H. Res. 1382 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

September 29, 2008. 

Whereas the Coast Guard, including its predecessor organizations, has a long and distinguished heritage dating back 

to the very first Congress in 1789; 

Whereas the Coast Guard is now in its 219th year of protecting the coast, saving life and property, protecting the 

environment, and ensuring the safety of life and property 

at sea; 

Whereas the Coast Guard and its predecessor organizations 

have been responsible for safe navigation since Congress— 

(1) authorized ‘‘the necessary support, maintenance 

and repairs of all lighthouse, beacons, buoys’’, and specifically authorized the construction of the first Federal 

lighthouse at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, on August 7, 1789; and 

(2) established the Lighthouse Board on October 9, 

1852; 

Whereas the Coast Guard and its predecessor organizations 

have, since September 1, 1789, been responsible for registering (documenting) vessels of the United States; 

Whereas the Coast Guard and its predecessor organizations 

have protected the coast since Congress authorized the 
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President to build and equip ten revenue cutters, on August 4, 1790, which were to be paid for from ‘‘duties on 

goods, wares and merchandise, imported into the United 

States, and on the tonnage of ships or vessels’’; 

Whereas the Coast Guard and its predecessor organizations 

have inspected vessels since Congress adopted, on July 7, 

1838, an Act ‘‘to provide better security of the lives of 

passengers on board of vessels propelled in whole or in 

part by steam’’, thus beginning the Steamboat Inspection 

Service; 

Whereas the Coast Guard and its predecessor organizations 

have conducted lifesaving operations along our coasts 

since Congress first appropriated funding for life-saving 

equipment for the use of volunteers on August 14, 1848, 

the first lifesaving stations were authorized on June 20, 

1874, and the Life-Saving Service was established by Act 

of Congress on June 19, 1878; 

Whereas the Coast Guard and its predecessor organizations 

have had ‘‘superintendence of all commercial marine and 

merchant seamen of the United States . . .’’; been 

‘‘charged with the supervision of the laws relating to the 

admeasurement of vessels, and the assigning of signal letters thereto, and designating their official number . . .’’; 

and ‘‘annually prepare and publish a list of vessels of the 

United States . . .’’ since Congress established Shipping 

Commissioners on June 7, 1872, and established the Bureau of Navigation on July 5, 1884; 

Whereas the Revenue Cutter Service and the Life-Saving 

Service were merged, by Act of Congress signed into law 

on January 28, 1915, to form the Coast Guard as an 

agency of the Department of the Treasury; 
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Whereas the Lighthouse Service became part of the Coast 

Guard on July 1, 1939, as part of a government reorganization plan adopted by Congress on April 3, 1939; 

Whereas the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation (a 

merger of the Steamboat Inspection Service and the Bureau of Navigation) became part of the Coast Guard in 

another reorganization in July 1946; 

Whereas the Coast Guard was transferred from the Department of the Treasury to the newly established Department of Transportation on April 1, 1967; and 

Whereas the Coast Guard was transferred to the newly established Department of Homeland Security in March 2003: 

Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives recognizes 

and honors all the men and women of the Coast Guard and 

its predecessor organizations since August 7, 1789. 

Attest: 

Clerk.