I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9983 
To establish a grant program to support the conservation and preservation 
of historic military ships and submarines, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 11, 2024 
Mr. NORCROSS (for himself, Mr. BACON, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. CASE, 
Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. KENNEDY, Mrs. KIGGANS of Virginia, Mr. KILDEE, 
Ms. LEE of California, and Mr. PANETTA) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To establish a grant program to support the conservation 
and preservation of historic military ships and sub-
marines, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Save Our Ships Act’’. 
SEC. 2. HISTORIC NAVAL SHIP PRESERVATION GRANT PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 
Department of the Interior the Historic Naval Ship Pres-
ervation Grant Program to support the physical preserva-
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tion of historic military vessels, ensuring the continued 
availability of these vessels to the American public to edu-
cate on the past and inspire the future of United States 
military maritime endeavors. 
(b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Program shall be admin-
istered by the Secretary, in consultation with the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security and the Department of De-
fense. 
(c) GRANT USES.—In carrying out the Program, the 
Secretary may award grants, on a competitive basis, to 
eligible entities for the following activities: 
(1) Conserving and preserving historic military 
vessels at covered sites, including— 
(A) physical upkeep and repair of the ves-
sels; and 
(B) mitigating environmental hazards or 
damage to the vessels. 
(2) Implementing education and workforce de-
velopment programs related to military maritime ca-
reers, including shipbuilding and submarine con-
struction. 
(d) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—In carrying out the Pro-
gram, the Secretary may award grants to a unit of 
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State or local government or a private nonprofit or-
ganization that administers a covered site. 
(2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible for a grant 
under the Program, an organization that admin-
isters a covered site shall submit to the Secretary an 
application at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining such information as the Secretary may re-
quire. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 
out the Program $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 and each 
fiscal year thereafter. 
(f) DEFINITION.—In this Act: 
(1) COVERED SITE.—The term ‘‘covered site’’ 
means a museum, memorial, monument, educational 
center, or other venue that provides public access to, 
or publicly displays, a historic military vessel. 
(2) HISTORIC
MILITARY
VESSEL.—The term 
‘‘historic military vessel’’ means a vessel that has 
been decommissioned or otherwise removed from 
service and— 
(A) was owned and operated by the De-
partment of Defense or the Coast Guard, other 
than a time- or voyage-chartered vessel; 
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(B) was owned and operated by the De-
partment of Transportation and designated by 
the Secretary of the department in which the 
Coast Guard is operating as a vessel equivalent 
to a vessel described in subparagraph (A); or 
(C) was built for, or pursuant to a contract 
with, the United States Maritime Commission 
or other legacy branch of the Department of 
Transportation and at some point in the ves-
sel’s service was equipped with armaments and 
embarked Navy Armed Guard personnel to op-
erate the armaments. 
(3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 
the Historic Naval Ship Preservation Grant Pro-
gram established by subsection (a). 
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di-
rector of the National Park Service. 
Æ 
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