National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Chairman, at the outset, I want to extend my compliments to the chairman of the committee for his first NDAA bill and for the way he conducted a 19-hour markup that went until close to 5 o'clock in the morning. I also thank the ranking member, who provided just really great leadership in terms of moving that process along, and the strong vote that came out of the committee.

On the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee--and Mr. Forbes ticked off some of the priorities that came through the report--I just want to add one item which, I think, is really important to note. In terms of the future challenges for the shipbuilding of this country, the replacement program for the ballistic submarine program, the Ohio replacement program, is going to cost, roughly, $70 billion to $80 billion. It has been identified by Secretary Carter on down as the top priority of the Defense Department as well as the Department of the Navy. The question is not about whether or not we are going to build that sub. The question, really, is: What is going to happen to the rest of the shipbuilding account?

This year's NDAA bill activates the national sea-based deterrence fund, which is an off-shipbuilding budget account to build this once-in-a-multigeneration program, using clear precedent of the past of the national sea-based deterrence account, which took that program off the shipbuilding budget's shoulders, and we are using that same approach to make sure that, in meeting this critical need, the Ohio replacement program is not going to suffocate the rest of the shipbuilding account. $1.4 billion is going to be infused into this fund with the Defense Authorization Act, and that is going to provide a path forward to make sure that we meet this critical need as well as to make sure that we have a viable, 300-plus-ship Navy, which every defense review over the last few years or so has identified as critical.

This is an important item which, I feel, as part of this evening's debate, should be identified, and it is something that was a bipartisan effort on both sides of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee. I look forward to a vigorous debate over the next 2 days.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source