of eligible young people in America are interested in 
service at this point in time, although I think the Coast Guard 
might be able to offer something different, if we can educate 
the young people about the opportunities for the Coast Guard. I 
am going to be very interested to hear about that.
    And then there is the 2020 GAO report about manpower 
requirements determinations, and only a small portion of the 
workforce has been assessed. And that is problematic, because 
that means that we are really not quite sure what some of the 
needs are in some of the disciplines and elsewhere. It could 
lead to overloading people, which might push them toward 
deciding not to re-up, or early retirement if they are 
eligible, and other things.
    So, I am really looking forward to your testimony. And in 
particular, I hope you will highlight what Congress could do 
better to help you deal with these issues. Thank you.
    [Mr. DeFazio's prepared statement follows:]

                                 
   Prepared Statement of Hon. Peter A. DeFazio, a Representative in 
      Congress from the State of Oregon, and Chair, Committee on 
                   Transportation and Infrastructure
    Thank you, Chairman Carbajal, for calling this very important 
hearing. First, I want to welcome Admiral Fagan for testifying today in 
her first formal appearance before this subcommittee in her new role as 
the Commandant of the Coast Guard. I was pleased to learn that the 
Coast Guard workforce is your highest priority as Commandant, and I'm 
looking forward to the discussion today on how we can best support 
those talented men and women.
    The Coast Guard is essential to protecting our marine environment, 
supporting the free flow of goods in our economy, keeping illegal drugs 
off our streets, and investigating maritime pollution incidents. The 
American people are able to set sail on a leisure boat trip, purchase 
goods at a shopping mall or online, and swim in clean, unpolluted 
coastal waters because of the noble men and women in the Coast Guard 
who go to work every day sacrificing for our country. It's imperative 
that we support these military servicemembers who courageously serve 
the needs of the nation.
    For such a small service, the Coast Guard produces incredible 
results. Last year, the Coast Guard confiscated nearly 453,000 pounds 
of illegal drugs having an approximate wholesale value of $7.2 billion. 
That's more than half of the $13.2 billion Congress appropriated to the 
Service for fiscal year 2022. Yet, those same Coast Guard 
servicemembers have a hard time finding affordable housing and quality 
care for their children.
    While at sea conducting icebreaking missions, maintaining aids to 
maritime navigation, and boarding vessels for safety compliance checks, 
Coasties are separated from their loved ones ashore for long stretches 
of time. It does not help that the Service is stuck in the 1990s with 
limited internet access and an inability to effectively communicate 
with family and friends back home. They live, work, and receive child 
care services in deteriorating facilities far past their service life 
and are expected to achieve mission goals nonetheless. They face 
frequent, sometimes unwelcomed, assignment relocations which can 
disrupt family stability, their children's educational environments, 
and work routines, and inflict the chaos of a household move. We can do 
more to support our Coasties and Congress must ensure that the Coast 
Guard is receiving the resources needed to support a thriving 
workforce.
    I am concerned with the agency's ability to recruit and retain 
diverse candidates in this fiercely competitive labor market. Interest 
in military service is at an all-time low; of all young Americans 
eligible to serve in the military, just nine percent indicated an 
interest in doing so according to a Defense Department survey. The 
COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a change in workforce dynamics, 
altering regular work patterns and habits, and inducing demands from 
the labor force for more flexibility. It is against this backdrop the 
Coast Guard aspires to recruit 4,200 enlisted personnel by the end of 
this fiscal year, now just a little over two months away. I'm curious 
to learn more about how the Coast Guard aims to compete for talented 
candidates in this difficult market and ways Congress can support those 
efforts.
    The agency is currently operating with fewer workers than it needs 
which impacts its ability to meet mission demands. According to a 2020 
GAO report, the Coast Guard had completed Manpower Requirements 
Determinations--its preferred workforce assessment method--for only two 
percent of its workforce. I find this very disturbing as without full 
consideration of workforce needs, the service cannot appropriately 
assign its resources to complete its missions. Moreover, units 
operating below necessary staffing levels will stress the physical and 
mental capacities of available staff. This problem becomes worse 
anytime someone in an already understaffed unit has to take extended 
medical leave or paternity leave. Coasties should be able to take their 
well-earned leave without feeling that they're overly burdening their 
shipmates.
    Lastly, I want to highlight that first response is a core mission 
of the Coast Guard. As a life-saving service, its members witness 
first-hand unfortunate traumatic events sure to have an impact on their 
mental health. In order to bolster the resiliency of servicemembers, 
Congress must ensure that appropriate mental health care, and health 
care in general, is available and accessible for each Coastie. I look 
forward to learning more about how the Coast Guard intends to provide 
the mental health support needed for its workforce.
    Thank you, Admiral Fagan, for appearing today and I look forward to 
your testimony.

    Mr. Carbajal. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to now 
welcome the witness, Admiral Linda Fagan, the 27th Commandant 
of the United States Coast Guard.
    Thank you for being here today, and I look forward to your 
testimony.
    Without objection, our witness' full statement will be 
included in the record.
    Since your written testimony has been made a part of the 
record, the subcommittee requests that you limit your oral 
testimony to 5 minutes.
    Admiral Fagan, you may proceed.

  TESTIMONY OF ADMIRAL LINDA L. FAGAN, COMMANDANT, U.S. COAST 
                             GUARD

    Admiral Fagan. Good morning, Chairman Carbajal, Ranking 
Member Gibbs, distinguished members of the subcommittee, and 
thank you for accepting my written testimony into the record.
    Thank you for the opportunity to describe my vision for the 
Coast Guard. And I would like to thank Congress for your 
enduring support of the United States Coast Guard workforce.
    For nearly 232 years, the Coast Guard has provided safety, 
security, and economic prosperity for the American people. Our 
workforce lives and serves in communities along the Atlantic, 
gulf, Pacific, and Arctic coast, on the Great Lakes, and along 
our inland rivers. And we are trusted to perform essential 
missions. Our workforce is the heartbeat of the Coast Guard, 
and without them we cannot execute missions.
    My highest priority as Commandant is to transform our 
talent management system, which has not significantly changed 
in 75 years, to better serve our people in the 21st century. We 
will deploy innovative practices to recruit people from across 
our great Nation who are service-oriented, have a high sense of 
purpose, and best represent every facet of our Nation's 
diversity.
    And like the other armed services, the Coast Guard is 
facing a recruiting challenge as we compete for talent in a 
shrinking population of young people with a propensity for 
military service. We will overcome that challenge by 
highlighting the opportunity to do meaningful work every day in 
service to the American public.
    Once a person has joined the Coast Guard, we will retain 
them by providing greater career flexibility and opportunities 
for geographic stability, eliminating policy barriers that make 
it difficult for some to continue to serve. Even more 
importantly, we will provide them and their family access to 
high-quality housing, healthcare, and childcare that they 
deserve.
    Thank you to the support of Congress, we have tripled the 
number of Coast Guard children enrolled in our childcare 
subsidy programs. That allows our workforce to arrange 
childcare that works for their individual family needs, where 
that means care either near their workplace or near their 
homes.
    We have invested in the physical and mental wellness of our 
people. To address the unique medical needs of our crews at 
remote units, we have deployed mobile medical readiness teams 
that bring doctors and technicians directly to them. Our 
workforce at these remote units have benefited from significant 
increases in medical readiness without taking time away from 
duty to travel to distant medical providers.
    We have also increased training for our independent duty 
corpsmen to enable them to better recognize and respond to 
patients' mental health needs. We are pursuing new agreements 
with Navy's Medical Education and Training Campus to include 
Coast Guard students in the Professional Behavioral Health 
Technician School, further enhancing our medical staff's 
ability to care for our workforce's mental health needs.
    We continue to focus on diversity inclusion. Our leaders 
will provide our entire workforce a strong sense of belonging, 
so every individual is valued, safe, and able to deliver their 
best service to the Nation. The variable and unpredictable 
operational challenge our units and people encounter every day 
demand new thinking. An inclusive workforce with diverse 
experiences, perspectives, and ideas is better equipped to 
succeed.
    Taking advantage of new technologies, we will improve our 
personnel data systems so we can make well-informed human 
resource decisions. Data and a modern ready learning system 
will enable our field leaders to provide the right training and 
professional development opportunities to every individual as 
they progress through their careers.
    I am committed to pursuing transformational change in the 
way we recruit, retain, and support our workforce. It is our 
people who execute Coast Guard missions. As Commandant, I am 
humbled to have the responsibility for operating and advocating 
for the Service. I am committed to our workforce. I look 
forward to working with Congress as we navigate the Coast Guard 
into the future.
    Chairman Carbajal, Ranking Member Gibbs, distinguished 
Members, it is truly a privilege to appear before you today. I 
thank you for the opportunity, and I look forward to your 
questions. Thank you.
    [Admiral Fagan's prepared statement follows:]

                                 
 Prepared Statement of Admiral Linda L. Fagan, Commandant, U.S. Coast 
                                 Guard
                              Introduction
    Chairman Carbajal, Ranking Member Gibbs, and distinguished members 
of the subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to testify today and 
thank you for your enduring support of the United States Coast Guard. I 
am humbled and grateful for the confidence and trust of President 
Biden, Secretary Mayorkas, and Congress.
    I welcome this opportunity to share with you my vision for the 
Service, which is responsive to the changing world and includes three 
tenets: Transform our Total Workforce, Sharpen Our Competitive Edge, 
and Advance Our Mission Excellence.
    The Coast Guard workforce is my highest priority. Without our 
workforce, we cannot operate or maintain our cutters, boats, and 
aircraft, or uphold standards for commercial vessel safety and 
pollution prevention. I am committed to providing our people innovative 
tools, inclusive policies, trustworthy technology, modernized training, 
and exceptional support to meet the demands of today and tomorrow.
                               Challenges
    Talent management is critically important for the Coast Guard 
today, as it is for all organizations. Our current personnel system has 
not changed significantly in 75 years. People serving in the military 
today have different expectations for their professional lives, and we 
must adjust the way we recruit, train, and retain our people to 
continue to be an employer of choice.
    The Coast Guard, like the other armed services, is facing a 
recruiting challenge. Today, fewer young people are qualified and 
interested in military service than in the past. Additionally, COVID-19 
affected the Coast Guard's ability to conduct in-person recruiting, 
weakening historical community partnerships. Our Service is now 
competing for talent in a post-pandemic job market with historically 
low unemployment rates, where even entry-level jobs offer benefits 
similar to the military, including signing bonuses, referral bonuses, 
401K retirement plans, and medical benefits.
    In response, we must transform our personnel processes, policies, 
and practices to recruit and retain the Coast Guard workforce that our 
Nation requires. Our Ready Workforce 2030 (RW30) strategic outlook 
focuses on creating a system with the ability to generate the force we 
need, when and where we need it. The RW30 initiatives are more than 
aspirational; we are taking action.
                      Transform Talent Management
    The world's most capable and talented Coast Guard has over 57,000 
active duty, reserve, and civilian personnel, supported by 21,000 
Auxiliary volunteers. To grow and retain our workforce, we are 
transforming our talent management to create opportunities for flexible 
assignments, advancements, workplaces, and careers. These policy 
changes will enable our people to serve our Nation to their best 
potential.
    The Coast Guard is committed to representing the best of our 
Nation's diverse talent, and providing an inclusive environment for all 
who serve. The Coast Guard's Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan 
(DIAP), published in June 2020, is a call to action for our entire 
workforce. It helps our people identify and mitigate biases, work 
together to nurture a sense of shared belonging, and continue to 
improve the culture of our Service. Since the release of the DIAP, the 
Coast Guard developed a cadre of trained Change Agents; formed the 
Commandant's Inclusive Leadership, Excellence, and Diversity Council 
(ILEAD); created a senior leader position for a Strategic Advisor for 
Diversity and Inclusion; and strengthened our ties to affinity groups 
to bring employees together and foster cohesion in the workplace.
    We have enlisted the assistance of experts from outside our 
organization to look at the challenges faced by women and other 
minority groups and develop strong solutions. Acting on those 
recommendations, we have implemented several workforce initiatives to 
improve equitable outcomes for women and underrepresented minorities, 
including revised uniform, tattoo, and grooming standards; flexible 
assignment policies to better facilitate co-location of dual military 
families; and a revised body composition program.
    Those improvements are already paying dividends for our workforce 
and mission execution. More women are remaining in our Service. Today 
there are 28% more women serving at the critically important mid-grade 
leadership ranks than there were in 2017. Furthermore, I am proud to 
share that the Coast Guard Academy class of 2026 is 43% female and 37% 
underrepresented minorities.
    We are working to improve outcomes for all who serve. To help our 
enlisted workforce best plan and navigate their career paths, we 
recently launched an Enlisted Career Management Branch to provide 
personalized support as they develop their assignment, training, and 
education plans. Service members who can clearly see how their careers 
will progress to positions of greater responsibility are more engaged 
in their work and more likely to continue to serve. A similar team of 
advisors for our civilian workforce is also up and running, as we 
continue to imbue our civilian employees with broad and diverse 
skillsets to achieve mission success.
    Our diverse workforce is the heartbeat of our Service, and we must 
ensure they are valued, respected, and rewarded for their hard work. 
Our people and their diverse talents, skills, and interests facilitate 
success across all missions.
        Human Resource Analytics and Modernized Training Systems
    A robust and flexible talent management system requires improved 
human resource analytics. In today's data-driven world, the Coast Guard 
requires better personnel data to support decisions at all levels. We 
are working to deploy well-governed systems and processes that 
integrate data to enable senior leaders to make well-informed strategic 
human resources decisions.
    We will soon stand up the Office of Data and Analytics (OD&A) to 
provide secure and timely data integration to leverage data's full 
potential as a strategic asset. We are deploying platforms to enable 
easier access to data, including the new Coast Guard Official Military 
Personnel File, which will contain health records and pay documents for 
all Coast Guard military personnel. This work will provide us a better 
understanding of our workforce, and allow us to better plan for the 
future, efficiently deploy resources, and optimize mission management.
    Coast Guard mission excellence depends on a technically skilled 
workforce and experienced leadership. Our system of performance-based 
training is effective, but to maintain our competitive edge, the Coast 
Guard must modernize our training delivery to be more agile. Rapid 
changes in technology and new mission demands require even experienced 
operators to receive regular skill upgrades. We are deploying training 
programs tailored to the skills, experience, and needs of each 
individual to enable our workforce to rapidly reskill and keep pace 
with a fast-changing operational landscape.
    We have already revised initial technical training for our enlisted 
workforce to offer each student a customized curriculum based on skills 
and experience they already have. We also implemented a mentoring 
program that utilizes state of the art software to match mentors and 
mentees, providing our entire workforce the ability to connect with 
more experienced people who may guide their development. Strong 
mentoring relationships contribute to mission excellence and improved 
retention.
    A better-informed talent management system with efficient training 
will provide our workforce exactly what they need to accomplish their 
missions in a changing world.
                   Provide World Class Member Support
    As one of the six Armed Forces of the United States, the Nation's 
lead maritime enforcement agency, and a maritime safety regulatory 
agency, our dedicated Coast Guard workforce is on the front lines every 
day protecting our Nation's maritime domain from constantly evolving 
threats. We must provide housing, healthcare, and childcare to ensure 
they can focus fully their demanding missions.
    The Coast Guard has enhanced our workforce's quality of life 
through improved support programs. We have modified assignment policies 
to better facilitate the co-location of dual military families, 
expanded our parental leave policy, and created a program to enable 
Coast Guard Reservists to backfill for active duty members on prenatal, 
maternity, convalescent, and primary caregiver leave. All of these 
programs make service easier for those who want to serve the Nation, 
but also serve their families.
    We continue to improve healthcare service and access to care for 
our workforce and their families. We are currently expanding access to 
telehealth services, online appointment scheduling, and electronic 
health records, and improving access to key health services such as 
dental care, physical therapy, and behavioral health services.
    We are prioritizing family support by expanding access to childcare 
options, expanding professional development opportunities to include 
free LinkedIn subscriptions and assistance to spouses desiring to 
participate in fellowships with civilian employers. We offer expanded 
Work-Life services to our families and our global network of 
ombudsmen--who serve as the critical communications link between 
commands and families--as part of our robust support system for 
families. The Coast Guard is grateful that since 2019, Congress has 
provided additional funding for our childcare subsidy program, 
expanding the program to more of our workforce, and providing targeted 
financial relief to those living in high-cost childcare areas. This 
support allows the Coast Guard's active duty workforce to overcome the 
challenge of balancing military service and their family life. I want 
to emphasize my commitment to the entirety of `Team Coast Guard.' Our 
families are essential to mission success.
    Programs that help our workforce pursue off duty education are more 
important than ever before. We recently increased the amount of tuition 
assistance available to uniformed members, and we are looking for ways 
to expand educational benefits to our civilian employees for the first 
time in 10 years. Reflecting the increased permeability of modern 
careers, the Coast Guard's Credentialing Opportunities Online (CG COOL) 
program helps our workforce earn professional credentials based on 
their Coast Guard experience. As members prepare to transition, they 
can now spend their last six months training with a civilian business 
while remaining on active duty. The Skillbridge program's on-the-job 
training and internships often lead to full-time positions, and help 
our members translate their military skills to success in the civilian 
workforce. The ability to translate Coast Guard experience to the 
civilian workforce makes service more attractive to potential recruits.
    The Service remains steadfast in providing and expanding key 
support, advocacy, and recovery services for victims of military sexual 
trauma and incidents of hate or harassment. We recently expanded access 
to Sexual Assault Prevention Response and Recovery (SAPRR) services to 
family members and former employees. Furthermore, the Coast Guard's 
Special Victims Counsel program provides legal representation to 
eligible individuals to help victims understand their rights and 
options through the military justice process. The Coast Guard is 
reforming its approach to prosecuting sexual assault, domestic 
violence, and related crimes under the Uniform Code of Military Justice 
in accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2022. 
Finally, the Service's Anti-Hate and Harassment Incident (AHHI) policy 
includes a process for investigations and helps commands to promote an 
environment free of bullying and harassment through transparency and 
accountability.
                               Conclusion
    As we look to the future, we unite around a cohesive purpose: to 
lead our workforce to contribute to their greatest potential, and 
therefore achieve mission excellence in the service of this great 
Nation. The key support we provide to our people allows them to remain 
dedicated to their primary duties to protect the Homeland from all 
corners of the world, save those in peril, enhance our economic 
prosperity, protect our national resources, enhance resilience to 
severe weather, and strengthen the international rules-based order.
    I look forward to working with Congress to establish ways for the 
Coast Guard to be more adaptive, connected, and supportive. With the 
continued support of the Administration and Congress, your Coast Guard 
will continue to live up to our motto--Semper Paratus--Always Ready.

    Mr. Carbajal. Thank you, Admiral Fagan. We will now move on 
to Member questions. Each Member will be recognized for 5 
minutes, and I will start by recognizing Chairman DeFazio.
    Mr. DeFazio. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Thank you, Admiral. The issue of retention, do you have a 
clear idea of what you are going to do to help improve 
retention?
    I mean, are you going to have longer rotations, or 
otherwise better accommodate people, and particularly people 
who might have children, in terms of where they are stationed?
    Do you have enough flexibility with the force to do those 
sorts of things, or are you looking at those sorts of things?
    Admiral Fagan. Thank you. We are looking at any and all 
policies that we use right now with regard to how we manage the 
workforce.
    I would highlight--and I will talk to some of the 
recruiting challenges. Retention is not a particular challenge 
for the organization right now. Once people are brought into 
the organization, we are able to retain them. But I am 
committed to making it easier for those who are serving to 
continue to serve. And so, any rigid assignment policy, move 
policies that makes that challenging for families to thrive and 
for our members to serve is part of the work that we have 
stepped off into as an organization. And I have a sense of 
urgency around this.
    I do not believe we have got any authorities impediment to 
that. This is policy that we need to get after and update for 
our workforce.
    Mr. DeFazio. So, retention isn't--at this point you don't 
think--you are managing to retain people?
    Admiral Fagan. We have--we are continuing to retain people 
at the historic high rates that we have retained people. And 
so, at this point I am not concerned about retention.
    Mr. DeFazio. OK.
    Admiral Fagan. But I am very focused on recruiting.
    Mr. DeFazio. All right. That is great.
    Now, on the recruiting side, obviously, it is a huge 
challenge. What sort of innovative things are you looking at, 
or what kinds of outreach?
    I mean, your goal was 4,200 this year, I think. How close 
are you to that?
    Admiral Fagan. So, we have surged resources into the 
recruiting mission space. We have hired an additional 15 
recruiters.
    We have reassigned people who were previously qualified as 
recruiters into a surge staff around recruiting. We have stood 
up an integrated team with a one-star in charge of it to bring 
the total capability of the organization to bear as we look at 
recruiting.
    We are about 1,100 short, overall, in the nonrate workforce 
right now. And we are absolutely focused on bringing the 
recruiter capability to the people who have a mind to serve. 
And we are--again, a sense of urgency. We need to--we are 
working hard to improve those numbers now.
    Mr. DeFazio. OK. And then how about the issues with 
childcare?
    I mean, I know, nationwide, childcare is a problem now. I 
would assume that the Coast Guard is experiencing similar 
issues in terms of finding qualified childcare providers.
    Admiral Fagan. So, we really appreciate the support of 
Congress with regard to the childcare subsidies to allow 
increased flexibilities for our families. And so, whether it is 
subsidies, childcare centers, or other opportunities to provide 
flexibility and access for our families--and we continue to 
look for ways to ensure that Coast Guard members are able to 
access quality childcare that is affordable, so that they can 
focus on the mission that we ask of them.
    Mr. DeFazio. OK. And then how about off-base housing 
stipends, or whatever--allowances, I guess we call them. How 
are we doing there?
    I mean, even places like Coos Bay, Oregon, now, rents have 
run up extraordinarily. So, I mean, for those who choose to or 
have to live off base, how are we doing there?
    Admiral Fagan. So, we utilize the same system that the 
other military services use for determining BAH, basic 
allowance for housing.
    There has been a significant, sort of, shift or disruption 
in the housing market in the United States writ large. And our 
servicemembers are certainly feeling that as they move to new 
duty stations. So, we continue to engage with DoD, and look 
forward to the opportunity of working with you and Congress on 
ways to reduce that lag time and ensure that our military 
families are able to access affordable, quality housing.
    We do operate some of our own Coast Guard housing. We have 
got 2,600 housing units around the country, and seeking a sort 
of diverse access to housing, and whether it is the BAH rates 
or our own housing units, we again are working to remove that 
as a challenge for our families. But it has been a challenging 
transfer season.
    Mr. DeFazio. OK. Thank you.
    Thank you, Chair. My time has expired.
    Mr. Carbajal. Thank you, Chairman DeFazio. I will now 
recognize Mr. Gibbs.
    Mr. Gibbs. Thank you, Chairman.
    Talking about recruitment, retention, and everything, what 
requirements did the Coast Guard place on its members in regard 
to the COVID-19 vaccine?
    Admiral Fagan. So, the COVID-19 vaccine is a requirement 
for Coast Guard members. It is a general lawful order that has 
been----
    Mr. Gibbs [interrupting]. OK. How many members were 
discharged because they did not receive the vaccine?
    Admiral Fagan. We have involuntarily discharged 107 members 
for failing to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
    Mr. Gibbs. OK. We have seen that the vaccine--and Dr. Fauci 
has concurred with this--that it didn't protect overly well 
from infection, but it does protect quite well against severe 
disease leading to hospitalization and death. Since this data 
has come to light, is the Coast Guard considering lifting the 
vaccine requirement, or is that over your head from the 
administration to do that?
    Admiral Fagan. I do not have the authority to lift the 
vaccine requirement.
    Mr. Gibbs. OK.
    Admiral Fagan. Should that change, we welcome the 
opportunity to welcome back members that are in compliance with 
whatever the medical requirement is.
    Mr. Gibbs. Has the vaccine requirement been an issue for 
recruitment? Has that come up much?
    Admiral Fagan. It is not an issue for recruitment.
    Mr. Gibbs. OK. So, you haven't seen anything different, 
demographics from different States in the recruitment numbers?
    Admiral Fagan. No. And as we continue to recruit, all the 
recruits at Cape May are vaccinated. This is true for our other 
accession point, the Coast Guard Academy, as we onboarded that 
class recently. But everyone is vaccinated.
    Mr. Gibbs. Good. On the southern border, have Coast Guard 
personnel been pulled from their normal duties to be placed at 
the southern border activities?
    Admiral Fagan. We have had Coast Guard personnel provided 
to the southwest border to support the efforts there. It has 
either been medical personnel to help with medical needs and 
processing, and then the other primary area that we are 
supporting at the southwest border is with our marine safety 
and security teams, the MSSTs, and as a riverine force to help 
provide additional presence on some of the waterways that are 
associated with----
    Mr. Gibbs [interrupting]. So, it has been quite a few of 
the health professionals, medical, that have been deployed, you 
just said?
    Admiral Fagan. We have had our corpsmen deployed at the 
southwest border, yes.
    Mr. Gibbs. Is that impacting your other activities from 
your regular duties? How has that impacted that?
    Admiral Fagan. So, it has had an impact on the corpsmen. We 
continue around our medical providers. We are, beyond the 
corpsmen, looking at ways to increase the capacity of medical 
providers, diversify that medical staff.
    And then we are working to understand what our requirements 
are with regard particularly to the corpsmen, as the demand for 
their services, either at the southwest border or with our 
forward-deployed cutters, continues to increase. And we look 
forward to sharing that----
    Mr. Gibbs [interrupting]. I am just curious. On the medical 
personnel, what percentage would you think have been pulled off 
to the border?
    Admiral Fagan. I can give you the exact numbers, sir. I 
don't have them offhand.
    Mr. Gibbs. OK. We had the 2008 modernization structural 
changes that were made. Congress required the Coast Guard to 
produce a manpower requirements plan, and the plan was 
submitted in April 2018. It touted a force planning construct 
based on manpower requirements determinations.
    According to the GAO, the Coast Guard had only made such 
determinations for about 6 percent of the 158 unit types by 
2019. At that time, only 2 percent of the determinations were 
current. According to the GAO, the Service has completed an 
additional 26 determinations as of February this year.
    What is the status of the force planning construct?
    Admiral Fagan. So, in preparing for coming today, I asked a 
number of questions of the organization in regard to where are 
we with force planning, manpower requirement assessments. And, 
frankly, I did not find the answer satisfying. We have work to 
do there.
    In the fiscal year 2023 UPL you will see there is $5 
million that we have asked for in support. I don't believe we 
are adequately resourced now to do the critical work to 
understand our workforce requirements, and would welcome the 
opportunity to work with the committee so we have got the right 
structure in place to illuminate those workforce needs.
    Mr. Gibbs. Yes, and I think also the reports to Congress, 
you were supposed to have a report to Congress earlier, and 
then you said it would be December of this year. What is the 
status of submitting that manpower requirements plan to 
Congress?
    Admiral Fagan. Yes, we continue to work to be responsive to 
that reporting requirement. And again, the process has not 
proven to be particularly satisfying or responsive to myself, 
and I know to the committee. And we look forward to continuing 
to work to be responsive in that regard.
    Mr. Gibbs. OK, because I think that Congress asked for it, 
they should get that.
    I will yield back. I am out of time now. Thank you.
    Thank you.
    Mr. Carbajal. Thank you, Mr. Gibbs. I will now recognize 
myself.
    During my tour of the United States Coast Guard Station 
Golden Gate, I learned about the incredible bravery Coasties 
stationed there demonstrate as they perform rescue missions all 
around the bay area, including rescues of individuals who jump 
from the Golden Gate Bridge in an attempt to take their lives. 
These Coasties respond to such calls with great compassion and 
urgency, treating every call as a rescue and not a recovery, 
the latter of which is unfortunately the most common outcome.
    I listened as these Coasties spoke to the emotional and 
mental toll these missions take on them. Thankfully, because of 
the intensity of the rescue missions, the Coast Guard recently 
assigned a dedicated mental health specialist to Station Golden 
Gate.
    The Coast Guard currently only has 20 mental health 
specialists. Understanding the importance of mental health and 
wellness in the world of first responders, how can the Coast 
Guard build out a similar program at its other locations where 
the mission has an acute impact on the mental health of its 
workforce?
    Admiral Fagan. Thank you, Chairman. Obviously, mental 
health is a growing and increasing concern across the force, 
across society. Specific to Station Golden Gate, that 
independent duty corpsman does go and attend. It is a Navy 
school that helps provide them the training in mental 
healthcare.
    I am pleased to tell you that we are very close to 
finalizing an agreement with the Navy that will provide access 
to that school for an additional 13 corpsmen a year. And so, we 
are working to increase access to that training, so that we can 
field it across the Coast Guard in a way that is responsive to 
the mental health needs of our workforce.
    And we are investing in hiring mental health professionals, 
as well. This is a growing need, and we are moving to be 
supportive of our workforce in that regard. Thank you.
    Mr. Carbajal. Thank you. In the Coast Guard, the life of a 
cutterman can be difficult. They can feel incredibly distant 
and isolated from their loved ones, while out at sea. Being 
able to connect via video calls like FaceTime or Zoom with 
family and friends can be a huge morale booster and lead to 
improved productivity.
    Furthermore, having access to reliable internet so that a 
member can take an online course or attend to personal affairs 
can improve retention in the Service, overall, but especially 
in the afloat community.
    With these concerns in mind, what, if any, technological 
improvements are being incorporated in the buildout of the new 
surface fleet--specifically, the National Security Cutters and 
Offshore Patrol Cutters--that will improve connectivity on 
these vessels while underway?
    Admiral Fagan. Thank you, Chairman. We have made great 
progress as an organization with regard to connectivity, 
particularly bandwidth access. Starting initially, just a 
critical need to communicate with the ships at sea, as more 
applications and systems go online, initial focus was 
absolutely on the operational necessity around increasing 
connectivity and bandwidth, training, and other systems online.
    So, we continue to move to improve connection speeds, 
connection bandwidth in further geographic areas, as well. So, 
it is an operational readiness issue, and as you correctly 
highlighted, is a quality-of-life issue for our members. And we 
remain committed to improving that experience, so that the 
folks that go to sea have an enjoyable experience and are able 
to continue to communicate with their families.
    Mr. Carbajal. Thank you. In a recent visit to Base Kodiak, 
Alaska, I learned about several challenges facing Coasties 
living there. For example, the Coast Guard will pay for the 
cost associated with shipping one vehicle when servicemembers 
are transferred. But it is often necessary for a family to have 
two vehicles. And in Kodiak, there are no car dealerships.
    Further, I have come to learn that, even when a cost of 
living allowance is allotted to these servicemembers, their 
household budgets are insufficient to meet the high energy, 
internet, and childcare costs.
    What is the Coast Guard doing to assist struggling Coasties 
and their families living in Alaska?
    And how can Congress support your efforts?
    Admiral Fagan. Thank you. We follow the joint travel 
requirements for vehicle shipping overseas. And we will 
continue to look for opportunities to work with you to ensure 
that our members are able to seamlessly transfer to remote 
locations like Alaska. And we will welcome opportunities to 
continue to ensure that we have got the entitlements and 
benefits appropriate to our families, so they don't have to 
worry about indebtedness after we ask them to move. Thank you.
    Mr. Carbajal. Thank you.
    We will now move on, and I recognize Representative Weber.
    [Pause.]
    Mr. Carbajal. Mr. Weber?
    We will move on to Representative Malliotakis.
    Ms. Malliotakis. Good morning. Thank you very much, 
Admiral. Congratulations on your success. And we are so happy 
to have a female leading the Coast Guard. And I just wanted to 
talk to you briefly about the cost of living as it pertains to 
New York, in particular.
    My district is home for Coast Guard Sector New York.
    [Technical malfunction.]
    Ms. Malliotakis. Sorry, I think I lost--my district is home 
to Coast Guard Sector New York. And as such, obviously, they 
are experiencing issues with retention due to cost of living.
    So, you did talk briefly in general about the cost of 
living issues throughout the country. I wanted to know what 
your thoughts were in particular as it relates to New York 
City.
    Admiral Fagan. Thank you. I am very familiar with the 
location there on Staten Island and the men and women serving 
at Sector New York. I was a former captain of the port and know 
from that time that housing, the need for first-month/last-
month rent and security deposits also stresses families beyond 
just the overall cost of housing. And we welcome the 
opportunity to look for ways to ease any of those additional 
requirements that may be imposed locally.
    But cost of living and affordable housing is certainly 
acute for our workforce in large metropolitan areas and remote 
locations. We continue to look for ways to ease that burden on 
families. Thank you.
    Ms. Malliotakis. And additionally, we have a housing 
project that is expected for Staten Island. I am sure you are 
aware also that some of the housing was destroyed in a fire. 
That funding has been allocated a couple of years ago, 
actually. We were able to get some supplemental housing funding 
to make these repairs and modernization to--also, again, for 
retention, to make sure the Coast Guard's Coasties live in the 
environment that they should, have the quality of life that 
they deserve.
    Admiral Schultz, at the last hearing, was unable to provide 
me with a timeline of when they thought construction would 
begin. I am hoping that you can do so today or, at minimum, 
make a commitment that you can get that answer and timeline to 
my office, so I can communicate that with those that I 
represent.
    Admiral Fagan. Yes, thank you. And no, I am happy to 
provide an update. Obviously, we are funded for phase 1 of--
that project was fully funded in 2021, and we will break ground 
in 2024 for phase 1 of that project.
    Phase 2 also continues, and it was funded in fiscal year 
2022, and we are continuing to work with Congress to ensure 
that we have got funding for phase 3, and that we recapitalize 
those critical housing units there on Staten Island.
    Ms. Malliotakis. Well, I am happy to help you to advocate 
for that funding. I was happy to work this last year to deliver 
for the phase 2. If there is anything we can do to move that 
timeline up, because 2024 is obviously quite some time. This 
was 2 years ago that this occurred, so, we are talking about a 
4-year wait period for our Coast Guard to get those housing 
repairs done. So, I look forward to speaking with you at 
another time, and I hope we can work together to try to move 
that timeline up.
    Thank you for your service.
    Mr. Carbajal. Thank you. I will now recognize 
Representative Larsen.
    Mr. Larsen of Washington. Thank you, Chair.
    Commandant, welcome to the committee, and I wanted to ask a 
question first about the relationship between retention and 
recruiting.
    You mentioned that retention is still at record highs, or--
I forgot the term you used, but still, a RAND Corporation study 
found that, over time, among the grades, especially among 
representation of racial ethnic minority groups, falls over 
time. And I am wondering what the relationship between trying 
to keep those retention numbers up can ease recruiting on the 
front end.
    Admiral Fagan. Thank you. So, firstly, the good news story. 
We just onboarded the class of 2026 at the Coast Guard Academy. 
It is the most diverse class that we have onboarded as an 
organization. It was nearly 43 percent women and 38 percent 
underrepresented minority males.
    The challenge now is, as those group of young officers come 
forward, ensuring that we have eliminated barriers for them to 
continue to serve, so that we retain particularly women and 
underrepresented minority males at similar retention rates to 
their majority male counterparts.
    I mean, we have been working on this for some time now, 
starting with Admiral Schultz and before him. And so, some of 
the changes that we made 5 years ago as a result of the URM 
study from RAND and the women's retention study, changes that 
were implemented have--again, over the last 5 years, a 28-
percent increase in retention, particularly women at the E-6/E-
7 level.
    At the O-4 level it is 375 additional women that we have 
retained as a result of some of that policy change, and we are 
going to continue to look at opportunities to improve those 
retention numbers and ensure that the diversity we bring in 
upfront is still with us as we approach a 20-year plan.
    Mr. Larsen of Washington. Does that help ease at all the 
recruiting challenge that you have?
    Admiral Fagan. So, the recruiting challenge, this is just--
this is the, basic--and it is primarily--it is an enlisted 
recruiting issue.
    Mr. Larsen of Washington. Right, right, yes.
    Admiral Fagan. About 75 to 80 percent of the force is 
enlisted. And so, bringing in a nonrate into Cape May so that 
we can then onward--get them into A school, get them their 
technical and proficiency and qualifications--they are related, 
but separate at this point. It is really just the competition 
for talent right now. And recruiting is a person-to-person 
intensive activity. And we have surged resources to start to 
address that.
    Mr. Larsen of Washington. Yes, thanks. I want to move to 
housing and the BAH, the basic housing allowance, understanding 
that there is a centralized process in the services for that.
    What flexibility does the Coast Guard have to adjust basic 
housing allowance to accommodate housing increases, especially, 
as we have noted, all of our areas, including the Pacific 
Northwest, have seen housing costs, both for single family 
homes as well as multifamily apartment rents, increase unlike 
we have seen probably in the last 30 years?
    Admiral Fagan. Yes, I would welcome the opportunity to work 
with the committee and Congress on finding ways to, again, 
eliminate the lag in the system that we have got right now and 
increase flexibility to ensure that we are meeting needs of 
families.
    When you look across just the housing sector writ large in 
the country, it has been a particularly challenging, 
challenging time. It is challenging to find homes to rent. It 
is expensive to find homes to buy. It is particularly acute in 
some of the remote and coastal communities where we live and 
work. And we would welcome the opportunity to work with you to 
improve--eliminate that lag time and improve our support to 
families.
    Mr. Larsen of Washington. Thanks. Just to go a little 
local, I do want to recognize the great folks in Bellingham, 
the collocation at the Naval Station Everett of some of your 
Coast Guard assets. Good folks out in Port Angeles, not my 
district.
    But then heading farther south, down to Seattle, the Port 
of Seattle recently approved the lease for, I think, a 6-year 
temporary lease for pier 46 to give the Coast Guard time to do 
its recapitalization there, where you are located, including 
the, I presume, basin dredging. But I think it is a 6-year 
lease.
    I just want to, kind of, make sure we put the oar in the 
water on this committee as we look at that longer term project 
that you have. And, kind of, the obvious question is, I hope 6 
years is plenty of time for that recap to occur. Do you see any 
problems with that?
    Admiral Fagan. Thank you. We are--obviously, we have 
announced Polar Security Cutters will be homeported in Seattle. 
We have work to do to ensure that we have got the depth of 
water and facilities and pier space there. This is a longer 
term investment and need, and we would welcome the opportunity 
to provide a more detailed brief to you and your staff on what 
our needs will be in Seattle as we move forward with the Polar 
Security Cutters.
    Mr. Larsen of Washington. That is great. I have talked to 
folks locally, and we can do that. I just want to be sure that 
we are tracking this over time, so that the timing of the lease 
matches the timing of the ability for you to get your work 
done, both in the water and pier-side, as well as for the 
buildings that need to get rebuilt and built.
    Thanks, I yield back.
    Mr. Carbajal. Thank you, Mr. Larsen. Next I would like to 
recognize Mr. Weber--I don't know if he has come back.
    [Pause.]
    Mr. Carbajal. We will move on to the distinguished 
gentleman from Maryland, Mr. Brown.
    Mr. Brown of Maryland. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I want 
to thank you for holding this hearing today. I also want to 
associate myself with your opening comments, Mr. Chairman.
    And I would add that we also support our Coasties and their 
families when we protect them against threats, both external 
and internal, to the Service.
    Admiral Fagan, let me say congratulations on your 
appointment to serve as Commandant of the United States Coast 
Guard. You have had a stellar, impeccable, admirable career in 
uniform. And I have complete confidence that you will provide 
the leadership that the Coast Guard needs at this moment.
    One of my priorities on both this committee and on the 
House Armed Services Committee has been rooting out extremism 
in our military. I firmly believe that we have to ensure that 
our military has the appropriate tools and authorities to do 
just that.
    Last year, I asked Commandant Schultz about extremism in 
the Coast Guard during the budget hearing, and he committed to 
accountability from the Coast Guard, but didn't give a 
definitive answer when it came to membership in a domestic 
extremist organization being cause for removal from the Coast 
Guard. And some things have changed, certainly at the DoD, 
regarding that.
    My question for you is, Commandant Fagan, is it your 
understanding that membership in a domestic extremist 
organization should be cause for removal from the Coast Guard?
    And if not, what would you consider to be cause for removal 
from the Coast Guard for someone who manifests an affiliation 
with an extremist organization?
    Admiral Fagan. Thank you. Extremism and hate behavior has 
no place in the Coast Guard. It is inconsistent with our core 
values and does not contribute to the kind of culture that we 
pride ourselves in, as an organization.
    I am committed to eliminating extremism and hate behavior 
in the organization. Where we have had reports of that, we 
fully investigate that activity and behavior using our Coast 
Guard investigative services. We have also recently updated 
some of our hate speech and activities behavior.
    I remain committed to, where we have found substantiated 
evidence of hate activity and extremism, that we will ensure 
full accountability for those members.
    I don't have specific numbers right now with regard to how 
many investigations we have done, but I have confidence in our 
system to ensure that activity that is inconsistent with our 
core values will not be tolerated within the organization.
    Mr. Brown of Maryland. Thank you. Let me follow up. Does 
your confidence extend to the quality of counterdomestic 
extremism training that is currently required of your enlisted 
and officer personnel each year?
    Admiral Fagan. So, we have moved to require that training, 
and that also helps to ensure that, again, we are appropriately 
investigating and following through with those reports. And I 
remain committed to ensuring that that training is current, and 
that those who are required to access it are, so that we are 
fairly and transparently conducting investigations into, again, 
activity that is inconsistent with our core values.
    Mr. Brown of Maryland. Thank you. Because some would say 
that we are spending too much time on counterextremism training 
in our services, and I couldn't disagree more with that 
opinion.
    I have a statement. I was going to ask another question. I 
know I will run out of time. Perhaps you can follow up with a 
written response. A 2020 DHS inspector general report 
identified 16 allegations of race-based harassment involving 
cadets at the Coast Guard Academy. At the time, the IG found 
that Academy officials were aware of the incidents and had 
sufficient information to investigate and address the 
incidents, but failed to take action. So, if you could, respond 
to the committee in writing what is the Coast Guard doing to 
address racism at the Academy and foster an environment of 
inclusiveness.
    My last 25 seconds, Mr. Chairman, it is sort of a personal, 
shameless request, Commandant Fagan. I wish I were there in 
person. Even if I were, I couldn't presume what our interaction 
would be like. This is my last year in Congress. I would hope 
to have earned a challenge coin from you. So, I hope that over 
the next few weeks we will find a time to get together, and 
maybe you will consider my service in Congress worthy enough 
where I can receive one of your challenge coins. And I actually 
make that request on a 30-year veteran of the Coast Guard, a 
good friend who I served with in the Army, and then finished 
her career in the Coast Guard. So, hopefully I can do her that 
favor.
    Admiral Fagan. Thank you, Congressman. I welcome the 
opportunity to find you and give you a challenge coin and thank 
you for your service.
    Mr. Brown of Maryland. Thank you.
    I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Carbajal. Thank you, Mr. Brown. Just a reminder. To get 
that service coin, you have got to be in person.
    [Laughter.]
    Mr. Carbajal. So, I'm hoping you'll come to the next 
hearing.
    Mr. Brown of Maryland. Mr. Chairman, I will meet with the 
Commandant wherever, whenever.
    Mr. Carbajal. Thank you. Next I will recognize Mr. Weber.
    Mr. Weber of Texas. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    And Mr. Brown, I will invite you to come to the gulf coast 
of Texas to Galveston, because I am going to invite the 
Commandant down there, and we want you to both come there and 
spend lots of money.
    So, anyway, Commandant, or Admiral, good to see you. And we 
appreciate you being there. A couple of questions I have for 
you.
    I think, with your exchange between Representative Gibbs, 
you said there were 105 involuntary discharges. Was that the 
number because of the refusal to take the vaccine?
    Admiral Fagan. It was 107 involuntary separations.
    Mr. Weber of Texas. 107? OK. Have you been able to track 
the number of COVID infections, or those who contracted COVID 
in the Coast Guard during the same time period?
    Admiral Fagan. We have kept track of the number of COVID-
positive infections, particularly early on in the pandemic. We 
were particularly focused on ensuring that we continued to have 
a ready force and meet our operational requirements, 
particularly as it pertained to large ships and other missions 
in our waterways.
    I don't have the number offhand of what our current 
infection rate may be, but we continue to focus on ensuring 
that we have got a ready workforce, and that we are able to 
operate the Coast Guard for the American public.
    Mr. Weber of Texas. If you don't mind, I would like to get 
that number from you at some point going forward, just as a 
comparative analysis.
    In other words, how many did we let go, and how many 
actually in the guard contracted the actual virus? It would be 
interesting to know.
    And then I do actually want to tell you about my 
Congressional District 14, which is the Texas gulf coast, 
starting at Louisiana's border and moving on down. We have got 
those first four counties that are Jefferson County, a tiny 
part of Chambers County, we have got all of Galveston County, 
and then the southern half of Brazoria County. We have got, 
actually, six ports----
    [Technical malfunction.]
    Mr. Carbajal. You froze, Mr. Weber.
    Mr. Weber of Texas. I froze, my----
    Mr. Carbajal [interrupting]. Yes, you are back.
    Mr. Weber of Texas. OK. So, I don't know how much you 
heard, Mr. Chairman or Admiral Fagan, but----
    Mr. Carbajal [interrupting]. If you could repeat it, that 
would be great.
    Mr. Weber of Texas. OK.
    Mr. Carbajal. We will give you an extra 30 seconds there.
    Mr. Weber of Texas. Thank you. We have got six ports, more 
than any other Member of Congress, and we have got several 
Coast Guard facilities. And I would like to get you to come 
down to the district and maybe tour some of those.
    My last living uncle, he is 90 years old, was a Coastie for 
either 2 or 4 years around the Korean War time. So, we love our 
Coasties, of course. We have facilities.
    And maybe I should ask you, Admiral, where are you 
stationed?
    Admiral Fagan. So, I am currently stationed in Washington, 
DC, but I have done a tour of duty in New Orleans, I have been 
to Mobile, and I would certainly welcome the opportunity to 
visit some of our great units in Texas with you at a future 
opportunity.
    Mr. Weber of Texas. Sure. Well, let's do that. I just want 
to say welcome. We are glad you are there. I appreciate your 
service, just like we appreciate my uncle's service, and 
appreciate all the Coasties' service.
    And so, sometime maybe we can reach out to the office, and 
we can get you down into the district. We can get you some of 
the best seafood in the country, and we would love you to tour 
those facilities.
    And with that, Mr. Chairman, I will yield back.
    Mr. Carbajal. Thank you very much, Mr. Weber. Next I will 
go to Representative Auchincloss.
    Mr. Auchincloss. Thank you, Chair.
    Congratulations, Admiral, on your historic appointment.
    Coast Guard mission excellence depends on a technically 
skilled workforce and experienced leadership, and those 
foundational characteristics are cultivated long before 
commissioning. In my first term, I focused much of my time on 
improving support and resources for student mental health, 
including the health of constituents and midshipmen at the U.S. 
Merchant Marine Academy.
    I have had the privilege to work with families at the 
Merchant Marine Academy in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, some 
of that work was to ensure that their children's careers would 
not be delayed because of the 2021 Sea Year pause following 
disturbing reports of abuse suffered by these student mariners. 
I appreciate that the Academy has worked to ensure that 
students affected by the pause won't have their graduation 
rates delayed while simultaneously enacting policies to protect 
current and future mariners.
    What outreach is the Coast Guard doing to cultivate 
interest in merchant marine academies?
    Admiral Fagan. We obviously have a role in merchant mariner 
credentialing and licensing, and we work collaboratively with 
the other merchant service academies, whether they are State 
run or the Federal Academy at Kings Point, and remain committed 
to that team to ensure that we have got the right capacity to 
field mariners as a Nation. And we have got very rich and 
ongoing conversations with each of those maritime academies to 
ensure that that is occurring.
    Mr. Auchincloss. These midshipmen graduate with a U.S. 
Coast Guard license. What are you doing to recruit talent and 
retain these midshipmen after they graduate?
    Admiral Fagan. So, again, our role is in credentialing 
those mariners. Each year, particularly from Kings Point, we 
will directly commission some of the Kings Point graduates into 
the Coast Guard, and just continue to collaborate and work with 
that Academy to ensure that the professional standards required 
for a license are met.
    And again, just a great partnership that we have got with 
Kings Point, from an academic perspective.
    Mr. Auchincloss. Admiral, I also want to give you some time 
to comment on more broadly what--and I know you gave this some 
details in your opening statement, but what you are doing to 
recruit from a talent pool that has been diminished by the 
physical readiness of American youth and also by a tight labor 
market, which has historically always been challenging for 
military and Coast Guard recruitment.
    In case you didn't get to some of the details you wanted to 
get to in your opening remarks, I want to give you the floor 
for these final 2 minutes.
    Admiral Fagan. No, thank you. Thank you for the opportunity 
to talk about our recruiting efforts.
    As I have shared, the good news story is, it is not a 
retention issue. And so, we have increased our resourcing--
additional recruiters, 15. We have taken folks that were 
previously qualified as recruiters and redirected them into the 
recruiting work, which is--I have got a sense of urgency around 
now. We need to begin to draw that talent pool in. We are 
fielding mobile applications and looking for every opportunity 
to speed the process from initial contact to actual arrival at 
Cape May as we work through the medical and physical readiness 
standpoint.
    We find once people understand who we are, and they have a 
propensity to serve, they are very enthusiastic about the 
opportunity to join and stay in the Service. We are using all 
aspects of the organization to get after the recruiting 
challenge.
    Mr. Auchincloss. Understood. And I will close by saying I 
am a strong supporter of the Coast Guard. I have been regretful 
that I have not been able to support to date the U.S. Coast 
Guard authorization because of the amendment to it that impedes 
offshore wind development along the eastern seaboard and, 
indeed, throughout the United States. President Biden has an 
audacious, ambitious goal to hit 30 gigawatts of clean energy 
by 2030 from offshore wind. An amendment was added to the U.S. 
Coast Guard authorization that would derail those efforts, 
impede economic development and job creation and clean energy 
in my district, along with countless of other districts 
throughout the eastern seaboard. And I have just--I have had to 
fight against that shortsighted attempt to thwart clean energy 
development. But in no way should it be construed as opposition 
to the Coast Guard itself, of which I remain a strong 
supporter.
    And I yield back, Mr. Chair.
    Mr. Carbajal. Thank you, Mr. Auchincloss. I will now 
recognize Representative Van Drew.
    Dr. Van Drew. Good morning, and thank you to the Coast 
Guard Commandant, Linda Fagan, for being here today, and for 
the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime 
Transportation.
    Before we go on, I have some remarks that I hadn't planned 
on saying, but just hearing the discussion that just ensued a 
couple of minutes ago: There are concerns about the wind 
turbines. There are concerns about the Coast Guard, and how it 
is going to be able to work in and around them. There are 
concerns with the ocean floor, and what it is going to do to 
the environment. There are concerns with tourism, and how it is 
going to affect tourism itself. There are a great number of 
concerns about, you know, there is only going to be a certain 
number of years that these turbines are actually going to last, 
and then what is going to happen after that? There are concerns 
with the amount of money that these turbines are going to cost 
the taxpayers when they pay their utility bills.
    This is a difficult issue, and it is a challenging issue. I 
think we assume too much when we assume that we should just go 
forward full speed ahead, and that this is a perfect answer. It 
is not. And there are certainly some issues that are very grave 
and very serious. The fishermen, large commercial fishermen in 
the area that bring in huge amounts of money and jobs and 
entrepreneurial endeavor, are very concerned about it, as well.
    So, I just wanted to point that out because it is a real 
big deal, and not everybody is on the same page with this 
issue, which makes life fun for you, I guess.
    Admiral Fagan, congratulations for your historic 
confirmation as Commandant. You have worked assignments across 
the world and in every part of the Coast Guard over your 37 
years of service. It is hard to believe. You don't look it. 
Your confirmation is well deserved, and I can tell you have hit 
the ground running, and that we are proud of you.
    Today's hearing is about enhancing personnel resources to 
support a stronger, more resilient Coast Guard. As a 
Representative of the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Cape 
May, I am deeply sympathetic to the personnel challenges facing 
the Coast Guard.
    Foremost, I think it is important that the Coast Guard 
maintain a clear and a focused posture on its maritime safety 
and national security responsibilities. Adventures in social 
activism have set other armed services back in recruitment, and 
I hope the Coast Guard avoids such pitfalls. They are not 
necessary or beneficial.
    To improve personnel recruitment and retention, we must 
support Coast Guard servicemembers from beginning to end, 
starting with the recruitment and training continuing through 
service, and even in retirement. We must support our 
servicemembers every step of the way.
    I worked closely with the Coast Guard leadership to secure 
$55 million in funding for phase 1, as you know, of the 
Training Center Cape May barracks recapitalization. This 
project will expand capacity and improve training quality at 
the Coast Guard's premier training facility, which is in Cape 
May. Our work at the training center is the foundation for the 
next generation of Coast Guard members.
    Modernizing Training Center Cape May is a critical pillar 
of improving recruitment and retention in the Coast Guard at 
the front end. But we must do more to support the Coasties 
throughout all of their service. Congress must find solutions 
to the housing, healthcare, and family support challenges that 
face the Coast Guard. I hope to work with the Coast Guard to 
improve quality of life in all those areas.
    Today my line of questioning will focus on housing 
affordability. The Coast Guard operates in coastal communities 
with a relatively higher cost of living. The Coast Guard does 
provide a cost of living adjustment benefit, which is a taxable 
supplement allowance designed to offset higher prices in the 
highest cost location. This program is currently available to 
6,000 servicemembers across the United States.
    I have consistently heard from my Coasties stationed in my 
district that they struggle to find housing fully covered by 
their allowance. As you know, Cape May is a very expensive 
area. Some servicemembers live over an hour away from their 
station, due to a lack of affordable housing options. It seems 
that the current cost of living assistance program is possibly 
not meeting the needs of Coast Guard servicemembers.
    Can you share any plans that you might have that the Coast 
Guard is working on to address the affordable housing within 
the Service?
    What action might this committee take to address these 
growing concerns?
    And again, because I know I am not going to have any time 
left, I am done speaking, and I yield back. But I am so proud 
of all of you. I am proud of the work you do. I am proud of 
what you represent. I am proud of the way that you handle 
yourselves.
    Admiral Fagan. Thank you.
    Mr. Carbajal. Representative Van Drew, you are out of time. 
I am going to let Admiral Fagan answer your question briefly. 
But if she wants to provide a more extensive response, I am 
going to ask her to do that in writing.
    But you might want to shorten that preamble before your 
questions in the future, Mr. Van Drew.
    With that, Admiral Fagan.
    Dr. Van Drew. I would have. I didn't know we were going to 
have that a little bit there, so, I am sorry.
    Admiral Fagan. Thank you. And to be brief, I welcome the 
opportunity to work with you on the issue of housing and 
housing affordability. And while it is acute in Cape May, New 
Jersey, we are experiencing challenges around the country.
    And I would just like to say thank you, we appreciate your 
enduring support, the enduring support of this committee. Cape 
May is the birthplace of the enlisted workforce, and we are 
excited to see the opportunity to begin updating and 
modernizing the buildings there at that training facility. So, 
thank you.
    Dr. Van Drew. Thank you.
    Mr. Carbajal. Thank you, Commandant. That concludes our 
hearing for today.
    I would like to thank our witness for her testimony.
    I ask unanimous consent that the record of today's hearing 
remain open until such time as our witness has provided answers 
to any questions that may be submitted to her in writing.
    I also ask unanimous consent that the record remain open 
for 15 days for additional comment and information submitted by 
Members or the witness to be included in the record of today's 
hearing.
    Without objection, so ordered.
    The subcommittee stands adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 11:06 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]



                       Submissions for the Record

                              ----------                              


  Prepared Statement of Hon. Sam Graves, a Representative in Congress 
     from the State of Missouri, and Ranking Member, Committee on 
                   Transportation and Infrastructure
    Thank you, Chair Carbajal, and thank you to our witness, Admiral 
Fagan, for being here today.
    Welcome to your first hearing before the Subcommittee on Coast 
Guard and Maritime Transportation.
    The Coast Guard completed a structural modernization in 2008 with 
the creation of a Deputy Commandant for Operations and a Deputy 
Commandant for Mission Support, as well as the movement to sectors and 
bases.
    However, the enterprise-wide workforce planning necessary to truly 
complete a Service-wide modernization is, at best, in its infancy.
    I look forward to hearing from the Commandant how she intends to 
close the long-term, persistent gap in making the required `manpower 
requirements determinations' and keeping those determinations current.
    Again, Commandant Fagan, welcome.
    Thank you, Chair Carbajal. I yield back.



                                Appendix

                              ----------                              


 Questions from Hon. Peter A. DeFazio on behalf of Hon. John Garamendi 
        to Admiral Linda L. Fagan, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard

    Question 1. In December 2020, Congress enacted Mr. Garamendi's 
amendment to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act as section 9503 of 
the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for 
Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116-283) affirming that the application of 
the Constitution, laws, and civil and political jurisdiction of the 
United States to the Outer Continental Shelf also applies to non-
mineral energy resources and exploring for, developing, producing, 
transporting, or transmitting such resources. Congress always intended 
U.S. law to apply to any form of exploration, development, production, 
transportation, and transmission of energy resources under the Outer 
Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953. On January 25, 2021, President 
Biden's first executive order (no.14005) after assuming office directed 
federal agencies to maximize the use of American mariners, American-
built ships, and U.S.-flagged vessels under the Jones Act. Less than 90 
days later (March 25, 2021) U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a 
revised headquarters ruling letter (HQ H317289) contradicting Mr. 
Garamendi's amendment and the President's policy, allowing foreign 
vessels to construct energy projects on the Outer Continental Shelf.
    Commandant, I am deeply concerned that federal regulators like the 
Coast Guard have not yet updated your regulations and industry guidance 
to reflect the change Congress made to the Outer Continental Shelf 
Lands Act when Mr. Garamendi's amendment was signed into law on January 
1, 2021. What, if anything, are you doing to fully implement this 
change in the law?
    Answer. The U.S. Coast Guard recognizes that Congress amended the 
jurisdictional provisions of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 
(OCSLA) to include non-mineral energy resource installations on the 
Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Most Coast Guard authorities under OCSLA 
require implementing regulations. Current Coast Guard regulations 
related to ``OCS Activities'' (33 CFR Subchapter N) define that term as 
specific to the exploration, development, or production of ``the 
minerals of the Outer Continental Shelf,'' and do not currently apply 
to non-mineral energy resources activities such as wind energy. The 
Coast Guard is continuing our review of Section 9503, and exploring 
potential options to implement the change in OCSLA. Any updates to 
these regulations will be announced on the Unified Agenda of Regulatory 
and Deregulatory Actions website, on the web at: https://
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaMain

    Question 2. The U.S. must have a robust maritime infrastructure. 
Not only is this a national security imperative but it provides good 
jobs to American workers. One of the pillars of the US maritime 
industry is the Jones Act. But for the Jones Act to have the desired 
effect, ensuring that there is American shipbuilding and crewing, it 
must be enforced. The Coast Guard plays a preeminent role in this 
enforcement.
    What are you doing to ensure that the Jones Act is being enforced? 
How do you ensure that vessels have OCS Exemption Letters in compliance 
with the Jones Act? How are you using advances in data processing and 
analytics to support this enforcement?
    Answer. The Coast Guard does not make final determinations as to 
whether a voyage or type of activity is in compliance with the Jones 
Act nor assess or adjudicate civil penalties for violations. The Coast 
Guard does, however, act in a support role and collaborates with U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection, the lead Jones Act determination and 
enforcement agency, when assistance is requested.
    In accordance with 46 U.S.C. Sec.  12102, a vessel may engage in a 
trade only if the vessel has been issued a certificate of documentation 
(COD) with an endorsement for that trade. The Coast Guard makes 
determinations as to whether certain vessels are entitled to engage in 
a specified trade, such as a coastwise trade endorsement. Under 46 
C.F.R. Part 67, the National Vessel Documentation Center will issue 
eligible vessels a Certificate of Documentation (COD) after reviewing 
submitted documentation to determine eligibility for the requested COD 
endorsement(s). It is common practice for the Coast Guard to verify a 
vessel has the proper endorsement on the COD when conducting statutory 
inspections, examinations, and boardings.
    OCS Exemption Letters are not required by the Jones Act. The Coast 
Guard enforces the manning requirements found in 43 U.S.C. Sec.  1356 
which require vessels to engaged in OCS activities be manned or crewed 
by citizens of the United States or aliens lawfully admitted to the 
United States for permanent residence, unless an exception ((Sec. Sec.  
1356(b) and (c)) applies. In some cases, an exemption may be granted 
upon demonstration to the Coast Guard of the unavailability to U.S. 
citizens. In other cases, the Coast Guard may, upon request, 
acknowledge that a foreign-flagged, foreign majority owned or 
controlled vessel is excepted from the manning requirements of 43 
U.S.C. Sec.  1356, commonly referred to as a Letter of Non-
applicability (LOA), in accordance with 43 U.S.C. Sec.  1356(c)(2). The 
LOA explicitly states that it does not authorize the vessel owner or 
operator to engage in Jones Act activity (i.e., coastwise trade).
    The U.S. Coast Guard Data Strategy, 2021-2026, provides a strategic 
approach and guiding principles to maximize the value of data for all 
operations and mission support activities. Additionally, the Coast 
Guard's Office of Data and Analytics supports enterprise analytic 
efforts across all data domains. At this time, the Coast Guard is not 
actively using advanced data processing and analytics to enforce 
alleged or potential Jones Act violations at sea. The Coast Guard has 
authority to support the enforcement of the Jones Act by using data 
transmitted from Automatic Identification Systems transponders (which 
are carried on board a vessel when it is operating in U.S. 
jurisdictional waters). This information could subsequently be provided 
to the lead agency upon request.

   Questions from Hon. Salud O. Carbajal to Admiral Linda L. Fagan, 
                      Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard

    Question 1. In a recent study, GAO found that 28% of Coast Guard 
housing assets are past their service life. What are the Coast Guard's 
plans to recapitalize its old and dilapidated housing units?
    Answer. The Coast Guard owns approximately 2,600 active family 
housing units, with an average age of 47 years. The Service employs a 
nationwide housing strategy to prioritize investments based on the 
greatest need. In particular, areas that are remote or seasonal with 
limited availability of suitable community based housing. Currently the 
Service is making housing investments in Kodiak, AK; Fort Wadsworth, 
NY; Portage, MI; and Novato, CA. The Coast Guard Housing Fund is used 
to maintain housing units and add new capacity when appropriate. The 
Housing Fund, which receives proceeds from real property divestiture, 
can be quickly applied to the most urgent needs. Large recapitalization 
project needs are submitted through the Procurement, Construction, and 
Improvement Process for planning and budgeting.

    Question 2.a. In February 2021, GAO reported that military families 
said they considered housing when choosing schools for their children. 
How does the Coast Guard assist families with housing decisions?
    Answer. Coast Guard policy requires members in receipt of permanent 
change of station orders to contact the Coast Guard housing office at 
their new duty station to ensure they are aware of all housing options, 
including Coast Guard owned, Coast Guard leased, and the availability 
of community based housing. This early communication is critical to 
ensuring housing is available in time for member's arrival and provides 
each member with as much information the service can provide to assist 
in personnel housing decisions. The majority of Coast Guard members 
reside in community based rental housing relying primarily on the 
private sector to meet the housing needs of our members. To assist in 
locating suitable housing, the Coast Guard manages a robust housing 
referral program in concert with U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The 
Service also cost shares access to the HOMES.mil system which is a 
sanctioned referral database screened by military housing 
professionals. In locations where the private sector cannot accommodate 
Coast Guard housing requirements, generally remote and seasonal areas, 
the Coast Guard owns or leases housing for our members and their 
dependents.

    Question 2.b. When applicable, how does the Coast Guard work with 
the other services to facilitate Coast Guard families in obtaining 
housing on DOD installations?
    Answer. The Coast Guard works closely with the other Armed Services 
to ensure Coast Guard members have access to DoD housing. The Coast 
Guard and DoD enter into reimbursable interagency agreements to provide 
Coast Guard and DoD Service Members housing where needed and inventory 
permits. These agreements apply to both Coast Guard and DoD owned 
housing facilities. Coast Guard personnel also have access to 
privatized DoD housing. There are approximately 1,700 Coast Guard 
Members residing in DoD privatized housing across the country, 
including Alaska and Hawaii.

    Question 3. As I'm sure you're aware, poor leadership can be a 
strong deterrent for reenlistment or continuation of military 
personnel. In some cases, it is cited as the most influential factor in 
a member's decision to separate from service. Poor leaders create a 
toxic command climate by failing to treat their people with dignity and 
respect, stifling open, honest communication, fostering an environment 
of fear and intimidation, and putting their personal interests ahead of 
taking care of their people. How is the Coast Guard addressing the 
issue of poor leadership? More specifically, what trainings, programs 
or protocols is the Coast Guard instituting to correct the behavior of 
bad leaders and stamp them out, and how are you ensuring that policy 
changes trickle down to leaders for more effective and consistent 
implementation of those policies?
    Answer. The Coast Guard is addressing poor leadership through the 
development of a robust Leadership Development Continuum for both 
officers and enlisted members. In the summer of 2022, the Office of 
Leadership (CG-128) updated the Coast Guard's Leadership Development 
Framework that categorizes Leadership Competencies into areas of focus 
at leach level of seniority, providing a clear training path of what 
the workforce should expect throughout their careers. Competencies in 
the Foundational ``Leading Self'' category are made available at 
accession points. Built upon that foundation, each of the four 
progressing leadership pillars represent the group of competencies each 
member will focus on during their career progression. Upon reaching the 
most senior-level pillar, Coast Guard members will be trained on and 
expected to have developed mastery in all 28 Leadership Competencies. 
The Coast Guard further requires ``360'' leadership assessment in our 
mid-grade and upper level leadership courses to ensure continued 
assessment and reinforcement of these policies. All military leaders 
are evaluated on leadership on at least an annual basis.

    Question 4. All of the military branches except the Coast Guard 
offer student loan repayment assistance for qualifying education loans; 
the Air Force, Navy, and Army will pay up to $65,000 and the Marine 
Corp. covers up to $30,000 in assistance. How effective of a recruiting 
tool do you believe this type of incentive would be to aid the Coast 
Guard with recruiting and retaining servicemembers?
    Answer. While this particular incentive is not currently offered 
for our enlisted members, the Coast Guard Recruiting Command (CGRC) is 
confident it would be an attractive offering to support recruiting 
efforts. As the percentage of high school students entering college 
continues to rise, the ability to provide funding for student loans to 
new recruits would be beneficial. The Coast Guard would need to seek 
additional resources in order to launch this initiative.

    Question 5.a. I am pleased that the Service updated its policies 
last year on military transgender service such as making it easier for 
a transgender servicemember to submit a gender transition request. What 
other steps has the Coast Guard taken to embrace not only transgender 
servicemembers, but all others in the LGBTQ community, and tamp down on 
harassment and discriminatory practices aimed at making these 
servicemembers feel ostracized?
    Answer. The Coast Guard does not tolerate harassment or 
discriminatory practices. Policy protections include prohibiting 
behaviors that target transgender service members and the LGBTQ+ 
community.
    The Commandant annually issues policy statements to outline the 
expectations for the total workforce and these expectations are posted 
at all Coast Guard units. The Commandant's Equal Opportunity (EO) 
Policy Statement affirms the Coast Guard's support of equal 
opportunity, equal access, and a work environment free from unlawful 
discrimination, hate, and harassment. The Anti-Discrimination and Anti-
Harassment Policy Statement avows a workplace free of discrimination 
and harassment, including gender bias. In addition, the policy outlines 
prohibitions on discrimination, harassment, bullying, and hazing.
    The U.S. Coast Guard Civil Rights Manual, COMDTINST M5350.4E, sets 
forth policy and guidance for military EO and civilian Equal Employment 
Opportunity (EEO) programs.
    The Coast Guard employs standards outlined by the Equal Employment 
Opportunity Commission, specifically Management Directive 110, to 
address discrimination and harassment complaints. The Coast Guard uses 
an EO process for military members, consistent with 29 CFR 1614, which 
mirrors the federal sector EEO complaint process that applies to 
civilian members. These structured processes enable the Service to 
maintain a model EEO program that ensures protection and equality based 
on multiple protected bases, including sex (i.e., gender identity, 
sexual orientation).
    The Coast Guard's Anti-Harassment and Hate Incident (AHHI) policy 
and procedures, in effect since 2010, aim to combat prohibited 
harassment, including sexual orientation and gender-based harassment, 
and charges unit commanders to investigate and address any reported or 
observed harassing behaviors promptly.
    The AHHI policy defines prohibited harassment as including, but not 
limited to, unwelcome verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct that has 
the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's 
work performance or creating an intimidating, offensive, or hostile 
environment based on a protected status. Gender-based harassment is a 
form of prohibited harassment.
    The Coast Guard has determined that the most effective way to 
curtail harassing behavior is to treat it as misconduct, even if it 
does not rise to the level of harassment actionable under civil rights 
laws and regulations. The Coast Guard maintains that even a single 
utterance of an ethnic, racial, sexual, or gender-based epithet that 
offends an employee is inappropriate and must be stopped.
    To promote inclusion across the total workforce throughout the 
year, the Coast Guard highlights personnel of all backgrounds including 
LGBTQ+ service members on its internal and external communications 
channels. During the month of June in particular, Coast Guard units 
held Pride Month recognition events around the country. These events 
were also highlighted on Coast Guard internal and external 
communications channels.

    Question 5.b. For transgender members who go underway, what is the 
Coast Guard's policy on the use of washroom facilities and sleeping 
quarters?
    Answer. In accordance with the Coast Guard's Military Transgender 
Service Policy, COMDTINST M1000.13B, all members will use those 
berthing, bathroom, and shower facilities associated with the member's 
gender marker entered in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting 
System (DEERS) while on Coast Guard or DoD property, or in a Coast 
Guard or DoD leased space. Members must be considered and treated in 
accordance with the gender recorded in DEERS in all respects, unless 
the member has an approved exception to policy (ETP) granted by 
Commander. Members may request ETPs from any gender-based Coast Guard 
policy. The ETPs must have supporting justification, as well as 
assessment by the commanding officer/officer in charge, to include a 
specific implementation plan.

    Question 6. In 2020 the Coast Guard released its Diversity and 
Inclusion Action Plan for 2019-2023. As we are now more than halfway 
through this four-year action plan, can you advise where the Coast 
Guard is in carrying out the steps outlined in that plan? Are there any 
resources the Coast Guard is lacking that would help it fulfill the 
remaining action items from the Plan?
    Answer. In June 2020, the Coast guard released its 2019-2023 
Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan. It consisted of three lines of 
effort (LOEs): 1) Development of D&I Acumen; 2) Strengthen Leadership 
and D&I Awareness and Accountability; and 3) Build and Maintain an 
Inclusive Workforce. Approximately 15 action steps were embedded within 
the LOE's. The status of each action is listed below. Furthermore, 
Coast Guard personnel validated that some actions are continuous in 
nature which is also indicated below. The Coast Guard is committed to 
continuously reviewing its policies and programs in pursuit of a more 
inclusive Coast Guard.
LOE 1--Development of D&I Acumen
    Action 1.1--Complete the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) program 
level CG Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmark Audit, Assessment and 
Strategy to move the Coast Guard from a reactive organization to a 
progressive organization in D&I. (100 percent complete)
    Action 1.2--Conduct a series of facilitated dialogues to build a 
common understanding of the Coast Guard Core Values of Honor, Respect, 
and Devotion to Duty, as seen through the eyes of the total workforce 
at all levels. (100 percent complete)
    Action 1.3--Develop the Diversity and Inclusion Education and 
Awareness Program to equip participants with the coaching competencies 
to navigate sensitive situations involving all dimensions of diversity. 
(100 percent complete)
    Action 1.4--Complete the Holistic Study & Analysis of Recruiting & 
Retention of Underrepresented Minorities. (100 percent complete)
LOE 2--Strengthen Leadership D&I Awareness and Accountability
    Action 2.1--Enhance the Coast Guard's Inclusive Leader Environment 
Index to assess organizational climate factors, inclusivity trends 
using data from the Organizational Assessment Survey and the Federal 
Employee Viewpoint Survey. (100 percent complete)
    Action 2.2--Review the Leadership, Excellence and Diversity Council 
construct and assess the functionality. Implement changes to support 
this Action plan. (100 percent complete)
    Action 2.3--Develop a ``dashboard'' of metrics to be reviewed 
annually with Senior Leadership as a component of the Personnel 
Readiness Briefs to the Commandant. (100 percent complete)
    Action 2.4--Create a competency code for D&I. This OSMS-type code 
will adopt the Apprentice, Journeyman, and Expert model. Each 
progression requires a certain amount of professional engagements/
training/continuing education to progress. (90 percent complete)
    Action 2.5--Consistent dialogue of D&I concepts shall be a standard 
during speaking engagements, unit events, town halls and all-hands 
gatherings for leaders across the Coast Guard. (Continuous)
LOE 3--Build and Maintain an Inclusive Total Workforce
    Action 3.1--Develop a comprehensive Outreach Plan to actively 
recruit a diverse workforce. (Continuous)
    Action 3.2--Develop policies and procedures for the support of 
affinity groups. (100 percent complete)
    Action 3.3--Execute a Coast Guard wide learning initiative at the 
unit level to discuss the importance of respect and inclusion in the 
Coast Guard Mission. (75 percent complete)
    Action 3.4--Identify the root causes of recurring historical and/or 
institutional racial inequities and barriers to diversity and 
inclusion, and develop recommendations to improve the Coast Guard's 
ability to better reflect the racial/ethnic/gender make-up of the 
United States. (Continuous)
    Action 3.5--Develop a Coast Guard Mentoring Program framework to 
emphasize and focus on inclusive leadership for the total workforce. 
(100 percent complete)
    Action 3.6--Conduct a holistic review of Leadership Development 
Center courses, Training Center Cape May and Coast Guard Academy 
training and education curricula to ensure D&I requirements are 
delivered and appropriately achieved in the training environment. (55 
percent complete)

    The Coast Guard's Office of D&I is staffed with six civilian 
personnel (1 GS-15, 1 GS-14, 4 GS-13s) and six active-duty members (3 
O5s, 1 LT, 1 CWO, and 1 E7). The growing requirements associated with 
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility at the national, 
department and component level, are quickly rendering the Office of 
Diversity and Inclusion as under-resourced. The Coast Guard will 
continue to support this effort through requesting for additional 
permanent resources through resource proposals.

    Question 7. The Coast Guard's CSPI program (College Student Pre-
Commissioning Initiative) is a great accession source for diverse 
candidates. In its report, ``Improving the Representation of Women and 
Racial/Ethnic Minorities Among U.S. Coast Guard Active-Duty Members,'' 
RAND recommends leveraging CSPI accessioned officers as a recruitment 
tool for strategic and targeted engagement with minority serving 
institutions. How was this recommendation received by the Coast Guard 
and are there steps being taken to build out this initiative as a 
source for recruiting underrepresented minorities?
    Answer. The CGRC often deploys College Student Pre-Commissioning 
Initiative (CSPI) ambassadors alongside Recruiters at outreach events. 
Specifically, CGRC involves CSPI alumni when engaging with their 
respective minority serving institutions (MSI) and allows them to 
support networking events and relationship-building within the MSI 
faculty, staff, and administration. For the upcoming academic year, 
CGRC has a CSPI outreach calendar that leverages a myriad of 
activities, such as Homecoming events, on many MSI campuses to enable 
ambassadors to connect with current students and share information on 
Coast Guard job opportunities.

    Question 8. The Coast Guard removed identifying demographical 
information from its performance evaluation process for officers and 
enlisted personnel years ago. The intent was to preclude hidden biases 
from seeping into the promotion selection process by promotion boards 
while evaluating members, but it doesn't account for any inherent 
biases held by the member's rating chain who write and approve the 
performance evaluation. Are there any statistics available to 
illustrate how the removal of demographical information has improved 
promotion rates for underrepresented minorities groups after it was 
implemented?
    Answer. No statistics are available to illustrate how the removal 
of demographic information may have affected promotion and advancement 
rates. Coast Guard enlisted members did not compete for advancement 
through a paneled process prior to the removal of the demographic data 
fields from Enlisted Evaluation Reports in November 2018. While Coast 
Guard officers compete for promotion through paneled processes, the 
Coast Guard's Personnel Service Center is not aware of a time of when 
an officer's demographic information was a standard data field 
associated with the Officer Evaluation Report.

    Question 9. How does the Coast Guard ensure that its senior leaders 
are trained on and publicizing Coast Guard child care programs 
available to families, so that families can take advantage of them?
    Answer. The Coast Guard has 19 Family Resource Specialists and 5 
Child Development Services Specialists that work for the 13 Work Life--
Regional Practices. They are responsible for Command and unit trainings 
which address child development services available to commands and 
families. The Coast Guard child care fee assistance program is also 
included in the military child care neighborhood program on 
militarychildcare.com, which was recently marketed to the families 
through the Headquarters Program Office and Ombudsman District meetings 
(includes the Ombudsman and the District Commanders). Ombudsmen are the 
liaison between the families and commands, and they are trained on the 
child care programs available to families. In addition, the child care 
programs are marketed on www.mycg.uscg.mil and offered through the 
Coast Guard Employee Assistance Program branded as CGSUPRT 
(www.CGSUPRT.com).

    Question 10. How does the Coast Guard facilitate its families 
connecting with DOD school liaisons, where they are available, to 
assist the families in choosing the appropriate educational options for 
their children?
    Answer. The Coast Guard has 19 Family Resource Specialists (FRS) 
dispersed across the country that provide support to families choosing 
education options for their children. The FRS refers the family to the 
school liaison, or contacts the school liaison for the family, when 
there is a DoD school liaison in the area or state where the family 
resides. Additionally, the Coast Guard trains unit Ombudsmen on 
available resources for families which includes information on the 
local DoD school liaison. Coast Guard families are included and 
supported by the Interstate Compact on Education Opportunity for 
Military Children. The Coast Guard has a representative on DoD's 
Military Department Headquarters School Liaison Military Interstate 
Children's Compact Commission working group to stay abreast of 
education transition policies and elevate issues encountered by Coast 
Guard families to the Commission.

    Question 11. How have the Coast Guard's missions evolved to meet 
21st century threats and challenges, such as cybersecurity, climate 
change, and growing maritime trade?
    Answer. The Coast Guard continually reviews new and emerging 
threats and identifies opportunities to enhance the way we provide 
maritime safety and security, protect resources, and respond to crises. 
Specifically, the Service seeks opportunities to coordinate and 
consolidate new and existing cybersecurity initiatives across mission 
areas. The Coast Guard recently published the 2021 Cyber Strategic 
Outlook (CSO), which charts the path to meet the challenges of a 
rapidly evolving cyber domain. Key to the CSO are three LOE's: (1) 
Defend and Operate the Enterprise Mission Platform, (2) Protect the 
Marine Transportation System (MTS), and (3) Operate In and Through 
Cyberspace. The Coast Guard continues to operationalize MTS cyber risk 
management from the headquarters program level to the port level, 
including the incorporation of cybersecurity into the Service's 
prevention and response framework. Coast Guard Cyber Command's Maritime 
Cyber Readiness Branch, Cyber Protection Teams, and Cyber Mission Teams 
support the Coast Guard's mission by offering cybersecurity services to 
the Coast Guard and, by extension, the MTS, to prevent and respond to 
cyber threats. Further, the Coast Guard embedded civilian MTS Cyber 
Specialists at its districts and sectors to enhance cyber literacy of 
our units and liaise between the Coast Guard and industry partners.
    Climate change places increased demands on Coast Guard mission 
execution. The lengthened boating season, climate-driven events, rising 
water levels, and the opening of the Arctic present evolving challenges 
as the Service works to ensure a safe and secure MTS. The Coast Guard 
is developing a strategic framework to strengthen climate resilience by 
embracing opportunities for action related to climate resilience and 
actively incorporating climate change into new and revised policies, 
strategies, plans, and initiatives.
    Our Nation's economic success hinges on our ability to maximize our 
waterways while preserving natural resources and maintaining safety and 
security. As demand for maritime commerce expands, our fundamental 
approach to these new threats and challenges remains the same. The 
Coast Guard will continue to strive to reduce casualties and improve 
service. Where able, we will pursue improvements to service delivery 
while also ensuring that we have sufficient data, analysis, technical 
capability, and capacity to keep pace with the growing demand.
    Recognized as the U.S. maritime service with the most relatable 
mission profile to many nations' maritime forces, we work with domestic 
and international partners to promote maritime governance and the 
international rule of law. The Coast Guard works to enable likeminded 
partners to counter malign actors and activities, enable commerce, and 
elevate safety and environmental stewardship. The Service maintains 
many long established relationships and cooperates on a variety of 
maritime economic and national security challenges across the globe.

    Question 11.a. How do these new threats and challenges affect other 
Coast Guard missions and how has the service identified the budgetary 
and workforce needs associated with these changes?
    Answer. The Coast Guard continuously evaluates and balances mission 
priorities against risk. Across the Service, personnel and asset needs, 
are constantly evaluated to account for changing and/or increased 
missions demands.

    Question 11.b. Does the Coast Guard have the data necessary to 
assess its workforce needs for evolving missions like these?
    Answer. The Coast Guard has completed Manpower Requirements 
Analyses (MRA) and Manpower Requirements Determinations (MRD) for 31 
percent of units and utilizes established staffing standards for 
another 33 percent. The continued completion of these studies is 
critical to ensuring the Coast Guard has the workforce it needs to meet 
these evolving missions. As the Coast Guard evolves to meet emerging 
threats and challenges, we are rapidly accelerating the development of 
new capabilities to collect, integrate, and analyze that data necessary 
to inform decision-making for workforce transformation.

    Question 12. Aside from the marine inspector field, in what other 
ratings or specialties is the Coast Guard experiencing a critical 
shortage and what are you doing to address this concern?
    Answer. The active duty enlisted workforce is experiencing critical 
shortages in the following ratings: Aviation Survival Technician (87 
percent strength), Boatswain's Mate (94 percent strength), Culinary 
Specialist (93 percent strength), Electronics Technician (95 percent 
strength), and Gunner's Mate (96 percent strength). The Coast Guard is 
addressing these critical shortages through monetary interventions 
(enlistment bonuses, critical skills training bonuses, retention 
bonuses) and non-monetary interventions (direct-to-A-school, Extended 
Active Duty contracts). These incentives are used by the Coast Guard to 
retain, recruit, and train service members in any ratings identified as 
critical.
    The active duty commissioned officer workforce is experiencing 
critical shortages in the following officer specialties: Cyber, Legal, 
and Rotary-wing Aviators. The Coast Guard is addressing these critical 
shortages through non-monetary interventions (assignment preference and 
airframe transitions in exchange for obligated service for aviators) 
and monetary interventions (retention bonuses and incentive pay), which 
allow the Coast Guard to recruit, train, and retain service members in 
these critical specialties.

 Questions from Hon. Sam Graves to Admiral Linda L. Fagan, Commandant, 
                            U.S. Coast Guard

    Question 1. Admiral Fagan, one of the biggest ways we can support 
our service members and also aid in recruiting this younger generation 
is through ensuring that they have the tools and most innovative 
technology available. I recently became aware of exciting new litter 
basket stabilization tech which can drastically change the way the 
Coast Guard conducts search and rescue operations. Can you describe 
your commitment to getting new technology into the hands of our service 
members and how you plan to partner with our nation's small business 
innovators to help ensure new technology solutions, like the litter 
basket stabilization technology, are available to our nation's Coast 
Guard?
    Answer. The Coast Guard is committed to ensuring our members have 
the tools they need to effectively complete Service missions. Through 
analysis of our mission requirements and current capabilities, the 
Coast Guard identifies new technologies or capabilities that could 
boost mission effectiveness and following the appropriate acquisition 
policy and budgetary process, we acquire and field the new technology 
or equipment. The Coast Guard's Research and Development Center and 
Blue Technology Center of Expertise are also important partners in 
vendor outreach to identify and test emerging technologies to support 
the Service. The Coast Guard also has an Office of Small Business and 
Industry Liaison Program with the mission to maximize and expand small 
business inclusion, industry engagement, and business opportunities 
within Coast Guard's Contracting Enterprise.

    Question 2. Mission Requirements Determinations: In 2008, the Coast 
Guard completed structural changes at the leadership and field levels 
as part of the Service's modernization, but has not undertaken Manpower 
Requirements Assessments, or made the Manpower Requirement 
Determinations based on those analyses to assure that the workforce is 
adequate and aligned with the updated structure.
    In 2018, a decade after the modernization's structural changes were 
made, Congress required the Coast Guard to produce a Manpower 
Requirements Plan. That plan was submitted in April 2018 and the plan 
touted a Force Planning Construct based on Manpower Requirements 
Determinations. According to GAO, the Coast Guard had only made such 
determinations for 6% of the 158-unit types by 2019, and at that time, 
only 2% of such Determinations were current, i.e., having been made 
within the prior 5 years. According to GAO, the Service has completed 
an additional 26 determinations as of February 2022.
    Question 2.a. What is the status of the Force Planning Construct?
    Answer. The original Force Planning Construct (FPC) working group 
conducted a manpower estimation of the total workforce to meet the 
``Commandant's Strategic Intent 2015-2019,'' including steady state 
operations, major contingency operations, and heightened maritime 
security requirements. While the FPC process was insightful, the 
Service determined existing manpower requirements processes were better 
suited to meet the Coast Guard's needs.

    Question 2.a.i. Is the Force Planning Construct still the Coast 
Guard's proposed method for managing Service manpower needs?
    Question 2.a.ii. If so, when will it be sufficiently populated with 
data to be useful?
    Answer to 2.a.i. & 2.a.ii. No. While the FPC process was 
insightful, the Coast Guard has determined existing manpower 
calculation processes such as Manpower Requirements Determinations and 
Analyses are better suited to meet the Service's needs.

    Question 2.b. What progress has the Coast Guard made since 2020 
toward making manpower requirements determinations and keeping those 
determinations current?
    Answer. From 2020 through 2022, the Coast Guard completed 26 full 
or partial MRDs on Coast Guard units. The majority of the units never 
had any type of manpower study or model completed and were not a part 
of another staffing model.

    Question 2.b.i. At present, what percentage of the Coast Guard's 
158-unit types have Manpower Requirements Determinations been made?
    Answer. As of August 2022, the Coast Guard has completed full or 
partial unit MRDs on 15 percent of Coast Guard units (126 units) and a 
full or partial MRA for an additional 16 percent (143 units) of the 
Service.

    Question 2.b.ii. What percentage of those Determinations or 
redeterminations have been made within the last 5 years?
    Answer. Within the last five years, 495 out of 882 units have had 
some sort of study or revalidation (Sector Staffing Model, Station 
Staffing Model, MRA, or MRD). Of those, 106 have been MRDs or Partial-
unit MRDs.

    Question 2.c. What are the contributing factors that explain the 
Coast Guard's limited progress in assessing its workforce needs? What 
changes are being made to address workforce needs going forward?
    Answer. An under resourced Manpower Determination Branch combined 
with high active duty turnover in the Division (100 percent active duty 
turnover in 2022) limits throughput of studies and MRD production. 
Additionally, the recent high amount of acquisition programs that 
require manpower estimates reduces the ability to conduct legacy unit 
studies.
    In 2021, the Coast Guard published its first ever MRD Tactics, 
Techniques, and Procedures (TTP) Guide. The MRD TTP Guide is used to 
instruct new analysts, as well as standardize phases of analysis, 
algorithms used in analysis, and the required deliverables in the 
analysis process. By publishing the MRD TTP Guide, the Coast Guard has 
enabled program offices and contractors outside of the MRD enterprise 
to conduct manpower analyses while employing the standards used by 
trained analysts. This effort helps ensure quality standards are met 
and increases efficiency in the MRD process.

    Question 2.d. Since it has made limited progress in assessing 
workforce needs, how does the Coast Guard use the limited information 
it currently possesses to allocate personnel and resources?
    Answer. While the Coast Guard has only completed MRA's and MRD's 
for a portion of the workforce (31 percent of units), the Service 
utilizes established staffing standards for another 33 percent of 
units. The Coast Guard also recently established an Office of Data and 
Analytics which is charged with making data more accessible across the 
Service to empower data-driven decision-making. It is anticipated that 
this information will be utilized in future workforce planning 
decisions for allocation of personnel and resources.

    Question 3. Staffing Models: In addition to the manpower 
requirements process which bases it conclusions on mission needs 
requirements, the Coast Guard also uses the Sector Staffing Model, and 
the Activity-Based Staffing Model used for small boat stations. These 
two staffing models rely on historic activity levels rather than 
mission needs requirements.
    Question 3.a. For units that have been assessed using both the 
historic activity-based staffing models and the mission needs-based 
manpower requirements model, has the Coast Guard compared the outcomes 
for similar units?
    Answer. The Coast Guard prioritizes the use of MRA and MRD efforts 
on units with no previous model or study. Accordingly, most workforces 
with staffing models have not been studied using MRA or MRD processes. 
If a workforce (or part of a workforce) has an MRD completed, it is 
integrated into the staffing model.

    Question 3.a.i. If so, have the outcomes from using the different 
models produced significantly different results?
    Question 3.a.ii. If not, does the Coast Guard intend to conduct 
such comparisons?
    Answer to 3.a.i. & 3.a.ii. Outcomes of the few comparisons 
completed yielded a difference of under 10 percent each.

    Question 3.b. Are the staffing models being phased out in favor of 
the manpower requirements model?
    Answer. After the Coast Guard completes studies on all units 
without any previous study or model, the Service intends to conduct the 
formal MRA and MRD on all units that have previously fallen under a 
staffing model.

    Question 4. Report to Congress: In its February 2022 report, GAO 
recommended that the Coast Guard update its 2018 Manpower Requirements 
Plan to include time frames for how the service plans to reach its goal 
of completing manpower requirements analyses and determinations for all 
positions and units. In concurring with the recommendation, the Coast 
Guard stated it would submit its updated plan when it was next due to 
Congress, in fiscal year 2022. However, as of June 2022, the Coast 
Guard had not submitted the updated report and said it would not do so 
until December 2022.
    Question 4.a. When does the Coast Guard now expect to submit the 
update Manpower Requirements Plan to Congress?
    Answer. The Coast Guard is finalizing review of the 2022 Manpower 
Requirements Plan and intends to deliver the plan by the end of the 
calendar year.

    Question 4.b. Why doesn't the Service plan to do so in fiscal year 
2022, as required?
    Answer. The review of the plan was delayed when the Coast Guard 
experienced 100 percent turnover of the active duty staff within the 
Manpower Determination Branch in the summer of 2022.

    Question 5. Request for New Positions: Coast Guard's FY `23 budget 
submission included a request for about 1,200 new Operations & 
Sustainment positions.
    Question 5.a. What analysis has the Coast Guard conducted to 
support its request for these additional personnel?
    Question 5.b. What steps has the Coast Guard taken to ensure it has 
the right mix of skills for these positions?
    Answer to 5.a. & 5.b. As part of the formulation of the Service's 
Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Budget, Coast Guard leaders evaluated the overall 
need for operational personnel, ongoing recapitalization efforts, and 
the expanding global call for Coast Guard missions to best allocate all 
resources to the Nation's highest priorities. The billets requested in 
the Coast Guard's FY 2023 Budget submission directly support emerging 
operational needs, crew for new surface and aviation assets commencing 
operations, or personnel to facilitate on-going acquisitions for the 
Service's surface, the Command, Control, Communication, Computer, 
Cyber, and Intelligence Service Center, shore infrastructure, and 
aviation programs.

    Question 6. RAND Report: According to a RAND report from 2021, 
minority groups account for 32% at the O-2 level and 11% at the flag 
officer level, and for enlisted, 35% at the E-5 level, but only 18% at 
E-9.
    Question 6.a. Have the disparities between the percentage of 
minority groups entering and reaching executive levels narrowed, 
widened, or remained relatively steady over the 5- and 10-year periods 
preceding the RAND report?
    Answer. Over 5-years, the level of disparity between the percentage 
of minority-group individuals entering and reaching executive levels 
for officers has widened slightly and remained steady for enlisted.
    Over 10-years the level of disparity between the percentage of 
minority-group individuals entering and reaching executive levels 
widened for officers and remained steady for enlisted.

    Question 6.b. Are there similar disparities for the percentage of 
women entering the workforce versus those who make flag rank?
    Answer. Yes.

    Question 6.b.i. If so, has the trend with respect to women 
narrowed, widened, or remained relatively steady over the 5- and 10-
year periods preceding the RAND report the Coast Guard?
    Answer. Over 5-years the level of disparity between the percentage 
of women entering and reaching executive levels has remained steady for 
officers and narrowed slightly for enlisted.
    Over 10-years the level of disparity between the percentage of 
women entering and reaching executive levels has remained steady for 
officers and widened slightly for enlisted.
    The Coast Guard continues to improve representation across all 
ranks and paygrades. Although the Service is observing progress it is 
slow because of the time that it takes for personnel to advance through 
the promotion system after meeting minimum time in grade requirements. 
For example, an officer who was an O-2 in 2010 and promotes according 
to minimum time in grade requirements will not be flag officer 
promotion eligible until 2033. Similarly an E-5 level enlisted member 
in 2010 who advanced according to minimum time in grade requirements 
was not E-9 level advancement eligible until 2017.

    Question 6.c. If the disparity between the percentage of women and 
minorities entering the Service and those reaching executive level 
leadership has remained unchanged over time, what are the structural 
hurdles preventing those groups from being as successful as other 
groups?
    Answer. The RAND URM Study identified barriers to advancement and 
retention that include enlisted service-wide examinations, inequity in 
sea/operational time, input variables into the officer evaluation 
process, disciplinary actions, work-life balance, and poor leadership 
experiences.

    Question 6.c.i. How can those barriers be lowered without lowering 
the ability of the Coast Guard to carry out its missions?
    Answer. Additional analysis is required to fully understand the 
statistical relevance of the barriers identified by the 2021 RAND URM 
Study data. Nonetheless, the study delivered 40 recommendations for 
reducing barriers without eroding the Coast Guard's ability to 
accomplish its missions. The Coast Guard developed and implemented an 
action plan based on these 40 recommendations. These recommendations 
relate to:
      Leadership Accountability
      Data Enabled Talent Management
      Outreach and Recruiting
      Deliberate Development
      Inclusive Culture

    Question 7. Prevention Workforce: One component of the Coast 
Guard's Strategic Plan (Objective 1.1.2) is to invest in and sustain 
the Prevention workforce.
    Question 7.a. Please describe the Coast Guard's efforts to sustain 
its prevention workforce.
    Answer. The Coast Guard continues to pursue multiple LOE's to build 
capacity, modernize training, and retain talent as mission demands 
evolve and increase the need for more resources. Through annual 
appropriations, the Coast Guard continues to steadily expand its marine 
inspection, investigations, and waterways management workforce to meet 
emerging prevention activities in offshore wind, space, cybersecurity, 
and environmental protection. Advancements in virtual training expand 
opportunities for workforce professional development and allow for 
continuous learning that is scalable and keeps pace with rapid 
technology changes outpacing the existing regulatory framework. 
Finally, the Coast Guard holistically re-evaluated its efforts to 
retain its highly skilled prevention professionals by creatively 
expanding monetary incentives for in-demand, difficult to fill 
positions, and updating policy to improve work-life balances such as 
increasing parental leave and expanding remote and telework 
opportunities.

    Question 7.b. The Coast Guard's December 2020 Prevention Program 
Readiness Initiative Report FY2021-2026 stated that future workforce 
modeling needs to be forward leaning.
    Question 7.b.i. Does the Coast Guard intend to use requirements-
based, i.e. forward leaning workforce models, when configuring the 
structure of the future prevention workforce?
    Answer. The Coast Guard Office of Workforce Forecasting and 
Analysis (CG-126), with support from the Research and Development 
Center (RDC), is constructing a modeling tool to analyze future 
workforce requirements.

    Question 7.b.ii. When the Coast Guard prevention workforce is 
understaffed, the historic result has been ever greater reliance on the 
third-party non-profit organizations and private sector businesses.
    Question 7.b.ii.1. Is the Coast Guard satisfied with that outcome? 
Does it pose inherent conflicts of interest when non-governmental 
groups undertake prevention activities?
    Answer. Yes, the Coast Guard is satisfied with the overall function 
of third party organizations (TPO) as allowed by the Code of Federal 
Regulation. The use of recognized and third party organizations has 
been common practice in the domestic and international regulatory 
communities. The Coast Guard has focused resources that provide 
oversight on these delegated functions and processes to ensure 
regulatory compliance.
    While some program decisions were driven by resource constraints, 
they also reduced the redundancies in the work carried out by the Coast 
Guard and Recognized Organizations (ROs).
    This does not pose inherent conflicts. These ROs and TPOs are 
required to adhere to international instruments and national regulatory 
requirements. The delegated functions for each RO are captured in 
agreements.

    Question 7.c. Marine inspectors: In 2012, after a one-time increase 
in appropriations, the number of marine inspectors at Coast Guard 
sectors reached a one time high of 75% of the number the Sector 
Staffing Model calls for in each sector. Since 2016, the number of 
marine inspectors at Coast Guard sectors has hovered just over 60% of 
the number the Sector Staffing Model calls for in each sector.
    Question 7.c.i. How do the number of marine inspectors called for 
under the Sector Staffing model compare to the number that would be 
required under a Missions Requirements Determination?
    Answer. The outcomes of an MRA produce an MRD. The marine 
inspection workforce has not received a formal MRA due to higher 
priorities in new acquisitions or workforces without staffing models. 
The Sector Staffing Model currently serves the marine inspection 
workforce as an operationally-focused alternative for a MRA.

    Question 7.c.ii. Six of the nine industry stakeholders GAO 
interviewed stated that their firms have experienced delays because 
marine inspectors were not available in a timely manner. The 
Subcommittee has heard numerous complaints from industry about the lack 
of timely availability of marine inspectors.
    Question 7.c.ii.1. What actions is the Coast Guard taking to 
increase the number of available marine inspectors?
    Answer. The Coast Guard has notably increased its marine inspection 
workforce in recent years through strategic investments. The following 
table outlines the yearly increases in the Coast Guard's marine 
inspection workforce since FY 2020.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Number of
                 FY                        Workforce Type       Billets
                                                                 Added
------------------------------------------------------------------------
20..................................  Marine Inspectors......          9
21..................................  Marine Inspectors......         26
21..................................  Third Party Oversight           19
                                       Coordinators.
22..................................  Marine Inspections              21
                                       Training Coordinators.
22..................................  Marine Inspectors......         12
23 (PRESBUD)........................  Marine Inspectors......         14
------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Question 7.c.ii.2. Can inspectors remain actively certified to 
conduct marine inspection when they are serving in non-inspection 
billets?
    Answer. Yes. Marine inspectors serving in non-inspection billets 
can remain actively certified if they maintain their annual 
certification requirements.

    Question 7.c.iii. In January 2022, GAO recommended that the Coast 
Guard collect additional data on the marine inspection workforce and 
the maritime industry to better forecast future workforce needs. The 
Coast Guard concurred and ``anticipates'' having a preliminary analytic 
model complete my March 2024.
    Question 7.c.iii.1. When it is available, will this model be used 
to inform Mission Requirement Analysis?
    Answer. Yes. The Coast Guard's Offices of Strategy and Human 
Resource Capability and Strategic Workforce Planning and Human Resource 
Analytics, with support from the Coast Guard's RDC, is designing the 
modeling tool to analyze future workforce needs and inform the MRA.

    Question 7.c.iii.2. When the Subcommittee asks in the FY '25 Budget 
hearing, which should occur in March or April of 2024, whether the 
analytic model is complete and being used, will you be able to say that 
it is?
    Answer. The Coast Guard anticipates completion of the analytical 
modeling tool within the last two fiscal quarters of 2024 per their 
established development timelines.

    Question 8. Health Clinic and Sickbay Staffing: In February 2022, 
GAO found surge deployments for of health care staff had quadrupled 
between fiscal year 2018 and fiscal years fiscal year 2021.
    Question 8.a. What is the cause or causes of these vastly increased 
surge deployments:
    Question 8.a.i. DHS operations unrelated for base Coast Guard 
missions and duties such as land border immigration? COVID-19 screening 
at airports?
    Question 8.a.ii. Operations related to Coast Guard missions such as 
hurricane response activity and illegal migration by water?
    Answer to 8.a.i. & 8.a.ii. Deployment of Coast Guard health 
professionals has increased due to growing internal (in support of 
Coast Guard operations) and external (in support of U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security (DHS) or other department/agency operations) 
deployments. The demand for a global Coast Guard presence has 
increased, and cutters are being deployed further from home for longer 
periods of time. To protect the health and safety of crews, such 
deployments frequently require additional medical personnel. These 
personnel are surged from within the Service to support the highest 
operational need. External contingencies, including support for DHS 
operations and the COVID pandemic, have contributed to increased 
deployment requirements.

    Question 8.b. As of February 2022, the Coast Guard had not 
completed a Mission Requirements Determination but agreed with GAO's 
recommendation to make Manpower Requirements Determination for its 
health care clinic staff. The Coast Guard agreed to make the 
Determination by March 2022. That determination has not been made.
    Question 8.b.i. When will the Coast Guard make its Determination 
with respect to health care clinic and sickbay staff?
    Answer. In August, 2022, the Coast Guard completed a clinic 
services model and is currently moving forward with the MRD process. 
The MRD is expected to be completed in late 2022.

    Question 8.b.ii. In making the healthcare clinic staff manpower 
requirements determination, what level of surge deployments will the 
manpower requirements analysis assume? 2018 levels? 2022 levels? A 
future projection?
    Answer. The clinic staffing model considers historical deployment 
data from FY 2014 through 2021.

    Question 8.c. GAO also found that Coast Guard did not have staffing 
standards to determine the levels and types of staff needed to meet the 
health care needs of the service.
    Question 8.c.i. What is the status of development of health care 
staffing standards?
    Answer. The Coast Guard is developing a staffing standard model 
related to healthcare, services which is expected to be complete in 
late 2022. Once the model is approved, the Service will utilize the 
model to project healthcare services need and begin to resource to 
those levels in future budget cycles.

    Question 8.c.ii. How will the staffing standards inform the 
Manpower Requirements Analysis for clinics and sickbays?
    Answer. The healthcare staffing model is being developed using 
standards and best practices informed by healthcare and manpower 
requirements analysis standards.

    Question 9. New Surface Assets: The Coast Guard's top acquisition 
priority is 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters which will replace the Medium 
Endurance Cutters. The crew size reductions alleged in the replacement 
for the High Endurance Cutters to National Security Cutters (NCSs) 
largely did not occur and the Coast Guard is acquiring at least 11 and 
possibly 12 NCSs rather than 8 as planned. In addition, three new polar 
Security Cutters will be commissioned in the next decade.
    How will the commissioning of these new assets affect the Coast 
Guard's workforce needs?
    Answer. The Coast Guard expects the afloat workforce to grow by 
approximately 2,000 active duty personnel over the next 19 years to 
meet the needs of arriving assets. Providing support for the assets and 
Coast Guard workforce operating them is also vital to the continued 
success of Coast Guard missions. The Coast Guard requests personnel to 
ensure our crews have sufficient administration, support for medical 
care, family services, and work life staff.

    Question 10. Electronic Health Records: What is the status of 
implementation of electronic health records for Coast Guard personnel?
    Answer. The Coast Guard Electronic Health Record Acquisition has 
successfully deployed to 109 sites, or 99 percent of Coast Guard 
clinics and sickbays. The sole exception is the clinic at Detachment 
Borinquen, which remains on the Paper Health Record system until the 
Coast Guard completes a network upgrade on infrastructure servicing 
that clinic. This network upgrade is scheduled for completion by the 
first quarter of FY 2024.

     Questions from Hon. Mike Gallagher to Admiral Linda L. Fagan, 
                      Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard

    Question 1. In a July 2020 Report to Congress, the USCG cites a 
prolonged construction schedule of nine years for a new heavy Great 
Lakes Icebreaker. The report also provided an accelerated 7-year 
timeline given Congressional direction. Would procurement law relief 
for the GLIB speed the vessels construction?
    Answer. No. Procurement law relief for the Great Lakes Icebreaker 
would not reduce the construction timeline. The July 2020 Report to 
Congress, Great Lakes Icebreaker Acquisition, outlined potential 
Congressional actions that could accelerate the overall acquisition 
timeline. Over the past two years, the Coast Guard has worked to 
accelerate the program schedule by initiating pre-acquisition 
activities, including reports, documentation, and analyses required for 
major acquisition programs under sections 1131 and 1132 of Title 14, 
United States Code. As a result, exempting this Program from complying 
with requirements under those sections of law is unlikely to provide 
appreciable schedule savings as the requirements are either complete or 
are in process.

    Question 2. I am thrilled that the House passed the Great Lakes 
Winter Commerce Act, which will accurately document the impacts of 
inadequate icebreaking on the Great Lakes. What is the Coast Guard's 
plan of action ahead of the GAO study required by that Act to alleviate 
and better track problems moving vital raw materials on the Great Lakes 
during the winter months?
    Answer. The Coast Guard is assessing and developing metrics to more 
efficiently evaluate and record performance outputs of the domestic 
icebreaking fleet and its effectiveness in accomplishing all aspects of 
the domestic icebreaking mission. While the current primary metric, 
Tier One waterway availability, does document mission performance in 
major thoroughfares, it does not fully inform important elements of the 
domestic icebreaking mission, such as the waterway traffic affected by 
ice in other areas or the impact of the Coast Guard's aging domestic 
icebreaking cutter fleet.