{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.wicker.senate.gov/2024/9/senator-wicker-raises-alarm-over-damaged-navy-oiler-in-arabian-sea", "Senator Wicker Raises Alarm Over Damaged Navy Oiler in Arabian Sea", "2024-09-25", "2024", "2024-09", "Republican", "Senate", "MS", "Roger F. Wicker", "W000437", "www.wicker.senate.gov", "wicker", "https://www.wicker.senate.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement in response to press reports that the Navy\u2019s fleet oiler USNS Big Horn was damaged off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea:\n\n\u201cI am troubled about reports that the Navy\u2019s sole fleet oiler in the CENTCOM region has been rendered temporarily inoperable. If we cannot fuel our ships, our capabilities will be greatly diminished,\u201d Senator Wicker. \u201cThe Big Horn\u2019s problems also speak to a larger challenge \u2013 we are woefully in need of a larger logistics fleet, which is the lifeline for our global military presence. I hope this incident serves as a wake-up call that it is high time to fix our shipbuilding industrial base and support our merchant mariners.\u201d\n\nSenator Wicker posed the following questions to the Department of Defense:\n\nWhere did the Big Horn take damage?\n\nWhat is the initial damage assessment for the Big Horn?\n\nWhat was the cause of the damage (weather, navigator error, etc.)?\n\nCan the Big Horn operate under its own power?\n\nWhat is the estimated time required for the repair of the vessel?\n\nIs there another vessel able to fill the capability gap? If so, when will it be in the area?\n\nDoes the administration support additional executable funding for fleet oilers in the FY25 appropriations process?\n\nSenator Wicker noted the following facts related to shortfalls in the U.S. Navy\u2019s logistics fleet:", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:43:57Z"]], "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.wicker.senate.gov/2024/9/senator-wicker-raises-alarm-over-damaged-navy-oiler-in-arabian-sea"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8809519931674004, "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"}