The House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation subcommittee passed the Coast Guard spending bill on Sept. 8, which would authorize $8.49 billion for the fiscal year 2012 (Oct. 1, 2011, through Sept. 30, 2012). The Coast Guard would get $8.6 billion in fiscal year 2013 and $8.7 billion in fiscal year 2014, under the legislation. The measure also calls for expansion of child-care services, better housing, more generous reimbursements for medical travel, and more chaplain-led family programs, to bring Coast Guard quality-of-life standards to levels more favorably comparable to those afforded to members of the four Defense Department uniformed services. Frank A. LoBiondo, R-N.J., the subcommittee chairman, sponsored the legislation.
