LAWMAKERS PUSH FOR COAST GUARD MUSEUM FUNDING

The Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday approved an amendment authored by U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., that would permanently lift the restriction on federal funding being used to construct the National Coast Guard Museum planned for downtown New London.

Blumenthal, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, were successful in changing legislation to allow federal funding to be used for the interior aspects of the museum. Five million dollars was allotted for initial appraising, cataloging and organizing of artifacts to be displayed in the museum as part of the $1 trillion spending bill funding the government for the remainder of the 2017 fiscal year.

Still, no federal funds can go toward actual brick-and-mortar construction of the museum.

“This misguided limitation has uniquely penalized the Coast Guard Museum — hampering local efforts to honor the legacy of the Coast Guard in New London. I will continue to fight to ensure this provision secures full passage without further restriction, providing the Coast Guard Museum the unfettered federal aid and support it has always deserved,” Blumenthal said in a prepared statement.

The language Blumenthal secured in the Commerce Committee expands the Coast Guard’s flexibility to use funds for bigger, larger-scale construction efforts, according to a news release from his office.