Coast Guard Utility Disruptions During 75-Day DHS Funding Lapse

U.S. Coast Guard facilities worldwide, 75 days into a partial government shutdown that has left the Department of Homeland Security without funding. Water outages struck Station Channel Islands in California in April 2026 and duty stations in Port Huron, Michigan, in the past week due to unpaid bills.

Natural gas lines were temporarily locked at Air Station Barbers Point in Kapolei, Hawaii, on March 21, 2026, amid the funding lapse. A power outage at a recruiting station in St. Louis, Missouri, forced officers to operate by flashlight until electricity was restored.

Electricity was also cut off to the residence of a Coast Guard rear admiral in New Orleans, compelling his family to drive to a hotel until service resumed. Nearly 1,000 Coast Guard housing units are at risk of electricity shutoffs, with 43% of housing units having invoices more than 30 days past due.

U.S. 2 million. Duty stations and military housing worldwide face service shutdowns as a result. Coast Guard Commandant Adm.

Kevin Lunday told CBS News' Nicole Sganga, 'It seems like a horror movie, but it's actually happening. Lunday added, 'We have over 6,000 utility bills that have been unpaid because DHS is not funded. He described the affected sites: 'These are stations where our crews are standing by to respond at a moment's notice to any Mariner in distress or any threat to the nation.

Utilities are restored in many cases after Coast Guard personnel call providers and request leniency. Lunday said, 'In most cases, the people we're talking to … those providers are turning it back on, even though they're not being paid. The shutdown has stretched 75 days since DHS funding lapsed.

She added, 'So many of our spouses work on base. So they miss three and a half paychecks in a world where you need two paychecks. Lunday stated, 'This is incredibly frustrating. He continued, 'It's more than a breach of trust.

Our Coast Guard men and women, whether they're active duty or reserve military civilians, they've stepped forward and taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution. In early April 2026, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said DHS employees and the Coast Guard would be paid for the first six weeks of the shutdown and the next pay period using executive action and existing funding flexibility.

That funding is now exhausted.

Coast Guard will run out of funding to pay personnel on May 1, 2026, with the first missed paychecks expected on May 15, 2026. A civilian Coast Guard worker in Ketchikan, Alaska, who is a machinist and longtime employee, continued reporting to work during a previous shutdown and sold his truck to pay his mortgage after weeks without pay.

Coast Guard personnel are stationed in the Middle East amid the war in Iran. U.S. Coast Guard personnel stationed in the Indo-Pacific are boarding ghost fleet oil tankers in missions. Lunday said, 'We have people in harm's way at this hour, conducting military operations along with other military services.

And it is hard to imagine that part of our armed forces would not be funded. U.S. Coast Guard has nearly 45,000 active-duty members and is the only one of the six armed services that falls under DHS, unlike other military branches funded through the Defense Department.

Manfre said, 'It is really disheartening because our members raise their hand just like every other service member. Only 1% of this country serves, and they willingly go wherever — they are fighting right now against Iran. It feels like it doesn't matter.

Like we don't matter because we are not DOD or DOW. Lunday said uncertainty around pay has delayed major life decisions, including medical treatments due to co-pay concerns, among Coast Guard ranks and families. Manfre said members of Congress went on recess while military families canceled vacations and summer camps due to financial uncertainty.

She added, 'The difference between children having a temper tantrum and Congress shutting us down is they're doing it on our backs. We're the ones that are suffering. Congress continues to get paid.

U.S. Coast Guard has canceled 30 national security exercises and halted training ahead of the World Cup and America 250 due to the shutdown. Lunday said, 'It's hollowing out our operational readiness. He added, 'My biggest concern about readiness is whether or not their heads are in the game.

Coast Guard relocates each year, but moving advances are unavailable due to the shutdown, leading personnel to use credit cards, deplete savings, or take out loans. Lunday confirmed that Coast Guard personnel are going into personal debt to follow orders.

Manfre said, 'I would imagine if there are no funds, but the Coast Guard's mission has to continue, we will be asked to save up or use our credit cards if we have to in order to front this move. That is the reality. There is a backlog of nearly 19,000 merchant mariner credentials, representing roughly 10% of the entire workforce, along with roughly 5,000 medical certifications for merchant mariners.

Coast Guard has suspended permitting during the shutdown, putting bridge projects at risk. U.S. waterways every year, and Lunday said, 'The Coast Guard's responsible for making sure that happens safely and securely.

Coast Guard. U.S. Coast Guard are no longer administrative or abstract. He added, 'Well, we've taken an oath, all of us in the military, in the DHS, to support and defend the Constitution. And we're going to do it as long as we have the ability.