The U.S. Coast Guard well illustrates the sardonic maxim, “No good deed goes unpunished.” It has managed to carry out its mission despite an aging fleet, cuts in its maintenance budget, and perennial second-tier funding status compared to the other branches of the armed services.

Great at doing more with less and doing so efficiently, the Coast Guard was the first military service to earn an unqualified favorable audit opinion, doing so for two straight years, meaning an independent auditor found it in full compliance with federal laws and accounting standards. For the Coast Guard, “military efficiency” is not an oxymoron.

However, the service is reaching a breaking point, as documented in a recent guest commentary in The Day this past Sunday and in Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft’s State of the Coast Guard Address a month ago.

The average age of a Coast Guard cutter is 46 years. By comparison, the average Navy surface ship is 22. The Coast Guard has seen its acquisition budget cut 40 percent over the last four years. At the current acquisition rate, some cutters will be 55 by the time construction of the next-generation Offshore Patrol Cutter begins.

As for Coast Guard infrastructure on land, the service estimates it needs $1.4 billion to repair and modernize its facilities, while the budget contains just $40 million.

The lack of fiscal support comes at a time when demands on the service are greater than ever. A melting Arctic region means greater patrol duties. The continuing terrorism threat demands tighter port security. Climate change is expected to lead to more coastal storms and flooding, with the Coast Guard providing disaster relief. It must enforce the regulations enacted to protect declining fish populations, just to name a few of the responsibilities.

When Republicans objected to President Obama’s immigration policies, they threatened to hold up Department of Homeland Security funding, including for the Coast Guard. Fortunately, GOP congressional leaders came to their senses and Congress approved a Homeland budget through the end of the fiscal year in September, but Adm. Zukunft warns that bringing the reliability of funding into question is disruptive to critical operations.

As debate on the 2016 fiscal year budget commences, Congress and the president need to be mindful of the challenges confronting the Coast Guard and start providing it the additional resources necessary to meet them.