Nomination of Vice Admiral Karl L. Schultz, to Be Promoted to Admiral and to Be Commandant, United States Coast Guard
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S. HRG. 115–772 NOMINATION OF VICE ADMIRAL KARL L. SCHULTZ, TO BE PROMOTED TO ADMIRAL AND TO BE COMMANDANT, UNITED STATES COAST GUARD HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION APRIL 17, 2018 Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation ( Available online: http://www.govinfo.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 39–949 PDF WASHINGTON : 2020 VerDate Nov 24 2008 13:41 Mar 04, 2020 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 S:\GPO\DOCS\39949.TXT JACKIE SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JOHN THUNE, South Dakota, Chairman ROGER WICKER, Mississippi BILL NELSON, Florida, Ranking ROY BLUNT, Missouri MARIA CANTWELL, Washington TED CRUZ, Texas AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota DEB FISCHER, Nebraska RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut JERRY MORAN, Kansas BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts DEAN HELLER, Nevada TOM UDALL, New Mexico JAMES INHOFE, Oklahoma GARY PETERS, Michigan MIKE LEE, Utah TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire CORY GARDNER, Colorado CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada TODD YOUNG, Indiana JON TESTER, Montana NICK ROSSI, Staff Director ADRIAN ARNAKIS, Deputy Staff Director JASON VAN BEEK, General Counsel KIM LIPSKY, Democratic Staff Director CHRIS DAY, Democratic Deputy Staff Director RENAE BLACK, Senior Counsel (II) VerDate Nov 24 2008 13:41 Mar 04, 2020 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\GPO\DOCS\39949.TXT JACKIE C O N T E N T S Page Hearing held on April 17, 2018 .............................................................................. 1 Statement of Senator Wicker .................................................................................. 1 Statement of Senator Nelson .................................................................................. 2 Statement of Senator Klobuchar ............................................................................ 18 Statement of Senator Hassan ................................................................................. 20 Statement of Senator Sullivan ............................................................................... 22 Statement of Senator Peters ................................................................................... 25 Statement of Senator Lee ....................................................................................... 28 Statement of Senator Blumenthal .......................................................................... 30 Statement of Senator Baldwin ................................................................................ 32 Statement of Senator Thune ................................................................................... 34 Letter dated April 10, 2018 to Admiral Paul F. Zukunft, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard from Dennis Daugaard, Governor, State of South Dakota ............................................................................................................ 36 Statement of Senator Cortez Masto ....................................................................... 37 Statement of Senator Cantwell .............................................................................. 39 Statement of Senator Moore Capito ....................................................................... 40 Statement of Senator Cruz ..................................................................................... 42 WITNESS Vice Admiral Karl L. Schultz, to be promoted to Admiral and to be Com- mandant, United States Coast Guard ................................................................ 3 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 5 Biographical information ................................................................................. 9 APPENDIX Response to written questions submitted to Vice Admiral Karl L. Schultz by: Hon. Roger Wicker ........................................................................................... 47 Hon. Dan Sullivan ............................................................................................ 47 Hon. Jim Inhofe ................................................................................................ 49 Hon. Todd Young .............................................................................................. 50 Hon. Bill Nelson ............................................................................................... 50 Hon. Maria Cantwell ........................................................................................ 50 Hon. Brian Schatz ............................................................................................ 55 Hon. Gary Peters .............................................................................................. 57 Hon. Tammy Baldwin ...................................................................................... 66 Hon. Catherine Cortez Masto .......................................................................... 67 (III) VerDate Nov 24 2008 13:41 Mar 04, 2020 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\GPO\DOCS\39949.TXT JACKIE VerDate Nov 24 2008 13:41 Mar 04, 2020 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\GPO\DOCS\39949.TXT JACKIE NOMINATION OF VICE ADMIRAL KARL L. SCHULTZ, TO BE PROMOTED TO ADMIRAL AND TO BE COMMANDANT, UNITED STATES COAST GUARD TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2018 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION, Washington, DC. The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m. in room SR– 253, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Roger Wicker, presiding. Present: Senators Wicker [presiding], Thune, Lee, Heller, Cruz, Moore Capito, Sullivan, Nelson, Cantwell, Klobuchar, Blumenthal, Baldwin, Peters, Hassan, and Cortez Masto. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ROGER WICKER, U.S. SENATOR FROM MISSISSIPPI Senator WICKER. Good morning, one and all. Thank you for your attendance and interest today. Today we will consider the nomina- tion of Vice Admiral Karl Schultz to be promoted to Admiral and to become the 26th Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has had a tremendous year by all accounts. As our Nation’s smallest armed service, it has repeatedly shown its value to the American people. The Coast Guard yielded record re- sults last year in its mission to combat the flow of illegal narcotics by transnational criminal organizations. In total, the Coast Guard interdicted more than $6.6 billion worth of cocaine and other drugs before they could reach our shores, while apprehending more than 600 smugglers for prosecution. This past fall, we experienced one of the most catastrophic hurri- cane seasons on record. Hurricane Harvey in Texas, Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean and Southeast United States, Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, and Hurricane Nate along the Gulf Coast caused an unprecedented $200 billion in damages. This eclipsed the previous record of $159 billion, which we experienced in 2005 from Hurricane Katrina. And yet for every storm that battered our shores, the Coast Guard answered the call, surging personnel from all over the coun- try to provide relief to affected communities. The Coast Guard esti- mates that the heroic actions of their men and women saved more than 11,000 lives. Despite these noteworthy results, there are numerous challenges ahead for the service as it continues to take on more and more re- sponsibility. We are seeing significant increases in vessel traffic in (1) VerDate Nov 24 2008 13:41 Mar 04, 2020 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\GPO\DOCS\39949.TXT JACKIE 2 the Arctic as opening waterways offer new commercial opportuni- ties for the maritime industry. The Coast Guard will be relied upon for search and rescue, fisheries management, and environmental enforcement in these hazardous waters. Currently, the Coast Guard is performing its missions with anti- quated equipment and aging ships that are in constant danger of breaking down. The Coast Guard’s sole heavy icebreaker, the POLAR STAR, was commissioned in 1967 and is a single point of failure for the U.S. presence in the Arctic. Other legacy assets, such as the high endurance cutters and the inland river tenders are more than 40 and 50 years old. The Coast Guard is in the midst of a major recapitalization ef- fort. It is Congress’ responsibility to assist in this effort and to pro- vide the Coast Guard with adequate resources to meet increasing demands. I am pleased to report that the Senate will finally be considering the Coast Guard Authorization Act during this work period. Mem- bers from both sides of the aisle worked to pass this bill through the Committee last June. After more than 10 months, it is well past time that we move forward with this important piece of legis- lation. This bill would provide the Coast Guard with the pro- grammatic authorities necessary to address future challenges. Vice Admiral Karl Schultz is well qualified to lead the Coast Guard during this critical and challenging time. Throughout his 35 years of service, he has proven to be a trustworthy and capable leader. As the Atlantic Area Commander, Vice Admiral Schultz oversees all Coast Guard operations from the Rocky Mountains to the Arabian Gulf. He also serves as Commander, Defense Force East, where he is responsible for providing Coast Guard mission support