BoatUS is supporting legislation to pay members of the U.S. Coast Guard during
the partial government shutdown.
Boat Owners Association of The United States: “Pay Our Coast Guard”
and so say all of us!
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.”
Added
Edmonston, “Despite the current lapse in funding, thousands of USCG
professionals have continued to perform critical missions regardless of their
own financial uncertainty. This is a true testament to their dedication, living
the Coast Guard motto, Semper Paratus — Always Ready. It is very fitting for
the Congress to take action to ensure their well-being for the long term.”
Boat
Owners Association of The United States is the nation’s largest advocacy,
services, and safety group for America’s boat owners with more than half a
million dues-paying members.