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House Passes FY24 National Defense Authorization Act
The House considered their version of the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with a final vote of 219-210.
An SCA Summary of House Armed Services Committee-passed bill can be found HERE.
The House considered several amendments to bill on the floor and adopted the following amendments germane to SCA and its members:
- Curtis (UT) Requires an assessment of Cable Security Fleet’s ability and preparedness to repair transoceanic submarine fiber optic cables that may be damaged or cut by adversaries.
- Garamendi (CA) Allows the Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Federal Ship Financing (Title XI) Program to also provide low-interest loans and loan guarantees for re-flagging commercial vessels under the U.S. registry and repairs, retrofits, and reconfigurations of civilian vessels in domestic shipyards. Current law only allows this federal financing for new vessel construction and commercial shipyard improvements.
- Magaziner (RI) Requires the Secretary of the Navy to report to the congressional defense committees on the use and implementation of the Navy Shipbuilding Workforce Development Special Initiative. The amendment would also require the GAO to study and report to congressional defense committees on the current state of affordable housing availability in high-cost areas with defense-related operations and the effects of limited affordable housing on defense production and readiness.
- Peters (CA), Jacobs (CA) Clarifies the use of government operated dry docks for non-nuclear surface ship repair.
- Peters (CA), Jacobs (CA) Requires the Secretary of the Navy to report to Congress on an annual basis each instance in the year preceding the report in which the Navy used a government dock for a ship repair and maintenance availability when sufficient capacity existed in private docks during the period in which such repairs were expected to be performed.
- Waltz (FL) Requires the Administrator of MARAD to provide a brief on the status of establishing and implementing a national maritime strategy.
The House also adopted several controversial amendments related to abortion, transgender troop care, and diversity efforts. As a result of the adoption of these amendments, House Democratic Leaders urged their caucus to oppose the bill. The legislation will now await its Senate companion before heading to conference.
Senate Armed Services Committee Releases FY24 NDAA
The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) approved its version of the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act on Thursday, June 22 in a closed-session, by a vote of 24-1. The legislation matches the $886 billion President Joe Biden requested for national defense programs for fiscal 2024.
Shipbuilding
The bill authorizes a total of $34.7 billion for shipbuilding, including:
· 1 Columbia-class Submarine
· 2 Virginia-class Submarines
· 2 DDG-51 destroyers
· 2 FFG(X) Frigates
· 1 LPD San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship
· 1 A(S) Submarine Tender
· 1 John Lewis-class fleet oiler
· 1 Auxiliary Personnel Lighter
Despite a requirement to maintain a minimum of 31 amphibious ships, Navy leaders didn’t seek the San Antonio ship in its budget, arguing the hull was too costly. The Marines, led by Commandant Gen. David Berger, publicly advocated for the ship, and included the vessel on their annual budget wish list. The move to add the ship aligns with the House version of the bill. House appropriators, meanwhile, did not find the cash to add the ship to the Navy’s shipbuilding budget. The Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet considered its defense spending bill.
Ship Retirements
The bill blocks some of the Navy’s plans to scrap hulls to save money. It prohibits the service from retiring three amphibious ships and one Ticonderoga-class cruiser. The Navy proposed decommissioning eight ships: three cruisers, three dock-landing ships and two littoral combat ships.
The Senate is expected to consider the full NDAA on the floor in the coming weeks. The full text of the bill can be found HERE, the report language HERE and the funding tables HERE. An executive summary released by the committee is available HERE.
Read the SCA Summary HERE.
Senate Committee Advances AUKUS Amendment Enabling Sub Transfer
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has advanced a legislative proposal that, if approved, would authorize the United States to transfer Virginia-class submarines to Australia and enable greater collaboration between the nations to implement the AUKUS security agreement.According to a Thursday announcement from committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Senate Armed Services seapower subcommittee Chairman Tim Kaine (D-VA), this amendment was approved by the committee on a bipartisan basis, attaching it to the State Department authorization bill.
This authorization bill was referred to the Foreign Relations Committee after it was introduced by Menendez in June. The committee approved the AUKUS amendment during a closed session on Thursday.
According to the release, the amendment would authorize the transfer of two Virginia submarines and allow the sale of a third vessel through foreign military sales. It would also grant Australia and the United Kingdom priority status within the FMS process, providing advanced clearance for the transfer of AUKUS-related technologies between the three nations.
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