The Biden administration on Tuesday detailed what Navy provisions it opposes in the House’s draft FY 2025 defense authorization bill, which focused on ship procurement funding and restrictions on ship retirements.
The administration’s first point in its “Statement of Administration Policy” on the bill said it is “disappointed” the House Armed Services Committee authorized $700 million less in shipbuilding than requested.
The House bill, alongside the House appropriations committee’s defense appropriations bill, zeroed out $1 billion in planned FY ‘25 funding for the
Constellation-class frigates amid delays that have pushed the first ship delivery to be up to three years late.
The House partially redirected the funds into adding $1 billion in incremental funding for a second Virginia-class attack submarine, while the appropriations bill does not.
The Biden administration opposes adding funds for the second submarine that it says industry cannot produce on schedule anyway, but reiterated support for near-term submarine industrial base (SIB) investments it requested to help reduce the backlog in attack submarines and ultimately improve production rates.
The White House also opposes a section again limiting the Navy’s flexibility to decommission some ships before their expected service lives.
The bill would prevent the Navy from retiring the Ticonderoga-class cruisers USS Shiloh (CG-67) and USS Lake Erie (CG-70) or more than two other cruisers, as the Navy planned in its budget request (Defense Daily, May 14).
“Divesting ships on a case-by-case basis allows the Navy to prioritize investments. The USS Shiloh and USS Lake Erie are currently in a condition that renders modernization and restoration to full operational capability cost-prohibitive,” the White House reiterated.
The Navy already planned to decommission USS Philippine Sea (CG-5) and Normandy (CG-60) in FY ‘25 on schedule, which are 35-36 years old, with an expected life of 35 years each.
This is the second time the Navy has tried and is being rebuffed from retiring CG-67 early.
The Navy said it wants to retire 10 ships earlier than planned. Beyond the cruisers are the Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ships USS Jackson (LCS-6) and USS Montgomery (LCS-8); the USS Germantown (LSD-42) Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship; the four oldest Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport ships USNS Spearhead (EPF-1), Choctaw County (EPF-2), Millinocket (EPF-3) and Fall River (EPF-4); and the USNS John Glenn (ESD-2) Montford Point-class Expeditionary Transfer Dock ship.
The administration also “strongly urges” the House to provide the Secretary of Defense with discretionary authority to buy foreign-built used sealift vessels without a number limit “at the rate needed to recapitalize the Ready Reserve Force.”
In previous years, Congress has authorized the Navy and the Maritime Administration to buy up to two used sealift ships per year.
The Navy ‘s FY ‘25 budget request seeks $205 million to buy two more used vessels, an increase over $142 million for two ships in FY ‘24. Budget documents said the increased request accounts for buying ships under 15 years old that are larger with over 200,000 square feet of cargo space.
However, budget documents said the joint force requires 18 ships over the next five years to replace anticipated sealift capacity losses as most sealift ships have already exceeded their expected service lives.
This means the Navy wants authority to buy used sealift vessels at a higher rate as necessary in the short to medium term. In the long term, the Navy hopes to ultimately buy new American-made sealift ships.