Republican and Democratic members of the U.S. House and Senate have proposed a $25 billion ($704 billion) shipyard revitalization project that would inject public and private shipyards into the U.S. to restore them and return the U.S. to its former glory as a maritime power. The photo shows the aircraft carrier Eisenhower moored in dry dock at Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
According to Defense News, Republican and Democratic members of the U.S. House and Senate have proposed a $25 billion ($704 billion) shipyard revitalization project that will be injected into U.S. public and private shipyards to restore them and return the United States to its former glory as a maritime power. The case is currently awaiting debate in the House and Senate.
Reports indicate that the funding will pay for the Navy’s proposed 20-year public shipyard recapitalization plan totaling $21 billion, with the remaining $4 billion going to private shipyards for fleet construction and repair. As the 11-page Shipyards Act was introduced, Biden proposed up to $2.25 trillion for infrastructure, while Republicans bargained for $568 billion.
In more detail, $21 billion will be invested to accelerate the Navy’s Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP) to improve the four major public shipyards in the United States. The four major public shipyards are Portsmouth Shipyard in Virginia, Kateri Shipyard in Maine, Pearl Harbor Shipyard in Hawaii, and Bremerton Shipyard in Washington State. Since 2018, SIOP has spent $1.8 billion.
Next, $2 billion has been spent to upgrade commercial ship repair yards, subcontractors and suppliers that specialize in maintaining and repairing the Navy’s fleet. There are currently about 20 major ship repair yards across the United States, located in Alabama, California, Florida, Hawaii, Mississippi, South Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin.
The remaining $2 billion is for upgrading commercial shipyards, subcontractors and supply yards that specialize in building the fleet. These include Ingalls Shipbuilding in Mississippi, Austal USA in Alabama, Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, Electric Boat in Connecticut and Rhode Island, Bath Iron Works in Maine, Fincantieri Marinette Marine Shipbuilding in Wisconsin, and the Fincantieri Marine Shipyard in Wisconsin. Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Wisconsin and General Dynamics National Steel Shipbuilding in California.
The report said that all of the sponsors, who are from shipbuilding industry states, emphasized the economic value of shipyards, and that restoring them would significantly improve and support the construction of a large fleet, thereby countering the growing maritime ambitions of mainland China. The bill covers shipyard infrastructure improvements, new dock construction and other projects that will allow Navy shipyards to meet the needs of the military. Through the Defense Production Act, the Shipbuilding Act would provide the Secretary of the Navy with continued and flexible funding and the discretion to spend it as he sees fit.
The lawmakers believe the bill will help the Navy’s shipyards with their long backlog of scheduled modernization, maintenance and expansion, and provide flexibility to support other investments needed for recapitalization, merchant fleet maintenance and development.
Specifically naming Virginia’s public and private shipyards as important to strengthening national security, the lawmakers said the legislation would ensure that U.S. sailors, shipyards and repair units have the latest tools, equipment and facilities to support the Navy and defend the nation at all times.
Democratic Chairman Roger Wicker said in a statement, “When legislators think about how to improve the nation’s infrastructure, the restoration of facilities that are the cornerstone of the Navy’s fleet should be at the center of the discussion. Congress has taken important steps and committed to building a large navy; however, our shipyards are struggling to build a 296-ship fleet and are clearly unable to meet the maintenance needs of the 355th fleet and counter the Chinese, Russian and other adversaries. It is time to reach out to our naval leaders and provide the assistance needed to allow the next generation of fleets to grow and be repaired.”
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