Establishes Secretary of the Coast Guard

Summary#

This bill creates a new civilian position called the Secretary of the Coast Guard and adds an Under Secretary of the Coast Guard. The Secretary of the Coast Guard would be appointed by the President with Senate approval and would be given a direct reporting relationship to the department head. The bill also adjusts several federal law sections to refer to the new Secretary of the Coast Guard instead of to the Secretary of Homeland Security.

• Main change: Establishes a Secretary of the Coast Guard and an Under Secretary, both appointed from civilian life by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.
• Appointment limits: A person may not be appointed Secretary of the Coast Guard within 7 years after leaving active duty as a commissioned officer of a regular military component. The bill also bars certain currently serving officers (as described in the bill) from being appointed to the job.
• Chain of command: The Commandant of the Coast Guard would report directly to the Secretary of the Coast Guard and would be able to give military advice to senior officials after first informing the Secretary of the Coast Guard.
• Statutory edits: The bill changes several places in federal law (including parts of Titles 10 and 14 and the Homeland Security Act) to replace references to the Secretary of Homeland Security with the Secretary of the Coast Guard where appropriate.

What it means for you#

• Coast Guard personnel

  • The Commandant would report to a new civilian Secretary of the Coast Guard rather than reporting indirectly to the Secretary of Homeland Security.
  • Active-duty officers would face a 7‑year waiting period before becoming eligible to be Secretary of the Coast Guard, if they leave active duty.

• Civilians wanting senior Coast Guard jobs

  • The Secretary and Under Secretary positions are explicitly set as civilian appointments requiring Presidential nomination and Senate confirmation.

• Other federal officials and agencies

  • The Commandant may provide military advice directly to the President, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council, the Secretary of Defense, or the Secretary of Homeland Security, after first informing the Secretary of the Coast Guard. This could change communication paths between the Coast Guard and other national security leaders.

• General public

  • The bill changes internal leadership and reporting structures but does not directly change services the Coast Guard provides (such as search and rescue, law enforcement, or maritime safety) in the text provided.

Expenses#

No clear public cost estimate is included in the bill text or the supplied material.

• No publicly available information.
• The bill could create administrative costs for a new Secretary and Under Secretary office, staffing, and related support, but the bill text does not provide numbers or a fiscal note.

Proponents' View#

The bill appears intended to strengthen civilian leadership and clarify command for the Coast Guard. Possible arguments in favor, based on the bill text, include:

• The bill appears intended to create a dedicated, civilian head for the Coast Guard to focus on management and leadership.
• It seeks to ensure the Secretary and Under Secretary are civilians chosen for leadership experience and qualifications.
• The new structure would give the Commandant a clear reporting line to a Coast Guard Secretary.
• Allowing the Commandant to provide military advice (after informing the Secretary of the Coast Guard) could preserve direct military input to top national security officials.

Opponents' View#

The bill text raises several practical questions and possible trade-offs:

• One concern is that the bill does not include a fiscal estimate; it is unclear how much it would cost to create and run a separate Secretary and Under Secretary office.
• The 7-year waiting rule for former commissioned officers limits the pool of candidates and may be viewed as restrictive.
• The phrase that the Secretary of the Coast Guard “shall report directly to the Secretary without intervening authority” is ambiguous in context; it is not clearly stated which “Secretary” this refers to, which may create uncertainty about the chain of command.
• The clause barring “an officer serving in an appointment under subsection (a)” from becoming Secretary is unclear in whom it covers and how it would be applied.
• Changing statutory references from the Secretary of Homeland Security to a Secretary of the Coast Guard could create overlaps or gaps in authority that the bill text does not fully explain.

What is unclear: The bill text does not state whether the Secretary of the Coast Guard would be a Cabinet member or how existing departmental responsibilities and budgets would be reallocated. The fiscal and implementation details are not provided.