Coast Guard stretched thin, officials say

The U.S. Coast Guard is putting its motto--Semper Paratus, or always ready--to the test. Since Sept. 11, the agency has been forced to ramp up its national security functions, steering resources away from other critical missions. It has reassigned 55 ships and 42 aircraft to the war on terrorism. Everything from search and rescue missions to fishery protection is being affected. "The unique nature of the Coast Guard, as an agile emergency response-oriented organization, allowed us to immediately increase our security posture, using existing active duty, reserve, civilian, and auxiliary personnel," Adm. James Loy, commandant of the Coast Guard, told a Senate panel today. "However, this posture is not sustainable … nor is it an efficient and effective use of resources. Our people are working long hours, other important missions are being curtailed and almost 30 percent of our reservists are on active duty." Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said the situation is unacceptable, especially because the Coast Guard is already operating on a shoestring budget. He noted that the agency has required supplemental funding in seven of the past 10 years. The agency has already received about $18 million of the $40 billion in emergency spending approved by Congress to respond to the Sept. 11 attacks. But the administration's fiscal 2002 budget request calls for a 15 percent reduction in the Coast Guard's operational budget. Both Loy and Kerry agreed that such a move would severely hamper the agency's ability to meet its many mandates. Loy said the agency needs one of two things-an infusion of resources or a change in the role that Americans want the Coast Guard to play. The latter, he said, is likely unacceptable to most Americans. Kerry and Sen. Olympia Snow, R-Maine, suggested they will press Congress to boost the agency's funding. While Loy boasted of the Coast Guard's ability to quickly increase security at the nation's 361 ports, he would not go so far as to say that all the ports are safe. "I'm not about to sit here this morning and say we have a handle on this, or say that everything is OK. It is not," he said. It would take the Coast Guard at least a year, Loy said, to conduct a thorough risk assessment of the nation's 50 busiest ports. He said it is critical that federal, state and local agencies improve information-sharing and coordination.