Cochran seeks millions for ship Coast Guard doesn’t need

WASHINGTON – Sen. Thad Cochran used his clout as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee last month to add $640 million to a spending bill for a ninth Coast Guard National Security Cutter to be built in his home state of Mississippi.

The Coast Guard, however, says it doesn’t need the ship and made that clear to lawmakers.

Cochran said he pushed to include the money in the fiscal 2016 Homeland Security appropriations bill because it’s “important to our national security.’’ The Appropriations Committee approved the spending bill on June 18 and it now heads to the Senate floor.

Earmarking, lawmakers’ practice of inserting money for home-state projects into spending bills, was banned by the Senate in 2010. But it’s still possible for a powerful committee chairman like Cochran to steer funds to his state.

Democrats and government watchdog groups complain that money for the cutter, which would be built in Pascagoula, could be spent on other Coast Guard priorities.

“This is essentially a $640 million earmark for Huntington Ingalls to build another cutter,’’ said Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense. “It wasn’t in the president’s budget. The Coast Guard isn’t clamoring for it.’’

Coast Guard officials say they need only eight cutters, which they say serve as the centerpieces of their fleet. The cutters support maritime homeland security and defense missions. Three already are operating in Alameda, California, and one is operating in Charleston, South Carolina.

“We have a few more on the way to bring us to eight,’’ said Chad Saylor, a spokesman for the Coast Guard. “From a Coast Guard perspective, that’s what we’re asking for.’’

Saylor said the agency’s top priority is getting more Offshore Patrol Cutters to replace aging medium-endurance cutters.

“That will bridge the gap between the National Security Cutters and the newer fast-response cutters,’’ he said.

Earlier this year, Coast Guard Admiral Paul Zukunft told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security that eight cutters would complete the fleet and the Offshore Patrol Cutter will be a “critical piece’’ of the Coast Guard’s strategy.

New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, top Democrat on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, raised concerns about the cutter funding.

“The concern was that the Coast Guard had not said that they need that particular ship right now,’’ Shaheen said Wednesday. “I’ve already voted for it, so I think it’s a moot point.’’

The news that Cochran had inserted money for the cutter in the Homeland Security spending bill was first reported by CQ Roll Call.

Cochran defended the move, saying the cutter is needed to help protect against terrorism and other threats, and would help the Coast Guard modernize its fleet.

“The current Coast Guard production goal for only eight National Security Cutters is based on dated assessments and is insufficient to meet current or future requirements,” he said in a press release.

John Bruce, a political scientist at the University of Mississippi, said it’s not uncommon for lawmakers to push for such funding, even against the relevant agency’s wishes. He noted that shipbuilding is one of the few high-dollar industries in Mississippi.

“For as long as we’ve had a budget in the United States, budgeting is a political act,’’ Bruce said. “Putting money in the state is good for the state.’’

Before the 2010 earmarks ban, Cochran had a long history of steering federal money for special projects to Mississippi.

“Mississippi is a poor state that needs every dollar and job it can get,’’ said David Bositis, a political analyst who specializes in Southern politics. “It is a good thing for Mississippi, whether the Coast Guard asked for it or not, and Cochran represents Mississippi.’’

Cochran said recently that defense spending supports many jobs around the country, and that building ships is something his state does well.

“There are always new ships being built in Mississippi,” he said. “We’re very pleased to be a site for the construction of world-class ships.’’