Senate Passes Coast Guard Authorization as Part of FY 2026 NDAA with Sullivan’s Alaska Priorities

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), chairman of the Senate Commerce Coast Guard, Maritime and Fisheries Subcommittee, today celebrated the Senate's passage of the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2026. The legislation includes numerous provisions authored by Sen. Sullivan, many focused specifically on Alaska, and authorizes $15.5 billion in funding for the Coast Guard for FY 2026 and $17.2 billion for FY 2027.

"Between this $15.5 billion Coast Guard authorization for Fiscal Year 2026 and the historic $25 billion investment in the Coast Guard that I championed in the budget reconciliation bill earlier this summer, we are undertaking the largest investment in the Coast Guard in U.S. history," said Sen. Sullivan. "No state will benefit more from these historic investments, with icebreakers and hundreds of millions of dollars in shoreside infrastructure all coming to our state. These investments will make great strides in fulfilling our commitment to this branch of the U.S. military with the support, funding and attention the Coast Guard deserves.

"As America's only state with Arctic territory and with more coastline than the entire Lower 48 combined, Alaska is critical to the Coast Guard's missions in defense of our nation. The Coast Guard serves an indispensable role in our state, defending our waters and ensuring the safety of Alaskans, a fact we were all reminded of witnessing the numerous search-and-rescue missions conducted and lives saved in Western Alaska in the aftermath of Typhoon Halong. From bolstering oil spill and emergency response, to providing greater support and quality of life improvements for our Coast Guardsmen, this Coast Guard authorization builds upon the strong relationship between Alaska's communities and our Alaska-based Coast Guard and will help our service members support their families and fulfill their many critical missions in the Last Frontier."

This Coast Guard authorization will support:

Coast Guard Missions and Infrastructure

• Accountability on Homeporting Projects: Requires the Coast Guard commandant to submit an annual report on the status of all cutter homeporting projects in Alaska, specifically for Fast Response Cutters, Offshore Patrol Cutters, and the newly acquired icebreaker, Storis, which will be homeported in Juneau. The goal is to provide transparency, support congressional oversight, and ensure timely progress on these strategically important assets, which are critical to national security and Arctic operations in Alaska, particularly in Kodiak, Seward, Sitka, and Juneau, where the Coast Guard maintains or plans to expand its operational presence. The bill also requires regular reports on the Coast Guard's efforts to establish a forward operating base in St. Paul.

Coast Guardsmen in Alaska

• Dutch Harbor Dependents: Authorizes personnel stationed at Dutch Harbor in Alaska to now bring their families with them on the assignment, an issue Sen. Sullivan has been working on for years.
• Travel Allowance: Expands travel benefits for any members stationed in Alaska to be able to visit their families in other states more frequently.
• Travel Impacts: Requires the Coast Guard to study and report on how ferry travel affects members during permanent station moves, official travel, or commuting.
• Incentive Program for Coast Guard Civilian Firefighters: Authorizes the Coast Guard to offer recruitment, relocation, and retention bonuses to civilian firefighters serving at remote Coast Guard fire departments. The goal is to attract and retain qualified personnel in these hard-to-fill positions.

Maritime Safety

• Bering Strait Vessel Traffic: Directs a study of current and projected ship traffic in the Bering Strait over the next 10 years, and evaluates whether ports in Point Spencer, Nome, and Kotzebue have adequate infrastructure and emergency response capabilities. As vessel traffic grows with retreating Arctic ice, the study will help identify gaps and guide investments to protect Alaska communities, the environment, and U.S. national security.
• Supports Alaska's Fishing Communities: Continues to authorize the use of a satellite tracking system to mark fishing equipment locations, which ensures commercial fishing gear is not lost and avoids potential damage by vessel strikes. It also supports fishing vessels engaging in temporary towing operations as part of salmon hatchery management in Alaska.
• Supports fishermen safety nationwide by funding Coast Guard-approved training that helps fishermen prevent accidents, respond to emergencies, and reduce fatalities in one of the nation's most dangerous industries.

Alaska Natives and Natural Resources

• Preserves oil spill response capacity in Alaska by ensuring continued operations of vessels that support response efforts from burdensome requirements that would otherwise sideline critical response vessels, like those in the Ship Escort Response Vessel System (SERVS) program-ensuring sufficient, trained assets remain available to protect Alaska's waters, sensitive ecosystems, and remote communities during spill emergencies.
• Advances critical Exxon Valdez restoration and research efforts by moving forward a unanimously adopted Trustee Council amendment that prevents the loss of long-term research, mariculture, and education programs after 2027, unlocks nearly $40 million in restricted habitat funds, and ensures continued ecosystem restoration and community investment through 2031.
• Creates the First-Ever Tribal Advisor: Creates a new civilian employee position within the Coast Guard to advise the commandant and other Coast Guard leadership on tribal affairs, such as government-to-government consultation, pollution response, fisheries enforcement, and other matters important to tribes.
• Collaboration with Tribes on Research: Requires the commandant to identify potential collaborations and use of indigenous place-based knowledge and research to support Coast Guard mission needs in the Arctic.
• North Pacific Research Board: Adds a new seat on the North Pacific Research Board specifically to represent Alaska Native people. The North Pacific Research Board oversees and funds scientific research focused on the North Pacific Ocean, including fisheries and ecosystem health. Adding this seat ensures that the perspectives and traditional knowledge of Alaska Native communities are included in decision-making, promoting more inclusive and culturally informed management of marine resources that directly affect their livelihoods and environment.

Sen. Sullivan has consistently championed robust investments in the Coast Guard, including in the budget reconciliation bill that was signed into law in July. Because of Sen. Sullivan's strong advocacy in the negotiations, the Working Families Tax Cuts Act resulted in nearly $25 billion for Fiscal Year 2026 for the U.S. Coast Guard, including:

• 16 new icebreakers-three Polar Security Cutters (heavy icebreakers), three Arctic Security Cutters (medium polar icebreakers), and 10 light and medium icebreaking cutters;
• 22 new cutters-nine Offshore Patrol Cutters, 10 Fast Response Cutters, and three Waterways Commerce Cutters;
• More than 40 new helicopters, six new C-130J aircraft, three new river cutters, and new maritime surveillance equipment (Many of these new Coast Guard aviation and ship assets will be coming to Alaska);
• $300 million for the homeporting of theJuneau icebreaker, the Storis; and
• $4.379 billion to repair docks, hangars, and shore facilities and replace aging infrastructure, funds that will help address the Coast Guard's nationwide infrastructure backlog, as found in communities like Sitka, Seward, Kodiak and St. Paul.

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