releases: https://crist.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2217
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://crist.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2217 | Defense Bill Includes Crist Provision to Safeguard Coast Guard Retirement | 2020-12-08 | 2020 | 2020-12 | Democrat | House | FL | Charlie Crist | C001111 | crist.house.gov | legacy | Washington, DC U.S. Representative Charlie Crist (D-St. Petersburg) released a statement announcing his Coast Guard Retirement Parity Act (H.R. 6072) has been included in this year's defense bill. Once the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) becomes law, Crist's measure will safeguard the retirement benefits of United States Coast Guard (USCG). Crist introduced the legislation earlier this year, alongside Congressman Steven Palazzo (R-MS), after over 50,000 Coast Guard retirees were just days away from missing their retirement check during the 35-day government shutdown in 2019. Under current law, the Coast Guard is the only branch of the military whose retirement benefits require annual funding from Congress, leaving Coast Guard veterans at the mercy of a government shutdown. Crist's Coast Guard Retirement Parity Act will safeguard USCG retiree benefits by including the Coast Guard in the Military Retirement Fund providing protection from a potential government shutdown and improving long-term fiscal management. Like all other branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, Coasties have devoted their lives in service to our nation, vowing to always be ready when duty calls. But unlike all other branches, Coast Guard veterans have been the only ones to have to worry about an interruption in their retirement benefits,said Rep. Crist. My bipartisan proposal would right that wrong, giving Coastie retirees peace of mind knowing the benefits they earned will never falter. I'm proud that we were able to include retirement parity in the annual defense bill, and I look forward to it becoming law in the near future. Protecting Pinellas Coasties is my job, and this win for them is proof that Congress works best when Representatives put differences aside and work together on a bipartisan basis to get things done. As we saw with the late 2018 and early 2019 government shutdown, U.S. Coast Guard members and retired veterans were unfairly subject to a gap in pay and benefits due to the service's unique position as both a brand of the U.S. military and a law enforcement agency housed inside of the Department of Homeland Security,said Mike Stevens, Navy League National Executive Director and Retired 13thMaster Chief Petty Officer of the Navy. The U.S. Coast Guard continues to always punch above its weight class and is one of the best returns on investment the U.S. taxpayer makes related to national security. The Navy League of the United States wholly supports the Coast Guard Retirement Parity Act and any further acts that would recognize that these men and women deserve the United States to honor their pay and benefits in times of government shutdown. Crist's bill was originally included in theElijah E. Cummings Coast Guard Authorization Act (CGAA) of 2020which went on to be included in the FY'21 National Defense Authorization Act that passed the House earlier this year. The NDAA conference report is slated to be voted on by the House later today. Despite the threat of a presidential veto over unrelated provisions, the NDAA enjoys wide, bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate. Once it becomes law, Crist's Coast Guard Retirement Parity Act will go into effect in 2022. Congressman Crist has been a vocal supporter of the United States Coast Guard, havinginvited local Coast Guard spouse, Chelsey Gutierrez, as his 2019 State of the Union guestto highlight the severe impacts the government shutdown was having on CG families who went without pay during the longest government shutdown in history. Additionally, he championed bringing a Coast Guard Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) Program to Pinellas Park High School only the 3rdin the country. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |