The House began debating a slew of amendments to the Pentagon policy bill Thursday, clashing over funding for items including aircraft carriers.
Shortly after the House kicked off floor debate on the fiscal year 2014 defense authorization bill, a fight erupted over a bipartisan amendment to reduce from 11 to 10 the statutory requirement for the number operational aircraft carriers the Navy must have. One of the amendment’s sponsors, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), argued the measure is needed as the military is learning to operate with less.
“The Department of Defense is in the midst of a major reality check, as budgets shrink, priorities change, new technologies emerge,” Blumenauer argued. “I don’t pretend to be a naval expert, but the Navy is being pushed into shallow waters as a result of sequestration. And now, more than ever, we should allow them to make the decisions.”
The House did not vote on the amendment–also sponsored by Reps. Michael Mulvaney (R-S.C.) and Kerry Bentivolio (R-Mich.)–as of press time. The measure would not permanently limit the Navy to a 10-carrier fleet, but would allow the service to decide if it wants wants to lower its 11-carrier requirement at any point in the coming decades. The Navy previously had to seek a waiver from Congress to drop to 10 carriers.
A bipartisan group of pro-shipbuilding House Armed Services Committee (HASC) members pushed back against the carrier amendment, arguing it is Congress’ job to help steer military policy.
“If you look at every independent analysis, every QDR (Quadrennial Defense Review) since 2001 says we need 11 carriers,” HASC Seapower subcommittee Chairman Randy Forbes (R-Va.) argued. “If you really believe the Navy’s going to come in here and say they don’t need them, that’s not the truth. What’s going to happen is somebody’s going to give them a budget figure and say the budget needs to drive the strategy, that’s why you need to cut it down. And we’re not going to put them in that position.”
He maintained it can cost more to have fewer carriers because of costs such as increased maintenance costs.
Seapower Ranking Member Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.) noted the Navy is already down to 11 carriers, after a high of 15 during the Cold War, and needs 11 now for a continuous presence in the Middle East and western Pacific Ocean. He noted the many domestic jobs carriers support.
The House Rules Committee approved 172 amendments to the defense authorization bill for House floor consideration. Debate is expected to continue today.
The HASC approved the bill, which sets Pentagon policy and authorizes funding levels, last week. The measure authorizes a $552.1 billion base defense budget and $85.8 billion in war funding. It does not reflect “sequestration,” the $500 billion in decade-long defense budget cuts that started in March, to the chagrin of many HASC members.