U.S. COAST GUARD CHIEF PETTY OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
5520 Hempstead Way, Suite G | Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: (703) 941-0395 | Email: legislativeaffairs@uscgcpoa.org | www.uscgcpoa.org
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2026
Coast Guard Families Endure Over 45 Days of Funding Uncertainty as Critical Missions Continue
It began on February 14, 2026, when funding for the Department of Homeland Security lapsed, leaving the U.S. Coast Guard—the only armed service funded through DHS—operating without full appropriations for more than 45 days. While active-duty members have continued reporting for duty and performing lifesaving work, thousands of civilian employees have gone without pay since mid-February. As another payday approaches on April 15, families across the service face growing anxiety, wondering whether their next check will arrive or whether this “grim uncertainty,” as Vice Commandant ADM Tom Allen has described it, will finally break them.
These are not abstract concerns. Coast Guard personnel—military and civilian alike—are bound by duty and cannot simply step away. They keep showing up, day after day, to protect American lives, secure our ports, interdict drugs, and respond to emergencies on the water. Yet the prolonged lapse has introduced real strain into their homes and workplaces.
More than 9,500 civilian employees provide the backbone of continuity for the service. They coordinate search-and-rescue operations, handle mission communications, perform essential maintenance on a fleet of over 250 cutters and 1,400 boats, manage the workforce, and protect environmental resources. Without them, active-duty members must shoulder extra duties, stretching already thin resources and increasing fatigue and risk. Excepted civilians who continue working without compensation find their focus divided between the mission and the mounting bills at home—an unacceptable distraction when lives are on the line.
The stakes could not be higher. In fiscal year 2025, Coast Guard crews seized more than 500,000 pounds of illicit narcotics headed for U.S. ports, with a street value exceeding several billion dollars and representing millions of potentially lethal doses kept off American streets. At the same time, roughly 11.7 million recreational vessels take to our waterways each year. In 2024 alone, the service responded to 3,887 verified recreational boating incidents that resulted in 556 deaths, 2,170 injuries, and approximately $88 million in property damage. Search-and-rescue controllers and support staff must maintain razor-sharp focus to connect distressed mariners with the right assets—any lapse in concentration can mean the difference between life and death.
Civilian roles extend far beyond the water. They process and renew Merchant Mariner credentials, inspect commercial vessels that keep trade flowing through U.S. ports, and sustain the infrastructure that enables every mission. Delayed maintenance, halted training, and backlogged credentialing are already slowing operations. Local vendors who supply units and support families have gone unpaid, straining coastal communities that depend on these partnerships.
The human toll surfaces clearly in the voices of those affected. A recent survey of 105 members from the Chief Petty Officers Association and Coast Guard Enlisted Association revealed widespread stress rippling through households. Families have canceled long-planned vacations, deferred car repairs and home projects, cut back on children’s activities, and even withdrawn from savings or retirement accounts just to cover mortgages and daily essentials. Dual-military couples with young children, service members preparing for permanent change-of-station moves, and those supporting aging parents describe a constant “yo-yo” of financial worry that makes ordinary planning impossible. Some civilians have turned to food banks for basics like diapers, formula, and groceries, while others seek side jobs or consider leaving federal service altogether. Active-duty supervisors report working longer hours to cover furloughed civilians, leaving less time for their own families and eroding morale across units.
Professionally, the impacts compound daily. Training and education programs have stalled. Maintenance on aging vessels has been deferred. Units face restricted spending, unpaid utility bills, and challenges reimbursing personnel for official expenses. Leaders struggle to reassure junior members when they themselves lack clear answers about future pay. One senior enlisted member described standing before their crew every two weeks, unable to offer certainty on something as basic as a paycheck—undermining trust not only in leadership but in the system that asks them to risk everything.
This is the third funding disruption the Coast Guard has faced in roughly 176 days this fiscal year. Recovery from each day of shutdown can take two and a half days or more, meaning even swift resolution would leave operations impaired for months. The service’s small civilian workforce—many earning between $30,000 and $40,000 annually—has little financial cushion, and repeated uncertainty discourages both current personnel and potential recruits from committing to a career of service.
The men and women of the Coast Guard embody quiet resolve. They patrol distant waters, rescue mariners in distress, and safeguard our maritime borders while their own families shoulder unnecessary hardship. As ADM Allen has warned, the prolonged lapse is damaging readiness, infrastructure, and the very ability to attract and retain the skilled people the nation needs.
Congress must act immediately to restore full funding, deliver back pay, and stabilize operations. The dedication shown by Coast Guard personnel—military and civilian—demands reciprocity. If those who serve must continue working without guaranteed compensation, then those who govern should share in that sacrifice until the work is done.
America’s maritime safety, security, and economic vitality depend on a fully supported Coast Guard. Its personnel and their families deserve better than to be caught in the middle of Washington’s disagreements. Urgent legislative action is required to honor their service and ensure they can focus on protecting the nation without distraction.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Senior Chief Jon Ostrowski, USCG Ret.
Chairman, Legislative Affairs Committee
U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Association (CPOA)
5520 Hempstead Way, Suite G
Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: (703) 941-0395 Ext. 3
Email: legislativeaffairs@uscgcpoa.org
Website: www.uscgcpoa.org
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Legislative Affairs Committee
The CPOA continues to represent the interests of the entire Coast Guard family and community, including active, reserve, retired, families, and survivors while responding to assaults upon the compensation and benefits earned by members of the Coast Guard through years of dedicated service; and educating the public on the extraordinary demands and sacrifices associated with a career in the Coast Guard, and the need to maintain compensation and benefits to attract and retain the kinds and numbers of high-quality personnel needed to meet the Nation's short- and long-term maritime requirements.
