Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025

The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 is a broad, multi-title bill that seeks to fund, reorganize, and strengthen Coast Guard programs and oversight through fiscal years 2025–2029. It would increase authorized civilian and military strength, establish a Secretary of the Coast Guard alongside the existing Commandant, and expand planning, transparency, and accountability for major acquisitions, Pacific-focused operations, and Arctic/polar programs. The measure also tightens oversight of specific funding streams, upgrades reporting requirements, and expands personnel, safety, and governance provisions across acquisition, operations, and the Coast Guard Academy. In short, the bill aims to give the Coast Guard more resources, clearer long-range planning, and stronger civilian-mandated accountability in key areas like procurement, deployments in the Pacific, and responses to sexual misconduct. The bill envisions significant governance changes (including a Secretary of the Coast Guard and a special tribal affairs advisor), stronger and more frequent acquisition reporting (including quarterly briefings on Level 1/2 programs and independent risk assessments), and heightened transparency around budget and capacity planning (notably for Pacific operations and polar cutters). It also mandates concrete planning and reporting around expanding end-strength to 60,000 and requires in-depth analyses of aircraft needs, with specific procurement constraints tied to that analysis. Additionally, it enshrines a comprehensive set of policy reforms and reporting requirements related to safety, personnel, ethics, and accountability.