A bipartisan group of almost 60 lawmakers is preparing to send a letter to appropriators on Monday asking them to undo $1.3 billion of cuts to the Coast Guard proposed by President Trump’s 2018 budget request.
“It’s nonsensical to pursue a policy of rebuilding the Armed Forces while proposing large reductions to the U.S. Coast Guard budget,” the letter says. “Without question, OMB’s proposed cut targeting the Coast Guard directly contradicts the president’s stated goals and should be dismissed.”
Who’s sending? The letter comes from Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. and Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif. It defends the Coast Guard role in border security, law enforcement and keeping the country safe. Another 58 congressional Democrats and Republicans have signed, including House Armed Services Committee veterans.
Who’s receiving? The letter will go to Rep. John Carter and Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, leaders of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security.
Not the first time: Hunter already sent a letter to Trump slamming the cuts, which include cancellation of a “$500 million new ship” — probably the ninth national security cutter build by Huntington Ingalls Industries. Capitol Hill anger is bipartisan and in both chambers. About two dozen senators urged Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, to restore the cuts, Politico reported.
Where is the money going? The Coast Guard cuts, with chunks axed from the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will reportedly help fund Trump’s border wall. The Washington Post reported that the Coast Guard would lose 14 percent of its budget, and the TSA and FEMA 11 percent each.
Why it matters? Lawmakers say the land border crackdown could push migrants and drug traffickers to try coming to America by boat, making the Coast Guard mission more important, not less.
