(The Center Square) — Passage of the “Big, Beautiful Bill” this summer has provided a jolt to the U.S. Coast Guard‘s shipbuilding program as it seeks to replace most of its aging fleet.

The service’s most important shipbuilding program, the Heritage class Offshore Patrol Cutter, is years behind schedule and its cost has ballooned from $12.5 billion in 2012 to $17.6 billion by 2022. The “Big Beautiful Bill” provides $4.3 billion for OPC procurement.