Great Lakes Icebreaker Funding Cut from Senate Bill
Michigan Representative Bill Huizenga is leading efforts to restore funding for a new Great Lakes icebreaker that was included in the House-passed version of the One Big Beautiful Bill but omitted from the Senate’s version.
“While the House-passed version of the One Big Beautiful Bill supports the Coast Guard’s request for a Great Lakes icebreaker, the current Senate language cut it while funding other icebreakers,” Huizenga stated in a tweet.
The Michigan congressman emphasized the economic importance of adequate icebreaking capability on the Great Lakes, noting that “The U.S. economy lost more than $1 billion and 5,000 jobs in the 2018/19 winter alone due to inadequate icebreaking on the Great Lakes.”
Huizenga and colleagues from the Great Lakes region have sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Thune and Chairman Cruz requesting the Senate maintain support for the icebreaker. The letter highlights that the Senate bill “includes funding for every category of icebreaker requested by the U.S. Coast Guard in the reconciliation bill except the Great Lakes icebreaker.”
Currently, the Coast Guard operates three polar icebreakers, 21 domestic icebreakers, and 16 ice-capable buoy tenders. The first new heavy icebreaker in 50 years is under construction at Bollinger Shipbuilding in Mississippi, with completion expected around 2030.
The Coast Guard’s broader strategic vision includes building a fleet of eight to nine polar icebreakers as part of the President’s initiative to acquire at least 40 new icebreakers.
In their appeal to Senate leadership, the Great Lakes delegation emphasized that “Efficient commerce on the Great Lakes is critical to American steel production and manufacturing with implications that extend far beyond the Midwest.”
