{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.strange.senate.gov/content/strange-delivers-lcs-promise-final-defense-bill", "Strange delivers on LCS promise in final defense bill", "2017-11-08", "2017", "2017-11", "Republican", "House", "AL", "Luther Strange", "S001202", "www.strange.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Funding three ships in FY 18 \u201ccritical to the Navy and the Alabamians who support it\u201d\nWashington, DC \u2013 U.S. Senator Luther Strange on Wednesday issued the statement below after his work to secure funding for three littoral combat ships (LCS) was confirmed in the final version of the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), delivering a 200% increase over the President\u2019s initial request for the program.\nAs a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Strange advocated early to President Trump and Secretary of Defense James Mattis on the importance of the Mobile built LCS to the Navy, ultimately winning a highly unusual late add of an additional LCS to the Defense budget. Senator Strange then continued to work behind the scenes to deliver a $600 million increase in authorized funding in the Senate version of the NDAA, which passed in September.\nThe release of the final NDAA on Wednesday includes a number of other key Alabama priorities, including full funding for Stryker lethality upgrades and supplies for the Civilian Marksmanship Program, both at Anniston Army Depot, and an increase in funding for missile defense programs developed in the state (THAAD, ground-based interceptors).\n\u201cAs the saying goes, \u2018there is no limit to what a man can do when he does not mind who gets the credit.\u2019 Finalizing the NDAA with key wins for our state was a long process with many hands at work,\u201d said Strange. \u201cI was proud to be the only representative for Alabama and its brave men and women in uniform in NDAA conference negotiations on naval readiness, and I will continue to support their critical role in keeping America safe.\u201d", 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://www.strange.senate.gov/content/strange-delivers-lcs-promise-final-defense-bill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6571390442550182, "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"}