WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today issued the following statement after U.S. Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark Esper made comments regarding the need to increase funding for shipbuilding significantly:

“It is encouraging to know that the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Navy recognize the need to grow our fleet. As the world’s premier fighting force, our military depends on a strong Navy to project power abroad, preserve freedom of navigation across the world’s oceans, and deter America’s adversaries. I will be working with them to get the funds necessary to defend the country.”

Wicker is a strong supporter of the U.S. Navy and shipbuilding. In 2016, he authored the Securing the Homeland by Increasing our Power on the Seas (SHIPS) Act, which made it the policy of the United States to acquire a 355-ship fleet as soon as practicable.