Representative Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ) has introduced legislation to preserve and display the last three F-14 Tomcat fighter jets for educational purposes.
Named the Maverick Act, Rep. Hamadeh's bill specifically carves out an exception to post-retirement protocols for old military hardware, preventing the last three Tomcats from being destroyed.
The bill is named after the character Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) from the 1986 action-drama film Top Gun, in which the F-14 is prominently featured.
"As a young man, I was inspired by the popular Tom Cruise movie Top Gun, which featured the F-14, one of the most iconic aircraft ever flown," Rep. Hamadeh said in a press release. "As a former U.S. Army officer, I know that many of the men and women I served with felt the same way. That is why I proudly introduced this legislation. Because this legislation does not come at a cost to our hard-working taxpayers, I expect that my fellow fiscal conservatives will happily support this legislation."
Cosponsors of the bill include Representative Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), Jen Kiggans (R-VA), Austin Scott (R-GA), Rich McCormick (R-GA), Jack Bergman (R-MI), Jake Ellzey (R-TX), Don Davis (D-NC), and James Moylan (R-GU).
Senator Tim Sheehy (R-MT) has introduced the bill in the Senate.
In Florida, Senator Ashley Moody (R-FL) and Aaron Bean (R-FL) joined forces to announce the National POW/MIA Memorial and Museum Act, which designates the National Prisoner of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Museum and Memorial in the U.S., located in Jacksonville, Fla., as a National Landmark.
"Prisoners of wars and soldiers missing in action deserve our prayers, support, and recognition of their immense sacrifice. There is no better place to honor their service than Florida, because of our long tradition of supporting veterans," said Sen. Moody
Rep. Bean emphasized, "Throughout our nation's history, more than 223,000 American service members have been listed as POW/MIA. We owe it to those service members and their families to ensure that our nation never forgets."
