The Coast Guard Improvement Act of 2025 creates a new, Senate‑confirmed Secretary of the Coast Guard and reorganizes statutory authorities between that office and the Commandant. The bill inserts a Secretary role into the Homeland Security Act and rewrites key provisions in title 14 and cross‑references in title 10 to reflect that new civilian head.
This structural change matters because it moves many administrative and program authorities (procurement, personnel, facilities, intelligence oversight, and policy presentation) under a civilian appointee while keeping the Commandant as the principal military assistant. That reallocation affects acquisition chains, congressional oversight, interagency coordination with the Navy and DOD, and how DHS staffs and funds Coast Guard leadership functions.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and titles 10 and 14 U.S.C. to create a Secretary of the Coast Guard—a civilian, presidentially appointed, Senate‑confirmed head with explicit statutory functions over recruiting, equipping (including R&D), property, and intelligence supervision. It also redesignates the Commandant as the Secretary’s principal assistant and adjusts reporting lines when the Coast Guard is operating as a service in the Navy.
Who It Affects
The statutory changes touch the Commandant and Coast Guard senior leadership, DHS headquarters and budget offices, Congress (for oversight and authorizing committee jurisdictions), and the Department of Defense and Navy when the Coast Guard integrates as a naval service. Career military officers recently on active duty are specifically constrained from immediate appointment to the new Secretary role.
Why It Matters
By codifying a civilian Secretary with enumerated administrative authorities, the bill shifts the locus of accountability and creates a discrete Office of the Secretary of the Coast Guard with delegation authority. That produces new points of contact for procurement, property, and intelligence policy—and likely requires DHS to reallocate personnel, assets, and appropriations to support the new office.
More articles like this one.
A weekly email with all the latest developments on this topic.
What This Bill Actually Does
The bill inserts a new, Senate‑confirmed Secretary of the Coast Guard into the Homeland Security Act and into title 14 of the U.S. Code. Under the new text the Secretary is appointed by the President with Senate advice and consent and is explicitly described as the head of the Coast Guard.
The statutory language enumerates broad administrative and managerial functions—recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping (including research and development), training, maintenance, construction and real property acquisition, and the supervision of intelligence activities—making those responsibilities explicit statutory duties of a civilian Secretary.
To preserve a military operational leader, the bill keeps the Commandant but redesignates the Commandant’s role to assist the Secretary of the Coast Guard. The Commandant remains a Senate‑confirmed officer under title 14 and is tasked, under the Secretary’s authority, with preparing the force for employment, inspecting efficiency, preparing and supervising execution of operational plans, and coordinating organizational action.
The bill also contains an exception for periods when the Coast Guard operates as a service in the Navy: in that instance the Commandant reports directly to the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Coast Guard may act in advisory fashion to the Navy Secretary.The bill makes cross‑title conforming edits: it replaces references to the Secretary of Homeland Security with the Secretary of the Coast Guard in relevant title 10 provisions, amends title 14 formatting and paragraph numbering to accommodate the new Secretary text, and rewrites section 505 (functions vested in the Commandant) to reflect the Commandant’s changed relationship. These are technical but consequential changes because other statutes and regulations that reference the previous chain of command will now point to the Secretary of the Coast Guard.Finally, the bill requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit a reorganization plan to specific congressional committees within 30 days of enactment.
The plan must specify personnel assignments to the new Office of the Secretary of the Coast Guard, legislative changes required to transfer authorities from the Commandant, the steps and timeline for transferring responsibilities, disposition of property and funds, and an effective date. The Secretary of Homeland Security may revise the plan in consultation with the committees until the effective date.
That planning requirement forces DHS to operationalize the new office quickly and to identify legal and budgetary consequences of the transfer.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The statutory text requires the Secretary of the Coast Guard to be appointed from civilian life by the President with Senate confirmation and bars appointment for five years following relief from active duty as a commissioned officer of a regular component of the Armed Forces.
Section-by-section amendments give the Secretary explicit statutory authority over recruitment, organizing, equipping (including research and development), construction and real property acquisition, and the supervision of Coast Guard intelligence activities.
The bill recasts the Commandant as the Secretary’s principal assistant (14 U.S.C. §505), responsible for preparing the Coast Guard for employment and inspecting efficiency, but it preserves a direct Commandant-to‑Navy reporting line when the Coast Guard is operating as a service in the Navy.
The bill updates cross-references in title 10 (including 10 U.S.C. 101(a)(9)(D) and section 8013a) so where statutes previously pointed to the Secretary of Homeland Security they now point to the Secretary of the Coast Guard where appropriate.
DHS must deliver a written reorganization plan to six specific committees within 30 days after enactment detailing personnel assignments, proposed legislative changes, asset and fund transfers, and an effective date, and DHS may revise that plan in consultation with those committees until it takes effect.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
Every bill we cover gets an analysis of its key sections.
Short title
Names the measure the 'Coast Guard Improvement Act of 2025.' This is purely captionary but tells readers and drafters how to refer to the statute in subsequent materials and rulemaking.
Creates Secretary of the Coast Guard in DHS and defines reporting
Adds a new subsection establishing the Secretary of the Coast Guard as a presidentially appointed, Senate‑confirmed position within the Homeland Security Act and restructures internal subsection lettering. The new text requires the Secretary to exercise the powers of the Secretary under 14 U.S.C. §501(a) when the Coast Guard operates as a service in the Department and to report directly to the DHS Secretary. It also codifies that the Secretary of the Coast Guard may advise the Secretary of the Navy when the Coast Guard operates as a naval service and that existing appointment streams under subsection (a) cannot be used to fill the Secretary slot.
Cross‑title reference and textual adjustments
Makes targeted textual changes to title 10 (replacing certain references to the Secretary of Homeland Security with the Secretary of the Coast Guard and updating section citations) and restructures 14 U.S.C. §501 by turning former subsections into numbered paragraphs and adding a new subsection (b) that defines the Secretary of the Coast Guard, the five‑year bar on appointment from recent active duty, and a lengthy list of statutory functions. These changes cascade into other statutory references (e.g., 14 U.S.C. 1137) and require agencies and counsel to revise regulations and internal directives that reference the old language.
Redefines Commandant duties as assisting the Secretary
Rewrites §505 to emphasize the Commandant’s role in assisting the Secretary of the Coast Guard, assigning the Commandant responsibility under the Secretary’s authority for operational preparation, efficiency reporting, and coordination. Practically, this shifts many administrative functions and oversight responsibilities from the Commandant’s independent statutory posture to a subordinate role focused on operational readiness and execution.
30‑day DHS reorganization plan requirement
Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit a detailed reorganization plan to specified Senate and House committees within 30 days of enactment. The plan must spell out personnel assignments to the new Office of the Secretary of the Coast Guard, proposed legislative changes, asset and fund transfers, and an effective date. DHS may revise the plan through the effective date, and the statute names the five Congressional committees that must receive the plan, anchoring the oversight process.
This bill is one of many.
Codify tracks hundreds of bills on Defense across all five countries.
Explore Defense in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Congressional oversight committees — The statute creates a clear, statutory civilian point of contact (the Secretary) for authorization and oversight, simplifying hearings and hold hearings focused on policy, budget, and intelligence oversight.
- DHS civilian leadership and policy staff — The new Secretary holds explicit statutory authority over procurement, facilities, and personnel policy, which centralizes management for civilian officials who run those functions and may speed policy decisions.
- Coast Guard civilian employees and headquarters staff — Consolidation of administrative authorities under a civilian Secretary creates clearer career pathways and a manager with statutory responsibility for morale, welfare, and administrative programs.
Who Bears the Cost
- Commandant and senior military leaders — The Commandant cedes statutory authority over many administrative functions and becomes primarily the military operational lead, reducing independent statutory authority and influence over acquisition and personnel policy.
- Department of Homeland Security — DHS must staff and fund a new Office of the Secretary of the Coast Guard and build or reallocate personnel, real property, records, and budget lines as part of the required reorganization plan, imposing planning and transitional costs.
- Program offices and contractors — Procurement and facilities programs will face transitional uncertainty as statutory ownership moves to a newly constituted civilian office; contracts, property transfers, and funding streams will need review and possible renegotiation.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The bill’s central dilemma is between strengthening civilian accountability for administrative, procurement, and intelligence functions and preserving an unambiguous operational military chain of command; codifying a civilian Secretary clarifies who is responsible for policy and resources but risks friction and ambiguity in operational command and during Navy integration.
The bill creates a durable civilian leadership slot but leaves several implementation questions unresolved. The five‑year bar on appointing recent active‑duty officers narrows the candidate pool and is an explicit policy choice favoring civilian appointees, but the statute does not provide a funding line or appropriation authority tied to establishing the Office of the Secretary of the Coast Guard.
That omission means DHS must reallocate existing personnel and funds or seek future appropriations to fully staff the new office and absorb transferred responsibilities.
Operationally, the bill preserves the Commandant for military leadership but recasts many administrative authorities as civilian responsibilities. That split can improve civilian oversight and procurement discipline, yet it risks coordination frictions: when the Coast Guard serves under the Navy, the Commandant reports to the Navy Secretary while the civilian Secretary retains statutory responsibilities to the DHS Secretary, creating a dual‑track chain of accountability that will require detailed interdepartmental agreements to manage in practice.
The 30‑day deadline for a reorganization plan forces prompt action but may be insufficient to resolve complex statutory and asset transfers across titles 10 and 14 and to reconcile regulatory, contract, and personnel authorities.
Try it yourself.
Ask a question in plain English, or pick a topic below. Results in seconds.