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Chair warns shuttering of women's programs could weaken Coast Guard's sexual-assault reforms
Summary
The chair told witnesses that shuttering the Women's Leadership Initiative, Federally Employed Women and the Women's Leadership Council risks limiting women's input and could hinder Congress-enacted reforms from Operation Fouled Anchor; she urged immediate, complete implementation of reforms including expedited transfers and confidential reporting.
The chair told witnesses the administration's decision to end or curtail several women-focused programs risks undermining the Coast Guard's efforts to curb sexual assault and harassment.
"It is unacceptable the Coast Guard has not yet restored the dozens of stations that have been closed or downgraded since 2024," the chair said in broader remarks about operations, then turned to personnel-policy concerns: the chair argued that shuttering the Women's Leadership Initiative, Federally Employed Women and the Women's Leadership Council "limits the voice of women in the service," removing perspectives needed to develop policies to combat sexual assault and harassment.
The chair referenced congressional reforms enacted after Operation Fouled Anchor and listed measures Congress required: expedited transfers for victims and survivors, updated processes for obtaining protective orders, and establishment of a confidential reporting system. She said "the women and men of the Coast Guard deserve the immediate and complete implementation of these reforms" and pressed witnesses to explain implementation status during questioning.
The hearing will examine how the Coast Guard is implementing the Operation Fouled Anchor reforms and whether organizational changes have affected investigators' and survivors' access to the protections Congress intended.
