COMMITTEE CLEARS $5.4-BILLION COAST GUARD BUDGET
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has cleared a $5.4-billion authorization for U.S. Coast Guard programs and operations for fiscal year 2002.
The figure represents an $845-million increase over the fiscal 2001 budget and an $300-million increase over the Bush administration’s budget request.
The increased funding will allow the Coast Guard to “correct chronic operational shortfalls and restore law enforcement operations, especially vital drug interdictions in the maritime transit zones,” the committee said.