Cantwell-Supported Bill Proposes Changes for U.S. Coast Guard

Sen. Maria Cantwell is a cosponsor of the bipartisan Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025, which envisages many changes - some sweeping, others not - for the United States Coast Guard.

Despite its strategic importance, the Coast Guard is sometimes overlooked as a military asset. Yet this branch is gloriously bucking the much-groused about recruitment slump, according to a CBS News report from September.

Cantwell's bill, brought forth on Tuesday, reauthorizes over $30B for the Coast Guard for FY 2025 and 2026. Cantwell's legislation outlines reforms to prevent sexual assault and harassment, improve certain must-haves (recruitment, healthcare, child care) and ease core missions like shipbuilding.

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Reforms are "much-needed," Cantwell says, to exorcise the scourge of sexual violence at Coast Guard stations. Her objectives are as follows: to establish confidential reporting, strengthen protective orders, expand supports for victims and assure iron-clad accountability for leadership.

Says Cantwell, "Admiral  [Linda] Fagan made great progress during her term, and the next commandant will need to continue to be a steady force that stands up for service members." Fagan was the first female commandant in the Coast Guard's 110-year history. She has since been relieved of her duties. Her dismissal, in fact, was seemingly one of the Trump administration's first orders of business.  

Key provisions in Cantwell's bill include funding for icebreakers and lifeboats, a new Vice Admiral role (to aid with recruitment) and closer collaboration with indigenous tribes.

In fact, Cantwell recommends appointing a senior tribal advisor - this person, the first of their kind in Coast Guard history, would be charged with "ensuring the Coast Guard upholds trust responsibilities to tribal governments, improving tribal engagement and consultation activities and ensuring that Tribes have a voice on Coast Guard programs that impact tribes including oil spill preparedness and response, fisheries oversight and the protection of natural resources."

Coast Guard families, like all too many in the American working class, struggle to find budget-appropriate housing. Cantwell's bill "allows the Coast Guard to acquire housing that is available both on the market and in new housing construction programs. This is particularly important in coastal areas - like Cape Disappointment, Grays Harbor, and Port Angeles - where Coast Guard families face a difficult time accessing affordable, quality housing due to competition with seasonal rentals and other challenges associated with remote units." 

The bill also requires mapping Arctic maritime routes and increasing international training, particularly as it pertains to the Coast Guard's counterpart in Taiwan. (China has long insisted that a military offensive against its island neighbor is off the table, but Taiwan is on tenterhooks, according to some analysts.)

And finally, Cantwell's bill imposes penalties for abandoned vessels and ensures naloxone availability to mitigate drug exposure risks. Click here for more information.