Executive Order 13115: Interagency Task Force on the Roles and Missions of the United States Coast Guard
President: Bill Clinton
Created a temporary interagency review of Coast Guard roles, especially deepwater missions.
Status: In effect. Is Executive Order 13115 still in effect? Yes. Executive Order 13115 remains in effect. See Federal Register record.
What does Executive Order 13115 do?
EO 13115 set up a federal task force to recommend what the Coast Guard should do through 2020. It asked the group to examine missions beyond 50 nautical miles from shore in particular, while assuming the Coast Guard would remain both a law-enforcement agency and an armed force. The task force was to last six months from its first meeting unless extended, then report through the Transportation Secretary. GAO later recorded its December 1999 report, which reaffirmed Coast Guard roles and supported the importance of the Deepwater Project. The order requested advice; it did not itself buy ships or transfer missions.
Before and after
Before the order
Coast Guard deepwater replacement planning raised questions about future mission needs and investment.
After the order
A temporary task force examined roles and proposed recommendations.
GAO recorded that the group reported in December 1999; subsequent procurement decisions remained separate.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Interagency task force | Review roles and missions and give reasons for recommendations | Historical six-month review |
| Transportation Secretary | Select leadership and receive report for the President | 1999 |
| Coast Guard | Provide administrative and financial support | During task-force work |
What happened next
EO 13115 established an interagency review of Coast Guard roles through 2020.
EO 13138 added the Departments of the Treasury and ONDCP to the task force.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
The order created an advisory process within the executive branch. Its methodology expressly assumed continued Coast Guard law-enforcement and armed-force status. It did not independently alter statutory missions or appropriate Deepwater funds.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
- GovInfo — EO 13115 (opens in a new tab) Order text
- GovInfo — EO 13138 (opens in a new tab) Order text
- GAO — Coast Guard Deepwater project (opens in a new tab) Official record
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on October 1, 2026. How we research →