US Capital West Side, by Martin Falbisoner
Because the Coast Guard budget is part of the DHS budget, and a lot of people are not happy with what a DHS agency has been doing, there is a good possibility the Coast Guards will not have a budget beginning in February.
This is yet another reason I believe the Coast Guard should be an independent agency. There are already more than 40 independent agencies including the postal service, NASA, and the CIA.
Six of the Coast Guard’s eleven missions, including SAR are not even considered DHS missions.
The Coast Guard has not benefited from being a part of any Secretary level organization. Our budget request was never presented to the Congress without it being balanced first against other department priorities.
Every year it seems the Coast Guard budget has been increased by bipartisan support in Congress. We don’t need a Secretary of the Coast Guard. Coast Guard leaders can represent the Coast Guard without adding another level of bureaucracy.
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 
I just deleted a comment on this post because it was highly political and really off topic.
I want too keep the discussion non-partisan and on topic.
Everyone is welcomed to comment if we stay on topic.
Personally I think you are headed to the DoN.
The country would certainly benefit from more coordination between the Navy and Coast Guard.
The Air Force does SAR through the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service.
In other nations, notably the UK and France, their navies do maritime law enforcement.
Still it seems most of the world sees the benefits of having a separate Coast Guard.
I do see the possibility of creating a department concerned with exploitation of the oceans including the merchant marine and fisheries that might include the Coast Guard.
If it were up to me, Coast Guard would be independent, and would have NOAA and Fisheries under it.
I think the Coast Guard should be under the Department of Defense, and I have yet to see a good explanation why it isn’t. What do you think about moving the Coast Guard back to the Department of Transportation? Was there any real benefit gained from moving it from DOT to DHS?
I think moving the Coast Guard from the Department of Transportation to DHS after 9/11 was supposed to give the Coast Guard more respect, and for a while it did, but no longer. The current deeply unqualified DHS leaders and their actions have forfeited that department all of its respect from the American people. I no longer even want to wear the DHS golf shirt I got from the Coast Guard Auxiliary, because it would elicit suspicion and anger from Americans now.