Hunter to Hold First Subcommittee Hearing on Coast Guard Capabilities and Mission Balance

Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) will hold the panel’s first hearing of the Congress to examine how the U.S. Coast Guard allocates personnel and resources among its multiple missions, as well as how the Service measures mission performance.

The subcommittee hearing, entitled “Coast Guard Mission Balance,” is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 26, 2013 in 2165 Rayburn House Office Building.  The hearing will also be webcast live at http://transportation.house.gov/.  Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger, United States Coast Guard Deputy Commandant for Operations, is scheduled to testify.

“It is important to examine how the Coast Guard divides its assets between its many missions, measures performance, and surges its assets and people during emergencies,” said Hunter, who became Chairman of the Subcommittee in the 113th Congress.  “Of particular interest are the assets available to secure our borders against illegal drugs and migrants, and how the Coast Guard maintains its defense readiness.”

The Coast Guard’s 11 statutory missions are divided into “Non-Homeland Security” and “Homeland Security” missions, and the Service is required to maintain, without significant reduction, its ability to perform all of its missions. 

The Subcommittee will examine the Coast Guard’s mission balance and performance, including impacts of increased rates of failure of parts and major systems among the Service’s aging assets, and the need to respond to national and international emergencies such as Hurricane Katrina, the DEEPWATER HORIZON oil spill, and the earthquake in Haiti.

More information about the hearing will be posted here as it becomes available.