Coast Guard commandant says service in crisis on day 74 of partial shutdown

Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday told a House subcommittee Tuesday that the service is in crisis on day 74 of a partial government shutdown, with families facing utility shutoffs and civilian employees missing paychecks.

Lunday and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Phil Waldron testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Maritime Transportation Subcommittee about the impact of the funding lapse that began Feb. 14 over a dispute over appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security.

"The reality today is the Coast Guard is operating in a crisis, Day 74 of a DHS lapse in appropriations," Lunday said. "This is taking on our people and their families, the severe hardship and uncertainty, not knowing whether they'll be paid after this week."

Lunday said some Coast Guard families have had their electricity shut off because of unpaid bills. The Coast Guard, which oversees 6,000 family housing units, has been "begging" utility providers to keep power and water on, he said.

Civilian employees went without a full paycheck from Feb. 16 through early April, when President Donald Trump signed an emergency order to pay them. That emergency funding could run out this week, Lunday and Waldron told the panel.

Waldron said a civil servant in Ketchikan, Alaska, sold his car to pay rent before emergency funding became available.

"Our total workforce has spent a majority of this fiscal year operating under uncertainty, fear and anger caused by a lapse of appropriations," Waldron said. "The dangerous missions that our folks conduct every day … require their complete and total focus. That focus is dangerously fractured when they're worried about paying their rent or supporting their families."

Lunday said the stalemate is "needlessly harming our people and hollowing out our readiness."

The Coast Guard is the only U.S. armed service affected by the partial shutdown. While active-duty members have continued to receive paychecks through funding shifts, the service has halted non-emergency operations and maintenance and cannot pay some of its bills.

The Coast Guard has requested $15.6 billion for fiscal 2027, including $14.1 billion in discretionary funds that would support a 5% to 7% pay raise for members depending on rank, modernization and acquisition efforts, and a goal to expand the service by 15,000 members. The House Appropriations Committee markup is scheduled for June 10.