WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, today presided over the subcommittee’s first hearing of Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 to consider the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) budget request. USCG Commandant Admiral Karl Schultz testified to explain the Coast Guard’s needs and priorities.
“The Coast Guard’s maritime law enforcement activities, including significant interdiction of illegal traffic in the source and transit zones of the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, may take place far away from our shores, but those efforts prevent dangerous drugs from making their way into West Virginia communities,” Senator Capito said during opening remarks. “While much of the nation’s attention has been appropriately focused on the southwest land border, we’ll hear today about the importance of the Coast Guard’s role in protecting our maritime borders and keeping us safe.”
As chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Capito oversees funding for USCG, the one military branch that falls under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security. Earlier this month, Commandant Schultz visited West Virginia with Senator Capito to learn more about West Virginia’s Coast Guard facilities.
To watch Senator Capito’s opening statement, click here. To watch her questions for Commandant Schultz, click here.
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