The Howard Coble Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2014 (, formerly ) is a statute of the United States that governs the activities of the United States Coast Guard (USCG), the Maritime Administration (MARAD) within the Department of Transportation, and the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC). The bill also would authorize appropriations totaling about $17.5 billion, primarily for ongoing USCG operations over the 2015-2016 period. The Act was introduced during the 113th United States Congress, passed the Senate and House on December 10, 2014, and was signed into law on December 18, 2014. Related bills from the U.S. House of Representatives include and . Background The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the U.S. military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission (with jurisdiction in both domestic and international waters) and a federal regulatory agency mission as part of its mission set. It operates under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security during peacetime, and can be transferred to the U.S. Department of the Navy by the U.S. President at any time, or by the U.S. Congress during times of war. To date, this has happened twice, in 1917 and 1941, during World War I and World War II, respectively. Today, the United States Coast Guard carries out three basic roles, which are further subdivided into eleven statutory missions. The three roles are Maritime safety, Maritime security, and Maritime stewardship. The Coast Guard has eleven statutory missions, defined by law, that are divided into homeland security missions and non-homeland security (or legacy) missions. The Coast Guard's legacy missions include: Marine safety, search and rescue, aids to navigation, living marine resources (fisheries law enforcement), marine environmental protection, and ice operations. The Coast Guard's Homeland security missions include: Ports, waterways, and coastal security (PWCS); drug interdiction; migrant interdiction; defense readiness; and other law enforcement. Provisions of the act A summary of provisions of the Act is available on the Congress.gov website. Congressional Budget Office report This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the Congressional Budget Office, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on February 11, 2014. This is a public domain source. The Act amended the laws that govern the activities of the United States Coast