WASHINGTON, DC – In honor of the U.S Navy turning 249 years old, Representatives Donald Norcross (D-NJ) and Don Bacon (R-NE) introduced the Save Our Ships Act to help preserve historic U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships and submarines to display in museums and memorials. 

Ship museums across the country provide educational programs to over half a million youth and support over 2,000 enlistments, retirements, and commissioning ceremonies every year, all while contributing $1 billion annually to the economy. However, many historic naval ships don’t get the opportunity to be displayed due to the challenges of physical preservation and maintenance. The Save Our Ships Act addresses this problem by creating the Historic Naval Ship Preservation Grant Program, which would provide funding for physical upkeep and educational programs for these ships and submarines. 

“I’m proud to introduce the Save Our Ships Act to make it easier to preserve our historic naval ships and submarines, like the Battleship New Jersey in Camden,” said Rep. Norcross. “The educational opportunities that come from preserving these historic vessels are priceless. We must ensure students and families can learn about the rich history of our Navy and Coast Guard and inspire the next generation of shipbuilders and servicemembers.”     

“Omaha’s Freedom Park is home to the USS Marlin SST-2 and the USS Hazard AM-240, a minesweeper and submarine, which have both undergone major restoration work over the years due to flooding in 2011, 2015 and 2019,” said Rep. Bacon. “But a dedicated group of volunteers work tirelessly to keep these and other items at the park in pristine condition so that visitors can get a taste of living history. I’m thrilled to join Rep. Norcross on this legislation that will create a competitive grant program to help museums that house these treasures perform some of the needed maintenance.” 

"The Historic Naval Ships Association supports this legislation to bring needed funding to decommissioned museum ships. HNSA represents more than 150 museum ships around the world, including more than 70 collections of warships that defended the United States of America,” said Ryan Szimanski, Executive Director of the Historic Naval Ships Association. “HNSA member ships saw action in nearly every American war but now are at a crossroads where the funding required to maintain these critical maritime heritage assets, educational resources, recruiting tools, and career development platforms is more than their organizations can handle alone. The sinking of USS The Sullivans in April 2022 and the loss or scrapping of other museum ships in recent years have led many of our member warships to start major hull maintenance projects. Still, there is not enough funding to support the maintenance of all our irreplaceable ships. We’re grateful to this legislation's sponsors for advocating to maintain these pieces of living history." 

The members were joined by Representatives Ed Case (D-HI), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Troy Carter (D-LA), Dan Kildee (D-MI), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Tim Kennedy (D-NY), and Jen Kiggans (R-VA) in introducing the bill. 

For bill text, click here. 

For one-pager, click here. 

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