Coast Guard Foundation Provides Over $600,000 to Families Affected by the Government Shutdown

The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Pendant, a 65-foot Small Harbor Tug based out of Boston, transits Boston Harbor on their way to the Weymouth Fore River to conduct ice breaking operations, Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019. The crew breaks ice around fuel terminals to ensure ships carrying home heating oil can safely maneuver and access the terminals. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Andrew Barresi)

The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education and welfare of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced today that it has distributed over $600,000 to families impacted by the partial government shutdown that ended January 25. Coast Guard families across the country – from Alaska to Florida, Hawaii and Massachusetts – have received due to an outpouring of generosity from individual and corporate supporters.

The total collected included a single $100,000 donation from Walmart which helped in the Coast Guard Foundation’s outreach to Coast Guard members across the country.

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Coast Guard Foundation Activates Coast Guard Family Support Program

Relief for Coast Guard Members Impacted by Government Shutdown

A crew aboard the 52-foot Motor Life Boat Invincible II from Coast Guard Station Grays Harbor prepares to tow a disabled vessel while a second Station Grays Harbor boat crew aboard a 47-foot Motor Life Boat standby near Grays Harbor, Washington, Jan. 7, 2019.
(U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Station Grays Harbor)

 The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education and welfare of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced today that the organization is sending an initial $250,000 in family support to assist Coast Guard families impacted by the government shutdown.

As noted by the U.S. Coast Guard Commandant, this is the first time in the Nation’s history that service members in a U.S. Armed Force have not been paid during a lapse in appropriations.

A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircrew flies over the 650-foot Sincerity Ace on fire 1,800 nautical miles northwest of Oahu in the Pacific Ocean, Dec. 31, 2018. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by HC-130 Hercules 1720)

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Boat Owners Association of The United States: “Pay Our Coast Guard” - and so say all of us!

BoatUS is supporting legislation to pay members of the U.S. Coast Guard during the partial government shutdown.

With the federal government shutdown now in its fourth week, Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) is supporting bipartisan legislation to immediately restore pay for U.S. Coast Guard members. S. 21, “Pay Our Coast Guard Act,” recently introduced in the Senate by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), and its companion bill, H.R. 367, “Pay Our Coast Guard Parity Act of 2019,” introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), aims to restore paychecks to the more than 40,000 active duty U.S. Coast Guard service members.

BoatUS is urging recreational boaters to ask their members of Congress for support of S.21 and H.R. 367 and offers a simple way to do that by going to: https://bit.ly/2AMDbJy.

In a January 15 letter to Sen. Thune and Rep. DeFazio, Vice President of BoatUS Government Affairs Chris Edmonston wrote, “While we understand the current debate over funding of the Department of Homeland Security is primarily about issues not directly related to the U.S. Coast Guard, we are concerned over the potential deterioration of its ability to fulfill its wide range of missions including search and rescue, boating safety regulation, and support for aids-to-navigation. We support your effort to ensure that USCG personnel will receive compensation notwithstanding the final passage of the DHS 2019 appropriation legislation. This will allow them to focus on their missions and help ensure the safety of recreational boaters.”

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Mitigation Efforts Due to Lapse in Fiscal Year 2019 Appropriations and Partial Government Shutdown

To mitigate the impact caused by the partial lapse in appropriations and shutdown of National Maritime Center (NMC) operations, the following actions are being taken:

·         Merchant Mariner Credentials (MMC) (National Endorsements only) and Medical Certificates that expired in December 2018 or expire in January 2019 are extended as valid until March 31, 2019. Print the attached letter and carry it with your credential.

·         Additional Information (AI) letters, sent to mariners that expired in December 2018 or expire in January 2019 are extended to March 31, 2019.

·         Approval to Test (ATT) letters and mariner training course certificates that expired in December 2018 or expire in January 2019 are extended until March 31, 2019.

·         For mariners whose 90-day testing cycles were interrupted by Regional Exam Center (REC) closures (starting on December 26, 2018), the days the RECs were closed will not count against the 90-day period. REC appointment calendars will be re-opened immediately once appropriations are restored.

·         E-mail any course approval extension requests to NMCCourses@uscg.mil.

The NMC understands the partial shutdown may affect our industry customers and stakeholders and we apologize for any potential inconvenience.

If you have questions, visit the NMC website, or contact the NMC Customer Service Center by using the NMC online chat system, by e-mailing IASKNMC@uscg.mil, or by calling 1-888-IASKNMC (427-5662).

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