Building a U.S. Coast Guard for the 21st Century - Center for ...

of new polar icebreakers, or that the ships could be purchased through DOD (the
procedure used to procure the Healy). But the NSF option in particular would
further erode the USCG’s control over its own assets and should be avoided.
According to Coast Guard estimates, the new icebreakers would cost between
$800 million to $925 million per ship, a necessary cost that would undoubtedly
entail increasing the USCG’s budget over the next decade. 113 This additional cost
should not be used to justify reducing funding for other Coast Guard accounts.
Ensure Coast Guard budgetary control over the refurbished Polar Star in the
short term
Given future projections for Arctic warming and expanded U.S. and international
activities in the region, the current budget arrangement with the National Science
Foundation is unsustainable in the long term. Yet increased U.S. responsibilities in
the Arctic should not come at the cost of degrading our arctic research capabilities.
The National Science Foundation has been able to conduct its research without
use of the Polar Star since it was put into caretaker status in 2006. Therefore it
makes sense that the refurbished Polar Star could be devoted entirely to USCG
missions when it returns to service in 2013, and be funded through DHS. This
option would increase the ability of our Coast Guardsmen and women to gain
vital experience operating in the arctic environment.
Congress should ratify the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea
There are benefits in this treaty for just about everyone, including environmentalists,
business associations, oil, shipping, and fishing companies, and the Navy
and Coast Guard—all of whom support ratification. Moreover, both Democratic
and Republican lawmakers are largely in favor despite the fact that the treaty has
languished in the Senate since the mid-1990s.
Not only will the treaty have meaningful applications in the open seas, but the
Coast Guard sees the treaty as a critical tool to enhance port security. Today, the
need for binding rules of the road regarding the world’s oceans is clear and the
administration and Congress should act accordingly.
49 Center for American Progress | Building a U.S. Coast Guard for the 21st Century