‘These federal funds will ensure that the Coast Guard can continue to do the work that is so crucial to America’s homeland security and the economic security of Maryland,’ Chairwoman says.
March 20, 2013
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski, Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced that $18.5 million in federal funding for the U.S. Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay is included in the Consolidated & Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013 passed Wednesday by the Senate. The bipartisan legislation was introduced by Chairwoman Mikulski and Vice Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). The government is currently operating under a CR which expires on March 27, 2013. The Senate passed bill prevents a government shutdown and would fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other government operations through the remainder of FY2013.
"The Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay employs more than 600 military and civilian personnel," Senator Mikulski said. "The men and women of the Coast Guard Yard get the job done. They fix the ships that patrol our ports, install new tools in the cutters that chase drug smugglers and update our fleet for anti-terrorism efforts. These federal funds will ensure that the Coast Guard can continue to do the work that is so crucial to America's homeland security and the economic security of Maryland."
The Senate FY 2013 CR funds DHS, including $18.5 million for the U.S. Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay. The funding would include $16 million for their anchor program, the Mission Effectiveness Project (MEP) to complete work on two medium endurance cutters. Also included in the bill is $2.5 million to complete survey and design work on the rehabilitation of ice breaking tugs. This funding would allow for the Coast Guard to begin work 225' Sea-Going Buoy Tenders and 175' Coastal Buoy Tenders. The repair of these aging vessels is more potential work for the Yard in the future.
Senator Mikulski brought MEP to the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay in 2005. The MEP maintains the Coast Guard's legacy fleet, which includes 20 to 40 year old ships to help bridge the 10 to 15 year gap until new cutters are commissioned.
The U.S. Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay spans 113 acres, is the Coast Guard's only shipbuilding and repair facility, and its largest and most modern industrial plant. It also serves as the host facility for the Surface Forces Logistics Center which, established in 2009, streamlined all logistical support for Coast Guard vessels.
All official press releases from Former Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
