1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Service to the Fleet Act”.
Service to the Fleet Act
A BILL
To authorize amounts to be made available for improvements to the Coast Guard Yard, and for other purposes.
2. Findings; purposes
Findings— Congress makes the following findings:
For more than 100 years, the Coast Guard Yard has built, repaired, and renovated ships.
The Coast Guard Yard—
is the sole shipbuilding facility, and a major repair facility, of the Coast Guard;
is 1 of only 5 remaining public shipyards in the United States;
supports more than 2,000 full-time personnel and their families;
supports the Army, the Navy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other Federal agencies;
hosts the largest warehousing operation of the Department of Homeland Security, which serves the entire Coast Guard surface fleet;
is the Coast Guard’s only Navy-certified heavy weapons overhaul facility;
hosts an average of 8 visiting Coast Guard Cutters and vessels of other Federal agencies, and their crews, at any given time;
supports the renovation and transfer of vessels and weapons systems for foreign military sale; and
provides housing, medical and emergency services, human resources, morale, welfare and recreation support, and other base activities to approximately 1,000 visiting crew members annually.
The Coast Guard Yard faces a rapid and widespread failure of critical infrastructure, nearly all of which was built in during a 4-year period during World War II.
Based on the grading criteria of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the overall infrastructure grade for the Coast Guard Yard is a D+, which is below the C- average for other Coast Guard facilities.
Infrastructure and facilities at the Coast Guard Yard are failing at a rate that is faster than the rate at which such infrastructure and facilities can be maintained with current resources.
Infrastructure failures at the Coast Guard Yard have caused injuries, had negative environmental impacts, reduced productivity, increased repair costs, and undermined the ability of the Coast Guard Yard to carry out its mission.
Purposes— The purposes of this Act are—
with respect to the Coast Guard Yard—
to improve resilience and capacity;
to maintain and expand Coast Guard organic manufacturing capacity;
to expand training and recruitment;
to enhance safety; and
to improve environmental compliance; and
to ensure that the Coast Guard Yard is prepared to meet the growing needs of the modern Coast Guard fleet.
3. Definitions
4. Coast Guard Yard resilient infrastructure and construction improvement
In general— Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated under section 4902(2)(A)(ii) of title 14, United States Code—
$400,000,000 shall be made available for fiscal year 2023 to the Secretary for the purpose of making improvements to the facilities of the Coast Guard Yard to complete preparations for, and construction of a floating drydock and phases 1 through 3 of the Coast Guard Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Plan; and
$232,000,000 shall be made available for completion of the Coast Guard Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Plan, to remain available until expended.
Inclusions— In carrying out the improvements referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary shall ensure that such improvements include the following:
Facilities upgrades needed to improve the climate resilience of the Coast Guard Yard and associated infrastructure.
Acquisition of a large-capacity dry dock.
Wharf improvements.
Environmental remediation.
Construction of a new warehouse and paint facility.
Acquisition of a new travel lift.
Any other shore infrastructure maintenance and capital improvement projects the Commandant considers necessary.
5. Report on workforce development
In general— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Act, the Commandant shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report outlining workforce development needs at the Coast Guard Yard with respect to civilian employees and active duty members of the Coast Guard.
Elements— The report required by subsection (a) shall—
include—
an assessment of the need for additional personnel with expertise in trades, engineering, cyber, and any other field necessary to meet the evolving mission of the Coast Guard Yard;
a description of the resources necessary to re-establish an apprenticeship program at the Coast Guard Yard; and
recommendations with respect to the authorities, funding, training, and recruitment necessary to meet the workforce development needs of the Coast Guard Yard during the 10-year period beginning on the date on which the report is submitted; and
take into consideration matters of diversity and inclusion in the workforce at the Coast Guard Yard.