Lawmakers said the White House’s fiscal 2020 budget proposal for the Coast Guard is “dead on arrival” in Congress because of a lack of funding for critical missions, Military.com reported Tuesday. Officials made the remarks during a House meeting with Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz.Â
The White House proposed a $11.3 billion budget for the branch for 2020 with a discretionary funding $1 billion lower than the budget for 2019. It would reduce the Coast Guard’s operational capabilities, personnel and funding for a planned new heavy icebreaker.Â
“The administration proposes underfunding the Coast Guard at a time when national disasters, cyber attacks and drug trafficking are making its efforts more difficult every day,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.Â
Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, said the budget proposal “is dead on arrival since Congress will not entertain these cuts.”
