March 14, 2017 — The news last week that the Trump administration was considering cuts to the U.S. Coast Guard budget to pay for the Mexican border wall was about as welcome as the late-winter blizzard bearing down on Cape Ann.
From national security experts to local harbormasters, there seemed to be profound disbelief in the logic of undermining the Coast Guard’s mission of public safety on the nation’s waters — not to mention its responsibilities for the interdiction of illegal drugs and undocumented immigrants — by funneling any of its operational funds into the construction of the wall.
“It shouldn’t even be a consideration,” said Mark Ring, chairman of the Gloucester Fisheries Commission. “It’s a far cry from people lost at sea to somebody climbing a wall.”
News reports and congressional sources reported the White House’s Office of Management Budget plans to reduce Coast Guard spending by $1.3 billion during the next fiscal year to reinforce the nation’s southern border with a wall and additional border agents.
The Coast Guard now operates with a $9.1 billion annual budget. Reportedly, one area of spending under scrutiny is the $43 million allotted to the agency’s drug interdiction teams.
Major cuts are also planned to the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Administration to free money for border security.