Donald Trump rapped for inattention, lack of funding for Coast Guard: 'Nonsensical' - Washington Times: President Trump’s pledge Tuesday night in an address to Congress to rebuild the military did not include the armed services’ fifth branch — the U.S. Coast Guard.
In fact, some of the $54 billion in added Defense Department spending for the Navy, Air Force, Army and Marine Corps is being stripped from the Coast Guard’s budget.
“It’s nonsensical to pursue a policy of rebuilding the armed forces while proposing large reductions to the U.S. Coast Guard budget,” Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican, said Thursday in a letter to the president.
Guidance from the White House Office of Management and Budget calls for cutting $1.3 billion from the Coast Guard’s $10 billion fiscal 2017 budget.
The cut comes at a time when some in Congress, led by Mr. Hunter, are calling for increased spending as Vladimir Putin’s Russia continues a military buildup in the Arctic. Mr. Putin is reopening air bases and deploying ground groups, complemented by nearly 40 icebreakers. The Coast Guard deploys just two. Its last “heavy” icebreaker was launched in the 1970s.
Mr. Hunter told Mr. Trump that the budget reduction would leave the nation less safe.
