Chairman McDowell convened the House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee to review the U.S. Coast Guard's law enforcement missions, hearing testimony from Rear Admiral David Baratta and Heather McLeod of the Government Accountability Office.

Rear Admiral Baratta highlighted recent enforcement results and the service's operational posture, saying the Coast Guard's crews and partners "yielded historic results, removing more than 500,000 pounds of cocaine and denying criminal networks access to over $3,400,000,000 in revenue." He told the panel cutters, aircraft, boarding teams and partnerships enable interdictions of drugs, migrants and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The admiral described operations against so-called "dark" or "ghost" fleets of tankers, saying boarded vessels have frequently presented false documents and substandard safety systems: "everything that we would normally require on a tanker to even operate in The United States ... we presume that they don't have it." He said the Coast Guard is using marine inspectors, salvage experts and tugs to reduce environmental and safety risks posed by those vessels.

GAO's Heather McLeod flagged persistent challenges that limit the Coast Guard's ability to sustain enforcement at scale. McLeod told the committee that cutter and aircraft availability has declined, that acquisition programs such as the offshore patrol cutter and polar security cutter are "billions of dollars over their initial cost estimates and years behind schedule," and that staffing shortfalls, particularly in specialized units, hamper mission performance. She emphasized GAO recommendations to improve data and information for decision-making so the service can measure trade-offs across missions.

Members pressed witnesses on legal authority for boarding and prosecution. Admiral Baratta said the service relies on customary international law and the right of visit to determine a vessel's status and then uses Title 14 authorities once jurisdiction is established. On prosecutions, panelists discussed the intelligence value of interviews and biometrics taken from interdicted individuals even where broader prosecutorial policy may shift.

Committee members also asked about technology and force design. Baratta described investments in autonomous systems and a program called Coastal Sentinel that pairs radars, unmanned air and water systems and ISR to provide persistent maritime domain awareness and inform asset tasking.

The subcommittee did not take formal votes. The committee asked that witness statements be entered into the record and agreed unanimously to leave the hearing record open for 15 days for additional materials. The hearing concluded with members saying they would press for continued funding and oversight to ensure new assets are delivered and maintained.

The committee adjourned without further action; the record was left open for additional submissions.