Washington, D.C.—Today, Rep. Mike Bost (IL-12) helped lead the fight to defeat an amendment that would have stripped the U.S. Maritime industry of $500 million in funding for the Maritime Security Program housed at Scott Air Force Base.  Bost authored a letter to House colleagues yesterday urging the House to reject the amendment offered by Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) to H.R. 702, an energy security bill.

“Funding for the Maritime Security Program at Scott Air Force Base is essential in strengthening our military readiness,” said Bost.  “This helps fund the 60-vessel fleet of ships that are a vital element of our national defense.  This was a fight not just for my home district, but for the security of our nation.  I am pleased we were successful in maintaining funding.”

General Darren McDew, Commander of the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) at Scott Air Force Base, says the 60-ship fleet is necessary to meet the global cargo requirement for our deployed military. 

The underlying energy security bill passed the House without Amash’s amendment attached. 

H.R. 702 will:

• Lift the misguided de facto ban on the export of domestically-produced crude oil;

• Help create thousands of new jobs in the oil and gas sector and manufacturers, such as U.S. Steel in Granite City;

• Generate $1.4 billion in profits over the next 10 years from oil and gas leases;

• Lower gas prices by 1.5 to 13 cents per gallon;

• Support up to 964,000 additional U.S. jobs in 2018; and

• Allow the U.S. to help our allies, enhance our energy security, and weaken OPEC and Russia’s monopoly power.

Bost’s letter urging his colleagues to maintain funding for Scott AFB’s Maritime Security Program is attached.