WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed S.140 at a brief ceremony Dec. 4 in the Oval Office of the White House. Standing by the president’s side was U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-2nd) who will leave Congress at the end of his term in January and for whom the legislation was named.
The act was a two-year authorization of the Coast Guard’s budget, the “Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act” that authorizes $7.9 billion for operating expenses and $2.6 billion for construction, renovation and facilities improvement.
It authorizes active duty of 43,009 personnel for Fiscal Year 2018 and 44,500 personnel for Fiscal Year 2019.
According to an earlier release from the congressman’s office, “A member of the House Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation Subcommittee for the past twenty-two of his twenty-four years in Congress, LoBiondo served as the chairman, vice chair or ranking member for 14 years.
“Naming this legislation for our retiring colleague, Frank LoBiondo, is an acknowledgement of his championship of the Coast Guard throughout his congressional career, including during his leadership of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee in five previous congresses,” stated Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (PA-9).
