[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
GUARDIANS OF THE SEA: NATIONAL SECURITY
MISSIONS OF THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD
=======================================================================
(118-38)
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
COAST GUARD AND MARITIME TRANSPORTATION
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON
TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
DECEMBER 12, 2023
__________
Printed for the use of the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available online at: https://www.govinfo.gov/committee/house-
transportation?path=/browsecommittee/chamber/house/committee/
transportation
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
57-119 PDF WASHINGTON : 2024
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COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Sam Graves, Missouri, Chairman
Rick Larsen, Washington, Ranking Member
Eleanor Holmes Norton, Eric A. ``Rick'' Crawford,
District of Columbia Arkansas
Grace F. Napolitano, California Daniel Webster, Florida
Steve Cohen, Tennessee Thomas Massie, Kentucky
John Garamendi, California Scott Perry, Pennsylvania
Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr., Georgiaian Babin, Texas
Andre Carson, Indiana Garret Graves, Louisiana
Dina Titus, Nevada David Rouzer, North Carolina
Jared Huffman, California Mike Bost, Illinois
Julia Brownley, California Doug LaMalfa, California
Frederica S. Wilson, Florida Bruce Westerman, Arkansas
Donald M. Payne, Jr., New Jersey Brian J. Mast, Florida
Mark DeSaulnier, California Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon,
Salud O. Carbajal, California Puerto Rico
Greg Stanton, Arizona, Pete Stauber, Minnesota
Vice Ranking Member Tim Burchett, Tennessee
Colin Z. Allred, Texas Dusty Johnson, South Dakota
Sharice Davids, Kansas Jefferson Van Drew, New Jersey,
Jesus G. ``Chuy'' Garcia, Illinois Vice Chairman
Chris Pappas, New Hampshire Troy E. Nehls, Texas
Seth Moulton, Massachusetts Tracey Mann, Kansas
Jake Auchincloss, Massachusetts Burgess Owens, Utah
Marilyn Strickland, Washington Rudy Yakym III, Indiana
Troy A. Carter, Louisiana Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Oregon
Patrick Ryan, New York Thomas H. Kean, Jr., New Jersey
Mary Sattler Peltola, Alaska Anthony D'Esposito, New York
Robert Menendez, New Jersey Eric Burlison, Missouri
Val T. Hoyle, Oregon John James, Michigan
Emilia Strong Sykes, Ohio Derrick Van Orden, Wisconsin
Hillary J. Scholten, Michigan Brandon Williams, New York
Valerie P. Foushee, North Carolina Marcus J. Molinaro, New York
Mike Collins, Georgia
Mike Ezell, Mississippi
John S. Duarte, California
Aaron Bean, Florida
Celeste Maloy, Utah
Vacancy
------ 7
Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
Daniel Webster, Florida, Chairman
Salud O. Carbajal, California, Ranking Member
Brian Babin, Texas John Garamendi, California
Brian J. Mast, Florida Chris Pappas, New Hampshire
Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon, Jake Auchincloss, Massachusetts
Puerto Rico Mary Sattler Peltola, Alaska
Jefferson Van Drew, New Jersey Hillary J. Scholten, Michigan,
Mike Ezell, Mississippi, Vice Vice Ranking Member
Chairman Rick Larsen, Washington (Ex
Aaron Bean, Florida Officio)
Sam Graves, Missouri (Ex Officio)
CONTENTS
Page
Summary of Subject Matter........................................ v
STATEMENTS OF MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE
Hon. Daniel Webster, a Representative in Congress from the State
of Florida, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and
Maritime Transportation, opening statement..................... 1
Prepared statement........................................... 3
Hon. Rick Larsen, a Representative in Congress from the State of
Washington, and Ranking Member, Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure, opening statement.............................. 4
Prepared statement........................................... 5
Hon. Salud O. Carbajal, a Representative in Congress from the
State of California, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Coast
Guard and Maritime Transportation, opening statement........... 6
Prepared statement........................................... 8
WITNESS
Vice Admiral Peter Gautier, Deputy Commandant for Operations,
U.S. Coast Guard, oral statement............................... 9
Prepared statement........................................... 10
APPENDIX
Questions to Vice Admiral Peter Gautier, Deputy Commandant for
Operations, U.S. Coast Guard, from:
Hon. Jefferson Van Drew...................................... 33
Hon. Mike Ezell.............................................. 33
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
December 8, 2023
SUMMARY OF SUBJECT MATTER
TO: LMembers, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime
Transportation
FROM: LStaff, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime
Transportation
RE: LSubcommittee Hearing on ``Guardians of the Sea:
National Security Missions of the United States Coast Guard''
_______________________________________________________________________
I. PURPOSE
The Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
will meet on December 12, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. ET in 2167 of the
Rayburn House Office Building to receive testimony at a hearing
entitled, ``Guardians of the Sea: National Security Missions of
the United States Coast Guard.'' Members will examine the
national security missions of the United States Coast Guard
(Coast Guard or Service). It will focus on the Coast Guard's
efforts to support national security interests in the Indo-
Pacific and Arctic regions. At the hearing, Members will
receive testimony from the United States Coast Guard.
II. BACKGROUND
The Coast Guard is a vital component of the United States
national security apparatus. Section 102(7) of the title 14,
United States Code, states that the Coast Guard shall maintain
a state of readiness to assist in the defense of the United
States, and section 103 provides authority for the Coast Guard
to operate as a Service in the United States Navy under certain
circumstances. The Service is unique among armed services in
that section 522 of title 14, United States Code, authorizes
the Service to conduct law enforcement operations on the high
seas and waters of the United States.\1\ Furthermore, as United
States national security interests continue to grow in the
Arctic and Indo-Pacific regions, the Coast Guard's mix of
military, regulatory, and law enforcement abilities provide the
United States with a flexible tool that can advance its
interests in the region, build partnerships, and deter
adversary aggression.
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\1\ See 14 U.S.C. Sec. 522.
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In the Indo-Pacific, the Coast Guard plays an important
role by providing a means of non-escalatory United States
security presence. The Service provides essential technical
expertise to allies and partners on how to develop maritime
capabilities and regulations, and the ability to counter grey-
zone activities by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the
Peoples Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM).\2\ Furthermore,
its efforts are essential to countering drug, Illegal,
Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, and terrorism
threats in the region.
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\2\ Lyle J. Morris, Blunt Defenders of Sovereignty--The Rise of
Coast Guards in East and Southeast Asia, Naval War College Review, Vol.
70, 2 at 1-2 (2017), available at https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/
cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=nwc-review [hereinafter
Morris].
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In the Arctic, the Coast Guard plays a critical role of
maintaining the Nation's sole ice breaking capabilities across
the United States Government fleet.\3\ Such capacity is
necessary to facilitate commercial and scientific access,
maintain a consistent military presence to project sovereignty
and counter Russian and Chinese activity, and safeguard United
States resources and assets in the region.\4\
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\3\ United States Coast Guard, Arctic Strategic Outlook
Implementation Plan (Oct. 2023) available at https://media.defense.gov/
2023/Oct/25/2003327838/-1/-1/0/ARCTIC
%20STRATEGIC%20OUTLOOK%20IMPLEMENTATION%20PLAN%20508
%20COMPLIANT.PDF [hereinafter Implementation].
\4\ Id.
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III. INDO-PACIFIC MISSIONS
The 2022 United States Indo-Pacific Strategy recognizes
that the Indo-Pacific region is vital to United States national
security and economic prosperity.\5\ In the face of China's
rising dominance in the Indo-Pacific, the Coast Guard plays a
vital role in both preserving and advancing United States
interests in the region--so much so that it is the only service
explicitly referenced by name within the Indo-Pacific
Strategy.\6\
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\5\ See The White House, Indo-Pacific Strategy, (Feb. 2022),
available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/
U.S.-Indo-Pacific-Strategy.pdf.
\6\ Id.
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The Coast Guard supports United States interests by
maintaining a robust maritime law enforcement presence in the
region. Currently, the Coast Guard has permanently deployed
three Fast Response Cutters (FRC) to Guam to support Indo-
Pacific operations.\7\ The Service also deploys National
Security Cutters (NSC) on Indo-Pacific patrols, and has future
plans to periodically station up to five NSCs in the region.\8\
These vessels, operating under various multilateral agreements,
international conventions, or other negotiated agreements, are
able to perform enforcement duties pertaining to international
law or the laws of host countries when operating within their
territorial waters.\9\ The Coast Guard currently leverages 12
bilateral law enforcement agreements with Pacific Island
Nations that allow the Service to directly assist each nation
in enforcing their respective sovereign rights, build strong
maritime governance regimes, and form a unified front against
malign activity.\10\ More broadly, the Coast Guard utilizes
over 60 multi- and bi-lateral agreements that authorize
personnel with enforcement authority from partner nations to
embark on Coast Guard cutters and conduct combined law
enforcement operations inside the partner nation's Exclusive
Economic Zones (EEZs).\11\
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\7\ Press, Release, United States Coast Guard Acquisition
Directorate, Coast Guard Commissions 3 Fast Response Cutters in Guam,
(July 29, 2021), available at https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Our-
Organization/Assistant-Commandant-for-Acquisitions-CG-9/
Newsroom/Latest-Acquisition-News/Article/2713364/coast-guard-
commissions-3-fast-response-cutters-in-guam/.
\8\ Gidget Fuentes, Coast Guard Moving Cutter to Pacific as
Regional Missions Expand, USNI News, (Feb. 15, 2023), available at
https://news.usni.org/2023/02/15/coast-guard-moving-cutter-to-pacific-
as-regional-missions-expand.
\9\ U.S. Coast Guard Indo-Pacific Operations: Hearing Before
Subcomm. on Transp. and Maritime Security of the H. Comm on Homeland
Security, 118th Cong. (Sept. 28, 2023) (statement of Vice Admiral
Andrew J. Tiongson, Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area) [hereinafter
Homeland Security Committee Hearing].
\10\ Id.
\11\ Id.
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The Coast Guard's unique blend of authorities and
international image is key to countering Chinese malignant and
grey-zone activities that threaten the interests of the United
States and its regional partners. China currently uses a range
of civilian, paramilitary, and Chinese Coast Guard assets to
advance its economic and security interests in the Indo-Pacific
and South China Sea.\12\ These actors routinely engage in IUU
fishing, territorial encroachment, and the harassment of other
claimants' vessels and platforms.\13\ Recent examples of such
activities include the Chinese Coast Guard ramming Filipino
fishermen, harassing Filipino oil and gas exploration vessels
within the Philippines' EEZ, as well as numerous incursions
into Taiwanese waters by Chinese fishing vessels during periods
of heightened tension with the United States.\14\
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\12\ See Morris supra note 2.
\13\ Id.
\14\ See Enrico Dela Cruz and Karen Lema Philippines Says Chinese
Coastguard `Intentionally' collided with its boats, Reuters, (Oct. 23,
2023), available at https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/
philippines-tells-china-stop-provocative-actions-south-china-sea-2023-
10-23/; Jill Goldenziel, China Challenges Philippines Over Oil, Gas,
and Ocean, Forbes, (Dec. 22, 2022) available at https://www.forbes.com/
sites; Joel Guinto, How China is Fighting in the Grey Zone Against
Taiwan, BBC, (Oct. 4, 2023), available at https://www.bbc.com/news/
world-asia-66851118
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These actions often fall below the threshold of armed
conflict and are designed to limit the ability of traditional
military assets to respond, as doing so may create the
perception of over response and escalation.\15\ Comparatively,
when responding to such scenarios, the Coast Guard is able to
maintain a low threshold of escalation. The ``White Hull''
brand of the Coast Guard is perceived as less provocative
within the international community and allows it to maintain a
lower profile with respect to use of force escalation when
compared to its grey-hull Navy counterparts.\16\ In conjunction
with the aforementioned maritime law enforcement capabilities,
the Coast Guard is the best equipped service to meaningfully
address the growing Chinese grey-zone threat in the Indo-
Pacific.
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\15\ Morris, supra note 2, at 77.
\16\ Id.
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The Service also engages in, and is an important tool for,
maritime capability building in partner nations. The Service
provides operational training and advice to key Indo-Pacific
partner countries, aiding in the development of their partner
navies and coast guards, which themselves often more closely
resemble the United States Coast Guard rather than the United
States Navy.\17\ In 2022, Coast Guard NSC's participated in
numerous capability building training exercises, including
operations Blue Pacific and North Pacific Coast Guard.\18\ The
Coast Guard also supports the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries
Agency in building regional capacity to address IUU fishing by
managing numerous training programs and exercises.\19\
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\17\ See United States Dep't of Defense, Indo-Pacific Strategy
Report--Preparedness, Partnerships, and Promoting a Networked Region 41
(June 1, 2019), available at https://media.defense.gov/2019/Jul/01/
2002152311/-1/-1/1/DEPARTMENT-OF-DEFENSE-INDO-
PACIFIC-STRATEGY-REPORT-2019.PDF.
\18\ Homeland Security Committee Hearing, supra note 9.
\19\ Id.
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IV. ARCTIC MISSIONS
The United States has relied on the Coast Guard's
persistent presence in the polar regions to facilitate American
leadership since the United States acquired Alaska in 1867, and
took over responsibility for Antarctic icebreaking in 1966.\20\
With substantial territorial and economic interests in the
Arctic, including one million square miles of territorial
waters and EEZ, a $3 billion arctic seafood industry, 90
billion barrels of undiscovered oil reserves and 30 percent of
the world's undiscovered natural gas, $1 trillion in rare earth
minerals, and increased commercial and tourism activity, the
importance of the Arctic to the United States cannot be
overstated.\21\ Today, the Coast Guard projects United States
sovereignty in the Arctic in the face of challenges by Russia
and China, and represents American interests in international
bodies governing navigation, search and rescue, vessel safety,
fisheries enforcement and pollution response.\22\ As the Arctic
continues to open and strategic competition in the region
attracts more actors, the demand for Coast Guard leadership and
presence has only grown.
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\20\ See United States Coast Guard, Arctic Strategic Outlook (Apr.
2019) available at https://www.uscg.mil/Portals/0/Images/arctic/
Arctic_Strategic_Outlook_APR_2019.pdf [hereinafter Outlook].
\21\ Id.
\22\ Id.
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In the last decade, the world has witnessed a rise in
access to the Arctic through shipping routes. In 2017, a
Russian tanker became the first ship to complete the Northern
Sea Route between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans without the
aid of icebreakers.\23\ By 2021, an astounding 414 ships
voyaged on this route.\24\ Although the total number of voyages
fell in 2022 to only 314 vessels, Russia dominated the
activity, as 88 percent of the vessels were Russian-
flagged.\25\ In 2023, the Coast Guard cutter Healy successfully
transited the Northern Sea Route north of Russian territorial
waters.\26\ Russia and China have declared the Arctic region a
national priority and made corresponding investments in the
capability and capacity to expand their influence.\27\ Yet,
they have also challenged the rules-based order as they jockey
for increasing power and dominance.\28\
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\23\ Russell Goldman, Russian Tanker Completes Arctic Passage
Without Aid of Icebreakers, N.Y. Times, (Aug. 25, 2017), available at
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/25/world/europe/russia-tanker-
christophe-de-margerie.html.
\24\ Northern Sea Route Sees Lots of Russian Traffic, But No
International Transits in 2022, High North News, (June 20, 2023),
available at https://www.highnorthnews.com/en/northern-sea-route-sees-
lots-russian-traffic-no-international-transits-2022. [hereinafter
Northern Sea Route]
\25\ Id.
\26\ Malte Humpert, U.S. Coast Guard Icebreaker Sails in Proximity
to Russia's Northern Sea Route, High North News, (Sept. 4, 2023),
available at https://www.arctictoday.com/
us-coast-guard-icebreaker-sails-in-proximity-to-russias-northern-sea-
route/?wallit_nosession=1
\27\ Northern Sea Route supra note 24.
\28\ Id.
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As the Nation's primary maritime presence in the polar
regions, the United States has increasingly turned to the Coast
Guard to secure the Arctic.\29\ To facilitate a myriad of
strategic goals, the Coast Guard published an ``Arctic
Strategic Outlook'' in April 2019 and an ``Arctic Strategic
Outlook Implementation Plan'' in October 2023.\30\ The
Strategic Outlook focuses on three lines of effort to achieve
the Service's overarching objectives: 1) enhancing the
capability to operate effectively in the Arctic, 2)
strengthening the rules-based order, and 3) innovating and
adapting to promote resilience and prosperity.\31\ The
Implementation Plan is comprised of fourteen interconnected
initiatives to execute the lines of effort and identifies the
lead organizations or offices responsible for overseeing each
initiative, as well as critical action items to advance
them.\32\ Of particular note are the initiatives to expand
Arctic surface capabilities, associated support infrastructure,
aviation and communication capabilities.\33\ It also highlights
the need to strengthen internal coordination mechanisms, like
the centers for Arctic study and policy and the polar
coordination office, as well as international partnerships like
strengthening the Arctic Coast Guard Forum and preserving
United States leadership in the Arctic Council.\34\
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\29\ Implementation supra note 3.
\30\ See Outlook, supra note 20; Implementation, supra note 3.
\31\ Outlook, supra note 20.
\32\ Implementation, supra note 3.
\33\ Id.
\34\ Id.
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As reflected in these documents, the Coast Guard relies on
its ice breakers to project presence and sovereignty in the
upper reaches of the Arctic. With its distinctive red hull and
Coast Guard racing stripe, icebreakers are a beacon of United
States power and leadership in the far north. Yet, despite the
importance of the Arctic the Coast Guard's current operational
ocean-going icebreaking fleet consists only of the medium
icebreaker Healy and the heavy icebreaker Polar Star.\35\ Healy
is the Coast Guard's only icebreaker specifically designed for
Arctic research and is operated in collaboration with the
National Science Foundation, as well as other agencies.\36\ It
deploys annually to the Arctic to support multiple science
missions and Operation Arctic Shield, the Service's annual
operation to execute Coast Guard missions, enhance maritime
domain awareness, strengthen partnership, and build
preparedness, prevention, and response capabilities across the
Arctic domain.\37\ As the Nation's only heavy icebreaker, the
Polar Star annually travels to McMurdo Station in Antarctica to
lead Operation Deep Freeze and break miles of ice up to 21 feet
thick to restock the research station and allow it to continue
its operations.\38\
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\35\ Ronald O'Rourke, Cong. Research Serv., RL34391, Coast Guard
Polar Security Cutter (Polar Icebreaker) Program: Background and Issues
for Congress (July 31, 2023), available at https://www.crs.gov/reports/
pdf/RL34391/RL34391.pdf [hereinafter CRS PSC Report].
\36\ U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy, National Science Foundation
embark on Arctic Ocean mission, United States Coast Guard News, (Aug.
26, 2023), available at https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/
Article/3506293/us-coast-guard-cutter-healy-national-science-
foundation-embark-on-arctic-ocean/.
\37\ Id.
\38\ See United States Coast Guard--Pacific Area, USCGC Polar Star
(WAGB 10), available at https://www.pacificarea.uscg.mil/Our-
Organization/Cutters/cgcPolarStar/.
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Healy's recent patrol to the Arctic demonstrates the
diversity and the necessity of its operations. Departing in
July and still underway, Healy has already traveled over 20,000
nautical miles from Seattle, over the north pole, to
Scandinavia, Charleston, and through the Panama Canal and still
has thousands more miles to cover before it returns home.\39\
During the trip, Healy completed two science expeditions in the
Beaufort and Chukchi Seas and the Eastern Siberian and Laptev
seas, led joint operations in the Barents Sea with the
Norwegian Coast Guard, conducted joint operations with Danish
and Icelandic Sea services in the North Atlantic, and attended
the annual Arctic Circle assembly.\40\ It became the first
United States surface vessel to have sailed near the Northern
Sea Route since the 1980s, and therefore entered the Russian
EEZ.\41\ Unsurprisingly, the Healy's voyage was closely
monitored by a Russian research vessel.\42\
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\39\ Jameson Moyer, U.S. Coast Guard cutter Healy visits
Charleston, NBC 2, (Nov. 3, 2023) available at https://
www.counton2.com/news/local-news/u-s-coast-guard-cutter-healy-visits-
charleston/.
\40\ Id.
\41\ US Icebreaker Healy on Successful Research Voyage in the
Siberian Arctic, High North News, (Oct. 11, 2023) available at https://
www.highnorthnews.com/en/us-icebreaker-healy-succesful-research-voyage-
siberian-arctic.
\42\ Id.
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Yet, despite the importance of this region, the United
States lags behind other Arctic nations in its icebreaking
capabilities. With significant territory in the Arctic, Russia
has a fleet of 55 icebreakers, including 18 military
icebreakers.\43\ While China cannot claim any territory in the
Arctic, it has declared itself a ``near Arctic state,'' and
operates a fleet of two medium and two heavy icebreakers, with
more planned for later this decade.\44\ The Coast Guard is
working to replace and expand its fleet of heavy icebreakers
with at least three Polar Security Cutters (PSC).\45\
Additionally, the Service is considering the acquisition of
additional medium icebreakers through the Arctic Security
Cutter Program.\46\ The Coast Guard is also seeking to acquire
a commercially available icebreaker that could bolster its
Arctic capabilities in the near term.\47\
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\43\ Abbie Tingstand et. al., Report on the Arctic Capabilities of
the U.S. Armed Forces, RAND Corporation (2023) available at https://
www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1638-1.html.
\44\ Id.
\45\ CRS PSC Report, supra note 35.
\46\ Id.
\47\ Id.
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While Congress has appropriated funding for the first two
PSCs, like other major Coast Guard acquisition programs, the
PSC program has suffered serious delays and cost overruns, and
the first PSC may not be operational until the end of this
decade. At the same time, the Coast Guard will likely require
additional funding to move the PSC program past the first hull.
The success of the Healy patrol demonstrated the need for
increasing capacity and capabilities in the Arctic. Yet, with
only two aging icebreakers in its fleet and continual delays
and cost increases in the PSC program, it is unclear how the
Coast Guard will carry out lifesaving and marine safety
missions in the Arctic, much less its national defense
missions.
V. WITNESS
LVice Admiral Peter Gautier, Deputy Commandant for
Operations, United States Coast Guard
GUARDIANS OF THE SEA: NATIONAL SECURITY MISSIONS OF THE UNITED STATES
COAST GUARD
----------
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2023
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime
Transportation,
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 2:46 p.m. in
room 2167 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Daniel Webster
(Chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. Webster of Florida. The Subcommittee on Coast Guard and
Maritime Transportation will come to order. I ask unanimous
consent that the chairman be authorized to declare a recess at
any time during today's hearing.
Without objection, show that ordered.
I ask for unanimous consent that the Members who are not on
the subcommittee be permitted to be on it and ask questions in
the subcommittee today.
Without objection, show that ordered.
As a reminder, Members who wish to insert a document in the
record, please also email it to [email protected].
And I will recognize myself for the purpose of an opening
statement for 5 minutes.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. DANIEL WEBSTER OF FLORIDA, CHAIRMAN,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON COAST GUARD AND MARITIME TRANSPORTATION
Mr. Webster of Florida. We meet today to examine the
national security missions of the Coast Guard, focusing on the
Service's vital efforts in the Indo-Pacific and Arctic regions.
I would like to welcome our distinguished witness joining
us today, Vice Admiral Peter Gautier. Is that correct?
Admiral Gautier. That's correct, sir.
Mr. Webster of Florida. Thank you. Deputy Commandant for
Operations at the U.S. Coast Guard.
In 1787, Alexander Hamilton wrote that ``a few armed
vessels, judiciously stationed at the entrances of our ports,
might at small expense, be made useful sentinels of the laws.''
Over the last 200-plus years, the Coast Guard has grown from
these origins to become a vital sentinel of our national
security.
Nowhere is this more evident than the Indo-Pacific and the
Arctic regions where the Coast Guard's mix of military,
regulatory, and law enforcement abilities provide the United
States with a flexible tool that is essential to advancing
national interests.
The Indo-Pacific region, which spans from our Pacific
coastline to the Indian Ocean, is home to more than half of the
world's population, nearly two-thirds of the world's economy,
and seven of the world's largest militaries. As the strategic
value of the Indo-Pacific continues to grow against the
backdrop of increased Chinese territorial activity, the Coast
Guard's robust law enforcement presence in the region is needed
to ensure U.S. security and prosperity.
The Coast Guard leverages a fleet of three Fast Response
Cutters in Guam, a rotating presence of National Security
Cutters, 12 bilateral law enforcement agreements, and over 60
multilateral agreements to enforce the international legal
order. But this order is being challenged by China through
state-subsidized illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing,
unauthorized incursions, and harassment of foreign vessels.
China intentionally acts below the threshold of armed conflict,
limiting traditional U.S. Navy response.
But with their white hulls, Coast Guard cutters act as the
modern version of Roosevelt's Great White Fleet. They leverage
a unique blend of authorities to counter Chinese malignant and
gray zone activities in a non-escalatory manner unavailable to
the U.S. Navy. Furthermore, since most Indo-Pacific nations
have maritime forces resembling the Coast Guard, the Service is
well-positioned to provide operational training and advice, and
forge partnerships with key regional allies.
In the Arctic, the United States similarly has substantial
territorial and economic interests, including 1 million square
miles of territory, a $3 billion seafood industry, and
trillions of dollars of mineral and oil reserves. As Russia and
China challenge these interests, Coast Guard efforts to project
U.S. sovereignty, improve navigation, provide search and rescue
capabilities, enforce fishery regulations, and ensure vessel
safety are the cornerstone of U.S. security and prosperity in
the region.
With its distinctive red hull and Coast Guard racing
stripe, icebreakers are a beacon of U.S. power in the far
north. Yet, despite the strategic importance of the Arctic, the
Coast Guard only has two icebreakers. Only one of these, Healy,
deploys annually to the Arctic to engage in everything from
National Science Foundation research to capacity building.
Conversely, Russia has a fleet of 55 icebreakers, and
China, which has deemed itself a near-Arctic state, has a fleet
of four icebreakers. Russia and China have declared the Arctic
region national priorities and have made corresponding
investments in the capability and capacity needed to expand
their influence.
The United States and the Coast Guard are racing to play
catchup. I fear we are losing.
While the Coast Guard has been working for years to replace
and expand its fleet of heavy icebreakers with at least three
Polar Security Cutters, PSCs, this committee has serious
concerns about the Coast Guard's ability to execute this
acquisition program and deliver the ships on time. We expect
updates as program milestones are met, but no less frequently
than every 60 days.
To help plug the gap in the near term, this committee
supports the Coast Guard's efforts to acquire a commercially
available icebreaker. And we hope the Service can apply some of
the lessons learned from the PSC program as it seeks to expand
its medium icebreaker fleet.
So, as we explore the Service's national security missions
today, focusing on the Indo-Pacific and the Arctic, I look
forward to learning what the Coast Guard will do to strengthen
its capabilities in these critical regions and how Congress can
assist.
[Mr. Webster of Florida's prepared statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Daniel Webster of Florida, Chairman,
Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
We meet today to examine the national security missions of the
Coast Guard, focusing on the Service's vital efforts in the Indo-
Pacific and Arctic regions.
I'd like to welcome our distinguished witness joining us today--
Vice Admiral Peter Gautier, Deputy Commandant for Operations at the
U.S. Coast Guard.
In 1787, Alexander Hamilton wrote that ``a few armed vessels,
judiciously stationed at the entrances of our ports, might at small
expense, be made useful sentinels of the laws.'' Over the last 200-plus
years, the Coast Guard has grown from these origins to become a vital
sentinel of national security.
Nowhere is this more evident than the Indo-Pacific and the Arctic
regions where the Coast Guard's mix of military, regulatory, and law
enforcement abilities provide the United States with a flexible tool
that is essential to advancing national interests.
The Indo-Pacific region, which spans from our Pacific coastline to
the Indian Ocean, is home to more than half the world's people, nearly
two-thirds of the world's economy, and seven of the world's largest
militaries. As the strategic value of the Indo-Pacific continues to
grow against the backdrop of increased Chinese territorial activity,
the Coast Guard's robust law enforcement presence in the region is
needed to ensure U.S. security and prosperity.
The Coast Guard leverages a fleet of three Fast Response Cutters in
Guam, a rotating presence of National Security Cutters, twelve
bilateral law enforcement agreements, and over sixty multi-lateral
agreements to enforce the international legal order. But this order is
being challenged by China through state-subsidized illegal,
unregulated, and unreported fishing, unauthorized incursions, and
harassment of foreign vessels. China intentionally acts below the
threshold of armed conflict, limiting traditional U.S. Navy response.
But, with their white hulls, Coast Guard cutters act as the modern
version of Roosevelt's ``Great White Fleet.'' They leverage a unique
blend of authorities to counter Chinese malignant and grey zone
activities in a non-escalatory manner unavailable to the U.S. Navy.
Furthermore, since most Indo-Pacific nations have maritime forces
resembling the Coast Guard, the Service is well-positioned to provide
operational training and advice, and forge partnerships with key
regional allies.
In the Arctic, the United States similarly has substantial
territorial and economic interests, including 1 million square miles of
territory, a $3 billion seafood industry, and trillions of dollars of
mineral and oil reserves. As Russia and China challenge these
interests, Coast Guard efforts to project U.S. sovereignty, improve
navigation, provide search and rescue capabilities, enforce fisheries
regulations, and ensure vessel safety are the cornerstone of U.S.
security and prosperity in the region.
With its distinctive red hull and Coast Guard racing stripe,
icebreakers are a beacon of U.S. power in the far north. Yet, despite
the strategic importance of the Arctic, the Coast Guard only has two
icebreakers. Only one of these, Healy, deploys annually to the Arctic
to engage in everything from National Science Foundation research to
capacity building.
Conversely, Russia has a fleet of 55 icebreakers, and China, which
has deemed itself a near-Arctic state, has a fleet of 4 icebreakers.
Russia and China have declared the Arctic region national priorities
and have made corresponding investments in the capability and capacity
needed to expand their influence.
The United States and the Coast Guard are racing to play catch up,
but I fear we are losing.
While the Coast Guard has been working for years to replace and
expand its fleet of heavy icebreakers with at least three Polar
Security Cutters (PSC), this committee has serious concerns about the
Coast Guard's ability to execute this acquisition program and deliver
the ship on time. We expect updates as program milestones are met, but
no less frequently than every 60 days.
To help plug the gap in the near term, this committee supports the
Coast Guard's efforts to acquire a commercially available icebreaker.
And we hope the Service can apply some of the lessons learned from the
PSC program as it seeks to expand its medium icebreaker fleet.
So, as we explore the Service's national security missions today
focusing on the Indo-Pacific and the Arctic, I look forward to learning
what the Coast Guard will do to strengthen its capabilities in these
critical regions and how Congress can assist.
Mr. Webster of Florida. I would like to thank our witness
for joining us here today and look forward to a great
discussion.
I want to recognize the ranking member of the full
committee, Mr. Larsen.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. RICK LARSEN OF WASHINGTON, RANKING
MEMBER, COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Mr. Larsen of Washington. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
First, I want to start by taking a moment to acknowledge
the courage of the five women today who testified this morning
before the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
about their experiences with sexual assault and sexual
harassment at the Coast Guard Academy. It is incumbent on the
Coast Guard and Congress to do everything that we can to ensure
cadets are not exposed to sexual assault or harassment at the
Academy. Just yesterday, my staff reviewed a prosecution memo
that shed light on a lack of accountability at the Coast Guard.
And while we continue to conduct oversight and listen to
survivors, I am prepared to do whatever is necessary to ensure
a safer experience for every Coastie.
Many people are aware of the Coast Guard's search and
rescue mission, and I am glad we are having today's hearing to
examine the Coast Guard's lesser known missions, including
efforts to support national security interests in the Indo-
Pacific and Arctic regions.
Extreme weather events are affecting every aspect of Coast
Guard operations from severe storms causing maritime casualties
to coastal erosion at Coast Guard stations. The Service is
forced to confront climate change on a daily basis, and no
place is changing more than the thawing Arctic.
The Arctic is experiencing increased cargo and passenger
vessel traffic, increased vessel traffic from foreign
governments including Russia and China, and a growing interest
in natural resources including minerals, oil, gas, and fish.
The Coast Guard is the lead agency tasked with maritime safety,
law enforcement, and national security in the Arctic, but with
current resources, it cannot meet the demand.
The Coast Guard operates one heavy and one medium
icebreaker that are responsible for maintaining a regular
presence in the Arctic and the Antarctic. The combined age of
these two icebreakers is 72 years. Given the Service's need to
be present in both the Arctic and Antarctic annually, more
resources are required. While the Coast Guard is under contract
to build more heavy icebreakers, I have serious concerns about
the procurement, and I look forward to hearing how the Service
plans to ensure the smooth construction and delivery of those
cutters.
As well, during times of war, the Coast Guard can be
transferred in whole or in part to the Navy. Though this has
not happened since World War I, the Coast Guard has experienced
significant growth in its international missions in support of
the Department of Defense.
The Coast Guard's operations in the Indo-Pacific illustrate
this point. Three Fast Response Cutters are currently deployed
to Guam in support of Indo-Pacific operations, and the Service
regularly deploys National Security Cutters to patrol the
region.
The Coast Guard's presence in the Indo-Pacific is
invaluable. As a non-DoD Service, the Coast Guard can operate
in unique ways and places. For instance, in June of this year,
a Coast Guard cutter transited the Taiwan Strait in conjunction
with trilateral exercises with the Philippines and Japan, an
operation that garners far less attention than if conducted by
the U.S. Navy.
The Coast Guard's presence in the Arctic and the Indo-
Pacific are just two examples of a broader trend of increased
demand on the Service. Unfortunately, this growth has not come
with an increase in the requisite resources, and we are seeing
mission strain across the Coast Guard.
Just last month, we were alerted that the Coast Guard has a
servicemember shortage of 10 percent, and, as a result, it is
suspending or scaling back operations at dozens of stations
across the country.
Coast Guard shoreside infrastructure faces a maintenance
backlog of at least $3 billion, and several cutter procurement
programs face delays, including the Polar Security Cutters,
Offshore Patrol Cutters, and Waterways Commerce Cutters. There
are real consequences associated with insufficient funding.
While its motto is semper paratus, or always ready, I fear we
are quickly reaching a point where the Coast Guard will be only
sometimes ready. It is time for Congress to fully resource the
Coast Guard for all of its missions.
I want to thank you, Chair Webster, for holding today's
hearing. I look forward to hearing how Congress can do better
to support the Coast Guard.
With that, I yield back.
[Mr. Larsen of Washington's prepared statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Rick Larsen of Washington, Ranking Member,
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
I'd like to start by taking a moment to acknowledge the courage of
the five women who testified this morning before the Senate's Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations about their experiences with sexual
assault and sexual harassment at the Coast Guard Academy.
It is incumbent on the Coast Guard and Congress to do everything we
can to ensure cadets are not exposed to sexual assault or harassment at
the academy. Just yesterday, my staff reviewed a prosecution memo that
shed light on a lack of accountability at the Coast Guard. While we
continue to conduct oversight and listen to survivors, I am prepared to
do whatever is necessary to ensure a safer experience for every
Coastie.
Many people are aware of the Coast Guard's search and rescue
mission, but I am glad that we are having today's hearing to examine
the Coast Guard's lesser-known missions including efforts to support
national security interests in the Indo-Pacific and Arctic regions.
Extreme weather events are affecting every aspect of Coast Guard
operations from severe storms causing maritime casualties to coastal
erosion at Coast Guard stations.
The Service is forced to confront climate change on a daily basis,
and no place is changing more than the thawing Arctic.
The Arctic is experiencing increased cargo and passenger vessel
traffic, increased vessel traffic from foreign governments including
Russia and China and a growing interest in natural resources including
minerals, oil, gas, and fish.
The Coast Guard is the lead agency tasked with maritime safety, law
enforcement and national security in the Arctic but, with current
resources, it cannot meet the demand.
The Coast Guard operates one heavy and one medium icebreaker that
are responsible for maintaining a regular presence in the Arctic and
Antarctic.
The combined age of those two icebreakers is 72 years. Given the
Service's need to be present in both the Arctic and the Antarctic
annually, more resources are required.
While the Coast Guard is under contract to build more heavy
icebreakers, I have serious concerns about the procurement and look
forward to hearing how the Service plans to ensure the smooth
construction and delivery of those cutters.
During times of war, the Coast Guard can be transferred in whole or
in part to the Navy. Though this has not happened since World War I,
the Coast Guard has experienced significant growth in its international
missions in support of the Department of Defense.
The Coast Guard's operations in the Indo-Pacific illustrate this
point. Three Fast Response Cutters are currently deployed to Guam in
support of Indo-Pacific operations and the Service regularly deploys
National Security Cutters to patrol the region.
The Coast Guard's presence in the Indo-Pacific is invaluable. As a
non-DoD Service, the Coast Guard can operate in unique ways and places.
For instance, in June of this year, a Coast Guard cutter transited the
Taiwan Strait in conjunction with trilateral exercises with the
Philippines and Japan--an operation that garners far less attention
than if conducted by the U.S. Navy.
The Coast Guard's presence in the Arctic and the Indo-Pacific are
just two examples of a broader trend of increased demand on the
Service. Unfortunately, this growth has not come with an increase in
the requisite resources, and we are seeing mission strain across the
Coast Guard.
Just last month, we were alerted that the Coast Guard has a
servicemember shortage of 10 percent and, as a result, is suspending or
scaling back operations at dozens of stations across the country.
Coast Guard shoreside infrastructure faces a maintenance backlog of
at least $3 billion. Several cutter procurement programs face delays
including Polar Security Cutters, Offshore Patrol Cutters, and
Waterways Commerce Cutters.
There are real consequences associated with insufficient funding.
While their motto is ``Semper Paratus'' or ``always ready,'' I fear
that we are quickly reaching a point where the Coast Guard will only be
``sometimes ready.'' It is time for Congress to fully resource the
Coast Guard.
Thank you, Chairman Webster, for holding today's hearing and I look
forward to hearing how Congress can do better to support the Coast
Guard.
Mr. Webster of Florida. I now recognize Ranking Member
Carbajal for an opening statement of 5 minutes.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. SALUD O. CARBAJAL OF CALIFORNIA,
RANKING MEMBER, SUBCOMMITTEE ON COAST GUARD AND MARITIME
TRANSPORTATION
Mr. Carbajal. Thank you, Chairman Webster, for another
opportunity to dive deeper into the Coast Guard missions.
Before we get started, I, too, want to begin by
acknowledging the bravery of the survivors who came forward to
testify in the Senate about a culture of sexual assault, sexual
harassment, coverup, abuse, and retaliation in the Coast Guard
this morning. I hope our witness and every leader in the Coast
Guard was watching. Your stories were deeply impactful, and I
am committed to doing everything I can to ensure it doesn't
happen to another person.
The U.S. Coast Guard is vital to national security, but
their role in protecting this Nation is oftentimes forgotten.
With Coast Guard presence on all seven continents, their
missions extend far beyond our shores. Coast Guard operations
in areas like the Arctic and the Indo-Pacific directly supports
U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives in these
regions. Their unique capabilities, mission sets, and
longstanding partnerships allow the Coast Guard to be valuable
in enhancing maritime governance, safety, and security
throughout the world.
Cutters and crews regularly engage in professional
exchanges and capacity building with partner nations to support
a free and open Indo-Pacific. This comes at a time when
tensions are high in areas like the South China Sea, where
maritime encounters between China and allied nations have
increased. A white-hulled cutter poses a less significant
threat compared to a gray-hulled Navy vessel, giving the Coast
Guard the ability to conduct international diplomacy.
As our climate continues to change, the Arctic is melting
at an alarming rate, opening up shipping lanes and leading to
an increase in commercial traffic in areas once inaccessible.
The Coast Guard is tasked with maintaining maritime safety,
search and rescue, emergency response, and law enforcement
across this vast landscape, but it is continually provided
insufficient resources.
Icebreaking capabilities and presence in the Arctic and
Antarctic are limited due to the dismal fleet of two
operational Coast Guard icebreakers. Increased shipping in the
Arctic will increase the need for a Coast Guard presence.
The Coast Guard's budget is less than 2 percent of the
Department of Defense's budget comparatively. Yet, along with
significant mission growth elsewhere, the Coast Guard is
continually expected to increase its assistance to DoD.
I am increasingly concerned that the Coast Guard is not
receiving the appropriate resources to effectively conduct
their missions. I am also concerned that the reimbursement that
the Coast Guard receives from DoD has not kept pace with actual
costs.
As mentioned last hearing, the Coast Guard is facing one of
the worst staffing shortages in their history. With a shortage
of more than 4,000 personnel, the Service will soon begin
closing stations and laying up cutters. This poses a serious
threat to fulfilling their missions and ensuring national
security. Without greater resources and improved recruitment,
the Coast Guard will not be able to maintain their
international presence and support DoD.
While I understand we will not be able to resolve that
today, I expect this hearing to help provide a pathway forward
and demonstrate the needs of the Service.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
[Mr. Carbajal's prepared statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Salud O. Carbajal of California, Ranking
Member, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
Thank you, Chairman Webster, for another opportunity to dive deeper
into Coast Guard missions.
Before we get started, I want to begin by acknowledging the bravery
of the survivors who came forward to testify in the Senate about a
culture of sexual assault, sexual harassment, cover-up, abuse, and
retaliation in the Coast Guard this morning. I hope our witness and
every leader in the Coast Guard was watching. Your stories were deeply
impactful, and I'm committed to doing everything I can to ensure it
doesn't happen to another person.
The U.S. Coast Guard is vital to national security, but their role
in protecting this nation is often forgotten.
With Coast Guard presence on all seven continents, their missions
extend far beyond our shores. Coast Guard operations in areas like the
Arctic and the Indo-Pacific directly supports U.S. foreign policy and
national security objectives in these regions.
Their unique capabilities, mission sets, and longstanding
partnerships allow the Coast Guard to be valuable in enhancing maritime
governance, safety, and security throughout the world.
Cutters and crews regularly engage in professional exchanges and
capacity building with partner nations to support a free and open Indo-
Pacific. This comes at a time when tensions are high in areas like the
South China Sea where maritime encounters between China and allied
nations have increased.
A white-hulled cutter poses a less significant threat compared to a
grey-hulled Navy vessel, giving the Coast Guard the ability to conduct
international diplomacy.
As our climate continues to change, the Arctic is melting at an
alarming rate--opening up shipping lanes and leading to an increase in
commercial traffic in areas once inaccessible.
The Coast Guard is tasked with maintaining maritime safety, search
and rescue, emergency response, and law enforcement across this vast
landscape, but is continually provided insufficient resources.
Icebreaking capabilities and presence in the Arctic and Antarctic
are limited due to the dismal fleet of two operational Coast Guard
icebreakers. Increased shipping in the Arctic will increase the need
for a Coast Guard presence.
The Coast Guard's budget is less than 2 percent of the Department
of Defense's budget comparatively. Yet, along with significant mission
growth elsewhere, the Coast Guard is continually expected to increase
its assistance to DOD.
I am increasingly concerned that the Coast Guard is not receiving
the appropriate resources to effectively conduct their missions. I'm
also concerned that the reimbursement that the Coast Guard receives
from the DOD has not kept pace with actual costs.
As mentioned last hearing, the Coast Guard is facing one of the
worst staffing shortages in their history.
With a shortage of more than 4,000 personnel, the Service will soon
begin closing stations and laying up cutters. This poses a serious
threat to fulfilling their missions and ensuring national security.
Without greater resources and improved recruitment, the Coast Guard
will not be able to maintain their international presence and support
DOD.
While I understand we will not be able to resolve that today, I
expect this hearing to help provide a pathway forward and demonstrate
the needs of the Service.
Mr. Webster of Florida. Thank you very much.
I would like to welcome our witness, thank him for being
here today. I would like to also take a moment to explain our
lighting system, which is: Green means go, yellow means slow
up, and red means stop, it is time to end. And I would also
like to ask unanimous consent that the witness' full statement
be included in the record.
Without objection, show that ordered.
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 might be submitted by the Members. I also
ask unanimous consent that the record remain open for 15 days
for any additional comments or information submitted by Members
or the witness to be included in the record of today's hearing.
Without objection, show that ordered.
As your written testimony has been made a part of the
record, the subcommittee asks that you limit your remarks to 5
minutes. And with that, Vice Admiral Gautier, you are
recognized for 5 minutes.
TESTIMONY OF VICE ADMIRAL PETER GAUTIER, DEPUTY COMMANDANT FOR
OPERATIONS, U.S. COAST GUARD
Admiral Gautier. Thank you, Chairman Webster, Ranking
Member Carbajal, Ranking Member Larsen, distinguished members
of this subcommittee. Thank you for inviting me here today to
discuss the U.S. Coast Guard's role in advancing our national
security interests across the globe. And a particular thanks
for this subcommittee's enduring support of the Coast Guard men
and women and their families.
Our national security strategy tells us that we are in a
decisive decade that will determine the direction of the world
and impact security and prosperity of the American people for
generations to come. As the U.S. and people around the world
struggle to cope with the effects of shared challenges,
transnational crime, climate change, and great power
competition, more and more our Nation and international
partners look to us, the U.S. Coast Guard, for maritime
governance solutions for those challenges.
The Coast Guard has an important role in national security,
delivering services across all statutory missions wherever we
operate. This is increasingly evident in both the Indo-Pacific
and the Arctic. In the Indo-Pacific, we provide Coast Guard
services to Americans in Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of
Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa, as well as
supporting the Compact States of Free Association.
The 2022 Indo-Pacific Strategy charges the Coast Guard to
increase presence and meaningful engagements with partners, and
for good reason. Their top maritime concerns are also ours, and
they look to us to help advance their maritime sovereignty and
security. Together, we advance regional maritime governance and
promote free, prosperous, and secure maritime domains, all
squarely in the U.S. interest when these foundational
principles are being undermined.
The Service is relocating the Harriet Lane, a Medium
Endurance Cutter, to Hawaii to increase Coast Guard presence in
the region and engagements with partner nations. We have
homeported six new Fast Response Cutters in Guam and Honolulu.
With congressional support in 2024, we would hope to add four
additional FRCs. These cutters have proven to be an ideal
platform with expeditionary capability even into the far
reaches of Oceania. These capabilities combined with a long
list of Coast Guard activities and partnerships across the
Indo-Pacific to provide unity and strength in bolstering our
U.S. maritime governance goals.
In the Arctic, we provide Coast Guard services throughout
Alaska and the U.S. Arctic region. Like the Indo-Pacific, the
Arctic is undergoing physical, operational, and geographic,
geostrategic transformation. This opens the Arctic region to
greater human activity, and with it, increased risk across the
maritime sector. The Coast Guard is deeply concerned about
rising risk to national security, in particular from Russia and
China, as nations compete for diplomatic, economic, and
strategic advantage in the Arctic.
These changing conditions drive increased demands for Coast
Guard services. This year in Operation Arctic Shield, we
increased seasonal presence in the U.S. Arctic by deploying
cutters, aircraft, and shore forces to respond to search and
rescue cases, inspect bulk oil facilities, complete commercial
fishing vessel exams, and conduct oilspill and mass rescue
exercises, and training and outreach events across 91 Alaska
communities.
We need continued support from Congress to build the next
generation of Coast Guard capabilities for the Arctic. Funding
to increase near-term presence to the acquisition of a
commercially available medium icebreaker is included in the
fiscal year 2024 President's budget request, and we are working
with the Navy and Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding to advance
the Polar Security Cutter acquisition.
Never has the Coast Guard leadership been more important in
the Arctic Indo-Pacific and regions around the globe. With our
meaningful combination of authorities, impactful capabilities,
and history of performance and partnerships, we play a vital
role in national security as we seek to build and sustain a
coalition of unified partners to shape each region's maritime
domain as peaceful, stable, and cooperative.
And, Mr. Chairman, before I close, might I just thank the
two ranking members for mentioning the Senate committee this
morning examining sexual assault in the United States Coast
Guard. The Commandant of the Coast Guard has this as her number
one priority to get after, and the senior leadership team is
totally committed to getting after, embracing, providing the
transparency, and having the difficult exchanges in order to
really attack this challenge.
I understand that there were a number of Coast Guard
witnesses this morning, both retired, and past, and then also
on Active Duty, and I, too, commend the courage of those
individuals in telling some really, really difficult stories,
so, thank you.
[Vice Admiral Gautier's prepared statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Vice Admiral Peter Gautier, Deputy Commandant for
Operations, U.S. Coast Guard
Introduction
Good morning, Chairman Webster, Ranking Member Carbajal, and
distinguished Members of the Subcommittee. It is my pleasure to be here
today to discuss the U.S. Coast Guard's (Coast Guard) role in advancing
national interests in the Indo-Pacific and Arctic.
The United States is both an Indo-Pacific and Arctic nation and the
Coast Guard delivers services across all eleven of its statutory
missions to American citizens throughout these regions. In both the
Arctic and Indo-Pacific, the Coast Guard serves as a unique instrument
of national security, with authorities, capabilities, and partnerships
that allow seamless operations across the spectrum of national power.
Through routine presence, meaningful engagements, and actions that
strengthen maritime governance, the Service promotes a free, open,
prosperous, and secure maritime domain during a time when these tenets
are being challenged. While the Coast Guard has routinely operated in
the Indo-Pacific and Arctic for over 150 years, a changing environment,
the intensification of geostrategic competition, and dynamic trends in
maritime trade and waterways usage are increasing the demand for Coast
Guard leadership, presence, and services. The changing climate is
already exerting adverse impacts in both the Indo-Pacific and Arctic
regions and the Coast Guard plays a critical role of in protection of
the lives of our citizens and our neighbors from the resulting hazards.
In response to these demands and in alignment with national strategies
and related plans, we continue on a path of growing investments in
these regions, reflected most recently in the President's fiscal year
(FY) 2024 budget request.
I understand the significant level of investments required to
advance Coast Guard efforts in the Indo-Pacific and Arctic, and I
embrace the trust Congress and the American people have placed in the
Coast Guard. The Service will continue to prioritize actions that
safeguard U.S. sovereignty and interests, honor Tribal Nations and
Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific and Arctic, deliver Coast Guard
services within U.S. waters, and promote adherence to international
rules and norms.
Indo-Pacific Operations and Partnerships
The Coast Guard's strategic vision for the Indo-Pacific is to
support a free, open, connected, prosperous, secure, and resilient
region where the United States is a trusted partner for maritime
safety, security, and prosperity. The Coast Guard works closely with
the Department of Defense (DoD) and U.S. interagency partners to
achieve this vision.
First and foremost, we provide Coast Guard services to Hawaii, the
United States' territories of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, and American Samoa, as well as supporting U.S.
engagement with the Compact States (COFA). The 2022 Indo-Pacific
Strategy builds on this legacy of service by directing the Coast Guard
to increase both its regional presence and the training and advisory
services offered to partner nations. In response, the Service has
increased targeted patrols with National Security Cutters (NSC) and
Fast Response Cutters (FRC) in support of our regional partnerships.
Working with the Department of State (DOS) and the DoD, we have
increased engagements with international partners who seek to advance
maritime governance within their own territorial waters and Exclusive
Economic Zones (EEZ). Across Oceania, we actively leverage 12 bilateral
law enforcement agreements with Pacific Island Countries to assist
partners in enforcing their respective domestic sovereign rights,
building strong maritime governance regimes, and forming a unified
front against malign activity. A free and open Indo-Pacific is best
achieved through building collective capacity and encouraging our
partners to take on regional leadership roles.
The Coast Guard's law enforcement, regulatory, and humanitarian
missions are attractive to nations in this region and the Coast Guard
is regularly sought out to help solve issues of mutual interest. We
promote professional service-to-service relationships and enhanced
cooperation across a wide range of maritime, economic, and national
security challenges. The Coast Guard works through Security
Cooperation, Security Assistance, and capacity building programs with
DoD and DOS to provide bilateral and multilateral training to partners.
These efforts demonstrate commitment to the region and promote the
United States as a trusted partner.
The Coast Guard employs a unique blend of diplomatic, military,
economic, and law enforcement tools to provide integrated deterrence
through routine presence, meaningful engagements, and the advancement
of maritime governance. Working with DOS, we leverage efforts such as
the Southeast Asian Maritime Law Enforcement Initiative (SEAMLEI) to
help train and educate partner nations to build a multilateral
coalition for enforcing standards of behavior in the maritime domain to
preserve their sovereignty and strengthen international rules-based
norms. The Coast Guard works with regional partners collectively
through forums such as the North Pacific Coast Guard Forum and in bi-
or multi-lateral engagements to develop strategies to address common
problems. The Coast Guard uses its expeditionary capacity to provide
tailored support to partners to enable them to protect their maritime
sovereignty while also protecting U.S. sovereign rights in the U.S.
EEZ.
To meet increasing challenges and demands in the Indo-Pacific, the
Coast Guard has expanded capability in the Pacific by homeporting three
new FRCs in Guam and three in Honolulu with the intent to continue to
grow FRC capacity with Congressional support. These cutters have proven
to be an ideal platform with expeditionary capability to sail to the
far reaches of Oceania. They conducted five Oceania expeditionary
patrols in FY 2023, embarking ship riders from eight nations and
conducting 44 bi-lateral boardings and 74 shoreside engagements.
The Indo-Pacific FRCs also became the first Coast Guard cutters to
operationalize the new bi-lateral agreement with Papua New Guinea (PNG)
conducting four counter Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU)
fishing boardings and shoreside engagements with the PNG Defense Force,
Fisheries, and Customs authorities. Similar engagements were conducted
with the Philippines and Palau, growing the capabilities of key
regional partner states that enable them to govern their own waters.
The Service also relocated the Harriet Lane, a medium endurance
cutter, to Hawaii this year. The first Famous-class cutter to be
homeported in the Pacific, this ship will promote maritime governance,
increase persistent U.S. presence in the region, and conduct
engagements with partner nations.
The Coast Guard supports the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM)
with NSC deployments, adaptive force packages, and capacity building
engagements. In FY 2023, Coast Guard NSCs participated in several
multi-national initiatives. These deployments supported the U.S. 7th
Fleet during U.S. Navy-led Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training,
Rim of the Pacific, and Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training
exercises, and transits through the Taiwan Strait. NSCs also supported
the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), targeting IUU fishing
in Oceania. Coast Guard deployable specialized forces also embarked on
U.S. Navy vessels operating in the Western and Central Pacific in
support of IUU fishing enforcement under the Oceania Maritime Security
Initiative. The Service remains committed to interoperability with our
DoD partners and is always ready to fulfill a complementary role during
conflict or contingency operations as a part of the Joint Force.
The Coast Guard's FY 2024 Unfunded Priority List included $400
million for four FRCs in the Indo-Pacific to advance the Indo-Pacific
Strategy of the United States. Additional FRCs in the Indo-Pacific
would increase the Coast Guard's persistent and visible presence,
strengthening coordination with partners and bolstering regional
security.
Arctic Operations and Partnerships
The Arctic is undergoing a dramatic transformation of its physical,
operational, and geostrategic environment. Increasing impacts of
climate change are opening up new access to Arctic waters. This drives
greater activity in the Arctic region, and with it increased risk
across the maritime sector. The 2022 National Strategy for the Arctic
Region (NSAR) establishes priorities within the Arctic, addressing the
climate crisis with greater urgency, expanding scientific research,
recognizing the need to advance U.S. leadership at home and abroad, and
directing new capability investments. The Coast Guard contributed to
developing both the National Security Strategy (NSS) and NSAR and
continues to be at the forefront of Arctic strategic leadership.
In alignment with the NSAR, the Coast Guard published its Arctic
Strategic Outlook Implementation Plan last month. The plan underscores
the Coast Guard's commitment to promoting safety, sovereignty, and
stewardship in the region, describing actions the Service will take
over the next decade, including continuing our efforts to build Polar
Security Cutters (PSCs) and related shoreside infrastructure, acquiring
a commercially-available medium icebreaker, strengthening the Arctic
Coast Guard Forum (ACGF) and Arctic Council, increasing Arctic
communications capabilities, and modernizing the U.S. Arctic Marine
Transportation System (MTS).
The Coast Guard acts in concert with allies and partners throughout
the region to support U.S. strategic objectives, and to assert
international leadership to advance cooperation and uphold
international law, rules, norms, and standards for Arctic coastal
states and other non-Arctic flag states whose ships sail in Arctic
waters. The Coast Guard consistently provides guidance and direction
through preeminent multilateral forums such as the International
Cooperative Engagement Program for Polar Research, Arctic Council, and
the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Since 2017, the Coast Guard has conducted exercises with partner
Arctic states through the ACGF and the Arctic Council to enhance
interoperability and provide a platform for direct dialogue among
Arctic agencies fulfilling Coast Guard-like functions. The Coast Guard
will continue to exhibit model governance grounded in international
law, rules, norms, and standards in the U.S. Arctic and to encourage
like-minded partners to do the same in their Arctic waters.
This year, Coast Guard Cutter Healy completed a voyage from the
high Arctic above Asia and Europe to the U.S. east coast before
returning to its homeport in Seattle, Washington. Healy's operations
supported a blend of national priorities across the Arctic, including
building international partnerships, reinforcing international norms,
and supporting scientific activities in partnership with the National
Science Foundation (NSF) along the edge of the Russian EEZ. Healy
exercised U.S. presence in the Chukchi, East Siberian, and Laptev Seas,
in accordance with international law, and experienced numerous
professional encounters with Russian vessels and aircraft.
The Coast Guard is directly observing increased strategic
competition in the U.S. Arctic. Through the operations of the Coast
Guard Pacific Area Command and its Seventeenth District (D17), which is
responsible for Coast Guard activities for an area of over 3,853,500
square miles including Alaska and the Arctic, the Coast Guard meets
presence with presence, through Operation Frontier Sentinel. Over the
past three years, the Coast Guard has provided operational presence and
monitored Chinese military Surface Action Groups, as well as combined
Russian-Chinese Task Groups, operating in the U.S. EEZ. In September,
an NSC maintained presence to ensure the safety of U.S. fishing vessels
during a lawfully conducted Russian military exercise in the U.S. EEZ.
In these instances, the Coast Guard's visible forward presence ensured
that Russia and China operated in accordance with international law.
Since 2009, the Coast Guard has influenced Arctic governance and
sustainable development through Operation Arctic Shield. This Operation
demonstrates the Coast Guard's operational capability, asserts
leadership, and models responsible international governance in a region
of key geostrategic importance. Operation Arctic Shield delivers a full
suite of Coast Guard services to residents and waterway users across
Alaska and the U.S. Arctic region.
This work strengthens the MTS, protects the environment, and
supports the resilience of Alaska Native communities. This year, Coast
Guard personnel conducted extensive marine safety-oriented regulatory
activities in 91 villages, inspecting bulk oil facilities and
commercial vessels, issuing commercial fishing safety decals, and
providing training in areas such as boating safety and ice rescue.
Coast Guard presence in the region is by far the largest of any Federal
agency. The Coast Guard is also aware of serious challenges facing many
communities in Western Alaska stemming from the declines of certain
fisheries in the Bering Sea.
Through governing relationships such as the Task Force on the
Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area (NBSCRA), the Coast Guard
is participating with a broad range of Federal departments and agencies
in an effort to address these challenges, in partnership with Tribal
representatives of affected communities. Safe shipping and noise
reduction standards in respect of marine mammal migrations through the
NBSCRA region remain Tribal priorities.
In the Atlantic segment of the Arctic, the Coast Guard's Atlantic
Area Command actively participates in opportunities to reinforce the
Service's role as a trusted, reliable partner in the region. In June,
the Coast Guard participated in Exercise ARGUS 2023, the sixth exercise
in a series of annual non-military exercises in the Arctic, which
included ships and aircraft from Denmark, Greenland, France, and the
Coast Guard. Also in June, the Coast Guard, the Danish Joint Arctic
Command, the French Atlantic Command, and local Greenlandic authorities
executed a Combined Joint Disaster Relief and Search and Rescue (SAR)
exercise. The exercise spanned five days, and included force
integration training, navigation exercises, towing exercises, damage
control exercises, SAR searches, air drops, and hoist exercises. In
August, Coast Guard participated in Operation NANOOK along with
Denmark, France, and Canada, where those nations operated as a Combined
Task Group to exercise capabilities and integration with multinational
defense allies and exchange best practices during fleet integration
training. Collectively, these exercises improved our capacity to
respond to maritime threats and advanced the U.S. government's standing
and influence with key Arctic partners.
U.S. operational presence and influence in the Arctic are founded
on Coast Guard polar icebreakers. The Polar Security Cutter (PSC) is a
top acquisition priority for the Coast Guard and the Navy. The PSC is
the capability the Nation needs to ensure persistent presence and
robust domain awareness in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. The
integrated Coast Guard-Navy Program Office continues to work actively
with the prime contractor to deliver this critical capability.
The FY 2024 President's Budget also requests $150 million to
support the acquisition of a commercially available polar icebreaker,
including initial modifications, crewing, and integrated logistics
support required to reach initial operating capability. The purchase of
a commercially available polar icebreaker will accelerate U.S. presence
in the polar regions in the near-term and increase capacity in the
long-term.
In addition to recapitalization of our icebreakers, investment in
Arctic-capable Coast Guard surface and aviation assets, properly
trained and equipped personnel, enhanced communication and domain
awareness capabilities, and logistics resources are crucial to
delivering Coast Guard services and advancing our security and
sovereign interests in the Arctic. As outlined in the Coast Guard's
2019 Arctic Strategic Outlook, closing gaps in these areas requires a
whole-of-government approach, such as our partnerships with scientific
research agencies, coupled with consistent investment to seize
opportunities and confront challenges in the Arctic.
Conclusion
The physical, operational, and geopolitical environment in the
Indo-Pacific and Arctic continues to change, driving demand for Coast
Guard presence, influence, and services. The Coast Guard has served and
shaped national security in both regions for more than 150 years and
will remain central to a U.S. whole-of-government approach to secure
our national maritime interests and with partners to reinforce the
rules-based international maritime order in the regions.
The continued support of Congress to increase Coast Guard Arctic
and Indo-Pacific capacity and presence will fortify the Nation's
strategic interests in both regions. Coast Guard leadership is vital in
maintaining a coalition of like-minded partners to shape the maritime
domain in each region as peaceful, stable, and cooperative. Thank you
for the opportunity to testify before you today and for the enduring
actions of this Subcommittee to support the members of the Coast Guard.
Mr. Webster of Florida. Thank you for your testimony.
We will now turn to questions from the panel. I will
recognize myself for 5 minutes for questions.
Vice Admiral, the current Coast Guard acquisition and
modernization strategy was devised in the 1990s. While the
Coast Guard works to build the cutters and aircraft planned
almost three decades ago, the world and the Service's missions
have changed. The Coast Guard did not plan on operations in the
Indo-Pacific and the national security missions it is now
assigned. How will the Coast Guard ensure its cutters are
equipped to execute its national security missions and that
they are not outdated before they even get started operating?
Admiral Gautier. Mr. Chairman, as you mentioned, we are
about halfway through a historic recapitalization of Coast
Guard assets. Our cutters and our aircraft, our C5I systems.
About halfway through that. We continually update our
evaluations giving current trends on what we think our fleet
mixes might need to be in the future and what our capabilities
are. In fact, to your point, the first National Security Cutter
is now about 15 years old. The last one that is being built
today has a number of major systems that are indeed different
than the original one.
But in terms of how we update things, I will give you an
example. The fleet mix analysis we did for Polar Security
Cutters and icebreakers tells us that we think we now need
eight to nine in a mix of heavy and medium icebreakers in order
to tackle all the challenges of the Arctic and Antarctic.
Mr. Webster of Florida. With the Coast Guard's new focus on
the Indo-Pacific, how will the Service ensure that it is
completely and thoughtfully part of its core missions, how do
they do that?
Admiral Gautier. Chairman, thanks to the support of
Congress, successive administrations, and partners, the Coast
Guard has been getting a lot of support for our growth in the
Indo-Pacific. We did things last year like we moved a Coast
Guard cutter from the east coast, the Harriet Lane, which has
now arrived in Hawaii and is going to be part and parcel of our
engagement strategies there.
We have, as you have mentioned, we have homeported six FRCs
in between Guam and Honolulu. We have built centers. We put
more people and more teams in the Indo-Pacific. And with your
support in the 2024 budget, we want to and need to do more.
We have $40 million in requests in order to build and field
four Fast Response Cutters to continue the good work that we
have done in the Indo-Pacific, in addition to some of the
logistical capability that we need, aircraft support and
maintenance, in order to continue our growth to provide the
meaningful services that we do.
Mr. Webster of Florida. So, given the increased timeline
for PSC delivery, what is the plan in the meantime to allow the
Service to carry out its missions in the Arctic?
Admiral Gautier. Sir, we are pressing forward as quickly as
we can and meaningfully with the Polar Security Cutter
acquisition. In the meantime, we have requested $150 million in
the fiscal year 2024 budget to purchase a commercially
available icebreaker which will help us get more presence more
quickly up into the Arctic, both in the near term and in the
long term in order to tackle some of the things that we need to
do.
We have also been in the midst of a very successful service
life extension program to the Coast Guard cutter Polar Star,
which is in Sydney right now to be on its way to break out ice
in Antarctica to keep that cutter running longer. It has had
three of the five segments in that SLEP, and that is working
very well.
Mr. Webster of Florida. We have talked about it, I know
there are very few people that even build the ships, much less
fix them up, so, is there a way to kind of grab out all the
middle of it, of the old ship and put in new and have a--kind
of a new ship out of an old hull? Is that possible?
Admiral Gautier. Well, we have examined that, Chairman. The
Coast Guard cutter Polar Sea is a sister ship to the Polar Star
and hasn't been operational for a number of years now. In an
effort to see what we could field more quickly, we did a study
back in 2017 that told us it was going to be about $500 million
in order to gut and renew that ship and get it back into
service.
Since then, unfortunately, we use that ship for spare
parts. We have removed many more components and systems on that
ship in order to keep the Polar Star afloat, so, we think the
cost of that would be substantially greater, and it would take
quite a bit of time in order to do that, so, we have not been
pursuing that actively.
Mr. Webster of Florida. And has the Coast Guard considered
contracting out Antarctica icebreaking to free up the Polar
Star to patrol the Arctic?
Admiral Gautier. We have explored that, Chairman, and
there, too, there aren't a lot of great options. First of all,
we think there is a really important role for a Coast Guard
icebreaker in Antarctica, not just to break ice to service the
National Science Foundation's McMurdo Station, but to also
provide the kind of U.S. sovereignty against the Antarctic
Treaty that we believe only a Coast Guard cutter or a U.S.
Naval vessel can provide.
Other than that, there really aren't that many heavy
icebreakers in the commercial sector that could be contracted
by the National Science Foundation to do that mission.
Mr. Webster of Florida. Well, my time is----
Admiral Gautier [interrupting]. At least that we are aware
of.
Mr. Webster of Florida. My time is expired. Thank you for
your answers, I really appreciate it.
Mr. Carbajal--or Mr. Larsen.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
To start on the Polar Security Cutter, how does the
anticipated delay of the PSCs impact the 2022 strategy in the
Arctic? Are we going to have to delay the strategy?
Admiral Gautier. Well, we are going off the national
strategy for the Arctic region which presses us to provide that
capability, not like a date certain, but it does encumber
delays that frankly we don't like as much as anybody. The
current contract requires a bill to 2025. We are sure that that
is not going to be the delivery date here, but we do believe
that this current ship builder is going to be able to start
construction in calendar year 2024, and our current estimate of
the time necessary to build, we think they will be able to
produce an icebreaker heavy by the end of 2028 or 2029.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. Can you confidently have any sea
presence above a certain latitude on the water, and what is
that latitude, as it stands today?
Admiral Gautier. In the absence of a heavy icebreaker, we
do have the medium icebreaker, Coast Guard cutter Healy, which
does patrol every summer in the Arctic and, in fact, every
other year has been making a trip to the North Pole, and then
this last trip is just about to complete an around the world
trip that had it going over the northern coast of Russia right
off their exclusive economic zone. So, the Healy is a very
capable ship. We do need to do a service life extension on
Healy, it was built in 1999, and we do need congressional
support to do that.
We can get National Security Cutters north of the Bering
into the Chukchi Sea seasonally during the summer season, and
we do that as much as we can.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. And then while that is delayed,
is that impacting the plans for the homeporting at the Base
Seattle or are there other issues involved with a delay there?
Admiral Gautier. We are continuing to pursue that
aggressively, Congressman. And here is another area where we do
need some pretty substantial congressional support. We are
working on the first half of the first phase in terms of the
dredging of the current Coast Guard base, the Coast Guard slip,
and we have sufficient money to complete about half of that
first phase.
But we have asked in the 2024 budget for $130 million in
order to complete that first phase so that we can at least get
started on the homeporting project for four icebreakers there.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. Yes. Shifting to the Indo-
Pacific, are there countries that we want to have relationships
with, Coast Guard to coast guard, or Coast Guard to maritime
law enforcement relationships that we don't have?
Admiral Gautier. For almost every country, sir, there is a
constant request and desire to tighten and strengthen the
relationship with the United States Coast Guard. There are some
obvious countries where we do not and probably do not desire to
have relationships there.
We are pursuing a couple of countries, though, with
longstanding conversations, places like the Solomon Islands and
other places that have not yet sort of fully embraced the
relationship with the United States. We are continuing to
pursue that.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. So, their presence in their water
is--the way I look at it, presence equals sovereignty, so, if
we can't be in our part of the Arctic and defend that and plant
our flag metaphorically there, then it is like we don't own it
at all. And so, for these countries as well, is the Coast Guard
the best service--why is the Coast Guard the better service to
reach out to these countries in order to show them how best to
defend their sovereign water?
Admiral Gautier. In terms of the Indo-Pacific states?
Mr. Larsen of Washington. Yes, sorry.
Admiral Gautier. Yes. Because we are in a strategic
competition with competitors that are seeking to turn countries
away from the West and undermine the international order, so,
as part of the grand strategy in the United States as penned in
the Indo-Pacific Strategy, it is incumbent upon us and
especially the Coast Guard with our special set of capabilities
and authorities that our partner nations want and want help
from and want to partner with, we then can provide the kind of
governance that they seek to counter sort of the corrosive and
erosive effects of the competitors in the region.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. Yes. Just in the last 15 seconds,
I will just thank you for your comments at the end of your
testimony. I appreciate hearing that. A few other committees
over here are starting to look at the issue, sexual assault,
sexual harassment. But that said, we will on this committee
continue to lead on the oversight on that, and I look forward
to hearing more from the Coast Guard and Coast Guard responding
to our request on those issues.
Admiral Gautier. Welcome that, sir.
Mr. Larsen of Washington. Thank you. Yield back.
Mr. Webster of Florida. Mr. Babin, you are recognized for 5
minutes.
Dr. Babin. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And, Vice Admiral, thank you for being here. It is good to
meet you at headquarters the other night, enjoyed it, seeing
some of your other folks there as well.
The entire country is feeling the pain of historic
inflation right now that we are dealing with, and I imagine
that inflation is having a pretty good impact on the Coast
Guard's infrastructure projects, maintenance, service, and
assets, et cetera. And I wonder and really worry about some of
the newer more junior enlisted Coasties that are trying to pay
rent in places that were already expensive a few years ago that
have now been hit by out-of-control inflation for the last 2\1/
2\ years.
I would like to hear from you briefly how inflation is
impacting the Coast Guard's national security mission.
Admiral Gautier. Thanks for that question very much,
Congressman. I think just like ordinary Americans, our
frontline sentinels have suffered in the past from just higher
costs of living in general, and then in particular, where Coast
Guard men and women live on the coast in many areas that tend
to be sort of vacation areas and things like that, housing is a
particular challenge, and then getting medical services as
well. So, enduring congressional support in terms of base pay
and our base allowance for housing, medical support, and things
like that, we would be grateful for.
Dr. Babin. Great, thank you. I am also interested in
discussing some of the Coast Guard's unmanned assets. I
understand that MQ-9s are being utilized to some capacity in
the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific for counterdrug missions.
What unmanned technologies are being used in the Indo-Pacific,
and how does the Coast Guard plan to employ them within the
Arctic region?
Admiral Gautier. Large unmanned systems like the MQ-9 are
very, very capable, and recognized that early on. The Coast
Guard and Customs and Border Protection created a joint program
office in order to jointly operate MQ-9s. We have not operated
any in the Pacific yet. We are operating--CPB operates
predominantly, obviously, on the border and is doing more so in
Puerto Rico, and we are learning lessons from that.
In the meantime, we have had longstanding medium range
unmanned aircraft operating off of our National Security
Cutters in the Pacific predominantly on counterdrug and illegal
fishing patrols. Terrific capability as well. We are going to
be fielding more into the Pacific, I think, as we learn more
about how these particular capabilities fit in the inventory.
Dr. Babin. OK, thank you. How do small drones factor into
the Coast Guard's operations and national security mission, and
does the Coast Guard plan to expand its fleet of secured
drones, and if so, how?
Admiral Gautier. We field quite a bit of small drones
across the Coast Guard, sir. What we do is, we basically
authorize local units to go out and purchase sort of the secure
American-built drones, and they can use them for whatever. That
could be inspecting a building, that could be looking at aids
to navigation, and things like that. Those are pretty
ubiquitous in the Coast Guard inventory.
The other thing we do that is less known is, we have a
counter-UAS capability in the Coast Guard in order to protect
sort of maritime secure facilities, major events, and things
like that. That authorization is expiring on February 2nd in
the PETA Act, and we would ask Congress to renew that. It is a
DHS authority, so, on behalf of DHS, we would ask for that to
be renewed.
Dr. Babin. Absolutely. Thank you. Last question. In July
2022, the National Marine Fisheries Service released a proposed
rule titled, Amendments to the North Atlantic Right Whale
Vessel Strike Reduction Rule, which would expand the geographic
range and number of vessels that would be subject to a 10-knot
speed restriction along virtually the entire Atlantic coast for
half of the year. This would apply to tens of thousands of
vessels not currently subject to speed restrictions.
From what I understand, the rule was developed without
meaningful consultation with the Coast Guard, and even though
the brunt of the enforcement burden would fall on the Coast
Guard, the draft rule states, `` . . . we anticipate receiving
continued assistance from enforcement partners such as the U.S.
Coast Guard and State law enforcement agencies.'' So, how would
the additional burden of being responsible for essentially
writing speeding tickets all along the Atlantic coast
negatively impact the Coast Guard's ability to carry out its
critical national security mission? If you don't mind.
Admiral Gautier. Not at all. So, we have a longstanding
productive relationship with NOAA and National Marine
Fisheries. They asked for a consultation for us on this
particular draft of the notice of proposed rulemaking. We
provided them specific information that they look for in terms
of like AIS coverage, in terms of the relationship between a
vessel pilot and a vessel master, some very specific stuff as
they have crafted the notice of proposed rulemaking.
So, with regards to enforce--so that--our relationship is
strong. But with regards to enforcement, our understanding is
some of these areas are pretty expansive. Not all of the
vessels that may apply for this speed restriction have AIS, so,
admittedly there are going to be challenges to enforcement of
that, and the Coast Guard may need some resources if it does
indeed fall on us to enforce it.
Dr. Babin. Yes, sir. Thank you very much.
And my time is expired, so, I yield back. Thank you.
Mr. Webster of Florida. Mr. Carbajal, you are recognized
for 5 minutes.
Mr. Carbajal. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Admiral Gautier, the Coast Guard is facing a $3 billion
infrastructure backlog and 4,000 personnel shortage. How will
the backlog and the shortage impact operations in the Arctic
and the Indo-Pacific?
Admiral Gautier. Well first off, Congressman, as the
Commandant has said, to address some of these shortfalls you've
described, the Coast Guard needs to grow into a $20 billion
organization, and we need to do that within a 10-year
timeframe. The 3-percent increases that we are getting budget
year by budget year just keep us level with inflation. We need
to boost that with Congress' help to 5 percent.
With regards to the Arctic, it has impacted the time and
schedule for building things like the Polar Security Cutters
because those have been subject to inflation since the original
inception and requirements were established. So, inflation does
cut into it, but we remain committed with Congress' help to do
things like purchase a commercially available icebreaker and
homeport that, to create a world-class home port in Seattle, to
build three Polar Security Cutters and then move out into
Medium Endurance Cutters. It all is incumbent about how much
support we get from Congress.
Mr. Carbajal. Thank you. Admiral Gautier, I have had the
opportunity to see firsthand how the Coast Guard leverages its
unique international role. In Panama, the Coast Guard lends
capacity as well as technical expertise on illegal, unreported,
and unregulated fishing; maritime safety including in the
Panama Canal; drug and migrant interdiction, and more. What is
the Coast Guard doing in the Indo-Pacific, and how important is
its presence?
Admiral Gautier. The easiest way maybe to describe--and
thanks very much for making that trip to Panama--is along three
lines of effort in the Indo-Pacific. First is persistent
presence with things like cutters and aircraft and people,
teams and things like that. The second is advancing meaningful
engagements to create and build the partnerships that are so
important to us. That again is we do capacity building, we do
training, we do foreign military sails of our retired cutters.
And then lastly, it is all to advance maritime governance. We
work through the International Maritime Organization to
establish and strengthen the sort of guiding principles and
authorities that we hold to in the international community. And
everything that we do to do things like help enforcing IUUF in
other countries' exclusive economic zones helps us get after
the maritime governance piece.
Mr. Carbajal. The Coast Guard force commitments to DoD
Indo-Pacific Command has increased in recent years. Does the
Coast Guard anticipate this trend of increased engagement in
the region continuing?
Admiral Gautier. We have been pushing forth, Ranking
Member, to try to grow our capabilities within our budget in
the Indo-Pacific while we maintain our frontline services to
the American people in the United States in our OCONUS States
and Territories. But we have had some trade space to do more
things like National Security Cutter patrols, things like China
Strait transits, transits into the Indian Ocean on occasion,
doing things like getting our Fast Response Cutters to the far
reaches of places like Palau and Papua New Guinea with
shipriders to help them enforce their own places and exclusive
economic zones.
But we have to take a balanced approach to make sure that
we mind and put on--have the priority of providing domestic
services first and foremost.
Mr. Carbajal. And can you do that without more resources?
Admiral Gautier. We need more resources, Congressman. A $20
billion Coast Guard in 10 years, we ask for your support on the
2024 President's budget request, has a lot. It has over a half
a billion dollars of support to the Coast Guard in the Indo-
Pacific in the 2024 budget. There is a lot there that will help
us advance our national security interests there.
Mr. Carbajal. Thank you very much.
Mr. Chair, I yield back.
Mr. Webster of Florida. Mrs. Gonzalez-Colon, you are
recognized for 5 minutes.
Mrs. Gonzalez-Colon. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And good morning to our witness. I just want to say thank
you for being here.
My first question for you would be, the Chinese illegal,
unreported, and unregulated fishing activities in the Indo-
Pacific region are also directly targeting the United States
and our waters. And early this year, the House Natural
Resources Committee, we received testimony on how Chinese
illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing activities have
depleted tuna stocks within American Samoa exclusive zones,
disrupting the local economy and forcing a tuna cannery, one of
their largest employers, not to say the only one, to
temporarily suspend operations.
I understand that during the Trump administration, efforts
were being pursued to study the facility of basing Coast Guard
cutters in American Samoa to help counter these threats and
strengthen our presence in the southern Pacific region. Can you
provide us an update on this? And I do understand the Service
has limited resources, but we are facing a workforce shortage
as well. And is there any discussion or evaluations of
homeporting Fast Response Cutters in American Samoa, if any?
Admiral Gautier. Congresswoman, you gave a great example of
just many, many that Chinese IUUF does around the world.
In terms of American Samoa specifically and the Pacific in
general, American Samoa is absolutely critical to the United
States. Americans live there. It has a large exclusive economic
zone.
We do actively--first of all, we do have Coast Guard
members who are stationed and assigned in American Samoa,
predominantly to do marine safety and security and waterways
management functions. In terms of patrol and law enforcement,
we do patrol the American Samoa exclusive economic zone with
things like the Fast Response Cutters. They do come from Guam,
and Guam is at some distance. But what we are able to do in
Guam is we can cluster resources so we can reap cost savings
and benefits there while we still are able to patrol in and
around American Samoa without having to have one stationed
there. We can provide that as a forward operating location,
keep a cutter there for some period of time to do enforcement
activities.
Mrs. Gonzalez-Colon. And how often do we send our assets to
American Samoa?
Admiral Gautier. It is an occasional presence, and I can
get you the specific information. With more Fast Response
Cutters, we could be there more often.
Mrs. Gonzalez-Colon. Question. I know the U.S. Navy has
long focused on expanding its capability and capacity in the
Indo-Pacific region, even coining the term ``Pivot to the
Pacific.'' And given that the U.S. Navy is larger and better
funded than the Coast Guard, why should the Coast Guard use
your limited resources in this region?
And I am not saying it is not worth it. I am saying, what
capabilities does the Coast Guard provide to the U.S. that the
U.S. Navy is not providing in the region?
Admiral Gautier. I want to make sure I understand. What is
the Coast Guard--I am sorry?
Mrs. Gonzalez-Colon. What capabilities does the Coast Guard
provide that the U.S. Navy doesn't in the Indo-Pacific region?
And what is the Coast Guard's focus in the Indo-Pacific, having
the U.S. Navy Fleet in the area?
Admiral Gautier. Understand. Thank you.
So, really, we do provide complementary capabilities, but
the U.S. Coast Guard is different. While the Navy focuses on
combat readiness and integrated deterrence to prevent bad
behaviors, we are different in that we have different
capabilities as a military organization, law enforcement,
humanitarian service, and a regulator, to provide the sorts of
relationship building opportunities with partner nations that
they look to from us while the Navy continues integrated
deterrence. We provide positive benefits as Navy prevents bad
behaviors, I think is maybe the simplest way I can say it.
Mrs. Gonzalez-Colon. Question, and I know I am running out
of time. But the Healy is currently sailing home from a
[inaudible] deployment to the Arctic. And we understand that on
this patrol, its movements were closely monitored by Russia.
Has the Coast Guard witnessed any changes in Russia's
activities or posturing in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war
in the Arctic?
Admiral Gautier. I am sorry, my hearing is not all that
great. Could you repeat----
Mrs. Gonzalez-Colon [interrupting]. Has the Coast Guard
witnessed any change in Russia's activity or posturing in the
wake of the Russia-Ukraine war while the Healy is transiting to
the Northern Sea Route?
Admiral Gautier. It really has changed the relationship in
very bad ways. We have and do maintain a functional
relationship between the United States Coast Guard and Russia
Border Guard because we have to. We are neighbors. And we need
practical communications in order to do things like search and
rescue and fisheries enforcement.
However, we do not do any planning, any exercising with the
Russians. We are now seeing, because of this conflict and
because of climate change, more Russian cargo coming through
the Northern Sea Route that come down in through the Bering
Strait, which has a risk as well. And some of those are ice-
reinforced hulls, some of those do not have icebreaker escorts
with them, so, they are taking a higher risk position to do
that.
And we do know that the Russians have militarized their
northern coast. And it has really created an environment of
paranoia and distrust.
Mrs. Gonzalez-Colon. Thank you. And I yield back.
Mr. Webster of Florida. Mr. Garamendi, you are recognized
for 5 minutes.
Mr. Garamendi. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I am going to go to the polar Arctic and discuss the
icebreaker situation in the Arctic. I am not going to beat
around the bush. We have been at this for a decade in this
committee, and we are not even close to getting a heavy
icebreaker. And now it is 2028, according to your earlier
testimony.
My understanding is that the contract with Bollinger is
about to tank, that is, fall apart, that Bollinger is not able
to meet the contract obligations to build the first heavy Polar
Security Cutter. Is that true?
Admiral Gautier. Different words than you perhaps would
use, Congressman. But they have been doing a baseline review,
and they have told us they do not think they can meet the terms
of the existing contract.
Mr. Garamendi. OK, let's be blunt about this. They are not
going to be able to continue under the current contract terms.
Is that correct?
Admiral Gautier. That is what they have told us.
Mr. Garamendi. OK. So, what are our options? Terminate the
contract and start over with a new bidder? That is one?
Admiral Gautier. That is one.
Mr. Garamendi. Option 2?
Admiral Gautier. Option 2 would be to----
Mr. Garamendi [interrupting]. Force them into bankruptcy
because they cannot complete the current contract? That is
option 2?
Admiral Gautier. That is a possibility, yes.
Mr. Garamendi. OK. Option 3?
Admiral Gautier. Option 3, which is what we are evaluating
now, we understand what they think and validate the new costs
and timelines are, and then we find the money in order to staff
that and get Polar Security Cutter 1 built.
Mr. Garamendi. OK, so, we are going to rewrite--option 3 is
rewrite the contract and go forward with Bollinger, correct?
Admiral Gautier. Yes.
Mr. Garamendi. OK. For the committee, we have been at this
a long, long time. The current strategy by the Coast Guard, the
U.S. military, and America, is to have three heavy icebreakers
available for the Arctic and Antarctic, and five, somewhere,
three to five medium icebreakers. That was the strategy. Is
that still the current strategy?
Admiral Gautier. We have updated our fleet mix, sir, that
we now think we need eight to nine in a mix of heavies and
mediums.
Mr. Garamendi. So, three heavies and the rest medium?
Admiral Gautier. We are thinking it could be three to five
heavies and three to five mediums.
Mr. Garamendi. This committee has wrestled with this issue
for a long time, and we have stumbled, the Coast Guard has
stumbled. It is time for us to get real. All of the testimony
you have given this committee has heard, and I am sure Alaska
is interested in this, is that we are out of luck and out of
time. We do not have the capability of projecting the American
presence in the Arctic, period. We don't.
I want to put this on the table for the membership here and
for the rest of us. And that's the time for us to get real. The
U.S. Navy can spend an extra billion dollars or so on each and
every one of their ships, $3 to $5 billion if they want to
build an aircraft carrier. They have 35 guaranteed overruns,
several hundred million dollars for each and every plane, or
for each and every tranche of planes. It is time for the Coast
Guard.
I would propose that the Coast Guard take advantage of the
current troubles that Bollinger is having and put together a
three Polar Security Cutter program. The first one will
probably be somewhere north of $1\1/4\ billion to $1\1/2\
billion. And then the followup two. Go for three Polar Security
Cutters at once. Take advantage of the shipyard, of the first
one, which is going to be far more expensive than anticipated,
and then the followup on the remaining two, and that we put
that forward.
We cannot lose another year. We have lost a decade already.
This has been discussed and discussed ad nauseum.
Now, we have got to have the courage to move this thing
forward. We cannot delay any further.
How many heavy polar ice cutters does China have? Two. Why?
Because they know the Arctic is important for them. How many do
we have? We do not have one that's available, because it is in
the Antarctic or in repair.
So, are we ready to do this? And I would appreciate the
Coast Guard coming forward with a specific plan to develop a
strategy to build three Polar Security Cutters. Take the
current problem with Bollinger as an opportunity, not as a
problem but as an opportunity. Let them build the first one,
hold them to very tight timeframes, very tight accounting, very
tight review of their costs, and then follow up with the
remaining two, taking advantage of a block buy.
What do you think, Admiral?
Admiral Gautier. I like your boldness, Congressman, and I
will take that back to the Commandant and our acquisition
folks.
Mr. Garamendi. And you will come back to us when with a
proposal?
Admiral Gautier. Early in the new year.
Mr. Garamendi. We are back here January 8.
Admiral Gautier. OK.
Mr. Garamendi. Why don't you deliver a Christmas present to
the Coast Guard and to America, a solid plan to build the
necessary icebreakers for America's presence in the Arctic? Can
you do that?
Admiral Gautier. We can.
Mr. Garamendi. January 8.
Admiral Gautier. Aye, sir.
Mr. Garamendi. I will be here. Thank you. Yield back.
Mr. Webster of Florida. Mr. Van Drew, you are recognized
for 5 minutes.
Dr. Van Drew. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I would like to
associate myself with the remarks made by Mr. Garamendi. I
agree. I know, once in a while we do agree, and this is
definitely one of those cases.
And I would like to thank you for being here, Vice Admiral.
We appreciate it.
China now has the world's largest coast guard, the world's
largest coast guard. So, I am here today with serious concerns
about the growing maritime influence of the Chinese Communist
Party. China has made no secret of this and no secret of its
desire to dominate the world's oceans.
Today, China owns or operates ports at nearly 100 locations
around the globe, in over 50 different countries. Many of these
ports are located near strategically important maritime
bottlenecks. The companies which own these ports--surprise,
surprise--are ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist
government.
Chinese development of its ports around the world continue
forward in an aggressive way. They're not kidding around.
They're serious. The situation presents serious national
security and economic concerns for our great United States of
America. The most obvious security concern is that China could
convert its ports into naval military bases. This would
instantly give China a global military reach. According to the
Council on Foreign Relations, out of 102 known Chinese port
projects, 70--70--of them have the physical potential for naval
use.
Of great concern to the Coast Guard should be the
possibility that Chinese ports may be used to facilitate
international black-market operations, activities like drug
trafficking, human trafficking, weapons trafficking. Of
immediate economic concern is China using their port
infrastructure to steal valuable commercial data from our
American businesses.
In August, the United States Department of Transportation
issued an advisory against the Chinese logistics software known
as LOGINK. I am sure you are familiar with it. LOGINK is owned
and controlled--surprise--by the Chinese Communist Party. It
allows them to collect vast amounts of information on port
activity, and it gives them a complete global picture of
maritime activities. This software gives China incredible,
incredible power. LOGINK provides the Chinese Communist Party
with leverage to control international markets, steal
proprietary data, and dominate the maritime supply chain.
Serious stuff.
Multiple Federal agencies have sounded the alarm on this
threat. This affects our entire maritime supply chain. We
cannot allow LOGINK to penetrate our domestic ports, and we
cannot allow it to become an entrenched global standard. We
must be sure that American commercial activities at home or
abroad are not being compromised by the LOGINK platform.
Vice Admiral, as the Deputy Commandant for Operations, you
have overseen the International Port Security Program. I am
going to ask you a few questions, and my first question here as
quick as I can.
Are we as secure as we can possibly be? Are we 100 percent
buttoned up? Question number 1.
Second question. Are we controlling illegal fishing,
illegal drug trafficking, and illegal human trafficking? Are we
100 percent buttoned up?
Under the International Port Security Program, are Chinese-
owned ports, are they cooperating and are they meeting the
expected standards on activities like I just mentioned, illegal
fishing, drug trafficking, human trafficking, you name it? I
will ask that first.
Admiral Gautier. So, going through your questions one by
one, sir, if that works, are we as secure as we can be? The
answer to that is no. There are certainly more things that we
can and should be doing, especially since our ports and
international ports are predominantly private sector run.
So, the Coast Guard plus CISA and other agencies have a
role in that, and we work very hard domestically to try to
stitch up those vulnerabilities.
Likewise, on question number 2, in terms of illicit
activity, drug smuggling, IUUF, we make humble investments for
big impact, but we can do more with more. So, the answer to
that question, are we buttoned up, is no, as well.
And then in terms of China and operating ports
internationally, we do have an International Port Security
Program sanctioned by the International Maritime Organization,
where we visit and validate their procedures against security
measures that are accepted around the world. That gives us
great insight into how ports are operating in and around the
world. Is there more that can and should be done? Given the
vulnerabilities you articulated in terms of the Chinese reach,
yes.
Dr. Van Drew. Mr. Chairman, I know I have run out of time,
so, I am going to ask that my other questions are entered into
the record. And Vice Admiral, I would like to thank you. This
is not a reflection upon you, but it is a reflection upon the
state of affairs as they are right now, and we need to do
better. I yield back.
Mr. Webster of Florida. Mr. Auchincloss, you are recognized
for 5 minutes.
Mr. Auchincloss. Thank you, Chairman.
To start with, I want to associate myself with the comments
from the gentleman from California about the ice cutters. I
will cosign both his comments and his sense of urgency. And I
also want to add my own appreciation for those Coast Guard men
and women who were so brave this morning to share their
harrowing experiences to help improve conditions for all
members.
Vice Admiral, the Coast Guard is uniquely positioned to
counter Chinese encroachment against allies in the South China
Sea and is a key component of the White House's Indo-Pacific
Strategy. I am a member of the Select Committee on the Chinese
Communist Party, and I support the administration's efforts to
expand cooperation and deepen ties with our partners in the
Indo-Pacific, particularly in the South China Sea, which I
think is being overlooked a little bit with our focus on
Taiwan. But the militarization of the South China Sea, despite
the 2016 court ruling against China, and despite really
multilateral opposition to it, is a huge surface area for
inadvertent or intentional escalation that could lead to
conflict.
Last weekend, and this was covered in the New York Times in
a compelling article that I am sure you read, the Chinese coast
guard blasted water cannons to block three Filipino fisheries'
vessels from entering the Scarborough Shoal. They were
accompanied by other vessels using a long-range acoustic device
which caused severe discomfort and incapacitation to some
Filipino crew. This was documented by U.S. journalists. In
October, the Philippines reported Chinese vessels intentionally
colliding with its vessels on a resupply mission in the South
China Sea.
What does the Coast Guard need to help our allies defend
against what you termed in your testimony the growing Chinese
gray zone threat in the Indo-Pacific?
Admiral Gautier. Congressman, your U.S. Coast Guard does
have presence and reach in the South China Sea. We can do more
with more. But I can give you a couple of examples.
The Coast Guard leads a multination engagement program
called the Southeast Asia Maritime Law Enforcement Initiative,
which gives us connectivity to most Southeast Asian nation
states which are really hungry for additional law enforcement
capacity and capability. We are helping countries in that
region with our bilateral relationships to establish
multilateral relationships and meaningful operations.
Just a few months ago, a Coast Guard cutter off of the
Philippines did a joint exercise with the Philippine coast
guard and the Japan coast guard, which is a pretty historic
moment. We do a lot of training and capacity building there as
well to help countries like the Philippines combat the very
thing that you are describing that just shocked us all when we
saw that on the news.
Mr. Auchincloss. And let's imagine a scenario where the
Coast Guard had all the funding, all the money it needed. What
would become then the rate limiting factor for an expanded
Indo-Pacific presence? Would it be workforce and personnel,
would it be ports, would it be the ships themselves, would it
be interest from potential allied partners? All the money in
the world, what becomes the next rate limiting factor?
Admiral Gautier. Congressman, I think you have just named a
number of--a basket----
Mr. Auchincloss [interrupting]. Put them in priority order
for me.
Admiral Gautier [continuing]. All of the above that could.
So, for example, starting with our objective for moving from
episodic presence to more persistent presence, we can do that
when we get more Offshore Patrol Cutters that we can bring into
the Bering so we can free our National Security Cutters to be
more present in that region.
Mr. Auchincloss. So, ships would be the next rate limiting
factor?
Admiral Gautier. Ships is one. We have asked for four Fast
Response Cutters in the 2024 budget to help us get there. More
training and capacity-building teams, more Coast Guard liaison
officers in the region, perhaps more aircraft.
So, I think more of those capabilities enable us to connect
with our partners and allies in ways they appreciate.
Mr. Auchincloss. Final question, and you mentioned this
earlier about reauthorizing the drone program that you have to
protect your ports. Talk a little bit more in these last 40
seconds about what the Coast Guard is doing to lean into
autonomous drone swarms to surveil, sense, and strike, because
that is clearly going to be a key capacity in such a huge area
as the South China Sea.
Admiral Gautier. We are just in the very early stages of
implementing----
Mr. Auchincloss [interrupting]. Are you working with the
Navy and the DoD on this stuff?
Admiral Gautier. Absolutely. The 4th Fleet is making great
gains in that place, and we are tied at the hip with them on
that.
Mr. Auchincloss. Do you have the commercial access that you
need to AI and hardware talent?
Admiral Gautier. We do, but we are learning. This is a new
journey for us. We are piggybacking a lot on what the
intelligence community is doing in terms of AI, in terms of
object detection, so that our sensors can actually find things
without a human eye, making gains there as well.
Mr. Auchincloss. OK. To be continued. I will yield back,
Chair.
Mr. Webster of Florida. Mr. Ezell, you are recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. Ezell. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The only thing about
being a freshman is all the good questions have been asked by
the time it gets to be my turn.
But I thank you, Vice Admiral, and your staff. The Coast
Guard has been very responsive every time I have called and
asked, and during my law enforcement career, dealing with the
Coast Guard.
Listening to what all has been asked and said today, I am
very concerned about going forward and the protection that is
offered by the Coast Guard not only to the homeland but around
the world. Listening to what was said about Bollinger Marine, I
understand that Bollinger just recently got to the point where
they bought the other shipyard out that was building the Coast
Guard cutter. Is that correct?
Admiral Gautier. That is correct. They are building our
Polar Security Cutter.
Mr. Ezell. So, what they did was they picked up on another
company and they were, whatever, trying to repair the mistakes
that had been made? Or could you tell me a little bit about the
transition from the former company now to Bollinger and where
that's at?
Admiral Gautier. Sure. The former company, VT Halter,
decided that it wanted to sell that shipyard. The combined U.S.
Navy-U.S. Coast Guard Joint Program Office did an evaluation of
Bollinger to ensure that they, what we thought, they had the
capability in order to continue that particular project should
they buy the shipyard. That was endorsed. They purchased the
shipyard.
Bollinger has made some substantial movements and advances
in this particular project, and I think we are encouraged with
the forward momentum.
Mr. Ezell. I have been down there several times and met
with the workforce at Bollinger in some of their other
shipyards, and it seems that they have a handle on work. They
seem to have a good workforce. I was listening to everything
that has been said today. Is there any opportunity going
forward that Bollinger could complete what they have bought
into?
Admiral Gautier. Congressman, we do have some challenges
ahead. I think Congressman Garamendi in his questions raised
some of those challenges that we have. But those challenges
aside, I think we feel confident. And I just visited the
shipyard with some of our senior acquisition folks in October
and saw it firsthand. With where they are in the detailed
design, and with their baseline evaluation, we think we are
going to get a much clearer idea of cost and schedule from them
between now and March, the first 3 months of calendar year
2024. With that, we believe that they are competent to begin
construction in calendar year 2024 to get us to a place where
we could see the first Polar Security Cutter in 2028, 2029.
Mr. Ezell. Very good. All right, well, Mr. Chairman, I
yield back. Thank you. Thank you, Admiral.
Mr. Webster of Florida. Mrs. Peltola, you are recognized
for 5 minutes.
Mrs. Peltola. Thank you, Chairman Webster.
Good afternoon, Vice Admiral Gautier. I am encouraged by
how many of my colleagues have mentioned Alaska and the need
for a polar cutter, an ice cutter. And I, too, am frustrated by
the projected cost overruns and the protracted timeline on the
Polar Security Cutter program. And, of course, this is of
national strategic significance, but it's also a project that
is of life-and-death importance to my constituents in Alaska.
It's not hard to imagine a scenario during busier times,
lots going on in the Arctic, where multiple situations could
occur at once, where an icebreaker's presence is needed. And my
question is, in the event of multiple crises or multiple
events, and we don't have the ability to summon an American
icebreaker, what is the Coast Guard's contingency plan?
Admiral Gautier. Congresswoman, we do have agreements
through the Arctic Council structure and the Arctic Coast Guard
Forum, with specific plans in place where we can have mutual
assistance. So, in a case with the vastness of the Arctic and
the challenges with resourcing, it really is an all-in,
whoever-is-first-there sort of proposition.
A cruise ship just grounded in September off of Greenland.
It's the Danish search and rescue region. But it was the first
fishing boat that could get out there that helped free up that
vessel.
Mrs. Peltola. All right. My second question is that the
Coast Guard receives significantly smaller amounts of money
than its DoD counterparts. In particular, in the context of
your broad and challenging--the broad missions that you all are
involved in, and if the Polar Security Cutter procurement were
to go over budget, does the Coast Guard have the ability to
fund an acquisition of the Polar Security Cutter's size and
complexity without having to make deep cuts elsewhere?
Admiral Gautier. Congresswoman, we are evaluating options,
because we do believe that this particular contract is going to
run over budget and over time from what the original contract
was. There are some options in terms of flexing money between
the funding that we have with the second Polar Security Cutter
in order to really drive in and make sure we get the first
Polar Security Cutter.
In any event, to get to what we think we need, we are going
to need a lot of congressional support.
Mrs. Peltola. So, you don't have funding elsewhere that you
could dive into?
Admiral Gautier. We do not have the ability in our budget
to find appropriations in order to plus up that particular
contract.
Mrs. Peltola. Sure. OK, thank you for that.
And when you were going over the Coast Guard's Arctic
strategic outlook implementation plan, it references a need to
expand Arctic surface capabilities and associated support
infrastructure shoreside. And I am wondering if you would be
able to provide specifics about the kind of infrastructure you
are referring to or the communities that you are interested in
working with.
Admiral Gautier. Yes, Congresswoman. We start, I think,
first and foremost with our preeminent base in Alaska, and
that's Kodiak. And we have been making advances, and we need to
make more in terms of providing the piers and the housing to do
things like homeport two Offshore Patrol Cutters, which will be
coming to Kodiak, Alaska, and the housing and ancillary
services.
We know we need to build out other locations to homeport
Fast Response Cutters in Sitka and in Seward to help support
operations in and around Alaska. We are transitioning our fleet
of aircraft in Kodiak to an all H-60 fleet. We mean to
eventually decommission our H-65s. And so, that is in the plans
as well with blade-fold, tail-fold aircraft. We know that we
will need to homeport a commercially available icebreaker if we
have congressional support to provide that. We have committed
to the Alaska delegation that that will be in Alaska as well.
Mrs. Peltola. Outstanding. Thank you, Vice Admiral. And I
want to commend the Coast Guard on all of the real substantive
efforts and forward progress on housing and childcare in many
of your stations. Thank you.
Mr. Webster of Florida. Ms. Scholten, you are recognized
for 5 minutes.
Ms. Scholten. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Vice Admiral Gautier, for taking time to be with
us today. This is such an important hearing, obviously, as the
testimony and questions here today discuss. Of course, the
Coast Guard plays such a critical role in national security.
And I want to associate myself with the comments of our ranking
member and Representative Auchincloss as well about the
critical role that dedicated servicemembers play in supporting
the Coast Guard and ensuring that national security, and I
encourage you to do all that you can to keep our servicemembers
safe and undistracted. We are grateful for the brave testimony
of the servicemembers who testified in the Senate this morning.
Thank you.
While we are talking about icebreakers, the Great Lakes
would like a word. We know how important economic security also
is to national security. And the Great Lakes region contributes
billions to our national economy every year. Maintaining safe
passages, open passages through the Great Lakes year-round is
critical to that end.
And in order to maintain commercial navigation throughout
the year, Lake Michigan needs more modern icebreakers. Funding
for new icebreakers was included in the fiscal year 2023
appropriations. Has the Coast Guard made any progress in
procuring a new heavy-duty icebreaker in the year since the
bill's passage?
Admiral Gautier. Congresswoman, I am a Mackinaw sailor
myself, so, I know exactly what you are talking about. And the
Coast Guard, the Commandant, has committed to construction of a
second medium icebreaker like the Mackinaw in order to get
after what you are describing.
In terms of the funding strategy, we do have money or a
request in the 2024 budget to get the program office running
and start looking at the long leadtime materials for this
particular asset.
Ms. Scholten. At this particular time, do you have any
projections on timeline?
Admiral Gautier. It is all dependent really on what outyear
funding is going to look like for us as we put together the
program. I don't have a great estimate for you right now.
Ms. Scholten. If you wouldn't mind getting those and
circling back with us, we would be grateful.
Admiral Gautier. Certainly.
Ms. Scholten. So, I want to talk a little bit more broadly
about funding. We narrowly avoided a shutdown last month, with
a temporary stopgap measure, of course, as you know. Many of us
continue to be concerned about the impacts of further
continuing resolutions in place of appropriations. If Congress
fails to pass these essential appropriations, can you talk
specifically about national security missions of the Coast
Guard and how the disruption in funding would impact the Coast
Guard's foreign partnerships?
Admiral Gautier. In terms of a lapse of appropriations
scenario?
Ms. Scholten. Lapse of appropriations.
Admiral Gautier. Well, a couple of thoughts. We have been
there. Unfortunately, the Coast Guard in 2018 and 2019 had a
lapse of appropriation. DoD did not at the time.
We will continue our Coast Guard frontline missions with
our Active Duty, Reserve, and our accepted civilian individuals
on those most critical national security, search and rescue,
lifesaving, life-sustaining missions. That will not be
impacted. But it's at the cost of our people, because they
won't be paid, and that creates considerable anxiety, economic
stress, that we hope to avoid.
Ms. Scholten. Thank you. I yield back.
Mr. Webster of Florida. OK, well, I don't see anybody else
that's ready to speak, so, that brings conclusion to the
meeting.
However, I would like to say that we support the request
for additional moneys that are in the budget and so forth. We
support that. We also will look into the date that you are
saying that reauthorization needs to take place for the drones
and so forth. We will check that out and see what comes of it.
We hope we can fix that.
And so, no further business to come before this hearing,
it's adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 4:05 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
Appendix
----------
Questions to Vice Admiral Peter Gautier, Deputy Commandant for
Operations, U.S. Coast Guard, from Hon. Jefferson Van Drew
Question 1. What security concerns does the Coast Guard have in
relation to the LOGINK software?
Answer. LOGINK is an integrated logistics platform sponsored by the
PRC government. Like any such network, LOGINK may contain information
which, if available to the PRC government, may provide information
about U.S. cargo and U.S. government logistics.
Question 2. Is there any legislative action Congress should take in
response?
Answer. U.S. Coast Guard can provide views on future legislative
text that Congress develops, in accordance with Office of Management
and Budget and Department of Homeland Security processes.
Questions to Vice Admiral Peter Gautier, Deputy Commandant for
Operations, U.S. Coast Guard, from Hon. Mike Ezell
Question 1. The William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (P.L. 116-283) commissioned a
study, which ultimately will be utilized by the Coast Guard to provide
recommendations on how the service could enhance the efficiency of its
resources, specifically in relation to liquefied natural gas tank
vessels.
Would adopting policies, such as adopting a risk-based approach for
inspecting all tank vessels, free up resources that could be redirected
towards other missions with implications for national security?
Answer. The study commissioned by section 8254 of the William M.
(Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2021 was specific to the Certificate of Compliance program--which
pertains to foreign liquefied natural gas tank vessels. Adopting
policies such as a risk-based approach for inspecting all foreign tank
vessels would allow the Coast Guard to utilize inspection resources
more efficiently and may serve to avert delays at particularly busy
ports.
Question 2. How do small drones factor into the Coast Guard's
operations and national security mission, and how does the Coast Guard
plan to expand your fleet of secure drones?
Answer. Coast Guard is employing the use of small, secure drones
(commonly referred to as BlueUAS) across multiple statutory missions.
These systems are proving to be mission enablers, allowing operators in
the field to quickly obtain localized aerial imagery to support mission
needs at low cost and minimal risk. The Coast Guard is expanding its
use of small drones by equipping field units with approved BlueUAS
systems on an as needed basis.
[all]