A summary of provisions of the Act is available on the and include the following:
Authorizes annual appropriations of $17.5 billion primarily for Coast Guard activities for both fiscal years 2016 and 2017.
Requires the Coast Guard to submit to congress a manpower requirements plan every four years.
Makes funds available for the design and construction of an icebreaker that is capable of buoy tending to enhance icebreaking capacity on the Great Lakes, and for preacquisition activities for a new polar icebreaker.
Sets end-of-year strength at 43,000 active duty members for FY 2016 and 2017, unchanged from FY 2015.
Allows for the appointment of five Vice Admirals, up from four.
Requires the implementation of a standard for tracking operational days at sea for Coast Guard cutters.
Requires the establishment an education program, for members and employees of the Coast Guard, that offers a master's degree in maritime operations.
Requires the use of a multi-rater assessment for Flag officers and SES, and an assessment of feasibility for all other members.
Requires a process to account for the number of safety zones established for permitted marine events and an account of Coast Guard resources to enforce these safety zones.
This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the Congressional Budget Office for the related bill, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on April 30, 2015. This is a public domain source. This act authorizes appropriations totaling $17.5 billion, primarily for ongoing operations of the Coast Guard and FMC over the 2016-2017 period. The act amends laws that govern the activities of Coast Guard, FMC, and the Maritime Administration within the Department of Transportation. Assuming appropriation of the specified amounts, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would cost $16.6 billion over the 2016-2020 period. This act imposes private-sector mandates, as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, on sponsors of marine events and manufacturers of small boats. Based on information from USCG and industry experts, CBO estimates that the cost of the mandates would fall below the annual threshold in UMRA for private-sector mandates.
Rep. Duncan D. Hunter said the following in support of the bill: "The bill makes several reforms to Coast Guard authorities, as well as laws governing shipping and navigation. Specifically, the bill supports Coast Guard servicemembers, improves Coast Guard mission effectiveness, enhances oversight of the Coast Guard programs, encourages job growth in the maritime sector by cutting regulatory burdens on job creators, strengthens maritime drug enforcement laws, and increases coordination with partner nations, further strengthening port security. It does all this in a way that allows this to be brought under suspension in a bipartisan way." Rep. John Garamendi was also in support of the bill, and stated the following: "It is clear that we are at the advent of Arctic operations for the Coast Guard, and it is vital that the service has the icebreaking capabilities it will need to operate safely and effectively in this very unforgiving maritime environment. The bill will advance the completion of the materiel assessment of the Polar Sea to determine, finally, if this heavy icebreaker can be returned to service. Additionally, this legislation authorized funding to allow the Coast Guard to maintain progress in developing requirements and preliminary design for a new heavy icebreaker." "I am also pleased that this legislation includes language that will continue to preserve the remaining LORAN–C infrastructure until such time as the administration makes a final decision on whether or not to build out an enhanced LORAN or eLORAN infrastructure to provide a reliable, land-based, low-frequency backup navigation timing signal to back up GPS, the Global Positioning System."
