Following 19 interdictions along the Central and South American coasts, the crew of the United States Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell returned home on April 16 with over 28,000 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $424 million. Collectively, these busts are a significant accomplishment for the sea service; however, they only represent a portion of the interdictions launched by the Coast Guard throughout the year.
While drug traffickers and other illicit actors increasingly threaten U.S. maritime security, the Coast Guard simply doesn’t have the resources to stop many of them. The sea service has been working to modernize its aging fleet, but sequestration and inconsistent budgeting in Congress have undermined these efforts.
According to Commandant Admiral Paul Zukunft, the case for more Coast Guard cutters is clear. Discussing the sea service’s narcotic interdiction capabilities, Zukunft explained that “60 percent [of narcotic smuggling activity] gets a free ride.” The Coast Guard observes 80 percent of illicit activities but only has the resources to act 20 percent of the time. Comprehensive modernization of the Coast Guard cutter program would improve this rate and increase overall capability.
Nevertheless, despite making significant headway on acquisition of the National Security Cutter and Fast Response Cutter systems, the Coast Guard, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security, has underfunded development of what Admiral Zukunft repeatedly asserts is his “number one acquisition priority,” the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC). According to Zukunft, the fiscal year (FY) 2016 request for the OPC leaves “about a $70 million gap to do the final design work.” This gap threatens to further delay the program. Heritage’s Brian Slattery argues that “[t]he reduction from $90 million to $18.5 million in the FY2016 budget ignores Admiral Zukunft’s statements that the OPC program is critical” and ultimately threatens the Coast Guard’s ability to achieve its missions at sea.
Funding shortfalls have also limited the Coast Guard’s icebreaking capabilities in U.S. Arctic waters. In its 2010 High Latitude Mission Analysis Report, the Coast Guard found that adequate U.S. presence and capability in the polar regions requires at least three heavy and three medium polar icebreakers. Currently, however, the Coast Guard only operates one of each and faces a challenge in maintaining the 39-year-old heavy icebreaker, USCG Polar Star. Consequently, the Coast Guard began looking into acquiring a new heavy icebreaker. However, despite costing roughly $1 billion for one hull, the project has received a mere $9.6 million since FY2013. Likewise, given the lack of requested funding in FY2015 and the FY2016 budget request for a mere $4 million towards polar icebreaker development, the project is clearly not a priority.
Congress has admitted that funding at this level will make it virtually impossible to procure even one polar icebreaker. As Representative Duncan Hunter (R–CA), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, explained, “The Coast Guard’s budget is only $1 billion a year where you’re trying to recapitalize a fleet right now that’s 40 or 50 years old, it’s not going to happen.” This realization has led some to argue that the Coast Guard ought to consider alternatives to the “icebreaker’s unrealistic funding schedule…such as leasing foreign icebreakers more readily available.”
For years, budget cuts and inconsistent funding by Congress have undermined the Coast Guard’s efforts to replace its aging fleet. Congress should uphold its responsibility to provide for the common defense by ensuring that the Coast Guard has the resources it needs to protect U.S. waters.
Max Meizlish is currently a member of the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation. For more information on interning at Heritage, please click here.
