I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9836 

To amend title 14, United States Code, to require the establishment of 

the Center of Expertise in Indo-Pacific Maritime Governance, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 

Mr. KELLY of Mississippi (for himself and Mr. CASE) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend title 14, United States Code, to require the establishment of the Center of Expertise in Indo-Pacific Maritime Governance, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pacific Ready Coast 

5 Guard Act’’. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 9836 IH

1 SEC. 2. CENTER OF EXPERTISE IN INDO-PACIFIC MARITIME 

2 GOVERNANCE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of title 14, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing new section: 

6 ‘‘§ 324. Center of Expertise in Indo-Pacific Maritime 

7 Governance 

8 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Commandant of the 

9 Coast Guard shall establish a Center of Expertise in Indo10 Pacific Maritime Governance (in this section referred to 

11 as the ‘Center’). The Commandant shall model the Center 

12 after the International Law Enforcement Academies and 

13 the Department of Defense Institutes. 

14 ‘‘(b) MISSION.—The Center shall be used to provide 

15 and facilitate education, training, and research in mari16 time governance best practices, including how to build re17 gional state capacity. 

18 ‘‘(c) ASSISTANCE.—To assist the Center in carrying 

19 out the mission under subsection (b), upon request of the 

20 Center, the head of any Federal agency may grant to the 

21 Center access to the data, archives, and other resources 

22 of that agency, and may detail any personnel of that agen23 cy to the Center. 

24 ‘‘(d) JOINT OPERATION WITH PARTNER COUN25 TRY.—The Commandant shall seek to engage with appro26 priate representatives of a foreign country selected at the 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 9836 IH

1 discretion of the Commandant to reach an agreement for 

2 the operation of the Center. Any such agreement shall pro3 vide for such country to furnish necessary administrative 

4 services and facilities for the Center, including by— 

5 ‘‘(1) directly providing such services; 

6 ‘‘(2) providing the funds for such services; or 

7 ‘‘(3) coordinating with officials of an institution 

8 of higher education located in such foreign country 

9 for the provision of such services.’’. 

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

11 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 

12 at the end the following new item: 

‘‘324. Center of Expertise in Indo-Pacific Maritime Governance.’’. 

13 SEC. 3. ANNUAL PLAN FOR COAST GUARD OPERATIONS IN 

14 THE PACIFIC. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 51 of title 14, United 

16 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing new sections: 

18 ‘‘§ 5116. Annual plan for Coast Guard operations in 

19 the Pacific 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 31, 

21 2024, and annually thereafter, the Commandant of the 

22 Coast Guard, in consultation with the Secretary of State 

23 and Secretary of Defense, shall submit to the appropriate 

24 congressional committees a plan for Coast Guard oper25 ations in the Pacific region for the year after the year 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 9836 IH

1 during which the plan is submitted. Such plan shall in2 clude, for the year covered by the plan, each of the fol3 lowing elements: 

4 ‘‘(1) A list of objectives for Coast Guard en5 gagement in the Pacific region in support of Depart6 ment of State and Department of Defense missions. 

7 ‘‘(2) An assessment of the capabilities of the 

8 Coast Guard to support Department of State and 

9 Department of Defense missions in the Pacific re10 gion. 

11 ‘‘(3) A list of any areas in the Pacific region 

12 where an increased Coast Guard presence would bet13 ter support Department of State and Department of 

14 Defense missions. 

15 ‘‘(4) The projected demand for Coast Guard en16 gagement in the Pacific region from the Department 

17 of State and the Department of Defense for the year 

18 covered by the plan and the subsequent 10 years. 

19 ‘‘(5) An assessment of whether the Coast 

20 Guard will be able to meet such projected demand 

21 for the year covered by the plan, including a list of 

22 any factors limiting the ability of the Coast Guard 

23 to meet such projected demand. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 9836 IH

1 ‘‘(6) A summary of the resources needed for the 

2 Coast Guard to meet such projected demand for the 

3 year covered by the plan, including— 

4 ‘‘(A) staff; 

5 ‘‘(B) infrastructure, including shore infra6 structure; 

7 ‘‘(C) administrative and logistical support; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(D) technology. 

10 ‘‘(7) Any other matter as determined relevant 

11 by the Commandant. 

12 ‘‘(b) FORM.—Each plan under subsection (a) shall be 

13 submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classi14 fied annex. 

15 ‘‘(c) BRIEFING REQUIRED.—Not later than February 

16 15, 2025, and annually thereafter, the Commandant shall 

17 provide to the appropriate congressional committees a 

18 briefing on the annual plan required under subsection (a) 

19 submitted during the preceding year. 

20 ‘‘(d) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES

21 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘appropriate congres22 sional committees’ means— 

23 ‘‘(1) the Committee on Transportation and In24 frastructure of the House of Representatives; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 9836 IH

1 ‘‘(2) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

2 House of Representatives; 

3 ‘‘(3) the Committee on Armed Services of the 

4 House of Representatives; 

5 ‘‘(4) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

6 Transportation of the Senate; 

7 ‘‘(5) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

8 Senate; and 

9 ‘‘(6) the Committee on Armed Services of the 

10 Senate. 

11 ‘‘§ 5117. Annual budget display for Coast Guard oper12 ations in the Pacific 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than February 15, 

14 2025, and annually thereafter, the Commandant of the 

15 Coast Guard shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

16 committees a detailed budget display for Coast Guard op17 erations in the Pacific region for the fiscal year after the 

18 fiscal year during which the budget display is submitted. 

19 The Commandant shall base such budget display on the 

20 projected demand for Coast Guard engagement in the Pa21 cific region as identified in the most recent annual plan 

22 developed under section 5116 of this title. Such budget 

23 display shall include, for the year covered by the budget 

24 display, the following information: 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 9836 IH

1 ‘‘(1) With respect to procurement accounts, 

2 amounts displayed by account, budget activity, line 

3 number, line item, and line item title. 

4 ‘‘(2) With respect to research, development, 

5 test, and evaluation accounts, amounts displayed by 

6 account, budget activity, line number, program ele7 ment, and program element title. 

8 ‘‘(3) With respect to operation and maintenance 

9 accounts, amounts displayed by account title, budget 

10 activity title, line number, and subactivity group 

11 title. 

12 ‘‘(4) With respect to military personnel ac13 counts, amounts displayed by account, budget activ14 ity, budget subactivity, and budget subactivity title. 

15 ‘‘(b) FORM.—Each display under subsection (a) shall 

16 be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a clas17 sified annex. 

18 ‘‘(c) BRIEFING REQUIRED.—Not later than February 

19 15, 2025, and annually thereafter, the Commandant shall 

20 provide to the appropriate congressional committees a 

21 briefing on the budget display required by subsection (a) 

22 for the fiscal year after the fiscal year during which the 

23 briefing is provided. 

24 ‘‘(d) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES

25 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘appropriate congresVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Oct 10, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9836.IH H9836

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 9836 IH

1 sional committees’ has the meaning given such term in 

2 section 5116 of this title.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

4 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following new items: 

‘‘5116. Annual plan for Coast Guard operations in the Pacific. 

‘‘5117. Annual budget display for Coast Guard operations in the Pacific.’’. 

6 SEC. 4. REPORT ON FEASIBILITY OF STANDING INDO-PA7 CIFIC MARITIME GROUP. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commandant of 

10 the Coast Guard shall submit to the appropriate congres11 sional committees a report on the feasibility of establishing 

12 a standing Indo-Pacific maritime group, modeled after the 

13 Standing NATO Maritime Groups, to conduct humani14 tarian and law enforcement missions in the Indo-Pacific 

15 region. 

16 (b) CONTENTS.—The Commandant shall include in 

17 the report required under subsection (a)— 

18 (1) findings on how such maritime group could 

19 enable the Coast Guard to work more effectively 

20 with partner countries in the Indo-Pacific region 

21 on— 

22 (A) multilateral humanitarian missions; 

23 (B) anti-piracy missions; 

24 (C) emergency responses; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 9836 IH

1 (D) maritime domain awareness issues; 

2 and 

3 (E) the prevention of unregulated and un4 reported fishing efforts; and 

5 (2) any other matters as determined relevant by 

6 the Commandant. 

7 SEC. 5. REPORT ON ESTABLISHMENT OF FORWARD OPER8 ATING BASES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

10 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commandant of 

11 the Coast Guard, in consultation with the Commander of 

12 the United States Indo-Pacific Command, shall submit to 

13 the appropriate congressional committees a report on es14 tablishing forward operating bases in the Indo-Pacific re15 gion. 

16 (b) CONTENTS.—The Commandant shall include in 

17 the report required under subsection (a)— 

18 (1) a description of gaps in Coast Guard oper19 ations in the Indo-Pacific region, including any 

20 logistical problems; 

21 (2) a list of locations selected for the establish22 ment of such forward operating bases, including mo23 bile forward operating bases; 

24 (3) a description of why each location on such 

25 list was selected; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 9836 IH

1 (4) the cost of establishing such forward oper2 ating bases; 

3 (5) the non-monetary resources and approvals 

4 needed to establish such forward operating bases, in5 cluding authorizations and cooperation agreements; 

6 and 

7 (6) a timeline for completing by not later than 

8 January 1, 2030, the establishment of such forward 

9 operating bases. 

10 SEC. 6. REPORT ON COAST GUARD ATTACHE ́ S. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commandant of 

13 the Coast Guard, in consultation with the Secretary of 

14 State, shall submit to the appropriate congressional com15 mittees a report on Coast Guard attache ́s serving in em16 bassies in the Indo-Pacific region. 

17 (b) CONTENTS.—The Commandant shall include in 

18 the report required under subsection (a)— 

19 (1) the number of such attache ́s actively serving 

20 in such embassies; 

21 (2) a list of any such embassies where an in22 creased allocation of such attache ́s could better sup23 port United States objectives in the Indo-Pacific re24 gion; and 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 9836 IH

1 (3) a plan to increase the number of such 

2 attache ́s actively serving in such embassies, includ3 ing the resources and approvals necessary to achieve 

4 such plan. 

5 SEC. 7. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE6 FINED. 

7 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com8 mittees’’ means— 

9 (1) the Committee on Transportation and In10 frastructure of the House of Representatives; 

11 (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

12 House of Representatives; 

13 (3) the Committee on Armed Services of the 

14 House of Representatives; 

15 (4) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

16 Transportation of the Senate; 

17 (5) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

18 Senate; and 

19 (6) the Committee on Armed Services of the 

20 Senate. 

Æ 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS