{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://byrne.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/byrne-secures-authorization-for-three-littoral-combat-ships", "Byrne Secures Authorization for Three Littoral Combat Ships", "2017-11-08", "2017", "2017-11", "Republican", "House", "AL", "Bradley Byrne", "B001289", "byrne.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-AL), Vice-Chairman of the House Seapower Subcommittee, helped secure authorization for the construction of three Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) in the final version of the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) released today. The Independence-class version of the LCS is built by Austal USA in Mobile.\nSince the House and Senate passed different versions of the NDAA, a Conference Committee was established to work out the differences. The House bill authorized the construction of three LCS while the Senate version only authorized two LCS. The final version negotiated between the House and the Senate authorizes three LCS.\nCongressman Byrne said: \u201cSecuring the authorization for three more Littoral Combat Ships is a big win for Southwest Alabama and the thousands of people who work at the Austal shipyard in Mobile. Just as important, it is good news for the U.S. Navy because it means we will have more highly-capable ships added to the fleet. \n\u201cMy office is constantly working to maintain and support our shipbuilding industry, and I could not be prouder that we were able to overcome challenges in the Senate to get three ships authorized. I want to thank Chairman Mac Thornberry for his help and support of the LCS program, and I look forward to supporting the bill when it comes before the House for a vote.\u201d\nEarlier this year, Congressman Byrne warned that the Senate-version of the NDAA failed to adequately support the LCS program and could have resulted in layoffs at the Austal shipyard.\nAustal USA is the area\u2019s top private sector employer with approximately 4,000 direct employees and thousands of other jobs indirectly tied to the shipyard.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://byrne.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/byrne-secures-authorization-for-three-littoral-combat-ships"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7262189649045467, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}