To authorize appropriations for the Coast Guard.

This amendment proposes adding Division E, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025, to bill S. 2296. Its purpose is to provide comprehensive authorizations, operational mandates, and policy changes for the United States Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The amendment aims to change or add the following:

Funding, Personnel, and Administration

• Authorizes specific funding for fiscal years 2025 and 2026 and updates military strength levels.
• Creates new roles, including a Commandant Advisory Judge Advocate and a Special Advisor to the Commandant for Tribal and Native Hawaiian Affairs.
• Updates the title and qualifications for the head of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps.
• Mandates regular notifications to Congress regarding funding, overseas members, and government shutdown impacts.

Accountability and Conduct

• Establishes a framework for responding to sexual assault and harassment, including reporting misconduct of senior leaders (O-7 or higher) to the Inspector General within 72 hours.
• Requires the GAO to report on efforts to mitigate sexual assault and harassment.
• Mandates the retention of forensic evidence for covered misconduct for at least 50 years.
• Creates a "Safe-to-Report" policy for minor misconduct by victims or witnesses and allows for the reopening of retired grade determinations if evidence of rape or sexual assault emerges.
• Requires notations of "covered misconduct" in personnel records to inform promotion decisions.

Personnel Wellness and Training

• Expands family leave, provides direct hire authority for specific roles, and creates a pilot program for embedded behavioral health technicians.
• Increases counseling access for military sexual trauma and expands medical examinations for mental or emotional disorders resulting from sexual assault.
• Establishes expedited transfer and temporary separation programs for victims of domestic violence or sexual misconduct.
• Reinstates a training course on the workings of Congress and creates a college student precommissioning initiative.

Coast Guard Academy Improvements

• Reorganizes the Board of Visitors and mandates a professional study of governance following the "Operation Fouled Anchor" investigation.
• Requires electronic locks on cadet rooms, the creation of behavioral health and wellness rooms, and a Student and Women Advisory Board.
• Mandates visible information in dorms regarding crime reporting and external wellness resources.
• Creates a "Primary Prevention Specialist" role and allows victims of sexual assault to request transfers to other academies or ROTC programs.

Maritime Safety, Infrastructure, and Environment

• Updates merchant mariner credentialing by reducing sea service requirements and transitioning to a digital electronic credentialing system.
• Establishes criminal penalties (class A misdemeanor or class E felony) for grossly negligent vessel operation.
• Prohibits the abandonment of non-barge vessels on navigable waters and creates a national inventory of abandoned vessels.
• Addresses oil pollution response via a new web-based application for reporting discharges.
• Mandates strategies for Great Lakes icebreakers, updates on Polar Security Cutters, and the procurement of a floating drydock.
• Grants authority for safety zones in the exclusive economic zone for offshore energy and space activities.

Technology and Innovation

• Establishes a National Advisory Committee on Autonomous Maritime Systems.
• Creates a NOAA pilot program for small uncrewed maritime systems and a Coast Guard training course on these systems.

Interagency and International Cooperation

• Mandates joint training plans with the Taiwan Coast Guard Administration.
• Establishes cooperative agreements for managing natural and cultural resources with State governments and Indian Tribes.

Fishing and NOAA Regulations

• Modifies prohibited fishing acts, updates regional terms and conditions, and changes how vessel license applications and fees are handled.
• Updates rules for disclosing confidential information for homeland security and fishery management.
• Defines assistance provided to Pacific Island Parties, such as training and technical assistance.
• Adds an Alaska Native representative to the North Pacific Research Board and modifies administrative fund caps.
• Requires a NOAA fleet modernization and replacement plan every two years.