(Washington, DC) — Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is expressing concern that the military would consider decommissioning the U-S-S Sioux City, which joined the Navy fleet just three years ago. It’s not because the ship is named for the northwest Iowa city, although Grassley says that gives him “a parochial reason” –he says his main concern is that the ship “was just built.” The Navy is asking Congress to approve decommissioning 24 ships over the next five years, to save three-point-six BILLION dollars. Iowa’s other U-S Senator, Republican Joni Ernst, spoke at the christening ceremony for the U-S-S Sioux City in 2018. Ernst says now is not the time to flatten the size of the defense budget, as America’s enemies are on the march and the world has become a much more dangerous place.
