Shipbuilding Bill Mentions Inland Priorities
A bill recently introduced in Congress to strengthen the U.S. Navy’s shipyard support and bolster its ability to keep pace with China’s blistering progress in shipbuilding has a few words to say about inland priorities as well.
The bill is the Ships for America Act, drafted and introduced by Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Az.) and Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) in both houses of Congress. Kelly, a Navy combat veteran and graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and Waltz, a combat-decorated Green Beret, drafted the bill out of concern over China’s rapid buildup of its shipyard capabilities in recent years. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) joined Kelly and Waltz as sponsors of the bill..
According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, China now has the world’s largest maritime fighting force, operating 234 warships compared to the U.S. Navy’s 219 ships. This count of China’s fighting ships includes its known, active-duty manned, missile- or torpedo-armed ships or submarines displacing more than 1,000 metric tons. In 2023, China’s burgeoning shipyards had orders for 1,700 vessels both naval and commercial, while U.S. blue-water shipyards had five vessels on order. The United States has about 153,000 shipyard workers. China has close to 600,000.
That workforce contrast isn’t the only cause for concern. Some welds on submarines built at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va., have been problematic. In a story first reported by USNI News and picked up by other media, the shipyard informed the Department of Justice that faulty welds may have been made intentionally on non-critical components on in-service Navy submarines and aircraft carriers. The Navy’s amphibious ships have also faced operational readiness issues of late.
In the spring, Kelly and Waltz wrote a report titled “Congressional Guidance for a National Maritime Strategy: Reversing the Decline of America’s Maritime Power.” According to the report, the relative decline of U.S. naval and shipyard strength is the result of slow-moving forces over decades, and any attempted reversal won’t happen quickly. Furthermore, the report, according to Kelly and Waltz, provides a comprehensive vision for planning guidance, strategic objectives and actionable steps to revitalize the nation’s maritime sector.
Among a list of actions Congress could immediately pursue, several relate to the inland waterways. No. 5 is, “Urge investment in America’s Maritime Transportation System and inland waterways. Address the national maintenance backlog, which according to the American Society of Civil Engineers, amounts to $125 billion for bridges, $163 billion for ports, and $6.8 billion for inland waterways.”
No. 2 is, “Take all measures possible to expand, develop and protect the domestic maritime workforce, fully funding and reinvigorating the Maritime Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Maritime Commission, and other federal agencies that protect, regulate and support the U.S. maritime industry.”
And the No. 1 recommendation is, “Speed development of a long-term National Maritime Strategy for incremental implementation, including state and local policy options. Establish a presidentially appointed position to synchronize all national maritime affairs and policy. Establish a National Maritime Council, led by the president’s maritime appointee, to monitor and report on the implementation of the national maritime strategy.”
With the impending election, the path forward for the Ships for America Act is unclear. Kelly and Waltz have committed to building bipartisan support for their proposed reforms.
