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1 (June 1, 2006)

handle is hein.crs/crsmthabaqw0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 
                                                               Order Code  RS21019
                                                               Updated June 1, 2006



 CRS Report for Congress

              Received through the CRS Web



          Coast Guard Deepwater Program:
       Background and Issues for Congress

                            Ronald O'Rourke
                     Specialist in National Defense
              Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade  Division

Summary


     The Deepwater program is a $24 billion, 25-year acquisition program to replace or
 modernize 93 Coast Guard ships and 207 Coast Guard aircraft. The Coast Guard's
 FY2007 budget requests $934.431 million for the program. Some Members of Congress
 have criticized and expressed strong concerns over the Deepwater program on several
 grounds. The House-reported version of H.R. 5441, the FY2007 Department of
 Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations bill, recommends $892.64 million for the
 Deepwater program. This report will be updated as events warrant.


 Background'

    Introduction.  The Coast Guard Deepwater program, known formally as the
Integrated Deepwater Systems (IDS) program, is a project to replace and modernize the
Coast Guard's aging fleet of deepwater-capable ships and aircraft. It is the largest and
most complex acquisition effort in Coast Guard history. The issue for Congress is
whether to approve, reject, or modify the Administration's funding requests and overall
approach for the program.

    Deepwater   Missions. The Coast Guard performs a variety of missions in the
deepwater environment (which generally means waters more than 50 miles from shore),
including the following: drug interdiction, alien migrant interdiction, fisheries
enforcement, search and rescue, the International Ice Patrol in northern waters; overseas
maritime intercept (sanctions-enforcement) operations, overseas port security and defense,
overseas peacetime military engagement; general defense operations in conjunction with
the Navy; marine pollution law enforcement, enforcement of lightering (i.e., at-sea cargo-
transfer) zones, and overseas inspection of foreign vessels entering U.S. ports. Deepwater
assets are also used closer to shore for various operations.


Congressional  Research  Service + The  Library of Congress


1 For additional background information on the Deepwater program, see the program's Internet
page at [http://www.uscg.mil/deepwater/].

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