Still No Budget in Congress - Urgency for Coast Guard Pay Legislation Rises

By Aniela Szymanski

​Congress has again failed to pass a budget by its January deadline, and has admitted that they will not meet the upcoming February deadline, thus passing legislation that re-set the deadline to March 1 for some bills and March 8, 2024, for others including Defense and Homeland Security.

The Homeland Security budget is one of the primary sticking points for passing the government funding bills, namely migrant and border policies. This has left the Coast Guard in the middle of the political battle, putting in doubt its continued funding past March 8. For our members, this of course means that their pay and benefits are at risk of halting while Congress figures out their differences.

CWOAUSCG has been advocating for the passage of legislation to ensure that Coast Guard members would continue to receive pay during any lapse in government funding. There are currently three bills in Congress that would accomplish that, if they are passed.


HR 5842 - Coast Guard Sustained Funding Act of 2023
HR 2693 - Pay Our Coast Guard Parity Act of 2023

S 2791 - Pay Our Coast Guard Act

CWOAUSCG has been contacting members of the Senate and House urging passage of these bills and will continue to aggressively advocate for them, particularly as the March deadlines approach. This legislation is important because it would prevent Coast Guard members' pay from being impacted by any future funding gaps and our members can focus on their missions and their families, regardless of what political wranglings Congress is going through year-by-year. 

House bill 2693 currently has 61 co-sponsors, with Congressman Gallagher from Wisconsin being the latest to sign on support. A full list of the co-sponsors is available here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/2693/cosponsors. While CWOAUSCG continues to advocate for Congress to fix this problem, we will keep you updated on the status.