Rep. Rob Wittman

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

Navy Tries to Cut Four Littoral Combat Ships to Save $186M in FY 22 Budget

The crew of USS Little Rock (LCS-9) man the rails during the ship’s commissioning ceremony Dec. 16, 2017 in Buffalo, N.Y. US Navy Photo

The Navy wants to cut four Littoral Combat Ships from the fleet as part of a cost-saving measure that will net the service $186 million, according to the service’s latest budget request.

The request to cull the ships from the battle force inventory comes despite criticism from Congress over last year’s proposal to retire the first four Littoral Combat Ships early.

https://news.usni.org/2021/05/28/navy-tries-to-cut-four-littoral-combat-ships-to-save-186m-in-fy-22-budget

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

CNO, Commandant: Services Have A Good Idea of How They’ll Fight, If Congress Helps Them With the Right Spending Plans

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Tyrell Lewis, a student in the Detachment Hawaii Enhanced Squad Leader Course, aims a dummy rocket launcher at the rocket station, one of twelve stations in the initial performance assessment portion of the course, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, April 8, 2021. The course is an experimental proof of concept, with the intent of modernizing training and providing squad leaders with new capabilities. US Marine Corps photo.

The chief of naval operations and commandant of the Marine...

https://news.usni.org/2021/05/13/cno-commandant-services-have-a-good-idea-of-how-theyll-fight-if-congress-helps-them-with-the-right-spending-plans

Wittman: Navy Needs Money in its Budget for Modernization, But Not From Cutting Cruisers

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

The Navy is facing pressure to find savings within its own budget to pay for investments in future technologies like unmanned vehicles and hypersonic and directed energy weapons – but those savings shouldn’t come from the early decommissioning of cruisers and amphibious ships, a key lawmaker said today.

Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), the top Republican on the House Armed...

https://news.usni.org/2021/05/12/wittman-navy-needs-money-in-its-budget-for-modernization-but-not-from-cutting-cruisers

Acting SECNAV Harker: Navy in Favor of Accelerating Shipyard Revitalization Plan

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) prepares to pull into Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Va. in 2017. US Navy Photo

The Navy welcomes the chance to speed up its 20-year effort to revitalize the nation’s public shipyards, the service’s acting secretary said today.

Testifying in front of the House Armed Services defense subcommittee, acting Navy Secretary Thomas Harker told lawmakers that the service is open to fast-tracking the timeline for its Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program...

https://news.usni.org/2021/04/29/acting-secnav-harker-navy-in-favor-of-accelerating-shipyard-revitalization-plan

Bipartisan Bill Calls for $25B in Infrastructure Funds for Shipyards

Chief Cryptologic Technician (Collection) Paul Villanyi, right, from Spring Hill, Florida, directs Cryptologic Technician (Maintenance) 2nd Class Patrick Shores, from Chicago, during a monitored maintenance conducted on the AS/4293-A V/UHF Acquisition Antenna on the forward masthead light-pole aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77) on April 8, 2021. US Navy Photo

A group of bipartisan lawmakers have drafted legislation aimed at recapitalizing America’s public and private...

https://news.usni.org/2021/04/28/bipartisan-bill-calls-for-25b-in-infrastructure-funds-for-shipyards

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