Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., announced a bill on Thursday that would make it the Navy’s policy to build toward and maintain a fleet of 355 ships.
Under the Securing the Homeland by Increasing our Power on the Seas Act, the Navy would add 79 ships beyond today’s 276-ship fleet, a goal that could take 20 to 25 years, the members said.
Speaking to reporters, Wicker cited threats from North Korea, Iran, Russia and China as reasons behind the buildup. “We have a serious threat situation that we haven’t faced in previous decades,” he said.
Both lawmakers avoided questions on cost and how many ships would be added by their respective seapower subcommittees in the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, saying they didn’t want to get ahead of planned markups and announcements. Wicker said the SHIPS Act has 16 co-sponsors “and counting,” Wicker said.
The Trump administration requested nine new ships for fiscal 2018, and Wittman said the House version will be “well north” of that number. He also said the changes will result in a mix of new ships, such as submarines, aircraft carriers, amphibious ships and destroyers.
Both lawmakers represent districts that include shipbuilders, and they acknowledged the effect on the industrial base their bill would have.
“We do get a two-fer,” Wicker said. “Let me stress that we’re talking about protecting the nation and allowing commerce to go unfettered around the globe, but yes the added benefit is thousands and thousands of new manufacturing jobs, and the component parts come from almost all the 50 states. We’re happy to help the industrial base, but this is about national security first and foremost.”
The House Armed Service’s seapower subcommittee releases its markup Thursday. Wicker said he hoped the Senate’s markup will occur early next week and that specifics will emerge before July 4.
