The Coast Guard's FY2012 budget appeared to request $975.5 million in acquisition funding for these programs, including $289.9 million for aircraft, $512.0 million for surface ships and boats, and $173.6 million for other items. FY2012 Budget Proposed Dropping Use of Term "Deepwater"

Reflecting the 2007 change to a collection of separate acquisition programs, the Coast Guard's proposed FY2012 budget submission proposed to eliminate the use of "Deepwater" as a term for grouping or referring collectively to these acquisition programs. Consistent with the dissolution of Integrated CG Systems and the disaggregation of the Deepwater Acquisition into asset-based Acquisition Program Baselines, the proposed changes align projects that were formerly grouped under Integrated Deepwater Systems (IDS) with the existing authorized structure for Vessels, Aviation, Shore, Other Equipment, and Personnel and Management. House and Senate committees held several oversight hearings on the program, at which non-Coast Guard, non-ICGS witnesses, and several Members of Congress strongly criticized the management and execution of the program. Coast Guard Reform Actions in 2007

In 2007, as the Coast Guard's management and execution of the then-integrated Deepwater program was being strongly criticized by various observers, the Coast Guard announced a number of reform actions that significantly altered the service's approach to Deepwater acquisition (and to Coast Guard acquisition in general). Among these was the change from a single, integrated Deepwater acquisition program to a collection of separate Deepwater acquisition programs. Oversight Issues for Congress

These acquisition programs have been a focus of congressional oversight for several years. Potential Options for Congress

In addition to approving or modifying the Coast Guard's requests for acquisition funding these acquisition programs, potential options for Congress regarding these programs include but are not limited to the following:
continue to track the Coast Guard's management and execution of these acquisition programs, including implementation of reform actions announced by the Coast Guard itself or recommended by GAO; modify reporting requirements for these acquisition programs; prohibit the obligation or expenditure of funding for these acquisition programs until the Coast Guard or DHS takes certain actions or makes certain certifications; and pass legislation to codify acquisition reforms for these programs that the Coast Guard has already announced, or to change acquisition policies and practices for Deepwater acquisition programs in other ways. In response to criticisms of the management and execution of the Deepwater program, Coast Guard and industry officials acknowledged certain problems in the program's management and execution and defended the program's management execution in other respects.
The term Deepwater referred to more than a dozen separate Coast Guard acquisition programs for replacing and modernizing the service's aging fleet of deepwater-capable ships and aircraft. Until April 2007, the Coast Guard pursued these programs as a single, integrated acquisition program that was known as the Integrated Deepwater System (IDS) program or Deepwater program for short. Since April 2007, the Coast Guard has pursued them as separate acquisition programs. These acquisition programs include plans for, among other things, 91 new cutters, 124 new small boats, and 247 new or modernized airplanes, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The Coast Guard's proposed FY2012 budget submission proposed to eliminate the use of "Deepwater" as a term for grouping or referring collectively to these acquisition programs. The budget submission stated that "Consistent with the dissolution of Integrated CG Systems and the disaggregation of the Deepwater Acquisition into asset-based Acquisition Program Baselines, the proposed changes align projects that were formerly grouped under Integrated Deepwater Systems (IDS) with the existing authorized structure for Vessels, Aviation, Shore, Other Equipment, and Personnel and Management."
The year 2007 was a watershed year for these acquisition programs. The management and execution of what was then the single, integrated Deepwater program was strongly criticized by various observers. House and Senate committees held several oversight hearings on the program. Bills were introduced to restructure or reform the program in various ways. Coast Guard and industry officials acknowledged certain problems in the program's management and execution and defended the program's management and execution in other respects. The Coast Guard announced a number of reform actions that significantly altered the service's approach to Deepwater acquisition (and to Coast Guard acquisition in general). Among these was the change from a single, integrated Deepwater acquisition program to a collection of separate acquisition programs.
The Coast Guard's management of these acquisition programs, including implementation of recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), has been a topic of continuing congressional oversight. Additional oversight issues have included reporting of information to Congress on these programs; cost growth in, and budget planning for, these acquisition programs; a Coast Guard fleet mix analysis that could lead to changes in planned asset quantities; and execution of individual acquisition programs.
The Coast Guard's FY2012 budget appeared to request $975.5 million in acquisition funding for these programs, including $289.9 million for aircraft, $512.0 million for surface ships and boats, and $173.6 million for other items.