Sunday, June 22, 2008
FY09 DHS (USCG) funding one step closer
Posted by Joe Coastie
Yesterday it was brought to our, well my, attention that the Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday approved $41.3 billion in Homeland Security spending on Friday (20 June... I know- "way to keep on top of it Joe!"). Mr. Czerwinski over at HLSwatch.com notes that the Senate version of this FY09 funding provides the with DHS $40.1 billion in discretionary spending and $1.2 billion in mandatory funds, amounting to an increase of $2.5 billion more than the Bush requested. So where are we in this mess?
The Coast Guard would receive $9.2 billion, $145 million more than the president’s request.Oh, but don't think we are the only lucky ones getting more money; FEMA may receive $7.4 billion through the Senate Appropriations proposal, about $2.1 billion more than the Bush Administration requested. Mr. Czerwinski also notes that a portion of funds in the sum of $528 million to be used for aerial and marine operations and procurement... who is that for?
Posted on Sunday, June 22, 2008
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Friday, May 9, 2008
Gettin' Paid: Bill to guarantee pay increase
Posted by Joe Coastie
Hello again from the land of the obscure finds... I was checkin' the RSS feeds from the last few days (I don't get a chance to check 'em all the time) and I stumbled across something of interest to those out there who care about getting paid.
The item of interest was an introduced House bill (H.R. 5987) to amend title 37, United States Code, to guarantee a pay increase for members of the uniformed services for fiscal years 2010 through 2013 of one-half of one percentage point higher than the Employment Cost Index... Bling! Bling! Unfortunately as I write this Friday morning there is no real text available/attached to the bill as it hasn't been printed by the Government Printing Office yet. And for those of you who are into the political scene this bill was introduced by Rep. Thelma Drake [R-VA]. And though I'm not a Virginian myself, I thank you anyway Ms. Drake... that is, I thank you till I get a chance to read the whole bill.
Posted on Friday, May 09, 2008
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Friday, April 11, 2008
Secretary Chertoff says 'show me the money'
Posted by Ryan R. Erickson
Today Secretary Chertoff spoke before the House Subcommittee on Homeland Security Appropriations regarding key accomplishments and FY 2009 budget request. As is customary with my posting on these types of things, I'm concentrating on the Coast Guard aspect. After all, this is a CG blog...
So let's start by looking at how much the DHS is asking for. As it stands we (they, us...) are looking for an FY 2009 budget request of $50.5 billion in funding, a 7 percent increase over the FY 2008 and a gross discretionary budget request of $40.7 billion, an increase of 8 percent over the FY 2008. This gross discretionary funding does not include mandatory funding such as the Coast Guard’s retirement pay accounts. So I hope we're still getting paid!
Though a lot of this is the same thing as reported a few months ago- it's a good review.
Goal 1: Protect Our Nation from Dangerous People
- Key Accomplishments:
Increased Air and Marine Support: ...U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) UAS program office for the development of a maritime variant of the Predator B.
Better Biometrics: US-VISIT, the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and the Coast Guard have partnered on a pilot fingerprint collection at sea program near Puerto Rico, resulting in 114 prosecutions and a 53 percent reduction in migrant flow.
- FY 2009 Budget Request:
Command 21 and Situation Unit Watchstanders: The Budget includes $7.3 million to support continued development of Command 21 and additional watchstanders at USCG Command Centers to meet increasing operational demands and support additional vessel monitoring, information collection, and interagency coordination capability provided by Command 21. These initiatives will provide information sharing and situational awareness tools required to close the gap between current port and coastal surveillance capabilities and the need for greater Maritime Domain Awareness in an all-hazards, all-threats operating environment.
Goal 2: Protect Our Nation from Dangerous Goods
- Key Accomplishments:
Reducing Risk from Small Vessels: USCG worked with small boat manufacturers, industry groups and the public on mitigating the security risks posed by small vessels. Thirteen Maritime Safety and Security Teams, part of a 3,000 person Specialized Deployed Forces Command, are stationed at strategic ports nationwide with unique training to counter the small boats threat. The Coast Guard and the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) are collaborating with local authorities on a pilot program in Puget Sound and San Diego waterways on small vessel radiation detection.
Record-Breaking Narcotics Seizures: USCG seized more than 350,000 pounds of cocaine at sea this year – a record-breaking 160 metric tons – worth an estimated street value of more than $4.7 billion.
- FY 2009 Budget Request:
Nuclear Detection Research, Development, and Operations: The Budget Request includes $334.2 million to support DNDO’s Research, Development and Operations program which provides resources for the development and evolution of the global nuclear detection architecture. Included in this research are development of an Advanced Spectroscopic Portal (ASP) suitable for examining cargo containers, trucks and privately-owned vehicles, and development of Human Portable Radiation Detection Systems (HPRDS) to provide handheld and ‘relocatable’ equipment to be used as primary detection tools by Customs Officers, Border Patrol agents, and USCG personnel.
Goal 4: Build a Nimble, Effective Emergency Response System and a Culture of Preparedness
- Key Accomplishments:
New Operations Capabilities: USCG established the Deployable Operations Group which aligns all deployable, specialized USCG forces under a single, unified command in adaptive, tailored force packages for rapid response to national threats.
Saved Over One Million Lives: The Coast Guard reached a remarkable milestone this year, saving more than one million lives throughout its 217-year history.
Goal 5: Strengthen and Unify DHS Operations and Management
- Key Accomplishments:
Streamlined Acquisition Processes: The Coast Guard created an innovative and centralized acquisition directorate in July 2007, significantly improving program execution, contracting practices, research and development, and industry oversight.
Oh, and as to stop someone from asking- there wasn't anything for us (the USCG) in Goal 3. Have a good weekend.
Posted on Friday, April 11, 2008
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Thursday, February 14, 2008
Chertoff, USCG, and FY09 Money
Posted by Ryan R. Erickson
I didn't have time yesterday to get this up, so I'll take a little time to get 'er done now, besides, I'm on leave for my daughters birthday-
Yesterday DHS Secretary Chertoff spoke before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, "FY 2009 Budget Request." We tend to keep an eye on the budget for our service for it directly reflects our overall mission, and as we are part of the DHS we keep an eye on them as well.
In his statement to the House members he spoke of the USCG only a hand-full of times, so I went through and picked those out, and here they are with minor commentary:
The FY 2009 request supports the hiring and training of 24 new UAS pilots and the establishment of a joint CBP/U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) UAS program office for the development of a maritime variant of the Predator B. It also supports the continuation of an aggressive service life extension program for the Department’s P-3 maritime patrol aircraft that are so critical to intercepting drug traffic in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific and countering the increasing threat posed by the cartels’ use of semi-submersible vessels.There is no real need to go into detail on this as Peter has a post from a few days ago on the exact subject.
Command 21 and Situation Unit Watchstanders: The Budget includes $7.3 million to support continued development of Command 21 and additional watchstanders at USCG Command Centers to meet increasing operational demands and support additional vessel monitoring, information collection, and interagency coordination capability provided by Command 21. These initiatives will provide information sharing and situational awareness tools required to close the gap between current port and coastal surveillance capabilities and the need for greater Maritime Domain Awareness in an all-hazards, all-threats operating environment.Now for this I'm going to have to stake my claim that I think the Secretary may have misspoke in calling is Command 21 verses Rescue 21. The Command 21 is a Navy Spawar project. Easy to miss.
Record-Breaking Narcotics Seizures: USCG seized more than 350,000 pounds of cocaine at sea this year – a record-breaking 160 metric tons – worth an estimated street value of more than $4.7 billion.Not much to say here except there's a lot more out there to get.
Reducing Risk from Small Vessels: USCG worked with small boat manufacturers, industry groups and the public on mitigating the security risks posed by small vessels. Thirteen Maritime Safety and Security Teams, part of a 3,000 person Specialized Deployed Forces Command, are stationed at strategic ports nationwide with unique training to counter the small boats threat. The Coast Guard and the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) are collaborating with local authorities on a pilot program in Puget Sound and San Diego waterways on small vessel radiation detection.This one I'm a little confused about. Not to say we, the USCG, don't do this mission- but if you were to ask any MSST (or most) out there if they deal with the small vessel world they would probably tell you there mission is too important for that- besides, this is the mission of most Stations and VBST/SBT groups. Though this is my observation... we'll leave it at that.
So the Sec. spoke highly of us, as he should. Let's hope the requested FY09 $9.3 billion budget request goes all the way through... No, in fact, let us hope they give us more.
UPDATE: 1415hrs, Just as I posted this the DHS released the testimony before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, though it's the exact same as above.
Posted on Thursday, February 14, 2008
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