Senate Approves Coast Guard Authorization Act Unanimously

WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), introduced theCoast Guard Authorization Act of 2025, and it passed the Senate by unanimous consent. The bipartisan measure was agreed to at the end of last year by leaders of both the Senate Commerce Committee and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, but the session ended before final passage could occur. The bill authorizes funding to strengthen the Coast Guard’s ability to protect our borders, facilitate maritime commerce, unleash American energy, bolster deterrence efforts, and improve support for Coast Guard personnel and their families.
Sen. Cruz delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025:
“The United States Coast Guard is essential to protecting our Nation’s maritime borders from threats like illegal drugs, illegal immigration, and transnational crime.  The Coast Guard saves American lives and ensures that commerce flows smoothly at our ports.
“The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 is bipartisan legislation that Senator Cantwell and I negotiated and agreed to with House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves and Ranking Member Rick Larsen.  It authorizes funding to bolster the Coast Guard’s critical missions of border security, facilitating maritime commerce, and enforcing the rule of law in domestic and international waters.
“I want to draw attention to several key provisions in this bill.
“Last year, the Coast Guard seized over 106 metric tons of cocaine.  Unfortunately, cartels are now using technology like miniature, remote-controlled drone ships to smuggle drugs across our maritime border.  Without this legislation, the Coast Guard would remain unable to prosecute criminals using these remote-controlled, autonomous vessels.
“The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 expands the Coast Guard’s and Customs and Border Protection’s use of cutting-edge tools like Tactical Maritime Surveillance Systems, which are blimp-based radar systems—to find and interdict drug runners, poachers, and human traffickers at the Texas-Mexico border in the Gulf of America, in San Diego, Key West, and San Juan Puerto Rico.
“I ask my colleagues to stand with me and support President Trump’s vision of protecting our borders from drugs and illegal immigrants and of building ships to revitalize the Coast Guard’s fleet.  I urge my colleagues to support the Coast Guard Authorization Act.”
Read the bill texthere.
BACKGROUND
The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 makes several enhancements to the Coast Guard’s operations by:
With about 2,000 Coast Guard personnel stationed in Texas, the Service’s men and women have contributed significantly to Texas’s border security and economy. The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 will specifically help Texans by:
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