The Coast Guard would be required to improve its oversight and response to sexual assault and harassment allegations under legislation currently under congressional consideration.
The House and Senate versions of the Coast Guard Authorization Act, which OKs funding through 2029 and sets service policy, contain dozens of provisions that codify the Coast Guard’s rules and procedures on sexual misconduct, victim support and senior leader accountability regarding its handling of sexual assault and harassment.
The provisions stem from at least 60 cases of sexual assault and harassment at the Coast Guard Academy from 1998 through 2006 and the cover-up of subsequent investigations, known as Operation Fouled Anchor.
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The service launched a review of its policies and the treatment of perpetrators and victims of sex crimes in 2023 after CNN exposed the breadth of the problem, showing that survivors often were ignored or kicked out of the service while their attackers were allowed to rise in the ranks.
The Coast Guard’s response to the media reports included a Homeland Security Office of Inspector General investigation — the results of which have yet to be released — and an Accountability and Transparency Review ordered by former Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan that made 33 recommendations for change.
As of March 2024, just five of those recommendations had been implemented, according to the Government Accountability Office.
Legislation proposed by both the House and Senate calls for another GAO review of the reforms to determine whether the service has made further progress. The bills also strengthen the service’s “Safe to Report policy,” first implemented last year, that orders commanders to disregard minor misconduct like underage drinking or fraternizing to encourage reporting of sexual assaults.
The proposals also seek to ensure that the Coast Guard participates in the Defense Department’s CATCH a Serial Offender Program, designed to identify personnel who regularly commit sex crimes but may otherwise go undetected as they transfer between duty stations.
The legislative proposals also would improve options for victims, making it easier for a Coast Guard Academy cadet who was the victim of sexual assault to request a transfer to another service academy or Reserve Officers’ Training Corps training program.
The bills would require that senior leaders conduct a mandatory review of involuntary separation for anyone who filed a sexual assault or harassment report in the two years before the separation proceedings.
And they would ensure that those who say they have developed post-traumatic stress disorder, were sexually assaulted or experienced a traumatic brain injury would have improved access to health care and services.
The proposals also seek to bolster the service’s ability to take punitive actions against perpetrators, saying senior leaders could conduct a review of discharge statuses and downgrade any belonging to those who were found to have committed sexual assault or harassment.
And they aim to improve oversight of senior leaders by requiring that any allegations of misconduct against a flag officer or member of the senior executive service be reported to the Office of the Inspector General within 72 hours of a reported charge.
Despite extensive knowledge among senior Coast Guard leaders of the sexual assaults at the academy and subsequent investigations, few high-ranking personnel have faced any repercussions, other than Fagan, who was named commandant in 2022 roughly a year before the story broke. She was fired on the first day of the Trump administration, in part because of her handling of the situation.
Previous commandant, Adm. Karl Schultz, has never testified about the investigation and, in late 2024, told CNN that he withheld the findings from Congress out of concern for the privacy of the victims.
While a few Coast Guard commanders and leaders have been fired in the past two years, no firings have been directly attributed to Operation Fouled Anchor. Retired Coast Guard Capt. Glenn Sulmasy, a former professor at the Coast Guard Academy, stepped down in 2023 from his civilian job as president of Nichols College after an investigation found he had sent sexually changed texts to an academy cadet when he taught at the school.
“The Coast Guard continues to suffer from the fallout of Operation Fouled Anchor. A successful Coast Guard is one that is free from sexual assault and harassment. … This bill provides oversight to ensure that [accountability and transparency review recommendations] actions are implemented,” Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington, ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said Tuesday during a markup of the House bill.
“The legislation holds the Coast Guard accountable for its past failures to protect its members from sexual assault and sexual harassment,”said Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., the committee’s chairman.
The proposed bill authorizes funding for the service through 2029, including $11.85 billion for fiscal 2026. The service also received $25 billion from the administration to cover the cost of additional ships and aircraft, as well as maintenance and construction of shore infrastructure, in the massive spending bill signed by President Donald Trump on July 4.
Both legislative proposals also contain several quality-of-life provisions that would affect personnel, such as allowing members to take family leave after one year if a member cannot take it as a result of professional school, operations or other circumstances.
They also would allow the service to hire civilian personnel for understaffed positions such as medical and health professionals, social workers, housing experts and child care workers to improve services for members.
The House version of the bill would create the position of Coast Guard secretary, which the Trump administration has said is needed to facilitate advocacy for the service within the federal government and create a leadership structure similar to the other armed forces.
The Senate’s version does not include the position, but a separate bill has been introduced in that chamber that would create the position.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed a version of the bill Tuesday in a 60-0 vote; it now goes before the full House for approval.
The Senate passed its version March 5. The two will have to be reconciled before a single piece of legislation becomes law. The Coast Guard last had an authorization bill signed into law in 2018.
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