Rep. Joe Courtney

CNO Gilday Says With Current Budget, Cutting Ships Necessary for Navy Long-term

USS Bunker Hill (CG-52) transits the Indian Ocean during a surface target exercise on March 12, 2021. US Navy Photo

As Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday prepares for a battle with lawmakers over a divisive plan to strike more than a dozen vessels from the fleet, the service’s top officer said Tuesday that he’s using the investments to prepare for the fleet emerging in 2025.

That’s when the Navy will be on the cusp of receiving several new additions to bolster the service, Gilday said...

https://news.usni.org/2021/07/20/cno-gilday-says-with-current-budget-cutting-ships-necessary-for-navy-long-term

With No Long Range Plans in FY 22 Budget, Lawmakers Relying on ‘Best Judgement’ to Fund Navy

Moon over U.S. Capitol on Nov. 13, 2016. NASA Photo

Congress has been asked to make major decisions on the Navy’s funding with limited information on the service’s future, two lawmakers said on Tuesday.

“We’re going to be using our best judgment” when working on the Fiscal Year 2022 defense authorization bill without necessary details, Reps. Joe Courtney, (D-Conn.), and chairman of the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee, said. Left unanswered in the Biden...

https://news.usni.org/2021/07/20/with-no-long-range-plans-in-fy-22-budget-lawmakers-relying-on-best-judgement-to-fund-navy

Navy Outlines Planning, Execution Failures in Cruiser Modernization Program

Guided-missile cruiser USS Hué City (CG-66) was inducted into the Cruiser Modernization program on Oct. 3, 2019. US Navy Photo

The Navy’s push to retire seven guided-missile cruisers stems from management and planning in its original modernization program that caused exorbitant cost growth, according to service officials.

Navy officials have repeatedly cited cost as a reason for the proposed decommissionings, arguing that the service could put the money toward other modernization priorities...

https://news.usni.org/2021/07/08/navy-outlines-planning-execution-failures-in-cruiser-modernization-program

Lawmakers Probe Navy’s Plan to Decommission Cruisers, Navy Says Cuts Will Save $5B Across FYDP

USS Makin Island (LHD-8), back, and the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG-52) transit the South China Sea on April 9, 2021. US Navy Photo

Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), the seapower panel’s ranking member, also voiced concerns over decommissioning the cruisers because of a potential capability gap. Each cruiser has 120 missile cells, meaning the seven ships have a total of 910 cells. Kilby confirmed to Wittman that a “large percentage” of the Navy’s surface fires comes from...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/17/lawmakers-probe-navys-plan-to-decommission-cruisers-navy-says-cuts-will-save-5b-across-fydp

House Lawmakers Call For Long-Term Strategy For Sealift After Decades of Neglect

An undated photo of a Watson-class LMSR. MSC Photo

House lawmakers are calling on U.S. Transportation Command and the U.S. Maritime Administration to create a sealift strategy amid decades of concerns over the capacity of the sealift fleet.

During a joint hearing between the House Armed Services Committee’s seapower and projection forces subcommittee and readiness subcommittee on Tuesday, lawmakers criticized and expressed concern over the lack of a cohesive strategy to build up the sealift fleet.

https://news.usni.org/2021/05/19/house-lawmakers-call-for-long-term-strategy-for-sealift-after-decades-of-neglect

Navy Looking to Accelerate Effort to Revitalize Public Shipyards Amid Lawmaker Concerns

The portside anchor of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) is lowered into a dry dock for maintenance. GHWB is currently in Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Va. US Navy Photo

The Navy is evaluating how it can speed up the timeline for its initiative to renovate aging public shipyards amid concern from lawmakers that the current 20-year timeframe is too long.

As the service continues to work its way out of a years-long maintenance backlog and the nuclear-powered fleet is set to grow in the...

https://news.usni.org/2021/03/22/navy-looking-to-accelerate-effort-to-revitalize-public-shipyards-amid-lawmaker-concerns

Electric Boat Awarded $2.4 Billion for 2nd FY 2021 Virginia-class Attack Boat

Rendering of Block V Virginia-class submarine with Virginia Payload Module. General Dynamics Electric Boat Image

The Navy today awarded a construction contract for a second Virginia-class attack submarine this fiscal year, which the Trump administration had cut from its FY 2021 budget request and the House Armed Services Committee fought to have included in the final spending and defense bills.

The Navy awarded $2.42 billion to General Dynamics Electric Boat for SSN-811, a Block V Virginia-class...

https://news.usni.org/2021/03/19/electric-boat-awarded-2-4-billion-for-2nd-fy-2021-virginia-class-attack-boat

Lawmakers Question Who Will Shepherd Navy’s Future Unmanned Fleet

Maintainers from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 (VX-1) analyze diagnostics from the MQ-8C Fire Scout on the flight deck of the Independence variant littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) on June 21, 2018. US Navy photo.

When the Navy moved from a conventionally powered fleet to a nuclear one, Adm. Hyman Rickover oversaw the transitions for decades, remaining in uniform until the age of 82 as the “Father of the Nuclear Navy” to ensure the sea service adopted the new technology in a precise...

HASC Members Pushing for SECNAV Nominee Ahead of Pentagon Budget Fight, Fleet Modernization

Flag of the U.S. Secretary of the Navy

Two members of the House Armed Services Committee today called for the Biden administration to hurry and nominate someone to serve as the next Navy secretary, as the sea service faces tough decisions about how to modernize the force and potentially a budget showdown with the other services competing for funding.

During a HASC seapower and projection forces subcommittee hearing today, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.) used the waning moments of his time for...

https://news.usni.org/2021/03/18/hasc-members-pushing-for-secnav-nominee-ahead-of-pentagon-budget-fight-fleet-modernization

Courtney, Wittman Predict Biden Administration Will Stick With Current Navy Trajectory

USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and the Arleigh-burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Russell (DDG-59) transit the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 18, 2020. US Navy Photo

The top lawmakers overseeing Navy policy are optimistic the service can continue on its current trajectory of building a bigger fleet to take on threats in the Pacific under the Biden administration.

Speaking Monday at the Surface Navy Association’s annual symposium, Reps. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) and Rob Wittman (R-Va.) were hopeful...

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/11/courtney-wittman-predict-biden-administration-will-stick-with-current-navy-trajectory

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