Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) defended the U.S. Coast Guard for continuing to work while not getting paid during the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, noting that “America loses” as a result of the shutdown.
In a post on X, Fetterman shared a screenshot of an article from the Oregonian about how a Coast Guard crew had saved a 25-year-old man who had been “on a rafting trip” and had gotten lost in the woods for several days.
“The Coast Guard saved an injured man from the wilderness and isn’t getting paid,” Fetterman wrote. “I voted to pay those heroes. Shutting DHS down has no functionality on ICE or any reforms. It only hurts our workers and America loses.”
Fetterman’s post comes as the U.S. Coast Guard is continuing to carry out duties such as responding “to oil spills and hazardous chemical releases” as well as conducting “law enforcement and security patrols,” though thousands of members of the U.S. Coast Guard may not receive their paychecks due to the DHS shutdown, the Stars and Stripes reported.
Per the outlet, “under federal law” Coast Guard members will be “reimbursed for lost earnings”:
Coast Guard operations are covered by “expected” provisions of the federal budget. Service members must continue to perform their duties, even without pay. Under federal law, they are reimbursed for lost earnings. Unlike other uniformed services, the Coast Guard is not part of the Defense Department and falls under the Department of Homeland Security.
“The Coast Guard is focusing on those operations authorized by law that provide for national security or that protect life and property,” Lt. Krystal Wolfe, who serves as a spokeswoman for the Coast Guard, said in a statement, according to the outlet.
In a press release from DHS on Sunday, it was revealed that “after a week of being shutdown” the DHS was taking “emergency measures to preserve limited funds and personnel to mitigate the national security and public safety damage.”
