The U.S. House has approved a measure that would allow the historic and decommissioned Coast Guard cutter Storis to possibly become a floating memorial and museum in Juneau. Now, the legislation moves on to the U.S. Senate for their consideration.
Congressman Don Young’s office said in an emailed release that the action came Tuesday, along with a measure that authorizes the service’s spending for fiscal years 2012 through 2014. Spending would total $8.49 billion and increase to $8.7 billion over those three years.
That larger funding bill also decommissions the Coast Guard’s two heavy-duty icebreakers. That’s something that Young says came out of frustration of the Administration’s inability to prioritize icebreaking needs and he believes it forces the administration’s hand. Young says he’s introduced a measure that allows the service to lease icebreakers.
The Storis legislation is House Resolution 1220. It was incorporated into House Resolution 2838 that was approved by the U.S. House on Tuesday.