Courtney Vows Opposition To Massive DHS And Coast Guard Budget Cuts | Congressman Joe Courtney
Skip to main content

Courtney Vows Opposition To Massive DHS And Coast Guard Budget Cuts

March 7, 2017

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) made the following statement after a draft budget from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) outlined massive cuts to the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Transportations Security Administration (TSA).

"Making deep cuts to the Coast Guard, FEMA, and TSA in the name of a new national security initiative is totally out of touch with the work that the Department of Homeland Security performs," said Courtney. "The budget shared by OMB, which explicitly targets the Coast Guard, TSA and FEMA, will weaken security and undermine all of the progress that was made over the last 4-years to recapitalize Coast Guard cutters, rescue boats, and icebreakers. I will join my colleagues from both sides of the aisle on the Coast Guard caucus to stop this destructive plan from ever being implemented."

Initial reports on the OMB budget have stated that the Coast Guard would receive a 14 percent reduction, and both FEMA and the TSA would receive an 11 percent reduction.

Politico reported that retired Adm. James Loy said: "It is ignorant of what constitutes national security. They simply don't understand the equation."

###