WASHINGTON – On March 27, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which oversees the U.S. Coast Guard, passed H.R. 367, the “Pay Our Coast Guard Parity Act of 2019.”
According to a release, H.R. 367 provides continuing appropriations to the Coast Guard in the event of another government shutdown.
This legislation is nearly identical to U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew’s H.R. 350, the “Pay Our Coast Guard Act of 2019” which he introduced Jan.8, amidst thelongest government shutdown in the nation’s history.
Earlier this year, the men and women of the Coast Guard were either furloughed or were required to work without pay for more than a month, harming Coast Guard families and national security, the release stated.
It was the only branch of the U.S. armed forces that had not been funded for the simple fact that it resides within the Department of Homeland Security and not the Department of Defense.
“It is unacceptable for the men and women who protect us to be treated like second-class citizens over partisan bickering,” stated Van Drew. “I hope that Congress does its most basic job and fund the government, but in the event of another shutdown, the ‘Pay Our Coast Guard Parity Act’ ensures that the U.S. Coast Guard will continue to be funded.”
Another bill that was passed out of the committee which impacts the Coast Guards was H.R. 1322, a Van Drew- supported bill that would require a report on the vulnerabilities of Coast Guard installations and requirements resulting from climate change over the next 20 years.
