Senate Approves Coast Guard Authorization Act Unanimously

Bipartisan bill advances to the House for consideration

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), introduced the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025, and it passed the Senate by unanimous consent. The bipartisan measure was agreed to at the end of last year by leaders of both the Senate Commerce Committee and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, but the session ended before final passage could occur. The bill authorizes funding to strengthen the Coast Guard’s ability to protect our borders, facilitate maritime commerce, unleash American energy, bolster deterrence efforts, and improve support for Coast Guard personnel and their families.

Sen. Cruz delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025:

“The United States Coast Guard is essential to protecting our Nation’s maritime borders from threats like illegal drugs, illegal immigration, and transnational crime.  The Coast Guard saves American lives and ensures that commerce flows smoothly at our ports.  

“The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 is bipartisan legislation that Senator Cantwell and I negotiated and agreed to with House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves and Ranking Member Rick Larsen.  It authorizes funding to bolster the Coast Guard’s critical missions of border security, facilitating maritime commerce, and enforcing the rule of law in domestic and international waters.

“I want to draw attention to several key provisions in this bill.

“Last year, the Coast Guard seized over 106 metric tons of cocaine.  Unfortunately, cartels are now using technology like miniature, remote-controlled drone ships to smuggle drugs across our maritime border.  Without this legislation, the Coast Guard would remain unable to prosecute criminals using these remote-controlled, autonomous vessels.  

“The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 expands the Coast Guard’s and Customs and Border Protection’s use of cutting-edge tools like Tactical Maritime Surveillance Systems, which are blimp-based radar systems—to find and interdict drug runners, poachers, and human traffickers at the Texas-Mexico border in the Gulf of America, in San Diego, Key West, and San Juan Puerto Rico.  

“I ask my colleagues to stand with me and support President Trump’s vision of protecting our borders from drugs and illegal immigrants and of building ships to revitalize the Coast Guard’s fleet.  I urge my colleagues to support the Coast Guard Authorization Act.”

Read the bill text here.

BACKGROUND

The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 makes several enhancements to the Coast Guard’s operations by:

• Expanding efforts to interdict and prosecute illicit drug trafficking. The Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act will now ensure the United States can prosecute drug traffickers who utilize remote-controlled or autonomous vessels to smuggle illegal narcotics.
• Protecting personnel from illicit drug exposure. All Coast Guard installations will be required to maintain a supply of medication to treat opioid overdoses, including fentanyl.
• Upgrading icebreaker fleet. The bill directs the Coast Guard to establish a replacement plan for aging icebreaking tug fleets and expedite the delivery of new icebreakers.
• Addressing grossly negligent operations of vessels. With the steady rise of vessel traffic on U.S. waterways, individuals who operate a vessel in a grossly negligent manner and cause serious bodily injury will be held accountable with appropriate criminal penalties.
• Mapping Arctic maritime routes. The Arctic Circle has strategic economic and military significance for the United States. This provision would promote American interests in the region and improve emergency response capabilities and infrastructure needed to support vessel traffic.
• Increasing the Coast Guard’s deterrence capabilities. With increased instances of illegal fishing operations and illicit drug trafficking in the South China Sea, it is critical that the United States Coast Guard and Taiwan Coast Guard Administration conduct joint and integrated maritime operational and leadership training to combat violations of maritime law and threats to our national security.
• Improving the livelihoods of Coast Guard families. The Coast Guard will grant a cash allowance to pregnant officers to purchase maternity-related uniform items, allow the Coast Guard to acquire more housing, and identify Coast Guard duty locations in which there is a misalignment between the basic allowance for housing and prevailing housing costs.
• Refining procedures to prevent and respond to sexual assaults. The Coast Guard will establish confidential reporting for sexual harassment, strengthen protective orders for victims, and provide access to the Department of Defense’s Defense Sexual Assault Incident Database. The bill also overhauls the transfer process for victims and allows victims of sex-related offenses to request temporary separation.
• Requiring the Coast Guard Academy to study its safety infrastructure. The Coast Guard Academy will be required to modify policy related to sexual assault matters, install electronic locking mechanisms to secure cadet rooms and common spaces, and update the Academy’s Board of Visitors to ensure better Congressional oversight and engagement.
• Adding units to the Coast Guard’s Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) program. The bill will increase the number of units from 14 to 20 to better recruit and retain a robust and well-qualified Coast Guard officer corps.

With about 2,000 Coast Guard personnel stationed in Texas, the Service’s men and women have contributed significantly to Texas’s border security and economy. The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 will specifically help Texans by:

• Allowing the Coast Guard to use a proven, performance-driven approach for inspecting foreign flag tank vessels. An overwhelming majority of the Coast Guard’s gas carrier compliance exams are conducted in Texas. Performance-driven examinations will allow the Coast Guard to work more efficiently and advance President Trump’s direction to ‘Unleash American Energy.’
• Establishing safety zones for space activities and offshore energy development activities. Texas is home to a robust commercial space and energy industry, and this authority allows the Coast Guard to establish safety zones in support of space launches and recovery, as well as offshore energy development activities, ensuring more job growth and greater energy security.
• Streamlining the process of data sharing between the Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Tactical maritime surveillance systems (TMSS) at the Coast Guard Station on South Padre Island will be used for the purposes of data integration and information sharing with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to aid in the detection and interdiction of illegal aliens and fish poachers.
• Upgrading Coast Guard facilities to support border security operations and future aviation missions. The bill specifically requires studies on improving Texas-based Coast Guard Stations on South Padre Island, Port Aransas, and Port O’Connor, as well as the Coast Guard Air Station in Corpus Christi.